The 26th Act of Kindness

It started with a Facebook Status on Monday, December 17th just 3 days after the terrible tragedy in Newtown. 

Earlier that day, I had emailed my friend Laura (who lives in Newtown and who's youngest 2 kids attend Sandy Hook Elementary) I asked Laura what their favorite pizza place was in Newtown. For one of my 26 Acts of Kindness, I wanted to call the pizza place and pay for a pizza to be delivered Laura's house that week so that one night she didn't have to worry about what was for dinner. Laura wrote me back letting me know that I didn't need to to that, and that they were taken care of for the week. 

Well, I didn't want to take no for answer....I was feeling helpless about the tradegy in Newtown and I wanted to do SOMETHING that would directly help the people/families/community of Sandy Hook.
I got an idea & posted it on FB to see if any of my friends could help.

This is what my status update said:

“Like some of you have heard, my friend Laura lives is Newtown & her 2 youngest kids go to Sandy Hook Elementary. Thankfully, her kids survived because their teachers hid them and kept them safe. Her daughter is a 4th grader & her son is a 1st grader and they both saw a lot of horror that day and lost friends & classmates. I want to do something nice for Laura & her kids. I was thinking about sending them some giftcards to Coldstone, Starbucks, Panera Bread, etc, so that they can enjoy a fun treat like ice cream or a hot coco or she take her kids out to lunch and not worry about the cost. I know that the ice cream or treat won't make the situation better for them, but thought it might be a nice gesture knowing that we are thinking of them here in California. Here is where you come in. If you would like to donate a couple dollars, a small gift card or a even a note, please let me know. I am hoping to send them to her in the next week so that they can use some of them during their Winter Break.”

What happened in the minutes, hours & days after my status update completely AMAZED me. People started commenting and wanting to donate. That night, within 3 hours I had over $500 in paypal donations. Then, my FB friends started sharing my status & more donations kept coming in.

On the days that followed this week, I had friends, neighbors & fellow teachers at my school giving me Gift cards. People just wanted to give & help out.  The money, the gift cards, they just kept rolling in. 

 

My friend Heidi, who was one of my soccer teammates at University of Colorado (and now works for Nike) sent Laura's kids new Nike's. The note she included with the shoes said this, 

"New shoes for the many wonderful steps forward that you will take in these shoes. God Bless You!"

 

 My friend Jon’s father in law is best friends with NFL Hall of Famer John Madden, and got John Madden to sign a football for Laura's husband (who is obsessed with football)

 

Jon's dad gave me his FedEx account number to use for shipping the package which ensured that every single penny that people donated went to the people of Sandy Hook.

People just kept giving & giving & giving. 

Why? 

Because what happened in Newtown could have happened in any of our towns. 

Their tears are our tears. 

Their heartbreak is being felt across the country. 

People just wanted to help.

The donations kept coming in that week…$5 here, $10 there, some $50 donations, a $75 donation. $5 gift cards, $10 gift cards, $15 gift cards, $25 gift cards, $30 and $40 gift cards.

 PEOPLE JUST KEPT GIVING.

I WAS OVERWHELMED.

On Friday December 21, 2012  I had gotten $1305 in cash donations.

  I decided to do some Christmas shopping for her family in the form of gift cards.

I also got 2 big gift cards to Lakeshore Learning Store for her kid's teachers so that they could get things for their new classrooms (Sandy Hook Elementary has been relocated to a new school site). I thought they would like to get some things for their new classrooms. 

In addition to the cash donations, there were also $280 in various gift cards that were donated.

So, on Friday, the 21st, my friend Jon came over to my house and helped me package up all the items and get them to FedEx in time.

GIFT CARD MADNESS!!!!

 

The box was filled with gift cards, notes, a burlap "Shine" bunting, the John Madden football & teddy bears

We wanted to make sure that Laura & family got the package by Christmas Eve, so we sent it overnight via FedEx using Jon's dad's account.

 

We made it to FedEx at 4:53 pm...just in time for the 5:00pm cutoff. We decided to do Overnight delivery, so that it would get there ASAP.

 

 That night, I couldn't sleep. I woke up every hour. I kept having dreams/nightmares that the package got lost or stolen. 

Laura had NO idea this was going on. (She deleted her FB last year and I didn't post it on my blog because she reads my blog. Hi Laura!!!!!)

 All I told her was that there would be a FedEx package delivered to her house on Saturday.

All day Saturday, I kept checking the tracking number to see if it was delivered.

Finally, it was safe in the hands of Laura & Family. Delivered.

 

 We got SO many gift cards donated, so I told Laura to use & keep whichever ones you want. For the ones you won’t need, just give them away to other families in your community and at Sandy Hook School.

It's all about Spreading the LOVE.

I wrote a letter & added this at the end of the letter to Laura:

Despite the tradgey in your town, May you feel and know the HOPE  and JOY that CHRISTmas is all about. JESUS…we LOVE because HE first LOVED us. Here to save us and give us PEACE.  

Laura wrote me the nicest email & is so thankful. 

This was part of her note:

"To all your friends who donated to this most awesome package, THANK YOU from the bottom of our broken hearts. You have put smiles on some very sad faces. God Bless you all. You have given & shown us the true meaning of Christmas"  

But, the 26th Act of Kindness didn't end there....after that package was sent on the 21st, people still kept giving me things to send to Newtown. Homemade cards & notes. More gift cards.

I will be sending out a second package to Laura in the nex week, filled with more gift card & goodies.

One of my FB friend's daughter's birthday party is next week and in lieu of presents for her daughter, she is having guests bring a book that will be sent to Laura and donated to the new Sandy Hook Elementary.

Another friend is having a necklace made for Laura.

 People just want to give and I am humbled.

Thankful that God used me in this project.

All I did was a status update. Everyone else responded.

To God be the Glory.  

  Are you ready for some totals?

 $1790 cash was donated that was used to purchase gift cards
$1150 in various giftcards to Stabucks, Coldstone, Barnes & Noble, Subway and Target (to name a few) were donated.
For a grand total of  $2940

 Almost $3000 in donations. 

UNBELIEVABLE.

This total doesn't include the Nike Shoes, the signed John Madden Football, the banner, the books & the necklace that were donated

All for the people & families of Newtown.

Laura will be spreading the love and  handing out the cards to the community of Sandy Hook.

Specifically to families of the victims (who Laura's children were friends with)

 Also, to their clergy at Saint Rose who have worked 24/7 with the entire community..spending nights at the homes of the victims, and leading them all through this horrible time. 

Laura will also be handing out the extra gift cards to the teachers at Sandy Hook School.

  

I have had many tears over the past few weeks, streaming down my face…overwhelmed by my friends willingness to spread Love to Laura's family and the other families of Newtown & Sandy Hook.

So there you have it....the 26th Act of Kindness, aka GIFT CARD MADNESS!
 I told you this needed it's own post!!!!! 

Again, I will say it......TO GOD be the GLORY!

All I did was post a status update. 
God did the rest.

Way, Way, WAY more than I ever thought or imagined.

All because Laura didn't let me order her a damn pizza :) 

Let's Pretend I'm Still on Christmas Break.

It's 1am on Sunday Night/Monday morning.

I have to be at school in 7 hours. UGH.

But here I am, blogging because I can't sleep.

You see, I have been on Christmas Break for the past 16 days, which means for the past 16 days I have stayed up late EVERY.SINGLE.NIGHT (we are talking about going to bed after 1 am)

I blame this on the fact that 1)  I am a night owl and 2) I have been dealing with a cranky teething baby who hasn't wanted to go to sleep until after midnight.

Also, the past 2 weeks we have been in party mode & vacation mode and our normal schedule has gone out the door. All of us have been staying up way later than normal and sleeping in way later than normal.
Kevin has also had the past 2 weeks off. Glorious!

So here I am, wide awake and everyone else in my house is sound asleep.
Monday is back to reality......School and Work.

Let's take a look at what Christmas Break looked like.

For starters, I pretty much wore pj's all day, every day. Not kidding.

The day after Christmas, the 4 of us I mean 5 of us (I keep forgetting there are 5 of us now!) headed up to Lake Tahoe to enjoy the snow. 

One thing about me. I LOVE the snow. LOVE it.

I may be a California girl born and raised, but I LOVE snow. 

There is a reason I went to college in Colorado. One of those reasons is SNOW. 

It makes me happy. It's so peaceful and calming. Love, love, love it.

Here is a picture of me that Kevin took the first night in Tahoe. 

It was cold....like 15 degrees. We got the house all toasty & cozy with a fire, but I kept getting fever chills. Not good. I took a hot shower. Didn't work. Still feverish. I thought I was getting mastitis. Woke up the next morning & I was fine. Yay. No drama.

The first of many snowy pictures I took.

Luke is his cozy fuzzy fleecy snow outfit.

First time in the snow. Yay!

More trees with snow on them. Happiness.

The girls "clearing off" the deck.

Making a snowman.

Meet Frosty:

Nature's Ice Chest.

Have you seen this show, Shipping Wars on A&E? LOVE it. There was a marathon on one day. I so many episodes.

Icicles on our roof:

Kevin built the girls a sledding hill in the front yard. Hours of fun.

Cutest snow baby EVER.

Hot coco by the fire. Bliss.

The girls got a Wii for Christmas. My favorite games include: Bowling, Mario Cart & Just Dance 4.

More snow. I can't get enough!

My favorite coffee shop in Tahoe:

Heading back home. Always bittersweet. I could have stayed another week.

The day after we got home it was NYE and my sisters and I had a trip to Napa planned!

(Can I just say that I love living in California? One day we are in the snowy mountains & the next day we are in the sunny vineyards with rolling green hills. Love it)

My older sister turned 35 in August and wanted to do a sisters wine tasting day, but since Rebecca & I were both pregnant, we postponed it until now. 

First stop, Rombauer Vineyards!

Next stop, Elyse Winery in honor of Elyse!

Then, we went to Cakebread Cellars....YUM.

A late lunch at Dean & Duluca....can you say cheese?

It was a great last day of 2012.

Then, 2013 kicked off and I had a girls night out with some local bloggers!

We went to dinner & a Favorite Things Party!

From Left to Right (on the top): Emily, Julie, Wendy, Keri

Bottom: (Heather G, Heather M, Liz, Me, Kim, Jess.

Oh, and did you know that I am tall? And have very short friends?

See Exhibit A:

Feel free to call me Amazon Mel :)

Christmas Break was also spent dealing with a teething Luke. 

Not even 5 months old and his bottom 2 teeth already broke through.

This calls for Tylenol for him and wine for me. 

Has anyone used one of those Amber teething necklaces? Do they work? Or is it just a gimic?

Let me know.  This guy needs some relief. And sleep. So do I.

Resolutions + A Word for 2013

Happy 2013 (a few days late!)

I love welcoming in a New Year.

I love looking back & reflecting on the past year and looking forward to the fresh start of a new year.

Before we look at my resolutions, let's take a look at how I did on my 2012 resolutions:

Since I am a teacher, I love "grading" myself on how I did.

1. Read 1 book a month. 

Well, I didn't read 1 book a month (that whole having a newborn got in the way) But I did read 10 books this past year, so I give myself a B-.

2. Go on a date with Kevin once a month, no kids. 

Yeah....that didn't happen either. Again, the whole 3rd baby and  newborn thing. 

I give us a D.....this NEEDS to change in 2013.

3. Try not to hit snooze 5 times when my alarm goes off. 

I am inconsistent. I did really good for a few months. Then it was summer, so no alarm! But, then, when it was time to go back to work after my maternity leave.....there I go again, hitting the snooze.

Again, I blame being exhausted from having a newborn & 3 kids. 

I give myself a C-. 

(Side note: I have shifted the blame to my kids for the first 3 resolutions that I didn't follow through on. Sorry kids. Ha!)

4. I am going to Simplify. 

I give myself an A- on this. In 2012, I did 40 Bags in 40 Days 

and got rid of SO much stuff. It might have taken me 5 months, not 40 days, but Hey! I finished.

5. Keep my car clean. 

Again, I am inconsistent with this, so I give myself a C+

Can I blame it on my kids again? They are the ones who trash my car. Ha!

6. Drink more water. 

If you know me, you know that I do not like water. 

I could live off coffee, Diet Coke & Wine :)

BUT, since I was pregnant for 8 months of 2012, I did awesome at drinking water. When I am pregnant the only thing I drink is water (and sometimes juice) so I give myself a B+ for the year of drinking more water. 

I would have given myself an A, but once I gave birth to Luke, my water intake has dropped big time.

 
7. Figure out a Laundry System. 

Haven't really figured out a system.

In fact, as I sit here typing this, there is a pile of clean laundry that needs to be folded and another clean load in the dryer (that has been there for 2 days.) So, I give myself a C+ on this because I feel like overall I have gotten better about not letting laundry pile up so much this year, but again, the whole newborn thing adds SO much more laundry. I was really on top of things until my maternity leave was over. Still searching for a good laundry system.

 
8. Host a wine tasting party for our neighbors.

FAIL. That didn't happen, so I get an F. I was pregnant for 8 months in 2012, so why would I want to host a wine party when I couldn't even drink it?!?! So selfish, I know :) Hope to make it happen in 2013.
 

9. No more piles!

I will have to give myself a B with this. My piles are lessening around the house, but they haven't disappeared completely.

 
10. Set boundaries. 

I am a people pleaser. It is SO hard for me to say "No" to things because I am such a people pleaser. But, I have been learning that it is okay to say No and it is good to have boundaries. But, I feel like I got an A- in this category this year! Yay for progress!

Even though I am a failure with most of these, I still make resolutions each year.
I think it is good to take time to reflect as the year comes to a close and a new one begins.

So, here are my resolutions for 2013:

1. Date night with Kevin once a month. Yes, I know I said it last year, but we REALLY need to do this. With 3 kids & both of us working, we need to be even more intentional about date nights so we can reconnect as husband & wife and best friends. 

2. Stick to a budget. We don't really have a budget. We don't spend outside our means, but do we really know how we are spending our money? (I know, at Target!) But in all seriousness, I need to figure out how much I spend on necessitates versus how much I spend on frivolous & dumb things.

3. Meal Planning. I am pretty good at meal planning. But, I have gotten lazy about it (can I blame having 3 kids again?) I used to be really good about sitting down on Sunday after church & meal planing for the whole week. I want to get back to doing this.

4. Try out 3 new recipes a month. I feel like I am always cooking the same things for dinner. So, my goal for 2013 is to try out 3 new recipes a month! This will be helpful with my meal planning also!

5.Get the girls to eat better. We have PICKY eaters. I have fallen into the bad habit of making them something different from what Kevin & I have. So, in 2013, I am going to do better at making them eat a bigger variety of foods besides mac&cheese, chicken nuggets, PB&J, grilled cheese, pizza & hot dogs. I am going to have them start eating what we eat. I know this will take baby steps, but it needs to happen.

6. Laundry. For real. I need to figure out a system. I might have to bite the bullet & start doing it everyday. But that also means I need to start folding it and putting it away each day. *sigh* 

I despise laundry.

7. Take better care of myself. So many times I go to bed without washing my face (I know....terrible)

I don't exercise (I am blessed with good metabolism) but that doesn't mean I shouldn't be active. I know it will give me more energy. I was a former college athlete for crying out loud. It's just healthy to be active. Hey, we got Just Dance 4 for Christmas, so that's a start :) And by taking better care of myself I guess that means I shouldn't have ice cream every night. Also, by taking care of myself that includes being more daring with my wardrobe and not being stuck wearing the same old boring things. (More on this next week!)

8. Be more intentional with the girls. I feel bad that often times when they ask me to play with them, etc I have to say "No" or "In a minute" because I am nursing Luke or dealing with him. I feel like the past few months I have been in survival mode and I haven't gotten to really do fun things with them. They are really good about playing together and they love each other, but I feel like I have taken that for granted. I miss doing fun things like baking with them, etc.

9.  Go to bed earlier. I am queen of the midnight bedtime. I am a night owl. I would stay up until 1 or 2 every night if I didn't have to work. But, I know I am a better wife, mom & teacher when I get more sleep, so I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want to be more disciplined with my bedtime.

10. Do 40 Bags in 40 Days again this year. This was SO good for me to do and I can't wait to do it again. Even though I just finished it this summer, I feel the clutter & stuff creeping back in and I don't like it. 

This leads me to my word of the year. 

Each year I pick a word to focus on for the year.

In 2010, I chose Intentional.

In 2011, I chose Cherish.

In 2012, I chose Nurture.

In 2013, my word is:

I feel like many times I am running around like a crazy person.

(Probably because I am!!!!!)

With 3 kids, one of them being a baby, life can be busy (for those of you who have more than 3, I don't know how you do it. PROPS to you.)

In 2013, I want to SIMPLIFY so that I don't feel like a crazy person.

LESS is the new MORE.

I want to Simpify my time by saying NO to things. I am a YES girl, a people pleaser.

I am trying to re-train my brain that it is OKAY to say No to things. This has been a long process. I still have work to do with this.

I want to Simplify my house. Like I mentioned earlier, last year, I did 40 Bags  in 40 Days and I 100% plan on doing it again this Spring. My closets & cupboards are feeling disorganized & cluttered again. When my home is not organized, I feel like the rest of my life is unorganized. I want to get rid of more STUFF and feel peace in our home.

I want to Simplify my shopping. Again, this goes back to the budget things. 

Do I REALLY need that cardigan at Target when I have a closet full of cardigans?

Even though it is "on sale" or a good price, that doesn't mean I need it. 

Do I really need that stuff from the Dollar Bin? Hey! It's only $1.

No, I don't need it.

I want to Simplify my shopping.

 I need to Simplify by making ONE meal for our family, not making a meal for Claire, a meal for Kate and a meal for Kevin & I. 

I need to Simplify our schedules. I am a very social person. I like saying YES to every event. But I need to stop squeezing in everything we are invited to, like going to 3 parties in one day. 

I need to Simplify "myself". More of God & My Family and less of "me".

I read this quote a few weeks ago and it spoke to me.

"SIMPLIFY:  To eliminate those things we don't need or that may take away from the more important things in our lives"

 I am excited to live a more simple life this year.

How about you? Do you have a resolutions or a word of the year? 

I would love to hear about them!