Brunch Crew

  Today we started our trip back home for a few days before we hit the road again. But we decided to make a quick stop to visit my absolute favorite cousin Stephanie and her family. They weren't able to make the trip this year with the rest of us because she just recently welcomed their newest kiddo, Collett. We always love seeing them and all the kids have so much fun together that we just couldn't go all the way back home without seeing them. In addition to visiting, we picked up some food from a local restaurant for brunch for everyone. It's hard enough to try and go out for a meal with four kids but then add a newborn to that and it really isn't ideal. Like I've said before, one of the best things after we brought our kids home from the hospital was the food that friends and family brought us. They were very appreciative and seemed happy for some company as well. I'm so glad we got to catch up and visit for a while and that we could keep Stephanie from having to cook at least one meal.

They Still Make Pay Phones?

   My family and I are still on vaction visiting other family and while out and about this evening, we were at a store that had a pay phone in the atrium. When I first saw it, I did a double take. With almost every person having a cell phone these days, pay phones have almost vanished completely and I was very surprised to see what looked like a new one that had been recently installed. I walked over and looked at it for a moment and was then pretty positive that this one was brand new. It had fresh drill holes in the wall and all. As I stand there looking at it like I've never seen one before, I turn and see that each person coming in and out of the store was either talking, texting or playing some sort of game on their personal cell phone and became even more baffled that the store would spend money to install a pay phone that no one will probably ever use. Then I thought if someone was in a situation where they had to use a pay phone it was probably an emergency because they didn't have a cell phone themselves, weren't with someone who had a cell phone or couldn't borrow one from someone near by, which again... seems almost impossible these days. But should all that happen, the last thing someone wants to be doing is searching for change to use the pay phone. So for my good deed/act of kindness I left change on top of the phone for someone to make a call if they needed to, because like I said before, if they are at a pay phone they are probably in a desperate situation.

Kindness And Cubs

Today I had the pleasure of taking my kids to their very first Cubs game at Wrigley Field. We had several family members going and lots of fun planned. We all decided to meet outside one of the front gates, so we could all go in together to our seats as a group and because some family had other family members tickets. While we were waiting there we snapped a few pictures and stayed busy watching all the bands playing and hub bub going on right before game time. Not long before the rest of our party showed up, a couple of people stopped me and asked if I would mind taking their picture in front of the iconic Wrigly Field sign, and for my act of kindness/good deed I was happy to oblige. I'm glad I could help out because I had some taken of our family in front of the sign too and I know how much I wanted those shots.

Family On The 4th

 Every year for the fouth of July we travel out of town for a family reunion. It's a trip that we look forward to each year because we have such a great time and this year didn't dissapoint.  So much great food, fun games, catching up with loved ones, and a little patriotism thrown in makes for a great day. So my random act of kindness today/good deed today didn't involve some grand gesture for a stanger. But it was made up of several small things for my loved ones. Things like helping set up and clean up, helping to organize games, give a few minutes of my time here and there to visit and chat with elder family members, blowing up balloons for kiddos and my favorite is taking part in our raffle. Every one pitches in and buys raffle tickets for prizes that are contributed by different family members and then the money from the tickets goes to pay for the pavilion we use and for some of the food as well. This way, no one is stuck with a huge financial burdon trying to put this together each year.  Another great 4th of July this year because of lots of kindness and good deeds spread all around, and not just by me but by the whole family!

Road Trippin'

Today my family and I begin several travels that we have planned for the summer. So I am posting ahead of time since today we will be on the road. For my good deed/ act of kindness today I plan to do a few things to be a courteous traveler. I will be nice to my fellow driver by letting folks in, not cutting them off, etc... I also plan on helping however I can when we stop by holding doors for others, letting others get in front of me in line, etc... If I'm able to do something particularly awesome I'll of course update this post with the details, but for now my plan is to keep a watchful eye for many small gestures I can perform for others out there.

Also, I am really looking forward to in the next few days and weeks getting to be able to perform acts of kindness in places like Chicago, Savannah and Orlando to name a few. So please keep reading and sharing so we can spread the inspiration for good deeds all over!

Feeding The (New) Family

Yes... I realize I've done some form of this act of kindness before, and while I try and not repeat much this year, this act is an exception. I feel you can never bring food to families in need too many times. I've been blessed to have so many new friends welcome new babies into their families and today I got to go and meet another one. My husband and I remember those crazy first days of bringing a new baby home and one of the things were were most thankful for was the meals that family and friends provided for us during that hectic time. So for my act of kindness today along with getting to meet baby Isaac for this first time, I also made dinner for his dad and mom, Andrew and Jeannie. They were very grateful and looked pretty good for having a one week old baby. They weren't zombie-like at all, lol. Congrats to Jeannie and Andrew and welcome home to baby Isaac!

Making A New Friend

   So one of the goals this year when I began 365 Days of Kindness was also to perhaps venture outside my comfort zone in an attempt to help or do for others. Well, I am at the half way point and I haven't really accomplished that. But today I did something to change that, I wrote to a prisoner. Now some of you may be thinking, "okay... big deal". Maybe I've seen too many movies or let my thoughts get the best of me but when I had considered doing this earlier this year I kept putting it off for fear that when the person I was writing got released they'd try and come find me or escape and try and find me. I know that sounds silly or ridiculous to some but it is a real fear to me. After reading some other blogs and information this random act of kindness kept tugging and pulling at me. Every single person out there, no matter what their circumstances deserves and act of kind kindness. So I found what I feel to be a pretty safe way to correspond with someone who is incarcerated and sat down and wrote them a letter. I can't imagine what it's like to be in their shoes everyday, but I do think that if it was me, it would be great to know that someone out there is thinking about me and cares enough to send me a letter and develop a relationship. If any of you out there are interested you can check out www.writeaprisoner.com and perhaps find someone who is need of a little kindness.

   I really hope today inspires you out there to maybe do something nice for someone that perhaps take you out of your comfort zone. Even though I still have reservations, I am glad I am reaching out to someone in need and that trumps any fear I might have