CHOOSE YOUR CHARITY, THESE ARE SOME OF MY FAVE AND WHY.

With Thanksgiving and holidays approaching, this is the time of year where people reach out in a spirit of good will to each other. I have been reflecting on some charities that I have been involved in that not only do change the world but have changed me for the better in one way or another. I share these with you in case you may wish to try some of them and see if they might enrich your life as much as they have mine. There are millions of charities in the world but I am recommending the following right now. The criteria is I that have had to have some personal involvement with them and I have seen personally how much they can help and change people’s lives. I hope that if you get involved with any of these fine organizations that you will be uplifted also as you see how much they enrich both yours and others lives.

Special Olympics This was probably one of my most favorite organizations. It made me believe in a better world, in the best of people and in a brighter future. I have never worked with people who were so warm, positive and inspiring. I worked both as a coach (power lifting) and later as a Director for the Winter Games. I was always in awe at the childlike innocence, purity and joy of the athletes. I remember after an athlete would do a few sets of weights, he’d put them down and excitedly go”Did you see me? Didn’t I do well? I did a super job, teacher! Hey, did the rest of you guys see-I did perfect!” Everyone would start high- fiving each other. Usually the same enthusiasm was shown irregardless of how good or bad they had been-they were so proud of their effort. Then their friends would try. The whole time they would yell encouragements to each other and whenever someone completed an effort everyone would start cheering and jumping up and bragging to each other about how good they were. I can’t ever remember any mean-spiritedness or negative outbursts ever to anyone. I was so happy to see people celebrate for everything that they or their friend did-even an opposing team. They genuinely loved themselves and each other and were proud of the attempts made by anyone. I only wish everyone could display that sportsmanship and goodwill to others-it certainly is heartwarming. If I can find the video of Special Olympic race and post it here, I will. That is their whole spirit and it always made it a joy and honor to work with them. I aspire to take such pride in my efforts-even when I fail. If I can ever emulate the genuine love and joy that they have for the success of their fellowmen, I would consider myself blessed. more…

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The other night was an unusual night for my family, in that being, my husband was away for the night enjoying a basketball game with some friends. What’s unusual about that for me in my family is that it is rare my husband is ever away. He works and plays from home. So my twin boys are used to him always being around. Our usual routine for the evening is, I’ll do dinner, we eat and hang out for awhile. Then when it’s time, my husband and I get the kids ready for bed, then I give kisses and off to clean up duty on the house while my husband does story time. This has to be one of my boys favorite times of the day. They love how he interacts with them. If he’s not reading from a book, he’s making up some crazy, action filled story. My husband has a way of telling stories. He acts everything out whether that be rolling on the ground or jumping from the beds. Every story is action packed and has many different characters and strange voices that go along with those characters. A lot goes into story time. It’s filled with lots of laughs and fun. So you can see why my boys look forward to this time with their Dad every night. I love that my husband does such a wonderful job with his stories and enjoys this time with his boys.

So this one rare night when my husband was going to be away for an evening I was a little nervous to tell my boys I was going to be doing story time instead. Especially since in the past they have told me my stories aren’t as funny as Daddies. Which hurts a little, cause I do try. After we finished with dinner, I told my boys to clean up their dishes and head up to bed. They gave me a sigh and said, “but what about Dad and our story.” I explained once again that Dad was gone for the evening and I would be doing a “really cool story.” They sighed again and said, “o.k.” Not the reaction I was looking for, but was willing to take. It’s much better than a tantrum or whine fest. Off we went, they brushed their teeth and got into their pajamas. As we were walking towards their beds one of them went and got a frisbie that was left in their room and two markers and set them in the middle of the room. He then explained to his brother, “now you play music, while I dance with Mom.” He then told me to get down on my knees, while he put one arm around my back and held my hand out with his other hand. He said, “Mom, let’s dance.” more…

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credit: parentsresourcenetwork.org

As a mother of four year old twins, I find myself juggling more than I can handle at times. That’s even with the help of my wonderful husband who fortunately works from home and helps out a lot. Even with a wonderful husband, great family and friends, at times it just doesn’t feel like enough support, and I feel as if I am failing as a parent. There are some days I feel like I did everything right and my kids are getting it-that they are getting all the teachings and nurture that I had intended for them. Then there are the days that as a parent I feel inadequate and I question everything I’m doing or already have done. That is why I enjoy talking with other parents, sharing experiences, getting advice and all kinds of helpful parenting tips. In the last four years, I have learned many helpful things, but I realize there are still plenty of things to be learned. I am excited to learn and grow and hopefully get the stamp of approval from the critics that matter the most-my kids-that yes, I was indeed a great parent. I know I won’t ever be perfect at all of it. I will fall short at times, but that fact that we as parents keep trying and learning, right there makes us pretty good parents. So I wanted to share this website I found recently with you all. It’s a site that has a lot of helpful parenting tips, along with some clever and fun ways at teaching our kids important values. Check it out. Even though Parenting can be hard at times, we as Parents can still enjoy teaching our kids important values and manners. Happy Parenting to all!
valuesparenting.com

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This is article is dedicated to our Dad and all other families who deal with cancer.

Our dad passed away 5 years ago from cancer. When we found out he had cancer and in the process of fighting for his life, I was amazed at all the intense emotions I had. I was angry, sad, confused, bewildered, determined, consumed and didn’t know how to deal with it or what I could learn from having both him and our family facing such an uncomfortable challenge. I wrote this at three in the morning one evening as I tried to describe the emotions that both I and my family were going thru, as well as see what we could learn from the experience. Since that time I have become aware of so many families who have had loved ones face cancer. It is extremely emotional and heartbreaking. I hoped that perhaps our experience could help you know that you are not alone and might help you in your own trials in dealing with this disease.

Upon hearing someone has cancer; we usually shake our heads in sorrow and feel pity for the victims and their families. Occasionally, we might read a statistic on how prevalent and common cancer is. One in every three men will have prostate cancer. We might react with shock or disbelief that such a scary disease can be so common and far reaching. We might hear warnings on how awful cancer is and all the precautionary steps we can take to try to avoid it. Don’t drink, don’t smoke and wear sunscreen. We hear words like chemo and radiation and shudder at the unpleasant images it conjures up, thankful that is something only other people experience. It is almost like reading about a foreign culture. It is interesting and sad but far away.

But you never really know what cancer is, until the statistic has a face. When someone you love has cancer you come face to face with this dreadful disease and the havoc it wrecks on those it strikes. All of a sudden it is personal. more…

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flickr.com/photos/trevjillustrator/2265495032/

Do you ever think to yourself, my husband it NUTS? Well, although my husband is a wonderful husband and fabulous father to our children, he does have some screws loose. You see, we bought a chandelier the other day and instead of going to get the truck to transport it, he tied it to the roof of our Sequoia. The store’s employees thought he was crazy and my husband’s comment back to them was “Oh, don’t worry, were just down the road”. Like as if that makes it o.k., to drive down the road with a chandelier on top of your car!

Surprisingly, this was just one of his many nutty transports. We often have mattresses on top of the roof of our cars, with or without tie downs. We usually just stick our hands out the window and hold it down. In all of our moves from one house to the next I beg him not to drive away after seeing how he has loaded all our belongings. He of course refuses and I end up following him in an other car picking up pieces he drops along the way. One time I saw a bag in the road the next day and stopped to see if it could possibly be mine….you’re right, it was mine! Another move while going to our cabin I saw a bag fly off the mountain and after walking a mile back decided to say “Adios” to it! I wonder how many things have gone missing over the years.

His all time greatest highlight was when we bought a washer and dryer from a garage sale and had no way of moving it. Thank goodness we were poor and drove a beat up Camry. My husband decides to just load both the washer and dryer on top of the roof of our Camry. Since he doesn’t believe in taking a break to go buy tie downs, we used nothing! Yes, NOTHING! Just a huge washer and dryer on the roof! I followed him in another car and the looks he received from that drive were priceless. Thank goodness we didn’t have to take the freeway home that day.

So although we look like the Beverly Hill Billies at times, and I am sure many of our family and friends are ashamed to call us such, I still love that crazy nutty husband of mine!

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