Sunday, July 31, 2011

Random Act of Kindness Followup

I shared the other day the fabulous belated random act of kindness my sister
 did last week for my birthday. 
Today she sent me a follow up that the man she helped posted on FreeCycle. 
So very sweet and such a great reminder that helping others- 
even when it seems to be something very small
can truly make a huge difference!  




THANK YOU ALL

I wanted to take a moment to thank each and every one of those
kindhearted and compassionate people that had responded to my "WANTED"
postings. For the past several years I have been quite active in helping
others in need of a wide range of items. I felt that I was bless with
abundance and with that I was charged to assist those that most
desperately needed my help. Recently, due to circumstances beyond my
control and in part from over-extending that helping hand to others
found myself to be in need. This has been going on for several months
now and will continue through September/early October before I can see
my way out of this situation. I resisted making a posting on
Freecycle.org - I suppose that it was some degree of pride. Once I
prayed about it and humbled myself I made the request. Our "Houston"
group/community responded immediately and it was quite overwhelming to
me to see the number of people that care about complete strangers that
have a wide range of needs. A few of you I had the opportunity to spend
some time with and I must say that there is a spirit about you that is
quite peaceful and calming. I KNOW where the supply come from and am so
very grateful that He had chosen you to be the vehicle from which I
received these blessings. Believe me when I tell you, I cried, I cried a
lot - tears of joy that is! To know that I have brothers and sisters out
there that want the best for me and care enough to take time out of their
busy lives to see to it that my most desperate needs were met. I am
forever grateful and have prayed that you will receive your harvest soon
and that it too will be so much more than you'll need and it will be
paid forward to others in need. (To KR, our belief system is different
but allow me the opportunity to express my thanks in this manner.) To
the beautiful soul that I met in the WalMart parking lot on Hillcroft:
Your sister also receives my thanks for requesting those 40 to 50 random
acts of kindness for her birthday. When we met I had no idea what you
had intended to do and whenever you revealed what you had done,not only
did I swell up inside with tears I was so overwhelmed, humbled and yet
overjoyed and cried almost the entire evening. Each time I take a bite
of that food I give thanks for you and your sister. To the college
student that brought a doggy bed and doggie sweaters as an extra items,
thank you. they fight over the bed but now manage to BOTH get in it! I
put the sweaters on them and they walked around in circles looking at
each other as if to say, "I look good, don't I Sis?". It was a beautiful
thing to watch. To my neighbor that had made several packages for me, I
am also blown away that it was not just once but 4 times that you
thought of me and sent something over - by he way, your children are
beautiful and very well mannered. I shall close now but will always
remember the kindness that you have shown me and I hope and pray that
someone shall return the favor in kind to you in future days. May you
all continue this beautiful journey called life with peace and grace.
Thank you. Jim

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Quotes ~ Part 4

This is the end of the quotes I've done.....at least for now.
But I have a few other things to share- hopefully tomorrow!



it's okay

Dare to Be Remarkable

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

My Sweet Sister

For my 41st birthday most of you know I did
and asked my friends and family to each do 
one random act of kindness in honor of my birthday.  
It truly is the best gift EVER- knowing others are blessed! 

Well today I received the BEST 
belated Random Act of Kindness email from my sister.  
It was so very sweet it brought me to tears.  
She is precious and I love her! 

Here is what she did in her own words: 

A very delayed RAoK. :-) 

So, this post showed up on my local Freecycle list. 

"[HoustonFreecycle] WANTED: Extra Food and Juices/Drinks ( near her house) 

No money left for groceries til first week in August. Need any unwanted or extra items that you will not need. Good peanut butter (creamy), jams, snack foods, cookies, ground beef, pork, chicken, etc. Haven't eaten meat in about 1 month. Milk (whole). Local pantries nearly empty and cannot make meals out of offerings. I'm HIV+ due to transfusion in 1980 and good nutrition is imperative to those living with this. I never dreamed that I would be asking for help in this area and I am greatly humbled /embarrassed in doing so. Thank you."

I thought about it for a day. I mean, you never know about people on Freecycle. They could be lying or whatever. I finally decided that it couldn't hurt to email the person and find out more, especially since they don't live far away. 

We traded a few emails and he gave me a small grocery list. He said that food pantries give out things (like meal mixes) that need other things (like meat or milk) to become a meal, which meant that he needed odd stuff. So, I took his list and went to the Walmart Neighborhood Market. I bought just about everything on his list. Granted, most of it was store brand, but it was food. 

He met me in the parking lot of the store to get the groceries. I was handing him bags to put in the back of his car and he seemed surprised when I kept handing them to him. I finally had to explain that everything in the cart was for him, that I did my own shopping last week. He almost started crying because he couldn't believe it. He talked about paying me back on the 3rd, when he gets his next disability check, but I told him not to worry about it, to just pay it forward. Then I told him about my sister and her RAoK. :-) 

He asked if he could give me a hug (I said yes), we chatted for a few minutes and then we both went our separate ways. I'll probably never see him again, but I was able to help him out with food for the next 11 days and that's what is important. 

So there's my RAoK for your birthday. It's the best $50 I ever spent. :-)



Isn't that awesome? I love her so!

Monday, July 25, 2011

Quotes ~ Part 3


hide not


Because We Are Curious


The Questions Are Complicated

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Quotes ~ Part 2


hard work

work hard

The Important Thing

Quotes ~ Part 1

I love quotes and always have them posted in my classroom. 
Here are three I just finished and plan
to hang in my classroom.








Learning is Not

Use What Talents

You Learn Something

Saturday, July 23, 2011

School Printables

I made these and posted them on my technology blog 
but thought I'd also post them here
 in case anyone wanted to print them!



Class Rules



See You Later Alligator

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Great is Thy Faithfulness

We sang this song in church last Sunday 
and it's one of my all time favorite hymns. 
Such a sweet reminder of God's faithfulness! 
   
     

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Sweet Sonic

A few weeks ago I got an email from a sweet blog reader asking for my address.  
She had seen my Sonic sign, worked for Sonic corporate, 
and wanted to send me a treat.  
I sent her my address and then totally forgot about it.  

Today when I checked the mail, there was the sweetest note 
from her thanking me for being a "Sonic Ambassador". 

Along with the note she had included 25 FREE
 Route 44 drink coupons! 

How sweet is that? 
Thank you sweet Aimee- you made my day!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Beauty Around the Corner

Beth Moore is one of my very favorite Bible study teachers. 
She is funny and fabulous and truly an anointed teacher of God's word. 
This is one of my favorite quotes from her:
You can print out your own copy below:
Beauty

Friday, July 8, 2011

Pincushion Frame

I recently saw the cutest framed pincushion on Pinterest. 
{if you don't know about Pinterest....you must learn! It's super fun and super addicting!  If you'd like an invite leave a comment and I'll send one to you! You can follow my boards here.}

It was such a smart idea and looked so easy.....that I decided to make one!
Here's how! 

Supplies:
$1 frames from Michael's
spray paint
batting
glue gun/glue
scissors
ice pick
vintage pillow case/fabric






This is a project that other than waiting for the paint to dry only took about 15 minutes.
How cute and easy is that?




Beyond The Picket Fence

Thursday, July 7, 2011

The Ugg Boot Vaccine


{bwahahahahahaha}

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Comparison

This is one of my favorite recent quotes so I made a little printable- 
one in black and one in white!
Enjoy!

Comparison

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Sonic Signs

In the past week or so I've had lots of requests to customize my

I've changed the original many times now and am more 
than happy to do so for anyone who needs a different drink listed.

   I've been putting the new links in the comments of the original post here but thought I'd place them all in a new post so that they can easily be found now.  
If there is something you'd like me to change it to for you, 
just leave me a comment and I'll be happy to do so! 

To print the sign, just click on the picture below. 
Each set is in 5 different color combinations, 
which I can also change if you'd like- just let me know!
Here's an example of the 5 color combinations:


HOME
        

        

        

              

             


          




CLASSROOM
         

        

           

              

               

               

               


          






SCHOOL
        

          




OFFICE