Helpfulness

"They might not need me;

but they might.
I'll let my head be just in sight;
A smile as small as mine might be
Precisely their necessity."
~Emily Dickinson

Yesterday Little Chick and I decided to move things around in our family room so we could organize her toys and books. I remember as a teacher changing things around in the classroom always sparked interest again in old toys and literature. We made it fun by singing the "Clean up, clean up" song and talking about where we should put things. The entire time I kept saying "What a great helper you are Little Chick!" I am a firm believer that you can never praise your children enough! She radiated a big smile and kept placing her books on the shelf. At times she yelled, "Mommy look, you remember this book!" She could not wait to finish organizing so she could start looking through some of her books. When we were done I gave her a huge hug and thanked her for helping me. She said, "I'm a good helper mommy!." I replied, "Your mommy's excellent little helper!"

I thought about this time we had spent together and how rewarding it was for my daughter to be a part of helping, sharing the work, and taking responsibility in picking up after herself, as well as, gaining praise for a job well done. The act of helping one another is a very important one. I then began thinking about society today and how much people go out of their way to help one another. As I mulled this over, two friends came to mind. The first friend I have known for fourteen years and she would do anything to help out in a heartbeat! The second friend I have gotten to know over the past two years. Her continual willingness to go out of her way to be helpful shows what an incredible individual she is (especially as a busy mom of three small children). I feel so blessed to have such amazing friends in my life.

In this busy world today how many people really go out of their way to be helpful? I have many nice friends that I am grateful for, but I am not sure how helpful they would be in a time of need. I hope that my actions and willingness to help others will inspire Little Chick to do the same.

Mama's Little Helper!

Come and join in Thanksgiving Thursday tomorrow! Just grab my Thanksgiving Thursday button in the left sidebar, write five things you are thankful for and let me know so I can add your link!

Happy Days

"Happiness is not a possession to be prized, it is a quality of thought, a state of mind."

We had so much fun this 4th of July! We went to see the fireworks! We got to the beach early enough to hear a great band. Little Chick and I danced up a storm! She was beaming when she heard them playing. We went in the water and splashed about and we made yummy sand cakes. Little Chick was so excited to see all the boats lining up in the water to catch the show. She loved having a delicious 4th of July cupcake and hanging out until it got dark. This is something we have not done yet. Her excitement built and she asked many times when the fireworks would begin. When they did she smiled from ear to ear and screamed with such happiness! It was an amazing day!

I am so happy I just received two awards from some amazing blog friends! The first award is the Fabulous Sugar Doll Blogger Award from an inspiring blogger friend, Jinnia at Jinnia Low.com. She is such a sweet woman with a very insightful blog. the next award is the Blogger with Substance award from Big Fat Mama at Cooking Up Faith. She is a beautiful blogger with excellent posts that really inspire readers. Thank you so much my dear bloggy friends! I really appreciate it!

The Fabulous Sugar Doll Award comes with some rules. Write five things about your self and pass the award on to five fantastic bloggers. Well, the first thing about me I would like to share is that I love to be very creative! The second is that I love to put on Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra and dance with Little Chick while we set the table for meals. Third, Little Chick and I go sledding every chance we get in the winter. Fourth, I am a Capricorn. Last, I love all different kinds of music and have hundreds of music Cd's.

I pass this award onto: Our Happy Home, The Bonnie Five, The Gruneisen Family News, Cooking Up Faith, and My Crazy Kind of Wonderful.

A Blog With Substance Award comes with a couple rules. First, I must sum up my blogging philosophy in five words: inspire, love, honest, hope, smile

I must pass this award on now: Taking It All In, A Little Cup Of Comfort, Destination Unknown , Knee Deep In Mommahood, Jinnia Low.com and TV's Take.

The Winner of the Home Safe Home Giveaway is Sippy Cup Mom!

Cherished Moments Monday

"Sometimes, no matter how much faith you have, we lose people. But you never forget them. And sometimes, its those memories that give us the faith to go on."

For Cherished Moments Monday this week I am putting an old picture of my Dad and I. Yesterday something very sad happened and I missed my Dad so much! He was always the one to kiss my tears away. Up until his passing we would call one another every day a few times just to say "I love you!" He always took my calls with a sense of urgency and importance, even if it was just to tell him something very silly. His secretary knew that when his family called he would take it, even if he was in a meeting. He would never rush us off the phone, and allowed us to complain about things and just ramble on like kids sometimes do. It wouldn't be until somewhere in that conversation I would ask, "Daddy are you busy?" He would reply, "I am here in a meeting." He cared so much and just knowing that made everything alright. He was the one in the family who carried the burdens, sadness, fears and worry so that we could have a happy and carefree childhood! I really needed him yesterday to kiss my tears away.

Smile Sunday

"A smile can happen in a flash,

but its memory can last a lifetime."

We had so much fun at the lake yesterday!
Little Chick and I hope you smile a lot today!

Happy 4th of July!

People spreading smiles today: Our Happy Home & Underneath His Wrapping.

Thank you to Laura at The Gruneisen Family News for the Cherry On Top Blog Award and to Lisa at Korean American Mommy for the Sunshine Award!

Come and join me for Cherished Moments Monday tomorrow! Just grab my Cherished Moments Monday button in the left sidebar, write about a cherished moment and let me know so I can add your link.

Be Nice

"Wherever there is a human being,

there is an opportunity for a kindness." ~Seneca

I have never been able to understand the people who are unkind on this beautiful earth, nor will I ever be able to comprehend it! "Be nice" is something I say to Little Chick when we are at the playground or at a playdate and she might use a tone that is not so nice with her friends. It is something that children have to learn. But what about the children who grew up without learning this so very important lesson? I have experienced it all of my life and even as a mother I see it in some of the moms I encounter. I wonder to myself, were they told to "be nice" when they were unkind as a child?

I remember about twelve years ago I had been very sad after my Dad's passing away. Some of the "good friends" I had were not so loving and kind during my most vulnerable point. I had dated a couple of guys who lied and were lacking empathy and compassion. I talked to my friend about this and asked him why people were so mean? He said that people have been hurt in their lives and they become hardened from it. I thought about this and became rather disgusted with this philosophy, because I have been continually hurt in my life yet I always act kindly towards others and I give of myself. I am really not sure when people become unkind and unfriendly, but there is no excuse for it!

I read my dear bloggy friend's post yesterday at As the Foreste Grows and was very sad that she had been through some blog bashing. I really don't understand why people feel the necessity to conscientiously hurt another person's feelings! If you don't like someone then just don't associate with them. Not everyone is always going to get along. But as I say to Little Chick, "Be nice!" It really does not even take much energy to be kind. I am new to blogging and have seen many amazing blogs out there! This is a world where women should be praising one another and giving them a little blog smile when they may be tired and worn out from the long day! As my mom always said, "If you don't have something nice to say, then don't say it at all."

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Come and join me in Smile Sunday tomorrow! Just grab my Smile Sunday button in the left sidebar, write about what makes you smile, and let me know so I can add your link! Have a great 4th of July!

Do You Say Something?

"When we heal the earth, we heal ourselves." ~David Orr

Yesterday was another fantastic summer day with Little Chick! While we were eating breakfast in the morning I had the last minute decision to pack the car and head back to Massachusetts to our favorite Six Flags. It was such a beautiful day and we bought season passes, so why not? On our way I could not help but notice the spectacular clouds in the sky (snapped a shot above). I have mentioned that I have always liked looking up. It is a perspective that I think sometimes does not always get noticed. I love to look at the tops of trees, the clouds floating by and the birds flying around. The view today, however, was particularly amazing! I couldn't help but say out loud, "Thank you God!" Little Chick asked me why I said that and I told her to look out the window at the gorgeous clouds. She thought it was pretty incredible too!

As my journey up North continued I saw a bunch of garbage all over the grass between highways. I then saw about ten men in reflective jackets walking around picking up the trash. I was disgusted. I remembered being at a gas station years ago pumping gas. There was a boy about nine years old standing next to his dad eating a candy bar while his father put gas in their car. All of a sudden the boy through the wrapper of his candy on the ground (between his car and the garbage can). I went over and told him to put it in the garbage can. The father heard me and reprimanded his son. While I was driving I wondered if I would still do a bold maneuver like that again. Another time I was driving and the car in front of me rolled down their window and threw out two big bags of McDonald's trash that ended up flying all over the place. I wanted to pull up next to them and say something, but there were a bunch of people in the car and I was not sure if it was such a good idea.

I looked in the rear view mirror at Little Chick while driving and thought to myself, "Would I be afraid to say something now that I have my daughter with me all the time?" There are things like this I have been bold about in the past. And there are new things that I am becoming bolder and speaking up for. However, I am not sure in our society today that I would say something. Because there are too many people that fly off the handle and I have to think about protecting my daughter, I might not say anything. Do you say something?

Thanksgiving Thursday

"Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving." ~W.T. Purkiser

I love Thanksgiving Thursday! I have so much in my life to be thankful for! Since the summer vacation began Little Chick and I have been doing so many fun things and we are both exhausted! With the busy days and being pooped out, it can be really easy to forget conscientiously to give thanks. This is why I love writing down my blessings each week and truly taking the time to think about it and honestly and full heartedly give thanks.

Here are my five for this week.

I am thankful for:

1.) Little Chick and my loving family.

2.) Electricity! After the power failure last week I knew this would be right up there on my list. With electricity comes so many other things to be thankful for like a refrigerator, lights, air conditioning, computer, TV, doing the laundry (well maybe not so much that) and so much more!

3.) Getting to know my cousins after many years of not knowing them. They are all over the world and because of technology we have been communicating a lot.

4.) Having learned to speak up when someone is being hurtful and unkind.

5.) Ice cream cones in a hot summer day!

More people celebrating Thanksgiving Thursday: Taking It All In, A Practical Mom & Jinnia Low.com

A Day of Firsts

Yesterday Little Chick took her first boat ride! It was so much fun! She was filled with excitement, wonder, and uncertainty of the unknown! Today was also the first time Little Chick wrote her first name! Yippey my little daughter! I am one proud Mama Hen! She also wrote CAT. These are the first two words she has ever written!

Happy Thanksgiving Thursday!