A Different Kind of Christmas

This year, my family has decided not to give each other gifts. Instead, we're "adopting" another family for the holidays!

We're helping purchase items for Christmas dinner, getting presents for the family, even looking for trees to provide for those in need.

So, for those of you with a little extra this holiday season, join us in helping make someone else's Christmas a warm, happy one!

So many people go through their day taking for granted all the amazing things we have, the blessings we don't even acknowledge. Stop for a moment and take a look around you. Maybe you have a few bills to pay, but you also have a warm home. Or maybe your job doesn't seem as fulfilling as it used to be, but you're able to put food on the table this holiday. So, your car has a paint chip or a few miles on it, but at least you don't have to live out of it. Maybe your kids didn't get that exact gift they wanted, but they will have something to unwrap on Christmas morning.

There are so many ways to help. Go to your local stores and ask about any local programs they're involved in, to sponsor kids, families, or a senior citizen. Call your church and ask how you can help out. Go to the community center and donate some items you don't use, or even volunteer to help feed the hungry at your local shelter. There are so many ways to help people in need, all we need now are people who want to make a difference in someone else's life. And when you do, you'll have that amazing satisfaction to keep you warm this Christmas!

Thanksgiving with the Warriors...

The boys and I volunteered to deliver Thanksgiving baskets through our church this year. We had so many volunteers, it was awesome, but that meant only 1 basket for our family to deliver. Still, it was very exciting being a part of it. I think the family was very appreciative and it was an awesome feeling, being a part of something so cool!

Garbage or Recyclable?

A lot of times we have trouble deciding what is actually garbage versus recyclable products. And when I start accumulating lots of what I think are recyclable, I begin to wonder if I'm just becoming a little pack rat or if I'm making a difference (even if it's in a small way). So I thought I'd put up a link to sort of cheat sheet, if you will, of some things we can recycle. If you're like me then hopefully it'll help you sort through the mess...

http://www.cafemom.com/group/15443/boards/read.php?post_id=920286&email_id=225739449

*21 Things We CAN Recycle:

1. Appliances
2. Batteries
3. Cardboard Boxes
4. CDs/DVDs/Game Disks
5. Clothes
6. Compact fluorescent bulbs
7. Compostable bio-plastics
8. Computers & Electronics
9. Exercise Videos
10. Eyeglasses
11. Foam packing peanuts
12. Ink/toner Cartridges
13. Miscellaneous
14. Oil
15. Phones
16. Sports equipment
17. "Technotrash"
18. Tennis Shoes
19. Toothbrushes and razors
20. Tyvek envelopes: Quantities less than 25: Send to Shirley Cimburke,
Tyvek Recycling Specialist, 5401 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Spot 197, Room 231,
Richmond, VA 23234. Quantities larger than 25, call 866/33-TYVEK.
21. Stuff you just can't recycle:
Maybe we can't recycle everything right now, but one option is to send these "non-recyclables" back to the manufacturer and ask them to consider making a more "Earth-friendly" product to end the excess waste.

Hop on the Bus

Today the boys and I took some non-perishables to the "Stuff the Bus" event. Seb ran back and forth on the bus and Shan got stickers and we all felt some satisfaction about giving food to those in need.

I guess we take it for granted because, although I don't ever want my kids to worry about us providing for them, I do want them to be aware that there are other people in the world less fortunate than us. That we should reach out to someone with a need. That we can forgo those little "wants" to provide for someone else's "needs". And I hope we do make a difference in someone's life!

In on the Action...

Okay, so a lot of people probably, but I didn't know there was a wicked awesome recycle center (with respect to improvement, of course) at the landfill.

Sunday after church, Jason and I and the boys went out to his parents house to help clean up the property...They've been making a huge effort to make their property look nice, and over the last 6 years there have been major changes.

So we all got bundled up and went out to help (sorry no pics, I forgot the camera). Jason and his dad took turns running the skid steer, my MIL ran the compactor, J's brother ran back and forth helping everyone and the boys (when they weren't watering down the driveway or helping Jason on the John Deere) helped me move wood pallets.

My main motivation, aside from helping clean up, was to get all the pallets pulled apart and cut down. Then I, with the boys' help, loaded them all in the back of my car (we filled the entire back half) and now I have a ginormous "load of lumber" in my garage. --Which is making it smell like a fabulous lumber yard, by the way. All that wood is going to be made into Christmas presents and such, more on that later.

Jason and I took Seb with us to make one of the trips to the dump. I was feeling a little guilty about "dumping" wood when it's obviously something that can be recycled, so imagine how excited I was to learn that there's a big ol' recycling section where they took all my in-laws' yard waste & wood pallets and recycled them! What a great example for Seb to see the process for himself! So we grabbed a pamphlet and I gave a quick, kid-friendly explanation of recycling yard waste into compost and all the great stuff we can do with it!

I had a great sense of accomplishment for my in-laws & their property and also for being able to show Seb just how important being Eco-friendly is to everyone and how awesome it is to be a part of it!

Global Awareness!

It was brought to my attention at a MOPS meeting the other day that my family really doesn't know much about any other countries, including those of our own heritage! So I'm proposing a weekly, or even bi-weekly, study of the world!

We're going to pick a location, either by spinning a globe, playing pin the flag on the country, or something else to keep the boys entertained. Then we'll take the next week or two learning about the culture, food, climate, what animals live there, how the kids dress, anything and everything to do with that country.

Seeing as the boys are still fairly young, we'll probably utilize our more convenient resources like the local library, Internet, educational TV programs, etc. And maybe with a little luck, we'll even make some new friends through an organization.

There is just so much more than our simple lives here in Bend and I want our family to learn about our World and the different cultures so they might be called to a mission trip someday. And maybe meet those friends they made while learning about the world.

Compost your pumpkins!

So, your pumpkins are probably looking a little "down" these days and maybe you don't know what to do with them. How about giving some thought to composting?

If you'd like to do a little research, check out HowToCompost.org for some helpful hints!

Trick-or-Treating the GREEN Way --->

Okay, your kids have been waiting for Halloween night for 10 months or more, and if you're anything like me then you've been dying for the holiday too (pun intended)! So here a few great ways to stay GREEN while you're out enjoying the festivities and gathering up all that loot!

• 1st-The Goody Bag! *Sturdy, ginormous, & most importantly REUSABLE!
• 2nd-The Candy! *Feel free to indulge a little! Fall off the diet wagon for the evening and enjoy some treats with your kids. Maybe set a time limit or ration it out, or put it away for another day. NO NEED to throw it out! If it's wrapped it can be donated to shelters, Senior Centers, nursing homes, Boys' & Girls' Clubs, etc.
• 3rd-As always, my favorite no-brainer tip:*Clean it up! Little eyes see more than we think, we should all be setting great examples and teaching our kids to love & protect our Earth! "Leave no litter behind!"

The GOOD Stuff!

For ME, there is nothing more frightening on Halloween than my kids running around all cracked out on sugar, followed but tummy aches, & the looming thought of pediatric dental work. So...
If you're worried about artificial ingredients in your kiddos' goody bag, here are a few HEALTHY Trick-or-treating alternatives I've come across, thanks to The Green Parent:

• If you're concerned about child labor chocolate factories look for "Fair Trade Chocolates" instead: *Exquisit Chocolate @ http://store.gxonlinestore.org/chocolateminis.html *Endangered Species Chocolates @ http://www.chocolatebar.com/


• Try Fruitabu's @ http://www.stretch-island.com/ for organic fruities in festive flavors.


• College Farm Organic @ http://www.collegefarmorganic.com/ offers a wide variety of all natural hard candies & lollipops. But wait, there's more...The clear candy wrappers are made of a "fully-compostable material derived from cornstarch" (an annually renewable resource).


• If Popcorn is your thing try individually-wrapped organic microwave popcorn like Newman's Own Organics (R.I.P. Paul).


• Earthbound Farms are the way to go for great tasting raisins (in "fun size" packages), or anything organic @ http://www.ebfarm.com/


• And for a longer lasting treat (at least maybe in your house), there's always Soy Crayons, stickers, temporary tattoos, and so on...

Go GREEN for Halloween!

Okay, so what's better than pumpkins to decorate for Halloween, right? Well, here are a few helpful tid bits I learned about while visiting another great site:

The Green Parent at http://thegreenparent.blogspot.com/2007_10_01_archive.html

• Pumpkins totally rock! *They inspire us in dones of ways, everything from decorations to food! *They have "super powers"-while they grow they remove Toxic DDT from our soil!
  So you're GREEN tips for this holiday are as follows:
  
• Buying from your LOCAL Pumpkin People-helps save ENERGY and RESOURCES otherwise spent on packaging & shipping, etc.
  
• NO LEFTOVERS! Bake the seeds or feed the squirrels, or call your local zoo about donating them.
  
• COMPOST-When your pumpkins are no longer looking their best then put them in your compost pile. Here's a great site to help you get started...http://www.howtocompost.org/Giant_Compost_Pumpkins.asp