'Tis the Season

This year was the second year that we decided nobody in our family really needed anything. Not one of us could think of something we "couldn't live without". So instead of buying pointless gifts for each other, we (and by "we", I mean my parents, my sister's family, and our family) opted to pick a family within our own communities to "adopt" for Christmas.

I have been fortunate enough to notice a woman in my Bible Study group who has had a rough time this year. She's been through a divorce, is raising her two daughters on her own and hasn't had many hours at work lately. Despite these difficulties she is still striving to make the best of her life and future for herself and her kids. Being able to witness her inner strength (which she of course doesn't see) made me want to help make her Christmas really wonderful.

So we went out as a family and bought a tree and presents for her girls. It was so much fun picking out books and puzzles and putting together a little "forget-me-not" basket for her...Nothing spoils a woman better than lotions, candles, and chocolate. Just seeing the look on her face was reason enough to celebrate Christmas. The girls tore through a couple presents and were playing with things before we even left and her tree was set up and shining in her living room window for the neighbors to see. She kept saying thank you and giving me a hug and I thought about how lucky my family is to have everything we need, and often more than that.

I highly recommend "adopting" a family for Christmas if you have the chance. It doesn't have to be loads of gifts either. It can be something as simple as watching kids while their parents do some Christmas shopping, or bringing goodies over, reading a book about the real meaning of Christmas, even cooking for them or inviting them to Christmas dinner. It gives me such a warm feeling to know that I've made a difference to someone else and I see Christmas in a whole new way...It's almost indescribable the feeling I have. The Christmas Spirit. They say it's better to give than to receive but my family is learning something about another family every year and we're learning to be grateful and spread holiday cheer over something that some take completely for granted.

So, to everyone out there this Christmas season, Merry Christmas! And we wish you a New Year full of blessings!

Love Is Action!

What an awesome weekend! We painted, we worshipped, we loved our community, we celebrated at Drake Park during the I Heart Bend festival!

Here are some photos (click pictures for captions)...

Our little crew, hard at work...

Our little family, enjoying the festival at Drake Park...

Seb, Tutu & me at breakfast after church on Sunday.

A Cheer for Community Service!

We're all signed up. This year Seb got to pick our project. We will be painting fire hydrants all over Bend!

So, if you're not signed up yet and want to help do something great for our city, come join us. And when we're done, we're going to party it up to some amazing music at Drake Park!

I Heart Bend!

Okay, we're back! I'm so excited to announce that we're doing another I Heart Bend at our church this year! I can't wait!! I added the link incase any of you would like to sign up and join us! Here are the details...

Who: Westside Church
What: I Heart Bend Community Project
When: Saturday, September 26th @ 8am
Where: Drake Park, we gather, get into teams and head out into the city to do our part!

Link: http://www.iheartbend.org/

Oh! And there's going to be an awesome festival at Drake Park from 4-9pm on Saturday, September 26th, with music by Erin Cole, Elliot, and High Street. And there will be lots of fun activities for the kiddies and lots of local food vendors...And the best part is the festival is FREE!

So come help out in our community and join us for an evening of great food, awesome music, and loads of fun for the kids!


Hope to see you all there!

First Impressions...

Every other month I volunteer on the "1st Impressions" team at our church. We go to one service as a family and then the guys go do "man stuff" while I greet guests at the front door. It's fun and always interesting and it can be challenging to try to read everyone's mood when they arrive.
Some people are cheerful and very happy to be there, which is usually our mood. Then there are people who are running late and in a hurry to drop off their kids and find a seat. But the hardest for me, are the people that I see that are struggling to even get from their car to the front door.
You can see on their faces that they are having such a hard time, maybe it's the economy, maybe it's something more. I just feel for these people though. It's a great experience but it takes more than a lot of people think.
Anyway, Seb has decided he wants to help too. So this last Sunday he stood at the front entrance with me, holding the door opening and cheerfully, and somewhat shyly, saying "Welcome to Westside". I'm so proud of him for wanting to do something that seems so ordinary to others. I promised to make him his very own special name tag and he's planning to help me from now on. I love that he's having the desire to help people, at such a young age. It's awesome. He is a little warrior!

The Extra Mile...

It might be something as big as donating food and clothes, or getting people rallied around a family who's lost everything, or something as simple as driving a few miles out of our way to drop off an item we sold on CraigsList. But to us, it's important to do a little something extra for other people...Maybe it's naive of us to live in our own little world where we think people actually "pay it forward" but that's what drives us. It's the message we want our kids growing up with, not because we saw it in a commercial but because we live that way. We want to pass that on. The act of kindness, of loving others and serving others. Not for the recognition, but for the feeling it gives us to know we did something for someone else, something that made us proud to be who we are.

This is why...

Thank you ----- family for the nice cage I think my knew guinea pig will like it a lot.I really like the color of it. I love the dish that came with it. My guinea's name is Loulou. I don't get her until next Saturday. She is a baby and still needs her mommy. She is black, brown, and white. My daddy and I are learning how to take care of her and what she likes to play with on the internet.

Blessing to you too!!!

P----- B----