Buddy at it again!

Landen is all about Buddy and finding him every morning.  Here are some of the recent places he has been found:

Hanging around at the back door.

Sipping on Landen's milk in the refrigerator.  Landen was very upset about this, he kept trying to get the strawberry syrup and saying "Buddy berry milk!"  Apparently regular milk isn't good enough for our elf, he needs strawberry milk like Landen.  He got so upset when he realized that we couldn't leave the door open.  It hurt his feelings so much to have to close Buddy in there by himself.  Lesson learned, Buddy will be out and about from now on!

Day 5 of kindness

Today Landen got to help me with my RAK.  When I got home from work, we ran by and grabbed some cookies and headed to the police station.  We wanted to thank them for their service with a treat.

He was such a big helper and even carried in some of the cookies.

When the officers came out to meet Landen, he insisted on taking them to see the cookies he had brought them.  They were so sweet and sat and had a cookie with him.  It made his day for sure.

We were happy to spend some time and show appreciation for the men and women who help to protect  our city.  I am hearing more and more scary stories of desperate people robbing and stealing around here, even in broad daylight.  The police in our area are wonderful, and make us feel a little more secure.  Thanks MPD!

A treat for the Mailman

We have nasty weather today.  Dark skies, just warm enough to be a bit muggy, hard rain and rumbles of thunder.  Hard to want to get out and go to work in an office, much less being out in the mess!  I thought the mailman might enjoy a little treat to brighten their day on this not-so-bright day.

Landen and I ran to the gas station and grabbed a drink and candy bar.  I attached our RAK note, and placed it in the mailbox behind a piece of paper that said "Mailman".  Landen helped pick out the candy, pay at the cashier, and take it to the mailbox.  He is such a great little helper, and I love being able to share these things with him.

3rd day of Kindness

Today was super simple, but I hope it helped to brighten someone else's day.

Nothing frustrates me more than working so hard to parallel park perfectly then realizing I have no change! I work in a building downtown that has meters on the street out front, so I took a second to run downstairs and put this on an empty meter.  Short and simple!

That silly Buddy...

Landen came running in the living room this morning and was looking for Buddy everywhere!  

The mischievous little guy found his way above mommy and daddy's door!  Landen squealed with delight when he found him.  He kept coming to get each of us to see Buddy and was pulling every toy he had over to our door to try and reach him.  

Landen kept giggling and saying "Silly Buddy!".  What a precious sound to wake up to every morning.  

Open doors leading to a special moment

Today was day 2 of my Random Acts of Kindness, open the door for strangers.  Church this morning was the perfect opportunity!  Funny thing, our worship leader made a comment about how the malls and other similar places make Christmas seem so elaborate and commercialized, but to try and keep your eye open for the little things that remind us what this season is all about.

I noticed one of the church volunteers was holding one side of the double doors open, but nobody was at the other, so I asked if I could help her.  She seemed a little curious as to why, but was glad to have help.  After a little while, she finally asked what made me want to help, so I was able to share my "project" for this month.  She then asked why I  wanted to do something like this.  I went into further detail about my mom and she was so sweet to be so interested in my life.

We spent the next bit getting to know each other and sharing laughs and small life stories.  We learned quite a bit about each other in a short amount of time and I so enjoyed her company.  She was so genuine and caring.  When it was getting close to time to stop holding the doors, because the next service was about to start, she asked my name.  I told her mine and she introduced herself.  Her name................Donna, also my mom's name.

Buddy, Landen's elf

This morning Landen woke up and was looking for his elf, Buddy, within 10 minutes.  It took him a little while, but he found that sneaky little guy.  He walked around saying "Where'd Buddy go?!" We are already having such a good time with this fun little tradition!

Fun at Garvan Gardens!

We have taken a trip to Hot Springs the past couple of years, to see the lights at Garvan Gardens.  It is beautiful and so much fun.  The line to park wasn't bad at all (some friends told me they waited almost an hour just to park, it's worth the wait!) We got through the ticket line in no time, and it was time to explore the lights!

The weather was perfect, around 70 and a little breeze.  Not my idea of Christmas weather, but it was nice not to freeze while outside walking around.

Landen was so animated in his reaction to the displays.  On one half of the gardens, they have a countless number of trees wrapped solid in lights, the pond is surrounded with blue and white lights everywhere and fun shapes were sprinkled throughout, hanging from trees and along the paths. 

Our sweet friends, the Homans, invited us to come along with them, and we had a blast.  We really enjoyed a relaxing night with them.  They love our little man so much, and the feeling is mutual!  

His Aunt Whit even took him to see the train for the first time this year.  He was in awe! You can pull levers inside and even ring the bell!  That was one of many trips through the train that night.  

We are already having so much fun this holiday season making memories with our precious little man.  I can't wait to experience even more fun times in the coming month.

1st Random Act of Kindness

I started my most exciting "project" today.  I got the opportunity to do a "random act of kindness" while at lunch for my birthday in September and it made my day.  There was zero recognition or acknowledgement; I actually was frantically leaving to be sure I wasn't seen.  It's the simple feeling of knowing you may have put a smile on a complete strangers face, for no reason other than just caring.  It's funny, I went into that moment thinking I might get to bless someone with a small surprise, when I was really the one who came away feeling like I gained from the experience.  So, I decided that I wanted to spend a month or so doing these random acts.

After the loss of my mom, I have struggled to find the "Christmas Spirit", which I am usually spilling over with.  I am obviously very excited to spend another holiday with my little family, and the look on our little boy's face Christmas morning will warm my heart just as much as any other year, but in the back of my mind and heart, I am dealing with a lot.  I needed something to help keep my mind off of wishing the holidays away.  This was it!  What better way to keep my mind in a positive place than to focus on something I can do for someone else on a daily basis until Christmas Eve?  I have spent the past couple of weeks thinking and planning what I could do and when (have to plan for out-of-town trips!) I love the whole concept and can't wait to spend the next few weeks doing some of the great ideas I have come up with, and some I have found on the wonderful filler of my time that is.....Pinterest. :-)

This evening was my first random act and it was a very easy one to do, that hopefully made someone smile.  We stopped by our favorite fast food chicken restaurant on our way to see Christmas lights.  When we got to the window to pay, I asked to pay for the person behind us as well.  I also gave them a little note to give the person instead. (I have super cute printouts, but I completely forgot to bring one and had to make an impromptu version.) The two girls working the window were so interested in what and why we were doing, they almost forgot to swipe my card!  It was really exciting to share the idea with someone else, and I can only hope the person behind us enjoyed my little bit of kindness.  It sure did brighten my evening a little more.

Our new friend!

Guess who is here!!!

We awoke to a wonderfully magical little elf in our dining room this morning.  He brought a "North Pole Breakfast" of red and green pancakes, with syrup of course, fruit, and strawberry milk.  We spent some of the morning watching Landen gaze up at him with such excitement, then read the book he brought while we ate.  Landen named him "Buddy".  

Landen probably won't grasp the whole concept of Buddy this year, but we know it will be better and better as he grows up.  He is going to have a blast searching for him every morning, and he knows he is Santa's elf.  This time of year is so special, especially through the eyes of a small child.  Traditions like this one are what we have looked forward to since we found out we were pregnant.  

So for today, Buddy will hang out on our chandelier and keep tabs on Landen.  I wonder where we will find him in the morning after he returns from checking in with Santa.  I know one little boy who will be excited to find him!