My Heart is Smiling: January 2013

The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18).

Our hearts are heavy as we send loving thoughts and prayers to the families in Newtown, Connecticut. It is heartbreaking and inconceivable to absorb the evil of this tragedy. My mind and heart have been with the parents of the poor young children whose lives were cut far too short on December 14th and are left grieving the loss of their sweet babies. Despite all of the well wishes in the world, the parents are left with despair, grief and a void that must somehow be overcome. I can hardly believe that a month has passed. I am praying so hard that the parents and friends/family of the victims are somehow able to find peace.

In order to create hope in the midst of horrible tragedy, Drew's school has put forth a challenge. In light of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, journalist Ann Curry has proposed to spread 26 Acts of Kindness, one act for each of the 26 victims killed at the school. Drew's school is encouraging all families to participate in this challenge.

What is the best way to fight evil? Do good. In honor of those sweet little children and devoted school staff, our family can absolutely step up and honor those precious 26 lives. As Robbie Parker (father of one of the victims) wrote:

"Remember these beautiful children; keep them close to our hearts. Do not let their bright shining faces become extinguished. Let us do everything in our power to ensure their light will continue to shine brighter and brighter in all we do to remember them."

In order to contribute, we have thought through things that the boys can do, what mommy and daddy can do, and what we can all do together as a family. We're not done yet, but here is our plan.

26 Acts of Kindness

1.) Give hugs randomly - DREW, OWEN and EVAN
2.) Give one brand new Christmas toy to charity - DREW, OWEN and EVAN
3.) Bring cookies to surprise Grandma Markus with a visit - DREW, OWEN and EVAN
4.) Light a candle at church to pray for the grieving families - ENTIRE FAMILY
5.) Add an extra offering envelope at church on Sunday - MOM and DAD
6.) Cover the restaurant bill for the car behind us in the drive-through - MOM and DAD
7.) Place a deposit at Ahne's bakery to cover the purchases of the next few buyers - MOM and DAD
8.) Plan a surprise visit to Grandma's Kloepper's house - ENTIRE FAMILY
9.) Surprise Grandpa Dave with some family time and fun exercise - ENTIRE FAMILY
10.) Write a letter to a good friend (no email, no text but 100% handwritten) - MOM
11.) Give staple food items to local food pantry - ENTIRE FAMILY
12.) Smile at everyone - DREW, OWEN and EVAN
13.) Adopt 3 children for Christmas Angels - DREW, OWEN and EVAN
14.) Say a family prayer for the 26 victims - ENTIRE FAMILY
15.) Say, "I'm sorry" to brothers - DREW, OWEN and EVAN
16.) Rekindle a lost friendship - MOM and DAD
17.) Volunteer in a leadership capacity for a church/school event - MOM and DAD
18.) Give away toys to contribute to the Kids Rummage Sale at SPPCS - ENTIRE FAMILY
19.) Do a nice thing for someone at work completely anonomously - MOM and DAD
20.) When negative words are about to be spoken, replace with positive words - ENTIRE FAMILY
21.) Verbally tell friends how much you appreciate them - ENTIRE FAMILY
22.) When the kids ask to play (esp with things that make a mess) - say "Yes!" - MOM and DAD
23.) Drive the speed limit and be friendly on the road - MOM and DAD
24.) Be the friend that you would like to have; which means SHOW UP! - MOM and DAD
25.) Turn anger into joy at frustrating moments - ENTIRE FAMILY
26.) Say "I love you" every moment that it enters your mind and never once take for granted the amazing privilege of parenthood that God has bestowed upon us - MOM and DAD

Although we are not done (and these tasks may take us some time), here are a few images of our efforts thus far:

#6.) One car behind us in the line at McDonald's was pleasantly surprised to learn that their bill = $0.

#7.) Maliyah Phillips helped to showcase our sign for free Ahne's doughnuts!

#5.) Add an extra offering envelope at church on Sunday . . .

Many of our acts will be private, but they will be real. They will serve as tangible evidence that despite evil and horror in the world, generosity, love and kindness will prevail. God - please bless the precious 26 lives that were lost on December 14th. They will not be forgotten.

Merry Christmas, my sweet angels. What a heavenly Christmas. There really aren't words for how much I enjoyed our Christmas together this year. The Christmas season, particularly in light of tragedy endured in other parts of our country, begged me to hug on my babies and love on them so much that there was no other focus in our lives. Our family is the only things that matters. Period. Thank you God for this gift of family.

Our kids are such a fun age for Christmas. They enjoy all of the traditions, squeal with excitement and believe with all of their little hearts that Santa will know exactly what to deliver to them on Christmas morning. I know that this won't last forever and I want to soak up every minute of it.

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care and now it is time for a long winter's nap . . . .

Of course, our Drew Bear is the early riser and the first one down the stairs to report on his findings! Santa was here!

Let's go wake up everyone else!

My morning coffee and the magic of Christmas. This is definitely my happy place.

The boys gifted us with thoughtful and heartfelt homemade gifts from school. I adore these.

This one is from Drew (in case you couldn't read his gift tag:)

A handmade calendar with his handprints for each month! So creative and thoughtful! Dan and I will fight over who gets to take it to work. I'll win.

Our "little bits" (a.k.a Evan) is generally up to no good, but is so unbelievably cute that he gets by with a lot (he is sooooo lucky that he has this compensating trait). "Evan - what are you doing climbing in the refrigerator?"

When we weren't preparing for our two birthday parties (or playing Super Mario Brothers on the Wii), this is how we spent the week of Christmas. Snuggled up in the living room. LOVE IT!

Grandma Patti has beautifully decorated Christmas trees. She always does. The boys hit another jackpot at Grandma Patti and Grandpa Dave's house. Our house is going to implode.

Drew has declared himself as the "Lego King." Between Christmas and his birthday, he was the lucky recipient of A LOT of legos. A LOT. Immediately after Drew has the legos unwrapped, he wants to put them together. And his attention to detail on these legos is amazing. He will sit at the table and focus on the assembly without moving until the entire set is complete. Not sure where he gets this skill from . . . . check out his handiwork from the past week.