12 Days of Kindness Day 12

Day 12 Kindness: Call Grandparents

To be fair we cheated with this one. It's Christmas Eve and we always talk to my parents. It's the best! We do a conference call with all the kids on the phone and my dad reads the Christmas Story out of the Bible. Then the grand kids open their presents from each other. Send their thank yous and love yous. It's a nice way to end Christmas Eve. 

We love you all and hope you had a very Merry Christmas. We had a great time doing these act of kindness. It's nice to go out of your way to make others feel a little better. Life is tough enough! Don't be the person that makes it worse. 

Have I Done Any Good?

 Have I done any good in the world today?

Have I helped anyone in need?

Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad?

If not, I have failed indeed.

Has anyone’s burden been lighter today

Because I was willing to share?

Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?

When they needed my help was I there?

[Chorus]

Then wake up and do something more

Than dream of your mansion above.

Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure,

A blessing of duty and love.

There are chances for work all around just now,

Opportunities right in our way.

Do not let them pass by, saying, “Sometime I’ll try,”

But go and do something today.

’Tis noble of man to work and to give;

Love’s labor has merit alone.

Only he who does something helps others to live.

To God each good work will be known.

12 Days of Kindness Day 11

Day 11 Kindness: Clean Your Room!

I hate housework. You make the beds, you wash the dishes and six months later you have to start all over again. -Joan Rivers

This might as well be an Alison quote. It is an event, borderline WWIII every time I ask her to clean. I love a clean house I love clean it calms me. So having Alison clean her room sounds great in theory but usually it's more stress than the final product. I appreciate the other kids and their clean rooms for this day. Maybe one day Alison will catch the vision. It isn't today though!

12 Days of Kindness Day 10

Day 10 Kindness: Send a Thank You Note

This is a little different than just saying thank you. When someone does something nice for you, return their generosity with a pleasant thank you note to let them know you appreciated their kindness.  In this day of technology many people will send emails or text messages. Be different! Think about sending an old fashioned snail-mail type of thank you note. Dig out your stamps and address book and send a note in the mail!  It will be an added delight for your friend or family member to get physical mail.

12 Days Of Kindness Day 9

Day 9 of Kindness: Reconnect With An Old Friend

I totally stole this from ehow.com but it's good

You've probably wondered what ever happened to your best friend from junior high or maybe your high school sweetheart. Life takes people in different directions, and it's easy to lose touch with one another. Fortunately, with the Internet it's now easier than ever to reconnect with old friends. Here are some pointers to help you reconnect with your old friends.

Instructions

1. • 1
     Think about the people you miss the most in your life. Maybe it was Sandy who moved away in fourth grade or your best friend who dropped out her junior year of college. Who do you find yourself talking about when you reminisce?
   • 2
     Use the tools the Internet has to offer to find your long-lost friend. Facebook is a great starting point, as well as the Classmates or Reunions websites. Don't forget about the trusty phone book, which may give you a hot trail to you friend's parents at least.
   • 3
     Pick up the phone and call. It may be scary, but someone has to make the first move here.
   • 4
     Find out if your friend is still interested in being a friend to you. You may have to rely on your gut instincts here, or just flat-out ask if she'd like to grab a cup of coffee to catch up on old times. If she doesn't seem interested, don't feel bad. At least you made the effort.
   • 5
     Be a good friend to your old friend. Give her space to really get used to the idea of having you around. Respect the friendship by showing up on time, by being interested in what is happening (and what has happened) in your friend's life. Share as much of yourself as you can, and you might end up with a friendship that's better the second time around.

     
     

     Get out there and say hello to an old friend!

12 Days of Kindness Day 8

Day 8 Kindness: Say Hello to Strangers

In Sunday School we were discussing the importance of welcoming new members and ensuring that nonmembers and members both feel welcome in our ward. I realized that I am hands down the worst at this! I am aware that I need to do it but I don't. Not saying hello to someone who is in our midst for the first time can quickly make sure they are never in your midst again. Or, if they have to be around us (i.e. at work), our first impression with this person probably isn't the best in the world. Even further, ceasing to say hello to someone who has been in our midst for a while can be damaging in the long run. Not at first, of course, but eventually that person may not feel cared for by those who no longer greet them.

I would argue that one of the best questions to ask yourself when thinking about what it looks like to welcome the people around you into your midst is, “What makes me feel welcome.” When I think about what makes me feel welcome in any place, new and strange or old and familiar, someone saying hello and recognizing that I am there is right up at the top. There’s plenty of other stuff, but a regular greeting can trump a lot in this world.

12 Days of Kindness Day 7

Day 7 Kindness:

Make Someone Laugh

Here's a little joke for you today!

Two guys were out walking their dogs on a hot day, when they pass by a pub. The first guy says “Let’s go in there for a pint.” Second guy, says, “They won’t let us in with our dogs.” First guy: “Sure they will, just follow my lead.”

He goes up to the pub, and sure enough the doorman says, “I can’t let you in here with that dog.” He replies, “Oh, I’m blind and this is my seeing-eye dog.” The doorman says, “Ok then, come on in.”

The second guy sees this and does the same thing. He goes up to the pub, and the doorman says, “You can’t come in here with a dog.” He replies, “I’m blind and this is my seeing-eye dog.” The doorman responds, “You have a chihuahua for a seeing-eye dog?” The second guy stops for a second, and exclaims, “They gave me a chihuahua?”

12 Days Of Kindness Day 6

Day 6 Kindness: 

Thank Someone

Well I want to do a quick Thank you to the kind lady in front of us at Sonic who paid for our drinks! 

Thank you Thank you!!

This kindness day was a pretty good one. I try to say thank you to all the people I interact with. I know that I appreciate hearing it so I try to put it back out there!