Kristy's Cuties

Dec. 10--We went to the bank to cash a check.  After taking our cash, we slipped a candy bar and a note in the vacuum tube and sent it back to the teller.  Then we drove off before she could respond!

Dec. 11--We bought a dozen pink roses (and a couple of candy bars, for the men) and presented a rose to each librarian at our local library, wishing her a Merry Christmas and thanking her for taking care of our library needs.  Librarians are the forgotten service workers.  Everyone thanks the mailman, the teachers, the firefighters and police, but librarians just don't get noticed.  They were all women that night, and they were thrilled and surprised at the token of appreciation.  One lady said, "It makes public service worthwhile!"  Their smiles couldn't have been broader.  How could they help it when two cute little boys gave them flowers??  This RAOK is right up there with the garbage man.

Dec. 12--We went to Walmart, bought 10 balloons, and handed them out to children as they walked out of the store.  The parents were quite skeptical, which is understandable, now that I think of it.  There's usually a catch somewhere when someone offers you something "for free."  But a couple of moms were very pleased and made my little givers feel good.  Spencer kept warning Carson to "hold on tight," so the balloons wouldn't get away.  Then Spencer lost one up in the rafters!

Dec. 13--Wrote Christmas cards to the workmen who have been finishing the kids' new bedrooms downstairs.  One guy has a cute little dog who waits patiently in the back of his truck while he's working all day.  He showed us some tricks he can do.  His name is Junior, and he climbs 40- foot ladders!  Unbeknownst to us, he has been on the highest peak of our roof!  He could play fetch all day long with his little yellow football.  The kids loved him, so we got some doggy treats just for Junior, too.  We haven't delivered them yet. 

 Dec. 14--We decorated a neighbor's door with a bag of M&M's and positive adjectives that begin with "M."  Here is a picture of our messages:

It's probably hard to read, but it says, "Merry Christmas ______!!  You are... Mindful and Meritorious, Magnificent and Magnanimous, Marvelous and Much-Appreciated, Multi-talented and a-Mazing."  When I drive by their house, I see they have removed the package of M&M's, but left the signs in place.

Dec. 15--We dug into our wallets, and came up with some change.  Then we drove around town and put some money in all the Salvation Army buckets we could find.  At Walmart, there was a bell-ringer at both doors, so they ran from one to the other.  The second bell-ringer guessed what we were doing gave me a knowing smile.

Dec. 16--We wrote Christmas cards to the managers of the kids' favorite restaurants.  Spencer chose a local pizza place and said he loved their pizza and they are #1!  Carson wrote to our local burger joint.  He wrote, "Your restaurant is my favorite because ....   I like your cheeseburgers and corn dogs.  I like your chocolate milk.  From Carson   P.S.  Merry Christmas!!"  Then he drew a picture of Santa's bag and a stocking.  I hope people enjoy the effort that goes into our messages!

I ran across an idea on Pinterest (if you don't know what this is, you should--it's amazing!) of how to help your kids focus on others instead of themselves at Christmas time.  It sounded really fun and worthwhile, and since I knew they'd be out of school from Thanksgiving to January, I decided we would have plenty of time to give it a try.

Basically, it was a list of Random Acts of Kindness that we can do together, one for each day of December.  I thought it might be fun to blog about it too!

Dec. 1--I introduced the idea and the kids thought it sounded like fun.  I gave three $1 bills to each boy, which they slipped into three of their favorite books at the library, along with a note that read, "If you are lucky enough to find our surprise, Merry Christmas!  This is one of our favorite books.  We hope you enjoy it.  Love, Some Christmas Elves".  This was super exciting!  They tried very hard not to let anyone see what they were doing.  So sneaky!

Dec. 2--Wrote notes to friends.  They are men of few words.  Carson wrote, "What do you want for Christmas?"  That was it.  Spencer had to keep adding P.S. and P.P.S. because I told him he hadn't said enough.  Even then it was brief and to-the-point.  Oh well.  Hopefully eloquence will develop with age.

Dec. 3--After our family night, we got in the car and went to the grocery store to buy a much-needed gallon of milk.  As we got to the checkout, I made Spencer ask the clerk what her favorite candy bar was.  We fumbled around a bit, trying to locate a regular Snickers, paid for it, and wished her a Merry Christmas.  She seemed pleased, though not as surprised as I expected.  Maybe it was all the fumbling and conspiratorial whispering that clued her in.  Anyway, the boys enjoyed it and Spencer got out of his comfort zone a little bit. 

Dec. 4--Carson went to a birthday party at the skating rink/fun center.  We took him to the party, and then Spencer went into the boys' bathroom and left a large candy bar attached to a sign thanking the person who cleans the bathroom.  Hopefully some naughty child didn't just steal the candy.

Dec. 5--We left a treat and a note for our garbage man... 

Andy and I were worried that he wouldn't see it or he wouldn't read it, assuming it was trash, but all was well.  When I heard the truck come up the street, I was making beds and the kids were outside getting in the car for swimming lessons.  We all watched anxiously to see if the gift would be received.  He was just about to lower the big claw when he stopped, looked, opened the door, and pulled the sign off the trash can.  A BIG smile spread across his face and he looked around to figure out which of the several children outside had made the sign.  The givers were actually spying from the garage.  The garbage man grinned again, waved, and drove off.  I'm sure it made his day.  This is my favorite RAOK so far!

Dec. 6--Last day of swimming lessons.  Each boy taped some quarters to the vending machine just outside the pool, along with a note reading, "This snack's on us!  Merry Christmas!  From, A Christmas Elf."  To be quite honest, I was shocked at the cost of the snacks!  Gone are the days of the 50 cent candy bar.  You can't get anything for less than $1!  Oh well, maybe some hungry person will be glad for the help.

Dec. 7--Held the doors open for patrons of Wendy's.  Some young guys were rather surprised when Spencer wished them a Merry Christmas as they walked in, and they said, "Merry Christmas to you too, little buddy!"  Some high school girls commented, "How cute!" when Carson greeted them. 

Dec. 8--Paid a surprise visit to Grandma and Grandpa in Provo by riding the new high-speed train.  Getting there was no big deal, but getting home was a whole other story.  They waited for an hour and half, standing in the aisle of a bus, just to get on the train to go home.  After that, it was another hour and half on the train, and then a few minutes to drive back home!  They seemed cheerful and upbeat about the whole thing.

Dec. 9--Wrote Christmas cards.  Again, not a lot of wordiness, but it was sufficient.

I'll keep you updated on the coming week's activities!

One day when the kids were out of school (was it October??), I took them to the local nature center.  I remembered going there as a kid, so I thought they should experience it too. 

I remembered Chitters the owl and what do you know?  He's STILL there!!  We found out he is now 35 years old (yes, the same age as me).  Most owls live about 15 years in the wild, but he has had such a stable and safe home that he is still kickin'! 

Isn't this beautiful??  We walked along the wooded trails and the boys enjoyed finding interesting sticks and leaves. 

They also had fun pretending to be frightening creatures in the shadows!


Then there was the treehouse.  Little boys' paradise!  They could have had fun there for many hours.  We'll just have to go back sometime!

Here's Parker watching TV with his daddy. 

And snuggling with Uncle Mike on Thanksgiving Day. 

I like watching Spencer feed Parker.  I was trying to capture him opening his mouth while putting the spoon in Parker's mouth, but they were finished before I got a good shot. 

Everyone was excited when we put out our lighted deer and sleigh in the front yard!

The big brothers were wearing hats one night, so Parker had to have one too!  Spencer told me that the other day he walked into Parker's room and Parker said, "Geevenfoof!"  He asked, "What's Geevenfoof?"  Parker just pointed at Spencer, so we assume that's his new nickname.  If only I'd thought of Geevenfoof when Spencer was born!

"Aw!  These shoes stink just like Spencer's feet!  I love them!"

Carson has recently discovered a new talent...puzzles!  He is crazy about puzzles and he's really good at them.  He quickly got tired of all our 24-piece puzzles that are meant for children his age.  So now he's doing 100-piece ones!  It's fun to watch him because you can almost see the cogs turning in his little brain.  Spencer has never enjoyed puzzles because he lacks the patience for it, but Carson thrives on such a methodical activity. 

Aw...Sundays really wear him out!  At this very moment, he is snoring rather loudly on the bed.  I sneaked in with the video camera.  Now I have solid proof that he snores!