Bad Communication Habits

As I wait while my computer imports or exports video for a project I am working on, I've been catching up on some reading - blogs, emails, forums, etc. I just read a post on Monday Morning Insight about communication, and boy did it hurt! I struggle with the first 3 "bad communication habits" more than I'd like to admit. Thankfully the last 4 in Todd's list aren't much of an issue for me, but still missing the mark on 3 of them is bad enough.

Do you struggle with any of these? If so, please join me in correcting them so that we can make sure that everyone we come in contact with feels valued.

Happy Birthday, M!

Today was my second daughter's 7th birthday. We had a great family celebration over breakfast with scrambled eggs and chocolate-iced doughnuts, and then got the joy of watching M unwrap her new scooter.

As we ate breakfast, K (the big sister) came up with a brilliant idea. "Let's each say some things we appreciate about M." And here are some of the wonderful comments we shared with our special "M Poema":

We appreciate M's joyful, comical spirit. We love how she makes us all laugh. We appreciate how she cares for her younger brothers. We appreciate how she cheerfully serves (most days!). We appreciate the art and cards she makes for all of us and others. And we are thankful that God put her in our family.

We love you, M! Happy 7th Birthday!

It's never too late

No matter what anyone tells you, it's never too late to seek your dream. And it is amazing how far perseverance can take you. Here is a lady proving it...

If I knew you personally and could shake your hand, Nola, I would. But a blog post will have to do. Congrats, Nola!

The greatest donation yet...

As I have shared on here before, I am going to the Czech Republic this June to help teach at an English/Business camp. As I shared in my letter I sent to friends and family, I need to raise some money in order to go.

I have been humbled thus far by the generosity of several people. While I haven't raised the full amount yet, I have received some VERY generous gifts, and I am extremely honored by these financial offerings.

But today I received the best donation yet. No, it was not the largest. But it was the most meaningful. My oldest daughter, K, baked cookies and brownies (with a bit of help from Mom) and made some Kool-Aid to sell outside. She spent most of her day in the front yard selling her baked goods and colored drinks to the walkers, bikers, and neighbors that passed by. At the end of the day, she had earned over $40 dollars. When she combined this with the money she had earned from jobs she's been doing the past month, my 9-year-old daughter will be donating over $50 so that Czech business professionals can see Christ in me and hear him in my words.

I am so incredibly humbled by my daughter's wonderful attitude and actions. Truly, this was and will be the best donation I receive.

The photo is of K and me after her piano recital two weeks ago.

Feed the Pig

My friend, Kim Pagel, has a great post about debt and young adults on his blog, with some amazing and sad statistics, most of which I think are provided by the Feed the Pig website. Take a look.

Buy a shoe, give a shoe

My dad worked in the art department (correction - he WAS the art department) for a small chain of retail shoe stores in the midwest for over 30 years before moving on to something new 4 years ago (which they just successfully sold this year to move into semi-retirement. Congrats Mom and Dad!). Because of Dad's job, I used to get to "shop" in the warehouse, having my pick of hundreds of name brand shoes at employee pricing. Oh, how I miss those days.

So while I don't have a fetish, nor a closet stuffed with footwear, I do like shoes (but I have to admit I don't understand women who go shoe shopping when they already have like 50 pairs in their closet - two everyday wear and one dress pair is enough, right?).

Because of this appreciation for a good pair of shoes, I really liked this site. TOMS Shoes combined the idea of footwear (important) with helping others (very important). While I'm not a huge fan of the appearance of the shoe, I love the idea, so thought I would share it!