Practice Random Kindness and Senseless Acts of Beauty

"It's the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result." - - Gandhi

Saw this quote in a book today, and it really made me think . . .  perhaps I need to do more. Maybe nothing big or major, but little things can really go a long way. Like leaving a large tip to a waiter who seems to be having a bad day, shoveling an extra sidewalk or two when nobody is watching, picking some random people and addresses out of a phone book (that big yellow book that comes in the mail and is very useful as a child booster seat used to be used for something else - no way!) and sending them cards with words of encouragement, putting a couple quarters in a meter for a stranger when you see that their time is going to expire soon, I could go on, but you get the idea. There is so much sadness and strife in the world, why not add a little bit of love and happiness in whatever way I can.

Do you have any ideas world of blogging? Or, should I say Susan, since I think you may be the only person who reads this . . . .

Caleb . . .

 

To follow-up my reasons why I love my Gracie Girl, here are (some of the) reasons I love my Caleb :

1. He potty-trained super easily! Whenever I see kids the same size or bigger than Caleb getting their diapers changed, I am reminded how awesome it is that Caleb doesn't put us through this anymore.

2. He can entertain himself.

3. He is a relatively good eater, not picky like myself.

4. He is super independent.

5. He loves to help mommy bake in the kitchen :)

6. He is usually a very happy kid.

7. Once we get him to sleep, he sleeps through the night and can sleep through almost anything!

8. He is very outgoing, and always has a smile for everybody, even strangers.

9. He's just too darn cute!

10. He's my first-born, a suprise, and a blessing all rolled into one beautiful child. I hope I can be a good mother to him, and raise him up right.

Gracie . . .

 

So, because I'm attempting to complain less, I thought I'd try to focus on some positive things. I'll start with:

 

 

 

Reasons why I love my baby girl Gracie :

 

1. Best sleeper ever! I'm so blessed that Grace has been so good at sleeping, basically from the day she was born. I often had to wake her up to feed her, and she slept through the night from the very beginning. For the most part, she sleeps 8-12 hours straight a night, and if she does wake up, she goes back to sleep pretty easily. If you wrap her up, cuddle with her and throw a binky in her mouth, off to dreamland she goes. If only I could do something about her snoring . . . .

2. She's such a happy baby! She always has a smile for you. I'm looking forward to when she starts really laughing. Nothing makes a bad day at work better than coming home to a smiley baby overjoyed to see her mommy! 

3. She's a good eater. Sometimes too good - for example, we have to be careful now that she can motor around, she's not bothered by the taste of cat food . . .

4. She's a cuddler :) I love that she likes to snuggle her cheeks against mine.

5. She's adorable! I realize I'm biased, but I do think she's an exceptionally cute baby, at least when she's smiling!

6. She is easy to console. I can usually figure out why she's upset, and quiet her down quickly.

7. She is okay when we leave her at daycare or with a babysitter.

8. She is okay with sitting on her own, and doesn't need to be constantly held to be happy.

9. Most importantly, I love my baby girl simply because she is my baby girl, and God has chosen to bestow upon me the privilege of being her mother, I only hope that I am up to the task!

 

 





Hypocrisy . . .

So, one of my greatest pet peeves is when somebody is blatantly hypocritical. While I am well aware that I fall into this category at times, it still drives me nuts.
A friend once went on a rant on how they did not understand why people get so depressed/upset/angry when bad things happen to them, and used the example of somebody who had a stroke and lost the ability to use their arm, saying how it didn't matter that they couldn't use their arm, they should stop complaining and be rejoiceful and happy because they were still alive, what's an arm? Then about a week later, said friend got a simple cold, an annoyance at most, and proceeded to complain about it in great detail for a few days after they were all better. I just wanted to be like "Stop complaining and just be happy you're still alive!", but of course I didn't, knowing that this would not go over well. (Of note, the person who lost their ability to use their arm with the stroke was a pianist . . . . so it was quite a loss to them).

On a related note, I know one of my greatest downfalls is that I complain far too much, and usually about inconsequential things, and I've been working really hard to stop this and focus on the good things in life . . . but it's difficult.

If anybody is out there in blogger world (which I doubt), what are your pet peeves?