Let's feed your family tonight...

 
My neighbor came to ask for help with her school project.  After we finished that we decided to make soup for her family.  There are six children in the family.  Here is the happy cook after her impromptu cooking lesson.

Ingredients:Chicken sausage, spinach, tomatoes, noodles and whatever else fell out of the spice cabinet.  She was a good student and taster too (LOL).

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you come again soon.

Concert

I was on a conference call when a group of kids rang my doorbell.  After the call was finished I went to the door.  They asked if they could use my gazebo for the surprise they had for me.  I sort of already knew they were planning something (lol).  I was presented with a concert in the high heat of the day.  I tried to get them to wait until the sun went down, but they were so excited and it had been so difficult to get everyone together.  So Dugan (my dog) and I got some water and sat in the hot blazing sun as they set up the 'stage'.



Rocker girl!



2 Kool Kats



2 cool 4 words

 

Make the beat with your feet

Dugan is grooving too (lol)

I got skills Miss Tina!

I will make lo with these photos (there are several more), but I had to share.  The children drew pictures, made decorations and wrote three songs.  The first one was called "Friends"  it was a ballad.  The second one was a rap called "Chicken Wing" and the third one was called "Summer Vacation", a rock song if I ever heard one (lol).  I was so pleased with their organization and cooperation.  I can see little drama kings and queens in the making.  I cannot wait to get them in one of my drama classes.  This was a nice concert and I hope they perform it for other folks in the neighborhood. 



ROCK ON, DUDE!

Afterwards we all drank water and juice to cool off.  This was a nice break.

Thanks for stopping by.  Come back soon.

Pleasant interruptions

I had planned on staying in all day and doing work around the house.  You know like busy work, cleaning and uhhhh CRAFTING perhaps (LOL) Then comes a knock on the door.  It was the little guy from next door asking if he could come to my house.  His G'mom (my neighbor) said it was ok.   

As soon as He put on the apron he exclaimed Hey Miss Tina, We're chefs! We sure are baby, I replied.  He wanted to make something to share with the other kids when they got home from school.  I had to scramble to find ingredients to make something.  At first we were making rice crispy treats, but the marshmallows did not melt-they were stale-perfect for cocoa (lol).  So we made peanut butter pie instead (whew...no eggs required).  The neighborhood kids loved it and this little guy lit up when I told them that he made it.  The next day I took his second pie to his grandparents.  They loved his creation.

So after that, back to my original plans.  Later that day another knock comes:  Miss Tina can we borrow your table and some poster board, we want to sell lemonade? Another neighbor had given them a can of frozen concentrate lemonade.  After asking them a few questions:  Do you have cups? Do you have ice? Something to put the money in? I had them come in to make a sign.  We talked about sharing the profit with charity.  Did the math to determine cost incurred and what the profit would be.  They made a shopping and to do list.  They drew a sketch of their sign and then I introduced them to the cricut. You know they were amazed and loved the machine...just like I do!

 Wow! This is cool.

                                                                     Is it done cutting?

We are on our our way!

 The other little guy is not pictured-he is under the table playing with the dog-Dugan.

The children designed the sign by themselves.  I only added the bling as the decimal in the prices (gotta have bling-lol) So the kids did not set up their stand yet.  It has been really cool weather the last few days.  They are still trying to get their parents to get the stuff on their shopping list...like uhhh more lemonade (lol).  I was in the store and got a few things to donate to them-cups, napkins. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Come back soon. 

One came back...

I hosted a craft Pass-it-party for a group of neighborhood children.  They were to make cards for Mother's Day.  I was feeling frustrated when the children arrived with unsigned activity registration forms, late, unfed, hungry and thirsty.  There were several class interruptions by latecomers, and the really young children who all wanted to come to the party.  I had explained in detail that the event was for the 9-12 year olds and that there would be a future event for the 5-8 year olds.  I also stressed that the registration form had to be filled out completely.  Sadly, I had to turn away several crying children.  All I can do is provide the service, parents still have to follow the directions and do their part.  Unfortunately, the children are caught in the middle.  Pass-it-on parties are NOT free childcare, they are classes.  Education in a party setting.

Fast forward to Mother's Day.  I was sitting outside soaking up the sun.  I was feeling sort of lonely and just plain old BLAH!  I couldn't really get into the book I had carried with me to read.  So, I was just watching the birds, bugs and bees.  You know making sure the grass was growing straight. (LOL)  Then kids started to come outside.  One little boy came down the street and said hello.   He had been one of the pass-it-on party goers.  He proceeded to tell me how much his mom liked her card. How she picked one of the flowers from the front of the card right away revealing "I will help by taking out the trash."  The BLAH's went away immediately.  It all seemed worth it, because one came back.  Ironically, this child had made a pot holder also the week before.  During that party his attitude was so challenging.  I wanted to kick him out of my studio so badly.  By the grace of God, I hung in there and so did he.  I told him I was very proud of him and hoped to see him at a future pass-it-on party.

At the craft party the children were very creative.  All of the cards were different.  They did a great job spelling the sentiment inside.  They were clever in coming up with chores to help with.   The children were even practicing their delivery lines "...here Mom, this is for you..."   I was chuckling to myself as I watched them.  Then I was awed by their response to the little certificates of completion I gave them.  Their faces lit up as they read "Great Job, you took the leap (picture of frog)..."  They each had smiles and looks of victory on their faces.  They actually made a bigger fuss over those certificates than they did over the favor bags they received.  And those were filled with toys, games and candy.

A chore was written on the back of each flower



Someone reported that their Mom picked all three flowers in just one day



Thanks for stopping by. 

All the materials used in this project are from the Teen Queen stash.

You're never too young...

...to pay it forward.  My girlfriend was visiting with her two sons.  I was poised to give out food that day so she and I had the boys to help.  In fact, they did a great deal of the work.  The were very eager as they  helped to separate, bag and load up food.  This was a small giveaway, only two bags per family.  It was still hard to steer the rolling cart full of groceries, but this little guy insisted that he could and wanted to push the cart.  

 

The brothers worked together and shared the tasks. 

The younger brother ran ahead so he could knock on the door of each house.   

When the people didn't come to the door right away he said "Do you think we should answer the doorbell?" So sweet, we all knew he meant 'ring' the doorbell.

The children were a delight to watch as they greeted the people and gave them the bags of groceries.  It is so easy to wear the tee shirt that says "WWJD", but it is great to take action showing kindness and love to others.  These little boys proved that you are never too young to learn to share and give.
 
My heart and mind are full of so many passages of scripture about selflessness, giving, sharing and the poor, but Proverbs 22:6 KJV encompasses all those messages:  Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

RAK for neighborhood kids

I made a bunch of these dogs for the kids in my neighborhood.  I used brown and tan cardstock.  Under the ear it says "Have a nice day!" with a smiley face sticker.  There is a tic-tac-toe game under the other ear.  The inside is filled with silly bands.  The back has a little blurb about sharing and giving.  The children have been doing really good about helping the neighbors with little things like putting away trash cans, picking up paper etc.  They have a lot to learn about community and doing the right thing just because and not only when they are prompted by someone else.  I just want to keep them encouraged.

The back says:

SHARE and GIVE

No matter what you have you can always share it

The heart that you have when you give to others

Is like the heart that God has when He gives to you

Only His heart is BIGGER!

When you give something, do not expect anything in return

Just give because you want to show someone love

Give because God says it’s the right thing to do

Miss Teen Teen

Are they listening?

We got a lot of snow the other day. I was content to stay locked inside and dig out later. Especially when the folks who were knocking on the door offering to shovel my driveway were adult men and women and asking for way too much money. I guess it is a sign of hard times. Gone are the days when the neighborhood kids did that sort of thing. I can remember raking leaves, cutting grass, shoveling snow and planting gardens. I digress...So, I am sitting at my desk pretending to work when I hear this scraping noise outside the window. I go to look and it is some of the neighborhood kids shoveling Miss Tina's driveway. I was moved to tears. I was especially moved when I saw a little 4 year old with his baby shovel helping.

I have been telling these kids for three years that we are a community and we need to care about each other. Everything is not always about money. When you see Ms. Mary across the street carrying groceries or dragging her trash can to the curb--HELP HER. I was not sure if they were listening. Still, I kept encouraging them to show love to our neighbors. So after they built 2 snow forts and had several snowball fights they decided to shovel my driveway.

I bundled up and went outside to thank them. I used my wheelchair so I could help too (can't lift the snow while standing). I could not run, so they took that as a moment to flood me with snowballs. They loved getting Miss Tina wet...quiet as it is kept, I had fun too.

I invited them in for cookies and hot chocalate. Over our snack I learned that they had helped a couple of neighbors a few times washing cars and cutting grass. And that they decided on their own to help me that day. Whoo Hooo!

Well I am thankful that they are getting the idea of being connected as a community. It was all fun and games until someone spilled hot chocolate...of course they cleaned it up. Aren't there laws about child labor (LOL)