A Season of Giving :: How to Get Your Family Involved in Community Service

If the world seems cold to you, kindle fires to warm it. ~Lucy Larcom

 

With the season of giving upon us, many families wonder how they might incorporate gifts and actions of helpfulness into their holiday schedules. November happens to be the perfect month to begin serving others. Children of all ages, as well as adults, can develop a sense of community awareness and a zeal for assisting those in great need.

First, visit your city’s Chamber of Commerce or Visitor Center and discover if there are any upcoming city-wide volunteer opportunities or events where you and your family can assist. Our city just finished a garbage clean-up day and will be hosting a Thanksgiving food drive in a couple of weeks. Our family will participate in both of these activities. The latter being dear to my heart as our first Thanksgiving in California, while my husband was in the Navy, found us without a Thanksgiving dinner. The kindness of strangers that year really impacted me and my husband and showed us that there are always people who care.

Performing a quick internet search for non-profit organizations in your area will also give you an outlet for assisting. Non-profits can range from therapeutic horse programs to homeless shelters and everything in between. Choose one or two for the month and call to find their immediate needs. With the current cold snap, one of the homeless missions here in Longview posted it is in desperate need of children’s jackets today. The boys and I will go through their closets in a little while to see if we have a couple to donate and deliver. Sometimes, these organizations have immediate needs and can be helped with very little effort.

Another great way to serve this season is to simply find a need and fill the void. One of boys’ friends enlisted his entire Anchor Club to assist in a project called Bags of Hope where local youth, with the support of friends and family, are gathering winter supplies to deliver to our homeless men and women. In a completely different way of serving, each year the boys and I help set up a train display at a local museum. Children and families are allowed to visit and enjoy the spirit of the season. My boys love helping with this because they know the enjoyment this brings to the young and old.

For the younger generation have them scan Facebook for needs in your community. I know a lot of people don’t see a positive value in the social media giant Facebook, but I have seen firsthand lives changed through help by others via this social community. One organization in town who assists with foster care placement by giving away clothes and other necessities posts to Facebook when needs arise, as does our Humane Society.

In addition, Random Acts of Kindness are always a hit with children and teens. Various times throughout the year my boys and their friends (and parents) get together to make baked goods to delivery to firehouses, help out at local senior community homes, and more. These small unofficial service opportunities can be created with little effort, but have a large impact.

One very important thing to remember when serving, is to serve with a servant’s heart – know that while you may think something you are working on is not in the lime-light for the world to see, it is the most important thing at the time to whomever you are serving, and know that your actions, no matter how small, are always appreciated.

A lot of times, service opportunities abound this time of year because Christmas gets people into the mood to give. Please let this season become the catalyst for your family’s permanent actions in your community. As a parent, one of the greatest lessons I can share with my children is a pride in community service for as I get older, they will be the ones to help shape the world we live in and I want it to be better than the one I know.

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For those in the Longview area, here are some upcoming service opportunities:

• Thanksgiving Food Drive
• Highway 80 Homeless Mission Needs List
•  Legacy Closet
• Windridge Equestrian Therapeutic Center
•  Humane Society of Northeast Texas
• Buckner International Longview

Texas Travel :: The Circuit of the Americas

 

It’s loud, it’s fast, and the cars racing are anything but inexpensive - welcome to The Circuit of the Americas. Built for speed, endurance and precision, the track, affectionately called COTA, resides just outside of Austin’s city limits. Three years into its opening, this venue hosts world renown racing events: Formula One Grand Prix, LeMans, MotoGP, Vintage, X Games and more bringing not only revenue and employment to the state, but also a sense of flair, adventure and something a little more worldly to the spectators enjoying the vibrant hum of racing engines.

 

 

 

 

Our last family outing took us to COTA during the Lonestar LeMans and Tudor Cup. Three days of class races featuring car makers: Audi, Aston-Martin, BMW, Ferrari, SRT, Mazda, Porsche, and Corvette. In addition to watching the practice runs and races, we were also able to walk the Paddock, meet race teams and view all the cars close up. Before the end of the weekend, the boys were loaded down with tons of swag from Continental Tire, Corvette, SRT, and more.

 

The street track at COTA is 3.4 miles long and filled with twenty turns, of which the majority are to the left for added driving difficulty. In addition to the track, COTA features a Grand Plaza, and Observation Tower, the Austin360 Amphitheatre, and the Main Grandstand. COTA also has clean and climate controlled restrooms, food vendors, and a first aide tent.

If you decide to visit the Circuit of the Americas for any upcoming races, here’s what I recommend bringing:

·       A small, lightweight backpack

·       A camera, lens, SD cards

·       Sunscreen

·       Tylenol or Advil in case of a headache

·       Ear plugs or other hearing protection

·       Cash for food and beverage purchases (most take credit cards, but cash is always easier)

·       A parka if there is a chance of rain

·       Bottles of unopened drinking water

Our family had a splendid time admiring the various cars, watching them roar past us, and exploring the Paddock. We plan to go again next year and recommend this as a great outing for any car enthusiasts. I think my favorite part about the whole event was the rain storm. I watched with eyes wide open as three super cars delicately slid off the track with minimal damage. It was definitely the highlight of the races! 

A Family Outting :: The Greater Longview Delta Waterfowl Banquet

My husband and my eldest son are avid duck hunters, so when I discovered that our local chapter of the Delta Waterfowl Foundation was hosting a banquet this past Saturday, I just had to get tickets. Goodness, my guys were excited!

A national organization, Delta Waterfowl's mission includes sustaining habitats, supporting conservation, and promoting the sport of waterfowling. The group focuses on drawing youth into duck hunting through yearly programming and hands-on activities. In addition, Delta Waterfowl provides predator management, offers sustainability programs like Adopt-a-Pothole and Build a Hen House, and the Waterfowl Heritage Fund.

At the Greater Longview Waterfowl Banquet, attendees were greeted with logo camo ball caps and the opportunity to win several different types of prized packages, guns, live and silent auction items, as well as the general raffle items. Participants were encouraged to purchase raffle ticket packs and specialty drawings for duck hunter packages, deer hunter packages, mystery gun chances, and more. In addition, other games like Pluck-a-Duck were offered to further enhance the evening.

Youth in attendance were given a camo ball cap and an entry into the youth gun drawing. For any youth not winning one of twenty-five giveaway guns, they received a Buck Gardner duck call and a Hunter's Specialties camo bag. While my boys didn't win a gun, they were thrilled to have received all the of neat things presented to them by the chapter. My youngest especially loved his duck call!

 

After a catfish and chicken dinner, the silent auction wrapped up and the live auction began.  One of the cutest auction items happened to be a pedigree Labrador puppy with two months of training. He was adorable! We bid on a few items in the live auction, but they soon surpassed our budget. However, I did win a silent auction item and surprised my husband with it! All money raised from this event will go back out into the community to promote Delta Waterfowl's mission and help with the Wounded Warriors, as well as purchasing lifetime hunting licenses for future youth and college scholarships.

This was a well organized event and I highly recommend anyone looking for a great evening supporting a fabulous organization mark your calendars for next year! While you wait, be sure to become a member of Delta Waterfowl and enjoy all of the yearly programming and activities your chapter puts on. Our family is looking forward to becoming new members this year!

Act of Kindness :: Buckner International Shoe's for Orphan Souls

I believe, that whenever possible, we should help those who need help. Sometimes that may be in the form of monetary donations, hands-on services, emotional support, tangible items, or simply friendship. Anyone may need assistance at anytime - meals for a grieving family, donations for a medical necessity, helping fundraise for a variety of reasons, and even just lending an ear. We may give to our family, friends, community members or even complete strangers and non-profit organizations which champion a plethora of causes. I do believe whenever we are called to be thoughtful, caring, and supportive in our communities, we need to answer.

I oftentimes share acts of kindness with our homeschool group hoping to engage families and youth to be more community service minded; my boys are no exception. We routinely see a need and try to fill it or at least do our part to lessen someone else's burden. Our family really believes that helping others is a part of life.  

Earlier this month, I wanted to set up a shoe drive for Buckner International's Shoes for Orphan Soul's Ministry. This is a fabulous service project for groups to do together and I highly recommend starting one in your community. However, I found out two weeks ago that Buckner was collecting shoes for our community's impoverished children through our local Lifeway Christian Bookstore and Chick-fil-a, so I decided to rally the troops and give-back locally. Shoes from this donation would be supplied to the Junior League of Longview in their annual school supply drive where area youth would not only receive necessary school supplies, but also a uniform top, new shoes, and a hair cut.
 

Several of our homeschool families participated and I was completely pleased with their efforts! The boys and I did some shopping for our family and another and then delivered our purchases to Lifeway. While this was a simple monetary/tangible goods donation, my kiddos took careful time to select the shoes they thought would make a boy or girl happy to wear. They were careful to stay within our donation budget and visited many stores before finally making their purchase. Not only did this act of kindness help other children, it taught my boys how to be price conscience, how to stay within a budget, how to think of others, and how good it feels to help someone else.

What are some ways you encourage your children to be good stewards in their community? Do you have a favorite organization or activity you give to each year?

Grand Opening Celebration :: The Toy Place, Tyler, TX

Next Saturday, one of my favorite toy stores, The Toy Place, (formerly known as The Knowledge Nook of Longview) will be celebrating their Grand Opening in Tyler, Texas. Included in the festivities will be a photo opportunity with Elsa and Olaf, Frozen craft activities, toy demonstrations, prizes, give-aways and more! You don't want to miss welcoming the newest toy store to town!

Located in the same shopping center as Jason's Deli, Nothing Bundt Cakes, and Starbucks, The Toy Place aims to please! Owners Paul and Brenda Allegrezza will be on hand to meet and greet new customers. The Allegrezza family has been providing toys to children for the past nine years and is eager for The Toy Place to become a household name. The store offers thousands of products from the best manufacturers including LEGO(R), Ezyroller, Madame Alexander, Hape, and more.

Offering birthday and Christmas registries, free gift-wrapping and custom orders, The Toy Place should be your first stop for holidays, birthdays and random Tuesdays!

Location: 4905 S. Broadway Tyler, TX
Phone: 903.581.5100

Little Adventures of the Day to Day :: Harvesting Grapes in the Vineyard

Ever so often, I get the opportunity to check something off my Master List, otherwise known as the bucket list to most individuals. This week, I did exactly that!

One of my friend's recently moved to California, near our old stomping ground, and we've missed her family terribly! She sent me a message  earlier this week offering a chance to pick grapes at her vineyard since the fruit was ripe and there was no one to harvest. Of course, I squealed and immediately replied, "Yes, I would love too!"

Jake and I went out mid-week to check on the fruit and to see how it was faring with the birds and the Texas heat. The minute I stepped between the rows of vines, I no longer felt as if I were in East Texas, but somewhere magical and far away. There were no sounds except for the birds and bugs and whatever tromping noises my husband and I made as we walked through the grass. There was a slight breeze and the sun, while hot, was nice on my back as we clipped grape bunches from the vines.

The wine grapes were sweet orbs of glistening nectar beckoning me to pick more!

There is something soulful about completing a task you've always wanted to accomplish, but weren't quite sure when and where. I think I may have had a huge grin on my face the entire time I was in the vineyard. I appreciate the opportunity my friend offered me and I am thankful.



 

Experimental Recipes :: Blue, Oh So Blueberry Muffins

 

  Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons of melted butter
1 Cup of milk
1 egg

1 Cup of all-purpose flour
1 Cup of cornmeal
1/2 Cup of sugar
3 Teaspoons baking powder
1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon salt

1 Cup of blueberries, hand-picked are always better!

Let's Begin:

Heat your oven to 375 degrees F. Grease muffin pans or use parchment liners. I like to use non-stick spray.

Mix together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Beat together the butter, milk, and egg in another bowl. Make a small well in the center of the dry ingredients and then, pour the wet ingredients into it. Using a large spoon, combine all the ingredients quickly by folding, until all ingredients are moistened. The batter should be lumpy and not smooth.

Spoon the batter into the muffin tins, filling each about two-thirds of the way fill.Bake for 20 minutes or until nicely browned. Let them rest for about 5 minutes before taking them out of their tins.

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These are extremely quick & easy and can be prepared before the kids are ready for breakfast. My boys devour them in a matter of minutes, so I always have to hide a couple for myself! Enjoy!

Weekly Goals, Cinderella, a Lime Tree, and a Recap of Last Week!

Weekly Goals for 8/4/2014-8/10/2014

Summer Fun

• An evening out with Jake - Here's hoping this week's date doesn't have us back in urgent care!
• A movie break with friends
• Crew Work Day for As You Like It***
• Back to ArtsView for one more week of Cinderella! My eldest son got to play Prince Charming on Saturday for a photo shoot!

 

 *** For those who don't know, this Summer, I've directed our homeschool group's first annual Theatre in the Park performance of As You Like It. Many of our students performing have never had acting experience so I really wanted to bring the theatre to life for them. We have some seasoned players and our cast and crew span from 7 years to 16 years old. It has been a wonderful experience! This week, we're working on the finishing touches for the set for a performance at the end of August. ***
 

Around the House

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

• Organize under the master bedroom sinks
• Organize all the school supplies
• Plant my new key lime tree ~ Isn't it adorable!!!
• Hang photos 

 Recipes

• Help boys select recipes for their cooking class - Italy is this month!

Planning - both of these are back on the list this week as I still have more to work on them before I can cross them off!

• Homeschool book sale
• Grand Opening for the Toy Place 

Giving

• Dylexia fund for a sweet girl
• Get Well Soon package to another sweet girl

Reading

• Continue Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv  
• Begin The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King ~ I'm really excited to start this book! I've had it in my possession for a little while and I've been waiting for the perfect time to read it!

Just Me

• Garden work
• Study up on Soccer
• Back to the Gym
• Blog articles
• Thirty-One schedule set for Fall   

 

Weekly Goals for 7/28/2014 - 8/3/2014

Summer Fun

• Chase hot air balloons with my boys!  We had a lot of rain this week, so most of our ballooning was sparse this year!
• Have a birthday party for the youngest : )  I always love birthday parties and this one was fantastic! I've never seen so many children play soccer for the first time and enjoy themselves so much!
• Take a swim
• Enjoy ArtsView's summer camp Cinderella! Last week was a busy week of costuming and prepping the set. This coming week, we will have some last minute items to finalize!
• An evening out with Jake Not quite the evening out I had hoped for as we landed in the urgent care clinic on Monday for stitches...ugh!

Around the House

• Dust....achoo!
• Wash windows
• Fertilize and prune the roses
• Organize the garden cabinet

Recipes

• Strawberry Lemonade I didn't get too this one, this week!
• Fresh Blueberry Muffins Sharing the recipe with you all!

Planning

• Homeschool book sale
• Grand Opening for my favorite toy store

         I've worked on both of the above goals last week, but they will carry over into this week as there is more to be done : ) 
 
Giving

• Buckner International's Shoes for Orphan Soles drive

Reading

• Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv

Just Me

• Create an inventory/expense spreadsheet for my Thirty-One consulting
• Work on blog articles
• Hit the gym   

The Great Texas Balloon Race :: Up, Up and Away!!!

Every year, balloonists from all over the world gather together in Longview, also known as The Balloon Race Capital of Texas, to compete in national and international races. While the National race kicked off yesterday, balloon flights will take place over Longview, Kilgore and the East Texas Regional Airport through Sunday, August 3rd.

In addition to daily flights, balloons appear throughout the area at local special events. Tonight, the boys, Jake and I will head to Driller Park in Kilgore to watch the Pump Jacks play baseball, enjoy root beer, and get an up close look during a special balloon glow event.

On Friday, August 1st, the specialty balloons will be inflated in the early morning hours for children and adults to enjoy. A list of where each balloon will be located is provided here. This is always a treat for my boys as we usually get to help set up a specialty balloon and meet the crew!

The weekend festivities are fantastic for families. You can purchase advanced tickets for entry into the festival grounds (which I highly recommend).  In the evening, depending upon the wind and weather, pilots perform an incredible balloon glow for all the spectators. There is a special "kid zone," food vendors, music and more. This year's musical performances include Roger Creagar and Tracy Lawrence.

I sincerely hope you get to enjoy these wonderful balloons sometime this week!

Texas Barbecue :: A Summertime Favorite!

Summer in Texas is synonymous with Bar-B-Que. From grilling in the backyard to enjoying this mouth-watering culinary delight in restaurants, most Texans (and many Americans!) spend countless hours dining on grilled meats and veggies throughout the season. In the past, Jake and I have even made special trips around the state just for some fabulous southern BBQ!

One of our favorite places is located in the quaint town of Taylor, Texas. Home of the best black-peppered brisket I've ever had the honor to dine upon, Louie Mueller Barbeque is absolutely stellar, and  not to mention historical.Their hours of operation can sometimes differ, so be sure to call or check their website for updates before heading that way. I promise you want this barbeque on your bucket list!

If you really want to get serious about BBQ, Texas Monthly wrote an article several years back about the best B-B-Q establishments in Texas and someone added the list to a Google map. (This is kind of like cheating!) So, scour the state and pick a few in your vicinity to visit!

If you hadn't already noticed, I spelled BBQ several different ways over the course of three short paragraphs. And, just as frequently as the spelling changes so does the flavor, cut and style of barbeque change across the state. The info-graphic below sheds a little light on the variety of Texas Barbecue.   

 

So, Bar-B-Q connoisseurs, where do you go for the tastiest BBQ this side of the Red River? I'd love to try out some of these long-favored establishments in the near future!