Be Present Service Challenge - Week 6

I can’t believe we’ve made it to our last and final week of the Be Present Service Challenge! I really am humbled and thrilled to read what many of you have have done throughout the past few weeks.

Week 6 – Love Your Community Printable

My  boys love when we drive by our State Capital Building :)

1. Simple Acts of Service – I’ll be the first to admit when I think of service, community isn’t the first on my list. I’m from a small town and when you know everyone it’s easier to jump in an feel like you’re making a difference! But living in Utah where I don’t know many people, it’s just different. But I recently stumbled across a quote from Spencer W. Kimball and it made me think a little differently, it states:

“We must remember that those mortals we meet in parking lots, offices, elevators, and elsewhere are that portion of mankind that God has given us to love and serve.” 

Many times when I’m out and about I’m focused solely on my kids, but this week I’ll be be attempting to notice more people around me and remember it’s often the little things that make big differences, even when it comes to strangers.

Deliver some cookies!

2. Thank Someone – This is an easy one to get kids involved with. Write a note, bake a treat, or drop something off for someone in your community. I’m sure my boys will pick the policeman and fireman, but my goal is to think outside of the box and thank someone who is rarely thanked. Any ideas?

Here’s a free printable sharing Random Act of Kindness cards you can attach to serve anonymously if that’s more your thing.

Get out and clean!

3. Make it Beautiful – Let’s get out and beautify our community! When you first enter our subdivision, there’s a bunch of leaves piled up against a fence on the parkway strip. I plan on taking my kids and raking the leaves up. In fact, I told them today what we would be  doing later this week, and it led to a conversation about why we should care about our community.

I know six weeks is long, but I am so thrilled with how many participated! The stories I’ve heard, the good deeds performed, it all makes me so happy to think of all the love and hope spread throughout the past few weeks.

But most of all, how did it affect you? Did you notice a difference? What did you learn? I know I definitely learned some lessons, especially on spouse week. I was reminded that it doesn’t have to be something big  in order to have it count. I need to consistently think of ways to involve my boys and lead by example. It also reaffirmed that there are blessings that come from serving.

Thanks to everyone who joined us, we really do appreciate all of you who check in on our little corner of the world from time to time. We love you!

Be Present Service Challenge–Week 5

Neighbors!

Week 5 is all about loving our neighbors!

Download the free printable here. It will give you ideas on how to serve.

1. Get to know them – Last summer we moved into a new house, and I’m embarrassed to say there are a couple neighbors I still haven’t met! I’ve waited to see them outside, but I haven’t. So this week I plan on knocking on their door with a some goodies in hand and introducing myself.

Let’s make an effort to meet somebody new this week.

2. Serve your neighbor – It’s easy to serve those we know, but what about those we don’t know? I feel like serving neighbors can make a huge impact in their life. But remember it doesn’t have to be big! Even shoveling their walkway or taking in their garbage can is a great place to start.

I have three incredible neighbors who make a big difference in my family’s life and it pushes me to be better at recognizing other neighbor’s needs. One older neighbor watches my daughter every single week while I take my boys to speech! I am so grateful! This week I not only want to give back to them, but to other neighbors I haven’t met.

Here’s a FREE PRINTABLE to help you serve your neighbors. I always feel it’s easier to show up with something in hand when introducing myself.

3. Invite them over – Here is one to stretch all of us! Invite your neighbors over! Spending a little time with them will help build a better relationship and will help you enjoy where you live even more. Invite a neighbor (or two) over for dinner, dessert, or even a game night. There’s more ideas listed on the printable as well. The goal with this option is to really form a long lasting relationship.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes. I’ll be sharing some ideas on social media, so stay tuned!

Easter Printable

The past few days we’ve been out and about more and it officially feels like spring! I’m itching for warmer weather and so are my kids.

Recently, I’ve developed a huge love for plants! I’ve started filling our new home with houseplants and have been doing some research to spruce up our landscaping in the front of our house.

With Easter quickly approaching and it being week 4 (friend week) in our Be Present Service Challenge, we created this darling FREE PRINTABLE to add to any flower or plant. I love how it turned out, don’t you? You can bet I’m also giving these to the ladies I visit teach! I plan on delivering them this Friday.

You can’t go wrong with gifting any type of flower arrangement, tulip bulbs, or succulents. So go grab something that catches your eye and make your friends smile.

Happy Gifting.

Kids Easter Activities

Last week I left Pat and the kids and took off for six days to attend a wedding in Colombia! (Yes, in South America! It was incredible! I promise a post is coming soon!) It wasn’t until Sunday that I realized Easter was a week away and panicked for a minute. I didn’t have anything planned.

Today my boys asked if we were going to do anything fun this week, so I quickly planned a couple of simple activities throughout the week and thought I’d share. They are low budget and super simple to throw together real fast.

Simple Bunny Masks

We grabbed:

• white pipe cleaners (3 for each child)
• popsicle sticks (1 for each child)
• cotton balls (1 for each child)
• white paper to cut out teeth
• Elmer’s Glue
• scissors
• a Pink Dot Marker (If you don’t have some of these, you should! My kids love them!)

1. We wrapped the pipe cleaners around the popsicle sticks and secured them with a little Elmer's glue.
2. I drew the shape of the teeth and had the boys cut them out.
3. We colored the tops of the cotton balls.
4. We glued on the teeth and cotton balls.

So simple and fun! And my boys were cracking up over them.

Exercise Easter Egg Hunt

I have about a billion Easter eggs stored away in a bin and decided an egg hunt this week would be fun,  but I didn’t want to fill them with candy… (We still have Halloween candy sitting in the cupboard) So I was looking for something other than sweets to fill the eggs with. With three boys I thought burning off some energy might be fun so here’s a simple Easter Egg Hunt Filled With Fun Exercises that kids will enjoy.

Print a couple copies and you’ll be ready to go! I’m already thinking of fun ways to twist this in my mind and am confident that it will make for a fun afternoon.

Happy Easter, enjoy!

Be Present Service Challenge–Week 4

Can you believe how fast this challenge is speeding by? I hope you’re starting to see how easy it is to make small little changes that make big differences. So far we’ve completed:

• Love Yourself
• Love Your Spouse
• Love Your Kids

And this week we’re focusing on loving our friends!

• Week 4 – Love Your Friend Printable

This is when people usually tend to panic and doubt themselves. We’re no longer serving inside our own home and sometimes we get so caught up in our gift being perfect that we tend to overthink it.

I get it, we all want our actions to be received well, but I promise, most times it really is the thought that counts. But hopefully we’ll help give you a little confidence this week. 

Find our custom watercolor cards over at Presentlee.

1. Write a note - How often do we express our love and appreciation for our friends? I know I don’t do it enough. One of the sweetest gifts I received after we lost Preslee was handwritten notes. They were a treasure and so personable. Though they were often sent to express their condolences, many wrote incredibly nice things and I couldn’t help but save them. They did a wonder for my spirits, and helped give me confidence.

With e-mail and texts, handwritten notes seem to be rare these days, so let’s take some time to send a note to the people we love most. It doesn’t have to be lengthy, just express your gratitude for the role they play in your life.

Find our necklaces over at Presentlee.

2. Send a gift – Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve learned about some friends experiencing difficult times. Some live close, others are childhood friends spread out across the country. My goal is to send a couple small gifts (along with a personal note) to them in hopes to brighten their day.

And remember, they don’t have to be struggling, with anything, sometimes my favorite thing to do is send a gift just because or one that contains an inside joke! Let’s let our friends know we truly care for them.

This cute measuring cup is part of the Chip and Joanna Gaines line at Target

3. Serve them – This is my favorite way to serve friends. I love grabbing small things and leaving it on their doorstep with a quick little text. I love the surprise aspect to brighten their day and it doesn’t take have to take a up a lot of time. When you’re out and about grab them a treat or a drink, babysit their kids, or even send them an uplifting text. I promise they’ll appreciate the effort your putting into your friendship.

Here is a FREE PRINTABLE to help you make some cute and inexpensive gifts.

Good luck this week! Let me know how it goes. Make sure to follow along on Instagram as we’ll be hosting another givewaway. This week we’ll be giving away two prizes, one for you, and one for a friend!