Forward Friday - Fail

In light of this crazy YUCK that has taken over my body... I've spent the past 5 days feeling like my insides were going to projectile spew out in front of me... I know TMI (sorry Dad!). So lets just say that I haven't been feeling very "Forward" in terms of my coworkers. So I think that I'll just pick back up with that next week, so it gives you guys time to catch up... that is if you want to.

In the mean time - Summer - has the most amazing Pay it Forward story for this week, so I'll direct you over there to get some inspiration. Summer has such a sweet heart, and I'm so glad she shared that story with us this week.

So remember that the goal for next week is that we do something special for our coworkers - or one particular coworker... whatever you feel is best in your situation. If you are a stay at home Mom... be creative - I'm sure there is a coach, Sunday school teacher, or someone that you "work" with in your endeavor to raise your child... so pay it forward to them.

Also - don't forget to submit your entries for the YOUR CHOICE GIVEAWAY!! You have up to three entries to win one of 4 great prizes... so pop on over and get your entries submitted.

Forward Fridays - Love

Well, I hope that you all joined me this week by doing something special... either by sending notes in the mail to people that needed a little extra love this week which was last week's assignment for me... or by picking up right along with me, and doing something special for the love in your life.

I don't want to assume that we're all married here - so I say love in a general term... there are so many people in our lives that in the drama of the day to day can easily get forgotten or taken for granted. That was what this assignment was meant to be all about. Taking a moment to let someone special in your life - your spouse, parent, sibling, best friend, boyfriend/girlfriend, or child - know that you appreciate all that they bring to your life.

I've said it before, but I can't say it often enough - John is a wonderful husband... and a wonderful man in general. He truly is special... and ultimately perfect for me. He is my strength, my comfort, and my soul mate. I love him more and more each day - and can't wait until I can watch him be the amazing father that I know he will be.

This has been a hard week for me emotionally - I can't explain why, but I've been feeling a dark cloud hanging over me for the entire week - and during one of those moments, I learned that our failed placement was hard on John too. I knew that in the back of my mind, but men don't always show emotion the way that women do... and especially not the way THIS woman does. (Heart on my sleeve girl... HERE!!) So, while chatting about my emotions one day this week - John let me in on the secret that he has good and bad days with all of this too. It was good to know that I'm not crazy, and that he feels it too. Not that I want him to hurt or feel any pain, but just knowing that we are in the same place was comforting.

What did I do to show a little extra love and appreciation this week, you ask? Well, one unexpected thing and one planned thing...

I don't know how regional the restaurant, Olive Garden, is... but when you get your check at the end of the meal, they typically bring you this chocolate mint that is one of John's favorites. At the office on Monday - we got a delivery of some candy from one of our sponsors to thank us for the luncheon... and while it wasn't the same chocolate mints that the Olive Garden gives - it tasted exactly the same... so I grabbed a couple of them and brought them home to my Hubs - because I know how much he enjoys them.

Then today, I wrote John a special little note and slipped it in his lunch bag with this breakfast and lunch that I packed for him. The packing of his daily breakfast and lunch isn't any different from everyday, but the special note was! I got a text message while I was still driving to the office this morning telling me that he got it and that he appreciated it.

Tonight we're going on a date night - with dinner and a concert. We'll be seeing the Casting Crowns tonight and I hope that it is a very special night for him - he loves music and he deserves a night to get out and relax after taking such good care of me for the last month or so. (Ok, really 11 years as of today... this is our 11th anniversary of our first date!)

Sooo...

Tell me what you did this week as your pay it forward activity...

* Did you send someone a note in the mail?

* Did you make/buy a special little gift?

* What did you do?

Next week's assignment:

Lets do something special for someone at our office... school... or somewhere that you do work. If you're a stay at home Mom... I'd say this would be a time to do something special for your child or maybe a coach if the child is in little league... or a dance teacher? Be creative folks... and be ready to report back on how you made someone else's day brighter!!

Forward Fridays - Mail

I promised some new features here on the ol' blog, and today is the start of my roll out of three new featured posts each week. With the help of an awesome friend - the idea for Forward Fridays was born. The concept here is taking the movie Pay it Forward and bringing into our daily lives. So each week - I'll tell you about something I've done to make the world a brighter place, ask that you guys report back on what you've done, and give us all an assignment for the next week. You guys ready to play along? GOOD!

To get us started, I'd like to talk about ways that you can REALLY brighten someone's day by sending them a little something special in the mail. How many of us dread going to the mailbox these days - because the only stuff in them are bills and junk? I know I do... I've even gone so far as to come up with my theory that if I don't go to the mailbox - nothing bad can happen.

So what would happen if we all made it a regular thing to try to brighten someone's day/week/month... or whatever by sending them a little sumthin' sumthin' in the mail? I'm not even necessarily talking about a gift - but even just a letter, a card, a homemade card... maybe even a drawing from your kids... it doesn't have to cost alot - it's just a little guesture to let someone know you're thinking about them or praying for them.

In the last few weeks, we've been going through a lot at my house... and some very special people have stepped up to help support me where I've needed it. I've sent about 4 cards to people just to let them know how much they mean to me over the last week or so... 3 of them thank you cards to friends who have gone above and beyond to help me get through our failed placement.

One of them might be a little surprising... I think that I've mentioned that I wrote it before, but in light of our failed placement and the circumstances around that - it came to me that I needed to write a note to the birth mother that was to give us her baby, but ultimately kept her. I felt that I needed to tell her that we still love her and that we wish her nothing but the best for her family. It was an overwhelming feeling that came over me that I needed to do that before I could move on with my life - and while I'm still struggling to do the moving on part... I know in my heart that this small card might bring this young mother some peace if she had any guilt about her last minute change of heart. I know that the change of heart didn't come because of her alone - she's young after all and the birth father was able to manipulate her into keeping the baby with the hope of rebuilding their romantic relationship.

I sent the card to our adoption agency to forward on to this mother, and I can imagine the moment she recieved it as being a very unexpected item in her mailbox - a token of love from someone she only met once, but someone who loves her and will have her as a part of her memory forever. I can imagine the smile on her face and potentially the relief in her heart knowing that the very people who would have potentially raised her child... still pray for her baby and her entire family in the wake of the ultimate dissapointment. Maybe just maybe - she'll pray for us too now in light of seeing that I truly do have the heart of a mother.

Have you sent anyone special in your life anything in the mail this week that will be an unexpected joy for them? Tell me about it...

Next week's assignment: Brighten up the day of someone that lives in your house, who sometimes might get neglected in light of the drain of day to day life... do something special and unexpected for your spouse. Be creative...

Feel free to grab this graphic and concept and take it over to your own blog... I'd love to see how others will use this and how much love we could spread around the world. Let me know that you're doing it - and send me a link to your post.