Raising a Good Person

How wonderful is it that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. 

--Anne Frank

If I had to sum up my goal is a parent it's to raise a good person.  As part of this goal, it's very important to me that my son grow up with the confidence that he can change things, that he can make a difference.  

But how do you teach this to a five-year old?  To me, thinking of others and of what we can do to help is a habit.  It's not something big we do once a year at Christmastime.  

I want to show him that it's the little things we do each day that really add up.  What better way to show this to a child than by example?

Looking back over just the past two months since I've been keeping this blog, I thought of three examples of "the little things" we've done to improve our little slice of the world.

Charlie

In March, we picked this sweet little stray dog on our way home from our trip to Branson.

As you can see, she was in very bad shape.  (Makes me so sad to look at these.)

But although we had no intentions of getting another dog, we couldn't leave her there.  My son has watched us take her to the vet several times, give her medicine, and nurse her back to health.  Now she is a much-valued member of our family and we feel like the lucky ones.

Notice how her tongue hangs out when she sleeps.  :)

They have the entire yard to lay in,

yet they're always on top of one another.

The Homeless

About a week ago, my son and I decided we were going to pack a picnic to take to the park downtown.  I mentioned to him that I was going to bring extra food for the homeless I often see in the area.  

My son's little mind began to work and we had a wonderful conversation about what it means to be homeless.  It made me so happy when he got excited to help.

So, we set out enough food to feed the two of us plus four more lunches.

And, as promised, he was right there to help out.

After handing out the extra lunches we sat down to enjoy our lunch.  Madd said it felt good to help other people.  

It was a good thing we passed out the lunches when we did because out of nowhere, it started to pour.  We got soaked, but it only added to the fun.

Recycling

[First, just let me say it's very hard to take myself seriously right now with that picture staring me in the face.  I'm sure you're having the same problem... so let's scroll down.]

Okay, much better.  Now where were we?  

On Earth Day, I gave my non-traditional views on saving the planet.  Then I stated that our household would be implementing a change, but didn't mention what it was.

Well, now you know.  We decided to start recycling.  My hope is that my son will develop a habit of recycling so that he'll continue doing so as an adult.  

I must admit, when I started recycling I didn't think we'd have much to recycle.  WRONG.

These bins are pretty big and they're practically overflowing by the time we set them out for pick up every Monday.  

So yes, these are three very small examples.  And yes, I'm sure my son won't remember these exact events when he's older.  But it's about how they add up.  It's about developing a habit to look around you and to see how you can help.  

And in the process of doing these little acts of kindness and thoughtfulness, I know I am making my greatest contribution to the world:  I'm molding my son into a good person.

Shh... Vinny is sleeping.

Puppy Love

Perfect Day to Play at the Park

Such a great start to the weekend MONTH!  

After I got home from class, Robert and I took Madd to the park downtown.  We flipping love this park.  However, because our trip was actually more of a spontaneous detour on our way to grab sushi ("Momma, can we go to that park and play that has the tunnels?") I didn't bring my camera.  So, cruddy pics from my Blackberry are all I have to share.  Grr.

The only thing Madd loves more than sliding down this big slide, is forcing me to slide down this big slide.

"Momma, what are you waiting on?  Just come down here already."

So of course, I did.

There are so many tunnels at the park.  It's perfect for little boys who love to explore.

Hmm.... I wonder how those jeans got a hole in the knee.

I had to crawl around the tunnels with him.  Yes, I meant to use the word crawl.  But could YOU say no to that face?  

Madd and I climbed up on a rock together and he said, "Let's just sit here and enjoy the beautiful view together."  He can be such a gentleman when he wants to be.  :)

After we left the park we ate sushi at our favorite sushi spot, Wasabi.  As usual, our eyes were bigger than our tummies.  Thank God for to-go boxes!  

I then decided to get an iPhone 4 because I've finally had enough of my piece-of-junk Blackberry.  I've gone through at least six of these things within the past two years because they just quit working.  Notice the cracked screen?  Just lovely, I know.

I think I'm going to have some type of ceremonial goodbye for it.  Maddox and I discussed this topic tonight on our way home from the Verizon store.  So, stay tuned for pictures of the ceremony.  [evil laugh]

The rest of the night was a lazy one.  Just ask Charlie.

But, we did manage to get the paintings for Madd's room that I purchased from Etsy hung above Madd's bed.  I've been waiting on these cute little guys for a month now because the seller painted them in colors specifically for his room.  I'm so glad they're here, and that Madd loves them.  

Alright.  It's time to join Charlie.  After such a great night, I'm ready for some great sleep.

Spring Breaking in Branson

My mother, sister, husband, son, and I loaded up the Envoy last Sunday and spent the week in Branson for Spring Break.  We had a great time and it was a much needed break from reality.

A few hours into our road trip to Branson we passed this sign.

I convinced the gang we should go see what this was all about.  And after going a few miles down the scariest curviest road ever, we came to this.

After a $5 entry fee per person, we were able to walk down a path and view the bridge, which has formed out of rock.  Here she is.  Pretty neat, huh?

Just so you get the idea of how big it is, here's my mother and sister standing in front of it.

Of course, we took other pictures while on the trail.  It was a beautiful day outside and the perfect spot to stretch our legs.

From left to right:  My sister, Stevie, me, and my mother, Donna.  And of course, we can't forget to mention my son Maddox standing behind my sister.  ;)

Somehow my hubby, Robert, always manages to get Madd to smile in pictures with him while I'm stuck with the funny faces.  

My child meditating on top of a rock overlooking the woods.  I love that kid.

Before we knew it, we were at the condo.  We stayed at The Escapes! in Branson.  It was small, but the couch folded out into a queen-sized bed and the price was too great to pass up.  Plus, the location was perfect.  It was just a few miles from everything and since it was located on a lake, it didn't have the feel of being in such a tourist rich area.  So here's the condo.

Madd loved the play area.

And of course, we all loved the lake.

Everyone was obviously very happy to be on vacation.  This is all of us on one of the fishing and swimming docks.

We got to the condo just in time on Sunday to watch the sunset from the swings by the lake.  It was a perfect end to the day.

 Or, maybe this was.  It depends on who you ask.

It's easy to sum up Monday.  We did a little bit of shopping and a whole lot of this.

It was hard to get into the boats.  But it was even harder to get out of them.

We were all four soaking wet and cold, but we had a great time!

Tuesday we visited the Titanic museum, which was great.  I spent over three hours in there reading everything.  But, since we couldn't take cameras in there (boo) I have no pictures of our visit there.

But never fear, I did capture the best thing that happened that day on film: my mother taking my dare to jump into the lake that morning.

As we walked down to the dock, I kept waiting for her to turn around but she was pumped up and ready to go!

The water was choppy and the wind was crazy.  

But that didn't stop her.  She set down her towels and took off her shoes.  I still kept waiting for her to say she wasn't going to do it.

But then, with no warning...  this happened.

The first words she said when she came up were, "Brrrr.... coldddd!!"  Of course, we were all laughing hysterically on the deck.

After drying off a little...

...and describing to us exactly how cold that water was... 

...she was back to her rockstar self again!  [Have I mentioned how much I love my mother?]

Wednesday we did some more shopping and visited the Dixie Stampede.  But, since I shared the highlight of that day in this blog post, I'll move right along to Thursday.

Thursday was Silver Dollar City day.  I didn't snap too many photos because we spent a lot of the day waiting in line but here are a few of the highlights (minus my mother and Maddox freezing in wet clothing after deciding that a water ride was a good idea even though it was chilly outside).

Friday was our last full day in Branson and we'd planned on spending it at Silver Dollar City as well but it was too cold due to a storm that had blown through Thursday night.  

So, we did did some packing... 

And later on found a great burger place to eat at called Fall Guys.  Robert and I ended our last evening there by going to see The 12 Irish Tenors perform while my mom, sister, and Madd visited a dinosaur museum.  

So this morning, we loaded up to come home.  Robert drove while the rest of us did a lot of this.

Well, that is until this sweet little thing crossed our path.  

I only got a glimpse of her for a second but that was all I needed to tell just how skinny she is.  I had Robert turn the car around so we could feed her some lunchmeat we had packed for the trip home.  After seeing her close up, we realized just how bad of shape she was in.  And, because she seemed really sweet and just scared, hungry, and exhausted we put her in the truck with us after we fed her.

After her bath, she warmed up by the fire while Robert and Stevie removed over 50 ticks from her.  There's no telling how long she had been abandoned or how much longer she could have survived had we not found her.  Her spine is clearly visible, as are her ribs.

Here she is on our deck after finally getting dried off from her first bath.  She is weak but she is so incredibly sweet.  It's amazing that despite what she's been through she trusts us to help her.  Isn't she pretty?

Monday we'll be taking her to the vet to have her examined and to get her vaccinated.  I'm sure he'll want to put her on antibiotics as well due to the possibility of infection from the tick bites and the large cuts on her belly that aren't completely healed.  Poor girl.

So, that sums up spring break in Branson!  It was a wonderful week, and we're happy to be home and to have this sweet, sweet little girl with us.  I'll be sure to keep everyone up to date on her progress and whether or not she becomes a permanent member of our family.

Update:  Want to find out what happened to this dog?  You can read about it here.