Blessing Bags

I got this idea from a friend on facebook the other day and I love it. I don't know about you but I always feel conflicted when I see a homeless person begging for money. On the one hand I think "oh do they really need the money or do they have a nicer car than mine parked around the corner" and " what are they going to do with the money I give them?" do they have a drug or alcohol problem? I don't want to be an enabler. On the other hand I know that times are tough right now and God tells us to take care of those less fortunate. There have been a handful of times that I have actually stopped and given people money. My husband often gives them money. Anyway, I thought this idea was a perfect solution to my problem. This is the Blessing Bag. Easy to make and so useful for the receiver! These are ziploc bags full of every day items that could aid a person if they were truly homeless. You make them and keep them in your car. I made 3 and here is what I put in each of mine...

-a kids juice box

-deodorant

-a tooth brush and tooth paste

-soap and a wash cloth (put in a separate ziploc bag inside of the larger one so everything doesn't taste like soap)

-socks

-snacks- peanut butter and crackers, pretzels and cheese, m and m's, applesauce and a spoon

- bandaids

-gum

-hand wipes

-chap stick

-a deck of cards ( for entertainment purposes)

-a pack of kleenex

-four quarters so they can either make a phone call , get a cup of coffee, etc...

-and most importantly an encouraging note with some scripture letting them know that someone cares. :)

I went to the dollar store and made enough to make 3. I figure if someone is really homeless this could help them and if not- no biggie. My goal is to make and hand out 3 a month. If I have any left over at the end of the month I will give them to a homeless shelter.

I gave out my first one today as Aidan and I were coming home from getting him ice cream after school. To be honest the man didn't look "that hard up" but who knows maybe it was his blessing today! :) I also love the fact that Aidan helped me make the bags and now he is helping me hand them out. I want him to understand that you should be a giver in life and that you should do things to help others and be a contributor to society on many different levels. :)

September...

Can it already be almost September 11th? I have a lot of catching up to do. So here it goes... At the end of August Aidan and I flew to Texas to attend my cousins wedding( by gosh Texas is a hot state- it was over 100 every day we were there). Aidan was the ring bearer and he was soooo handsome! He looked so grown in his little tuxedo! Nearly all of my family was there and it was so great to see them since it is a rare occasion when most of the family is together. It was a gorgeous and really meaningful ceremony. I am so happy for Anna and Brian.

Aidan has gone back to school and I am not very happy with his situation this year. I didn't even consider looking at other schools last spring because he had such a great experience last year. As a matter of fact- Aidan went back to school a few weeks early because he was begging to go back and he missed his friends. There are 25 kids in his class ( with 2 teachers) and I just dont think his teacher is a good fit for him. I am working on getting him moved into the other class. If I can't then I am going to pull him. I really hate to do this because he has friends at his school but I will do what I think is best. I have already scheduled to tour a montessori school in the area in a few weeks. I will keep you posted on the school situation.

Other then school we have been busy doing our usual- going to the park, riding the train, going to Legoland, play dates, and just staying busy in general.

Today we went to a parade. They are having "Poway Days" and always kick it off with the parade. Every year there is a theme to the parade and this year because of the 10 year anniversary of 911 it was "honoring those who have served". It was very touching. There were several floats of "those remembered". There was one that was just a hummer with a picture of a young soldier and his boots on the hood. There were over 100 entrants so we didn't stay for the entire thing. Aidan can only take so much of military floats going by before he has had enough. We went to the library and he looked at books while I watched the end of the parade through the big windows. Now THAT was the way to enjoy the parade. I had a great view AND was in the air conditioning! lol!

Now on to some pics....


My cousin Sabrina (ya ya- funny story- when we were flying to dallas there was a pilot sitting in front of us. After we landed he turned around and said, " are you greek?" I looked at him with great confusion and said "um no". He said "oh I heard you say ya ya and I thought you might be greek". lol!) When Aidan was born my family picked out the craziest names for themselves. lol!
Aidan and his cousin Bruce. This was the first time we got to meet Bruce. Bruce's dad David used to be MY baby when he was little. *sigh*

Gigi (mother of the bride) - see I told you funny names. lol!

The beautiful bride and handsome ring bearer.

My sweet boy!

This is the train Aidan and I ride just about every week. They run it on Wednesdays and Saturdays and it is just around the corner from our house.We went this Wednesday and it was totally empty! The nice engineer took the time to show Aidan the engine and explain how it works.Aidan doesnt get any time with any grandfather figures ( his only one lives in Australia) so he soaks it up whenever an older man pays attention to him. They even let Annabelle ride the train!

The train. They actually have 3 different ones and types and rotate them out.

We always take time to play at the fountain after we are done.

We went to Legoland yesterday and Aidan actually got up the nerve to drive the cars they have there! You would think that he would be all over riding cars since he loves them so much but he was leary of these. We happened to be passing by them and out of the blue he said, "mom I want to drive the cars!" Here he is with his drivers license!

I just thought this was funny. You really cant see it but it is a dog riding a Harley!

We live in a horse community so there were lots of horses in the parade.

Aidan sporting his patriotic attire and his new Star Wars shoes.