Tell me what it is you want to do with your one wild and precious life? -mary oliver
Showing posts with label acts of kindness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label acts of kindness. Show all posts

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Kindness All Around Us

 “Kindness is more than deeds. It is an attitude, an expression, a look, a touch. 
It is anything that lifts another person.”
Thankful this appeared on the counter this morning, and my husband hijacked my blog.
He's Amazing:)
Our Sarah is loved by many where she lives. 
A special caretaker adores her.  On separate occasions, she has given her crackers to put in her pocket when we go outside to play.  Kissing her, holding her, and motioning us to put Sarah in her room, even though she's in another groupa.  Sarah lights up when she is working.  I'm going to try to get her picture soon.
 Sarah is always clean and in clean clothes when we get her.  She may not be in the latest fashion, but there is a diamond in the rough waiting to shine her light and love for everyone in her path.
 The orphanage director is a classy, lady doing her job, marvelously.  She always waves, and speaks in her limited English in passing.  Today, she said,"Dog, child,  a family."
And then she was on her merry way.  She sees...
There were many cars in the drive when we arrived this morning.  Up the stairs we could hear music, coming from her room.  A singing and dancing troupe was performing for the groupas, and there were film crews, along with dignitaries.  Andy and I stayed in the locker area corner, out of the way.  Sarah's teacher and another caretaker motioned for me to come over and watch, even though I would block their viewpoint.  It was lovely, and then the kids were given bananas as a treat.  Once  everyone began dispersing, her teacher motioned for me to go into the groupa room and sit by Sarah.  Another lady was holding the banana for Sarah, but her teacher told her I was Sarah's mama and gave me the banana to hold.
I was able to look around in the room, while she ate.  This orphanage is very blessed and I am thankful Sarah was placed here.
(We may be on the local news, as they were filming outside when we were reading at the table:)
Artwork displayed outside.

When Sarah went to wash her hands, another little girl said, "Sarah, go to your mama," and held her hand until she reached me.
Today, I heard her giggle for the first time.  She was in the swing, and she learned to giggle.
What a sweet sound:)
 Every day, I see kindness before my very eyes and I celebrate.  Inhaling the goodness around me.


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FAQ's
1. What are you using to upload your videos and video camera do you use?

First, our location has a superb internet connection.  Uploading pictures and video does not take long at all.  We have a small flip camera that we carry in our bags always.  It's very simple to shoot and download the clips.

Second, Andy and I are two different mindsets.  I prefer simple and easy, but looks nice.  I use Picasa to edit and upload my photos to web albums, and OneTrueMedia for video-making.  Both are free and online. 

Andy, however, prefers a more complicated route to tax his engineer mindset.  He uses Windows Movie Maker, and then converts the file format on the audiotrack.  Believe me, he was up until 2am, because of its complication.  But, it was fantastic.

Stick with One True Media, if you want simple.

2.  What was the song he used?

Brandon Heath,  Love Never Fails. 

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No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Kindness

“Kindness is more than deeds. It is an attitude, an expression, a look, a touch. It is anything that lifts another person.”

Friday, October 15, 2010

Small Acts of Kindness

The value of kindness cannot be measured in human terms.  An act of kindness enriches the heart of both the giver and and the receiver. 

Br. Arockiam

     There was no school today, so I made plans to head downtown to retrieve a few documents for our dossier, then begin Christmas shopping at the outlets.  Driving in the city is not one of my gifts, so I planned accordingly.  Andy programmed the GPS with my two destinations, and printed off hard copies from mapquest.  The kids were going with me, so we packed the car with snacks, water bottles, and electronics.

      This was my inaugural drive with the gps unit, and it worked magnificently.  I found the building, along with a parking lot.  As we were walking, a security guard asked me if we were there to get some documents.  When he found out my purpose, he informed me of spots that were free and their location.  (I was unaware that I was in a "paying" parking lot!)  So, the kids and I got into the car again, backed out, and the security guard was standing in the free parking spot, saving it for me!!!  Thanking him profusely as we walked into the building, he replied, "I'm only helping people out by saving them some money!" 

      He made a difference today.  It may have been small act to him.  To me, out of her comfort zone, it made a difference.  As I was getting a receipt, the cashier informed me that we shared the same birthdate, different year:)   I, then,  shared our adoption plans with her.  We both left that small moment, smiling.  It's those small moments that make our days lighter, happier, and feeling there is good in the world.  Today, two people made a difference in my life.  Today, the sun shined brighter.


P.S.  Christmas shopping went well, and I'm halfway finished on my extended family!!!