Giving! Find a little Pantry in your town, and FILL IT!

We live in a town that is really much bigger than it should be. It is right next to a military base, and it just keeps growing. I am ready to move somewhere smaller and less congested. However, I do like that every now and then, I see something that makes me feel warm inside and think that this town does still have some nice generous people here.

We love to go Pokemon hunting with Pokemon GO and we found a "Little Pantry" next to one of our Pokestops recently. A Little Pantry is a cute little cabinet, that you can leave food in for people in that immediate neighborhood to have if they need something to eat. I love it. This particular Little Pantry, is in a trailer park, and I know there are a lot of kids, and maybe they might need dinner or a snack one day when they get home from school.

I remember when I was young coming home and not having any food in the fridge or cabinets, and searching for enough change to go to the little store behind my apartment complex to buy a cake mix for .88 that I would then just take home and make with water only because we didn't have eggs or oil/butter to make it properly. Wow, showing my age there, when was a cake mix .88 at a little convenient shop? I also remember they had the little pints of Ben & Jerry ice cream for $1...OMG..wow I am so old! hahaha But going without, really made me realize that there isn't always going to be someone to take care of you, no matter how young you are, so I tend to have a huge soft spot in my heart for people that may not have food..I never want anyone to feel like I did when I was younger.

SO we decided that whenever I go get groceries, we will grab some things to take to this little pantry. I don't know if there are very many people stocking as using what is stocked, as it barely has anything in it whenever we come by. I try to fill it up whenever we can, thankfully it's small so even spending a small amount makes it look pretty full :)


This last time we hit a sale at Publix BOGO on pasta and sauces and we grabbed a bunch! I love that my daughter loves taking stuff almost as much as I do! She will suggest going even on days I'm not shopping, and say "but mom, we have all this stuff in the pantry we aren't eating!" I usually reply with, "yea, not right now, but we will need to have something to eat until the next grocery day, right?" haha But sometimes she still gets me to gather some stuff and make a run over to drop stuff off. It's pretty close to us so it's easy to do.

So I suggest looking for one of these little pantry boxes in your town, or if there isn't one, build it! Find a neighborhood that may need things available for less fortunate or struggling families.

Another great little thing, is a Little Free Library. Fill it with books you've read and don't need any longer, and then people can bring their read books and choose a different one to read, and it just keeps going..I love these so much!

Just remember it doesn't take a lot to do something meaningful for others. Even when you barely have enough yourself, there is probably someone with even less <3

No matter how hard it seems, today will be gone in the blink of an eye, if tomorrow comes, even if it isn't better than today, it will pass as well, just keep breathing, just keep going...I do..see you next time :)

Project Night Night and a little note of encouragement

So, I follow another blog, The Bloggess, and every year at Christmas time she sponsors a huge gift giving shenanigan for kids and families who would otherwise not have any thing. I found it last year and it was an amazing gift for us. I was hoping to return this year to purchase for others, however, that hasn't worked out for us, since my husband changed jobs in April, we have been barely able to keep rent paid, and so I went back again to post a wishlist instead of shop wishlists.

This year is extra strained since we are taking in 4 extra littles, my nieces and nephew, since they lost their mom. They will likely be with us until spring, so I was completely freaked out when I then remembered as they sat in the living room with my kids, that I now have 11 kids to not be able to buy anything for Christmas.

What does that feel like you ask? Well, I felt like I couldn't breathe. I felt the hot rise in my face, the tingle in my ears and the blur of tears filling my eyes...it felt like I was falling into a deep dark pit and I couldn't find a hand hold to hang on to to pull myself out. I felt hopeless. I know my kids are generally pretty cool and understanding about our inability to purchase frivolous nonsense, and even when they need things like coats/shoes/underwear (gasp!) and I can't immediately hop on amazon and order what they legitimately NEED...they never ever whine or complain..they quietly wait, wearing whatever they have no matter the condition and are extremely grateful when I am able to give them the new item.

I know there are so many people in my situation, or worse even...I am not even familiar with asking for help. I missed all the sign ups this year for local charities, as I have never had to ask before and had no clue sign ups end in October! yea, clueless..So, I had to go back this year to The Bloggess and hope to get on the list of Garfield.

Now, something you should know before you think, oh cool, free stuff let me run over there! It started yesterday, and if you aren't seriously prepared and can get your list up in the first 12 hours or so, it apparently fills really fast. I have been slightly distracted with recent  family events, obviously, so I kinda dropped the ball..I didn't get my list up until today...Plus, it's probably the longest list on the page, so I'm sure that will be a deterrent.

You see, I was reading her update, and people have already not been following the rules. She has a short list of rules, you can only ask for books/toys for kids, and possibly coat/socks..she has a $$ cap so that more kids can be helped, but of course there are always those people that just want to take advantage of others, especially at Christmas, because so many people are so generous in December.

Plus, she plugs this adorable little program called Project Night Night, that helps children experiencing homelessness. She sells her books and calendars and advertising space and puts most if not all, of her profits into that project. It's pretty amazeballs, you should check it out.

I hope all of you, or just the one of you, who comes by to read this, finds hope and help if you need it this holiday. I understand how dreadful it can be, I understand how dark it may seem, and I understand the feeling of helplessness you may be feeling. I understand it all too well...but you gotta just keep going..for all the people in your life, for your littles, and just for yourself...don't give up...keep breathing, keep going, keep eating, keep loving your littles everyday...hug them more kiss them more play more games and read more stories...even if you have tears streaming down your face as soon as you wake up to the time your reading Chicken Sisters at bed time...just keep going..I do...