Sharing the love, finding it in the small things.

I think the blogosphere is a wonderful place, filled with mostly wonderful people.  And two of them proved it this month by starting two wonderful new projects.

Catherine at Her Bad Mother, BlogHers ACT Canada and several other sites has a new project called Give Good Blog.  Go on, read her whole post, it will explain it all much better than I can.

I don't do give aways (yet) and my review blog is pretty much non-existent, but I try to do good things.  And I love the whole idea behind this project, so I signed up.

Right before I found this post, I signed up to volunteer at a web-based mail charity.  I'm going to post more about it at another time, as I'm still in the approval and assignment phase and haven't actually started, but I want a way that feels like I'm giving to someone else in the world, a way that I can include my children, and I think this is it.

Also, a fellow wife in the unit told me that she needed to purchase bike gear for her husband (lights, helmet, etc.)  The bicycle and pedestrian councils run out of our office, and they give many of these items away every summer.  So I hit them up for some freebies for him, and we hooked him up.  Although it didn't cost me anything, I took the time to utilize a resource I had.  And it made me feel good.

The second project I've joined is Grace in Small Things.  From her inaugural post on her website

The world we live in is loud and harsh and bright and demanding, and it is easy to slide into a less than thoughtful survival mode in which we do what we have to do to make it through the day with the least amount of strife possible. This robs us of the time and energy to be mindful of ourselves and those we love and to recognize the grace that exists in small things.
It is with this thought that I am beginning one year of posts called "Grace In Small Things". Every day for 365 days, I will post a list of five things that have graced my life, either on that day or at any time in my life. Feel free to join me. Or mock me. Or, you know, do whatever's in your heart. You can start on whatever day you want, so if you come across this six months from now, don't let that hold you back.

So simple.  Reminds me that I'm supposed to be looking for the Blessings every day, and I've been failing at that.  So I'm starting again.

Today's Grace items:
1. Reading the second post in that short lived series, a post about my Monster.  And tearing up, because he's still that little boy, but getting so big so quickly.
2.  For my preteen daughter that still wants to cuddle with me and requires a special routine at bedtime.
3.  For my friends sweet little baby boy coming over to play with us tonight.
4.  For the reminder that while I love babies, I don't want anymore.
5.  For a warm house on a cold day.

Happy Love Thursday.  I'm going to start spreading the love all over the place, one day at a time.