The Big White Farmhouse | intentional living, little by little

February 13, 2012

{friendship} Now What? Letter & Gift Ideas for the Mamma Support Swap

Source: teachingliteracy.tumblr.com via Allie on Pinterest

First of all, I want to thank everyone for the positive response with the Mamma Support Swap! Everyone should have been e-mailed by now with their partner. Please let me know if you didn’t receive the e-mail!

Your next question might be: What Now? Well, I’m here to help you get started! Even if you didn’t participate in the swap this time, I hope this gets your ideas flowing with ways you can brighten someone’s day.

Letters of Encouragement
This is the most important part of the swap. Like I said before, your words can do so much good. Words are powerful and life-changing. (See this post for an example.) Here are few ideas that you can include in your letter:

Recommendation of your favorite parenting book
An uplifting quote
A tip that’s worked for your family (how did you get your son to potty-train?, how do you get your little one to eat her veggies?)
Share a story of hardship with motherhood/share a wonderful moment too!
Let your partner know you are in this motherhood journey together!

Pouch, Cookies, Soap, Cupcake liners, Journal

Gift Ideas for Mammas

Soaps
Recipe cards (include one of your favorite recipes too!)
Nail polish
Hair accessories
Journals
Baking supplies like cupcake liners and sprinkles
Stationary
Your favorite book
Chocolate!

Remember to try to have your packages postmarked

by Friday, Feb 24!

Source: michelleums.tumblr.com via Allie on Pinterest

February 10, 2012

{recording life} Making a Life List: Part III

Source: weheartit.com via Maddy on Pinterest

I’m a little late, but here is Part III of Jenny’s Life List series. This week, she gave 10 writing prompts and challenged her readers to come up with one item (at least!) for each. Below are a few of my answers:

Writing Prompt: List 10 things you would do if given a second chance.
Life List item: Assist or help coach a middle school softball team.
Why this item? I played softball for six years and stopped right before I went to high school. Looking back, I realized how much of my self-esteem came from playing sports in middle school. I’d love to coach someday to help girls feel that way too.

Writing Prompt: List your favorite things to do on the weekends or your day off.
Life List item: Play a pick-up flag football game with my entire family (parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc)
Why this item? I come from a competitive and athletic family. They are so inspiring to me. And we love football. I think it would be so fun to play a game together…I’m picturing Thanksgiving!

Writing Prompt: List 10 new professions you would like to try. (money/talent not important)
Life List item: Take cooking classes with my husband.
Why this item? My husband and I both really love to be in the kitchen. He loves to experiment with flavors and spices…quite the opposite of my exact measurement baking! Cooking classes would be a fun date for us, while at the same time expanding our culinary skills! Win win!

These are just a few of the prompts Jenny put on her blog. I’m excited to work through the rest this weekend. You can check out all of the prompts here.

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Today is the last day to sign up for the Mamma Support Swap! Sign-ups will be open until tonight and then I hope to e-mail you all with your partners this weekend! So excited about the positive response!

February 9, 2012

{giving} Empower People around the World with a $25 Loan

Today I’m excited to share with you a new way to give. The organization is called Kiva, have you heard of it? Watch this short video (it’s only a minute long!) to find out more about how it works:

How Kiva Works from Kiva on Vimeo.

This is Aidah. She is from Uganda. Married with three children, she has managed a retail business for eleven years. She requested a loan to purchase more food in order to expand her business and increase her profits.

I don’t know about you, but don’t you think she has the greatest smile? I was instantly drawn to her story and couldn’t wait to help a fellow Mamma. My $25 was combined with others around the world and just like that, her loan was funded and her dreams are so much closer to coming true!

I think this non-profit organization is amazing. I love that by December, she will have fully repaid the loan and I’ll be able to help fund another. You can find more about Kiva here.

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Just a reminder that the Mamma Support Swap is open until Friday, so be sure to sign up! You can find more information here.

February 8, 2012

{food for thought} Make Time for Reading

“Parents unconsciously teach their children what is valuable by the way they spend their own time. If television is more important to the parents than books, the children will likely choose the same…”

“A busy schedule is the enemy of reading. Agreeing in principle with all the benefits of books, you may at this point simply sigh and say, “I wish we had more time for reading.” But the fact remains that we arrange time for what we think is truly important…”