Service with a Smile

One of my goals intentions for 2012 is to do a service FHE every month. (We aren't going to talk a lot about my intentions here and how they aren't all being done...ahem.) Luckily for me, we mapped out what the service would be ahead of time so I wouldn't be scrambling at the last minute.

So far, so good.

A friend of mine said that I should put my ideas on my blog so that others could benefit. I guess that makes sense. At the same time, I'm not trying to toot the Cazier horn, so just know that we enjoy serving (when children are cooperative and non-grumpy) as much as the next person.

JANUARY

We wrote our list of service opportunities and gave brownies fudge to our school teachers. (It was supposed to be brownies given to our church teachers, but when you have fudge on hand and just enough for three school teachers, that is the way you go.)

FEBRUARY

We did several heart attacks to people in our neighborhood and one lady that Tyler works with. It was fun to sneak up at night and stick hearts on the doors. Although the attacking was done in secret, we did leave our name, so there wasn't any confusion about awkward crushes and the like.

MARCH

This month I tried something out of my comfort zone. I read online that you can take teddy bears and other stuffed animals into your local fire station and they will use them for children that have been in accidents to comfort them or help them trust the firefighters. We always seem to have a plethora of stuffed things around here that are not being used, so I thought I would try it.

We put it on FB as well and had several other families donate with us. It was great. We went and picked up animals and then headed off to the fire station. (This is where my friend mentioned that I should be sharing this info, so I decided to take a camera too and do a real documentation.)

Here we are outside the station. Thank you Tyler for having us face the sun for this picture.

Each of the girls got to carry their own bag to feel like they were offering something. I didn't remember to count, but I believe we had close to 50 animals.

Inside was a little anticlimactic. The fireman on duty seemed a little confused as to what to do with all these cuddly creatures we were bringing in. He said to just put them in the corner. I was suddenly glad I grabbed the camera, because then we had an excuse to stay two seconds longer and make the experience more real for the kids.

We finished the night with ice cream and donuts (one or the other) and everyone seemed content. At least I always feel good after helping someone and eating a donut.

Stay tuned for more Cazier service adventures.