It's time to PAY IT FORWARD....

Yesterday started off as any other normal day around here... Wake up early, get the toddler some breakfast, make sure the teenager is getting ready for school, feed the dog, make sure everyone is dressed and out the door for our 40 minute drive to and from school and then back home again.

Later that morning, I was baking some Christmas cookies for our family and friends while Pierce was taking his morning nap when the dog started barking. The dog barking is nothing new during his nap time (which really makes me frustrated!) I must have the house quieter and he can hear more which in turn makes him bark more. I was so mad at the dog for waking up Pierce that I put his bark collar on him. He didn't bark after that - because he just "knows" what that collar does.. (evil grin)

The rest of the day went on as usual and Pierce helped me finish baking the cookies. It was so cute! He even knew what the rolling pin was for!

Later that afternoon we went to go drop off a plate of cookies at my parent's house and go pick up the teen. I couldn't carry Pierce because I had my hands full with the cookies- so I did my best to keep him out of the snow. When I rounded the corner of the back porch I noticed a large laundry basket of "stuff" and a large plastic bag of "stuff" sitting in front of my front door. My first thought was that my next door neighbor was doing some winter cleaning and dropped off some items she didn't need. But I noticed a card on top of the basket... I grabbed the card and kept going to the car.

On our way to Grandma's house I opened the card. It was a lovely Christmas card with a manger scene on the front. The inside had a nice stock printed message wishing us a Merry Christmas. But the card was blank. The envelope was not addressed to us, nor was the card written in what so ever. I was really scratching my head wondering where these things came from?

When we got back home, I carried the bounty into the house. Inside the laundry basket was all kinds of household items!:
1 mid size bottle of Tide Laundry soap,
1 bottle of Ajax laundry soap,
1 bottle of Joy brand dish soap,
1 bottle of Palmolive dish soap,
1 bottle of Ajax dish soap,
1 box of kitchen trash bags,
1 box of garbage bags,
1 box of sandwich bags,
1 box of Renolds Wrap Aluminum foil,
3 box's of "soap buddies" (bar soap covered in cloth for kids)
1 box of 500 Q tips
4 toothbrushes
1 tube of Crest Pro Health toothpaste
1 tube of Colgaite toothpaste
2 boxes of Kotex Light Day pads
1 box of Maxi Pads
1 bottle of Suave Shampoo
1 bottle of Suave Conditioner
1 bottle of Aussie Shampoo
1 bottle of Aussie Conditioner
1 8pk of AA batteries
1 Glade Flameless "wisp" scented candle (this thing is SO cool!)
3 boxes of Kleenex Brand Kleenex's
3 rolls of Bounty Paper towel
2 pks of Cottonelle bath tissue
And a Veggie Tales Christmas Movie DVD
And of course the laundry basket it all came in!

All night long I thought about where these items came from. I even called my neighbor (who notices everything :) and asked her if she saw a vehicle in my driveway. She said she saw a dark colored vehicle, either black / drk blue. But she saw my car in the driveway so she figured I had company and didn't give it another thought. That was the time the dog barked. So, the dog heard those packages being left on my doorstep, but I didn't. I sure do feel bad for yelling at the dog for doing his job! :(

I asked her if she knew where all of these things came from and she didn't know. She did mention how a lot of people like to "pay it forward" this time of year... She even talked about how we sold eggs all summer long to people and that who knows, it could have come from someone that direction. Then we thought perhaps the Jehovah's Witnesses. I met a couple of really nice older woman earlier in the year (*****TANGENT TIME: Speaking of people that go door to door promoting either products or beliefs... I *never* have been or would be rude to them. I know how hard it is to do sales, and outside sales is even harder! I always hear them out, and explain to them that is not for me- so note to all of you: Be Nice to them!*** end tangent) But I didn't think it was their religious groups because there wasn't any God information.

So... all in all, none of us have any clue where all these items came from. I have never been on the receiving end of a Charitable gift before. It really gives me mixed emotions. On the fore front, I am grateful to whomever did this for me and my family. But I really wish I knew who to Thank. But on the flip side, I wonder why this was done for us? My mother in law said that somewhere along the line we touched someone and that "someone" wanted to do something nice for us in return.

I had to really eat my big piece of humble pie over all of this. My natural instinct was to think that society sees us as a "charity" case, and I was embarrassed. But I served myself up a big slice when I realized that in less than 24 hours later, the movie has already been watched, the Glade is scenting my living room, the batteries have already been used for the TV remote control and the flashlight, the bar soap was used by the toddler for his bath time in the tub, and I had already replaced my old toothbrush with the new one, not to mention the load of laundry I have already done with the new detergent.

Our family is extremely grateful for this gift. And we Thank whomever had done this from the bottom of our heart. It is now our time to "Pay it forward" and we look forward to sending Christmas joy to another family.

God Bless you this Holiday Season