Stories from our Club Members

Hearts of Loving Kindness “In February I decided to use the pre-cut hearts from the January packet for my own special Valentine's Day activity. While my son was at school, I wrote him several messages and hung them all over the house for him to find. When he arrived at home, he said to me, ‘Mom, I know what you've been doing today.’ I replied, ‘What do you mean?’ He pointed out the many hearts hanging all over the place. Once he had found and read them all, we sat down and I explained to him what loving kindness is all about. We put the extra hearts in a Mason jar along with a pen. We talked about things that would be loving and kind and decided we would write each other notes on the hearts when we noticed a family member doing something loving and kind for someone else. Realizing that he is 8 years old—and ALL BOY—I thought that perhaps, this had been a waste of time. I cooked a special Valentine's Day dinner, and the following morning....lo and behold.....hanging on the vanity in my bathroom was a very precious heart. On it was written: Mom, Thanks for cooking supper! Love ya!" ~ Juli Heath,

Joy Competition "During the month of May we began the Joy Competition. This particular year had been challenging for my family and we, quite frankly, were having trouble finding joy. So this was a perfect time to introduce new ways to find joy in our lives. Each night at the dinner table, whoever shared three things that happened that day got a sticker on the Joy Chart. When the chart was full, we agreed to celebrate joy together with a special Joy Day Outing. One night during the competition, my husband struggled to come up things that were truly joyful. He seemed to be trying to sneak in a few weak suggestions, just so he could get his stickers. My son and I were not buying it! I asked him to think harder, to really look for joy and suggested that sometimes he might have to actually make joy happen, with a smile to a stranger or a random act of kindness. My son had no problem coming up with joyful things each night; his friend sat by him in circle time at preschool, he got to wear his shark shirt; he went down the fire pole for the first time, etc. So I asked my 4-year-old son to tell his Daddy what JOY feels like. He looked at his dad and said, ‘It feels like my heart is dancin’ in my throat!’ ~ Dana Moler

Live Laugh Love and MOPS “After attending Live, Laugh, Love Club meetings with my neighbors for a year, I decided to approach my church friends—my Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) friends—with the idea of starting our own Club. The idea was a perfect fit. As Christian moms we feel passionate about instilling positive values in our children. We also realize the importance of building a strong family by creating and maintaining traditions that are meaningful and memorable. The goal was to add a new dimension to our usual Bible study by leaving a legacy for our friends and family members in a tangible way. It wasn't difficult finding and organizing a group of women who all had the same wishes and goals for leaving a legacy. The Club materials made planning our time together easy, as well." ~ Laura Pettis

Courage Box “I wanted to share something that happened. As we discussed our ‘silly fears’ and had some laughs, one member said she is scared of bridges, and they have to cross a big one on vacation next month. So, I took one of the Courage Boxes and asked everyone to write on a slip of paper something for Beth to read as she crosses the bridge. We filled the box with these slips of paper and presented it to Beth. She will have the box in her lap as she goes over the bridge and will read the special notes at that time. It was really a special moment. EVERY WOMAN IN THIS COUNTRY NEEDS TO BE IN THIS CLUB!!!” ~ Lisa Lacey

Happy/Sad Pumpkins “Last October’s packet had the pumpkin faces. Well, we used them to help Ryan (who just turned 3) understand that we were happy or sad when he did something. If he did something that made us happy he would get a happy pumpkin to put up on the door of our pantry for all to see…they are actually still up 9 months later. If he did something that made us sad then he would get a sad pumpkin and he was supposed to stop doing it. He loved getting the pumpkins that were happy and would even ask for them if we forgot to hand one out. He also would run away if he saw us coming with a sad pumpkin. He loved running after his older brother with a sad pumpkin just for fun. It was quite hilarious. Here is the funny part…One morning when Claire was about 4 months old, I got up to take a shower and she and Ryan were still sleeping. After a while Ryan comes in the bathroom and very sternly, hands on hips, says, ’How many does it take to stop her?’ I rush out of the shower, fearing something not good, and found Claire with 7 sad pumpkins taped to her body. She was crying her head off in her basinet and of course Ryan was entering the bedroom with yet another sad pumpkin. He said he kept giving her sad pumpkins but she just wouldn’t stop crying. I almost died laughing and had to explain that we don’t tape things to the baby. Of course he asked for his happy face to hang up! ~ Jeanette Sampson

Thank You, Thank You “Thank you so much for setting up this Club. I didn’t know what to expect, but it was fabulous! I was up all night thinking about all of the wonderful things I can do for my family. I can’t wait! Is it possible to add more members to our club? I have three women from my son’s preschool and two others from church who I know would just love to join.” ~ Debbie Foster

Fourth of July Cake “I just wanted to thank you again for the many ways the stamp of Once Upon a Family is imprinted on our family. Thanks to the fabulous tradition idea in the themed celebration for July, our family made the flag cake this year. As we sat around the table putting blueberries on for the states, each person described a freedom we are thankful for living in this country. It was a memory we shared that I will always treasure, it was very simple but powerful and it allowed me to do more with my family in less time while focusing on the things that are important in the end.” ~ Mona Stephenson

Compassion Baskets “Every evening the kids and I spend time in the front yard either playing baseball, basketball or working in the garden. Nolan, an older gentleman of 77 is one of our favorite passersby. He comes by every evening around 6:30pm to walk his dogs. He is such a neat man to talk to with lots of stories. A few months ago, I noticed that I had not seen Nolan in quite awhile. Then one evening his wife was out with the dogs. I asked her about Nolan and she said that he had a bad stroke several months ago and is now confined to a wheelchair. She said his outlook on life was very grim and he was having a hard time adjusting to his change of lifestyle. My boys and I thought it would be nice to do something for Nolan so we took our last Compassion Basket from our April LLL club and filled it with flowers and bright cheery notes. We rang the bell and left it on the doorknob so it could be found. The boys had fun running around the corner being careful not to be seen. The next day we were out and about and guess who stopped by for a visit? To our surprise it was Nolan! His wife was pushing him in the wheelchair while he held on to the dog's leash. He greeted us with the most amazing words. He said, "Erica, I would like to thank you and the boys for the beautiful basket. That was the most precious gift anyone has ever given me. Matter of fact, if it wasn't for you and the boys, I wouldn't have left my home." His eyes were teary and so were mine, I thought it was the most touching thing any one has ever said. ~ Erica Oresky

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