Generosity . . . .

People.  Good people.  Bad people.  The rest of us.

Although we hear and read about a lot of bad people in this world, there are far more good people that we don't hear about.

We do hear about the famous good people.  Princess Diana was a good person.  Mother Teresa was a good person.  There are a few good people that get a lot of publicity, but what about the good people that go unnoticed?  In the past few months I've had the opportunity to come across more good and generous people than ever.

It's a funny thing, when you find out you are pregnant, people (90% women) bring out their kindness and generosity.  After announcing my pregnancy almost one year ago I received cards and gifts for my unborn baby almost instantly.  Then I had my baby shower and received an unbelievable amount of gifts for baby. People are so generous when it comes to babies.  Not only that, once I had baby Leah and everyone found out she was a girl, I had baby girl clothes coming in left and right!  Which was a great thing for us since we had zero clothes for our poor little baby girl.  Here we are, 3 months later and just last week we still received a gift card in the mail for baby Leah.  People are just so nice and can be so good sometimes.

After my cousin got into his first accident in January, my family came across more good-hearted people than they could have ever imagined.  People from other countries had heard of Tyler's accident and began sending my aunt cards, gifts, money, you name it.  My aunt opened a mailbox strictly for Tyler so that people could send him cards and she could read them to him in the hospital.  The cards came pouring in for Tyler, it was amazing.  Then came all of my aunt's wonderful friends!  They came through and made, shirts, stickers, websites, bracelets and put together fundraising events to help pay for Tyler's outrageous medical bills.  After Tyler's death now, those kind-hearted and generous people are still working in my aunt's life.  Another fundraising event is happening next weekend, a car wash took place before Tyler's funeral, and dedications in Tyler's name are happening.  Even a group of professional BMX riders took time out of their day to attend Tyler's funeral and sign his guest book, how amazing for Tyler and for my family.  It's a great thing when people can push aside the bad and come together for a greater good.  You never know how your kind actions truly help that person in need.

Not only that, Marc and I have found that we have some really great friends in our lives.  We are so lucky.  From the smallest actions to the biggest one, we are truly grateful for the generosity of our friends.  Whether it be us hopping on their boat for the weekend or shacking up under their umbrella at the beach, we appreciate them.  We have so many people that we can call at any time and they will be there for us in a second.  We don't want you to go unnoticed and we want you to know that your generosity and your big hearts make us want to be better people as well.

It's funny how one good action can lead to another.  You know, like paying it forward?  That whole concept of paying for the person behind you in the Starbucks drive-thru.  Hopefully that one action will lead to a string of others and the good people will make the news rather than the bad.

I encourage you to do something kind for someone today, you'll never know how that one action might make that person feel.  Even if it's just as simple as a smile or a hug.  Life is too short to be unhappy.  Live life to its fullest, love unconditionally and laugh some belly laughs every now then would ya :)

If nothing else, take the time to smile at this beautiful little bundle of joy!

Baby Leah @ 3 months young

Happy Monday to all! 

XOXO Jen