How I Made a Difference on December 24th: A Christmas Eve Prayer

 My Grandpa Stockman believed in praying for others and especially for people who he knew others were not thinking of. The way that I am going to make a difference today is by remembering people like this and keeping them close in my heart. I would like everyone who is reading my blog to try to do the same.

One way that you can remember the less fortunate at Christmastime is by lighting a candle in your home. My family is going to put one in our kitchen window today. But did you know that you can also light candles on the web? I would like to invite all of you who are reading to do the same at this page on the Gratefulness website. If you visit this page, you will see that I have lit a candle in memory of the less fortunate, who may be lonely or sad today. The name of our group is TFD for Twenty Five Days. It would be wonderful to see a lot of candles lit here in the next few days.

Although we know that not everyone does this, my family remembers people by praying for them, just like my Grandpa did. So this morning, my daddy and Nina and I worked together to brainstorm and write a Christmas Eve prayer that we will say at dinner tonight. I’ve written it below so that you can see it and say it too, if you would like.

We wish everyone who celebrates a Merry Christmas! Tomorrow, we will be announcing the winners of our contests, so please make sure to stop by again. ALSO!! PLEASE BE SURE TO LEAVE A COMMENT TELLING US ABOUT SOMETHING THAT YOU DID TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON THAT MADE YOU FEEL VERY HAPPY!! You can read my post from yesterday about this, or you can leave a comment here!

Dear Lord, On this Christmas Eve, we are thankful for the many blessings you have given us.  We are especially thankful for our families and friends, and the love and kindness we share with one another. We ask that you help us share that love and kindness with those who are alone, those who lack love in their hearts and lives, those who live in fear and despair, and those who live without faith and charity. We ask that you bless us all with your grace, and fill our hearts with peace and true love toward all your creation, as you showed us when you gave us the gift of your Son, Jesus. Amen.

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How I Made a Difference on December 20,2007

Today I made a difference by joining BookCrossing.com. It is a website where you can register books you have read that you are willing to share. When you register your book there, you are given an ID number for the book, which you write inside of it. Then, you can leave your books anywhere in your community. People can go to BookCrossing to see where books have been left in their neighborhood. And if someone finds the books you’ve “released into the wild” they can follow the instructions left inside each book to let you know they’ve “caught” them. This way, you can track your books and see wherever they go! Some books end up in other countries!

My third grade teacher, Mrs. Morath gave me some books to donate to Roswell’s booksale earlier this month (thank you Mrs. Morath!!!!) but it was too late because we had already delivered our books and the sale was over. My mom and I thought this was a good way to share them with others. We can register other books and release them into the wild whenever we want because we registered ourselves.

So where are our books hiding?

Tonight, we are going to leave our books at Panera Bread Company on the corner of Delaware and Sheridan. My mom is taking them there after dinner! Anyone who wants to read them can head over there, pick them up, take them home, read them, and pass them along! Just make sure you follow the instructions inside the cover of each one. I hope these books travel far!

Also! Go check out BookCrossing.com because it’s very cool!

The Classroom Challenge: Important Information

If your classroom would like to be considered for the classroom challenge giveaway on Christmas night, please be sure to email us a full explanation of how your students have used technology to make a difference. If possible, include links to websites/wikis/blogs and please let us know the name of your school, your state, and your country.

So far, we have heard from Mrs. Costello’s fifth grade class and Mr. Jones’s class…..if you are in the running, please be sure to touch base with us by December 24th! We can be contacted at twentyfivedays(at)gmail(dot)com. We are excited to hear from you!

Thank you!! Good luck to everyone!!

How I Made a Difference on December 19,2007

 Frank is like another  Grandfather to me. He is kind, generous, loving and caring. He always makes me feel special. Whenever Frank comes to our house for dinner, he always makes a big deal out of seeing Nina and me. He always calls me “Laura dear,” and then he gives me a big hug. Frank gave me my fish bowl for Sushi (my fish) and he always brings me little gifts and tells me funny stories. Frank is Polish, and he is very proud of that. He was also a sailor with the Merchant Marine and he was a private detective too for a long time. He has lots of great stories.

Today is Frank’s birthday, and every year, we bring him cookies. Now that I am a little older though, I wanted to do something special for him because I love him so much!

Today I made a difference by making Frank dinner. He is out celebrating his birthday right now, but when he gets home we will take it to him so he can snack on it tonight and tomorrow. I made him a chicken pot pie……and all my mom did was thicken the broth up toward the end. I did everything else myself (we bought the crust). I also made him a plate of Christmas cookies. Frank always says ” Oh I am too skinny!” and I hope I can fatten him up! 

I’m lucky to have Frank in my life and world! I also love his cats. He has one named Stanley and one named Boris. They are very fortunate to have Frank as an owner because he keeps them nice and plump!

How I Made a Difference on December 18,2007

Emily has been here encouraging me every day. She is an American mom living in London. I really like Emily! She leaves very nice comments here almost every day. Today I found out that a little girl in Emily’s son’s class is very sick. I don’t read Emily’s blog, but YOU can read about this little girl there. So…

Today I made a difference by making a card for this little girl. Her name is Julie. I also wrote her a very long letter. Emily said she would like to hear from someone who lives so far away who is close to her age. I wrote about how it is for me to be an American student and young girl, my favorites- foods, hobbies and colors, and the sports I enjoy (like Tae Kwon- Do). Today, my mom and I emailed Emily my letter so she could take it to Julie fast. We will mail the card tomorrow!

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Remember if you are tagged for my Making a Difference Meme you may tag others! Also, I am going to start visiting your memes TONIGHT!!!! Thank you so much  for doing this! I can’t wait to see your answers. That was fun!

Making Our List, Checking it Twice

Christmas is exactly ONE WEEK AWAY! Do you know what this means? It means that in seven short days, I will be announcing 2 Grand Prize Winners, 2 Better Late Than Never Winners, and 1 Winner of the Classroom Challenge!

My mom and I have been visiting your blogs and receiving your email messages every single day. We have put all of your good deeds into an excel spreadsheet! If you would like us to double check and make sure we have you on our list and that your deeds are updated, please just email us at twentyfivedays(at)gmail(dot)com to let us know.

Right now, we have all of the people below listed on our spreadsheet, and all of the classrooms are listed on the NASA Classroom Challenge page above. If you belong on one of these lists, but your name is missing, please email us right away and let us know!

I think it is kind of strange that so many of you are saying I am inspiring. That is really nice, but it is really ALL OF THESE PEOPLE who are inspiring me! We should all do good things all year long. It has been really special to blog about it with all of you. It fills me with a lot of spirit!

Lillian, Duncan, Hunter, and Drew

Mean Girls Need Not Apply

Branden McKee

Elaine

Coco

Stephen Phillips

Julianne Cairnes

Grace Aroune

Kirtana

Kelly Genet

Lynne Anne

Mary and her children

Eoin C.

Kristin

Corey N.

Tracy D.

Cindy H.

Jamie

Tracey

Melissa

llexus

Addi and Nisi

The Taylors

T.J.

Mrs. Aroune

Kate Ellis

Sheila Cason

Kate Saltfleet

Orange Soda 2000

Alyssa

Roger Carr

Dr. Mani

Nedra

Mrs. Toney

Carla

Kristen and Carmen

Patty J.

Kim Arthur

Mrs. Nabozny

Nolan and Evan W.

Mrs. Waggoner

Mrs. Mitchell

Mrs. Morath

Emily

Chris and Marcus

Kelly

Anne M.

Dana F.

Kelly

An Exciting Day

This morning, I received a phone call from a reporter at WGRZ Channel 2 News. Matt Pearl explained that he was interested in interviewing Laura, and he was eager to know what today’s “good deed” was going to be. This posed a bit of a problem for me……..since I had no idea what she had on her agenda for today. And so, for the first time since December 1st, I found myself having to put a bit of pressure on her, since we now had a reporter, complete with a camera, showing up at my house within the space of a few hours.

“Can I use a Coinstar machine?” Laura asked when she hopped in the car, and we headed toward home. I’ve been waiting on this request actually. It is a common known fact that Laura loves playing with the Coinstar machine almost as much as she loves blogging. And so, today’s idea was born.

We need to thank Mr. Pearl for the time he took interviewing Laura today. As a personal aside, I must tell you that this is a man who is true to his word. He promised that he wouldn’t shoot footage of my floors, which haven’t been washed in two weeks and are currently covered in the remnants of this weekend’s adventures in baking. And I notice that not a single floor board made it onto tonight’s news. Thank you!!!!!

Laura did hit up her Coinstar machine tonight, and she did donate her money to the bellringer who is probably still manning her post at the Tops on Delaware and Sheridan. If she had her way, she would be blogging about all of this until midnight, but because her dad and I are very very mean, we made her go to bed at a reasonable hour tonight.

I promised I would post her pictures of this evening’s good work….including a special photo for Hallie and CJ! Your package is on its way!

 Thank you, every single one of you, for your generous spirit and your incredible encouragement. I know that there is now one child in this world who will always be eager to do for others, due in large measure to the rewards that she has received in response to her tiny acts of kindness. It has been a very special season in our home. We can’t thank you enough.

Good luck CJ!!

A Meme About Making a Difference

My mom has been teaching me about memes. I came up with some good questions about what it means to make a difference. I am going to answer all of these questions myself, and then I am going to tag some of YOU to answer them in your blogs or in my comments section! Memes are one way to start a conversation between blogs or between a blogger and his or her readers. I answered all of this by myself, but my mom is typing for me tonight so I am not staying up past my bedtime : )!

1. In your opinion, what does it mean to make a difference?

It means you are helping someone or making something better. It doesn’t mean you have to do something really big (like saving the Rainforest). It means you can do something small (like recycling).

2. What is an example of a unique way to make a difference?

The most unique thing I’ve done to make a difference, I think, was to recycle bottles and then donate the money to Suneel’s Light. Some of the unique things that other people are doing through my contest were saving a cat, feeding expired parking meters, and paying for the Tim Horton’s order of the person behind them in the drive thru!

3. Who has made a difference in YOUR life this week?

My family has and all of the people who are reading this blog and leaving comments. I’ve really learned that a little good goes a very long way!

My teacher, Mrs. Nabozny, has also made a difference in my life this week. She’s taught me that having a book club can be complicated but fun. I started a book club at school because she helped me! I love books!

4. If I didn’t have a blog, would you still be making a difference?

I would still be trying to make a difference, but the difference wouldn’t be as “big.” First of all, I know that I need to come here every day to blog about what I’m doing, and if I don’t do anything, I won’t have anything to write about. Having an audience encouraging me makes me want to do even more good things! I also think it is kind of fun making a difference every day and writing about it every day. I love looking at my comments too! It is fun to see what everyone else is doing.

5. What is your favorite thing about the internet?

That the internet can teach me things. Sometimes, people don’t give accurate information about things, but when you use the internet well, you can get a lot of good information. It is also fast! I like finding answers quickly. I have also been able to talk with people from all over the world who have things in common with me! I have new friends in India and Guam and New Zealand and Chicago!

I am tagging Orange Soda 2000, Coco, Sarah W., Lillian, Duncan, Hunter and Drew, Sheila Cason, and Kelly Genet! I’d also like it if some of the students and teachers who are participating can blog about this too!  Can you please answer these questions on your blog or in my comments? And then, if you can, tag someone else too!

How I Made a Difference on December 16,2007

                                                         Discs for the SPCA

Today I made a difference by going through our cd’s and donating the ones we don’t want anymore to Discs for Dogs. This benefits my local SPCA. Instead of the discs ending up in a land fill they are sold for a dollar and the money goes to the SPCA. This was Mrs.Toney’s idea ( Thank you  Mrs. Toney) and it’s a great one!

My mom and I put a call in with my local SPCA saying that I’d like to voulenteer there long term after the holidays! We have a dog named Biscuit and a cat named Oliver. Oliver came from the SPCA. We got him last year at Christmastime! He likes to tear our curtains down and race up the Christmas tree this year. My mom and dad are really happy about this (NOT).

I love my pets. And when I grow up I want to be a veterinarian. I think I would enjoy this! We just learned about a cool new site thanks to me having to spell that word correctly! It is called dictionary.com. I learned how to spell veterinarian correctly because we looked it up on that site. My mom was an English teacher for a long time, and even she messes up spelling that one.

Tonight, we are going to be doing a MEME. I hope that some of you will play along! I am going to invent some questions about making a difference, and I will answer them in a new post. Then, I am going to tag some of you who have been playing along and ask that you answer these questions in YOUR blogs or in my comments section! When you respond, you can tag other people you know too! I think that getting everyone thinking and talking about what it means to make a difference is a great thing to do during this time of year.

How I Made a Difference on December 15,2007

This week, my mom and I have become acquainted with a mom named Hallie. Hallie’s son, CJ, is going to be a soldier in Iraq soon. He is leaving right after Christmas. He is only 18 years old too. My mom asked Hallie to tell us about what CJ will be doing as a soldier, and she sent us a great email message. Here is a part of it:

CJ is trained to be an AIRBORNE BATTLE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS SPECIALIST. What that means is that he is part of a flight crew and will be flying in support of the war.  We thought CJ would be stationed in Japan and would then be sent on “missions” (deployments) that would have him in a plane flying at 33,000 feet.  This plane acts a moving satellite – it intercepts transmissions from ground.  Even though he would have been in war zones, he would have been high enough above the action that he would be hopefully safe.
 
CJ did so well in Tech School – graduated first in class – that he was recruited to join an elite flight crew based out of Hurlburt Field in Florida.  He was so honored to be chosen.  We are so proud of him but terrified.
 
What this new job means is that CJ will now be on a plane (a gunship) that has large guns on it.  He will be sent to do his job but will not be able to let us know where or when he leaves. Sigh…this plane flies a lot lower and goes in at night.  CJ tells me that none of these planes have ever been shot down but I still worry.
 
Becasue CJ will be in a plane in a dangerous situation, he is now required to complete SERE – survival school.  He will be trained to survive, evade capture, resist and escape.  This all happens right after Xmas – he will spend 17 days in WA and will be treated as a POW for part of this time.  The intent of this training is to prepare him in case (God forbid) he gets captured by the enemy.  

CJ is nervous but ready to do what it takes to defend our country.  We are so proud of him.  Can’t believe this is my 18 year old son – what a wonderful man he is becoming.

My Grandpa Al was a Korean War veteran. He never fought in the war, but he was in the 82nd Airborne and he jumped out of airplanes. He loved to do this! My Uncle Mike was a Marine, in the Army, and he is now in the Air Force Reserves. My Uncle Paul and my Uncle John were also in the Marines. I am very proud to have uncles who served our country.

The war is something that makes me very sad. I don’t think we should have a war because people are suffering. I wish that George Bush would end the war. I wish that people like CJ didn’t have to go to war. But I am really grateful for people like CJ and my uncles because they risk their lives to protect our country.

My package will be sent out for CJ on Monday! Right now, we are waiting to get socked with a big snowstorm! Keep your fingers crossed that school is closed on Monday!!!

 

How I Made a Difference on December 14,2007

Today I made a difference by being a kindergarten bus helper.

Even though I am a bus helper all school year round, it is especially challenging in the winter because I have to help my kindergarteners get dressed to go outside at the end of the school day. Usually, I have to move fast, and do you know that kindergarteners like to be dressed a certain way? They do. Ryan likes his boots on first and then he likes to stick the bottom of his pants in his boots perfectly. He always keeps starting over if they are not “done right.” Felicia has to have her coat zippered all the way up to her chin and she looks like a little eskimo in her coat.

Today, I helped Ryan because he was a little behind on getting ready to leave. Usually I have five kids to take care of, but today I only had four because Felicia was sick. This gave me a little more time. Some kids get overwhelmed taking care of little kids, but I really like it.

 My kindergardeners names are Ryan, Callan, Angela, Felicia and Luke. I also am a bus helper in the morning when I go to school. I get to count kids and help the bus driver. I really like my bus driver.

How I Made a Difference on December 13,2007

Oliver and my fish, Sushi

Today I made a difference by cleaning my fish’s fish bowl. It used to be really yucky water! When I clean the bowl, which is shaped like a fish, I put my real fish, Sushi, in a big white bowl. It takes me about 15 minuets to clean her bowl.

I got Sushi at a fair. I won her by playing this game where you try to throw ping pong balls in these tiny plastic bowls. I got her on the 4th of July. It was really hot where I live! My parents can’t believe Sushi has survived as long as she has. She’s awesome.

I have a cat whose name is Oliver. Oli is his nickname. Oli likes to watch the fish all night long. He likes to wake me up and show me how much he likes to play. I get really mad at him sometimes when he wakes me up in the middle of the night because he’s playing with my fish! I can’t do anything about it though because my fish bowl didn’t come with a lid. It’s about thirty years old. I also hate closing my door when I sleep.

 I really love my fish!

 

A Request from “The Mom”

Did you know that Laura wants to be a veternarian when she grows up? She really does, and I think she is an ideal candidate for this profession. Just don’t ask her to clean any fishbowls…we won’t discuss the current state of the one in her bedroom right this very moment. Anyway, as I was scrolling through my blogroll tonight, I became attuned to the fact that the Animal Rescue site is failing to meet their quota for daily clicks and may no longer be able to donate food to needy animals. I thought I’d pop back over here briefly and please ask everyone who stops by to visit their site and give them a little bit of support. It won’t cost you a cent, and I know that Laura will appreciate this.

Thanks!

Angela (Laura’s mom)

Making a Difference All Over the World

Did you know that there are readers and bloggers who are making a difference all over the world now…not just in the United States? There are! And it’s really exciting to visit their blogs and receive their emails and see what they’ve been up too while they are making a difference.

Emily is a writer in London.

Dr. Cason is a doctor in Guam.

Dr. Mani and Kirtana live in India.

Ms. Vesper is a teacher in New Zealand.

Lenva Shearing is from there too!

Kate Saltfleet lives in England too.

Mar Gallego is a teacher in Spain! She wrote about me, in Spanish, on her blog!

I am really excited to see how many more countries we might hear from…I didn’t expect this to happen, and I am so glad that it has.

How I Made a Difference on December 11,2007

Today I made a difference by taking a more active role in my church and my religious instruction. This week, I called the man who is organizing the altar serving schedule, and I asked if I could be an altar server again this year. He said yes! I hope that I will get to serve mass on Christmas again. I will also be bringing in cookies and a thank you card for my religion teacher tonight to thank her for all of her hard work teaching us all year.  Finally, my Aunt Barb asked if I would speak at one of her religion classes next month. She teaches high school students about social justice, and she thought maybe I’d like to talk about this blog and my contest. I told her that I’d like to do this.