Author Archives: Ashley Arnold

My Favorite Things

Weelicious_cookbook

Since eating is my favorite thing to do I thought I would share my favorite cookbook.  My mom cooks all different recipes from this book but the sweet noodles are my favorite.  Enjoy!

SWEET NOODLES:  4-6 servings

1 pound rotini noodles

1 1/4 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 honey

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1.  Cook the pasta according to the package directions

2.  In a bowl, mix the ricotta, honey, and cinnamon until creamy

3.  Pour the ricotta mixture over the drained pasta, stir to coat the pasta, and serve

On Children

On Children
 Kahlil Gibran

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

 

9 Ways to Teach Your Child About Charity

9 Ways to Teach Your Child About Charity from parents.com

By Chick Moorman and Thomas Haller

To help your children acquire the habit of charity, consider implementing as a family the strategies which follow.

1. Donate clothes.

Periodically go through your closets rooting out clothes you haven’t worn in a while, which can be given to the Salvation Army or Goodwill for distribution to the needy. Encourage your children to do the same. Allow them to select which clothes or toys they wish to donate. The value of this activity is diminished greatly if you go through their closets for them without their presence. For maximum benefit, get your children involved in choosing the appropriate items. Take your children with you when you drop the items off at the charitable destination.

2. Help neighbors.

Regularly engage in a service-oriented project. Rake the leaves of an elderly couple. Bake cookies for a serviceman or servicewoman. Bake bread and deliver it to the homeless feeding station in your community.

3. Give blood.

Take your children with you so they see you as a model for giving. Talk to them about why you choose to donate blood and what you hope it will accomplish by doing so.

4. Make birthdays charitable.

Set up birthday parties as a time for giving to others. At your child’s first school-age birthday party, ask guests to bring a gift of a book (new or used) to be donated to a local charity. Talk to your son about the books he has and about children who have no books. Explain that one way to celebrate a birthday would be to give to those who have less. Involve the birthday boy in the decision of whether not to give the books to a woman’s shelter, a doctor’s office, or some other appropriate organization. When you deliver the books with your son, record it on camera, and revisit that movie (or those pictures) on future birthdays.

5. Include pets.

At regular intervals, buy dog or cat food and take it to the humane society. Allow your children to spend some time with the recipients of the gift.

6. Deliver nutrition.

Build food baskets around the holidays and give to a needy family suggested by your church or school. Involve your children is selecting canned goods, fruit, and other treats to include. Decorate the gift package and deliver it together, as a family.

7. Change for a difference.

Create a charity jar to be used by the family when allowances are distributed. Invite children to share some of their allowance with others through donating to the jar. As the jar fills, decide as a family where to contribute the contents. You may choose to save a whale, buy gloves for needy children, or contribute to a cancer charity among others. Read about various charities on the Internet and share this information with your children to help them make an informed decision.

8. Help elders.

Do things for the elderly that they have trouble doing for themselves. Pick up sticks in your neighbor’s yard after a big windstorm. Mow the grass for Grandma. Wash Grandpa’s car. Clean their windows in the spring. Help them plant flowers.

9. Pitch in.

Get on a regular service schedule at your church or synagogue. Sign up for a time to mow the grass and trim the bushes. Take your turn ushering and allow your child to assist.

By implementing some of these ideas or others like them, you will be teaching your children that charity is not reserved only for emergencies. You will be helping them appreciate that reaching out to others in need is a way of life, rather than a moment in time when a catastrophic disaster occurs. Remember, while you are giving to others, you are giving your children important messages about your beliefs concerning the spirit of giving.

Chick Moorman and Thomas Haller are the authors of The 10 Commitments: Parenting with Purpose. Moorman is a former classroom teacher and the currect director of the Institute of Personal Power.

 

Hello Friends…..

 _X9A0555

I am Jax Arnold. I am 14 months old and when I’m not eating the newspaper or gnawing on my dad’s iPhone I like to count my many blessings.  First and foremost, I have the absolute best father in the world.  I also have a mother.  Yes, I am blessed, but I know that there are kids out there that maybe aren’t as fortunate right now.  All they need is some encouragement and maybe a helping hand.  So me and my buddies started our own charity.  Not a fancy schmancy deal like my superstar father goes to (sometimes with my mother, usually with his publicist) but a fun afternoon where me and my pals get to hang out, play games and eat things.  You can never have enough friends (even if you have an amazing father) so everyone is invited.  Each year we give all the proceeds to a different kid charity, and really try to make a difference.  I do this out of love, but also common sense.  My father is older and in show business.  Since that’s the most unstable business of all I know that one day I too might need a little encouragement.  A helping hand if you will.  Karma.  I like it and believe in it because it works both ways.

Love,

Jax