Feelin' the Love

This morning (Thurs.) the kids were up and asking to start our M&M kindness game. M&M's first thing in the morning....what a cool mom! I gave each child a small Zip-loc bag filled with 3 handfuls of M&Ms....and the kindness began.  It was interesting to see that the first effect of our kindness game was that immediately the kids thought more before they spoke.
KINDNESS: We are not all going to agree on everything, and we can get on each other's nerves, but when we think of how to communicate in a kind way, and THEN speak with KIND intent, the underlying love we have for one another shines through.
When I dropped Grace and Thomas off at school, rather than their usual scuffle out of the car, Thomas cheered on Grace, "Come on, Grace, let's do this thing!"  And off they ran to meet up with their classmates.

After school conversations were a continuation of thoughtfulness I overheard this morning.  There were a couple Grace/Caroline tiffs over a sticker book, but next thing I knew they were complimenting each other on their artwork and expressing gratitude that they were sisters.

Christina radiated happiness.  She came home from school excited to show me the DNA she discovered from an onion on her field trip to a local lab today.  How cool is that?!  Beyond her good day at school, Christina was simply happy.  She helped the kids play the M&M game.  She started making plans for a gift basket for a friend at church.

I made tortellini chicken soup for dinner with melted Parmesan wafers on top....perfect for the rainy day we had today.  I caught up with an old mission friend on the phone....made my day!

A funny thing happened just before dinner....

I overheard Thomas complimenting Grace and consequently give her an M&M.  "Have another!" he said, followed by, "You know what, you can have all of my M&M's if you want!"  He dumped his M&M's into Grace's bag.  Grace was all smiles.  A few minutes later she brought the refill bag over to Thomas and gave him the rest of the bag of M&M's.

I could tell Thomas really caught on, so I asked him to offer the blessing on our dinner.  He was full of gratitude, "...We're thankful for the joy and happiness we feel."

Our discussion over dinner centered on our KINDNESS GAME....

• No one could remember the specific things they did for others, they just knew they tried to be nice.
• Our home felt peaceful.
• When I asked Thomas how he felt when he gave away all of his M&M's he said, "I felt happy!!"  I asked him if he missed his M&M's and he said, "Not at all!  But then Grace came up to me and gave me lots more!"  Which led to our next observation...
• When someone is kind to us, it makes us want to be a kinder person.
• Being kind is FUN!
• We should be kind everyday.
• When we are kind we are being true to who we really are...a Child of God.

For scripture reading, I read, 4 Nephi 1:15...

"And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people."

Happy World Kindness Day!