No Riding in the House Without A Helmet

I recently read a great book called No Riding in the House Without A Helmet by Melissa Fay Green. It was a great book. It was about a couple that had four biological children that eventually adopted five more children...one from Bulgaria and the rest from Ethiopia. It was such a touching book and humorous book. I literally laughed out loud repeatedly. But I was also reminded of how fortunate we are to live in this nation. I know that, but I think it is always good to have a reminder from time to time. As I read about the lives that these children came from as well as their struggles to adapt to America, a new family, etc...to be integrated and yet to still retain their culture and identity...I was so grateful for the blessings I have been given. We take so much for granted...education, sufficient food, a stable family, even non-necessities like cars, tvs, and so on. Reading this book made me wish that I was in a position that I could do more to help others in poverty whether through adoption or volunteer work or some other avenue. I am not in a position to do that, at least right now, but I can try to do a little ...by teaching my children gratitude, by expressing gratitude myself and recognizing the blessings I have, by giving a generous fast offering and donating to the humanitarian efforts of the church and/or other relief organizations. And by trying my best, each day, while I am in my classroom to make the lives of my second graders a little better, a little happier. They are, in no means, in the destitute poverty of so many others around the world. However, many of them do have difficult home lives and I hope that in some small way I am making a difference in their lives as well as the lives of my own children.