Day 8

Today after church and lunch the kids and I made a trip to Walmart.  We filled up our Operation Christmas Child boxes and got stuff for Thanksgiving baskets.  It felt good to do that and the kids were excited.  But Jackson could not understand why he could not buy Star Wars figurines.  The organization specifically asked for no toys with weapons of any kind.  I let the kids buy for a child the same age and gender as themselves.  Since we don't know the names of the children and we want to pray we made up names.  Jackson picked Josh and for the life of me I can't remember what Ellie picked.  I think it was Amy but I am not sure.  Regardless we will be praying for them and God knows who they are!

Day 7 and Blessings

Today turned into a lazy day.  I started out cleaning and then it turned into a lazy day with an extremely long nap.  Now I am going to be up late.  So I have been thinking about what I can do for someone else today.  I think I will bless my husband so that when he gets up at the crack of dawn for work he will have see how much I love and appreciate him.

On another note.  I have already started to see some blessings.  I know that they may not sound like much to some but I can see them as blessings. 

1. Troy just remembered that he can get reimbursed for school which means in 2 weeks maybe a little longer we will be reimbursed for his last block of classes and then right before Christmas we will be getting another check!  That is $3600 total!  The timing could not be better.
2. I got a letter from Mom today just to say thank you and it was so sweet and it made my day.  
3. A good friend offered to help with tutoring Jackson.  She is a first grade teacher.
4. A very expensive curriculum that I want and think would be very beneficial to Jackson was offered to me for a third of the price.  I will have to buy some of the consumable workbooks but that is ok, all totaled it is less then 1/2 of the original price tag!
5. A mom at church that I have only spoken to in passing, is a homeschooler and has a boy Jackson's age.  They played on Friday and had the best time.  She also has a girl Charlotte's age.  I am so excited to have met her.
6. I was able to continue working at the church even though I thought I would have to quit because I was homeschooling.
   

These are not all financial blessings.  I think sometimes Christian's think that if they give they will automatically receive and it will be financially.  Troy and I talked about it today.  I find myself wishing I could just go out and buy whatever I want or need really.  I wish I didn't have to pay half of my mortgage late or make my kids go without their favorite snack.  But that is our lot in life.  For whatever reason God has chosen this for us.  I am going to have to embrace it and go on with my life.  We have never been on the street and we have always had food to eat.  PB&J counts!   He always provides.  So I have to go with it and I have to have a cheerful attitude.  I teach my children to do things with a good attitude and my Heavenly Father wants me to do the same.  So I am and I will.  I may slip as all humans do but that is ok, He is good all the time!

Day 6

Today was a good day.  I was tired but it was a good day.  Jackson and Troy are going camping tonight and the girls and I are hanging out.  My kids are driving me nuts and I am having a hard time being gracious at the moment.  Unfortunately hormones are a factor! 

So Day 6, my neighbor has not mowed since at least July.  Today he was out struggling to get his mower to work.  I hollered across the street to come over and get ours.  It ended up that he had already gone through 2 mowers today and he was at the end of his rope.  I walked outside just at the right time, or should I say God led me out there at the right time!  He was so grateful and I was glad to have been out to see that he needed the help.

Day 5

Today I worked and then went on a fun field trip.  I bought my curriculum for this year and I think it will be good.  Jackson is excited to start it.  Today I stuffed bags for the Advent Calendar.  Our preschool ministry hands them out at Christmas time.  Technically I was on the clock for this but I would have done it off the clock.  I volunteered to help when she asked.  Maybe I am grasping at straws.  Who knows, what I do know is where my heart was when I was doing it and it was definitely with the families who are going to receive them. 

Day 4

Today I left the house!  I bought some thing for a friend that I know will be a huge blessing.  I also got a cool CD that comes with an extra one so that you can share with a friend.  I have already given it away!

Day 2 and 3

So a lot has happened this week.  I know it is only tuesday!  We pulled Jackson out of school and are officially homeschooling.  Today was our first day and went pretty good.  He is going to have to learn a whole new set of rules around here.  Ones that involve being a student and me being a teacher.  But I know that he will get it.  I am noticing that when I am stuck at home my ability to give is limited.  So here is what I did for day's 2 and 3.  Day 2, I was gracious to my son.  We were on time for once for baseball and we got there and were ready to go when he realized he did not have his bag.  I was irritated but I did not yell or punish I just got back in the car and went home to see the bag sitting on the front lawn next to his side of the car.  I know doesn't sound like much but I am working on anger issues and this was huge!  Day 3, today was even harder but I loved on Caleb today because he was not feeling well.  Oh, and I talked to a friend whose husband is in Afghanistan fighting and risking his life everyday.  My family and the Monroe's have adopted them this month so I was getting down what she and her four children need on top of what Jay would need.  I heart that family!

We have 2 boxes for Operation Christmas Child and I am taking the kids on Thursday to fill them.  I know they will enjoy that. 

Day 1

Honestly today I did not really give anything away monetarily.   I did however give my time and I loved on one of the sweetest boys, Riley Miller today.  I love that boy.  He was not having the best day and he ended up in my lap and I just talked to him and he just smiled at me. 

Last Thursday I received a thank you along with a gift card in the mail.  It was totally unexpected and it came from someone I barely know.  About 2 months ago, while at Mardel's, there was a woman who lost her keys.  The manager asked us to keep an eye out in case we found them.  The entire store was looking for her keys.  My kids looked while I shopped and I looked too.  At one point I looked up and saw a woman from church, someone that I has children that I have watched, I did not know her name but said hello.  She was the one who had lost her keys.  I told her we would keep an eye out and kept browsing for myself.  We were in there for at least 30 minutes if not longer.  As I went to check out I saw her still looking for her keys.  You could tell she was flustered and I went to her and asked if I could take her to get another set (home, husband's work etc).  She was surprised but accepted.  We then introduced ourselves.  She did not live that close but really I had no other plans that day.  I took her home and she was able to go back later with her husband and they found the keys.  That week at church I saw her and she told me the story and thanked me over and over.  It was no big deal because really I would hope that someone would have done it for me.  Flash forward 2 months and she sends me this beautiful card and a really nice note from her.  She didn't have to do that and she really didn't have to give me gift card.  I would do it agian tomorrow.  God is good and He put me there at the right time!