Almost the end....

Well, it is almost the end of November.  Did I give something everyday for 30 days?  No I am afraid not.  Did I give with a cheerful heart?  Yes, I would say so.  Did I enjoy this challenge?  Absolutely.  It has been good and although I can't promise that I will give something everyday I will certainly make it a priority it my life. 

We had Thanksgiving here with the Senterfitt's.  They were so awesome and we had such a blessed day.  There was way too much food and that was ok.  I have had leftovers everyday, I may just throw the rest out today.  I am the only one eating it and there is more then I could ever eat!  But anyway we had such a great time that I told Troy this should be a new tradition.  We should do this more often.  The kids played really hard and the adult conversation was great to have. 

Black Friday shopping was a crazy nightmare.  People desperate to save a few bucks were pushing, cussing and just plain grumpy.  Troy and I tried to be nice to those that we ran into but soon realized that they were not in the mood.  Troy and I even started to get grumpy and began fighting with each other.  It was stupid.  I finally suggested that we leave get some breakfast and then go somewhere else.  Wow!  Food helped!  I think it should be required that you eat before you shop on Black Friday.  I was so worried about getting a DS for Jackson (that we didn't even get) at Walmart for $30 off that I was willing to push too.  I ended up getting him one at target for only $10 off.  But there was no fighting at Target, no pushing and people were generally nicer.  It was also later in the morning.  Troy and I have decided that no sale is worth fighting with others or each other.  We are done with our Christmas shopping.  The only things I have left to buy are for stockings and that should be fun!

Sing Spell Read and Write

I finally got in the consumable books to SSRW.  I am so excited!  We had our first official day on Friday.  Here is how it went...Jackson loves the corny little songs and wanted to sing them over and over.  He mastered the first two steps and I stopped at step three because I wanted to spend more time on it.  Ellie joined in and is really getting it!  She only knows A and E but was able to find the letter's on a bingo card when shown a picture of that letter.  The fact that she can recognize them already shows me that reading will most likely be a cinch for her!  They both begged to "do school" yesterday which is great and I what I want!  WooHoo!

Here is a picture of Jackson in his new glasses!

Oh yeah, one more thing.....

Just remembered one more thing about giving.  A couple of months ago we were blessed by our church's benevolence fund.  We were able to get a new dryer, they fixed our car and we have been eating free on Wednesday nights. That is a lot and really extremely humbling.  It was always our plan to pay them back although we were told we did not have to.  Every quarter we have the Lord's Supper and we give to the benevolence fund.  We were able to start "paying it back" this week.  We have always given to it and we were so blessed by it.  We know that someone else will be too.  So if you are wondering where that money goes, I can't tell you how much it has helped our family.

It is Thursday and here I am not posting again!  But I will say it has been a good couple of days.  The kids and I went up to the fire station by our house on tuesday and gave the guys the cupcakes (finally).  They were appreciative and they spent almost an hour explaining everything to the kids.  They even let them climb up into the truck.  It was so nice.  We then went and dropped off a car seat to a family that just got a baby girl through foster to adopt care.  Then from there I went to Walmart where I saw Michelle randomly in the parking lot.  We ended up getting a bunch of goodies for Jay.  I hope he likes the yummy stuff!  Yesterday I was able to watch Lilly for Tracy.  She called me last minute for a last minute hair appointment.  Today I was not very giving.  I was exhausted and literally spent the day in bed.  But that is ok, I will make up for it another day I am sure. 

Some blessings, Aunt Cathy called out of the blue and offered to come pick Jackson up and had him for the day and he ended up spending the night with her.  So I had a fairly quiet day and evening without him.  Lilly and the girls played so well together that I was able to finish all of my assignments for the week!  That has not happened in a while. Oh and I was so tired yesterday morning that I was not sure if I could make it and Tracy brought me Starbucks!  That was a HUGE blessing!  Hey, it's the little things!

Oh and here is something I am going to do with the kids. Santa for a Senior is a program that is in most nursing homes that allows you to love on someone that may not have a family nearby or any family at all.  I think the kids will enjoy this.  They were so excited to see all of the Operation Christmas Child boxes in the hallway at church.  There are a ton!!!!!

Falling Behind

So I have not posted in several days and I am kicking myself for it.  I have however had several chances to give and I have also seen some blessings.  I was able to fill in for a friend at church so that she could hear an awesome sermon that was meant especially for her.  The kids and I made cupcakes for our volunteer firefighters by our neighborhood.   (They have been very busy lately). I have a super fancy very expensive infant car seat that was given to me and now I am able to give it to someone that just got a baby placed in their home unexpectedly.  We turned in our Operation Christmas boxes and I was able to show the kids how much of an impact and how important it was.  I spent time with a friend that has been lonely lately.  (I know that sounds kind of corny but the fact that I invited her to do something and just spent time with her really blessed her, I know because she told me so!).  I spent Saturday morning making cards for Jay and his fellow troops so that they could send special notes home from Afghanistan.  I know there is more but honestly I am unable to think of them.  That is why I am kicking myself for not posting! 

So here are some blessings.  A woman that I know from church that has recently become a prayer partner and a new friend really offered to watch my girls during the week while I am homeschooling Jackson.  She normally charges a lot of money to do it but wants to help me because she feels led by the Lord.  We got a flat tire and the spare ended up being flat too, not a blessing but it happened in our neighborhood which was a blessing!  Oh and it only cost $14 to fix!! 

Last Thursday was my last day with Caleb.  It was bittersweet.  I will miss the little guy.  He is so sweet and he liked to play with Charlotte.  He was super easy because he still took 2 naps.  I also made good money from watching him.  So losing him means I am losing a playmate for Char and a paycheck.  But I am gaining a play date because Denise will be home now.  This process has been smooth and stress free.  I am not worrying about where the money will come from our what will happen next.  I am at peace with it because I know that provisions will come another way.  Oh, and did I mention it will be easier to homeschool without him here!?  So that will be nice.  I am counting down the days until Kayden's last day.  Not because I don't want her here but because I can't wait for the quiet and the flexibility of not having extra kids.

Day 9

I did not blog last night because I forgot.  I need to do the same day other wise I forget.  So this morning I was thinking about what I gave yesterday and I was having a hard time until I remembered something that happened.  A friend of mine is struggling spiritually.  She has a past that won't go away and satan has really got a hold of her.  Yesterday she had a panic attack that was so bad that her daughter called 911.  When I got there she was still shaken but doing better.  I was able to spend time with her and pray for her.  She has a doctors appt today that could give devastating news.  But I am praying and my hope is in that it won't be.  That God is bigger then all of this and that He will be glorified through this whole entire situation.

** Just got the call and all of her tests came back negative.  See our God is good!

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!