My ever so awesome day off

Today began my week off for Thanksgiving. Of course, being an hourly employee (vs. a salaried one), that means that I'm not getting paid this week. But ya know, that's alright. God's gonna take care of every penny that I'm missing this week.

The morning started off so relaxing. Larry drove all three kids to school so that I could stay in my pajamas & hang out at the house a little longer. Last night, I made a list of all the things I had to get done today. This morning, the list included having my quiet time (reading my Bible & prayer), making pumpkin bread for Sarah's class feast this afternoon, emailing Samuel's teacher about his class feast tomorrow, calling & paying my Avon bill, uploading pictures to Snapfish.com, dishes, making my bed and a trip to the post office.

Check! Then it was lunchtime.

Just a word of advice: When you heat up a Lean Cuisine meal in the microwave, never trust the cellophane wrapper thing on top to really stick like it should as you carry it across the kitchen. Broccoli & cheesy potatoes might just splatter all over the place if you lose your grip & grab at the cellophane to catch it. yuck.

And if you drop it like that, you may end up eating a "kiddie" lunch like this. (and no...that's not 2 containers of Ranch dressing. I dipped my chicken nuggets in Greek dressing & the carrots in Ranch.)

After lunch, I picked up a Freecycle item here in town before driving to a friend from church's house to pick up some hand me downs for Savannah. I was so blessed, not only by the hand me downs, but by the mama giving them. This is a lady whose youngest child is Samuel's age. She was brain injured at birth & lives in a profoundly handicapped state. But the mom who shared these hand me downs today was such an encouragement to me. She spoke in terms of joy & hope & praise to God. She quoted Scripture ---not in a showy way, but as part of her vocabulary. This is a woman truly leaning on God for her strength & her joy. Wow. What a sweet treasure to share an hour with!

After picking up the clothes, I made a quick trip back to the house to drop them off & pick up the pumpkin bread. I headed to Sarah's school & got to her room just in time! The kids in her class wrote a "thankful book" and today, they were having an author's party. Each child sat at his or her desk with their book & all the parents were given paper & markers to go around, meet the authors & get their autographs. It was the cutest thing! Each of the kids were excited to show off their book & to sign autographs. In reading the books, I was so touched by the kids' hearts. One child was thankful for his grandmother who has raised him since his mom left. One child was thankful for his family--including the sister who passed away last year, who he had drawn as an angel in his book. Several children were thankful for God & the sacrifice of His Son. Wow. What awesome kids! This is Sarah's book. I think you can click each picture to see the pages better, but I'm typing out the words below the pictures just in case.

I'm thankful for these things.......................

at the bottom: Author: Sarah Reeves, Illustrator: Sarah Reeves

Water

I'm thankful for water because you can go along time without eating but not without drinking water. I love water. I love water when it's really cold.

My family

I'm thankful for my family because I have a great family. I'm thankful for my mom because she is beautiful and she is always there for me and nice. I'm thankful for my Dad because he's nice, handsome, and he's always there for me and he's funny. I'm thankful for my brother and sister because when my sister goes to a sleepover I'm kind of scared because I'm alone. But I have my brother to sleep with.

(NOTE: They don't sleep in the same bed, but they often have a 'slumber party' in the same room when she is alone.)

God

I'm thankful for God because if I didn't have God I wouldn't have anyone to praise. I praise God because He is the one and only God. He is the almighty God.

TV

I'm thankful for TV because if I didn't have tv I would be bored out of my mind. TV is fun to watch. I like TV.

(Note: This one cracked me up because of my three kids, Sarah probably watches the least TV.)

My Friends

I'm thankful for my friends because I want someone to play with and talk with. It's really fun once you get to know them. Because it's just awesome to have a friend.

Food

I'm thankful for food because if I didn't have food I would starve. I love food because there's many different kinds you can try. My favorite food is chicken.

My dog

I'm thankful for my dog King because I love him and he's sweet and cute. He looks like Lassie. Having a dog is an honor because I couldn't have asked for a better dog than King.

On the back cover, she had a dedication to Larry & I.

I didn't include 2 pages from the book--one about her teacher & one about herself on the "about the author" page. Too much personal info shared on those to post for the bloggy-world to see.

After reading all the kids' books, they performed their first Readers' Theater for the parents. This one was titled The ABCs of Thanksgiving. The kids did a great job. Here is Sarah, holding her sign. (center) They had their class feast when they were done.

Once the feast was over, we picked up the other kids and headed toward home. The afternoon held more 'stuff' that needed to be done. Savannah tried on mounds of hand me downs, all three kids put away laundry and I sat down to address Christmas cards. (I'm not done, but I'm going to work on it again tomorrow.)

About 4:45, Larry called & asked if we were all dressed and presentable. Umm...yes. He came by the house & picked us up for an evening of ministry & family time. We drove to a nearby town to visit a lady from our church who just had a baby today. We got to pass the baby around, kiss her tiny baby cheeks, pray for her & her family and then we went to eat. We went to a town where we once lived. Yummm! I had forgotten how much I LOVED the hot sauce & chips at the restaurant. We haven't lived there since 2001, so it's been years since I stepped foot inside this restaurant. yummm....I could eat that stuff all day!

And to top off an already great day, Larry found out about his annual raise today. We'll never be rolling in the dough, but he got enough of a raise for us to afford to add me back onto the cell phone plan. We had to cut off my phone about 16 months ago due to budget cuts, so it was such a HUGE surprise when he drove up & handed me an Alltel bag! Wow! I'm so excited! It's been a great 16 months of remembering the difference between a need and a want. Sure, I would've loved to have a cell phone all this time, but it wasn't a desperate NEED. I've survived without one just fine. But I'm glad to be able to get one again for all those "just in case" moments where the schools might need to reach me.

As the day draws to a close, I am delighted once again in the incredible family God's given me. Tonight, as I watched the whole crew laugh hysterically around the table at the restaurant, I remembered once again.......I am so very blessed.