It Snowed!

We got snow (again). That's 2 years in a row. Unfortunately, my new camera wasn't fully charged while the snow was actually falling and on the ground, but I was able to get a few pictures before it completely disappeared.

I Love E-Bay!

I'm not really a big fan of spending large amounts of money on brand new clothes for my young children that will outgrow them or ruin them sometimes after only wearing them once. Needless to say, I'm a big fan of hand me downs and e-bay.

Since L is outgrowing her 24 month clothes and is starting to wear 3Ts, I didn't want to wait until she absolutely needed more clothes before I started buying her some, because I know I would end up spending more on her than I would have liked. So, I got on e-bay and found this great deal. I got them in the mail today and was so excited to see what was inside. Even though I saw pictures online when I bid on the auction, I'm always hopeful I will get more than I bargained for. The auction was listed at 100+ items and I ended up with over 130 pieces.

Here's what I got:

29 pants/bottoms

13 sets of bottoms/tops

9 jackets

1 coat

42 tops (winter & summer)

13 pairs of shorts

6 skirts

5 dresses

Most of them were 3Ts, but there were a few 4s in there. I got all of that for less than $100 (including shipping). That's better than garage sale prices and the stuff is in good condition.

Now I just have to find enough hangers and room in her dresser for everything!

She Doesn't Need My Help

A few minutes ago, as I was checking my e-mail, I heard the fridge beep (because it had been open too long). I knew L could open the freezer as she does sometimes to get frozen fruit and thought she was just getting some for herself. I asked her to close it, but when I didn't hear it close, I had to go see what was going on and why she wasn't doing what I had asked.

Well, apparently she didn't want frozen fruit. She had pulled a chair in front of the refrigerator, opened both doors, and was trying to get something to eat. When she saw me, she looked at me innocently, handed me the bottle of hot sauce she had taken out of the side door, and pointed to the container with the "fish" (tuna fish). I guess she was hungry and wasn't interested in telling me and decided she could do it herself.

Accept Instruction

God has a plan and a purpose for each of us in all things that we do. As I was reading 2 Kings today, the story of Naaman stuck with me and can't seem to escape.

Naaman was a commander of the army of the king of Aram. Although Naaman was highly regarded by the king, he had leprosy. Normally, someone with leprosy was sent to live a very isolated life, but because victory had been given to Aram through Naaman (2 Kings 5:1), it's safe to say that he was given special privileges and rights that others with leprosy did not get.

At one point, Naaman's wife's mistress told Naaman's wife that he should go see the prophet of Samaria so he could be cured of leprosy. The king heard of this and sent Naaman to the king of Israel. Once Elisha, the prophet of God, heard of Naaman going to the king to seek healing for leprosy, he sent for him. It was at Elisha's door that a messenger greeted Naaman and told him to "Go wash yourself seven times in the Jordan..." (2 Kings 5:10)

Naaman had traveled all that way to give a letter to a king, only to be sent to someone else, whose messenger gave him the instructions. Needless to say, Naaman was angry. He had expectations of what was going to happen and being given a message by a messenger to wash in the Jordan was not on that list. He didn't understand why he had to travel all that way to wash in the Jordan when he could have stayed in the comfort of his own city and washed in their waters and had the same results. Weren't the rivers of Damascus better than the Jordan? It definitely would have been more convenient.

Naaman had gone to the king of Israel hoping he could be healed, but anticipated being healed on his terms, his ways, and his ideas. Finally, Naaman came to his senses, did as he was directed, and was cleansed.

Often times, we get in situations where we wonder what the purpose is. Why did we have to move? Why did this have to happen to me? Why did it have to happen this way? Couldn't I have just stayed in the comfort of my surroundings and the same thing happen?

The truth is that God wants us to step out on faith, accept his instruction, and follow Him no matter the inconvenience or discomfort it might cause. There will be times in our life that God needs us to do something or go somewhere that we may not be comfortable so that we can fulfill His purpose in the way He intended. It might not be easy, but if we're willing to follow His direction and guidance, just as Naaman did, we too can find what we're looking for, just maybe not in the way we expected.

"Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise." Proverbs 19:20

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21

2009 Christmas Tree

K did most of the decorating, which is while most of the ornaments are gathered by color and only go to a certain height. I still need to buy a new topper and skirt, but here's a picture of our (almost finished) Christmas tree. He's so proud! He loves plugging the lights in and thinks "it's so pretty".

We put the star on top and added a new skirt today. K tried to hug the tree today because he thought it was so pretty. ;-) I wish I would have had the camera handy when I caught K and L sitting behind the tree in the corner. Too cute!

Tree Farm

On our way home from my parents house, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we made a pit stop at the Grant Tree Farm to pick out our Christmas tree. The kids had a blast and the timing was perfect! We got there long after the crowds were gone so we didn't have to wait for anything. We didn't have to wait to pay for the tree, get food, or use the bathroom. It was so nice!

Snowman Christmas Tree (as K called it)

Playing on the hay was one of his favorite things from last year.

Much to my surprise, she actually fed a goat (from her hand).

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving! We were able to see both sets of parents and had a great time visiting. I think this is one of the only Thanksgivings that we both were able to spend time and eat with his entire family. I wasn't able to take a lot of pictures because my camera is going out. Here are a few I took of the day. L had a great time playing with her big cousins and I think her oldest female cousin, on M's side, had a blast watching L. I was fortunate that I never had to worry about where L was because I knew her cousins were taking good took care of her.When we left the in-laws house, we drove 6 hours to my parents house. Although the bulk of the family had already left, my parents and my sister's girls were there and we got to spend some time with them. K had a blast fishing in their pond and playing in the dirt with his cousin. My mom got her Christmas present a little early and we painted her bathroom. The picture below is the only one I got with my camera that was of any quality.