My Gifts :)

My children are such a blessing from the Lord. I had the opportunity last week to lead a devotional at a baby shower at church. The gal is due with her first baby next month and it was just a great reminder to me of how quickly time flies, and what treasures babies and children are. The Word of God speaks over and over again of the importance and reward of children - something our society is very quickly trying to glaze over. Just today in a "parenting" magazine that I get {because it's free}I saw an ad for a permanent birth control new-whatever-thing. The pitch was how more children just add such a load to life - and, "you don't need more things to worry about". Sad. Disappointing. While I'm not here to debate #'s of children, political whatever-ness, or even birth control... I was able to look away and just PRAISE GOD for my babies.WHAT A GIFT!

The girls and I headed to Target this morning. I had a few things I needed to pick up, and, for some reason this is the ONE store my children don't seem to fuss at. I blame all the hanging banners, "tester" toys, and fun kids carts to ride in. :) Anywhoo... as we were moseying along I kept thinking of that "If you give a Mouse a cookie" book. You know,

"If you give a mouse a cookie,

He's going to want a glass of milk."

Only, it was more like...

"If you give a Mommy a few minutes at Target,

She is going to want to walk down every aisle.

If you let her walk down every aisle,

She will start to find things she didn't even know she needed.

When she finds things she didn't even know she needed,

she'll start planning for those events, fun times, and coming dates."

While I do work very diligently about NOT spending money on things we don't need {junk}- today I found some items {for cheap!} that will be so helpful and beneficial for my fam. And some unexpected treasures, a long the way, too. :) 

The Dollar Zone... seriously. What a HUGE help this will be as we begin some preschool at home this year! I already sat down and filled out our plans for week 1, because it felt like Christmas leafing through the thing!!! 

Yep, Thai-style soup for $1.74!!! I have been wanting to check this out for awhile, but it's usually in the $4 range. However, now that I've tried it - I can totally see why it was clearanced down... it.is.gross! Well, unless you like ginger-tasting water. Which, is exactly what it tasted like. :/ Wha-wha. 

After Target we made a run through the Starbucks drive through. I have gift card money left over from my birthday and two girls who LOVE the cake pops! Such a treat :) 

We ended our fun "girls morning out" with a pit stop at our local library. Ava has recently gotten very into the  "Charlie and Lola" books and TV show. It's adorable, I think, too. Her eyes got as big as saucers when she saw me find 4 of them today that we could take home! 

And, this one...
she doesn't quite understand that value of QUIET in the library. But, she sure is cute. I think I'll keep her.

I am a blessed woman to have these gifts in my life. They make each day special and challenging for the good and the bad. I'm constantly learning and always thankful!