Miracles Pouring

So, a mere week and a day ago there was some reason for concern (as well as me talkin' myself back up to faithfulness) and some excitement. There is progress I want to share regarding both.

Before I begin, I hope you will keep in mind throughout that I am sharing much in hopes of relating to you how truly amazing, wonderful and loving I know Heavenly Father is to me and my family. AND how He is a personal Father. He knows us as individuals and meets our needs as we live in Faith... and as we NEED (whether for physical necesity or testimony fortification OR both). There are things we have been dealing with that have been difficult and while I may mention some, I hope you will realize that I do so more to relate how trials are here, too. ;)

I believe I mentioned that we didn't have grocery money for this past week. We didn't. And we didn't spend any money on groceries. Kat asked to go to the grocery store any number of times, which I mention only because I find it really funny! (A kid who WANTS to go to the grocery store?? Obviously, Kat likes to eat.) After I finished my last post I felt a tremendous warmth and peace flow over and through me. I believe I needed to write what I wrote more for me than as any way of sharing our experiences!

Last Sunday we were given a bunch of bananas (about 7 individual bananas), 3 dozen eggs, and a pork shoulder! The combination of eggs (mixed up with some beans to make our bread) and pork made up our "big" meals throughout the week. What an awesome blessing and even miracle for us!

Monday we found out that the sellers of the house we made an offer on signed our offer late Friday night. That same day I was feeling really rough... SUPER tired. We had Family Home Evening in "our new home"! ^_^ It was, perhaps, silly, but we really wanted to start "owning" it! :)

Tuesday evening we found out that the seller's bank ('cause the property is a short sale) countered our offer. That same day I was feeling even more rough and my right boob had started hurting really badly. I went to bed quite early that night with a fever. ... ...the dreaded M... ... mastitis! :( Thankfully I know a "quick" remedy: buffered vitamin C, echinacea, sleep, and lots of nursing the baby on the sore boobie! I wasn't able to sleep as much as would have been best, but the fever broke during the night. My boob still had a fever through Thursday morning, though.

Tuesday we found out that the bank we're using for the mortgage needed 2007 and 2008 W2s. We'd sent those a while back when we first faxed over a ton of info. Jess brought the envelope back after he sent the fax and I proceeded to pack it. Tuesday night I went through the packed boxes TWICE and could not find the W2s. :( Thankfully we've used the same accountant for a few years, so Wednesday Jess called them to ask them to fax the W2s over to him. As the lady was doing that for him, she found a 2007 W2 stuck in with the 2008 tax return stuff. She told him she would be filing an amendment, so we would get a small check (BUT MONEY!) at some point in the future. uuummm... Can you say: YEAY? We sure do! Please remember this happened soon after we've felt very poignantly and upsettingly that we don't know how we're going to pay for all sorts of closing costs and other out of pocket expenses associated with buying this house... and then letting those concerns go because: God's Got It.

By Thursday night Jessie signed the contract and faxed it to our Realtor. As of now, we're waiting to hear that the other parties have signed before we order the appraisal. Amazing, right?! We're excited.

Friday Jess called a friend, who had suggested he might be able to take care of the survey (an out-of-pocket expense), to see if he was serious. He was serious and the only qualifier is that he wants Jess to be there when the survey of the land is done. We definitely have more time than money, so that's do-able! :)

Yesterday was a relatively quiet day (by the standards of the preceeding week!). I was able to finish (FINALLY) Tea's baby blanket and get some work done on her Tigger-doll.

Today a friend came by to deliver a 21 pound turkey and some fixins for Thanksgiving dinner!!! We do actually have grocery money this week, but we won't have to spend near as much (if anything) on meat now. What a HUGE and awsome blessing!!!!! With the food gift she also gave a cash gift, which will bolster our grocery budget very nicely! I may be able to get some plastic wrap! Let me tell you, it's difficult to store things without plastic wrap. ;)

Also today I found out that I may be able, through a gift, to make it to VA for Christmas. I'm afraid to be completely excited about that possibility.... I haven't been able to see my family together since my little sister's wedding. I'm nervous to be excited, but still feel really excited about that possibility! I hope it all works out so I can get up there.

Isn't it amazing? I mean, if we just talk ourselves up to being Faithful... Heavenly Father always is and when we work on our end.... It's just amazing!

I need to add here that I KNOW these things are wonderful and I feel totally loved an blessed... but I'm not special! Heavenly Father isn't favoring me over any one else. He has ready all kinds of similar and even totally different miracles for EVERYONE who comes Faithful to Him. The work we have to do (that I continue to struggle to do from moment to moment) is to remain Faithful and Obedient. How amazingly simple! And totally and completely difficult!! And awesomely, wonderfully, powerfully GOD!

I feel the need to bear witness to the way that Heavenly Father is a Father of intimacy, of individual attention, and of Love. His Love is unconditional. He cannot love me more now than He used to OR more than He loves anyone else because His love is not based on what I do or do not do. I know it. And I bear testimony of it. In the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

How to Buy a House...

If You're Basically Always Broke,

but believe Heavenly Father has confirmed that you should do it anyway.

Okay, so basically it just amounts to lots of prayer and Faith... but I'm going to expound... just because I'm verbose like that. :)

First

Start saving your pennies almost right after moving away from your parents' home so that you can visit there again some day. The only way to be successful at this, since you're basically always broke, is to round up every time you deduct money from your checkbook. After you fill a register, add up all the change and put that number in the very front of the next register (since you're least likely to be tempted to use it for future bills if you don't see it much). If you do this as long as I have been doing, for around 3 years, you might be able to amass just enough to pay for the round-trip in your gas-hog van. Also, make sure you spend all summer pinching pennies to save enough money for your daughters' dance costumes. Accrue enough for that right before the due date. Now, keep in mind, these are two expenditures you feel strongly about.

Next

You have to know who you're going to look to for help in understanding the whole realestate mumbo-jumbo. In our case, we chose the Real Estate Agent whose wife re-inspired in us the consideration of buying a home.

A friend of mine suggested buying a home in October. Immediately I told her it wasn't going to happen because we had such a sweet deal where we were and we really didn't have any wiggle room in our super tight budget.... But then the seed started sprouting against my own desire. And we started to look. And... WOW... did we find some amazing deals out there. So, then we started to feel excited, but concerned about who we should look for as a Real Estate Agent. Ultimately we decided on my friend's husband after much prayer and pondering (because, don't-cha know, we have at least 2 other realtors in our Ward!).

Next

Look online. Look in real life. Talk to your sweetie. Know the NEEDS and the WOULD BE NICES that you both agree upon in a place you would like to buy. Look some more (online). Get in to view a house to see if it's something you could deal with. Walk the land. Make an offer. Then wait.

And wait.

Start to worry aobut how you'll pay closing costs, good faith money, appraisal fee, inspection fee, and still feed everyone in the family during the whole process. Make sure to argue yourself out of the fear reiterating over and over that fear is the absence of Faith.

Wait until a couple days before the offer expires to learn that it's refused without a counter.

Feel TOTALLY relieved after initial surprise over the refusal. Wonder WHY you feel relieved because you really felt like Heavenly Father confirmed that it would be good for you to make the offer.... **

Next

Look online some more later that same day your offer is refused. Find your dream house/property. Drive out to look at it that evening. Feel frustrated at not being able to drive by it, at least... because it was THAT difficult to find.

Next

Make an appointment to see the property with your realtor. Make sure to find it online via GoogleEarth so that you will actually be able to find it in real life. Feel even more sure that this is where you want to be... then hear your sweetie who doesn't get excited about much of anything tell you that this is where you'll be (and hear/see that he's excited!).

Next

View the property and home in person and feel like you've just entered the place you should be. See your unemotional sweetie actually visibly excited.

Send an offer and pray.

Worry some more about how to pay for everything that goes along with buying a house (mentioned previously), but continue to argue yourself into confidence in Heavenly Father's Will and the fact that it's all His program and He'll work it out.

Hear from your sweetie that the listing agent is pleased with the offer and quals of the buyer (you). Hear your sweetie that he is about to cry because the listing agent wants to send it over to the seller to sign. Feel completely amazed that he's expressing such emotion.

Wait.

Wait.

Hear that the sellers and listing agent are out of town until the 19th, but the bank is ready to sign on the offer.

Wait.

NOW

Realize that every bit of money you've pinched and squeezed together is only enough for a fraction of the expenditures you will have to pay out of pocket for the house you didn't plan to purchase. Next, make sure that at least one person you or your spouse (or both of you) value accuses you of using your resources wrongly, unwisely, or misrepresenting how you've been living in the near or distant past... or maybe this person you value asks a question something like, "HOW can you afford to buy a house!?? I thought you never had enough for groceries." And then, said person, continues to tell one of you that the other has been asking for money regularly (which listener knows is not true).

Since that last bit has actually happened, here's my personal response:

When the Lord directs, I follow. When I realize the Lord's Will, I do my darndest to do it.

Currently I do not know where grocery money is coming from for the next week. The following week the amount available in the budget will be small, but I'm planning meals around beans and eggs (which actually make a REALLY wonderful bread, if you're in the know), canned veggies (still have some left from my 3 months supply that we've been slowly eating up), and any other bit I can mix up to a palatable form. It's amazing how wonderful things can turn out when you're doing your best!

I know it will work out because Heavenly Father's got the wheel. I gave it to him around the time I realized we were moving here (I was learning how to let go of it ever so slowly before that) and I've given it to Him over and over again since BECAUSE He is SO much better a driver than I am... especially since He knows me better than I can ever know myself in this state of partial amnesia that we experience in this mortal sojourn.

If our accuser(s) read here, I hope s/he will comprehend that we have never lied about or misrepresented our situation. It is not different, even now, even though Jessie has a much better job than he's had since he left the navy. How distressing should that be? Well, me thinks it should be VERY distressing... and sometimes I feel it as such. But I argue myself back in to BEING Believing. Cause Heavenly Father's got it. It IS His program, after-all.

STAY TUNED to find out what happens with our family buying a house...

even though we're basically always broke. ^_^

**I believe that this is true because Heavenly Father knows me so well. You see, I'm one of those who, if I understand the direction the Lord would have me take, I move to do His Will and attempt to do it and do it and do it until it's done. I am working on this weakness in me, believe me, I am. I believe Heavenly Father 'put a go' on the first property (us making an offer on it) to keep me occupied while He prepared the property that is our dream come true for us. After-all, if we are truly trying to be in tune with the Lord's Will, He will plant desires in our breast and then bring to fruition those desires.

Two Subjects

This is a great YouTube from the floor of Congress. I hope you will make the time to watch it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=G44NCvNDLfc

This next one is a YouTube about the Copenhagen Conference in December. If you WANT the World Government of prophecy to begin NOW, go ahead and ignore this issue. If not... and you'd like to stand against the tsunami of evil, inform yourself.

The Short and Long of It

Nothing and everything has been happening lately... keeping me from post here. That's the short of it. :)

The long of it? Well, we've realized it's time to move. Can you believe it? I mean, it's almost 3 YEARS we've lived in this house by the shore and we seriously thought we would buy a house after 3 MONTHS when we first moved here! Well, His ways are not our ways, for sure. ^_^

Part of the hold-up, me thinks, is that we had to plod through our pride... or perhaps, treading ON it would be more correct. If you didn't know already, Jess and I live in a mobile home in a trailer park before we moved here. It wasn't the best experience ever (primarily because of the trailer park part of it!). When we moved here we were determined to get into (and not just our lovely rental home) a foundation home. Well, we were so determined we were not considering anything else. I do believe that the delay in finally deciding firmly that it's time to buy our own place is not just about our pride... I think the market needed to come down to where it is; otherwise, even had we been sufficiently humble 3 years ago, we wouldn't have been able to afford what we're looking at buying now.

There are some SWEET deals abounding around here! Let me tell you about one I just found: 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 2 car garage, fenced yard, corner lot, 13x26 family room... and only $99,500. I know, RIGHT! Oh, and in this area, you can offer 20% less and often get an even SWEETER deal! Homes and deals like that are pretty readily and regularly available.

And we're totally not interested. Can you hazard a guess as to why the disinterest? Well, it's likely you already know since I have only a very few regular readers. ^_^ We're planning to buy a mobile home! Funny, right? Not just any mobile home, though. It will need to be a double wide. (heehee... we're on our way to becoming real "hicks"!) Oh... and the most pertinent detail... ON LAND! Okay, so almost all homes are technically on land... but the characteristic we are most interested in is the amount of land. We want more than 2 acres and a double wide trailer for under $100,000. Yes, we truly are going full on redneck! We've found a few places that fit the bill... or, er, my description. ^_^ Lately Ria will start many sentences with something like, "When we move to our farm...." heeheehee I'm just tickled!

We are going for a sort of family farm, actually. Immediately we'll have just our square foot gardens (Jessie is sure they will transport without a problem... hmmm). The first other acquisition we're hoping to go for is chickens. Isn't that a hoot! I mean, me... chickens? If someone told me when I decided to marry Jessie that we'd end up doing what we are currently planning I would've laughed them to the Moon! Seriously. But I'm actually really excited about this huge change and tremendous transition. :) After chickens... well, I'm interested in any number of animals for various purposes like: fiber, milk, and meat (in no particular order), specifically: goats, rabbits, sheep. and maybe some more types of fowls (like ducks and turkeys). I've started the research and chickens and rabbits will be the easiest to do with less land... we'll all just have to see what happens!

So, I have been BUSY. I've worked on finding homes to look at in person, packing, as well as all the REGULAR stuff I have to do... oh, and we've all been sick this last week (or more, depending on the person). BLAH!

In other news...
Tea is walking like a pro. She doesn't fall down a bit unless she's tired, throwing an attitude, or walking on other things. The newest of the news on Tea is that she pooped in the potty today! ^_^ Awesome, right?!! New as of yesterday: she's taken to babydolls! She's found some baby dolls in the girls' room and taken to carrying them over her shoulder (the way she's often carried). She also talks to them... she raises her voice and sort of sing-songs to them... no real words that I can decipher, but she's definitely talking to her baby! Generally she is a funny little girl with a mobile face. She'll set her eyebrows down and pucker up her lips when she's not happy... or scrunch up her nose and raise her upper lip to play... or head-butt ya to get your attention (mostly with Daddy, but sometimes with me and her sisters, too). She's a doll! Can you believe she's almost ONE year old!

Kat is now THREE years old!!! She's still progressing nicely in her efforts to learn to read. She still sits with books and "reads" them regularly and loves for Mama, Daddy, and Ria to read to her. She also still loves to color and most recently has begun to actually cut when she has scissors (before she would try, but the paper would just slide between the blades). She loves to be with Ria, doing anything Ria is interested in doing. She also loves to take things away from Tea. :( ugh! She knows she's not supposed to and gives it right back if she realizes I saw what she did, but she definitely tries to get away with snatching from the baby. Kat is able to ride her bike (with training wheels) more than 2 miles! She did it with Jess on our last day of bike riding for PE in September! I was really amazed because she hadn't done nearly so well for me the weeks preceding that feat.

Ria is working on her school pretty well lately. Not as much fighting and resistance as I'd been dealing with through the end of the summer. We're actually working on the scheduling aspect of homeschooling more currently. We've been doing a sort of block schedule the last two weeks and it's worked better (with all our outside activities) than trying to complete each of the classes every day that we did successfully for most of the summer. We'll be experimenting some more to try to find an even more compatible way for her to work. Ria rarely fusses about practicing piano lately... she actually seems to enjoy that the most of all her classes. Easy to understand why.... It's because she's gotten quite good (especially for her age). She plays the major chords: C, G, D, E, and A (I think that's the order she's learned them) and it's a pleasure for me to watch her little hands move in concert to play them! She's in the second level books and currently finishing up the third song in the practice book. She a few pages into the theory book as well. I love to watch her play and she really does quite well, I think. :)

Jess is immersed in Biketoberfest Week at work right now. It's not actually a whole week. He's been working even longer hours than normal. If Bike Week, in early 2010, is this plus some (the way his boss tells him) I REALLY hope we're able to make it to VA to visit. At least then the girls won't be upset about not being able to spend time with their Daddy in the morning. I think that'll be in March. I really don't know what the dates are for sure. The trip really depends on whether we've got secondary transportation (cause Jess will still need a way to get to work when we're away!). So, if you think of it and so desire, please pray for a miracle of transportation to come our way. With the way things are currently (and will be, at least, until our tax return) we cannot afford any change in our budget. Hopefully that WILL change with the home purchase... we'll see.

Oh, and just to let you know... the girls will participate in a "homeschool fair" at the end of January and sometime in either May or June. If you're going to be around then, let us know and we'll send an invitation your way. ^_^ If not, no worries... I'll try to get some video of it and get it online... SOME day! ^_^ I know... I'm super bad at getting it up here, but seriously, homeschooling is really rather difficult and time consuming! I love it. Wouldn't change it. But it's not easy, either.

Only a Little Funny

The other day I accidentally walked in on Ria using the toilet. She's taken, recently, to closing the door when she goes, which is confusing only because we close the door because of Tea now... so I don't know if she's in there just because the door is closed.

What did I see upon the accidental invasion? Ria reading on the potty. *_* I don't have much opportunity to do it, but I do try sometimes anyway. Her Daddy does it. And now she's doing it, too. Oh, and it was a HUGE book... maybe that's why it was so funny to me this time. She's been reading magazines on the pot for a few months (even asking me to get her something she hasn't read before!). I wonder if Kat will catch the "bug," too.

Funny to you? It is to me.

Sometimes It's Okay to be Sick

Okay, so it's really not okay... but I can more easily see some purpose to it... perhaps. :)

The girls (starting with Tea, then to Ria and finally getting Kat) ended up with another cold type thing with upper respiratory congestion and such. Herbs are awesome. ^_^ Jess has come to value the education I am trying to give myself on the "medicinal" application of culinary herbs. I decided to start there because they tend to be the easiest to access AND grow. I do hope to start my own herb garden before too long. What a pleasure THAT will be....

Tea is basically fine now, but the girls were still coughing up a storm last night. Tonight neither has coughed a bit. YEAY!

The purpose I see? Well, it has forced us to lay low. We had SO much going on the two weeks before. While all of it was quite nice and fun and educational and everything, it was SO much! We had to cancel a few things this week. We missed participating in them, of course, but the time to cool it down was really good, too.

Today was especially nice. The girls and Jess missed church today. I went with the baby. Jess actually stayed awake more of the time time he was home. And then he went to work. Ria and Kat read and played all afternoon. And then time for the sun arrived (we tend to prefer evening time because the weather is much more temperate AND we can actually get outside then most days without interrupting "school"). Since that is really part of the flow of our days (most days), we stick with it for Sunday.

Well, the past few times we've spent hanging out on the driveway, Tea actually investigated the inside of the garage. She was SO excited to have a whole new area to crawl around in and SO many new things to look at. She even crawled over, under and through... there's not a real way to do that much in the house. But today was THE coolest, by far.

Ria and Kat were riding scooters and trikes (Kat on the latter, both on the scooters). Tea started to crawl around in the garage, but then sat for a while and watched her sisters. Eventually she made her way over to a sort of trike (but not the high red flyer kind) and started pushing it around (almost like a push toy, but she was pushing while holding onto the handlebars!). It was so sweet and fun to watch. After a while she even tried to climb to sit on it. Well, that didn't work terribly well. I decided to put her on it and see if she would allow me to push it for her. This particular model (^_^) has a sort of stick thing that you can put in a hole in the back to make it easier on the parent's back to push the thing AND a little drop down foot rest for the child! Nice, right? Another of Father's gifts to us through an earth-bound Angel! :) Well, she LOVED it! She even stood up on the little foot rest as well as bounced to get me to push her more. It was really fun for me. After many revolutions around our driveway we even went on the street. The street is sort of uphill when you go East. So, we did that. I was worried that Tea might not like the faster ride on the way back to the house. Well, I was totally wrong. She LOVED it! So funny to me because she tends to be a bit of a scardy cat.

Well, after I was finished pushing her, Ria took a turn. When Ria was done Tea decided to continue working. And, MAN, she was TOTALLY working! She was so intent and intense. She resumed her efforts at using the "trike" as a push toy, holding the handlebars. She fell a few times. But not once did she fuss!! I decided to try to make things easier (cause she kept running the back wheel into one of her feet), so I positioned her behind the trike. She was really rolling then! And she seemed to REALLY enjoy it. Not in a grinning sort of "This is FUN" sort of way, but more of a "This is really enjoyable work" sort of way. And she worked SO hard!

It was really awesome and interesting to watch. For a while now I've known that Ria likes to work hard... of course, NOT always, but she tends to focus more easily and works hard when she's into something. Kat enjoys watching and DOing. When she was a baby she wasn't too interested in books. Ria was sitting for me to read to her at 6 months old and bringing books to me for me to read to her at 9 months old. Kat didn't bring me a book to read to her until she was around 15-18 months old. Tea brought a book for me to read to her at about 7.5-8 months old. She enjoys sitting and watching her sisters for bits of time, but then she'll get right in the middle of things (just like Kat, our cat!). ^_^ Today seemed to me to be another confirmation of my idea that Tea is sort of a cross between Ria and Kat, leaning toward Ria.

Given all that, it probably will not surprise you to learn that Tea took her first hands-free steps the other night to Ria. :) I'm sure you guessed as much already. My Mom got it right!

Ever and Increasingly Pertinent

This was shared with me and I wanted to share it with you. I hope you see how it's pertinent. I'm sure you will.

A Walker

No... I'm totally not old enough to need one of them YET. :) And if you know us, you know our babies don't go IN them... So, that's leaves: Tea to take her first steps.

AND she DID!!! It was exciting for all of us. She did it rather matter-of-factly... even sitting down and standing right back up. Of course, it was a total of about 4 steps (the walking part), but STILL! The whole squatting, standing, sitting, standing thing (she did that more than the number of steps!) seems to indicate to me that she's completely ready (I've been saying as much), but wanted to take her own sweet time. :)

Oh, guess WHO she walked to... Any guesses? I hope you'll share who you think she walked for in my comments. The person to whom she walked was cheering her on... Okay, ready for some release from this tremendously tingly temptation? ... Well, I'll let you know tomorrow! Hopefully. It's a busy day, after-all. ;)

^_^ heeheehee

Things that make me say... Hmmmm.

Not Done Yet

So, amazingly, the van was repaired in time for Jessie to get to work by 3pm on Wednesday. He was supposed to be there at 8am, as normal, but because of the van problem, the General Manager reworked things and he was able to be in later. The guys at the shop Jess took the van to (via a tow) were awesome and moved our job to the head of the que and finished it lickity-split. YEAY! Another miracle. And if you question THAT, you obviously haven't had to take your vehicle to a mechanic lately!

Thursday we took Jess to work because it was Ward Council day. We stopped at the grocery store and purchased the diapers (among other things) that we were ABLE to afford thanks to Heavenly Father and the miracle of the Publix gift card, which wouldn't have happened if the van hadn't broken down. Then we had a friend over for a little while before Story Time and played at the playground for a little while after, then on to Dance later in the afternoon. Ward Council was canceled. Probably that was best for me cause I'd been feeling a bit groggy and had a slightly swollen right neck lymph node. (This particular swollen node seems to indicate, in my body, the setting in of some illness. When the other is throbbing or swollen, I usually need to drink some water. Interesting, eh?)

Friday we took Jessie to work again because we had a homeschool group Firehouse visit. What a GREAT time. The Firefighters did acceptable talks (could've been more specific and clear, but it was still good). The tour was great! Nice Firehouse!!

Today we went AS A FAMILY! to work for Coastal Cleanup (it's a national thing) here in our area. We really enjoyed it. We received two of the fabric grocery bags with equipment for picking up trash including gloves and some claw-like reaching tools. We joined up with two other homeschooling families and spent about 2 hours cleaning up with them. Among our families, we had 6 girls! Jess kept watch, counting: 1-2-3-4-5. He didn't have to worry about Tea, she was in the sling. It was funny to me, but also very sweet! He didn't learn the other little girls' names, but he sure had an eye out for them!

TEA
So, in the last week (or maybe a little less), Tea has cut two teeth! They are located in the bottom front. Totally normal, but SO exciting for all of us here. She's been pretty aware of her sisters' pleasure and Mama and Daddy's excitement over it. Jess actually found the first one! And I was lucky to find the second... a couple days later! So, our baby is totally growing up! heehee ;)

KAT
Today Kat made friends with the oldest girl child present. It was REALLY sweet to see how those two seemed drawn together.

Just some interesting Kitty Kat tidbits.
Kat has a tendency to name people (mostly adults) "teacher" and SOME kids her age "friend". The Wednesday that we worked at bag stuffing, Kat said, as we were leaving, "By mine friends!" Those were all adults. Today she named the oldest girl her friend. It was really sweet.

On Friday we went to Publix** to buy diapers and groceries. As we were leaving, she said, "Bye cuties." to the ladies that had been helping us. This is one of the funniest things I've heard her say to adults. She really is a funny little girl.

RIA
This little girl had a BLAST today! Talk about a dream come true... TWO little girls, right around her age to hang out with for hourS. She was thrilled. They worked hard, too, which was a pleasure to see.

Ria is learning how to ride her bike without training wheels. Say a prayer for us all! ^_^




**In the checkout for Publix the cashier was very encouraging (like a pusher?) of purchasing some cookies that were on sale. I refused, not giving a reason initially. But she insisted it was a good deal and showed a bag we would get for free. I said we couldn't because we were gluten free. She continued, saying we could use the bag. I told her that I would like to buy them just to give them away, but honestly didn't have money for it at all. She asked something about government assistance. Now, honestly, I'm not totally against asking for help. Heaven knows we've asked MANY times and received abundantly. But I really feel government assistance is a LAST resort, thus my steering away from it even though I know we are technically eligible for any number of things we could get.... Anyway... I said something like, "I REALLY don't want any help from the government." As I said it I felt a sort of anxiety because when this sort of conversation has come up before, whomever I was speaking with would sort of try to argue me into using the assistance. Truly, I want them to accept assistance if that is what they feel is best for their family... but why pressure me. My choice is NO reflection on them or any opinions I may have about their choices. The cashier pleasantly surprised me. Her body language was sort of shocked and then she said, "That's just like I was!" She continued on into an explanation of how she had worked to make ends me. (And she'd done a good job from what it sounds like.) I had to respond, "Well, I can't brag in my own strength or worth, but I know Heavenly Father works it all out for the good of my family." And I proceeded to explain how we had the gift card I was preparing to use. She was impressed and went on to tell me that I shouldn't ever let anyone take my Faith and that I had to make sure to guide my children to have it and never let it go. What a great and encouraging conversation, huh? Well, as I was leaving, and right after Kat made her cute little comment, our cashier was bustling to get us 3 coloring books with crayons... like she wanted to help us as much as she could think to do because she was impressed. What a good feeling!