Friday, May 21, 2010

Curb Dives

I am not even sure where to begin with this one. I haven't kept an annotated list of these lately (which I probably should have). This is the time of the year to find stuff (if you can get it before the scrappers do). We have been blessed by the curb this spring. I'll have to work on this more when the kids are awake to have them remind me but here are a few things that we have picked up the last week or so:

- a shoe rack (that fits perfectly in the little entryway of our new apartment that I had no idea what to put there!)

- a spiral bound atlas of the Syracuse area

- a tall 4 shelve metal shelving unit that we'll put in the basement to store stuff on

- a 4 shelf thing (I am not really sure what it is or what we'll use it for) that I got today from a girl that I saw that looked like she was frustrated and crying on the side of the road and I stopped to help her fit stuff into her car

- we have also found lots of good books (as if we didn't already have 25+ Baxter boxes packed full of books)

- a shipping crate that we're planning on painting and lining with contact paper to make a toy box for the kids

- an office chair (missing a wheel but Glenn thinks he can fix it)

- a stack of xbox games (most of which we'll be taking to EB Games to change into games that we actually want/ will play)

- a fun orange desk chair

- a pretty lamp

Baseball Gloves

On Tuesday night we went to the softball game of two girls who live on our street. As the kids and I sat and watched the game I started thinking about the fact that we only have 2 baseball gloves, mine and a left handed one that we had bought for Caleb last year. I realized that my kids didn't know how to play baseball or how to throw or catch with a glove and it is a skill that they should have. It's another one of those things that I am not sure when they start doing in public school but I just hadn't gotten around to doing with my kids. I told God about it briefly on our walk home that I would really like to get some gloves to play with the kids with and that it would be nice if there would be some at Salvation Army or a yard sale sometime soon.

On Wednesday mornings I have started going to a Bible study at Eastern Hills Bible Church because I really wanted to go to a Bible study and they have a program for home schooled kids during the Bible study which is so great. (A few of the ladies from our homeschool book club told me about it.) Anyway, there is a free table set up at the church during the Bible study for people to get rid of things they don't need and pick up things that would bless them. When I got there on Wednesday morning what was on the table but 2 little kid baseball gloves. I was stunned. Why was I surprised? I really don't know God is like that, he loves to bless me. As I stood there staring at them I told my friend that I had just asked God for baseball gloves the night before and I think that she thought it was weird but I am thankful. Yes, they won't fit the girls' hands for long but they will work for this summer. God, You are so gracious. Thank You for blessing us with baseball gloves that someday we'll be able to bless others with!

Homeschool Books

Not long ago a friend of mine (whom I hope to someday meet) who is the wife of a friend of mine from long ago contacted me and told me that God had impressed on their hearts to bless us by buying us some books for our homeschool. I had shared with her previously about my children's handwriting and we'd talked back and forth about homeschooling. She called me one day and we talked about homeschooling and she told me about some books that she wanted to buy for me. Over the next couple of weeks I was overwhelmed by the packages that came to me in the mail. Many of them were used books that she'd found online and shipped to me but several of them were new. I am so humbled at God's generosity and the willingness of this couple to be used of God to bless us like this!

This photo is missing two books that arrived after I took the picture:
Life Skills for Kids and Your Left Handed Child.

Thank you God for blessing us through C & S with these books that will be such a tremendous help to us!