Woooohooooo!

So today was pretty much my last planned day of cooking and cleaning. I have written out a schedule for my chores and desired activities so that I would be finished tonight when the kids went to bed. I knew that I wanted a couple days of relaxing before Christmas and that was the only way I could think to make sure everything was finished when I needed it to be done. When I woke up this morning things were going as planned. I got the garage cleaned out, floors cleaned, haircuts for the boys, bathrooms cleaned, laundry finished, and bedrooms cleaned up. I also added some baking to the list and that was that. After the pecan pie, pumpkin pie, birthday cake, and peanut butter cookies I decided to turn the oven off and call it quits in the kitchen. I was very proud of myself for the planning I had done and for my ability to stay on task all week and actually finish my projects.

I turned the oven off, turned the dishwasher on, turned the kitchen lights off and came face to face with two little buckaroos who had a lot of energy and who had been really good all week while I worked. I realized that it was way too early to put them to bed and with all my good planning I had failed to plan out what to do with them this evening. Geez, I was too tired to really try doing too much and it was almost dark so a bike ride was out of the question. What in the world was I going to do with them till bed time? I pondered watching a movie or even opening one of their toys so that we would have something new to play with. That's when it happened. The doorbell rang and I was saved.

Santa showed up in the form of my next door neighbor, Patty. That sweet woman had the thought to buy the boys some gifts and they were delivered right on Que (as if I had also planned this out). She came in and told Jeffrey that she was one of Santa's helpers and had an early gift for him and Bubba. Jeffrey smiled and took the ginormous bag from her. I saw art paper sticking out and realized that she had just come to my rescue. We immediately sat down and opened the bag to find paint, stamps, stencils, rollers, brushes, paper, and other art supplies. That sweet woman had realized that we liked art with some of the "homemade" gifts Jeffrey had given her and so she purchased an art set for us! Oh yay! We went into our art room and started the process of painting and having fun at the end of a long day.

Bubba even got his first chance at paint. I stripped his clothes off and put him into his highchair . I put paper in front of him and handed him a brush with paint loaded and he went to town painting all over! Yep, he was a natural! He painted everything, his hands, belly, chin, arms and even his legs. He managed to get a little on the paper too! I'm so proud. Jeffrey did a beautiful masterpiece and was so excited to have the new colors to work with. He even learned about mixing paints tonight! Again, I'm so proud!

All this to say, God has angels placed all over and they are prepared to offer up His blessings if we are willing to open the door. I feel so honored to be living in a place where the neighbors are kind and love my kids so much. What a joy it is that they share in the spirit of happiness and compassion. They were all so welcoming to Jeffrey when he shared his wreaths with them (even if they weren't quite as beautiful as they would have been store bought). These people had the sense about them to make him feel special and actually use his wreath in their Christmas decorating. What a blessing it is that they thought enough of him to bring him a gift that would bring him joy.

God knows what the future holds for this family and I know we never live anywhere for very long but I feel so special that He handpicked this house and this place for us at this time in our lives. Thank you Patty for being my angel tonight. Your kind act rescued this tired mama!