Blessings!

We have had a lot to be thankful for over the last week! The boys have had extra friend time 5 times! We had a few play dates, saw the cousins, etc. Plus on Sunday at our potluck lunch, a little boy from Joshua's class came and sat beside him and started talking to him and telling jokes. I think at first Joshua didn't quite know what to do because he knew him a little, but if it's not his brother or cousins, his social skills are really lacking. But in a little while, he warmed up and the two were laughing the whole meal. I remember not that long ago being concerned about Joshua having left his friends in WA and then having slowly made friends in our old small group before having to leave them too. Now he's also getting a lot more comfortable with his new small group friends and it's been so good to see answered prayer there. Of course the thing now is that since he and Gray are starting to get so familiar with the other church kids, they are getting wild and crazy when they get together now, instead of just sitting back and observing. But I'll take it! They need friends and I'm going to try to make more of an effort to have people over and get out around kids more.

And it's definitely also been a blessing for me to get around moms more this week. I get so focused on keeping up with my duties around the house and with the kids that I often just feel like I have to stay at home and let social time take a back seat (how can I go and sit at someone's house doing nothing but talk when I have laundry to do, messes to clean, etc), but I think it's good for all involved to make friend time a priority.

We have also been blessed on the "stuff" side of things lately. With Matt's parents' move, they are cleaning out a lot and have given us a bunch of organizational kinds of furniture. I'm not nearly finished, so no pictures yet, but our office and laundry room have been transformed into much more useful and attractive areas. My parents have also volunteered a couple of very useful items...a camera (so I can take pictures more often since Matt needs ours for work) and a coffee maker (so Matt can stay a little warmer at the gym). Plus last night we used some of those old gift cards I had found and did almost all our Christmas shopping. This isn't saying a WHOLE lot because we don't buy much, but still, it was really nice to have that "free" money to use for the kids' stuff.

On that subject, here's what the kids are getting this year. We do three gifts each, to represent the 3 gifts Jesus got from the wise men. Joshua is getting a dinosaur (free from a church donation!!), a game, and a kickball set. Gray is getting a dinosaur (free), a puzzle, and a football. And then we got a few little things for their stockings--a mini superhero with car, card game, underwear (Gray gets the small pack since he only wears it to church..haha!), toothbrushes and toothpaste (these are always a thrill for the boys for some reason). So there you have it! Oh, and I keep forgetting Julia. Sorry, baby! We did get her three things too: A "magic wand" that makes pretty noises, some bpa free plates (boring, but I couldn't think of much else and she does need them!), and a toy that has balls that you whack to make them go through a little maze-type thing. And some leg warmers for her stocking, though now that I think of it, I need to get her a toothbrush too now that she has teeth. Whoops.

Anyway, love getting the chore part of Christmas over early so it's never a stress. Well that's all i have for now. We're enjoying my parents here this weekend, so nice to have a change of pace. Hope you have a good weekend!