Unexpected Blessings

My thoughts earlier this evening:

"Oops. We need stamps. Hmmm. I could go to Byerly's for stamps. And I could just pick something up for dinner . . . . "

Mr. is working tonight, and so it was just going to be the little Peanuts and I dining together. On nights when Mr. is working, I find it difficult to go through the effort of juggling the kids while making a big meal, when the fruit of my labor is usually rejected or picked over by one child, and spat upon the floor by the other.

And so, when I discovered that I needed stamps, I shuffled the kids out the door and took the short drive to Byerly's. Upon our arrival there, I perused the ready-cooked-meal section, which is vast and inviting. I finally decided on a rotisserie chicken meal, with green beans and mashed potatoes -- big enough for the three of us to share. I felt a slight pang of guilt as I headed for the check-out line, as I knew there was plenty of food at home, and we are trying to stick to a tight budget in anticipation of our new mortgage payments. I stifled these feelings with relative ease, however, as I anticipated a care-free dinner with the littles.

The checker scanned my little plastic container, and told me that the total cost was $2.65. I told her that this was incorrect -- the sign by the counter had read $7.50. She called a manager over, they both congratulated me for my honesty, and collected only the $2.65. I was so excited. Yes, I know that it is only a difference of $5ish. But I skipped out of Byerly's feeling particularly blessed and thrilled to have a ready-made, healthy dinner for such a small sum.

Later this evening, another unexpected blessing came in the form of a new development for Master. As we stood in the kids room, bidding Miss goodnight, he began to blow kisses to her . . . . over and over again . . . complete with sound effects ("mmmmm . . . . waaaaah").

It was adorable. It was even more fun because of Miss' excited reaction. She laughed and laughed, saying "He's blowing kisses!! He's blowing kisses!!"

So. Sweet. Another little thing that brought a lot of excitement to our home today.