Today I spent the afternoon with Shauna at the mall with all four of my kids! I would usually say it would be a crazy nightmare to set foot in the mall with 4 kids, but I decided to chance it for a fun afternoon with grandma.
Well, I should have known better.... any time we go anywhere with Shauna, equals ridiculous amounts of spoilage. She LOVES to spoil her grandkids. She has NO IDEA how to say no! And she is one of the most selfless, generous, loving woman I know. She loves her family and gives and gives whenever she has the chance. That being said, lets have a quick recap of our afternoon.
Got to the mall at 12:45
Shauna was already there scouting out the deals at The Children's Place, Naarjie & Crazy 8's.
She met us, gave all the kids big hugs and took off with Avery and Brighton.
Kaden and I went into Crazy 8's and found some "crazy deals" :)
We finally found Shauna about 30 minutes later in a dressing room with Avery at Naarjie. (a place that I never usually even walk into because I'm so stinkin cheap!) Kade and I walk in the store and the worker says, "You must be Avery's mom!" She's in the dressing room! Wow.. things are already a step above my shopping... Walmart just doesn't give you personalized service like that!
I go into the dressing room with Avery trying on a pile of the most adorable clothes I have ever seen and the girl working in the store bringing them more clothes that would look "just beautiful on Avery" (her words, not mine).. but she did look pretty darn cute!
We got out of Naarjie with 2 pairs of pants and the cutest leggin bellbottoms you've ever seen.
Then there was the Children's Place.... The boys needed stuff too (you know... you have to be fair)
So Shauna now took the boys to the dressing room and got them (them.. meaning Connor too!) each a pair of jogging pants, and Bright the cutest sweatshirt to go along with his pants (for his "birthday outfit" was her excuse for this one) :)
So by this point, my kids are set with adorable clothes for school, and we head out to ride the train. YES, I'm serious. She cranks out $3 bucks a kid to ride a train around the bottom floor of the mall. (This is why we need grandma's..... as a mom, I would never crank out the cash for a train ride in the middle of a shopping trip at the mall, even though I should. The kids LOVED it.... especially Connor and Brighton).
Kaden decided it would be cooler to video the kids in the train than actually go on the train himself. He loves all the tricks he can do on his Ipod touch. (gotta admit.. I'm a little jealous of his cool toy)
After the train, the kids had to eat right? So up we went to the food court where she treated the kids to lunch... and a treat... and a gumball from one of those quarter machines... and a carousel ride... and a ride on a couple of those token rides!!! Ya, you see what I mean about getting spoiled??
When we finally left I had this overwhelming sense of appreciation once again for the family that I have. I was so touched that she took nearly 4 hours shopping with us and spending so much money on my kids for no reason at all. She is so giving and she loves doing it. And to top it all off, she thanks ME for letting her do it and says we need to do this more often. Wow!! I hope I can be like her someday. She is such a sweet person and awesome grandma.
Well, if I wasn't already in awe by the kindness rendered to us by Shauna, I get home and find out that my dad has been over here for over 3 hours working on my basement.... again.... all by himself. He shows up whenever he has a free second (which is rare for him, but still finds the time to get here) and works on my basement. Even when Brian isn't around, he shows up and works. There is no way we would ever be able to finish this project without him. I don't know how I will ever repay him for all he has done to help us. I feel the only way to repay him is to try and live my life like he lives his... Humbly serving others all the time without complaint or thought of your own needs...not looking for praise or attention, just constant service to others. I think that would probably be the best payback I could ever give him, and I honestly can say I try to do so as much as I can.
As this day is coming to a close, I am so grateful for my family. I love them all so much. I love each and every one of them for their own individual strengths. Each one enriches my life and the lives of my children in special ways. I could start writing about every one of them, but this post would turn into a very long book. So for now, I just want to say Thank You to the two that touched my life today. I love you so both so much. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!
