Ready for mud and rain!

In my recent quest for rain boots for the kids, I found myself profoundly frustrated (for the hundredth time this winter) by the lack of shoes in small toddler sizes. It is so hard to buy shoes for my petite little Aubrey. Almost every time I'm in a store I find myself stamping my foot like a spoiled little toddler as I stand in front of the shoe racks: I don't want soft-soled crib shoes, I want real shoes! (And if they could not have Dora the Explorer on them-- or a whole fleet of pink felt flowers-- that would be great, too.)

Last Thanksgiving when we were in Pittsburgh I happened to find a pair of corduroy, rubber-soled sneakers in a toddler size 3 at a consignment shop. It was a genuine miracle and she has since worn those things to death. I seriously think they may have to be thrown away once she's through with them.

All that to say, while I found very reasonably priced ($10.50-$13.50 range) and rather cute boots for Gabriel, Bronwyn, and Jackson pretty easily (think green & blue polka dots, cherries, and anchors: cute, yes?), it was a totally different scenario for Aubrey. I looked at every single store (online and locally) I could think of. I was feeling desperate enough to purchase more utilitarian/less cute boots like these if they would just sell them in her size.

Sadly, I resigned myself to the fact that Aubrey wouldn't have boots this year. For a fleeting moment I thought, "It's okay: I'll just put her on my back in the Moby when we're outside on mucky days," but that lasted about 3 seconds before the mental image of her arching her back and screaming protests at the idea of not being allowed to run free with the other children took over. Did I really want to have to make staying attached to me while she watches her siblings play in the yard an issue ? (Uh, the answer is no.)

Happily, this story isn't over yet. (Bear with me; I never said I was good story teller!)

My friend knew about my quest (she, Queen of Shopping, was helping me) and in looking through her hand-me-down girls items found a pair of boots her daughter had worn a couple years ago. They were a size 3 and would be too small for Aubrey, but she looked the style up on ebay and, yes, there was another pair just like them: adorable, springy, and in a size 4! And, best of all, the auction was almost over and they were cheap.

Now, they're mine. I won the bid yesterday for $6.96.

Do you see these things? How cute are they???



And um, yeah, these are Gymboree boots, with the tags still on. I got them for a measly six dollars and ninety-six cents. If only the seller knew I would have paid more than twice that to get such adorable little boots (or any little boots, for cryin' out loud) for my peanut girl...

The minute I knew I'd won, I was immediately reminded of the last time I really, really wanted a little something for one of my kids to wear and how God provided, even though it was a far cry from a necessity. (Come to think of it, Stacie's been a common denominator, too!) It's little things like this that show me just how incredibly generous He is.

And now we're all ready for many fun mornings and afternoons of rain and puddles and moist garden earth. Yay!