Junker

(Averi is going to kill me for posting this photo because she just got out of the bathtub and OMG!, she has no make-up on and her hair is not fixed!)

Averi has become a "junker". Today we spent the day going "junkin'". That means we went to thrift stores to check out the junk for her new venture. She has started her own business...an ebay shop where she is reselling her "junkin'" finds. Pretty ambitious, I think. Chris is helping her out on it and I think it is such a neat thing for them to do together. But I'm the one who gets to take her "junkin'"...I love that word, can't you tell?

She and Cali got to skip school today because they were at their grandma's all weekend and yes, I'm one of "those" mom's. In my defense, if they were not good students and good girl's, I wouldn't consider it. Everyone deserves a break once in awhile, right? We slept until 11:00 and then set out to find some treasures.

Averi found the chinese rice field worker hat (I'm sure there is a proper name for it, but I don't know it) she's wearing in the picture and the funky shoes. We hit up three different thrift stores in our town. I'll have to admit, I enjoy searching the junk myself. I didn't find anything to buy this time...but I'm on the lookout for a large silver platter, and old, interesting looking dishes, and old barware, and old globes. We are going to try to check some more places out this weekend. Maybe I will stumble upon some real treasures!

Glimpses of God-November 15, 2010

One of the junk shops we visited was a store that employed developmentally disabled people and the proceeds of the sales went to support programs for them. When we walked in there was a girl, maybe early 20's. She looked like she had cerebral palsy, maybe. She was in a wheel chair and her arms were kind of drawn up. She greeted us as we walked in. Then another lady who had some disability, maybe mental retardation, kept following us around asking us if we needed help, or if we were looking for anything in particular. There were several more "special" people in the back around a table playing bingo with volunteers or workers for the program.

The whole time I'm in the store I'm thinking about the limited opportunities these people have for employment, social interactions...the opportunity of just feeling like a functioning member of society. I'm currently reading, Going Rogue by Sarah Palin. And I also just kept thinking about how she told her family that her baby was going to be born with Down's Syndrome. She wrote a letter or email addressed to her family and friends telling them about Trig's disability in the voice of God and then signed it from, "Trig's Creator, Your Heavenly Father." The one thing that really stood out and what really had me thinking today was this ,

"Children are the most precious and promising ingredient in this mixed-up world you live in down there on Earth. Trig is no different, except he has one extra chromosome,"

And so while at this store today I thought on this...each of these people are precious. Each of them were created by God...the same God who created me. And just because they were not born "perfect"...which who in this world is???...they were created for a purpose and they deserve to live a rich and rewarding life.

It was very heart-warming to experience this. When we went to check out (this was the place were Averi bought the funky shoes), the lady who was following us around was working the cash register. They called up someone to help her out. I was so amazed with the tender way this volunteer/worker assisted. She walked her through each of the steps on the cash register and in giving us change. It was just a very enlightening experience that I saw God all over. He is the giver of life. He has a purpose for each of these special people. He has given the volunteers and workers special hearts to help give opportunities of independence and employment.

I left wanting to be a better person. I left thinking, "What can I do to help?" I left thanking God for allowing me to stumble upon this little store-not knowing what it was when I arrived. I left so touched, and with such a perfect "teachable" moment for my daughters to see that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect...and that it is our responsibility to offer something of ourselves to help these special people live rich and rewarding lives.