When you forget how AWESOME America can be!

There are things I feel I sort of got behind on while I lived overseas for four years. Things that emerged while I was there (like smart phones!) or things I just forgot about. 

Last week, I took my kids to Toys "R" Us. They had each received a gift certificate to pick out one item for Christmas from their Uncle Rob and his soon-to-be-wife Sherrie. I didn't realize, until we walked in, that with the exception of Isaac (who was old enough to remember the store), my other three kiddos had no idea what a Toys "R" Us was. As we drove the forty-five minutes to the store, they asked me things like "Are there more toys than at Walmart?" "Is it big?" "How can it be only toys?"

I flashed back to the first time I took my kiddos into Target after returning from overseas. The people around us were cracking up as my kiddos exclaimed things like the following:

• "Mommy! Everything on the computer is in this store!"
• "Look at all the toothbrushes Mommy!"
• "Mommy here's another aisle of toys!"

The way my kiddos felt in the toy store and at Target was how I felt yesterday when I decided to take a little drive to Hobby Lobby. The last time I was in this store was before I had children. There is one about a half hour from us, and Abigail needed some blue feathers for her ballet costume, so I decided to have my babysitter come over and just take a little mom-break.

H

O

L

Y

C

O

W

!

Seriously. I am not a shopper. Not a spender. Not a decorator. But this store was: 

A

M

A

Z

I

N

G

!

I seriously could have spent days just wandering and looking and planning and dreaming and scheming. 

I couldn't help but think, as I just floated from aisle to aisle, Where was this when I lived in the Azores and was trying to put together a baby shower for my friend Rebekah and had to scrape together anything I could to make it resemble a baby shower?! 

I had scoured the twelve measly things at the military "Kmart" and managed to piece together something halfway decent. I had found some blue gift bags and picked out blue skittles and M&Ms (which aren't a good idea to mix in a candy bag because people don't appreciate the change from candy to chocolate but I was desperate.) 

But oh if I would have had a Hobby Lobby!!

I'm still recovering from this outing.

I love the USA!!!!!!!

Seriously.

Greatest country ever.

:)