Of Sorting Through the Blessings

In the past, the changing of seasons had been something I would look forward to as I sorted through the latest round of hand-me-downs for my little ones and packed up the old favorites to be saved for a future child (as there were sure to be).  It was like shopping for free as I pulled out the adorable clothes which had been graciously offered to us - all of them precious.  I loved it.

However, it appears the task only gets more complicated as the years go on.  For one, I now have to do this process three times - and for each child I really need an entire day (or two) to complete the sorting and packing.  For two, our storage shed is quickly piling up with totes and boxes in varying sizes of children's clothing.  In an effort to stay organized, I have done my best to separate and label all of them - Girls 0-6 Months, Boys 12-18 Months, etc., all the way through to Girls 5-6 and Boys 4T.  It's a lot of boxes.  And they are not uniform - usually whatever plastic tote or cardboard box I could dig up that happened to fit all the clothes (or at least still close, somewhat, once full).

And now I have an added level of headache I had never before had to face.  As I pack up Emmett's clothes from winter I'm suddenly facing the idea that I will, indeed, be pulling these same clothes back out soon - only for a boy who was born in a different season - so will I be pulling the 12-month winter clothes out this fall, when he is still only six months old?  Or will it be next fall, when he has hit the 18-month range and may not fit the others?  Which box do I put these in so I can find them later?

And will I really be pulling out these same clothes this October?!  What?!  How did I get two boys so quickly?!

Finally, there's the bittersweet feeling of realizing I'm already packing up clothes which no longer fit Joey's growing body.  Itty bitty favorites he only wore once or twice because a 9.5lb baby doesn't really squeeze into the newborn labels for long.

Yes, it's been a rough week in our household as my love-to-organize personality tries to wrap itself around the puzzles pertaining to the purging and packing.  But because these struggles mean our children own a more-than-sufficient amount of clothing which we have never had to worry about, clothed like the lilies of the field, I will take my "problems" any day.

So grateful, today, for our Jehovah-Jireh, the God Who provides.


1,000 Gifts: (find the lists here and here)
184. The wheels on the scooter they love to trade off on.
185. A bucket of chalk, waiting for play.
186. The ball re-discovered in his closet.
187. The cat the kids love to chase who doesn't get taken care of as well as she deserves.
188. The faded and chipped building which stores our excess blessings.
189. A too-small hat on a too-cute head of curls.
190. Beautiful green grass covering the earth as spring lays way to summer weather.
191. Making room for all we've been given.
192. Changing perceptions of what constitutes the expected "dessert" - strawberries can be as satisfying as chocolate.


My Life: My Handwriting
This is the only thing I took the time to write today, my hardcore coupon-shopping breakdown for how to make the most of my deals - even better, it's written on the back of a coupon.

The kids played outside today while I toted boxes of clothes to and from the shed and then proceeded to sort through them there on the patio.  They didn't complain.  I loved how adorable they looked in their hats and sunglasses.