Sunshine, Snow and Shoeboxes

Yesterday it was mostly sunny and almost 40 degrees! It felt downright tropical. OK, maybe not tropical, but it was nice. Our 'quick' walk turned into a nice, long walk (bike-ride for James). Katie stopped every 8 feet or so to pick up a stick, or a handful of snow. She would plop down in people's yards and make snow angels. We would stop and let her catch up, only to fall behind again. She's off in Katie Land as we've begun to call it. :) It was quite nice to get out. This morning we getting more snow, between 4 and 8 inches they say. We might also get a layer of ice. Thankfully I went out last night when Jeff got home and got some books and movies for today. Yay for extended library hours!! And what is the 'shoeboxes' about? Every year we fill up shoeboxes with toys, school supplies and toiletries for Samaritans Purse, who then distributes them to kids around the world. They partner with missionaries, churches, and others to distribute the boxes to local children. They also hand out picture books in many, many languages called the 'Greatest Gift,' telling them the story of Christ. Many of these children are from orphanages, war-torn countries and destitute situations. Quite often, they have never recieved a gift before, and have none of the things we consider basic 'necessities'. Because of the humanitarian nature of their distribution, Samaritans Purse is allowed to go into countries that wouldn't otherwise let outsiders in. China and some middle Eastern countries come to mind. Anyway, the whole point of me telling you about this is that we are able to 'track' our boxes to their destination. Yesterday we found out that some of ours went to Zimbabwe! Our other boxes went to the Phillipines and Peru. Its very excited to actually have an idea of the places our boxes are going. I am thinking that the winter hats we packed in our boxes won't be used too much. :)