Are you barefoot or wearing your TOMS

In 2007 Kaitlin found out about TOMS shoes. She can't remember if she heard first from her cousin, William or a friend from UALR, Joey.

She put TOMS on her birthday list last year as did Marisa.

Blake Mycoskie is the founder of TOMS shoes. He was moved to start his company when he found out that in some countries children can't go to school if they don't have shoes. His company gives a pair of shoes to a child for every pair you buy. The reason the company name is TOMS is, if you buy a pair today, he'll give a pair tomorrow to a child. The word tomorrow wouldn't fit on the back of the shoes so he shortened it to TOMS.

Here is Marisa as she left today.

We are blest with TOMS shoes. Kaitlin even has a pair of boots. I would have put them in the picture but they are very unique so they have to be on, for you to know they are boots! She loves them.
Kaitlin and Marisa can't go barefooted today but they are wearing their TOMS. Kaitlin favorite pair are a pair given to her by her friend, Brittany, that another friend, Ross painted.

We love, no, LOVE shoes in our house.

I wrote about not being able to find a present I had in the house for Kaitlin for her birthday on this
post. Well, John found them in his room.

I think his exact words were " What the crap?!"as he brought the shoes into the den. Kaitlin was overjoyed to finally have them. She picked them out and then 'forgot about them'. Ha, I bought them and then I really forgot about them.

Kaitlin loves shoes. I think she loves them almost as much as stuffed animals. Papa made a rule 'that for every stuffed animal that comes into this house for her two must leave '. I think he may be close to making that rule for shoes. He says he thinks her room is going to fall off the house because of all the stuff she has.

I'll post pictures if her room falls off!

If the shoes fits, wear it

When my mama died the hardest place for me to go was to church. Church is such an emotional experience for me and when you already have so many emotions bubbling up and then you add grief, well let's just say it was hard. At the time we lived 45 minutes from church, so there was no, well, I'll just run back home if I can't handle it. So I would ride up to church and often end up sitting in the van. I still remember the day when I ventured in. We began our Sunday with prayer in the church library. Usually there were a handful of us. I was doing fine when all of a sudden, I could fell the enormous wave of grief about to engulf me. Prayer time had begun. I couldn't make it to the door without making a scene so I opened my eyes so the tears could spill down and maybe I could make it. As I opened my eyes I saw John's shoes. John was 9 at the time. John had on two different shoes. Not two loafers or two tie shoes noooooo. He had on one tie shoe and one loafer. It took a minute for it to register in my brain what I was seeing. And then I got tickled. Soon my tears were tears of laughter, quiet laughter, albeit we were in prayer time. I thought about Psalm 139. He has searched me and He knows me. He knows when I sit and when I rise. He is familiar with all my ways. He Knew I needed a light-hearted moment and He gave me one. I made it all the way through church that day. I still couldn't go all day every Sunday yet but I could see glimers of hope and I knew someday I'd be back.

Being Deliberate

My friend, Clare, wore her moccasins last week when we went to see Kaitlin at UALR and then to lunch. She said that she wanted to wear them to remind her of the old saying "don't judge someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes or moccasins". Clare has a friend a little older than herself who has a deep faith in Christ, wonderful husband, beautiful home and a son who was just arrested with his third DUI. Clare's friend didn't exactly know what the third arrest meant, maybe even prison. She couldn't post bail because she didn't have a job, other than being a mama, for the bail bondsman to garnish her wages, in case her son jumped bail. Her husband was on a business trip out of the country. Clare's heart broke as she listened to her friend. What would Clare have done? Who even knows? Hence the moccasins.

I need to be as deliberate today as Clare and listen. After pt today I need to go shoe shopping.