The Bread Man and Thankfulness

My Dad took a lot of great pictures while he was here- things from our daily life that I don't really think about anymore because it's so normal. The bread man comes every morning at about 8:30 to the little store below our apartment. He brings in crate after crate...and often by the end of the day the store is sold out of bread. It is definitely a staple here in Russia. And because it doesn't have preservatives in it, it really should be eaten quickly before it turns hard as a brick.

Something else our little store has that I never buy is Nestle cocoa cereal. (It's like cocoa puffs). Of course, I know that this is not the healthiest way to start the day. And I would never eat them all of the time. BUT it is a very fun (and tasty) splurge while Leif is away. Of course now that I'm writing this, he'll know my secret. But he won't be mad. He'll just think it's kind of gross that I ate them for breakfast.

I made the mistake of eating my cocoa puffs with Anneka while she had her oatmeal with raisins. Normally I eat muesli and she asks for some of mine and I put it in her bowl with her oatmeal. She just likes to be involved with what Mama and Papa are eating. So, I was in this dilemma about the cocoa puffs because I really didn't want her eating them but I also didn't want to be weird and not share when I normally do share with her. So I told her to eat a bit of her oatmeal first and then I put one cocoa puff in her bowl. After she tried it she was so thrilled! And the normal response would be to whine a little and beg for more. But this day, she so sweetly said "thank you, thank you, thank you" in her little baby voice. (along with the sign language). This was the first time I'd ever heard her say this and it warmed my heart. And when she politely asked for more, it made me WANT to share more. So after every few bites of oatmeal, I plopped a puff in her bowl and was met each time with the sweetest "thank you, thank you, thank you". It made me think of how happy God must be when we think Him for his gifts and His goodness. When Anneka says "thank you" I feel as if I would give her the world if I could.