BLACK FRIDAY

No, I didn't really participate in Black Friday. I slept in until 8:0 this morning and then got up and did some laundry and few other little things.  I watched "Silver Bells" (one of my favorites) and ended up crying at the end of it. For some reason I felt so homesick for the Christmases that have been.
I was waiting for Mike to come home after he went into the church for a couple of hours.  Then he ended up taking Akram (the husband of our Egyptian couple) to Best Buy so he could buy a GPS - which he didn't do because he thought they were too expensive. After taking Akram home, Mike came back to the house and we had a decision to make.
He had gotten a call from a mom with 4 kids who was living in a motel room.  She was crying and saying she didn't have any money to buy food. Well, we weren't about to give her money, so we decided to go to the 99 Cent Store and buy her a few things she could cook in the microwave in the room.  Also picked up some cereal and juice.  We went to the motel and took the food to her room. Her two youngest children (2 & 3 year old little girls) were with her. Apparently the older 2 girls stayed with friends. We talked with her and found out she has a heart condition and has a pacemaker and is on disability. Her check is supposed to come next Tuesday. She has family in Arizona and Virginia and they have said she can come back to live with them, so we encouraged her to do that.  It's so hard to know if people are telling you the truth. We have been taken by some and then others have been legitimate.  We also encouraged her to come to church Sunday. However, we left it up to her to call if she was coming so we could get a ride for her. We'll see if she follows through.
I took Mike home and then went out to do some shopping.  I went to Bed, Bath & Beyond, Ross, Dollar Tree, Family Christian Store, Wal-Mart and Kohls. The crowds didn't seem awful, but there was some standing in line. But how the stores have been ravaged and I was surprised how picked over things are already.  Think I'm going to try some online shopping.  I was exhausted and I was only out for 4 hours.
Now I'm home once again relaxing and trying to come up with a plan for the rest of my holiday shopping. My goal is to be done by Friday the 13th.  Haha!  :)