You know the saying...One person's trash is another person's treasure.  I have some proof.  Let me back up a little first.  Jeremiah has been on a "bike" kick for quite some time now.  When we moved from our house into our apartment three years ago, we had to get rid of all the kids' bikes.  We literally had nowhere to keep them here at the apartment.  We have no porch, utility shed...nothing.  There are bike racks out front, but open to the elements and five finger discounts.  It's not been a big deal to the kids because they got scooters instead and those fold down nicely for closet storing.

Anyway, Jeremiah has been asking for a bike for Christmas pretty much since last Christmas.  Thankfully, he hasn't obsessed over it so it's not really been an issue.  We just redirect him and get him off the topic.  Lately though, he's seen other kids in the apartment complex riding their bikes and has even acosted a few on occasion to try and claim theirs as his own.  He just takes them out of the bike racks and starts pedaling away!!  Meltdowns ensue of course when we take the bikes away from him.

Well, today we were on our way home from the park and, as we pulled into the complex, Jonathan said, "Hey mom, look at that bike at the dumpster.  It looks like brand new."  I didn't even look, but was quite annoyed that he brought the bike thing up in front of Jerry at all.  We went in, took showers, and then went to KFC to get dinner.  We came home, ate, and then I went to take the remnants of dinner to the dumpster so as not to tempt poor Louis with the aroma of KFC.  I had to check the mail anyway and our mailboxes are right across the street from the dumpster.

And there it was. I took a glance, threw away the garbage, and then went to check the mail. On the way back, I crossed to the dumpster again, took a better look, and yes, dumpster dived (not my first time...I'm quite experienced actually). Ok, not really, as the bike was technically outside the dumpster. I have some friends who will probably not admit to knowing me now...and still others who would be so proud!  But that's not all.  Next to the bike was a game in a box that was still sealed from the store, or so it looked, and so I thought I'd might as well make the most of this venture and take them both home.  Two for the price of one...FREE!

Jeremiah saw me coming.  The kids were out front after dinner playing with their friends and, when Jerry saw me walking towards him with a bike, he took off running.  The tires were flat, but it didn't stop him from riding it all the way back to the apartment.  I pulled out the travel air pump we keep in the van and filled the tires.  Upon further examination, I found the bike to be a Huffy in EXCELLENT condition.  I mean, not a scratch!  The tire treads were not worn a bit!  It had a reflector and training wheels too.  I said to Jeremiah, "Wow buddy, you've been praying for a bike and look here.  Jesus brought you one."  He began jumping up and down, flapping his arms, and yelling, "Thank you Jesus!  Thank you Jesus!  Thank you Jesus!"

We still have nowhere to keep it, but it is small enough to simply become another piece of furniture in the boys' room for now.  And what about the game, you ask?  Oh yes.  It was brand new in the box.  It's a Marvel Spiderman game house with eight games; checkers, dominoes, bingo, tic tac toe, 4 card games (Spiderman match, crazy eights, old Aunt May, and Go Spidey).  All the game boards and pieces were still in their original shrink wrap inside the sealed box.  Wow!  One person's trash was surely our treasure tonight.