some August

thankful for
-my will to live? that i haven't given up. maybe i'm stronger than i think? sometimes you see moments of sad, but you are glad you're a survivor. not explaining myself well :b
-new life and the 4 (at least 4) pregnant moms who are making it happen.
-a surprisingly nice time at a car show in sterling. nice family time.
-a dad's pride in his son - soccer
-sisters in Christ doing the fellowship thing
-beauty in color. fun time painting. SJ's baby born today. thankful for MOPS. you are a life saver!

thankful for sweet friends who are willing to hang out. thankful for S's reaction to shenandoah caverns and happy to see he likes fireworks. thankful that i've grown a little in mothering. it's hard to explain, but i'm not that lady who is crying every day.. honestly i can't remember when i stopped. that first year was tough, for sure. thankful for a thing called forgiveness.

thankful I can use some talents for another round of the MOPS consignment sale. thankful I don't always win the ebay auctions i bid on. thankful to see people smile when they've been down so long.
thankful for my dad. happy birthday! thankful for my husband and in-laws for being sweet people. thankful for Hilda - you blessed quite a few people in your 83 years. Hope you know that. Enjoy heaven :)

Tuesday 5/28 thankful for the boy sleeping in
Wed 5/29  i am thankful for antibiotics
5/30 thankful for friends willing to lend a helping hand
5/31 thankful that the rest of the family avoided strep.

6/8 thankful the parents got home safely after a month in other countries
6/9 hey i've dated my dude for 12 years today!
6/10 happy kid
6/11 nice to see some mom friends while kids play
6/12 boy has a great smile
6/13 thankful that very often the good outweighs the bad

thankful for VBS and the volunteers that do it out of the goodness of their hearts, thankful for that little bit of time and thankful for my husband. thankful for friends getting married and starting that new journey! congrats mel! i never call you that, but may your love be the gift that keeps on giving :) thankful that S is more responsive to teachers and drawing/writing up his own games. been reading "What Happens When Woman Say Yes to God" and it's very challenging (ain't gonna lie :b) but thankful to hear it.

sunday 5/19 happy to have made 4 more bucks selling my cubs pitcher.
5/20 we watched a recording of Mad Men, where most of the guys got an energy shot in the butt. Goofiness ensues. Thanks for the laugh.
5/21 thankful to see S blowing bubbles and really doing a good job (it's hard to explain how to blow. he was doing a fffff sound with his lips almost closed, which didn't always work out, but he is learning to open up.) happy for the MOPS leadership kick-off meeting
w 5/22 thankful for air conditioning. and pat myself on the back for vacuuming twice in one month.
5/23 happy R took S to school this morning. last day of school with all the sweet stuff that goes with that. thankful for the teachers that made this year so great. he's really sprouted in school.
5/24 thankful for fellowship with a few ladies this morning. i finally made that copy cat recipe of cracker barrel hash brown casserole. it is so good. so good.
5/25 summer kick off carnival in my neighborhood, with fireworks. we got a fabulous view and S loved them!
5/26 the pastor got to baptize his daughter and I bet that was awesome for him and his wife. he also sang with the band, which was a first. fun stuff!
5/27 Memorial Day! we went to six flags america since i won that auction for 2 tickets.  then ate at chili's with gift card. both things we haven't done since S was born. thankful for you all that serve!!

Yesterday we got to use one of R's birthday gift cards & go to Longhorn. Steakhouse burger, mmm.. Thanks for a yummy, food coma inducing lunch!

yesterday i was thankful that i could read a book while S ran amok at the bounce house. and for the flowers that have somehow managed to grow on our little plot of land.

yesterday was The Office finale and there were all those moments of sweetness. so i am thankful for moments of sweetness, in whatever way they manifest themselves.

"I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days...before you've actually left them." - Andy

what a reality check.. today is tomorrow's good ole day? 

so much indecisiveness!!

so here are some notes i found from january...
i found that the grease collector tray of the griddler (like a foreman grill) wasn't cleaned out. it was in a cabinet. it was the gross thing of my new years day. 

and then i realized how my anxiety snowballs. looking at our extra trash bag and wondering why we have so much trash and wondering why we are so gross to have so much trash. i know. i'm a maniac. i don't give myself wiggle room. there's just more trash after Christmas. no need to go nuts. :b maybe i have some kind of undiagnosed panic attack syndrome. so i'll let the internets diagnose me, right :b

there's a low tire air pressure light in our car. i went to a gas station to inflate the tires. it was pretty cold and took a long time. and 3 dollars worth of quarters. i seriously considered going to jiffy lube and paying them to do it. so that makes me wonder - how do people gauge what they are willing to do themselves, and what they are willing to pay someone to do? that encompasses so much though. house cleaning, cooking, car stuff, painting.. but then you'll have that battle in your head.. Oh i bet we could have DIYed and saved a bunch/Why do I put myself through this?? :b 

other stuff:

going to declutter 1 thing a day. the best is selling them on facebook yard sale groups, and getting $ back. 

having a mini-struggle on whether to go forth with kindergarten, or do the gift of time for preschool.

Ravens win the super bowl! yay!

i dyed my hair purple, and that didn't go over so great.

Community Church had free babysitting, so we got to have a few date nights in Feb.

Spring sale was good..went smoothly, I think. but maybe because there were fewer consignors?? There was a lady who bought almost $200 at the dollar dash. what a record to have!

went to eastern shore during spring break, and up through delaware and pennsylvania.  saw the Biggs museum in dover, and was greeted "Good afternoon sir! Good afternoon maam!" while walking by the riverfront market in Wilmington by jogging police cadets. Ate Bahama Breeze by Christiana mall. Also saw the Herrs factory tour (i ate pork rinds and they are not my thing), the Please Touch Museum in Philly, Jim's Steaks, Hershey park - where S is tall enough to ride 3 coasters! Also stopped by Gettysburg before home.

2 cavities. drilling not fun!!

went bowling for R's bday.

got to see S fly a kite with pop and he was beaming!

doing a cleaning schedule thing. we are so dirty! at least we don't have a mcmansion :b

my dad got the dr's permission to travel, so parents are off to europe for a month of havoc!

mothers day at the inlaws, also went to cousin B's first birthday party. he is a darling!!

MOPS for the year wrapped up; decided to go to the MOPS convention in October! 

gratitude journal:

well, yesterday i wrote "thankful for that short period of time when I can open windows"