grateful for... being teased

November 23

I spent a goodly portion of the day on the phone, which is rare for me. I caught up with two sisters-in-love, from two different families, and both conversations were very, very sweet. When I got done with the second, my parents and Rob were seated round the table, having already finished the meal. The moment my butt hit the chair, the three of them leapt up and began chattering loudly into phones they had hidden on their laps, wandering all around the room.

Bewildered, I suddenly realized they had just flash mobbed me, with an execution as synchronized and flawlessly executed as the pros, and burst out laughing.

This snarkiness? THIS IS WHERE I GET IT, PEOPLE. I was taught by the best.

grateful for... inappropriate (and hilarious) haiku

November 22

Today I am grateful for a friend who trusts me enough to share a painful journey she's on and grateful for another friend who had the brilliant idea to write poetry about it.

Haiku, to be exact, with foul language. If H gives me permission, I will publish edited versions at some point. However, I gather from her husband that she's still loopy from the surgery she underwent earlier today. I would totally ask permission now because of that, but I doubt I'd actually reach her on the phone...

I did ask her husband to ask her silly questions and videotape the responses, but that's just reasonable.

grateful for... not having to pull it myself

He came prancing into our room this morning, waving about his tooth and holding a Kleenex to his mouth. Both floss and string slid right off yesterday, and simply tugging on it did no good. We finally gave up, and I instructed him to wiggle it a lot and even twist it. Then I ran screaming from the room with my hands over my eyes, then over my ears, then back over my eyes.

I am a big wienie and have not-great memories of my own tooth travails. No fewer than three had to be yanked by the dentist, and neither a needle to the gums nor that crunching sound are never really forgotten. Shudder and gag.

grateful for... a communing family

November 20

Blake made a public profession of faith and became a communing member of our church family today. I cried.

He has been eager to partake in the Lord's supper, but it took some time for him to reach understanding about what is involved, and the conversations we've had leading up to today have been sweet and funny.

Unfortunately, the children's church class didn't release in time for him to actually HAVE his first communion, but what can you do? We still couldn't be more proud of our little man and his love for Christ.

grateful for... sweet spirits

November 19

A: I'm so sorry I can't be out there. It smells amazing and yet the smell also turns my stomach.
R: (who was cooking dinner according to my recipe, simply smiled and leaned down to kiss me, then left the bedroom and closed the door)

*****
B: Mmm, your home brew smells GREAT!

*****
B: If you don't put lotion on, your skin will be very very pruney. You need the moist.

*****
A: You are too young to use sarcasm. It's just disrespectful.
B: My dad teached me sarcasm.
A: Impossible.
B: No, he did. You say, "It's a nice day outside," but you don't really mean it.
A: You are too young to use sarcasm.

*****
A: I changed my mind about more TV tonight. We can watch some after you read me a story.
B: Okay.
A: I'm sorry that my being pregnant is being hard on you. I just feel so lousy, and I feel like I'm making your weekends boring.
B: Well, I'm sick too, cuz of my cough. I'm sorry that you feel sick, but I'm happy you're pregnant cuz of the baby.
A: That is the good part in all of this. Dad and I are happy about that too. And I should start to feel better soon.
B: Well, that's good. I love you more than you can imagine, Mom.
A: (sniffling a bit) I love you too...
B: Can we watch Phineas and Ferb?

grateful for... sick days and cozy pants

November 17

A day with my fellas yesterday. We were all sick, with either a migraine (Rob), sore throat (me), or a low fever and a nasty cough (Blake). We never ever EVER get a full day together. Rob's days off don't coincide with mine or Blake's, so while I see a lot of Rob and a lot of Blake, the three of us are only together in short, sweet bursts.

Even though we were all a bit under the weather, it was really nice to be together, having cocoa or tea, snuggled up in various ways. Blake was playing Wii when Rob was able to rally himself out of bed, and Rob just grabbed another controller and they beat levels and had a great time together. Blake was out of his mind happy, Rob got a bit of a gaming fix, and I loved watching them develop a hobby together. It was a good day.

November 18

Jammie pants. These ones right here. >>>
I might live in them for the rest of my life, which means I either need another pair, or I should do laundry slightly more often. Technically, they are yoga pants, but that's an awful lot more like "work pants" than "jammie pants."

grateful for... progress

Beautiful slate entry. Door is not yet ready for public use.
Or any use, really. It's nailed shut.

The built-in bookshelf in my office (where Blake will get his own computer).

Blake's bathroom. This is likely as clean as it will EVER be.
True story, from the woman who sat in what he left on the
toilet seat he chose not to lift earlier tonight.
Boys are SO GROSS.

Upstairs guest bathroom, where you will probably be
showering when you come to visit and play with us!

Rob's built-in shelf for books/Blu-Rays...

.... or IS IT?

Dining room, with a door leading to the back deck.

Kitchen, pre-counters and pre-appliances.

Apparently I need to clean my camera lens.

The giant spacious living room! It's under all that building crap.
I think I see our dishwasher and stove hood too.

The spot for the wood-burning stove that I am SO looking forward to,
once the insulation that fell from above is cleared out.

Master bathroom. We picked the granite for here today, and I
must admit, I was pretty laissez-faire about it. Was shown one
color that was big enough for the counter and said "Yes, I'm
sure that will work just fine. Can't bring myself to care
more about it at this point."

The big old master shower, with a bench
and room for two. ;)

grateful for... feeling like crap

November 15

Pregnancy is pretty easy on me, and I have little to complain about (naturally, that doesn't stop me from doing so). Still, food is not a friend, and it's been a bit of a puzzler about what I'll be able to eat and what will satisfy me for more than five minutes (the two rarely overlap, I'm getting tired of cereal, and I won't let myself eat THAT much ice cream). Marilla the Gorilla likes to punish me for eating the wrong thing, like red meat or coffee, with side effects I will bless you by not describing.

Tonight I had some major gagging and even dry heaves, which is unusual: in my limited experience, I do not throw up in my pregnancies. I am green around the gills and find eating a chore and still feel pretty miserable, but do not need to actually hug any porcelain. So tonight, as I made Blake's dinner while holding my breath, then promptly went into another room while he ate so I could open a window, lie down, and breathe through my mouth, all I could think the whole time was: I'm so glad I feel this badly.

It means Marilla the Gorilla is most likely still going strong, so it's reassuring in its own odd little way. And for that, I'm grateful. Reassurance is quite dear to me about this little bun in my oven, who is about the size of a kumquat this week.

grateful for... robrob my hearthRob

November 14

This goofball right here. I love him so. Even when he drives me batty.

 

grateful for... cute hats and good friends

I took yesterday off. Actually, I was busybusybusy all day with family, which was lovely and is a post for another day of gratitude. I love my family... they are so great.

November 12 and 13

Today I am grateful for the cute hat seen in this photo. I get complimented on it EVERY TIME I wear it, which, because I get complimented on it, is quite often, as you may imagine. I even wore it to church today, like a heathen, and was complimented twice. Holy people are not always immune to flattery or vanity, thank goodness.

I am also grateful for the dear friend seen in this photo. She came over and we had tea and played Go Fish (twice!) and Candy Land with a certain little mohawk man, and then we sat cozily on the couch and talked about important things and not important things and Kleenex was used and we shared a blanket and it was very good. She and I go way back to when she was my teaching assistant when I took a sign language class. We had mutual friends and enjoyed each other, but her moving back to Bozeman after years spent elsewhere has fostered a kinship I hadn't imagined back when I was a self-involved narcissist in college (some of you may claim that not much has changed given the second paragraph of this post, but I guess it's my story and I'll tell it with whatever slant I want!). She's one of my favorite people, and she accessorizes the hat so nicely in the photo she masterfully took.