... Daniel sat and played by himself for at least 30 minutes. This is a victory in my book and I'm entirely grateful about it. I don't expect it to happen again :) 

... I received two packages (of things that I ordered). A huge treat. Especially because they contained the organic, raw cacao powder that I ordered. I'm psyched. 

... is a weird work day for the carpenter. Well a weird work month actually. He was in by 8:30 am and home by 1 pm and will head back to work around 6 pm until who knows. This is what happens when you get a job doing renovations at a restaurant. It will be an interesting month. I'm proud of him for landing the gig! 

... the dogs decided that Daniel's toy basket is their personal toy basket. Oy vey. Now what do I do? 

... I made homemade hot chocolate with the above mentioned cacao and almond milk, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. It was ok. I definitely need to tweak the recipe a bit. 

... Daniel's naps have been funky. Well, this isn't a today thing--it's been going on for about a week now. I'm not sure what is going on. As long as he continues to sleep at night though, I'm not going to worry about it! 

Today...

...I enjoyed snuggling with my little boy and wearing sweats all day. Daniel even participated by suiting up in his own Spongebob hoodie and sweat pants.

...Jonathan came home early and we had lots of fun watching movies as a family. RV and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix were the feature presentations.

...I loved the fact that our weather boasted temperatures in the 60's with very low humidity. A welcome relief to yesterdays weather.

...our little boy took a very short morning nap and a very long afternoon nap.

...I thought a lot about whether this house is the one we will live in forever, or if we will look for something with more property someday. It is a big decision to make.

...we laughed a lot at our little dooders (our nickname for Daniel). He loves to smile, coo, and interact with us. I love this stage!

...I wanted to be intentional about enjoying the whole day for what it's worth. I'm trying this new thing where I look for the positive in everything and try to watch my reactions. Have you heard of this saying before, by Charles Swindoll:

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you. We are in charge of our attitudes.

Yup, I'm going to put this to the test. So far, it is so true.

Today...

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...I'm loving the fact that I have plans to get out of the house for a few hours. Even if it is only to go to church, to work on the bulletin :)

...I can't wait for an afternoon "trapped" in the house (by storm Nemo). I have big, big plans for some organizing and cleaning.

...I'm excited to workout. I LOVE this DVD that a friend gave me. I feel amazing at the end of a workout. Thanks Bianca!

...is pizza-for-dinner day. Well night actually. But, I can't wait to whip up some dough and make our own homemade pizza. It always tastes better when its homemade.

...I'm going to look up painting techniques for the "wow" factor that I talked about in yesterday's post. Yes. Between yesterday and today, we made a decision and it is already installed. Stay tuned!

...I'm eagerly anticipating our next Dr's appointment. February 14th hurry up! I want to know how our little one is doing :)

...I'm very thankful for my life. I can't seem to get over the beauty that surrounds me on a daily basis. God has truly blessed every one of us. Even through the bad times, I am amazed by the God that I love. He has never let me go.

Today I...

...am excited to celebrate my grandfather's birthday!!! This time last year, we thought that he was dying--he was in a coma and not doing well.  It's amazing how much can change in one, short year. 

Happy Birthday Grandpa Pete!!

...am excited to wish my sister-in-law 'happy birthday' from far away!!! I hope it is a sparkling and awesome day for you Cristale!!!

...am a bit too tired from a late night spent with my college roommate and her family. It is wonderful to play catch-up and watch as two worlds collide. Who would have thought that they would ever visit small-town-USA?! I'm sure glad they did.

...can't wait to run. I didn't get up early enough this morning, but I'm going to pound the pavement tonight once it cools off enough.

Wait.

Who am I and how am I looking forward to running??

The heat must be getting to me.

Yea...that has got to be it.



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