A Year of Gratitude: Day 215

Today I am grateful for the delicious dinner and dessert my family made for us tonight.  Homemade barbecue pulled pork on homemade French bread, grilled asparagus, carrots, pineapple, and rhubarb pie.  Delicious!

Thank you so much for the meal and the company, Mom, Dad, and Christine!

Have a wonderful night!

A Year of Gratitude: Day 214 (a day late)

Today I am grateful for so many things ... our home, our family, our friends, our health, our happiness, and our general well-being.  I'm grateful for the fact that most of my problems, if not all, are those of the "first world" variety; those problems like having too much stuff and not getting my new dishwasher installed when it arrived like it was supposed to be.  I feel weird writing about these things because they seem so mundane, so everyday, but I know I'm lucky and it's important to be reminded of it.

And really, truly, I am grateful for all that I have.  All the love.  All the laughter.

Have a wonderful night!

A Year of Gratitude: Day 213

Today I am grateful for Festival of the Arts!  This is my favorite event of the summer in Grand Rapids, and this year my little lovies seemed just as geeked as I was about the experience.  It probably helped that one of Baylor's favorite bands, the Billies, was playing the first day, but I'll take it.  We spent way longer there than we probably should have, but we had so much fun (and my dad even joined in!) and we're looking forward to going back tomorrow!

Have a wonderful night!

A Year of Gratitude: Day 212

Today I am grateful that the oven roasted red-skinned potatoes I made for dinner came out well.  Cooking potatoes makes me nervous; I'm usually either under or over cooking them.  So to have them turn out well is a real treat for me.

Have a wonderful night!

A Year of Gratitude: Day 211 (a day late)

Today I am grateful for closet elevators, impromptu dentist appointments (and subsequent "cavity fillings"), and taking x-rays in the foyer.  The kids played together really well today while I made dinner, something that takes way longer than it should for a million reasons, and I was so grateful not to have to pry apart Legos or fetch markers on high shelves.  They only came in a couple times as dentist and patient to tell me how the appointment went, and I only had to issue one time out when Mollie "slapped" her brother (her words ... *sigh*).

I'm so glad they're becoming such good friends.

Have a wonderful night!

A Year of Gratitude: Day 210

Today I am grateful that I will be able to go to bed early.  I was exhausted today, so exhausted, in fact, that I dropped an entire jar of salsa on the floor, shattering the glass all over the kitchen.  Not a good moment.

So here's to sleep!  Good night and sweet dreams!

Have a wonderful day!

A Year of Gratitude: Day 209 (a day late)

Today I am grateful for the server we had at Vitale's of Ada last night.  She was not only attentive and quick, but she also took the time to have a little conversation with Baylor about the elevators he's been on recently. She knew a lot about the J.W. Marriott downtown and seemed just as excited about it as he was.  It's not every day that we encounter someone so willing to chat with Baylor about his interests.

(In addition, it seems to have fueled Baylor's ongoing infatuation with waitresses that started all the way back when he was nine months old.  I have no doubt that he'll someday come to me and say, "Mom, I met the woman of my dreams!  She's the one I'm going to marry."  Then I'll ask her where he met her and he'll reply, "She was the waitress at the restaurant I went to last night.  It was love at first sight!"  And it's not that there is anything wrong with that, it's just funny that he already has a "type", at least in terms of profession.)

Have a wonderful day!

A Year of Gratitude: Day 208 (two days late)

Today I am grateful that my parents and sister made it home safely from their trip to France.  They seemed to have had a great time, but it's good to have them back in the States.

Have a wonderful day!

That's What They Said: Reasoning

Amalia: (handing me her bowl of applesauce) Help me eat this, please.
Me:  (handing it back to her)  No, you can do this, Mollie.
Bryson:  Mollie, you know how to eat applesauce.  And, you know, the best part about applesauce is that, since you eat it with a spoon, as soon as you dip it in it basically scoops up a bite for you.  Try it!
Amalia:  (puts her spoon into the applesauce and automatically gets a bite)  Yay!
Bryson:  See!
Amalia:  (does it again)  Thank you, spoon!


(After dinner last night ...)
Baylor:  Daddy, can you find a ball for me?
Bryson:  Baylor, where are you going to throw it?
Baylor:  I need to score in my goal behind the futon.
Bryson:  Baylor, what is the futon near?
Baylor:  The window.
Bryson:  That's right.  And are we supposed to throw balls at the windows?
Baylor:  No.  (pauses)  So can you get me a ball?


(While listening to the Barenaked Ladies' "If I Had a $1,000,000" at breakfast ...)
Baylor:  This makes me think of the Death Star.
Me:  (smiling and completely off-guard)  Yeah?  Why is that?
Baylor:  Because that is how much money I would need to buy the Death Star.

A Year of Gratitude: Day 207 (a day late)

Today I am grateful that my parents put me in charge of taking care of their pool while they were away.  At first I was a little bit dubious about accepting the responsibility, particularly after what happened last time.  But as the days have gone on and the pool has stayed crystal clear and in good working order, I have felt more and more proud about being able to do this for people who give so much to us.  Plus, it feels good to have people trust you with something so important and to be able to follow through on your responsibilities.

So thank you, Mom and Dad, for trusting me enough to take care of your pool.  It means a lot to me.

Have a wonderful night!