Month of Thanks (Nov. 9th-13th)

 

 

Friday, November 9th

Today was one of those days. You know, the kind where your life is obviously the worst because the boots you want to buy are out of your size and your baby is fussy and work is hard. And even though in the back of your head you're thinking "Jessica, I think you're over reacting just a tad...", you're still silently ranting, justified because how dare the world treat you this way. You REALLY want those damn boots. Yeah. Kind of pathetic. Later in the day I made myself take Harrison on a walk and we ended up literally smelling the roses. They were delightful. And it was kind of the highlight of my day. So I'm thankful for the little things that are normally overlooked but that when noticed, bring enough beauty into your life when you're having a bad day to make you smile a little. Thankfully by the end of the day my funk was over (butIstillreallywantthoseboots).

 

 

Saturday, November 10th

 

So I'm kiiind of in love with the new HEB, which opened yesterday. It's literally two minutes down our street and it's brand new and shiny :D We've been shopping at an HEB about 10m away from our apartment that's over 20 years old and was getting ready to close, which means for the past month or so they've been out of at least 3 or 4 things on my grocery list every time. So it was really nice to get everything we needed this time around. Not to mention that it has a lot of bonus sections that the old store didn't have, like the healthy living aisle where you can pour your own bags of anything from rice to granola to dried fruit. Or grind your own peanut butter. How cool is that? So I love our new store, but I'm most of all thankful for a pantry/refrigerator full of food that keeps my family fed and healthy and happy. ...But did I also mention it's shiny? :)

 

 

Sunday, November 11th

Once it became apparent that Harrison was no longer going to sleep/sit quietly in his car seat during church (Charles had to miss quite a bit of a few sermons to go walk around with him), we decided it was time for big boy church! Aka Sunday School. Aka swing/play/sleep for 45 minutes. Learning about Jesus will come later ;-) They have rotating volunteers but for a good while now the main two have been a man and his wife who are super super sweet and always excited to see Harrison. The nursery has what Charles and I call the "Baby Matrix", which is essentially a circle of swings, rocking chairs and exersaucers. Harrison really enjoys going (they say he rarely makes a peep!) and it's nice to be able to sit through an entire service without an interruption. But by the end I'm ready to hold him again and give him lots of kisses :)

Monday, November 12th

I'm thankful for a healthy baby and a very patient and understanding husband. Today we took Harrison to an orthopedist because our pediatrician wanted to make sure the slightly more pronounced bowing in his legs was nothing to worry about. Sure enough, they were just fine & we went happily on our way. To the check out desk. Where I found out my insurance doesn't have copays for specialist visits. Which means we paid $180.00 for a 10 minute doctor visit when nothing was wrong. At that point I kind of lost it and shut down a bit. I cried. I was moody. I was mad. I felt like we threw $180 (that we don't have) down the drain. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm a tad dramatic. My darling, wonderful, great-man-of-a-husband didn't say a thing. He hugged me. And kissed me. Told me I was beautiful. And gently explained that we didn't waste that money because we made sure we have a healthy baby.

Month of Thanks

So in an effort to 1. Get in the habit of blogging more often and 2. Finding joy in the little things around me (due to my seemingly increasing annoyance at things that really shouldn't matter), I've decided to put into effect:

I know a lot of people do this in varying degrees across social media, so pardon me if you find it cliche. I think it will be a good exercise and it will make the build up to Thanksgiving all the more exciting, at the end of which I will gorge myself on pumpkin pie. Yummm.

As a bonus, it will help me blog more consistently, which we all know, doesn't really happen. See I have this baby.....

Anyway, my plan is to post every couple of days with a recap of the little things (and sometimes big things, ya know, like family and junk). Since I'm a visual person I made that there graphic at the top (feel free to use it if you'd like to join in) and I'll be doing my best to post photos along with my daily thanks.

So without further ado...

via

 

Thursday, November 1st

I'm thankful for community - yes, the tv show too, which FINALLY got a premiere date #comeonNBC - but more importantly our church community. On Thursdays I have a women's bible study in the morning for about two hours, which not only gives me two hours of "alone time" (hey, any time without a 7 month old is alone time, even if it is around a couple of hundred other women), but it also helps me connect with some great ladies here in the area as we learn more about our Lord. Then in the evening we have our small group, which Charles and I (and Harrison) go to along with about 5 other couples. We've gotten to know them over the past 10 months and have been so blessed with their friendship. So basically Thursdays are like a Jesus overload. But the good kind.

 

 

Friday, November 2nd

 

I'm thankful for date night with my hubby! For the past few years we've always participated in "Comedy Night Done Right," which is what NBC calls their block of comedy shows on Thursday nights (currently 30 Rock, Parks & Recreation, and The Office). But seeing how we're gone on Thursday evenings for our small group and Harrison isn't in bed until 9pm or so, we realized that CNDR wasn't a real possibility this year. At least on Thursdays. So a few weeks ago we started date night on Fridays - we pop some popcorn, sit in bed with our laptop, and stream the shows we missed the night before. I look forward to it all week!

 

Saturday, November 3rd

I'm really thankful for quiet time (and weekends in general)! I love my boys more than anything on this earth, but I'm home alone with a baby for the majority of the week and it can get pretty exhausting. Today both my husband and my baby took a 2+ hour nap (and if you know my kid, that's probably a sign that the apocalypse is coming), which meant the apartment was quiet and I was able to write this post. Holla!

Thanks, honey, for being my unsuspecting model. Don't worry, you're cute when you sleep :D