Things that make me smile

It's a good thing I'm training myself to hunt for the good things in life, because being relentlessly busy and exhausted tends to make me feel helpless and hopeless on occasion. So even though getting kids in and out of the car continues to be the bane of my existence, I can reflect on the happier elements of life as well.

First up: Gavin and Lexi continue to be best buddies.  I love that they love each other, and that for the most part, they play well together.  They especially love puttering outdoors. As long as Gavin is not fixated on being in the front yard, they have all sorts of adventures out back.  On this day they were "sleeping" in the grass.  Many of the rocks from the playground ended up in the basement, but the hour they played together outweighed the mess.

Then there's the glorious playgroup/park outing we enjoyed Wednesday.  Friends were slow to arrive and we were the first to leave (apparently my children are the only ones from my social circle who nap), but we enjoyed some really fun play time and conversation while it lasted.

 

Tyler and his best neighborhood buddy, Tyler M., set up this war zone.  They never actually battled because Tyler M. had to go home, but the soldiers-at-ready sure gave me a chuckle.

Next, I just had to take a picture of what greeted me when I went to fire up the treadmill yesterday.  Boy howdy, that's a lot of laundry!  The laundry process got disrupted by soccer the night before and I just never got back to it.  After my 30-minute walk/jog, I folded and put everything away.  Why don't I have a picture of that?

At almost eight weeks old, Kate has begun favoring us with grins on demand!  Seeing her lock eyes with me and burst into a smile just gives me a thrill.  Sadly, despite my zeal to photograph this happy trend, I don't have many focused pictures.  The grins still shine through!

This is a paper chain that counts down the days until our Thanksgiving road trip to Logandale, NV and Mesa, AZ.  The kids just cannot wait.  Lexi asked me to go to Granny's house so many times between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Monday that we made the chain for Family Home Evening that night!  We're down to a mere 36 days now...

Soccer season is over (except for Zach's finale party next week).  The boys both had spectacular coaches and really enjoyed themselves this season.  I wish I had been a better mom during the season.  I always think of the phrase, "It's fun when it starts and it's fun when it ends."  Live and learn.

I don't have a picture of Parent/Teacher conferences, which happened this week and brought me great joy.  While it is always nice to hear that our boys are succeeding, both academically and socially, right now I am more pleased with their schools and teachers.  It is such a blessing to have our children in classrooms that offer such customized learning opportunities and an atmosphere of acceptance, challenge, and growth.  So right now, Ms. Rita, Mrs. Reynolds, Mrs. Blatnick, Mrs. Ferris, and Miss Larsen are right at the top of my happy list.

...

Other joys from the last two days:

*Gorgeous fall leaves
*An oven with a functional delay-start feature

*No new roof

*Groupons

*Kate's 8-hour sleep stretch (4pm-12am)