Sunday Gratitude

What a week it has been!!! Lots and lots to be grateful for!

1.
Our friends Denice and Jake welcomed their first child, a sweet little girl they called Eva Jean. I'm pretty sure she will be a real "drama queen" considering that both her parents are actors! It is lovely that there are more babies and toddlers in our circle of friends. I love to have friends of all ages, it really enriches our life and I feel deep gratitude for all of them.

2.
I finished my online photography course including all the assessments. This was the first online course I actually finished on time with all the work done. It's quite an achievement for me, and I feel I have learned a lot, especially about the technical side, but also about ideas and the philosophy of photography. It was different than I expected, but I enjoyed every single bit of it. It also helped that it was free!

3.
Finally I started to take walks in the neighborhood again - it feels so much like spring here, it seems to put a new spring in my step (no pun intended). I know, the photos don't really go with that, right? (They were all taken in Utah during our trip over winter break.) Usually I pick up Kaefer from school and then get out of the car at the Safeway to walk home from there with little detours (so I walk about 20 to 30 minutes) while Kaefer drives home. It's amazing how these short walks lift my mood and energy!

4.
I'm so grateful for our lovely neighbors. The front yard needs more of my attention, and I'm often out there. My neighbors stop by and we chat a little bit. Or I meet them while walking - we always take time to talk a little bit. It's a good community feeling in our neighborhood.

5.
It has been a good week in my shop as well. This is not always the case. I often go by week after week without a single sale, sometimes to such an extend that I think of giving up. However, I am not really a quitter and it takes a lot for me to finally give up. Instead I'm ready to face the challenge and put more work into my store.

6.
Yesterday I had a date with my husband. You know, it's way to seldom we have that, it usually is sent to the back burner among our daily routines - which is a shame. However, yesterday evening Kaefer volunteered at the Schulz Museum (Schulz as in Peanuts) - there was a big Girl Scout (Brownies) event with a sleep over, and since she and her friend are some of the regular volunteers in the education room they worked that event as well. Which gave the Geek and myself the opportunity to go to a nice little restaurant in the neighborhood and have a delicious dinner. Honestly, we should do that more often.

7.
Temperatures this past week were unseasonably high and I could enjoy some downtime outside, sitting in my favorite little corner under the photinia. I read, watched the birds and enjoyed their happy chatter and songs. I find it incredible relaxing.

8.
I'm immensely grateful that I have kept my sense of wonder. It still hits me out of the blue that my daughter is a mere miracle for me, a gift that I often ask myself what I did to deserve this. To see this little girl growing into a sweet teenager and becoming an amazing young woman. The same sense of wonder I get when I enter our home - I still enjoy it so very much and haven't felt any regret about this purchase. We have owned this house for almost three years and the enthusiasm about it is still the same - perhaps even more so since we have turned it into a real home. We already have new ideas for it that we want to realize this year.

I feel very blessed, to say the least. What about you? Did you have a good week?

*********

Spring has arrived in my Etsy store!

Catch the magic of spring 

with words written in an altered journal

*********