We had a lot of family time to ring in the New Year this week. It’s a welcome transition between semesters. My husband has a break from classes till the end of the month, so we don’t have to jump right back in to the routine and stress of the semester.
Here’s what made me smile this week:
Quality time with my husband. We’re checking in with each nightly and discussing the day and how we felt about it emotionally, physically and spiritually. It’s only been a few days of this practice, but it lifts my soul.
Our nephew finally made his way into the world. I love him already, and even though we may not meet him for several months, we’re already 100 percent committed to the role of aunt and uncle. (You can read more about this on the blog on Monday.)
I lost close to 5 pounds this week. I want to be excited about that but part of me thinks the scale is messing with me. Considering my recent weight loss struggles (read about them here and here), this is awesome news. And I made some positive exercise and eating changes this week. I don’t want to get my hopes up that I can lose this kind of weight every week, but I’m hopeful that I can keep up the losing streak.
Rediscovering Seattle’s Best Coffee. Yum.
Leaving the side door to our van open all night and discovering it in the morning. Thank God we live in a small town where the streets pretty much roll up at night. Nothing was disturbed, and we had a good laugh about how distracted we were the night before hauling kids into the house after a family date night.
Speaking of family date night — our 3-year-old earned it for another 9-day streak of no potty accidents, so we did a little shopping and ate at Chick-Fil-A. Chick-Fil-A also makes me smile. It’s so kid-friendly, and every time we’re there, our daughter makes a new friend. This time, it was a redheaded boy named Dylan who told her he’d be at Chick-Fil-A the same time next week. Does that count as a date?
Isabelle sitting sideways in the wagon as I pulled her and Corban around the block proclaiming, “This is the life.”
Gifts from family. We did our immediate family Christmas on Friday, Epiphany, also known as Three Kings Day. My husband’s gifts to me were perfect. The kids were thrilled with our choices, and I managed to pick out some things my husband likes. (That’s hard for me sometimes.) Our daughter also made up a song about Three Kings Day.
Fun socks. How can you not smile while wearing fun socks. (See previous entry about husband’s Christmas gifts.) 
Watching the sunrise. I got to see it several times this week. I can look out our front window and have the perfect view of it. It’s one of the things I’ll miss most about this house when we move.
Cuddling with my kiddos, even if they’re sick and I’m tired. We’ve battled illness this week, but there is something fun about snuggling up in blankets and watching movies or cartoons to pass the time.
And then, there were these conversations. I’ll try to re-create them.
- Corban got a Fur-real squirrel as a Christmas present. We’ve never had one of these before, so it was kind of unsettling at first to have a furry thing scurrying around the house “talking” to us. My husband, however, took a liking to it. His verdict: “I know it’s kind of creepy, but I like it. It’s almost like having a cat.” Note to self: We must get a live animal soon.
- Isabelle interviewed her brother one day. It went something like this: “What’s your name? What are you doing?” Corban answered, eventually with “A-deen. I’m cleaning.” Isabelle proceeded to go “live” with a breaking news story while sitting atop a dinosaur float. I blame the Tournament of Roses parade and VeggieTales’ Larry Boy and the Bad Apple, which features Petunia Rhubarb, television journalist. This was followed by a walk around the neighborhood, during which Isabelle photographed just about every neighbor’s house along the way. Here’s a sampling of her work.
She’s a natural, right? I didn’t help her, really. I think she has the eye. Here’s a few more. Thanks for indulging a proud mama.
My favorite part: she’d line up the shot, click the button and then say, “Got it” with pride.
I hope you’re smiling this week!