Saturday, April 11, 2015

Week In Review - Ten Things Of Thankful (95)


Ten Things of Thankful


I'm the queen of procrastination. So instead of writing about taxes and taxation right now, I'm being thankful for so, so many things last week, since indeed it was a wonderful week!

1. Spring having arrived. Once again. While we were still scratching ice off the windshield earlier this week, I actually got carried away when the temperatures rose to balmy 70 degrees on Friday and bought a swim diaper for Calvin.

(c) Life, Unexpectedly


2. Our driveway being DONE!  I bet Clark will call for pictures again, and I was definitely thinking about him as I watched the workers laying the bricks. There will be pictures, I promise, but I have to admit, there aren't any yet.

3. Getting to celebrate 9 years of marriage to my wonderful, wonderful husband. I wonder how many people placed a bet we would not even see our first anniversary, given the shotgun wedding we had not quite 5 months after meeting each other. But we both simply knew in our hearts that we belonged together. Happy Anniversary, my love! I a looking forward to many, many more years together!

4. The girls loving to spend time outside. Even though the backyard is little more than a mud pit (actually, it is exactly that, although dried up at the moment), they spend hours there every day playing with the neighbors' kids and returning as dirty as they can be, and equally happy.

5. Calvin's 8-month birthday today. I can't believe that it's been 8 months since we brought this beautiful little boy home. He's been the source of joy and severe sleep deprivation, but if we know anything in the haze that's our brain right now, then it's how much we love this amazing little guy and his equally amazing sisters!

6. The person who turned in my wallet that I had forgotten in the shopping cart (thanks, mommy-brain) at the store on Friday. All the cash was still where it was, and everything else as well.

7. Violet having a bunch of wonderful friends, who helped making her 5th birthday party very, very special!

(c) Life, Unexpectedly


8. Our house not being trashed after said party. I really have to say, those 5 and 6-year olds were really well-behaved, picked up after themselves, ate as if they were starving, and tried to maintain an inside-voice. The birthday with the 7-year old was much, much more stressful!

9. A playground we can see from our house, and two children who are now about old enough to go to the playground by themselves - at least for an hour or so while I do some cleaning around the house.

10. Having just generally awesome neighbors. We have a pretty good mix of older and younger people, and all of them just enjoy having a community of neighbors to chat with, to support each other, kids to play with for our kids. We are really lucky and happy to live here, even though we still miss our old neighbors who have become quite close friends.


What are you thankful for this week?

22 comments:

  1. Ohhhhh look at that adorable cupcake tower :) I'm glad fun was had, and that you had such a well-behaved group of children round for the party.

    Happy Anniversary to you :) YAY for outdoorsiness, and YAY for good neighbours and a safe neighbourhood.

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    1. Definitely all things I'm thankful for, Lizzi!! I opted not to go "all out" on frosting and stuff this year, as experience has taught me that in good cases, they just scratch off the frosting and eat the cupcake, in bad cases they scratch off the frosting, eye the cupcake suspiciously, and decide better not to eat it.. Kids nowadays are weird :-)

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  2. Sounds like you live in an awesome neighborhood! I especially love that you have a park right next door. I love where we live but the one thing that's missing is a great rapport with our neighbors. We are kind of like ships that pass in the night here.

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    1. I am definitely thankful for having such great neighbors. The first place we had back in KS was a large, anonymous place, and while it was all new and nice, it was definitely missing something.

      Have a wonderful week, Jen!

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  3. HOW CUTE IS VIOLET!? I am so happy to hear someone else has not done taxes yet... well you didnt actually say that but Im running with it anyway!!!! I am known for doing them the 15th ...

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    1. Haha, call me Mrs. Last Minute :-) The last few years you could find me at the tax office on May 31st, the very last day of the filing period.I'm such a procrastinator :-)

      Violet is definitely an adorable little girl. I was looking at old pictures recently, and can't believe how much she has changed while still keeping her features..

      Enjoy your week, Ivy!

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  4. you're darn right I will! lol
    holy smokes a brick driveway…. you need to take pictures right away… we have examples of this type, but tend to be rare… very attractive design…
    jeez, time is going by too fast, next post you'll be telling us about how he asked to borrow the car!

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    1. Well, it's not clay brick, but it's made of individual concrete blocks. Will definitely post pictures. May we have a shot at what your job may be now, Clark??? :-)

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  5. I think buying a swim diaper was a wonderful idea, because all the swimwear will be gone and fall clothes in the stores by early June anyway...
    Yay that you got your wallet back! I have nightmares where I lose my entire purse, but so far, so good.
    We live in a pretty good neighborhood. Most everyone on our street at least know who the others are. Our entire neighborhood has a HUGE get-together to celebrate the 4th of July every year. It's in the morning with food, speeches and lots of patriotism and it's hokey and cool.
    Happy birthday, Violet!

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    1. It's not that extreme here, Dyanne, thankfully; and you can buy swim wear around the year :-) I am so, so glad having gotten back my wallet, I cannot tell you. I could have sworn I had it with me when I drove home, and I was looking around everywhere at home and in the car first before carefully calling the store to ask.. Huge relief when they said it was there!!

      I'm actually thinking about organizing a big barbecue in July or so, I guess it would be tons of fun! Some of our neighbors have lived in the US before, so a 4th of July bbq would actually be nice :-)

      Have a wonderful new week, and stay safe, Dyanne!

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  6. Great list! We haven't started our taxes either. Whoopsey. Any refund just goes to the credit cards so no big deal :)
    Can't wait to see the fancy driveway! Glad you don't have to shovel any snow off of it for awhile!
    Your kids going to the park by themselves is amazing. That's wonderful! Fun birthday celebrations, fantastic.

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    1. It's actually normal for Germany that kids have a lot more freedom. Our daughter has been walking to and from school with her friends and occasionally by herself since she started first grade.

      The driveway isn't all that fancy, but we can now use our garage and get to the house without carrying all the dirt in on our shoes.

      Have a great week, Joy!

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  7. Yay for Spring!!!! :) We are having amazing weather here and I am soaking it all in. :)

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    1. I can't get enough of the sun right now. I hope the weather stays nice for both of us!!

      Enjoy your week, Jen!

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  8. Happy anniversary! When it's right, it's right. My husband and I were married within 8 months of meeting, and we'll celebrate 28 years later this month. :-)

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    1. Happy anniversary to you as well, Kristi! You just can never tell when it comes to relationships. I have know people who have been together a decade before getting married, and then getting divorced a couple of years later. Some marry quickly and stay together a lifetime!

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  9. Happy anniversary!!
    A good group of neighbors is a blessing, for sure. Living out here in the country, I sometimes miss having kids for my kids to play with.

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    1. I can imagine, even though sometimes I wished I had a large property to grow more stuff, have animals, etc. It all has its advantages and disadvantages, I guess, but we're very, very happy with our choice!

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  10. Happy Anniversary! Every year is a gift and I wish so many more years for you and your love! How NICE that your wallet was returned! I am looking forward to seeing pictures of your driveway. I love seeing home improvement projects!

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    1. Thank you so much, Pattie!! I, too, am very happy to have my wallet returned. But it's a pity the person who handed it in didn't leave a contact, I'd love to thank them!

      Have a great week!!

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  11. Happy happy anniversary! That's so cool (and I had to chuckle about people not being sure whether you'd make to to one) - true love. Here's to spring and warmer weather (here, finally, as well!). Hope you have a great week!

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    1. The REALLY funny thing was, Kristi, that 3 years later, when we went to visit Germany with 1-year old Lily, a certain relative kept asking where "our older one" was. Obviously, my mom had quite some inquiries on why we married so quickly from people who had no business asking! I hope you're having a wonderful week, Kristi!

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