10 Things Thursday on Friday

Ah...the end of the first nine weeks... After being very stressed and working very hard this week, I am rewarded today with a day off. Of course, it is a day of running errands and trying to put our house back together, but that is what I truly love. I have promised myself that I will not get overwhelmed or feel guilty about anything today. I will just do what I can do. What a refreshing attitude for most of us!

I tried to come up with an original, not predictable 1o things list this week, realizing that topping last week's 10 pumpkin patch pictures is almost impossible.

10 reasons that I love this season of my life:

1. My child sleeps through the night, every night. She and mommy both need a lot of sleep, so this is truly a blessing.
2. I also love toddler-Charlotte. She is wonderful, funny, expressive and playful. As she gains independence, I see glimmers of the woman she will become. It worries me because I don't want to mess her up! but I know that my Lord is sovereign over her and our imperfect parenting.
3. I appreciate my home so much when I am here. I am learning more and more what it means to care for it, create a haven in it and cope with the imperfections of it. While it is true that this house is the biggest reason I cannot stay at home right now, I am truly appreciative of the fact that we have it and that it is more than adequate for us.
4. I truly love my husband. We have been through it in the past two years, and even though our situation right now is not ideal, it is much better than it was five months ago. I praise God for the growth He has ordained in both of us in this time of struggle, and say with confidence that I truly love my husband, til death do us part. We are such a better couple now than when we got married - isn't that the way of it? :)
5. I love our family coming to visit, inviting us to visit and sending us presents for Charlotte when they can't visit. Charlotte and I both get so excited when packages come for her.
6. I love our church family as it is right now. Growing from without and within, it is a blessing many don't even know they are lacking to be in a body such as ours.
7. I love the fact that I have a best friend in Brit. Without getting into overdramatic details, I have never really had a best friend like her, and she is so much more than a babysitter, an auntie to Charlotte or a co-housekeeper. She is a dear friend to our family, most of the time, part of the family, and I truly apprectiate the fact that God has matched up our lives at this point in them.
8. I am also loving being a mentor to Allison. She is so passionate about growing in the Gospel and killing the sin in her life that she convicts me to do the same. Though we are close in age and friends, our mentor-mentee relationship is in its proper place and being her mentor focuses me on the battle at hand.
9. Our jobs...I do not love them, but I am grateful for them. Again, we are not where we were five months ago (and all of our parents sigh with relief) and that is truly of grace.
10. I am excited about the coming holiday season. November is just around the corner, which in our home doesn't just mean Thanksgiving, but it also means birthdays. Planting traditions for our young family is very exciting to me (and daunting, see #2), and though the next two months will be busy (since there are baby showers galore in November as well!), I am looking forward to the rejoicing with one another.

I hope this little list finds you well, maybe encouraging you where you are today. Soli Deo Gloria.