Complicated Simplicity

>12 Days Until Christmas<

Today, I am thankful for:

• rawhides that keep a puppy busy
• having an imagination
• Paul's days off
• Christmas lights
• warm houses
• and the list goes on.

Paul had yesterday off. He basically just laid around watching movies/tv shows and relaxing. So very needed. With his finals and tests added to work, he has been so stressed out. He's hanging in there though. Only four more days of school!

There really isn't a whole lot going on around here. It's been such a quiet week with Carter not here. I'm going to drop Paul off at work and pick up a few things at the grocery store. I need to get some dog food and a few other things.

Well, Paul will be home for lunch soon, so I guess it will be a short one today! Have a great day!

>19 Days Until Christmas<

Can you believe how fast Christmas is approaching? It seems so crazy. Right now, there is a lull around here-Carter is half-asleep and chewing on a ring of plastic keys while Wawa is chewing on a rawhide-ish thing I gave him.

I really need to get some bigger rawhides for him-he goes through them so fast and while he's still a puppy he needs an outlet for his mouthiness. He doesn't do too bad, but he does enjoy chewing things that are appropriate, so I'm not complaining. We have no fear of him getting too fat since he's such a picky eater. The dog won't eat french fries! He licks the salt off and plays with it. He does like bready things though. A dog after my own carbohydrate-lovin' heart!

He's started this thing where if I give him a hard treat (biscuit, cookie, whatever you call them) he takes it and hides it somewhere. He'll even try to "dig" a place to put it (something we are curbing right now) in the carpet or his bed. Today he put it in Carter's car seat under his star-suit. So cute to watch. He and Carter still do really well together-so thankful for that.

I finished reading Cujo yesterday-very good read. I am now reading a book that was written before Cujo-The Dead Zone. Anyway, I recommend Cujo very much. Good book and the movie wasn't too bad either.

Today I am thankful for:

• warm sweatshirts and socks
• claymation-love those old Christmas movies (I have a bunch of them on DVD and I've DVR-ed some too)
• books and people who can spin a good tale
• a husband that understands how much it means to me to see David before he goes back to Italy
• a season that dies to show us the story of redemption in a very tangible way

I got a magazine in the mail the other day. It was the December issue of Christianity Today. Doesn't seem unusual, does it? Well, my subscription ended in October. I didn't renew it (and I didn't get November's issue). I took it out and the cover art was of a woman/tree thing. The cover story was titled: Blessed are the Barren. And I thought that was interesting. I read the article almost immediately. It was a good article. Nothing earth-shattering, but some very interesting points that have surfaced and resurfaced in my mind since. The next day, I went out to the mailbox and there was another copy of the exact same magazine. Someone apparently wanted me to read that magazine. Just thought I'd share that little story. I thought it was quite interesting.

There isn't much else going on around here. I'm excited to get started on today's journal/scrapbook page-it should be a good one. Hopefully, I will get it done today-it's been a trend that I have been doing two pages every other day. And today would be the off day. It's not that I don't want to do it, it's that I have been so busy lately. Have a wonderful day!

>26 Days Until Christmas<

• Today I am thankful for:
• Puppies and little boys who are fast becoming friends.
• Friends who feel comfortable enough to just come and hang around when they need to.
• Blue skies and golden sunshine.
• A dog-free couch.
• Sleeping until eight.
• The last Christmas present being delivered.
• Stephen King books (right now I'm reading Cujo).
• Paul singing in the bathroom.

And the list goes on.

Paul has a test today-in wellness. I think he's pretty prepared for it. I am exhausted. Carter has been here the entire day the past two days. Adam is away at manager training, so it's just Carter and Heidi at home. I know she gets lonely and she has a bunch of papers/homework to do. So, she's been working on some stuff in the library and here while I keep an eye on Carter. It's been nice to talk with her and spend some time with them, but chasing Carter and Wawa around can get tiring. :-) Makes me that much more grateful that we got Wawa now instead of waiting-it'll be much nicer to have a trained dog when/if we have children.

We broke Wawa's couch-dwelling problem pretty quick. Paul came fully around when Wawa jumped on the booth in the kitchen-not something we want to happen. I extended the baby gates fully and propped them along the couch except where I was sitting. I put a couple of pillows on the ottoman so he couldn't get up there either. It worked. He will try to sneak onto the couch every now and then and he'll put his front paws up (by Paul-he knows better than to do it by me), but for the most part he just looks at it wistfully and lays on his bed (a bean bag chair with a blanket covering it). He's a pretty fast learner-he does sit pretty well already (for treats) and once he has that down a little better (I'll have more time to work with him this evening/tomorrow/this weekend) we'll work on stay, down (lay down), and come. I have a bunch of things to teach him, but I'm trying to do it systematically.

I have been thinking a lot about traditions lately. I really want to start some new ones and continue to observe the old ones. After reading Ali's post, I am inspired to create my own list (see yesterday's post for a link to her blog).

Old Traditions (we don't have many :-):

• We purchase an ornament every year that represents something from our year (sometimes it doesn't, but we try). 2003: bride and groom snowman 2004: an ornament that my mom made 2005: a silver frame with the year etched into it 2006: a bird house with two birds-it says New Home 2007: we're going to get a black lab ornament because we got Wawa.
• We eat breakfast at Denny's on Christmas morning.
• I get Paul up early (I try to wait as long as possible) and we open presents.

There are so many cool little things out there. What are your traditions? I would love to hear them and maybe incorporate some of them into our Christmas.

Oh, and I know that you were all just wondering what Wawa's middle name is. Paul picked it-it's Redwing. Wawa Redwing (sounds like a Native American warrior's name, doesn't it?!!! :-)!

Well, I'm out. I need to work on some of my adventy things before Carter arrives in an hour.

Have a great Thursday!

>Gratitude<

Gratitude Link:

Today I am thankful for:

• Packages coming from all over the country-full of Christmas gifts to wrap and give to the people I love.
• Being unique. Seriously, I am so glad that I am my own person and not a carbon copy of others.
• That today is the last day of Paul's eight day work week. I always miss him, but this week I've missed him so much more. I can't wait for Sunday evening when I can curl up next to him with a book while he writes his paper.
• Method. I love their cleaning supplies, it just makes it so much more fun to clean for some reason. And I really want to get some cleaning spray of their new holiday scents. However, I think it might be better to get their candles-seriously they smell so stinkin' good.
• Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash. This is seriously my favorite pop, and they only have it at this time of year. It tastes like punch and I always stock up. Sad for my current, no pop in the house streak, but I seriously am keeping some of it stocked in the fridge.

I really needed to focus on things I'm thankful for today. I don't know why, but I'm in a little funk.

Yesterday at around six or seven (after dark) the doorbell rang and I went to the front door, and no one was there. So, I went to the back door, thinking it might be Elda, our elderly next door neighbor. As I flipped on the utility room light I noticed it was a man. Which made me a little nervous. Well, as soon as I started to open the door there was a police badge being held up to the screen door. I am very thankful that he did that because it immediately drained all anxiety out of me. It turns out that they were asking about Elda and when I had seen her last. The light in the front room of her house was on and her blinds open. SO VERY NOT LIKE HER. She ALWAYS closes her blinds and goes into the back rooms of the house after it gets dark. They asked if she'd left a key with us, and I told them no. They asked if I knew of any family nearby, and I said no. And I told them the last time I'd seen her was a couple of weeks ago-after they left I realized I had seen her last week while I was painting the guest room. They asked if she drove and I said no. They asked if people came to pick her up sometimes and I said yes. So, I don't know what's going on, but it makes me a little worried. They knocked and knocked and tried to get her to come to the door. I assume they were just doing a wellness check or maybe they are the ones that normally patrol this neighborhood and noticed the light, however they asked me if that was normal. So, I don't know. I haven't seen them today, and the light was still on before we went to bed last night. I hope she's okay. Although she is really old, so you never know.

I've been wrapping up the Christmas gifts and I hope to get them finished (what I have so far) today. I have to vaccuum and dust and pull out the extra blankets for this weekend, but really it should be fairly quick. The bathroom is the one that takes the most time with scrubbing the tub and all that jazz, but I think I'm going to leave the tub until tomorrow morning to make sure I don't mess up the caulk. I do, however have to do some laundry and need to sweep and mop the floors. I think I'm going to wait until Carter leaves to do much of it. It really shouldn't take long at all-a half an hour or so (and popping laundry in and out throughout the day).

My book is really picking up. I have about 150 pages or so to go, but I can't seem to find time to just sit and read. It's good though, because I keep doing little tasks troughout the day. At some point I need to just take some time and knock out fifty pages or a hundred or so. Because sometimes you just need to read. :-)

Well, I guess I'm out. Carter is sleeping so I think I'm going to take advantage of the moment and throw some laundry in. Have a wonderful day and remember to count your blessings.

>Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)<

Title Song Link:

I picked today's song because Paul mentioned it last night and it's been stuck in my head ever since. And since I am instituting Thankful Thursday, I thought it was fitting (In case you haven't noticed, I have a theme for each day now because it helps to focus me and it also allows me to share some of my favorite things). So, my list of things I'm thankful for today.

1. That I am able to be a part of Carter's life. Watching him grow and develop has been pure joy for me. Especially since he just totally crawled across the room!!!!! How exciting (when he first came he was two months old and just laid there-now I have to retape the cords down and whatnot).
2. For a warm house. I know this sounds cliche, but it has been so chilly out that I have really been thankful for the heat (even when I was freezing upstairs last night-I had to get my U of D blanket and wrap myself in it under the covers).
3. For colorful leaves-only God could've thought up that one. They are gorgeous (although quickly falling) right now.
4. For DVR. Yes, I know. And I normally shun the gotta-have-the-latest-technology kind of life (I actually loathe it), but with Paul gone so much the DVR has been awesome. We can enjoy our favorite tv shows together at our convienence rather than having to be there right when its on. And, I can watch Dancing with the Stars 100 times in a row if I want (I want to learn ballroom and latin dance-but there is no adult studio around here :-(  )
5. For health. I had a cold the past couple of weeks, but it never became more than a runny nose-thank goodness. I haven't been sick in a long time and I am oh so thankful.

There are bazillions more, but I'm going to limit myself today.

Okay, on to other news. The guest room. It. Is. Finished. Hallelujah!!! I had the bunk bed together, beds made and all set up by the time Paul got home from school yesterday at three. Yes, I did it by myself, including lifing the top bunk onto the bottom. No, I did not hurt myself. And yes, I am extremely proud and feel very accomplished having done it myself. Paul was relieved that he didn't have to work on that. We got the crib together when Paul got home (and after a trip to Lowe's-there was a machine screw, nut and washer missing) and we got three shelves up in that room. We wanted to put both corner shelves up in the guest room, but we couldn't put the second one in because there is concrete or something where we tried to drill, so no go. But, we have the other ones in. Paul and I both agreed that we wished we didn't have to wait until Sunday to get the crib mattress, but it makes no sense not to (it's friends and family night at Sears so an extra 10% off). I also have to pick up some frames for that room and then it is done. My mom is going to make the crib bedding and a valance for that room, so that will have to wait until I can get up there and pick out some material. However, we have a bunch of fleece blankets that will work in the meantime. And we have crib sheets and a mattress pad as well. So very exciting. Now, we just need the baby to fill it (other than Carter)!!! :-)

Well, I'd better go. carter is rolling around/crawling/playing and I think he needs his diaper changed. I also want to get some pictures of him, his outfit is adorable!

ETA: A couple new layouts from my Full of It Album.