Oh the Bliss!

So thankful for... ~ waking up to the sound of rain. ~ getting to surprise and celebrate Lolly on her birthday Saturday . ~ a gorgeous Sunday morning at church and breakfast out at the beach with my dad joining us. It was so awesome, filled my love tank. ~ having such a great weekend with Mark and Ben and friends. ~ getting to talk with Lolly's parent's for awhile and getting to know that family in a neat way. ~ a riveting game of Settler's last night, I almost won, but Mark brought the title to the Fitzpatrick house for the first time since playing the Caruanas . It felt good. ~ Mark's four day weekend, and that he only works three days this week until he has more days off. ~ Joe's really good pasta bake that he left on our doorstep for us. Food that's free and delivered is a wonderful thing. ~ getting to see Nick, Lisa and baby Kian last night. Kian is growing so fast! Nick and Lisa and doing a GREAT job of adjusting to parenthood. They are a beautiful fami...

A year of Thankfulness. It's been one year since I started keeping a list of things I'm thankful for. The everyday thing didn't quite work out for me, and the number of "things" has dwindled from time to time, but overall I would say this last year I was much more aware of what I am thankful for. Basic things I tend to take for granted; like water, shelter, food good health care. Big things like no tragedies in my immediate circle of friends and family. Little things too; like the kindness of strangers at the grocery store, flowers, unexpected and thoughtful gifts. I even became more aware of the silly things I'm thankful for; like garage sales and can openers and I think a variety of food items have made the list. I have begun to be thankful for things through Ben's eyes, in which case I am thankful for Blue's Clues, VeggieTales and "D". Going back through the lists its interesting to see what was making an impression on me each particular d...

Me, 30 weeks, just so you know. So thankful for... ~ new baby monitor. No more crazy static outbursts in the middle of the night scaring me half to death. ~ time with family at Ez's birthday party. ~ Joe making dinner for us last night. ~ Jason and the boys joining us for Joe's dinner. ~ Ben and Gavin becoming playmates, and seeing them include Ez every now and then. ~ a great night sitting out front, watching all the neighbor kids play together while the guys, including neighbors, sat around and chatted, and drank wine. It was so nice. ~ Ben great attitude today while running errands with me. I can see him really trying to understand me and communicate with me, and I'm constantly being blown away by him. What a gift. ~ Mark cleaning the kitchen after he made himself breakfast. ~ all the joy I have in my life. ~ real estate activity.

Today I took Ben on a nature walk on a trail near our house. We just happened to start walking about the same time as another mother and her two girls, roughly the same age as Ben -one a little younger, one a little older. It was very funny for that mom and me to watch the three of them walk; Ben was such a boy and those girls were so girly! Ben refused to stay on the path (Jason Prince), the closest I could get him was one foot on the path - one foot in the dirt. He ran ahead, fell behind, took every detour possible, and collected sticks and pine cones. The girls, however, never veered off the path, stayed near their mom and collected flowers. I think it's great that God made boys and girls so different, even from such an early age. So thankful for... ~a GREAT check-up at the OB yesterday. I passed my gestational diabetes test so I won't have to take the 3 hour one like I did with Ben. This is a big answer to prayer for me. ~ having such an active baby inside me, keeps me feel...

My book reviews: For those of you who've seen the movie "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" and liked it, you're getting ripped off if you don't read the book. The book is SSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much better! I read, and rather enjoyed, the book then saw the movie and was left sadly disappointed. Although Leo does a great job, the character development in the book is outstanding. So if you have the time and the inclination pick up the book and give it a go. Jury is still out on The Alchemist . While being a quick and semi-enthralling read, the subject is borderline questionable. A lot of "follow your personal legend" and "we are all one" talk. However, the ending is one of the better finishes to a book I've read in a long time, and the interview with the author redeems any skepticism I have about the book. Now I'm book-less again... any suggestions?

Happy Birthday Ezekiel!!!! He is ONE today! Already? Already. Where did the time go... he is such an adorable baby and is growing up so fast. Soon he won't even be considered a baby at all. Although I think his cute chubby cheeks will keep him young looking for awhile, but alas, even those will fade with time. He has the most brilliant blue eyes and infectious smile. This next year will be fun to see him develop even more into the little boy God made him. I'm excited to see his personality come out more and see just who this little child is. Here's to another GREAT year Ez ! Today I am thankful for... ~ Ez's life and everything he is and is becoming. ~ the best husband ever who cleaned up Ben's vomit ( tmi ? sorry.) knowing that I don't do well at all with that sort of thing. (But I did clean up some tonight, so I'm baby steppin '.) Mark even offered to stay home from work tonight. He's so good to me. ~ sweet Leslie who was very understanding when I...

So thankful for... ~ MOPS yesterday, and probably the BEST food ever. I ate so much it hurt! ~ a beautiful afternoon ~ spending the evening celebrating Johnny's birthday with all of Lolly's family. I was the only one there who wasn't related, but you never would've know. They were so warm and welcoming to me and Ben. ~ the legacy of love I got to hear all about from Lolly's grandparent's. First, I love that they're from Alabama, so they have a wonderful southern accent. Then they tell me how they ran off together when she was 16 and he was 19 and have been in love ever since; 65 years! He still calls her his bride. Precious. They kept saying over and over "The Lord has been good to us." Indeed he has. ~ the bible study on Monday night, and getting to know the mop leaders a little bit better. ~ all the "Martha" type women who give balance and direction to us "Mary" types. ~ Mark's drive in a business that's easy to get lo...

It's the middle of November and we we've turned the AC on three days in a row! This is craziness! I am thankful for... ~ our visit with Nick, Lisa and baby Kian yesterday. It was neat to hold a newborn and feel him all squirmy and remember what Ben was like... and think about what the new baby will be like. ~ our single story house ~ this wonderful memory I have of my Grandpa Smith going to the corner store to get Frosted Flakes whenever us kids were there. I was young when he died and because we lived so far from them I don't have too many memories, but this one is so vivid - I don't see a box of frosted flakes without thinking of him. See, it's the little things... ~sweet Mark who got up with Ben this morning so I could go get my gestational diabetes test done this morning. (Praying I passed!) ~ the hour I had to sit on a bench in the warm sun while I waited for the sugar drink to do it's part so I could get my blood drawn. They let me leave the building, so I...

Then... Now... Today I am so thankful for... ~ beautiful flowers from my sweet neighbor. ~ a very fun block party, with plenty of food and good conversations. I love my neighbors! ~ the morning Mark spent with Ben yesterday so I could get our house ready for the party. Mark took Ben to the dog park, Joe's house and the beach! I think it was Ben's favorite day of his life thus far. ~the vision for reaching the youth (ages 12-22) our church has. I'm excited to be apart of something big. ~ my parent's coming over Friday night, and getting to go shopping with my mom. ~ Ben and Cole getting along so well last night. They've had a few falling outs. ~ this gorgeous weather. ~ my favorite father in law's birthday was on the fourth!!!! Happy birthday to him!!! I'm thankful for his fun attitude, love for each of us, passion for his wife and excitement towards life. He's very fun to be around and we love him very much. ~ all of Ben's silly words these days, e...

We spent Monday and Tuesday in Simi Valley and had such a great time! Ben and I got to see Taylore, Thompson and baby Owen on Tuesday. We took them to the mall and they went trick-or-treating, they were the cutest kids there by far! :) Tuesday night we went to the harvest carnival at Shepherd of the Hills church. It was so fun! Just like the church carnivals I went to growing up. Ben had a blast playing all the games and indulging in his new found love for bounce houses. We also got to spend the evening with some good friends playing Settlers, so really, what more could we have asked for? Today I am so thankful for... ~ safety driving to Simi and back. ~ Ben wearing his costume (thank you Carrie!) ~ seeing Tay and the kiddos. Sort of a trip to see her with two kids! That'll be ME soon! ~ Mark getting to spend time with his guys from the valley. ~ all the volunteers who worked the carnival and made it so fun for Ben. Thanks to my very own father-in-law for volunteering too, we felt ...