laughing, excited, looking forward, thankful

: : laughing at : :

I first saw this video over at spydergrrl's blog. There seems to be two distinct people groups nowadays... those who Twitter and those who don't. The first group will find this video VERY funny. The rest of you can either skip this part or watch it and then feel justified in your decision to avoid it.

: : excited about : :

The family session I did this weekend for the winning bidders of the photography session I donated to the Caring and Sharing charity auction. It was a beautiful day with an amazing sky and the stunning fall colors.

The multi-family session I'm doing this afternoon for some wonderful friends. A mom, her three grown daughters, their husband, kids, babies, and baby bellies. These families have completely embraced us since moving here and we are incredibly thankful for them.


The FREE Tassimo coffee system that should be delivered hopefully this week. That's right FREE! I logged onto Twitter Thursday evening while nursing Andrew and saw all this @TassimoCanada talk... about free coffee system being given away. I was intrigued. Peter and I have been tempted by all our friends' fancy shmancy espresso machines for months now often discussed our longing for an espresso machine, but realize that it is not in the budget when our priority is for me to be a stay at home mom and thus live on one income. As I searched to find out the details of the giveaway, my heart was POUNDINGwondering if I would be in time to nab one of the 50 remaining systems... then I saw that one of the requirments was that you have 500 followers. I do not have 500 followers. So I tweeted this,

And a few minutes later, received this message from @TassimoCanada,

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit it, but I got all teary. So silly, I know. But I really was excited! An espresso machine is certainly NOT A NEED, but to be GIVEN something that we wouldn't otherwise buy and couldn't otherwise afford is REALLY EXCITING. For FREE! Yeah!

: : looking forward to : :

Finding out how an upcoming interview that Peter has may impact our future. It's not at all a sure thing as he does not even meet all of the minimum requirements, but the mere idea of what it might mean fills me with nervous excitement... and fills my mother with anxiety and arguements against it! I won't say more on here until we have a concrete 'nay' or 'yay'.

: : thankful for : :
 
My husband, who hasthe strongest work ethic of anyone I've ever seen. Who does more dishes, more loads of laundry, and empties more garbage (why does Firefox not think that "garbages" is a word??) than most of the men I know. Who puts up with our different opinions of clean vs tidy. Who doesn't complain (too much) about having had a baby in bed with us for the majority of the last six and a half years. A man who I see striving to continually grow and learn and improve both physically and educationally, but also spiritually. Who loves his family deeply and visibly and whose arrival at home produces squeals of joy from his children.

Three beautiful boys who are such a blessing. Such a gift. The love I have for them -and them for me- is unconditional and complete. They bring out the best -and sometimes the worst- in me. Little boys who remind me daily of our (ie. MY) imperfect, sinful condition and our universal need for a Saviour... and our need to both give and recieve grace in the little things. What a huge responsibility and honour it is to be their mother, teacher, guide and friend.

I am so thankful for my family.

(sorry about the watermark, I just couldn't help using this picture and didn't want to bother Melanie (at m-photography) to get another copy to use)

Our extended family who loves and supports and encourages us, even from far away. Peter and I were just saying last night how thankful we are that we get along so well with our own parents and eachothers', as well as all of our siblings AND their spouses... so far. Lyn, you'd better not rock the boat with whoever you choose! Plus we have an amazing bunch of nephews, a sweet little niece, and one on the way.We love you all!

The amazing group of friends we've found here and our new church family. Never before have we had such a wide and active social circle. From hockey Monday nights for the guys to homeschool meet up, from lemonade stands to apple picking, from birthdays to weddings to anniversaries and holidays... we are so thankful for our friends. They are loving and fun and thoughtful and caring and like-minded. They celebrate our growth and achievements, and bring us soup to the Emergency Room when we've been sitting there for seven hours.

A God who loves unconditionally, leads gently, extends his grace and mercy continually, forgives completely and changes NEVER.