There are so many things we can be thankful for here. I've been wanting to catalog the "easy to take for granted" ones, so here goes. I'm sure there are more I will think of later!
1.
Sidewalks in front of our house. This was one thing that bugged me every time I went jogging or walking from our house in Colorado. There were not very many sidewalks near our house, so I would have to walk on the street, evading cars and dealing with a slight slant to the road. Here there are tons of sidewalks, and neat neighborhoods to explore.
2.
Two parks within walking distance. The closest park to our house in CO was 0.9 miles away-- not insurmountable, but it was sometimes enough to dissuade me from making the trek. (I am a pretty pathetic pregnant lady, very bad at wanting to exercise much, despite my earlier enthusiasm for going to the Y.) Now, we have a great park just around the corner from our house! We pass five houses (along the
sidewalk), turn right, and Caleb sees the roof of the play structure down a block and says, "Slide? slide? slide? slide?"
3.
Familiarity with the area. It's very nice to not have to look up directions or an address every time you want to leave the house! I already know how to get places, and going to the base is no sweat (used to commute there every day!). I am a
little rusty on where specific offices/buildings are on base, but it's coming back to me. :) It's funny how what I once thought of as "all the way at the other end of town" takes, at most, 10 minutes to get to. I was used to driving 20 or 30 minutes to get most places in the Springs, since we lived on the north-eastern edge of town. We currently live north(ish?) of where my parents live, so I am having to get used to the fact that some things are south of me.
4.
Caleb's moldability. He has started saying, unprompted, "choo choo train after dinner" when we put him in the high chair, even at snack time or breakfast time. It's so great to see (and hear) confirmation that he is absorbing at least some of our instruction! I have started reading
Bringing Up Boys by James Dobson
, and want to re-read
Shepherding a Child's Heart and dive into
Instructing a Child's Heart, both by Tedd Tripp, I believe. We need help!!!! Caleb distracts himself (and tries to distract us) when we are trying to discipline him-- recently he showed us his belly button while we were "having a talk." It's so hard to stay serious when he does stuff like that-- it's so cute!-- but at the same time it's super frustrating when he refuses to pay attention and tunes us out. It's very important that he learns to listen to us, especially in light of his new game of running away when we call him, to make us chase him. VERY bad if he were to run into the street. We are still working on that one...
5.
Timing of our move. Fall Bible studies are just starting up, so we will hopefully be able to get plugged into a church fairly easily. We have visited five so far, one for each Sunday we have been here, and have some great options. I am looking forward to getting back into more of a routine with midweek Bible studies.
6.
A healthy, uneventful pregnancy. Today (9/5) I had my first OB appointment with my new doctor here in CA, and it was great. (We are officially 25 weeks, 6 days today.) He wanted to do an ultrasound to check out the baby (in 2D
and 3D!!!), and of course I was thrilled to get to see her! That's always a treat. Everything looked good, and measured on track with my existing due date, as far as the baby's head and abdomen size. It doesn't hurt when the doctor says you are "thin." :) It's such a miracle, so surreal to see a little human body inside you. She was kicking, too, in response to the pressing of the ultrasound probe. Very cool. I happen to think she's super cute!! Can't wait to meet her and see her up close and hold her. That's a special moment, meeting your baby for the first time.
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| Just chillin... |
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| No more paparazzi, please! |
7.
The mild climate. It has been in the 60's and 70's here, which is 20-30 degrees cooler than it would be in Colorado Springs! When I was pregnant with Caleb in the summer, I remember being very uncomfortable, and my feet were often puffy. Here I haven't noticed having that condition once! It's more humid here too, with the nice ocean breeze; my skin always enjoys that.
8.
An abundance of fresh produce. I have really been enjoying the farmer's markets here! We haven't gone to a "pick your own" place yet, but that is definitely on our family radar for sometime soon. This past weekend we went to the Avila Valley Barn with Mom and Dad and got watermelon, asparagus, corn, nectarines, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries. SO YUMMY. I don't even like raspberries that much, but they were sooo good. I can't say I love watermelon, but maybe it's just bland, watery, pithy watermelon that I don't like. :P Fresh, primo-ripe fruit is just so good. I'm so thankful we have access to such a variety of fresh (and usually organic) fruits and veggies. I cannot WAIT for pumpkins. Caleb will really be old enough to enjoy picking out pumpkins this year, I think. Fall's my favorite season... and I love pumpkins. I just love harvest and hay and orange and red... and baking. Lots of baking. I bought the big box of butter at Costco today- four one-pound blocks, which is equivalent to 16 sticks. (Hey, it was way cheaper per pound than at the grocery store!) I usually slice the bricks into sticks, then freeze all but a couple. I have many, many good-looking recipes I want to try out-- strawberry bread, apricot breakfast muffins, autumn muffins. I LOVE cinnamon and nutmeg and cloves. I will let you know how these new recipes turn out. :)
9.
My amazing husband. Not only does he give me the opportunity to have (beautiful) children, he takes care of us so well. He's so diligent, and more often than not, if I happen to run an errand while he is at home, the dishes are done when I come back! He likes to straighten, he plays with Caleb and puts him to bed most nights... He does laundry and gives good back rubs (it's a toss-up to me, which of those two is more romantic!). It's so sad to think about "falling out of love" or not wanting to be married anymore. It kills me to think about us drifting apart, and I don't want that to ever happen; I never want something to come between us. I used to wonder, How can you know if your marriage will make it? So many of them don't. So many people give up, even after 20 or 30 years of marriage. And I have decided, at this point, that I can only do my best with today, and 'a long obedience in the same direction' will Lord-willing result in a long, stable, happy marriage (happy in the sense of "we still enjoy hanging out with each other after 10 or 20 or 30 years," not in the "he will fulfill all my wishes" sense). As in so many areas, with marriage, I am responsible for being obedient to God
today. It's impossible to guarantee where you might be in 20 years, but I know where I am today (most of the time!), and I can be faithful with the big or little things God has given me at this moment, whether it's changing messy diapers or respecting my husband, cleaning bathrooms or training a two-year-old. Any task can be done for God's glory, whether it's fun or not-so-fun; visible or transparent; important or just necessary.
10.
Family close-by! This is a biggie, and I'm not just saying that because my mom reads my blog. :) It is such a huge blessing to be near family. We really missed that in Colorado, especially around holidays where we couldn't go home. (Looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas this year!) We get the blessing of awesome meals that I didn't have to cook, fellowship, wise counsel, a "home away from home," a place where people know you and love you... and have known you and loved you your entire life. They get the blessing of being able to invest in their grandson, and soon granddaughter, and of course their daughter and son-in-law. It has been a really neat element of moving back. We are enjoying the opportunities for date nights too, with the best babysitters around. :)
I'm sure there are many more things to recognize and appreciate, but for now I'll stop at the nice, round number of 10. :)
Talk soon,
M
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