13 Things That Have Made Me Happy Recently

There are all kinds of things going on in our world currently, and it seems unhappiness is an easier feeling than happiness right now. So, I decided to focus my T13 this week on things that make me happy.

1. Gracie is learning more and more words each day and it is so fun watching the other kids teach her new ones.
2. I went to the grocery alone today. That's right, it was just me, a list and a cart. It was kind of thrilling.
3. While I was at the store, my mom called. And because I was alone, I was able to have a nice conversation with her while I shopped.
4. When I got home from the store, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Eric had done some cleaning and rearranging of some of the clutter-prone spots in our kitchen. Everything looked fantastic and smelled so clean. It was such a treat!
5. Alex helped me unload the dishwasher this morning. And he really helped and made the job much easier and faster. When we finished, he asked what else he could do for me. (He must take after his dad.)
6. Isabelle was allowed to stay up late to watch the returns last night. We initially agreed that she could stay up until 10. But she was so into it and really paying attention. When she asked me at 9:50 if she could stay up until the results from the polls closing at 10 came in, how could I say no?
7. My sister asked me to make some cookies for her to have on hand throughout December at her house. Being 350 miles apart, we can't help each other with day to day stuff, but it feels good to be able to do what I can, when I can.
8. Our next door neighbor brought us some fresh out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies yesterday and went home with some of our fresh out-of-the-oven oatmeal raisin cookies.
9. Although we haven't actually done any of our Christmas shopping yet, we have a plan. We'll begin acting on it this weekend.
10. We received some more hand-me-downs and were able to put 3 bags of size 4 and 5 girls clothes up in our attic. Olivia and Gracie will be set on clothes for at least another 5 years!
11. Olivia's imagination is running wild lately. Today, she was "Dr. Olivia" all day. Any time that I forgot and called her Olivia, she'd look at me with her hands on her hips and say "call me doctor!"
12. I have talked to both Joy and Toni at some point over the past few days, and exchanged lots of e-mails with Amy. There is nothing better than the support, understanding, encouragement, and fun of these friendships!
13. Eric and I are finalizing the details for our date night next Saturday.
    

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