
Despite obstacles, despite attempts to drive us apart, despite everything…we won.

Despite obstacles, despite attempts to drive us apart, despite everything…we won.

This popped up as the verse of the day recently on an app I use. We had just spent most of the day visiting with two of the kids and one of our grandsons, so it was absolutely perfect timing.
The three-day weekend blasted past us and was over before I was ready. The main reason it went by so quickly, though, is because we had such a beautiful time. Nothing wild and crazy, no fancy trips, no huge plans…nope, even better. My husband and I enjoyed time together, date night, then also had fun visiting with the kids and holding, spoiling, and loving on our younger grandson.
My husband sat with one long leg stretched out so he could bounce our grandson on his knee. Our grandson loved it, looking up at him with a huge smile on his little face, laughing. My husband joked that I can’t bounce him as well because my feet don’t touch the floor, which is kind of true, but don’t tell him I admitted that.
I took a few pictures of them together. Our grandson’s face is slightly blurry, since he was bouncing at the time, but the happiness on his face is perfectly clear. Our daughter-in-law took a few pictures and sent them to us later: our grandson standing in between us, or sitting on my lap and curiously examining my necklace.
I have always loved watching my husband with the kids, but there’s something extra magical about watching him with our grandkids. Even if his back hurts, even if he worked hard all day, he forgets all of that to get on the floor, wrestle with the older grandson, lift the younger one high in the air, whatever it takes to put a smile on their face and make them laugh.
He is loving, giving, gentle, protective. Seeing him as a grandfather just gives me one more reason to love him even more than I thought was possible.
My treasure is him, the kids, our grandkids, our home, my brothers, my family. And that absolutely is where my heart lives, where I find my joy and my peace, and all of my love.

Our 3-day weekend is going to be cold and rainy…and extra snuggly!

This was a long and very busy work week. I practically ran to the door at quitting time, sneaking out before anyone else could ask me a question, send me an email, or bring anything to my desk. I was more than ready to get our weekend started!
We have a lot to do this weekend, too, but something we always make time for is our Saturday night date night. It’s been a tradition for as long as I can remember. When the kids were little, it was our family evening out. As they all grew up, it became just me-and-him time. It’s nice to look forward to it all week, talking about where we will go, and whose turn it is to pick.
I was curious, and I am a data person, so I looked it up: less than half of married couples go on regular date nights. The couples that do have date nights enjoy significantly happier marriages, better communication, more commitment, and greater sexual satisfaction. No argument here!

I had a lot of plans for my blog after the new year: a recap of last year, goals for this year, catching everyone up on my little world. But my workplace has had other plans for me.
I am known at work for being very detail-oriented, thorough, reliable. Great, right? Well, sure, until the number of people who depend on me, ask me questions, and send me documents to review became a bit overwhelming.
Yesterday I stayed late to finish reviewing a 60+ page budget for someone else in my department. I stared at numbers, followed table rows, and corrected adding errors until I was damn near cross-eyed. Meanwhile, my own work sat, untouched, because I was interrupted all day long with questions and requests for help. I am flattered that I am considered so reliable and helpful, but I really need a breather and time to handle my own work, too.
I want to think a bit about how to make this blog serve me best this year: how to use it more for accountability, for just getting thoughts out of my head, for recording snippets of my life. I haven’t had much time to ponder that since coming back to work, but it’s churning in the back of my head.
Today is officially one full week into the new year already. I know I can’t make time slow down, but I want to take some time each day to really focus on what is happening around me, from the scattering of clouds in the sky to the feel of the breeze as I sit outside at night, to a new bud on one of our roses, to the sound of my husband laughing at something I said, the way his eyes shine when he is happy, all of it…the small things that are actually everything to me.