709. feeling the anxiety being lifted
710. surviving the Stroke Certification Joint Commission interview "show me where to find this and this and this and this in your patient's chart."
711. enjoying my patient last week, a cute (but confused) older man
712. jogging longer than we ever have before (last week) and running faster than every before (today)
713. perfecting my smoothie making techniques
714. more decluttering (and making more money at garage sales)
715. blooms on two plants that I radically pruned last year
716. flowers from our back yard sitting on our kitchen table and computer desk and bathroom counter =)

717. seeing my friends' servant hearts as they plan, serve, cook, clean, lend, build fires and love one another
718. getting to know new friends
719. our tired little dog spread out next to Chris in the morning
720. Ray's perseverance to start our fires and his talent at tending to them
721. pillows delivered to our tent by friends who came late (we forgot ours at home)
722. Psalms read by the fire
723. sitting in a camp chair at 0700, knowing there is nothing that has to be done that day
724. a dry tent despite LOTS of wind and rain
725. watching cool lightening storms
726. camp fire breakfasts!

727. and "Hobos for dinner"
728. Ticket to Ride by lantern light
729. head lamps!
730. sunscreen
731. a day not dictated by the clock
732. a beautiful afternoon on the beach
733. conversations about prayer
734. learning from a good book - Calm My Anxious Heart
735. when my hair still smells like camp fire smoke even after been washed
736. sleeping very well since Chris game me his ear plugs - i woke up and was like "storm? what storm? really? you thought the tent was going to blow away?"

737. coming home and having tons of energy, cleaning our dog and the kitchen
738. smooth, shaven legs
739. and newly painted nails (both due to the tons of energy status post camping)
740. sun kissed cheeks and noses
741. writing in a friend's journal, with his permission, of course, of the days events

ohhh ... and ...

742. camping!

743. puttering in the yard
744. working my tail off on a day shift
745. an hour phone conversation with a friend
746. accepting my sad feelings of leaving
747. and making this list to remind me of the blessings I have, not of my perceived losses

Per usual, inspiration found here

the beauty of today

today the sun was up and the house was sleeping when i prayed "Lord Jesus, have mercy on me"


today i seemed to gain some perspective, wisdom from above

today I pushed an old man's hand into a mold a dozen minutes before his body left this earth.

today I realized that worry is exhausting

today I know what I have, making what I don't have insignificant

today I completed tasks as they were presented, and now I go on my lunch break entirely caught up

today I have the desire to break free from the bonds of my to-do list.

today I choose love

today, I want to know and experience the beauty and mystery of my Savior.

Happy Monday!

(it's my Saturday and I'm going to rock it)

683. Our little dog. It is possible he is my favorite thing. ever.
684. a kinda crazy quick day trip to Milwaukee, making it seem more accessible
685. the Schumann family gathering to celebrate my grandma's 85 years.
686. my grandma's lady friends with clip-on earrings
687. the youngest cousin, growing like "corn in June" (must be a WI saying)

688. watermelon
689. the smell of watermelon
690. the color of watermelon
691. the taste of watermelon
692. little drops of watermelon juice
(yes, I just did that, and it was fun)

693. eating on the picnic table my grandpa made
694. safety in a storm.
695. an easy fix to a random power outage (oddly enough, the night before the big storm)
696. encouragement during good, long runs
697. new work shoes = not-so-aching feet
698. thinking about Baby Ely. have I mentioned that one of my besties is pregnant? and it makes me happy
699. looking for cool gifts =)
700. my dad
701. and my father-in-law
702. two days off!

703. my husband, aka the perfect smoothie maker
704. "24" date nights with a friend (sad that they will end soon. considering using skype ... not seriously, though ... but maybe)
705. a good talk about parenting with Chris, for when the time comes
706. counting down the days til China and family that i want to know better ... 22 days and a wake-up
707 & 708. learning and trusting

Coming Home

It's 8am when I come home, the sun's warmth already chasing away the coolness of the night.
Our little dog wants to play and then calmly waits for his food, like we practice every morning.
I watch him run around the perimeter of our yard, then jump over the hastas near the gazebo before coming to the door.
After pancakes or oatmeal or sometimes ice cream, I sit on the couch and invite the little dog up with me and read of the total love of my God, a rhythm that helps me sleep.
And then, finally, I climb into our big bed and, if I am lucky, my husband is still there. I have been pretty vocal about how much i love these moments and I know that if he can, he will stay long enough for me to fall asleep.
His hand finds mine and my head finds the spot between his shoulder and neck that is made for me.
He warms me as my cold feet find his and he hold me as my body releases any left over tension from the night.
I sigh.
Sleepy. Content. Warm.
Home.

a nursing post ... 'cuz that's what I'm doing tonight

671. Realizing that I was done with every 30 minutes vitals/neuro assessments ohh ... about a couple of hours ago

672. doctors that know my name
673. patients that know my name
674. when a co-worker who makes good coffee tells me that she just made a pot
675. remembering to do things before getting a call or a love note from the charge nurse
676. knowing where supplies are
677. understanding that the "i made a difference today" moment does not happen every shift; sometimes it is "just a job" and that's okay.
678. quiet nights
679. and nights when i tally how many times i tell my patient "no, you can't smoke. in fact, you need oxygen and you could blow up if you smoke."
680. the sun rising
681. being able to park in the ramp at the hospital
682. Interesting conversations.

A Family Weekend

636. Wisconsin. The sky is bluer, the air is crisper, the grass is greener and flowers are prettier. Okay ... it is basically like Minnesota, but with the Packers.

637. Realizing that the drive has gone by quickly because we were talking the whole way

638. The setting sun reflecting on the eastern sky

639. Finding an apartment (most likely ... have to be approved and all the jazz yet)

640. Avoiding construction

641. My cousin's groom as he watched her walk down the isle towards him

642. My cousins' little baby boy in a bow tie

643. My other cousins' (there are lots of cousins) toddler as she sighs and snuggles her head in the curve of my neck and fights sleep

644. Feeling perfectly content (and not at all envious) to give said children back to their parents. No, I did not utter the "I'll just take her home with me" line because, in all honesty, right now, I place a high price on my sleep. (babies are hopefully coming though but don't hold your breath)

645. Listening - and really hearing - to what is on my husband's heart

646. Eating peanut butter and honey sandwiches in the car, and making the drive without stopping.

647. Coming home

648. Tears of repentance ...

649. and forgiveness offered

650. my nice white sweater for cooler nights in a cute dress

651. our dog excited to see us

652. in-laws who take good care of our dog when we are away

653. air after the rain

654. birthday cards with pop-up hearts from my nephew and niece in China. (seriously, kids who make cards with pop-up hearts are cools)

655. a rather simple solution to what I considered to be a complex problem

656. Using the book jacket for a bookmark; it is impossible to lose it

657. A good friend's giddy excitement over her sister's generous gift

658. a whole day with a quiet dog ... don't know what happened, maybe something in him switched on

659. a whole afternoon spent with my husband  =)  8-)  :D

660. and cutting his hair for the first time with fairly good results. Tomorrow, we tackle Loki

661. puddles after rain

662. contacts and glasses that correct my vision

663. playing games on my mother-in-law's phone. Since we don't have those kind of aps on our phones, it is a golden moment when they offer us their phones to play with.

664. aching legs after a work-out

665. Chris' encouragement during long(er) runs

666. Chris' toiletries on the bathroom counter. who would have thought that I love seeing his things about the house that used to be just mine? his clothes on the floor actually make me smile and his books make me happy.

667. mint choc chip cookies - 'cuz everything is better in mint

668. seeing Christ in my husband's eyes

669. talks about entitlement vs. thankfulness

670. prayer and psalms before coming into work.

it's rainy. it's dreary. and it's going to be a beautiful week.

=)

"I'll take silly and random things for 200 please, Alex"

618. Perfectly matching up socks out of the dryer.
619. Taking a handful of mixed M&M's and realized they are ALL peanut butter ones, my fav.
620. Getting a call while waiting for the bus from my parents, offering to pick me up.
621. Ice that blends perfectly into smoothies, leaving no big chunks
622. Waking up my patient out of sedation to find him pleasantly confused (not un-pleasantly, like I had anticipated)
623. paying with exact change
624. Driving early on weekend mornings when the roads are empty.
625. green lights all the way
626. walking into the breakroom and seeing the note saying that the coffee is fresh
627. The disk with an old college project on it.
628. Wearing flip flops when it is slightly too cold
629. waking up in the middle of the night to realize you have hours left to sleep.
630. not being the last person on the bus
631. cookie dough
632. saying a line in a tv show right before the character does altough it may the predictable "you know what happened before in the hallway ... " or "what have you done?" (for any 24 fans), it's still fun.
633. Making patterns in the fabric on the couch
634. Sunglasses created tan lines
635. beginning to think about going on my lunch break and remembering it is really yummy left overs my husband made last night

... partly inspired by 1000 Awesome Things

Happy weekend!

The stuff summer is made of (and a post where I actually make complete sentences)

From the first mosquito bites of the year to an afternoon of one liners mixed with haikus with friends while sipping pink lemonade along the river, the weekend screamed summer and it was glorious.

There is something about a clean house on Friday afternoon that makes me happy. Knowing that the kitchen and bathroom are both clean, the laundry is (mostly) folded and the yard looks wonderful (thanks to my hubby) allows any and all fun things to trump whatever is left on the to-do list.

And so we played.

We picinic'd it up on Friday, with a cold shrimp salad, Chris' "just what I had on hand" chilled avocado soup and cookies that were again baking when I got out of bed. If I'm going to work night shifts, there may as well be my husband with cookies waiting for me on the other end. So we drank wine at the park while the sun set and talked about the summer and the changes coming up.

Awhile ago we started training for a 5K which we ran on Saturday and while we are about two thirds the way through the training program it felt good to (mostly) run the race that motivated us in the first place. The rain stayed away til we were done and the trail around Lake Como in Minneapolis was a nice change from our usual. We ran the last bit with our friend Brandon (who organized the race, a benefit for Haiti) and the guys matched my slower pace as we crossed the finish line to cheers. Now, to lengthen my stride and ask my sister and brother in law to map out a 5K for us to run in Beijing, when we will be done with our training.

We spent the rest of the day at my parent's home, playing cards, eating goodness off the grill and from the stove, listening to my aunt and uncle from Idaho tell their love story (letters typed and left in a typewriter when they were in high school), and opening some birthday gifts. Clothes are on my list of things that I am no longer buying - a list that is growing and that I find freeing instead of annoying or frustrating. It does help though when my mom, and in this case my brother too, give me a few cute things. =)

And Sunday ... Sunday was for sleeping in, and still making it to church on time ... wearing a skirt and sandals and being warm enough ... and getting several compliments from my husband (because I changed outfits three times). Then we packed up our dog, a tube of sunscreen and some friends and went south to Lanesboro. We meandered around town and along the trail by the river. We tried each others ice cream and played frisbee on the soft grass. We watched the sun shine through the rain and listened to kids sing of the joy of Jesus in a nearby gazebo. And then we drove home, the audience of a beautiful sun setting over the trees in what my husband called "God's country."

Like I said, the weekend was made of summer.

Oh, and Loki (the dog), you ask, the weekend was also made for him. He made new friends and ventured to Quarry Hill, Lake Como park and all about Lanesboro. He drank water kindly given to him from the waitress at the outside restaurant and explored (was distracted by) the many sights and smells on the ground. He got many compliments and then, when it was all over, he curled up on my feet and slept the whole way home.

That is 590 - 617.

Happy Monday!

When I began my way toward 1,000 gifts from God I thought that maybe I'd get tired of counting somewhere along the way and simply stop.  Instead I find it a little bit addicting.
I find myself living in the beauty of each day instead of waiting for the next "big thing" to come along.
I find myself satisfied at the end of a busy work weekend instead of pining for the things that I missed.
I find myself counting my blessings as I am driving and telling Chris my list before going to bed.

I find myself happy.
joyful.
humbled.
blessed.

Here is the beauty of this week so far

565. a multitude of facebook/e-mail/phone birthday greetings - and one accordion rendition
566. the trip to Mable with the Brenna fam
567. holding my husband's hand along the way
568. Grandpa Brenna shaving during most of our visit
569. Grandma Brenna seemingly knowing who we were
570. a beautiful drive through MN countryside

571. days that my car does not leave our garage
572. the autosave feature of blogger and g-mail

573. forgiveness for words that came from my dirty yet repentant heart

574. thoughtful birthday gifts: a packet full of love letters, a gift card for a movie date night from a friend, russian tea, and a book about 1000 Awesome Things

575. ooo, ooo, ooo, I have a blog friend. Actually, she is a real friend but she did mention my blog on hers, which I (understandably) think is completely cool. She is on a journey with her family to become debt free and is writing about it here.

576. lots of sleep to get rid of a sudden headache
577. Chris' (mostly) soft rhythmic breathing in the middle of the night
578 - 580 are for Chris alone since his mom and sister and our friends read this list
581. Cooking up delicious things in our kitchen until our feet hurt and our friends sit in awe of the food
582. A wonderfully fun dinner party (probably more on the later since it does deserve it's own post, I think)

583. Sitting outside on a cool evening, watching the sun set (over Target, which did not make it less beautiful), eating ice cream that "fills in the cracks" perfectly, smelling the sugary, chocolaty concoction float out of the doors from coldstone, laughing with friends.
(I worked hard on that last sentence, so you should read it again. ... ... okay, thanks.)

584. moving the magic bullet to a lower cupboard where I can reach it.
585. learning about trust, forgiveness and repentance in our marriage.
586. my peonies are blooming after two years of not blooming (probably due to not enough sun, a problem that was fixed when we cut down the big tree in our front yard last fall) and it makes me SO stinking happy. every time I use my front door.
587. Sitting outside cold stone with five friends with our calendars (and one blackberry) open, coordinating summer schedules.
588. crisp white shirts. I haven't used bleach since an unfortunate incident in college and i will say that the white shirts make my old navy scrubs look new ... well, better at least. (Thanks honey!)
589. Friends, who as soon as I start my sentence with "we will need a few people to come to Milwaukee to help us move ... " make dibs on who gets to go first. seriously. love. them.