Tuesday
525. purple flowers on the side of the road
526. long, strong hugs
527. praying and talking about my worries
528. and feeling the weight lifted
529. a low key evening following a night shift
530. cute pajamas
531. good sleep
532. remembering to water the plants
533. and feed the dog
534. very small green tomatoes growing

Added to my Rochester bucket list:
- Hike at Whitewater (with Loki)
- Finish the second season of 24 with Chinwe

Happy Wednesday!!
=)

This week ...

I am going to make a list of 10 (or so) blessings each day ... simply because I want to.

Monday
514. purple wild flowers on the side of the road
515. the ending of 24, appropriate since I am moving away from my friends who I watch it with. (not that it's all about me ... )
516. Iced coffee
517. cool sheets
518. a random fun conversation with my dental hygienist
519. ear plugs for days that I need to sleep during the day
520. praying with and for my husband
521. sweet smiles
522. pictures of my husband as a kid
523. talking with my mother-in-law about her children as babies
524. Chris making up songs for Loki - and a glimpse into how he may play with our kids someday


I am also creating a Rochester bucket list - a to-do list of fun things I want to do before we move:
- Bike the Douglas trail to Pine Island (once)
- Bike the Bear Creek Trail (more than once)
- Go to Farmers Market and have a farmer's market breakfast
- Take Loki for a walk at the Plummer House
- Go to Pho Tai (more than once, hopefully)
- Take a trip to Lanesboro
- Have a dinner party at our house

Happiness

480. The cardinal singing on our deck

481. Grass growing, thick and long, the product of our hard work.

482. Going to sleep at the same time as my husband

483. Charting during my lunch break at work and realizing that my co-workers got my patient up to a chair (which takes some time/energy/preparation in the ICU) while I was at lunch. (I had talked about doing this all morning but we didn't have time/enough help.)

484. Getting a flat tire fixed with very little trouble. (seriously, we were a block from our house when I ran over something so it deflated safely in our garage, then my husband changed the tire the next morning and the repair shop was able to fix it the same day.) SO easy!

485. A mother-in-law who is a master garage sale planner. I certainly wouldn't have known to get spare dollar bills and change.

486. A new passport to replace the old.

487. Fun ideas of how to bless my grandma when we live close to her.

488. Oh, how could I forget? A job offer that I accepted - in that new hospital with a small ICU. =) I start on Aug 16th which is perfect. Twelve hour (which is good) night shifts (which is ... okay ... and a straight shift)

489. A glorious morning run with my husband and an obedient dog.

490. My co-worker who picked up my Friday night shift

491. Eating huge oranges with a friend while watching a TiVo'd episode of 24 and yelling at the television.

492. Sampling small plates of delicious food on the outside patio at Twigs with Chris, at date night we retroactively assigned our 4 month anniversary dinner.

493. Playing Carcassonne that same evening.

494. Watching Robin Hood with friends

495. and ice cream afterwards

496. All sorts of people telling me that we will love Milwaukee

497. Balloons

498. Finishing my competencies at work.

499. The neighbor boy who walks our dog

500. A successful garage sale where we sold stuff, made money and socialized our dog.

501. A some-what bare pantry, the result of "eat from the pantry challenge" from Money Saving Mom

502. On a frugal note: getting better at using coupons =)
503. The orchid, a beautiful gift from my mom, blooming like crazy on our window sill
504. Sunshine and humidity - our wonderful, crazy, fun-filled summer is a-coming.
505. Eating dinners in the gazebo
506. Doing the dishes listening to my brother play/sing some of the songs that he is writing. (my little brother has talent, let me tell you!)
507. Actually, honestly getting excited about Milwaukee, aside from "moving there 'cuz the love of my life is."
508. Praying for something then finding the answer in what we already have.
509. Writing real letters - you know, the kind with a paper and pen.

510. Finally using up the last of the lotion in my drawer = I can (attempt) to make lotion in the near future. This year has been the year of "we don't need more stuff ... have to use what we own ... and then try to make it or get it cheaper"
511. Air conditioning on a humid day
512. My thoughtful husband
513. Time spent with good friends

random thanksgiving and thoughts

448. Kleenex
449. Soft pillows and warm blankets
450. Savoring every last bite of the monte cristo sandwich Chris made
451. Time to rest while being sick.
452. An incredible, productive shopping trip with my mother-in-law, where I found a wonderful suit (which was then bought for me as an early birthday gift). Oh, and I rocked that suit at my interview last week.
453. Wind swirling through the leaves
454. Reading aloud to my husband and having him read to me.
455. Sleep
456. Learning more about how our dog's brain works
457. The white wagon wheels resting against the trees along side the driveway to my g'mas farm.
458. The blackboard in my grandma's kitchen announcing the new additions to our family.
459. Snow in WI in May.
460. My 9 year old cousin's explanation about why she does not wear matching socks: "I get a sense of ennui when my socks match." (it is french for boredom)
461. My grandma explaining who the people are in her wedding pictures
462. Tea steeped in a real tea pot
463. Lazy mornings at home
464. The sound of lawn mowers ...
465. and the smell of fresh cut grass
466. Making our bed with clean sheets
467. Counting the days and then hours and then miles and minutes until I got home to my love. (Seriously, I was only gone 3 days so it wasn't all that bad.)
468. A ride home alone to reflect.
469. The CD player in my car
470. Completing competencies at work
471. Chips and salsa
472. Finding rest in God's promises
473. new leaves on the trees
474. warm socks

475. Have I mentioned that we have tickets to China? And by "have" I mean that our tickets were given to us by my generous and gracious in-laws, which is a complete blessing. So:
476. We are going to China
477. with the entire Brenna family
478. for two weeks in July!!!!!!!!!!

and for a girl who loves to travel and enjoys the excitement of looking forward to things, this is a big deal. Oh, and I didn't plan a thing. I woke up one day (from a night shift) and it was all said and done.
THANK YOU!!

hmm ... what else?

I interviewed last week at a new, tiny hospital in a South suburb of Milwaukee. The ICU is opening up next month. St. Mary's (where I currently work) has something like 800 beds and I work in a 22 bed neuro ICU. The new, tiny hospital has 26 total beds and the ICU is opening 6 beds. Talk about a world of difference. But I am intrigued; I think it would be neat and challenging and would give me a sense of ownership in my job. So, I'll wait to hear from them.

While we prepare to move and all the stuff that goes with that, it is easy for me to get all caught up in what I think should happen and in what time frame I think it should happen and how it should happen and what we have to do for it to happen. God will provide. It may be exactly what we hoped it would be or it may be different, or longer but it will all be his provision.

I don't want to miss God's blessings because I am too busy expecting something else.



479. God's provision

At the end of our fabulous weekend, I took a few moments to reflect. Knowing that I was working all five nights this week, I expected to be 1) sad that the weekend was over and 2) already tired/mad that I was working nights allllllllll week.



But I was neither.



The weekend was fabulous and, in my head, I had a list of all the wonders and blessings that came with it. And I knew that even though I would work throughout the night and sleep more than normal and maybe be somewhat of a hermit, blessings will abound this week.



And I am going to find them (and tell you about them).


This is why I will continue to make my list, hoping to make thankfulness and gratitude part of my routine and heart.


422. Working together to clean the house
423. Going to a composting demonstration and finding information on rain barrels, two things my husband has been talking about for awhile.
424. Playing Pandemic and winning in the last hand.
425. White and yellow tulips sitting on our kitchen table
426. Bracelets
427. and cool earrings, the dangly kind.
428. Playing a new game on the floor in front of the fire with Chris and Loki (it was a three person game)
429. My sister-in-law being excited about our double date
430. The first buds of my nasturtiums coming up. This made me seriously happy -- all three buds
431. A rainy afternoon, reading.
432. Making soup on that rainy day with ingredients that we had in our kitchen (asparagus and potato soup anyone?)
433. Entire meals cooked on the grill. Two days in a row.
434. Having a Sunday evening movie double header. (aka preparing for night shifts)
435. Warm apple cider on a cool morning.
436. Leisurely breakfasts with my love.
437. And the luxury of having those breakfasts frequently
438. Learning a new way to do multiplication and practicing it at work.
439. Putting leaves in the table and filling it with friends
440. Feeling good (and tired) after working out
441. Stretching
442. A Sunday evening to relax and regroup, read my Bible and be encouraged.
443. Amazing grace
444. Accapella hymns
445. Living with less stuff
446. Saying no
447. Trusting in His provision