It's Always the Little Things...

I'm sure I've overemphasized this point at many times during my short blogging career, but it is truly the little things that can make or break your day. Granted, I LOVE the big things - things that you look forward to every day when you wake up, such as a trip or a fun party you plan to go to. But in reality, the little things added together make a much bigger difference on our day-to-day lives.

Take a sneak peek into what I mean by looking at my past 24 hours. Yesterday I woke up to cold and rainy weather. I came to work and had a long day. But thankfully I had a date night planned with my hubby that I was looking forward to for over a week. Well, we had to change plans and needed to skip our romantic dinner so we could go pick up lighting for our basement, strike one. We went out in the pouring rain to two different stores only to walk away with one item, strike two. Finally, we came home soaking wet, enhaled some pizza as a late dinner and went to bed, no kiss goodnight, strike three. While those things may not see like a big deal independently - when you put them all together, they added up to a less-than-enjoyable evening. Just one tiny change could have made a difference. But as it was, I was done and shut down - three strikes and I'm out.

But the little things can also make your day so much better! Perhaps it's a sweet 'good morning' greeting from your spouse, or an email from a long lost friend who just wanted to check and see how you were doing. Those little things can make my grouchy mood turn around! The best thing I can think of is what happened this morning, when I woke up to get another dark, cold and rainy day, strike one. Then drove to work only to meet several accidents and about cause one myself, strike two. But when I got to my desk, I was greeted by a huge pan of homemade apple crisp made by a friend because she heard I was craving it. It literally made my whole day turn around, that someone was so thoughtful and it just happened to be on a day where I was about to give in and give up yet again.

Perhaps it's just the stress in my life that has me so "sensitive" to the little things. But those bad little things can really add up if they happen over and over again, and it can put any one of us in a terrible funk. But if we can just throw a few good things in there, it has the potential to change the way the other person feels, as well as feel better about yourself! I think it's good to take time and realize that a quick love note to your spouse, or surprise treat for your best friend could go a long to them. I know I don't take the time enough to do little special things for those I care about, but hopefully I have learned my lesson.

Tis Not Yet the Season?

First off, shame on me for letting so much time go by between blogs. Thankfully, I'm back on the wagon and so excited to announce that Eric and I are expecting a BABY BOY!! We continue to pray that he is healthy and growing strong each day, and although the boys were hoping for a little sister, I think they are really excited about a little brother. What a great addition this little guy will be to our family and extended family! I mean, he'll have two brothers and five cousins to play with (four of which are boys). What fun he'll have!

In addition to that great news, we also were lucky enough to be the grand prize winners of a dream nursery from the Mercy Stork Affair event we attended! We were blown away. It is the largest thing either of us have ever won, and considering we were only at the Stork Affair for about 45 minutes, I'd say it was a good investment of our time! We are being treated to a brand new crib, dresser, hutch, glider/rocker, crib bedding and even money to use on a local artist to come paint a mural or provide artwork! It is truly unreal and I personally feel so grateful (and a little undeserving at times). I'll post some pictures once we get the room closer to complete.

So, since my last post our life has pretty much been non-stop. We are still unpacking boxes and find where we put everything, but we have added a variety of other activities to the mix. Orrin is in flag-football again which requires two weekday practices and a game every week, Eric plays softball which takes up an additional night each week and I am still working my second job, but thankfully that will be coming to a halt in a few weeks. In addition, we have needed to take time for contractors to come fix minor "new house" repairs, and get companies in to give us bids on finishing our basement, and the weekends have been dedicated to working on the house, traveling to Iowa games, etc. October is probably the busiest month I have experienced in a long time. Now, we are also adding in baby classes, weddings, parties, etc. I didn't think it was supposed to get busy like this until the holidays? But regardless, everything that keeps us so busy are ultimately great things that have helped us enjoy our fall season even more.

The rest of October will continue to be busy - no doubt about that. But I have to say, I'm really looking forward to November 1st, when we may be able to get a few months of down time before this little bundle of joy turns our world upside down in new and unique ways!