Notice the Gifts: Long Lazy Weekend Edition

Today, I spent the whole day with Flanna-banana, and we had great fun.  We found a bed on Craigslist for our guest room (yay!), and the woman selling it was so kind and lives just down from Flanna's school, and let Flanna pet her dogs, which Flannery just loved.  Then we went shopping and had some spare keys made and got some new running shoes (on super sale!) for us girls. Later, we set up a kiddie pool in the back yard, and we met with the new baby-sitter who's going to be picking Flanna up from school a few days a week.  Tonight, we ordered yummy Indian food from down the street and ate it while watching the UGA game.  And now I'm listening to Flanna playing with her train while Robi watches the game (which must be going well by the loud way he's watching!).  

Things are settling down and hopefully we'll have a good routine here soon.  The hardest thing is juggling work and parenthood in a new place when we don't yet have a support system in place.  It's amazing the little things we take for granted when we have them (like trusted babysitters and cousins and grandparents and friends across the street!).  But I know by this time next year, our support system and network will be huge, so I'm trying not to rush it.  

Anyway, this week I noticed so many little gifts!  I took a photo of a few, but not all:

27.  the wind blowing through our open windows at night as we fall asleep

28.  fresh cut grass that the gardener takes care of every week (so luxurious!)

29.  sweet people at the park who let Flannery love on their kind dogs

30.  listening to Flanna chat all silly with her older cousin on the phone

31.  photos texted like a little surprise peek into the lives of my family

32.  fluffy clouds in the sky (we don't get many of them here, so we treasure them when they are here!)

33.  the smell of the lavender growing in our yard

34.  working alongside such a dedicated and caring team of teachers and special educators that all work hard to make parents feel at home in our schools

35.  the little boost of pride I feel when I can actually complete a gazillion phone calls in Spanish and not confuse anyone too horribly

36.  my tech-savvy husband who sets up our internet and TV and keeps our home functioning smoothly no matter what technological learning he has to do. 

37.  a built-in shelf in my shower.  I've never had one of those before!

38.  Vanilla lotion from Prague.  Cause that's just how we roll.  (Thanks to my West Coast BFF!)

 

39.  A cool bathroom window that opens upside down and allows for privacy and fresh air, so I don't have to use that stressful loud bathroom vent/fan.  So nice!

What gifts have you noticed and named this week? Has it helped you live a bit more in the moment?  I'm hoping it's cultivating a habit of thankfulness in me.