Happiness Week 14

What Made Me Happy - Week 14

04/02 A Good Book

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Do you follow Stephanie Nielson's blog, The Nie Nie Dialogues? I have since I first heard about it from the Trach Forum shortly after their plane crash that left her and her husband badly burned. One central message that Stephanie shares that I appreciate being reminded of, is that life is good no matter what. Most books I reserve from the library, but I wanted to support her by buying her book and had it on pre-order. It was fun to get it in the mail today. 

04/03 Rescued Stuffies

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My kids developed attachments to stuffies later in life, when they were about 3. Before then when I saw other kids dragging a grubby stuffy around I was thankful that my kids weren't dependent on such things. But then it happened....they bonded. What I didn't realize is that kids find great comfort sleeping with their special "one" and that makes it easier to sleep alone. Which is great....Until they become misplaced. Like the years when Evie's Kitty went missing to be found in the bottom of a sleeping bag years later when nearly all hope was gone that she would ever be seen again....Or a week ago when Adrian left his Teddy (and a few less important stuffies-Teddy was a gift from Evie the day Adrian was born) at a friend's house when he slept over. He told his dad but forgot to tell me. So said friend left for Hawaii and the stuffies were locked in the house with a GIANT dog. Thankfully the dog sitter was kind enough to find them and put them outside so they could be rescued and all lived happily ever after. Adrian was SO relieved and kept Teddy near for the rest of Spring Break.  I was SO happy that they didn't get eaten by the dog, and that I was momentarily "the hero" when I brought them home safely

4/04 Evie's Scrapbook

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Evie started using my scrapbook software ages ago to create her own pages. She's actually pretty good at it, especially for a kid. She's been begging me to print them for a year. Ages ago we bought a special album for them and it's been sitting empty. Today we finally got started. It's going to be very cute. I hope she will feel better about missing her friends that she left when we moved when she can look at pictures whenever she likes.  Let's hope it doesn't have the opposite affect. She designed the cover "page" herself and is very proud she was able to make her name look like frosting.

  04/05 The Trolley Table

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We had a few medical appointments for Ainsley this week but we also squeezed in some fun. After the appointment and a day out we went to one of our favorite places to eat out with kids, the Old Spaghetti Factory. We were super excited when we got seated in the end booth of the full size Trolley car that is in the middle of the restaurant. In 20 years, this is only the 3nd time sitting in the trolley and the first time ever in the end (the best seats).  The kids loved turning around and looking out the windows.

 04/06 Brunch

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It was my birthday so Steve made brunch and we ate in the dining room. I got to read in bed for a couple hours while he got things ready.  Afterward we did a slide show (digital) of old pictures. Later we had Chinese take out, watched a movie and had cake. I'm a homebody, and it was the perfect day for me.

04/07 Spring Bird's Nest

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It's been a year since we moved and our large yard hasn't received it's share of attention. We spent 6 hours weeding and pruning and just scratched the surface of what needs to be done. While on my hands and knees pulling weeds I found a bird's nest in the ferns. It was a beautifully made of moss, grass with a little bed of hair (where the bird found hair I have no idea). I hope it's a sign of a good season to come. I'm hoping to spend a lot more time outside this year.

04/08 My Beautiful Children

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My children are my everything. Just in case I don't say that enough. I am so grateful for them. Though sometimes I complain about how much work it is,  I love being a mom more than anything! After all the trouble getting them ready I love seeing them in their Easter best.  For once we had beautiful weather. No galoshes required. Though it was challenging to find the perfect place to shoot among the shadows of the trees and the bright sunlight I was very happy with the results. I got great individual shots too.

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To view a slideshow of the entire Happiness Photo Project click here. For more about what this is all about click here.