7 Quick Takes

1. This morning I got up early to run to the grocery store before Hubby left for work. Across the street and up a ways, I could see a man in the neighborhood next to ours raking his front lawn. I have no idea why, but the fact that he was already up doing yardwork at seven in the morning made me really happy. It just screamed of a good attitude: I imagined him swinging out of bed this morning and saying, "Hey, today will be a great day! ...And now I will go rake leaves."

2. Because, see, I have been having a terrible time being, well, cheerful. If you've scanned over my last few posts, you know I have morning sickness. And when I'm sick -with anything- I am a jerk. Seeing as how it's been a few months, I'm pretty sure the rest of the fam would like to see my incognito smile more. It makes me think of a scene early in the movie "Say Anything" where Lloyd says to his sister, "How hard is it just to decide to be in a good mood, and then be in a good mood?" Harder than it looks, Lloyd, especially when you feel like you're going to puke 23 hrs. a day. But with the grace of God, I'll do a better job of it.

3. We got "Wallace and Gromit" in the mail from Netflix a few days ago. Thank God for Wallace and Gromit... one of the few kids' movies that I enjoyed more than my kids. Hilarious! Rent it. Love it.

4. I gave Eli his first haircut this week. He has had a lovely head full of hair since the day he was born, but it's thin and crazy-looking most of the time unless he's fresh from a bath. So off most of it came. He looks like a tiny little military man, and am I loser for almost crying while I did it? He's my baby. I can't help it.

5. And that baby is turning 1 next month! I am very proud of myself for already having his birthday invitations printed and stuffed into stamped envelopes. If I can make it through the next few weeks and the party without acting like my head's been cut off, I should win an award.

6. This Saturday is family yardwork day! We've got seeds to plant and brush to clear. My husband bought a chainsaw for the occasion. Pray for us.

7. And now I need to hurriedly end this because Gabriel is removing the ink cartridges from the printer and judging from the sounds it's making, the printer is not happy about it.