Small Successes & Thankful Thursdays • Vol. 23

A quiet Thursday, up in the Harbor. So glad that Mom is home now (read her Caring Bridge update here) and life feels like it's getting back to "normal", albeit a "new normal". Thomas is sleeping soundly on my lap, and Mom is in the living room, reading and calling the dogs to stop sleeping on her oxygen tubes. :) A new normal, indeed.

Small Successes are celebrated over at Faith and Family Live for this reason: it’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. In no particular order...

1. There is no dirty laundry in our house. Except for the small stash of clothes actually in the dirty clothes basket. Laundry is one of my least favorite things to do, and so it's been quite easy to let it pile up over the past few weeks as I've been up with Mom and away from the house. I'll tell you, after nearly a dozen loads over the past few days, I am committing to keeping up on it. So much easier to maintain than fight through a backlog! (And a big thank you to Jonathan, who actually picked up his clothes stacks to put them away last night - without me asking!)
2. I spent some good time with Thomas. Playing, resting, crawling, climbing. Loved getting back to swimming lessons after the Christmas break. He is so snuggly after waking up from a nap - all he wants to do is cuddle and smash his forehead into yours. That's kind of like cuddling, isn't it?!?
3. Making good decisions for our family. Not easy, by any means, but so necessary and so worth it. Realigning my time to focus on my two boys, and our extended family. It's a decision I will never regret.

And things I am thankful for this week:

• Mom coming home from the hospital. So grateful.
• For having a roof over my head. Praying for those in Haiti who have so little, and who face major devastation from the earthquake.
• For the health of our family, in general.
• For a forgiving God who loves me in spite of myself. :)