100 Joys

"End of the road... nothing to do... and no hope of things getting better. Sounds like Saturday night at my house."- Eeyore from Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin


Do you remember Eeyore? Gloomy, hopeless, always seeing the bad in every situation. That's how I've felt lately. I could blame it on the miserable weather or the fact that we've been crazy busy but if I'm really honest with you it's nobody's (or nothing's) fault but my own. I'm so bad at letting "life" suck the joy out of me.

It seems like when one little thing goes wrong I just let it snowball until I'm in an Eeyore state of mind. So when the washing machine breaks (at a time in my life when it feels like I'm doing more laundry than I ever have, thank you Sadie) I forget about the friends who willingly volunteer to let us use their machines. Or when my baby still hasn't quite figured out how to sleep through the night, I forget about how thankful I am for her and how good of a baby she is in the first place. Or when my tooth starts to hurt I forget about how blessed I am to even be able to go to a dentist to get it looked at.

So for the month of April I'm taking Sarah Markley's challenge, which I missed back in December because I was tired, busy, and oh yea ready to POP pregnant :). So every weekday throughout the month of April I'll be blogging about the things in my life that bring me joy until I get to 100. I love what Sarah has to say about the project, "I will be doing this as a daily discipline and experiment to see if recognizing the joy in my life that is already is there will, in fact, change me." So here we go. Will you join me on this challenge? If you're up for the challenge, leave a comment as I'd love to track along with you!


And just for starters here's a little something that brings me joy every day!

Three Months

Hey Sadie - happy three month birthday! Although these three months have been hard, your mom and I wouldn't trade them for anything. We love playing with you, reading to you, and trying to talk to you (although you haven't really figured that one out yet).

This past month included a lot of new things for you. We were a little nervous to take you on a few longer road trips, but you did great. You came with us to Cincinnati to visit your dad's side of the family, including your other set of great grandparents. You even had your first trip to Skyline! You also came up with us to Northern Virginia to visit some friends up there. You like the road trips already because the car puts you right to sleep. You've also started hanging out at the BCM with us during the day. Thanks for being flexible for us!

You're finally learning how to hold your head up and have some control of your motions. You've even discovered how much you like to watch TV - we have to keep you from watching it too much so it doesn't rot your brain (I'm glad I can use parent phrases like "it'll rot your brain" with you now)! You're adjusting to earlier bedtimes (usually around 9:30 or 10), and can sleep through the night most of the time, although you still like to wake us up early every now and then. We love you lots!

Happy Two Months!

Dear Sweet Sadie,

You are two months old today (well sort of, February is a weird month)! I can hardly believe how quickly time is flying. Some of those early weeks felt pretty long but now it seems to just sail by. You are such a smiley baby and it melts both mine & your daddy's heart every time you do. You really are such a good baby. The doctor used the word "mellow" to describe you today and I think that's quite fitting. Perhaps I should start singing you that Donovan song (don't worry I thought The Beatles wrote that song too, who the heck is Donovan anyways? Oh well thank you Google for your infinite knowledge).

Your favorite thing to do right now is lay on your back and kick/flail those arms and legs around. You really like to a) use your manners by raising your hand to ask a question b) signal everything as a touchdown (even when it's not football season) c) and praise Jesus with those arms of yours :). You're still getting the sleep thing down but you have been known to sleep from 11pm-7:30am. That consistency thing will come eventually. You really like books, if we read to you, you'll stare right at the bright pictures. I think you like the sound certain words make too (like spaghetti) but your dad says I'm crazy!

Some of your firsts this month included: your first long(er) road trip to see Nana & Papa, your first time meeting your great grandparents (one set at least), your first Superbowl (which by the way you decided to throw up all over the pretty onesie your momma specifically made for this momentous occasion), Valentines Day, and many more I'm sure I'm missing.

We're excited for the many more firsts to come too. You are such a blessing-we love you lots little girl!