G r a t i t u d e  *  S u n d a y

-Starting a new morning routine (that I remembered most mornings) of doing sit ups. I wanted to strengthen my third chakra. Even though I didn’t do that many, it worked wonders and I felt so much stronger in myself.
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-My dad visiting and doing lots of fun summertime things while he was here. (All revolving around food, surprise surprise!)
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-Jeff planting collard starts and endive, lettuce, kale and collard seeds for our winter garden. We’ve been wanting to grow more food throughout the year and are excited to experiment with gardening in different seasons.
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-Jumping in a lake! Amazing! Refreshing! Invigorating! It delighted my inner child to no end. It had been far too long since I’d done that and I really love to swim! Definitely a highlight of my week. (That’s an understatement.)
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-Spraying ourselves with the garden hose on a hot and muggy afternoon. Water is so welcome on hot summer days!
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-Sunflowers that are taller than we are.
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-Seeing this Message from Nature: LOVE. Love it!
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-Jeff and Bracken (in the pack on his back) serenading me from the garden, while I sat near the upstairs window. Jeff sang to his guitar and Bracken sang along in his own language. A moment to savor forever.
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-The bright, glowing white moon out the window at night.
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-Long braids that keep my hair out of my face (and from getting tangled) and that are great for tickling a giggling baby.
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-Hardboiled eggs for snacks and meals-on-the-go.
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-The way Bracken tells us when we need to slow down and when we need a little more home time and a little less running around. We tend to push ourselves rather hard to “do, do, do and do more” and he gets us to take a breath and be calmer.
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-Refreshing mountain air blowing in the window at night, after a hot day.
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-Learning to surrender in little ways. Sometimes I get less “accomplished”, but I have more peace. Like when Bracken was hungry/tired and I wanted to nurse him while he was in the pack (so I could be getting things done) or by the computer (so I could be adding new things to the Etsy Shop), and he only wanted to nurse and nap in bed (where I couldn’t be getting anything “done.”) Struggling against it brought frustration. Surrendering brought a content nursing/napping boy, quiet time reading on my side, and much more energy for accomplishing things when he woke up. My mind had lots of plans for what it wanted to “do”, yet when I let go of that, our day turned out much better. When we surrender and go with the flow, life runs so much more smoothly.
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-Jeff coming to the rescue when Bracken needed a change of scenery, and giving him a grand adventure in the garden.
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-A dream filled with abundance, good omens, fresh directions, and new ideas. I don’t always have pleasant dreams. Sometimes they are exhausting. Sometimes annoying. Sometimes scary. But sometimes they are awe-inspiring, healing, miraculous and beautiful. I love those dreams!
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-A night where Bracken slept for a long time before waking to nurse. I do believe I had the longest stretch of uninterrupted-sleep since he’s been born. I have certainly learned to be mighty grateful for sleep!
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-Deciding not to go to market yesterday due to heat advisories. It was really hot at our place and we are much closer to the ocean, so I’m really glad we didn’t go.
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-The electricity coming back on this morning after it went out last night. It’s so quiet and peaceful without it, yet we glance over at our freezer and feel a little nervous. When it comes back on, we realize how much we depend on it every day and we feel grateful to have it (even though we dream of being off-grid someday.)
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-Our neighbor putting new brakes on our truck this morning! That saved us lots of money and we felt so grateful for his help! (Thanks Brandon!)