Let's getaway!

On Friday afternoon I texted Jon asking if I could sweep him away on a romantic getaway. I know, that's kind of backwards...it's supposed to be the boy sweeping the girl away, but at this point, all I knew is we needed to be swept! So, we swept ourselves off. We enjoyed a luxurious breakfast on Sabbath morning:

Then, we hopped the noon boat to Anacortes. We hit up Gere-A-Deli, our fave sandwich place. Then, we hit the road. Our plan was to head up to Bellingham (where the nearest Trader Joe's is!) via the Chuckanut Highway. It's a picturesque, winding road that goes through farmland, a cute little town, and then along the coast with incredible views!

We took some pictures, went for a short hike, then ended up at a nice pathway where we went for a walk while enjoying the sunset.

It was pretty freezing yesterday! But luckily I had my newly made cowl to keep me warm!

It was a great day...so many amazing memories and things to add to my grateful list.

Aaaand....the results are in, and so far for the year 2012 I have listed 965 gifts! Way closer to 1000 than I thought! I will definitely reach my goal by the end of the year! Hooray! I need to start thinking about what my goal for 2013 will be...any ideas?

Love,
Rachel

New Goal: 10,000

It was a little bit of a long week. Okay, a hugely long week. Last weekend was packed with events on Friday night, Saturday night, and all day Sunday. So, last week just kinda blended into this week and there wasn’t the usual rest and rejuvenation in between. Needless to say, this week was hard. I got sick on Monday. We didn’t have a weekly menu, which is the first time since school has started that we didn’t have a plan for dinner each night. We had a couple late nights working at school.

I found that each night when I would slide in bed and pull out the trusty old thankful journal, it felt a little forced to write things down. I remember thinking that I was having an “off” week with my list. Like the things that I was thankful for were not as good as they usually are.

But I gotta tell ya. Looking over my list right now, I’m thinking, “Man, there were a TON of really good things this week!”

Like:

Lounging by the fire with Squeaks

Take-out Thai food from Anacortes

Laughing hard about blocking Jon’s eyes from the book when his head was in my lap

My students putting forth such a brave effort with their speeches

Support and collaboration from another teacher

Rain on our green roof

Being able to read and relax in bed while Jon cleaned

Having talks about our budget and being a financial team

Dressing up as a patriotic cheerleader and having Jon wear his pants and vest as a press person for the school election rally

Chapstick

Even when it feels hard, ESPECIALLY when it feels hard, I’ve gotta keep listing, rather than give into the lie that it’s all bad or hard or stressful or hopeless. Because there is so much good around me. SO much.

I really like the new song by Chris Tomlin, “10,000 Reasons.” It says:

“You’re rich in love, and You’re slow to anger

Your name is great, and Your heart is kind

For all your goodness I will keep on singing

Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find”

Hmm…new goal? 10,000 rather than 1,000. I think so.

Stay tuned for the next blog in which I will reveal how close I am to my goal of 1,000 gifts for the year 2012.