Here is my gratitude list for this week…

1. Laughter from simple fun 

My parents gave me this spinning leather chair from their home. I spent many hours spinning in that chair when I was growing up…so fun to see my boys making memories in it as well.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVUR7ah1LDE]

2.  Radio Shack

For over a year I’ve been placing old batteries in this Ziploc bag waiting to recycle them. New Years Eve I lugged this heavy bag into Radio Shack. Yes, Radio Shack. Thankfully you just hand them over and they will recycle them for you.  It’s that easy.

3. New pens 

I don’t know where my pens go, but I’m always looking for one. So this week I invested in these super cool Sharpie pens…yep, Sharpie! It’s a “clicky” pen…you know one without a cap…love it! (Thanks Kari S. for the recommendation!).

4. Yummy Ice Cream

I grew up on Breyer’s ice cream but since I’ve lived in TX for 7 yrs I can’t imagine enjoying any ice cream other than Blue Bell. Over the holidays I discovered my new favorite flavor… Chocolate Almond Marshmallow. mmmm…good!

5. Online Motivation & Accountability

Here are some wonderful challenges that I’m excited about for this new year:

• Maximize your Mornings: This challenge has provided me motivation & accountability to get up early each morning…waking up for my children not to my children. Unfortunately the sign-ups for winter/spring challenge are over, but it’s worth checking out Kat’s eBook (see sidebar for link) on how to “Maximize Your Mornings” and joining the conversation on twitter  (#hellomornings) or Facebook.
• The Gentleness Challenge: On Monday I discovered this challenge and it helped get me out of a little rut…the word “gentle” was going through my head all day. Here is a quote from the post: “Surprisingly, when we harshly tell our children we do not like something they are doing – all they hear is – “you don’t like me“- period. It’s the harshness that accompanies the correction that causes the child to take personal offense and not listen.” Each Monday Courtney will be posting a video clip to encourage us in handling our children with gentleness.
• The Joy Dare: I written many times about how much I love Ann Voskamp’s book “One Thousand Gifts.” But I have neglected my gratitude list…eventhough I downloaded the 1000gifts app on my phone. Now, Ann is daring us to make a list of 1000 gifts in 2012. I’m hoping to take on her “dare”. Join me?
• Mommy Time Challenge: Have you been able to make time in your day for one-on-one time with each of your kiddos? What has made it difficult to spend this time? What activities have your kiddos chosen? Have you seen any changes in behavior? It definitely took focus but we accomplished “mommy time” on Wednesday and in the afternoon on Thursday. The boys have chosen: Legos, trains, “throw the bear”, and swinging as their activities.

What were some of your favorites this week? 

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