The good stuff.

"Quickie" post tonight, friends... but I promise you I'll "fill in the blanks" tomorrow.

Suffice it to say, I picked up Gracie at the vet today after an overnight stay (ughhh... talk about your whopping dose of 'Mommy guilt" ...) and I need to spend the evening snuggling and kissing my little girl.

But, because I don't need a whopping dose of 'bloggy-guilt', too I like you all an awful lot... here's a quick rundown of life in Amy-ville lately... plus pictures... PLUS a list. ...Really, this isn't such a bad little post after all ;)

Life as I know it (here and now: 6pm on Wednesday night....welcome to chaos.)

• Gracie. My sweet, sleepy girl. Oh, how Mama missed you.
• Baron = spaz. ... Methinks his "comfort your own" gene is all too quickly replaced by the"primal, must survive and protect ME" gene. (Read: apparently Gracie smells like "vet" and so Baron is on the defensive, growling, hissing, and snapping. Lovely. Needless to say, he got booted out of the room really quickly.)
• Currently I am blogging here:
• ...and on the table next to me rests a devotional ... with a half empty bottle of Miller on it. If there is a more candid snapshot into my life tonight, I don't know what it might be. Truly, it's simple: I love God; I love enjoy beer. Sometimes you need (a lot of) both to get you through an evening.
• Weather this week = yuck. Cold, rainy, and decidedly un-May like. I am ready for the sun & warmth to return any.time.now.
• But this? This chaos here? I'll take it. Because sandwiched between the crazy times, I find myself breathing in little moments like this one (see below.) And these are the moments I live for.

(J & Gracie snuggling. Actually, they are both asleep. I am listening to the snores that prove it.)

Good List

1. J. Sometimes I have a hard time putting into words what he means to me, but trust me, it's enough... and so much more.
2. good, long nights of sleep
3. cupcakes!!! Courtesy of the lovely Laurie :)
4. breathy, kitty sighs from the sleeping lovely next to me. (heh. that would be Gracie.)
5. good books; great escapes
6. chocolates that inspire me (... even if I did have to eat about 5 to get a good message like this. actually, now that I think about it, one might argue that was part of the good stuff.. you know... the fact that I had to eat 5 dove promises...)
7. soft blankets for snuggling under, and cushy (orange) 'writing chairs'
8. romantic comedies. because some nights are for laughing, loving, happy ending type movies
9. sweat pants
10. "What a gift of grace to be able to take the chaos from within, and from it create some semblance of order." - Katherine Paterson

And, like always, I'll leave you with the good stuff. Because there is oh-so-much good stuff here tonight. My rainy, grey work days and the stressful 'in-betweens' will not define me, but rather, it's the good, little moments that are writing my story.

What are you thankful for today? What tops today's Good List?