Top Ten in 2010:#2

Playing in the dirt!

I've learned a lot about gardening with little boys this year:

Focus on learning the skill, not accomplishing the task.

It's ok to water the empty dirt...you don't spill any seeds that way.

Gardening fun increases the more dirt you can put on your person.

Seedlings and weeds look a lot alike.

Simple is good.

It's about the boys, not the garden.

I have enjoyed every second that Mrs. O and I have spent with our boys in the garden this year.  It's especially fun when the boys are picking fresh peas from the vines and eating them like candy!

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Top Ten in 2010: #3

Making Cookies!

I wish you could taste these cookies!  We found the recipes on another blog that Mrs. O follows.  It's great!  We've tried a couple of the things she features on her blog...I wish we lived closer and could take personal lessons!  She's much better than we are, but we're having fun. 

I'm thankful for the fun things that we find to do together.

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Comic of the week...bored!

Top Ten in 2010: #4

Summer days in Maine.

Today it will get up to about 27 degrees here on the coast of Maine...at least that is the prediction.  The ground is snow-covered, the wind is whipping and I'm closing my eyes and imagining that I am living in USDA zone 7!  Oh well, it is time to order my seeds and browse the catalogs for hours on end.  It will soon be summer again and we'll be lounging in our adirondack chairs, sippies in hand!

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Comic of the week...Merry Christmas!

Top Ten in 2010: #5

Pancakes!

Who isn't thankful for pancakes!  I'm also thankful for the whimsical wife who makes them rainbow colors.  Mrs. O takes great care of her boys!  She is constantly looking for fun new things for us to eat.  She makes sure that we are getting the healthy stuff along with the fun stuff.  She takes all of our opinions into consideration...right down to the littlest among us!

Thanks for loving us in so many tangible ways, Mrs. O.

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Comic of the week...in the tub!

Top Ten in 2010: #6

Snuggling

I'm thankful for snuggling.  Sometimes with little boys, snuggling looks a lot more like wrestling than actual snuggling, but I enjoy it in all its forms.  I love being the safe place.  I don't even mind that my shirts get all gooey!

Top 10 in 2010: #7
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Comic of the week...being quiet!

Top Ten in 2010: #7

Lazy days on our first family vacation: Sorrento, Maine

Lounging in a chair on the deck in the Maine summer sun.  We had a blast hanging out as a family!  Our vacationing habits have changed a bit over the past couple of years.  When we first got married, I wanted lots of vacation time to either do nothing, or work on home projects...Mrs. O wanted lots of vacation time to do fun touristy things, go to the city, museums, etc.  Now, we seem to expect similar things.

There are times when this new phase of marriage can seem less than exciting.  We now have young boys who rule our schedule, more or less.  We have to find childcare if we want to go out on a date.  Due to our early morning waking hours, we don't like to stay out late.  We are starting to really know each other such that there aren't that many surprises anymore.  The adrenaline level is just generally lower.  It is in this 'comfortable' stage that we have to create our excitement.  We have to be intentional.

I'm thankful for the 'boring' days at home, because home is my escape from the world.  I'm thankful for the lack of surprises, because it means I am known.  I'm thankful for the lower level of adrenaline, because I have greater security.  I'm thankful for early waking, because it means I have two amazing little boys.  I'm thankful for lazy days of reading in the sun, because I have my best friend beside me.

Top 10 in 2010: #8
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Top Ten in 2010: #8

Silliness...yes, I'm thankful for silliness.  There was a time--shortly after being married--that I was less than thankful for silliness.  There was the time when Mrs. O was hollering, "Oh, no!  What's that?"  She was pointing to a brown fuzzy spot on the floor.  It was fuzzy to me, because I wasn't wearing my glasses.  I can only see about 6 inches from my face without my glasses, so I ran to rescue my new bride from the horrors that were lying on our bathroom floor.

It was a leaf.

She was teasing me.  She knew that I couldn't see without my glasses.  First thing in the morning, she was teasing me.  I was not thankful for silliness that day.

Now, I am thankful for silliness.  I have learned to be thankful for silliness.  I have learned that you don't have to be good to sing in the car.  I have even become comfortable singing with Mrs. O which is a big step for me.  I have learned that the best joke is the one you play on yourself.  I have learned that I have more fun when I don't take myself too seriously.  I have learned that a real smile reaches my eyes.  I have learned how to laugh with abandon.

Thank you, Mrs. O for teaching me to expand my serious comfort zones and laugh until I cry.  I dearly love to laugh.  I didn't know what I was missing!

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Comic of the week...fashionably late!