Top ten in 2010: #1

...and the number one thing I'm thankful for in 2010: my best friend.

Mrs. O is indeed, my best friend.  She is my most faithful fan.  My confidante when I need to tell someone my secrets.  My accountability.  My security blanket when I don't think I'm good enough.  My lover.  My companion when I'm lonely.  My stability in the storms.  My support when I don't think I can keep going.  My quality assurance when I am about to run a red light.  My whimsy when all I can muster is serious.  She is what I want. 

Thank you, Mrs. O for another wonderful year.  I would choose you again, and again.

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!

Top 10 in 2010 #3
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Top 10 in 2010: #10

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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Top 10 in 2010: #10

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!

Top 10 in 2010 #5
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Top 10 in 2010: #10 



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!

Top 10 in 2010: #9 
Top 10 in 2010: #10

Top ten in 2010: #9

I'm thankful for replaceable things that remind us of the things that aren't.

Top 10 in 2010: #10

Top ten in 2010: #10

It's chilly and gray.  I sometimes want to be grumpy about that, but today I'll think about other things.  In fact, to get me through the darkening days of winter, here begins my top ten things of 2010--in no particular order:

Moments of Reflection

Little E and I spent a wonderful afternoon riding with Mommy around the farm on Grandpa's "jitney."  We paused along the way to toss rocks into the water and to watch the sticks and leaves float under the bridge!  Mommy photographed us along the way.  

I used to have somewhat of a tough time taking a moment to relax.  I felt like I had to always be doing something.  I'm thankful to have these liberating moments, and to have a wife who has taught me that pausing for a moment of fun is "doing something."