weekly gratitude

thank you for heels + tights for NOT killing my feet Saturday night!

Sorry I didn't get this posted last night - I was completely wiped out. 

Saturday night was mild-to-moderate madness (in the best way, as always) being that it was the culmination of a lot of things: a big work event for me (more on that to come!), Jared's EMT testing and oh, yeah, twenty-six years in the life of Maggie (and twenty-four years in the life of Jared's sister, Alyssa)! 

Then yesterday was the Superbowl (no, I wasn't too concerned with who won - I was however deeply invested in eating a cheeseburger, drinking a glass of wine and playing with Frankie & Matty's dog McDreamy while Tom Brady pouted). 

Unlike the Patriots however, I have much to be thankful for...

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1. Thank you for MICHULL AND MAGGIE BEING HOME IN PORTLAND. This also means Mike and Dean have been reunited. The world may not be ready for that, but I'm still grateful. 

2. Thank you to the girl from Kenya who called into the radio station I listen in on to remind me that if we are faithful, and trust God, we will be amazed at how His timing makes all of the trials worth it. 

3. Thank you for the friend who boosted my faith, my trust and my appreciation for frankness and honesty. It's funny how someone can pop into your mind and a simple text to say "hello!" can result in a conversation that brings not only a smile to your face, but peace to your heart. Amazing. Simply amazing. 

4. Thank you to Diane Comer. Her blog has been such an integral part of waking me up to what's really important. Every time I read her words I feel almost overwhelming joy - which is always really awesome when I'm at work and get all teary-eyed thinking, "Oh, it's so slow, I totally have time to read this and let my eyes dry out before someone comes -- OH! Hi, welcome, did you want to do some wine-tasting today?"

5. Thank you for dinner with Jodi & Mari! Tuesday night we met up at the B&B where Miss Mari is staying/housesitting and made a fantastic dinner (Mari made this roasted acorn squash situation with a fresh herb dressing, Jodi brought prosciutto-wrapped shrimp with a dressing I would like to bathe in, and I made a new rendition of the brussels sprout salad I concocted at Thanksgiving, updating it with pancetta and dried tart cherries... Oh, and lots of good wine!) Basically, we're just really good at life and you should be jealous. 

6. Thank you for the fact that I love my job. Sunday morning we started a new series at church about Work. Did you know that somewhere between 43-77% of people hate their job?! That's nuts. I realize I'm not curing cancer here, or solving the world's problems necessarily, but I get to talk to people everyday from around the world, share some truly spectacular wines (made by a winemaker who genuinely loves his job and lets it show in his wines), work with some of my favorite people (see #5) and stare at the rolling hills of the Willamette Valley (and, on a clear day, Mounts Hood & Jefferson) - I am so very blessed. And I don't mind bringing my work home with me (she said as she enjoyed a glass of pinot noir). 

7. Thank you for the fact that Jared passed his EMT exams! There was never any doubt that he wouldn't really; after running countless scenarios with him and helping the kid study like a madman, I knew he had it in the bag. But prayer always helps. And the fact that he's now studied for, and passed, the EMT exams in Indiana, Oregon and on the national level? Hot damn. He just amazes me with his intelligence and determination sometimes. I mean sure, I could document a scene with flowery language and descriptions, but he can literally save a human life. Wow. I still marvel at him. And thank you all so much for the sweet comments and emails of luck and encouragement for him (he only got a little bit miffed that I mentioned it on this here blog - worth it). 

8. Did I mention that Mike and Maggie were back?

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Well, it's been gloriously cool and sunny here for the past week and I'm hoping it will hold out at least another day longer. I walked over to The-Seattle-based-Coffee-Company-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named (because it's viable blasphemy in Portland) the other day to take advantage of their free wifi (what can I say? The indie coffee shop within walking distance doesn't have internet!) and I couldn't get over how gorgeous is was (if you follow me on Instagram (laurenjeanallece) you saw my picture of Mount Hood from my walk!)

I'm hoping to get off my bum and do some good writing this week. I have all these ideas/photos stored up but need the kick in the pants to actually get things accomplished. 

On the upside, I've been posting more over at Salt + Light lately! I'm looking forward to a guest post from Martha over at A Softer Side Of Strong coming up soon (big thanks to Kate at Daffodil's for getting us in touch with one another!) as well as diving into Martha's blog more because even a few posts in I'm hopelessly hooked.

And again on that note, if you're interested in posting about faith, spirituality or anything like that that's on your mind shoot me an email, I'd love to get your writing out there! Any topic you want is fantastic, I want to hear your thoughts!

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Have a happy week all!