What I'm Loving Wednesday

• Working out
• Volunteering at the Clinic
• Being challenged and asked my opinon
• Lunch dates
• The mountains after the rain 
• His sweatshirts
• Old photos
• Skyping with friends
• Care packages
• Granddaddy's snail mail
• iTunes
• Safety in the storm
• Pumpkin Candles
• Christmas gifts coming together
• FINALLY being able to iron our table cloth, cloth napkins, and cloth placemats
• Celebrating a friends birthday
• Buying gifts for people
• Tears
• Songs played at just the right time
• My Beautiful Wife Bible study
• Introducing myself to a new girl at the post office
• Chocolate!! 
• Skyping with my brother
• Perfect timing 
• Absentee Ballots

What I'm Loving Wednesday

• Autumn Wreath and Pumpkin Spice Candles
• Homemade bread
• Hand written letters
• Finding presents for people back home
• Skyping with friends from home
• Watching a little dip his paci in chocolate gelato and slurping it up
• Productive mornings
• PWOC Bible Study
• Random Bible verses that speak
• A new crockpot
• Slippers on my feet
• New contacts!!! I can see!!! 
• Lists. I love lists. And I have a new website called AveList that makes it so much more fun!
• The mountains after a rain storm
• Fall decorations
• Pumpkin everything!!
• Svizzero pastry...new favorite
• Latte macchiato

What I'm Loving Wednesday...on Friday

• My photography class on Thursday Nights
• My Thursday date nights with new friends
• The talk of the future
• The sound of the camera shutter
• The frustration of figuring out how the camera works
• The new slide show I put together just so I can see his face
• Feeling needed
• The ability to breathe 
• Friends that fan me during airplane landings
• Flowers 
• The tears that flow
• The hope that lies ahead
• Friends that love your quirks
•  Sore muscles
• Increasing weight during a work out
• Holding a newborn babe
• A husband who honestly loves me with no one else in mind
• Searching for new studies
• Cast Iron friends

What I'm Loving Wednesday

• the cool air
• the rain
• being able to curl up with a blanket
• reading my books
• seeing a friends baby bump
• hearing that everything is going to be alright
• friends that are awake at all hours of the night
• candles
• frozen food
• strawberry wine
• What's App
• a church that prays for our boys
• Friends that knock some sense in you 
• needing to sleep with the duvet cover
• new light bulbs
• church bells ringing
• a functioning car
• packages
• crossfit buddies
• James

What I'm Loving For Wednesday

• Skyping with my love  
• His Lego t-shirt
• Skyping with Fawn and Tirzah
• Encouraging emails
• Buying books on the Kindle
• Eating a normal person's dinner
• The mountains after the rain
• Meeting new people
• Cold river water
• Drinking Moscato on the river bank
• Having a mildly clean house
• Anticipating the arrival of family
• Safety
• Being loved from far away
• Writing cards
• Sleeping in
• The sound of thunder
• Napping during storms
• My Italian neighbors talking to each other
• Randomly talking to an old man on the sidewalk and understanding him
• Coffee out of a vending machine

What I'm Lovin' Wednesday

• My sister and Kalyn are HERE
• We celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary
• Spent the night in Venice
• Bath robes and slippers
• Little notes
• Family pictures
• Red wine
• Pizza to-go
• Homemade meals
• Using our china
• Looking for a china cabinet
• New movies
• Finally walking into the cafe down the street
• New rose buds
• Finding new places around town to eat
• Phone calls to just check-in
• Window shopping
• A husband who just wants to spend time with me
• Finding last minute deals
• A clean kitchen
• Being sore
• An easy run
• Sunshine after rainy days
• My sister's opinion

What I'm Loving Wednesdays

Recently, I have really been trying to focus on all of the "little things." I started re-reading the book 1,000 Gifts while we were in Spain and it once again opened my eyes. It really does make the days better when you look for the little things that God has given you in the moment and does wonders for the soul to be thankful for them. The old saying, Stop and smell roses, has been my running through my head this past week. There is no need to rush through life, and right now I feel like the days are slipping through my fingers and I have nothing to grasp onto...except for those little things:

• slow runs
• finding a church
• singing real music
• greetings from members
• the laughter from Molly
• all of her silly faces
• getting lost in deep thoughts
• being brave enough to share 
• sweatshirts
• wine
• finally being motivated to put away the laundry
• updates from friends
• prayers for those who are deployed
• His perfect timing
• falling asleep on the couch
• waking up before the alarm
• not falling back asleep
• the poppies
• the white flakes of some flower floating through the air
• running into people all of the place and feeling comfortable enough to speak with them
• a new friend
• Skype

What I'm Loving Wednesday's

• Finding a new park
• Sun hitting my face on a run
• A rooster cock-a-doodle-dooling 
• A little, white bunny
• Baby chicks
• Bottles of wine
• Carolina In My Mind
• Long drives with friends
• Italian farm houses
• Cooing of a little baby
• Text message from James
• Gelato truck music
• Using our mortor and pestle for the first time
• The aroma of rosemary, thyme and garlic
• James home
• Random day trips
• Walled cities
• Plane tickets booked
• Family emails
• Greek yogurt
• Using cloth napkins
• James' reaction to the house 
• 2 late call mornings
• Dark chocolate M&M's

What I'm Loving Wednesdays

Don't freak out people. I'm actually doing this on Wednesday. Woot Woot. 

• The silent car rides with the windows down and the birds chirping
• Watching the Italian school children run around and play
• Parents riding a bike with 2 or 3 kids piled on top
• Random lunches
• Italian friends that speak to me slowly
• New sub in Italian class who takes the time
• How the marble feels cool against my feet
• Once again blessed my friends who reach out even though we are miles apart
• Watching a friends daughter army crawl her way across the floor
• Cookie Dough ice cream
• Finally coming to the realization that Italians rarely use subjects in sentences
• The orchid that I found on the side of the road
• Sweet email from my love
• Branching out on my own to look into new stores

What I'm Loving Wednesday/Thursday

• Gmail Chat 
• Wonderful and uplifting conversations
• Emails from South America
• Friends stateside
• The warmth of the sun
• My curtains 
• Finding uses for the ridiculous amount of white vinegar that I bought
• Learning new things
• The Fray's newest CD
• Packages that need sending
• Streams in the Desert
• Redeeming love
• The new Carolina basketball outfits
• AFN is finally working
• The HR representative that helped me retrieve my W2 quickly
• James' day off
• Sticking to my grocery list
• Making dinner for more than us
• Finding a sushi place and friends to share it with
• Internet
• A baby's reach
• Volunteer opportunities 
• The Carolina Blue rental car!! 
• Preemptive prayer- well my thoughts of preemptive prayer

What I'm Loving Wednesday

• My landord. Today I got to spend the afternoon with her- it was amazing. She even took me next door for coffee with her sister! She taught me some Italian and it was an incredible blessing
• The clinic. While it is not a hospital, and does not meet any of the requirements I had for a place that I would work, I am so thankful for something to do
• Italian coffee. It's just that good. 
• Meat that is not in an air sealed bag
• The travel bug
• Putting a new phone number in my phone
• Friends showing up on my doorstep
• The smell of gingerbread
• New friends dropping everything to come to my rescue
• My husband that loves me more than I could ever ask for
• It's staying light outside for longer!! 
• New desires

What I'm Loving Wednesday

 

Well, I got called out for not doing this last week. My B. It surprisingly warmed my heart though that people do read. Sometimes I feel like all of this is just stupid, but then I remember that I do want these memories one day, and I am for sure not going to be able to remember them all when I leave this place, so it is necessary to keep the blog. Here is what I am loving today:

• Finding blueberries at the commissary...I've been really wanting to make blueberry muffins
• Having a car and paying it forward- today I was able to help a friend out by driving her a couple of places. Not a big deal, but it nice to know that I am able to help people the way James and I were helped when we first got here
• Cereal. It's a cereal for dinner kind of night.
• A friend's surprise visit
• My landlord that came down with the heating technician to translate and look at my house
• Downton Abbey. Obsessed. And successfully hooked all of my friends out here on it
• Open shutters- reminded how much natural light can really change and brighten a day
• The precious time I get in the car with James 
• A Valentine's Day package that came in the mail!!! My box of chocolates is already half way gone...
• The funny card and amazing chocolate my sweet boy gave me
• Finding an awesome pizzeria down the street
• Learning how to say Happy Valentine's Day in Italian! San Valentino!! 
• Resiliency training provided by the Army Community Services
• Random emails
• Finally catching friends on Skype
• Meaningful conversations about the road ahead with James
• Eucalyptus Shower gel
• The laughter of my friends little girl