Thankful Thursday #175

"And whatever you do or say,
do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks through him to God the Father."
~Colossians 3:17

Today, I am thankful for...

1.  This sweet Valentine's Day surprise - flowers and candy from the Whitaker fam... seeing these three at my door was the very cutest! ❤

2.  A fun FaceTime call with the Wilson fam, thanks to Miss Parker Elizabeth asking to "caw Winsee!" ❤ 

3.  Yesterday was also the Half-Birthday of the Mini Miss K! lol  She called me on Tuesday night with "the best news of her life!!"  The coach of the 11-year-old club team (a level up from her team) has been watching their practices and asked if Kyndal could join their team for the Nationals tournament in Orlando, Florida this summer... that was a real quick yes, so get excited!  And congrats to her for being the one younger player they selected to move up - she was thrilled!! ❤

(10th bday party poster!)

An entertaining volleyball practice

3.  My new Betsy Johnson purse arriving the day before Valentine's Day... a clearance-sale "Galentine's day" gift from me to me! ;-) ❤

4.  Booking tickets for AFD's 10th anniversary at the Ryman Theater and planning a fun Nashville weekend trip with my cousin, Mandy, this August! ❤

5.  This book and the accompanying sermons, which are already inspiring new life and hope! ❤

6.  My new shirt, a fun Super Bowl purchase that can be a year-round thing (unless or until they break up). ❤

7.  Gradually feeling better about my upcoming birthday.  I've been in a real spirally headspace about it, the introvert version of Cam's 40th birthday meltdown! lol  (Hence the writer's block and binge eating and burnout and thinking I should shut everything down here - which is unlikely.)  But when I let myself feel and grieve the legitimate disappointments and unmet expectations, and when I pull back from the self-imposed timelines that didn't pan out... I come out of that realizing I'm honestly in a pretty good place with God and with my relationships and life goals, and I have so much to be grateful to God for and to feel hopeful about moving forward, so I'm choosing to focus on that and celebrate this milestone birthday without unfair pressure this weekend!! ❤

(Dramatic inner me the past few weeks.)

8.  This reminder that what I want and need matters just as much as what everyone else wants for me and/or needs from me! ❤

9.  Cheryl... today is her last day working at the courthouse, so Judge bought us lunch at Victoria's Pasta Shop, and Cheryl's daughter threw a lovely retirement party for her in our courtroom!  (I was also very grateful to hear that Judge has hired a new bailiff who will be starting March 1st, meaning I'm only in charge of bailiff-ing for 8 days... which feels much more doable!)

10.  Being fully caught up on progress notes and on this week's homework ahead of time, thanks to a delightful break from group projects, which are the bane of my existence this semester... very much looking forward to a restful night ahead! =)

Happy Thursday to you!

And Happy Birthday in Heaven to Anthony Eugene Whitaker!

❤