Thoughts today...

I am having a sentimental day...one of those days that has me thinking of life in general. Thinking of what is going well and what is working and how to improve in certain areas. Really reflecting and pondering on balance in my life. What a good way to grow as a person! I like to think that if you sit down and take inventory of your life, you tend not to repeat mistakes, you don't take your time for granted, and you can make a concious effort to make things run smoother. For me, I am all about organization! I am finally feeling very organized in my scrapbook space...this is no small feat considering that I have boxes and boxes of product for kits. I am getting into the groove of things and getting a LOT more accomplished in a smaller amount of time. Instead of getting caught up in productivity (and isn't it easy to rate your day on how many things you crossed off of your list) I am taking into consideration the little things that most of us don't have on our to-do list. Like making cookie-cutter shaped sandwiches for lunch. Taking some time to draw with the kids and have some "deep" conversations with them. I love to hear about what's going through their minds at any particular moment. Many times I am too busy to ask those kinds of questions. But any time I DO ask I am always amused! Tonight at dinner sitting across the table from Tanner I said "Tell me a story." If you only knew Tanner you would know that he can tell great stories. His imagination is never-ending! He even uses different voices for the characters. They are always about animals of course, that is his passion in life. But my favorite part about his stories is that they always have happy endings. The baby dolphin always gets away from the angry shark, and the kids always make it safely home from their bear hunt. And couldn't we all use more happy endings in our daily lives?! I think so. Maybe I am getting sentimental because he will be turning 5 this month and that doesn't seem humanly possible. Maybe it's just that I want to know exactly what is on his mind and how he's feeling right now. I am amazed at their perception and intuition at this age! Tomorrow is picture day for him at preschool and I am planning to do a mini photo shoot before he goes...don't we all have a few school photos that are real winners? (The ones we wish that someone would have said RETAKE!) So hopefully I will get a few and share those tomorrow. I got his hair cut today and it is a drastic change, and now I'm off to iron a shirt for him to wear tomorrow!

I found this magneted to the light switch in my scrapbook room tonight and thought I would share it. It's his self-portrait. It may not be beautiful by some standards, but it is priceless to me and I LOVE IT!