ten smile tuesday

another tuesday...another week of smiles. i don't have many pictures from this past week...the camera has been mostly tucked away in a bag, awaiting a trip to the hospital (because otherwise i'm sure to forget it in our haste to figure out where we are dropping the girls and get out the door when the time comes!). i'm still pregnant...although most likely we don't have more than another week left. at our appointment this morning our doctor said he would see me back in one week, and then, as long as the baby was "in position" he would be ready to induce anytime so the baby doesn't just keep getting bigger and bigger on top of the already 9+ lbs. it could very well be. as for me...well, i am praying for a content and patient heart as i wait...a heart that is joyful and finds delight in these last few days as a mommy to two and family of four....rather than being a tired and irritable mama in waiting (...and to be honest...that is where i have been living WAY too much lately!). but...here are a few little smiles from our past week...and i emphasive "little" in many respects...i find these days it is all about taking joy in the everyday moments, because lets be honest...its not like we're out and about doing "big" things all that often!

1. successfully navigating the grocery without any tears or complaining from either of the girls! and, really, this is a big smile...especially since i haven't groceried with both girls by myself for quite awhile...even better that we've been really enjoying snyder's butter snap pretzels that were on a super good sale...and well, they just taste good! (and, no laughing, but yes, the sale was so good that i just might have bought like 8 bags!...oh, and i also scored 5 big ol' boxes of rice krispies for just $1 thanks to great coupons combined with a great sale!)

2. the tasty rice krispie treats we enjoyed for dessert last night...ooey, gooey goodness!

3. finishing the nursery...you can catch a glimpse here if you haven't already

4. a date night with my dearest hubby...yummy mexican food at abuelo's, time to simply run a few errands and enjoy chatting sans the interruption of sweet but insistent little voices, and perhaps some frozen custard afterward (not that we really needed it after our dinners...but hey, it might have been our last alone date for awhile!)

5. dinner with my favorite man and my favorite two little ladies at one of our favorite little restaurants on friday night...and then a fun evening at the park's playground...i do have a few pics from this...but i'm a little unmotivated to walk downstairs and get my phone...and upload them...so perhaps i will add them later. just imagine pics of a certain two girls smiling at the bottom of curly Q slides...a good looking daddy swinging those same girlies on a tire swing...and on and on. it was HOT outside...so a certain prego mama might have spent most of her time simply sitting on a park bench and savoring the sight and sound of that daddy and those girls playing...

6. being surprised by the arrival of several sweet little packages in the mail...gifts for baby from a few certain bloggity friends...incredibly cute, incredibly sweet, incredibly encouraging...and yes, i will eventually share some pictures...

7. slow but sure progress in cleaning and organizing...one room, one task, one day at a time...i'm really looking forward to seeing the trash hauled away tomorow morning...and getting some things dropped off for donation...there is something SO refreshing about getting rid of things!

8. the incredible kindness of a sweet friend who has dropped off multiple loads of hand-me-down clothes for the girls....thanks mel! i had quite a few things for elizabeth from the kohl's 80%-90% off clearance racks last year, and with what we've received i think her entire wardrobe is rounded out...so nice to know i don't need to think about shopping in the midst of all the other "going ons" that are coming up!

9. a refreshing night of prayer and fellowship at our church's monthly fresh encounter prayer service...worship, prayer, and a cook-"in" afterwards (and the "in" part of what was supposed to be a cook-out was a huge blessing since its finally gotten hot and humid like a typical indiana august!)

10. enjoying some fellowship with our small group from church...love the chaos of our meetings...little ones running every which way (at this meeting we had 10 kiddos...9 of them 5 and under! and 7 adults....so, yes, chaos...but in a good way!).

11. as a bonus...how incredibly sweet that one of those gals from our flock group (who happens to have 4 kiddos of her own, including a 3 month old) brought us dinner one day last week after hearing i was feeling exhausted from a cold....very tasty wraps and pasta salad. thanks laura! i am absolutely humbled by the kindness of all of our friends...like my sweet friend, jill, who has been watching my girls on tuesday mornings so i can go to OB appointments without "extras"....we are so blessed by our "family" away from family....