1. My Husband
I was reminded again how grateful I am for this man. He has loved and cared for me so much while I've been recovering from surgery this past week.
And then he spent part of his 35th birthday at the doctor's office with me. {I had been experiencing a lot of pain so he said I had to call the doctor and they wanted me to come in. And then he worked his schedule so he could take me to the doctor.}
This is what love looks like after 12 1/2 years of marriage. He loves well, serves sacrificially, and gives generously. He completes me, challenges me, listens to me, inspires me, believes in me, and still makes me utterly twitterpated. I love you, Jesse, and would marry you all over again!!
{By the way, the pain was from a small infection that they are now treating. After one day of antibiotics and a LOT of sleep, I feel worlds better. But I'm going to take it really, really easy for the next few days so that I can give my body time to completely recover!}
2. Smoothies
I was nauseous for a few days because of the anesthesia and smoothies were one of the few things that tasted good to me. And I was so grateful for them!
Our friends, Stephanie and Ryan (who are currently in Nashville for two months with their kids), brought me a smoothie on two different days. Just because. They also brought our family dinner and took our kids to the skate park. And this week was one of the busiest weeks of the year for them since they are running the Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle.
This is just one example of the many, many friends who reached out, made big sacrifices, and poured into us this week. Local friends brought meals, friends from across the country paid to have dinner delivered, other friends sent flowers, other friends watched our kids, other friends sent cards, so many friends prayed, or sent texts, or listened to me vent when I was discouraged, or sent me texts to make me laugh, or offered to do anything we needed done…
It has been humbling, overwhelming, and deeply moving.
3. Sonlight Homeschool Curriculum
This is our first year to do Sonlight and we are just loving it so, so much! I am teaching Sonlight Core D to the kids in the morning and Jesse is teaching Math, Language Arts, and Science to the kids in the afternoon (we're using Monarch from Alpha & Omega for those subjects).
Jesse and I spent a lot of time looking at curriculum this year and thinking through what would be a good fit for our kids and our teaching styles and what we landed on has just been such a great fit. I'm also grateful for Sarah Mackenzie's book, Teaching From Rest, as it really infused new enthusiasm in me as I approached homeschooling this year.
So while I told you that I thought some of the parts of this book were weird, I was so inspired by so many of the other parts.
The first two sections of the book were especially good and thought-provoking. I've been looking at things around our house in a new light. Does this thing on my wall, this thing on my shelf, this thing in my pantry, this book, this shirt: does it spark joy?
Jesse asked me what "spark joy" meant to me and I told him it was something that uplifted me instead of bringing me down. Something that encouraged me, something that sparked creativity in me, something that made me feel happy and inspired.
I realized that one thing in my life that was not "sparking joy" at all was the big stack of books I have had next to my bed for months. This stack of books was making me feel defeated. Every time I looked at it, I would think about how I should be reading more, how I wished I had more time to read, and on how many books I want to read!
So what did I do this week when I discovered this? I got rid of the book pile! As in, I moved all of the books, save a few, back to the book shelf. It was such a simple thing, but it was so liberating for me! Now, when I see the little pile, it feels doable and realistic, and I find myself wanting to read more!
5. Opportunities to Give Myself Grace
As I mentioned earlier, it's been a week of lots of resting and learning to give myself grace as I recover from surgery. I've discovered I'm not really good at this resting thing - especially when it's taken me days longer to feel better than we had expected it would.
I'm impatient. I don't like to be needy. I don't like to take it easy.
But I've learned a lot through it. I'm developing new compassion for people who struggle with chronic fatigue or chronic illness. I'm learning to gratefully and willingly receive from others instead of saying, "I'm fine" or "I can do it myself."
I'm learning that it's hard to admit weakness but that doing so encourages others who are also struggling. And most of all, I'm realizing how much I have to be grateful for.
So even though part of me wishes that I had bounced right back from surgery and that anesthesia hadn't done such a number on me, the other part of me is so grateful for the lessons I've learned while being "down and out." I hope I don't soon forget them.
Bonus: Periscope
So I know I've been mentioning this a lot, but I am just LOVING this new way of connecting with you all. I love that I get to interact with you live. I love that it's raw and real and unedited. I love that it allows me to go deeper and foster much closer connection with you all. And it's just fun!
Here's a sample of one of my live shows from this past week (you can't see the comments on this video so if I'm referring to something randomly, it's a comment someone just left):
You can see replays of all of last week's Morning Motivation Shows here.
And be sure to download the Periscope app and search for @MoneySavingMom or Crystal Paine and follow me so that you can be notified each morning when I go live (it's usually around 7 to 7:15 a.m.-ish CT). You can also watch the replays from the app on your phone for 24 hours after the live broadcast.
What are YOU loving this week? Tell us in the comments.
