12/23/14 - TEN ON TUESDAY

Almond syrup - Monique knows how much I love almond flavored and scented things, so she shared some homemade almond syrup with me. I hate coffee, which is what most people would add it to, so I hunted down a recipe for baked goods instead. This almond bread turned out great and you could easily make it with some Torani syrup, which is actually how it was intended to be made.

Crafty decor - I gathered way too many twigs for a project with our homeschool group a couple months ago, so I decided to stretch myself and do something crafty with some of them. My original plan involved twig stars, strung on twine, hanging from a branch that fell off a tree in our yard and got mounted to the wall at the head of our bed. It would have been headboard-ish. That didn't work out very well and I ended up hanging twig stars randomly on the wall instead. It's not what I had in mind, but it's growing on me. Step one in turning our plain and boring bedroom that we've had for three years into a place that I like to relax in.

Dara Maclean - My sister introduced me to this artist a year or two ago. I love her music, voice, and lyrics. Good stuff! You can check out her site, then, if you're like me, listen to her on Spotify, Pandora, or Youtube.

Gratitude - Devon spontaneously drew up a card for our whole family to sign, thanking the recipient for things they've done. Oh, it made me smile! Sometimes parenting (and I mean parenting anyone, not just little Ws) can be discouraging or just simply tiring, but those moments where you see maturity and character make it worthwhile.

Leaves & dirt - I got to rake a ton of leaves and move compost to some flower beds. In sunshine. While wearing shorts and a t-shirt. In December. If you've known me very long, then you know that's my happy place. So thankful for a warm afternoon, fresh air, and a yard to work in!

Open houses - We decided a couple months ago to start hosting a monthly open house, a time for people to pop in for however long they want and visit, eat, and/or play games. We've had two so far, one in November and another in December, and they've been exactly what I hoped for. We've had a mix of families and singles, people from all the different circles of our lives, and a wide age range all hanging out together. I love it!

Marriage tips - Jessica, my brother-in-law's sister, linked 36 Things I Know After 36 Years of Marriage on Facebook a week or two ago. It's a quick read filled with many good things to remember. And, really, it's a good read even if you're single because what's true in marriage is usually true in any relationship. Here are a few of my favorite things on the list.

** The term wedded bliss should be stricken from every couple's vocabulary. Marriage is wonderful in many ways, but expecting bliss makes the inevitable rough times seem like a problem when they're simply part of the deal.

** Marriage doesn't get good or stay good all on its own.

** Learning how to make up is essential since you'll never, ever, get to a point where neither one of you screws up.

Phone - It's pretty rare for me to lose things, but I lost my phone in mid-November. We knew it was lost at home, but all our efforts to find it, and there were many of them, were in vain. We'd been talking about getting another phone for the kids to have when they're home alone (they just keep mine and I go phone-less) or for Silas to take if he's babysitting, so we just did a complete update of our phone situation. But my old phone never turned up. Tim thought I'd dropped it while working in the yard. I didn't think so, as I don't keep my phone with me all the time and never take it outside if there are people inside. It turns out he was right. I found it buried in some leaves when I was working in the yard yesterday. A dirty, water-logged phone. I guess "never" wasn't the right word to describe how often I take my phone outside when people are inside. Oops.

Smiles & waves - Naomi suggested that we wear Santa hats on a recent run. I obliged, but she told me she was disappointed that people didn't honk and wave when they saw the hats. That girl loves to get honks and waves when she's out for a run and it happens a few times a week as people that we know drive by.  She was pretty sure that the hat would spur more friendliness and was bummed when it didn't.

We went on a run yesterday and I suggested we wear the hats again because it's Christmas week. She obliged, but without any enthusiasm. We'd finished about two of our three miles when she told me again that she was bummed no one was responding to the hat. I told her again that seeing a smiling kid running down the road with a Santa hat probably brought smiles to people's faces, even if she couldn't see it, and that's the point. That didn't help, so I suggested that she initiate the kindness that she was seeking. Life lesson there, right? She did. In fact, she waved at every car that passed us for the last mile. And guess what happened? Every single person that looked her way smiled and waved back. Several of them honked. One gave her a thumbs up. She was a very happy girl ... with a sore right arm.

Younger brother - Teebs is one of three boys in our family, but he's the only one who has an older sister. Which means this happened.