things i love thursday

Have I mentioned before how much I love Longfellow?

Happy Thursday, everyone! I hope you've all had a great week - I myself am so happy we're past the mid-week hump and only have one more day until the weekend. It's been good, just long...and COLD! We had a little Spring teaser for a few days last week, but then the temps did a nose dive and it was 17 degrees when I woke up this morning. That's too cold for March in Tennessee, y'all. This weather has been unexpected and unwelcomed, but the forecast shows a rise back to the 70's over the weekend and Monday is the first day of Spring!

I sounded like a weather man just then.

First of all, two weeks ago I had a couple of my friends over for a brunch. We've called it the "brunch that nearly turned into lunch" because we traveled from the kitchen...to the living room...to their cars and conversation kept cropping up and it's so hard to say goodbye when you know it will be weeks or months before you're all together again. As we spent the morning catching up, it was like a battery re-charge. I sat there thinking "this is what's been missing", and it was such a sweet time. On a side note, my friend Faith is expecting a little boy! That's the third boy in a row for my little group of friends, and I cannot. wait. to meet him! (This is also the first boy for her family!)

Last week, our church took a group to the Master Clubs Regional Competition and I was surprised to see another friend that moved to KY when she got married a few years ago. I hadn't seen her since early December so even though it was a quick conversation because we both had commitments elsewhere, it was nice to see her and to bump into each other a few times throughout the day.

On the work side of life, something that's small but a relief to me is having our greeting card display filled up and organized. I've put this job off for a couple of weeks because it really wasn't that bad, but I knew once I tackled it I would have to organize everything. Sure enough, I headed up the stairs, got started...and an hour later every card had a slot, the correct number of envelopes, and the re-fill boxes were completely organized and labeled. I also got a huge tract order in the mail so now we're good for at least a couple of months! You know I can't post a TILT without mentioning some kind of organizing story. Sometimes I think about the little highlights in my week and know it must sound pretty lame to everyone else, but for me, it was a part of my week that I unexpectedly enjoyed.

Slowly but surely, the sickness is tapering off. I've heard of a few people getting a fresh dose of the flu (round #3 or #4), but it's not the majority anymore. Hopefully it will stay contained and everyone can be healthy for Spring! Thankfully none of my family has had anything - I've been using Thieves oil and taking vitamin C almost religiously!

And since the sweet joys of life are so often found in the little things...

giving babies sink bubble baths | shopping for summer clothes for Lena Rae since she has no big sisters and girl clothes are the most fun | aloe plants | party planning | fresh salsa | Wednesday night class shenanigans | Tanner's ability to make even us grown ups laugh (his sense of humor is way beyond a five-year-old. A bad thing at times, but so entertaining.) | progress - however slow - in sign class | the kids dipping their broccoli in ranch - snow on trees! | trips to the library | antique stores | surprise lunches with church friends in restaurants (this happened twice in one week) | early bedtimes | sunshine at 7pm | cooking - I made shrimp for the first time this week and I'm still thinking about it! (the recipe said it served four, but my dad was out of town and it only served three ;) )

I'd already dug in before I thought to take a picture

I hope this weekend exceeds your expectations and that your days are full of joy! What are some things you love this happy Thursday?