Wondrous Wednesdays (17)



In the spirit of gratitude, I’m listing wondrous things happening in my world every week on Wednesday.  If you are a blogger and want to list what you are grateful for, feel free to do the same on your own blog every week and please be sure to link back to my blog.   If you are not a blogger, feel free to comment here on my blog with your own three wondrous things you are grateful for on Wednesday. 

(1)

Baby monitors are a wondrous invention.  Right now, as I type this the girls are supposed to be napping, but Alicia is telling Hannah, "You're not supposed to throw your toys out of the bed."  I knew that Alicia asking to go for a rest at the same time I was going to put Hannah down for a nap would be trouble.  At least Alicia informed me that Hannah had to go potty so I could change Hannah's diaper...  It's actually really cute.  However, this is why bed time is usually staggered.  Otherwise they'd never go to sleep in there.  Now Hannah is laughing in there.  I don't know what's going on.  I'm guessing they are playing rather than sleeping.  So I'm going to let them have some fun before I go break it up!!!

(2)

Even though the girls are sick this week and we haven't been able to go anywhere to visit friends yet, I am so thankful for the change to our schedule.  I really am enjoying this first week being home with the girls during the day.  Hoping that by Friday they are both better so I can head to 9am mass with them and possibly followed by the moms group at our church.  Thank you hubby.  Someday it will be a different job too!

(3)

It is wondrous how much Alicia is excited about Elfie, the name she gave the Elf on the Shelf.  She has watched the movie I don't know how many times.  And it makes asking her to do something much easier.  I'm not normally one to go with the secular holiday traditions, but this one is pretty cute.  She will go look for Elfie through the day to check to make she she is still there.  She hasn't woken up thinking about looking for her yet, but I'm guessing that will be soon.  Thank you Santa for sending the girls their elf.

Below is a linky list if you’d like to add a link to your own Wondrous Wednesdays. (1) Make sure the link you submit is to the URL of your post and not your main blog URL. (2) Include a link back here.

Wondrous Wednesdays (16)



In the spirit of gratitude, I’m listing wondrous things happening in my world every week on Wednesday.  If you are a blogger and want to list what you are grateful for, feel free to do the same on your own blog every week and please be sure to link back to my blog.   If you are not a blogger, feel free to comment here on my blog with your own three wondrous things you are grateful for on Wednesday. 

(1)

So this happened on a Saturday, but I still feel grateful for the compliment today. My hubby, girls, parents, sister and I went out to dinner at Ruby Tuesday Saturday night, which by the way was a lot better than I expected it to be.  We walked to our table and there was an older couple sitting nearby and as I was settling the girls in I heard the gentleman mutter under his breath, "We just can't get away from it."  I thought it may have to do with young children in a restaurant, but couldn't be sure.  But he definitely looked aggravated.  As they got up to leave, we were still there enjoying the last bits of our meal.  The man leaned over to me and said, "Your children are very well behaved.  You should be proud."  I thanked him and thought to myself how nice of him to say something.  I guess making Alicia and Hannah sit at the table while we all eat and finish our meal is worth the effort.  There are days it does not seem to be. 

(2)

Hubby has made it to my Wondrous Wednesday list again, merely for his love and support.  He  always seems to know what to say when I need it most.

(3)
I think it is wondrous how God works in our lives, behind the scenes.  Even when we do not know what it is He is doing, it is revealed to us in due time.  Praise God for all the wondrous works He does in my life.  Truly blessed!

 

Wondrous Wednesdays (15)



In the spirit of gratitude, I’m listing wondrous things happening in my world every week on Wednesday.  If you are a blogger and want to list what you are grateful for, feel free to do the same on your own blog every week and please be sure to link back to my blog.   If you are not a blogger, feel free to comment here on my blog with your own three wondrous things you are grateful for on Wednesday. 

(1)

It is truly wondrous that my husband, after three plus years of a night shift - basically since our first daughter was born, has made the switch to a day shift this past Monday.  I feel like I can already see a difference in his demeanor and happiness level, only after two days.  Sometimes a small change can make all the difference.  I am so happy for him that he can now be home for dinner and putting his little ladies to bed.  He was an occasional bedtime story teller on weekends and days off, but now he should be able to be there for all of that.  I think it will be great, not only for the girls and for me, but for him as well.

(2)

My husband has been doing a fast every Wednesday for the past month.   He is doing it as part of e5men - Husbands Fasting for their Wives.  Basically the plan is to

Fast on plain bread and water at least one 24 hour period a month for your bride for her needs of spiritual growth and/or  healing; preferably on the 1st Wednesday of the month.

He sacrifices a lot for us and this is just one more he does to witness to his love for me.  He's had people at work ask about it and he explains the idea behind it.  I am so blessed.

(3)

It is wondrous how much our three year old daughter enjoys hockey and, like me, enjoys Tuesday night with all the "funny hits".  Somehow we have to hope that it will not translate into a love of hitting her sister.  I am glad that my parents can share hockey games with her. I am sure most of why she likes it so much is that she gets to spend some quality time with her memere and pepere.


Below is a linky list if you’d like to add a link to your own Wondrous Wednesdays. (1) Make sure the link you submit is to the URL of your post and not your main blog URL. (2) Include a link back here.

Wondrous Wednesdays (12)



In the spirit of gratitude, I’m listing wondrous things happening in my world every week on Wednesday.  If you are a blogger and want to list what you are grateful for, feel free to do the same on your own blog every week and please be sure to link back to my blog.   If you are not a blogger, feel free to comment here on my blog with your own three wondrous things you are grateful for on Wednesday. 

(1)

It's absolutely wondrous how easily Alicia has gone to bed the past two nights, when for three or four nights in a row it was over two hours of struggle.  It was starting to become a nightmare but I decided to stagger bedtimes so long as Hannah has only had one nap.  Hannah goes to bed first and when she's just about alseep I start the routine with Alicia.  This way Alicia is pretty tired after going all day without a nap.  I I think she feels more safe with me staying in the room, so it's been working out alright so far. 


(2)

What is also wondrous about this new routine is that it gives me a time of quiet for prayer. Time to pray for my girls, talk to God about what is really important.  I've been finding that I'm making some progress.  FINALLY after what seems like maybe a few years of confessing the same thing I may actually make some headway on prayer.  The recommendation of our new pastor helped too.  There are lots of little moments when I'm stressed, aggravated, or the girls do something really sweet, cute or have a fit of the giggles.  These are all times I can use for quick little prayers when I can either ask for help in moments of difficulty or give a quick praise to God for these endearing moments.  So far this idea has really worked out well for me.  I'm hoping to continue to make progress with prayer.


(3)
The last class we taught this past Sunday for the confirmation students was about dating with purity and purpose.  For the most part, disregarding the handouts thrown in the trash on their way out by a select few, the students definitely were paying more attention.  Probably because it was more a how to live this stuff out, a class that was more a guide about dating.  It was truly wondrous to see them sitting there actually looking at us instead of with their heads down, giggling over whatever it is that caused them some distraction.  I still wish that they opened up for discussion a little more, but the seeds are planted and maybe some of them will talk about the class with each other outside of the classroom.  And maybe, next time around, we will manage to figure out a way to get them to open up earlier than the last week of class.  

Wondrous Wednesdays (11)



In the spirit of gratitude, I’m listing wondrous things happening in my world every week on Wednesday.  If you are a blogger and want to list what you are grateful for, feel free to do the same on your own blog every week and please be sure to link back to my blog.   If you are not a blogger, feel free to comment here on my blog with your own three wondrous things you are grateful for on Wednesday. 

(1)

My parents are back from Italy.  It is nice to have them home again and it was just so sweet seeing both of our girls keep repeating memere and pepere over and over again the first few days.  I just love watching our girls play with them.

(2)

Ahhhhh.... I went to reconciliation again.  It had been two and a half months, which was definitely too long.  Our new priest is a wonderful confessor and had some really great tips for me!  I truly think most people don't understand how beautiful reconciliation is!  What an awesome sacrament Jesus gave us. 


(3)
Wondrous giggles at the dinner table!  Both the girls had a case of the giggles Tuesday night.  They laugh at the strangest things, but such joy from little ones is contagious.  They had me and memere in fits of giggles too!

Below is a linky list if you’d like to add a link to your own Wondrous Wednesdays. (1) Make sure the link you submit is to the URL of your post and not your main blog URL. (2) Include a link back here.

Wondrous Wednesdays (10)



In the spirit of gratitude, I’m listing wondrous things happening in my world every week on Wednesday.  If you are a blogger and want to list what you are grateful for, feel free to do the same on your own blog every week and please be sure to link back to my blog.   If you are not a blogger, feel free to comment here on my blog with your own three wondrous things you are grateful for on Wednesday. 

(1)

Having two days off mid-week with hubby to enjoy quality time with our girls will be really wondrous, even if the girls are sick.  We don't take week long vacations these days and we haven't done many day trips with our girls.  So I am pretty thrilled that we have two days to go do something fun together.  I'm hoping Alicia doesn't get sick in the car again because we are going to try to go to another zoo.  And then maybe just spend a day relaxing.  YAY time off together!

(2)

I've been enjoying sharing movies with the girls that I watched as a little girl.  This week we put in Annie since I hadn't seen it in a while and Alicia loves dogs.  I forgot how long it was...  but I have to say that you see thing so differently as an adult than you did as a child.  During the very first song "Maybe," (and quite a few others) I started to get all teary eyed when Annie sung, "their one mistake was giving up me!"  What seems so sweet and romantic as a child, is definitely viewed differently when one has the knowledge of what some kids go through.  I've become an emotional mess since 1.  getting married and 2.  having kids.  I never used to tear up at movies like this.  It's ridiculous and wondrous at the same time.

(3)
Mind you, our 1 year old doesn't do much watching of the said movies like the one I discussed in #2.  She mostly walks around like she's going to take off into a sprint.  She is having such a great time but isn't quite as good at steadying herself as she needs to be.  She bonked her head on the hardwood floor and has a small-ish egg that I think will probably turn all kinds of colors.  Then later, she almost twisted her arm as she was holding one finger and running around me in circles.  I just couldn't keep up.  What a pistol!  As I've said before, she's going to be fun!

Wondrous Wednesdays (9)



In the spirit of gratitude, I’m listing wondrous things happening in my world every week on Wednesday.  If you are a blogger and want to list what you are grateful for, feel free to do the same on your own blog every week and please be sure to link back to my blog.   If you are not a blogger, feel free to comment here on my blog with your own three wondrous things you are grateful for on Wednesday. 

(1)

What is really wondrous is when you are mostly caught up on laundry and there are very few dishes in the sink.  Cannot say how wonderful that really is.  It has been a while since I felt almost on top of things.  Granted there are a ton of 'projects' that need doing, but to feel like the everyday stuff is close to where it should be is truly wondrous. 

(2)

Had a night earlier this week where hubby and I were just able to relax and enjoy watching some TV together.  May be something you think, well what is so wondrous about that?  But with him working an odd schedule and getting home late, all the craziness that has happened the past few months getting ready for this or that, it was like a little bit of heaven to be able to just sit down and hold hands while enjoying a favorite TV show.  Another definitely wondrous moment!

(3) 
My third wondrous moment was that I was able to 'speak' with my mom via FaceBook chat this week.  They left for a two week plus vacation last Wednesday so it has been odd to be here, living in their home, without them here.  Truly wonderful to have a few minutes to check in, even if it was just online.  I knew that the girls would miss memere and pepere and I knew that I would too, but I think sometimes we take for granted speaking with someone every day.  We should never forget that some people do not have the opportunity to do so for one reason or another.  So thankful for getting to spend lots of time with my mom and dad these days.  I am truly blessed.

Wondrous Wednesdays (8)



In the spirit of gratitude, I’m listing wondrous things happening in my world every week on Wednesday.  If you are a blogger and want to list what you are grateful for, feel free to do the same on your own blog every week and please be sure to link back to my blog.   If you are not a blogger, feel free to comment here on my blog with your own three wondrous things you are grateful for on Wednesday. 

(1)

We have climbing!  Yes folks, she had already climbed all the way to the second floor, so I suppose it should not have surprised me when she climbed up on her little pink chair and sat there all proud of herself.  I did manage to get it on video.

 

(2)

Had a great time at a Boston College football game this past weekend with hubby and the girls.  Boy was it humid though.  I almost regretted using the babybjorn, but Hannah fell asleep on me in there, so the sweetness of her falling asleep on me was truly wondrous.  This never happens anymore, so I enjoyed my cuddle time, even though she made me pretty sweaty.  This picture below is post game on the bus ride back to the car.

(3) 

Had a nice afternoon visit to Greely Park unexpectedly on Tuesday for lunch.  We sat at the picnic table for Alicia to eat her pb&j and to give Hannah her bottle, then walked around for a bit before heading back to the house.  I intended to go grocery shopping that afternoon, but sometimes those unexpected trips are really necessary.  I am not a very spontaneous person, but I think I am learning to be spontaneous and to enjoy it rather than to avoid the unexpected. 

Wondrous Wednesdays (7)



In the spirit of gratitude, I’m listing wondrous things happening in my world every week on Wednesday.  If you are a blogger and want to list what you are grateful for, feel free to do the same on your own blog every week and please be sure to link back to my blog.   If you are not a blogger, feel free to comment here on my blog with your own three wondrous things you are grateful for on Wednesday. 

(1)

Baby girl is taking steps and has been since last week on Wednesday. What is cute is that usually she has to hold onto something. Sometimes she just starts going and then realizes she's not holding anything, stops and plops down. When she is holding something, she's really getting confident now and is going a bit faster than she should. No accidents thankfully (I probably shouldn't even write that down!). Most of my wondrous stuff has had to do with her recently, but she's learning so much. New words every day too. She seems to be talking a lot for a one year old, but maybe we just don't remember much of Alicia. Have to start writing down the words she knows.

(2)
I know I mentioned him last week, but my hubby deserves another wondrous Wednesday nod for unexpectedly walking the Jimmy Fund Walk with me and our girls. He is so good to me for just jumping right in and being willing to walk with me. It all started from the get go. The girls were cranky and crying from breakfast time, I was pulled over by a cop, then there were parking difficulties and several toddler potty trips. I don't know I will do a walk like that with young children again. It was an experience but truly it was such a beautiful day for a walk. Unfortunately we didn't even see Caroline but I heard that everyone had a good day. Have to say that I am glad that I didn't keep the 24 pound baby in the babybjorn for the whole walk either. My back hurt less than a quarter mile in and I kept her there for 2 miles. YAY umbrella strollers!

(3) 

This past Monday was four years that my mémère passed away. You're probably thinking and this is wondrous in a good way? Yes, because we are so blessed to have had 95 years (ok, so I wasn't there for ALL of them) with such a sweet, funny and spunky lady. I think about her in those last days: calling me and my hubby cuckoo; saying that he and I needed the training and not our dog; eating some of my apple pie ice cream; her saying with her cute little silly smile that she was “living it up;” and my mom sleeping nearby while I was there holding her hand in the wee hours when she breathed her last, saying way more than ten Hail Mary's in that decade because I wasn't sure how many I had already said. Love her and miss her so much. But I am so blessed and thankful for having such a beautiful example of love and life to learn from.

Wondrous Wednesdays (6)



In the spirit of gratitude, I’m listing wondrous things happening in my world every week on Wednesday.  It hasn't caught on yet, but it is important to me to be thankful for all of God's blessings, so I continue it whether anyone will join me or not. 

I chose to list three things because Wednesday is the third day of the week.  If you are a blogger and want to list what you are grateful for, feel free to do the same on your own blog every week and please be sure to link back to my blog.   If you are not a blogger, feel free to comment here on my blog with your own three wondrous things you are grateful for on Wednesday. 

(1)
This past weekend was our first weekend with our new priest, Fr. Joe.  Oddly enough the pastor before Fr. G was also a Fr. Joe, an older gentlemen who was very quiet and kind.  That Fr. Joe and I corresponded periodically when I went to college and beyond.  We even had dinner together a few times when I moved back to NH from Boston.  At any rate, we went to a different mass this past weekend, 6:30pm on Sunday night.  I had met Fr. Joe before when I worked at NH Catholic Charities a few years back and he looked the same with that great big smile.  It was wonderful to see that our new priest is a very animated homilist and really connected the readings for that day with the 10th anniversary of 9/11.  I look forward to hearing more homilies from him and getting to know him through the programs we are involved in at our parish.

(2)
I'm very thankful to those individuals who have contributed to my fundraising for the Jimmy Fund Walk in honor of little Caroline.  Really looking forward to it, although I have not prepared at all and have done little to no walking.  It is supposed to be a beautiful fall day on Sunday and I hope that I get the chance to say hello to Caroline with our little girls.  Now just to figure out logistics of where hubby is going to park the car and how and where we will meet up with hubby.  Oh and how I will manage 5 miles while pushing the double stroller.  But that is besides the point.

(3)
I don't think I've said this enough to my hubby but he is wondrous to me!  I am so blessed he found me!  He always lets me know how much he loves me and our girls and that we are the most important thing in his life.  He is a wonderful father and I really enjoy stealing glimpses of him playing with our girls or catching him snuggling with them watching a movie.  I also know first hand how difficult it is to go to a job that you don't enjoy and he continues to do so even though he's been there almost three years, disliking it for pretty much that long.  He is the best husband, sacrificing for me and our girls like that.  What an awesome example of Christ's love he shows us.  Sacrificial love.  Not many people out there are willing to sacrifice like that.  Most people are only look out for themselves and what is my partner doing for me, but my hubby knows that there are difficulties and sacrifices involved.  I am truly a woman richly blessed.  I shouldn't have let him wait six weeks to see this one... sorry hubby.  Love you!
 

Wondrous Wednesdays (5)



In the spirit of gratitude, I’m going to be listing wondrous things happening in my world every week on Wednesday.  I chose to list three things because Wednesday is the third day of the week.  If you are a blogger and want to list what you are grateful for, feel free to do the same on your own blog every week and please be sure to link back to my blog.   If you are not a blogger, feel free to comment here on my blog with your own three wondrous things you are grateful for on Wednesday. 

(1)
First and foremost, today is Hannah's first birthday.  I can't believe that a year has flown by so quickly.  She is sure to be a lot of fun and get into a lot of trouble.  Very independent, feisty with a devilish look that has you smiling before you can even get mad at her.  She has been scrunching up her nose every time she smiles and her latest word is: "Dine-tor!"  Such a blessing in my life.  Happy Birthday honey bee!

(2)
Eucharistic adoration does a world of good for your relationship with Jesus.  Praise God for the true presence of Jesus, right there for us to be able to really spend time with him.  The funny thing is, as wondrous as Eucharistic adoration is, all I could think about while I was sitting there on Friday night was "Boy, I suck!"  I don't spend NEARLY enough time with Jesus, and I don't just mean at Eucharistic adoration.  How else do you get to know someone other than spending time?  I mean, if this were a marriage, Jesus would have every right to ask for a divorce, although we all know he wouldn't.  Loud and clear Jesus was telling me that I need to work on my relationship with him.  For right now, I'm going to work on "spending time" with him in the early morning before my day begins and the late night hours before going to sleep doing an examination of conscience, asking what I did that would be what Jesus would have done and where I would have fallen short.  Praise God for His mercy!  I know I don't deserve it!  I'm more mindful of this as time goes on.

(3)
Having two days off in the middle of the week is probably the best thing ever.  It's like having a second weekend!!  So glad that after a three day weekend I get another breather before going back to work on Friday.  And hubby has Wednesday off to spend time with us for Hannah's birthday!  SO glad he was able to get the day off.  I love it when we all get to spend time celebrating our loved ones joining the world.

 

Wondrous Wednesday (4)

In the spirit of gratitude, I’m going to be listing wondrous things happening in my world every week on Wednesday.  I chose to list three things because Wednesday is the third day of the week.  If you are a blogger and want to list what you are grateful for, feel free to do the same on your own blog every week and please be sure to link back to my blog.   If you are not a blogger, feel free to comment here on my blog with your own three wondrous things you are grateful for on Wednesday. 

(1)
After having seen footage of some areas in New England and the eastern coast, I am grateful that Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene was so easy on us.  We only lost power for about an hour and there was hardly anything that needed to be cleaned up afterwards, except for a few small twigs and leaves, which hopefully I can help out with tomorrow.  Anyway, the cutest part of waiting for Irene was when power went out and we told our three-year old that we lost power.  We handed her a flashlight for her to be able to see where she was going and she started walking all over the house, going from room to room looking for the power.  She would search one room and say "No, not in here" and then would go on to the next.  How cute is that?  They do take you literally at that age.  So funny!

(2)
Another thing that amazes me about our eleven month old who is soon to be one year is that she is in a size five diaper.  The most funny part about that is that her three year old sister who started potty training back in May I think was in size five diapers at almost three.  So I have quite a few overnights and even some pull ups left from Alicia.  Hannah better be in these diapers for a while so I have a chance to use up what I have.  Anyone who lives close by need size four???  Speak now and I'll set some aside for you.  I think we have a lot, have to check.

(3)
My hubby and I have been asked to speak in a few weeks about how we use social media as a tool for evangelization.  I don't know I ever really thought that I was evangelizing, but perhaps that is what I am trying to do.  I just feel that I am trying to explain how I came to be more in line with the Catholic Church than I ever thought possible.  Neither my hubby nor I has a large following on our blogs, but what I have noticed is that there is significantly higher interest in controversial subjects than the every day topics I cover.  I do think that any evangelization calls for showing how we live our lives day in and day out by our example, but not being afraid to "discuss" our lives, as ordinary as they are, or to tackle the difficult topics, no matter what our friends and acquaintances may think of us.  In what Blessed John Paul II repeatedly referred to as the "new evangelization," he reminded Catholics of the importance of moving beyond ourselves and bringing Christ and His love to others.  That is what all Catholics should be striving for.  That is what I try to do with my blog.

 

Wondrous Wednesdays (2)

In the spirit of gratitude, I’m going to be listing wondrous things happening in my world every week on Wednesday.  I chose to list three things because Wednesday is the third day of the week.  If you are a blogger and want to list what you are grateful for, feel free to do the same on your own blog every week and please be sure to link back to my blog.   If you are not a blogger, feel free to comment here on my blog with your own three wondrous things you are grateful for on Wednesday. 

Here goes week #2:

(1)

Our 11 month old is starting to use her hands to wave hi and bye, clap, point and give high fives for a few weeks now.  I’m not even sure where this is supposed to happen on the growth chart, but I always find it amazing when the wee ones learn new things.  She’s all smiles every time she does high five.  Her smile is infectious.  Have to love those huge smiles.

(2)

Watching my parents with our two daughters has to be the best thing about our recent move.  I’m pretty close to my parents and saw them regularly before moving in to their house and invading their space.  But seeing them enjoy our children, playing with them, hugs and kisses at ninights time, smiles and kisses in the morning before work (for memere sometimes - but pepere leaves WAY too early), it’s been really quite beautiful, even though it has only been a little over two weeks now.  Our girls may not remember this time in their young lives, but I know, for me and for my parents, that this will be quite memorable.

(3)

On Monday my three year old wanted to play in the rain while her sister napped.  We put on her rain boots, a coat and hat and outside we went.  She had a great time jumping in the puddles and splashing around.  She certainly brings you back to joy in the simple things.  I had a great time playing with her in the water, holding her hand and walking around in the yard looking for puddles.  Everything to her is a joy and a wonder!  Little kids are great for showing you that whether it is raining or shining, there is always fun to be had!

 

Wondrous Wednesdays (1)

In the spirit of gratitude, I’m going to start listing wondrous things happening in my world every week on Wednesday.  I chose to list three things because Wednesday is the third day of the week.  If you are a blogger and want to list what you are grateful for, feel free to do the same on your own blog every week and please be sure to link back to my blog.   If you are not a blogger, feel free to comment with your own three wondrous things you are grateful for on Wednesday. 

I'm guessing it may take some time for people to start doing this with me, but I'm going to give it a try anyway... 

For me this week:

(1)

Feeling pretty blessed for all God has given me in my life: wonderful parents, a caring sister, a loving husband, two beautiful daughters, a great extended family.  God is so good to me!  He provides, He shows the path.  He humbles me any time I have my "plan" because His is so much better than mine ever has been or ever could be.

(2)

Our parish priest is undergoing a move of his own to a parish on the seacoast at the end of this month, which in some ways is really great.  His reflections the past few weeks parallels our lives and is helping me to realize that despite our upheaval that I am content, more so than I thought I'd be.  I'm grateful that God has blessed us with such a wonderful priest for the past 18 years (ok, so part of this time I was away from the church) and that, sorry St. K's parisohers, his move is happening so near to ours.  It is a consolation to me and I think he's helping me to see that I am doing alright and am managing to keep things in perspective.  We will miss him for sure but what a true blessing he is and has been!

(3)

As difficult as it has been, and as much "stuff" as we kept, this transition was a great time to simplify.  We have what Fr. G would refer to as "downward mobility" which really isn't all that bad.  Who needs upward mobility anyway!?  I think I have quite a ways to go to have truly simplified my life.  There is much more paring down that needs to be done.  Lots of project work ahead for me.  But this first round went pretty well.  We will continue to work on round two while we live with my parents and hopefully will have a round three just before we leave for our own place.  But this has been a good opportunity to look and say, "WOW!  Look at all this stuff!  Let's not do THAT again!"