Joining Susanne today to share five of my favorite things from this past week.

1. My tween’s cat-sitting job. Our neighbors asked C.(12) a while ago if he’d be interested in checking on their cats while they are on vacation this week. He quickly agreed. First of all, he really likes cats, and we have been cat-less for over a year now. Second of all, there was the potential for income. He’s been doing a great job — faithfully feeding, watering, and hanging out with the cats (Lacey, Hazel, and Pumpkin), AND scooping their litter. Now that I know how good he is at that last job, I might just consider getting another cat someday. As along as he agrees to be the scooper.

2. An enjoyable morning with my boys. Yesterday was designated as a day for running errands, but we managed to add in some “errands” purely for enjoyment as well. Breakfast at Panera, a stop at the church to do some VBS prep work, a trip to Half-Price Books to sell two boxes of books, browsing at Barnes & Noble, getting gas, running to the recycling drop-off. Busy, but not a hassle, because I was with two of my favorite people.

3. Working with a friend. Speaking of VBS, this is my first year on the “leadership team” for our church’s VBS program. Technically though, I’m an assistant leader so I’m not sure if it even counts. But I have to say that the person I’m working with/for is fantastic. She’s organized, diligent, manages to juggle all the details, and is just plain fun to work with. Working with her makes my job incredibly do-able and enjoyable. Thanks, Debbie!

4. A husband who understands me. I had a bit of an emotional melt-down earlier this week. I won’t bore you with all the details, but the bottom line is that I let myself get to a point where even the tiniest thing was bound to push me over the edge. And indeed, I went over. At times like those, I’m especially thankful for Chad. He understands my personality and temperament, gives me wise advice, and does everything he can to help me get back to an acceptable level of sanity. He’s the best!

5. Peter Furler’s new album, On Fire. I was very sad a couple years ago when Peter Furler announced that he would be leaving the Newsboys. I’ve been a Newsboys fan for many, many years, and in my mind, Furler *was* the Newsboys. Imagine my delight when I found out he’d be releasing a solo album this month. Needless to say, I downloaded it first thing Tuesday morning and the kids and I have been listening to it ever since. I’m so glad he’s back!

***

Oh, and I can’t close out this post without wishing a very Happy Birthday to my sweet niece, A. Happy 7th Birthday!