I’m grateful everyday for these beautiful, beautiful girls of mine. 
Alexa
Day 253 / Sunday Movie Date with The Girls
My Mom Judy and I took Alexa and Ava to see Cinderella today. We were all very impressed with the movie. The best part was the Frozen short at the beginning that had Ava mesmerized. I regret not capturing a photo of her beaming face. Nonetheless, we have a wonderful afternoon together, and I’m grateful for such a fun movie date with them.
Day 252 / Engagement Party
Today we drove to Spring, Texas to attend the engagement party of one our long-time family friends. First of all, I love weddings and anything wedding-related. Secondly, at our age, weddings are very few and far between. Lastly, getting the opportunity to get together with family and friends for such a joyous occasion, it goes without saying that I was jumping-up-and-down-excited. 🙂
It turned out to be a lovely affair. The bonus being that our little family – Donovon, Alexa, Ava, and I – got to spend some nice quality time together. I’m so grateful for being surrounded by family and friends in celebration of young love! 
Day 247 / My Big Girl’s Return Home
Alexa has been gone on a cruise with my mom and brother for ten days. She finally came home today and I’m so thankful for her safe return.
Welcome home, My Big Girl!! 
Day 235 / Tonight’s Scene at the Bodine Household
Donovon is in the living room perfecting his latest Lego robot creation.
Alexa is the dining room giggling at something on her iPhone.
Ava is in her room singing “Let It Go” for the gazillionth time.
I sit on the couch taking a pause from reading my Kindle to soak it all in. I giggle to myself. I take a mental snapshot. I cherish the moment and this household full of all the love and joy a person can stand. I’m so grateful for this scene. It just doesn’t get much better than this.
Day 225 / Family Time
My mom and brother came into town this weekend for my niece Lily’s 8th birthday. This morning we all – my sister’s family, my mom and brother, his girlfriend, and my family – met up for brunch before they headed back to Houston. As is typical of these traditonal Sunday brunches, it was good times and lots and lots of love. I always leave feeling grateful for my family and the time I get to spend with all of them.
The weather was real crappy all day, so Donovon, the girls, and I spent the rest of the day in our living room watching movies. I bathed in the bliss of the uninterrupted time with all four of us in one room. I couldn’t have been happier on such a cold and rainy day.
I spent the entire day with family and I’m grateful for every minute of it.
Day 218 / Alexa’s Laugh
I’ve written about little Ava’s laugh, but Alexa’s laugh is just as precious. Tonight, she belted out a hearty laugh while I was in another room and I couldn’t help but giggle to myself.
I think she enjoys laughing as much as I do.
Hearing Alexa laugh is so infectious and tonight I’m especially grateful for it.
Day 211 / Peaceful Sunday
Donovon, our girls, and I spent a very peaceful and relaxing day together. Days such as these, spent together with the whole family, have been quite rare the past several weeks, so I’m most grateful for it.
Day 192 / At-Home Dinner and a Movie
I’ve mentioned more than once my love of movies. We watch a movie with dinner at home at least 4 or 5 times a week, if not more. We have a collection of over 1200 DVDs and Blu-Rays. So needless to say, we haven’t run out of movies to watch.
The routine is Ava goes to bed around 8pm after which Donovon and I put on a movie and eat our dinner. Sometimes Alexa will join us and sometimes we’ll have our neighbor over. Sometimes we’ll marathon watch a series like Die Hard the first night, Die Hard 2 the second, etc. Sometimes we’ll choose an actor and watch a series of his or her movies each night.
We’ve been doing this for years and I just realized how grateful I am to have these At-Home Dinner & Movie Nights. They’re such an enjoyable and relaxing way to end the day.
Day 161 / Three Christmases
With three sets of parents, we get to have Three Christmases every year. This can be somewhat overwhelming at times, but I’m grateful for each one every year.
This year, we started at Donovon’s mother and stepdad’s house just outside Austin. His sister Cortney and her kids were there, and his stepbrother, Ash. We do not get to see them very often, so it was nice to catch up with them. It was a short visit because we had to get on the road, but it was such a pleasant one. And I always look forward to the reading of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. It’s become a tradition that we play the gift exchange game with it, which I love.
Next we set off to Houston to my parents’ house. Admittedly, I was feeling sad about this visit. I was not looking forward to Daddy not being there. It felt empty and the hole in my heart felt bigger. It turned out, however, to be such a wonderful Christmas. We all felt his presence as we spent this special time together. There was some pain in the air, but by the time we left to head to Donovon’s father and stepmom’s house, I was much more at peace – and I could feel that my mom, sister and brother were too. It was such a comfort.
We spent the final round at Donovon’s parents’ house on another side of Houston. I was exhausted, but gained a second wind as we spent time with more family, ate delicious food, and played Trivia Crack. 🙂 I’m amazed at how fast my nieces and nephews on this side have grown, even though my kids have grown just as fast.
We headed back to Austin after the final round. On the drive back today, I felt grateful for so much love and joy this Christmas season. Although it was tough in the beginning, by the time we finished our Three Christmases, I felt a lot less sad and much more happy. I smile thinking about our nine nieces and nephews, the generosity and thoughtfulness of our families in the gifts we received, and the pure joy on Ava’s face when she finally got her Elsa doll.
It was a wonderful Christmas, indeed. And I felt my Daddy smiling with us the whole time.
Gratitude Daily 