despite being wiped out and needing a serious battery jump, i knew it was going to be a good day when the doorbell rang at 8 a.m. and, i opened the door to a stream of sunshine…in more ways than one:

my sweet lily brought me a bagel and some piping hot coffee. (thank you, david!)

and then that goodness just snowballed into this great big ball of i-can’t-wait-till-tomorrow.

i never thought friday would come. i had so much to do this week. but, here it is. my work is done. the house is (semi) clean, the bags are packed and i am almost in tears thinking of the goodness that is to come in these next days.

my family. all together. in the snow.

we are huddling together at my favorite restaurant at a little downtown main street tomorrow night. and we will laugh. and cry. and talk. and love. my mom will pinch the babies’ cheeks and say things like “oh, idn’t she da cutest? you’sh gwamma’s girl, iddensht you?” my neices will pile into my lap and fight for my attention. my brother and brett will laugh and pick up right from where they left off…and there will be hot chocolate and christmas music and laughing. and we will bundle up in the cold and walk downtown peering into christmas displays in windows and thinking that yes…this is a norman rockwell painting…and we are in it.

and then saturday, we all have poolside hotel rooms…side by side. we will stay up far too late. we will catch up. we will ask questions from the “if” book and drink and be merry. my dad will hush all the babies to sleep…because he always does. and my sister and brother and their familes and my family will all be one…and we will have our magic. the magic that comes when we’re all together. it always does.

i’m going to bed happy.

this happy….

thank you, dad, for making this all happen. thank you for including mom. thank you for loving us all so much and creating magic just like when we were little.

…enjoying the christmas things. ~k

you know how many people mentioned coffee in their things to be happy for? which got me thinking, is it the coffee itself…or is it the ceremony? the ritual of mornings and repetitive act of scooping, grinding, pouring, brewing, listening, sipping, steaming, cupping, savoring…

i think it’s the latter, and although i have grown accustomed to the hot rich flavor of it and once actually won a hundred bucks in a bet over whether or not i could taste the difference in two cups of similar blends…i have to say it’s the beautiful ritual of my mornings and the role coffee plays in it that makes me enjoy my little things.

smiled at this recent article in cookie magazine:

i’m not proud that my 13-month-old has already learned, when she first wakes up, to wait–very quietly–for me to have my coffee before she starts angling for a bottle. or that there have been times, watching the coffee drip through the filter, that i’ve caught myself whispering plaingtively, “okay, almost there…come to mama.” this isn’t just about “jump-starting” my day. sure, cofee wakes me up, but so does hearing my 5-year-old shouting, “skittles fit in my nose!” it’s what cofee does to my mood, the way it alters–i mean really changes–what i believe about my life, my loved ones, myself. that vague, haunting feeling that i’ve done something terribly wrong with my life begins to dissolve with each sip. and in its place emerges my love for my kids; for the idea of a jam-packed day stretching out in front of me; hell, even for myself. and that’s just the first cup. –kate porterfield

blatant addiction aside, she has a point.

some of my best memories in life are over a cup of coffee…slowly savoring a cup on christmas morning. slamming down my ninth cup at four a.m. trying to finish a paper due the next day. getting eyed by other diners at our favorite breakfast spot while us girlfriends laugh a little too loud and pour another. and then being served a weak cup, in a white ceramic mug on a gray plastic tray…to my hospital bed on the morning after the best day of my life and savoring its not-so-goodness while i held my own goodness in the form of my very tiny little on her very first day.

yup…i love my coffee.

it’s my good friend, and it’s high time it deserved a shout-out in the world wide web.

and with that said…the ornament winner, using random.org….was drawn.

Commenter #14: Lena from New York!
Lena, send me your address and the number of peeps in your family, and I’ll paint it up and send your way! : email me at: kascryder@yahoo.com

…enjoying the with-cream things. ~k

i started this sweet little blog exactly one year ago.

…and as i blow out the imaginary candles on enjoying the small things’ sweet little cake (carrot with cream cheese frosting), i’m thinking…

…that as cliche as it sounds, having this blog has changed me in so many ways.

when i was in seventh grade, i wanted to be a columnist for the chicago tribune so much that i made a fake chicago tribune letterhead with my name on it and (illegally) reproduced it. then i spent $12 i didn’t have on a mug from the chicago tribune store and used it every day…i still have it. i felt like a journalist.

and i am one in my own little world. documenting our lives and capturing all this love i feel for the big world and the people in it with little words and pictures. and by doing so, i have found that…

…i love life so much more.

in a year, i have been challenged, through writing and photographing, to paint the good. and then when i paint good, i see more good. and then there’s more to paint. and more to see. and it’s this great big beautiful cycle of…well, enjoying the small things.

and when i look back and read over all the stories, all the love and all the growth i’ve made this year, i’m so glad i do this. this blogging thing.

and this unspeakable gift of motherhood? it’s an honor. a dream. and not documenting it…capturing every moment…bottling it up to save forever…would be irresponsible.

so thank you, little blog, for all the joy you’ve brought me and for providing me the canvas to paint our world. what a beautiful world it is.

you’ve challenged me to see the world in new ways and to capture what i see.

you’re my treasured notebook of all the good. all the little things that fill our lives with so much joy. and all the moments that, sewn together, make up this wonderful gift of life.

and to all those that listen to what i have to say: thank you. this blog has brought me closer to those of you i love so far away and has introduced me to new friends i haven’t (yet) met. your comments make me smile. your words inspire me.

so, happy birthday, little blog. happy birthday to you.

and a little giveaway. a little thank-you for reading.

leave a comment…and tell me five blessed little things you’re enjoying, and i’ll randomly draw a comment and ship you a little hand-painted treasure for your tree.
well, two.
this one:

and one for your family like this one:

mine tonight:
my chicago tribune mug. the security in holding brett’s hand. neighborhood christmas lights. the blessed solitude of waking up before everyone else. showering at night and sliding into clean sheets.

see, that was easy.

oh, one more. loving someone so much, it hurts.

…enjoying the birthday things.