Snapshot...Tuesday?

I'm behind on my snapshots so I thought I would do one now.

What’s at the top of my to-do list?
--Get ready for retreat this weekend. This is called CRHP and a lot of the parishes in this area are doing this retreat. People from your own parish run the retreat and give testimonies and then once you have attended one, you are asked to help with the next one. They keep going this way. The torched is passed on to the next team. I'm looking forward to meeting more women in the parish.
--Clean out my closets. I'm getting the spring cleaning bug. My closet is a mess and the kids need to have their clothes gone through.
--Laundry

What have I accomplished?
--I have two baskets on my kitchen counter that were full of clutter. Today I dumped them out and stored one away and only put napkins in the other. I put away or threw away all the stuff that was in them.
--I made a meal for my brother and his girlfriend. She was in the hospital for an asthma attack that almost killed her. She's a smoker and has had constant bronchial problems and infections. This was the last straw. She quit smoking and is a new person. I can tell something has changed her and she is just glad to be alive. I visited her in the hospital (a month ago when it happened) and as we were leaving, asked her if she wanted to be prayed over. She responded enthusiatically and I feel it was blessed. I think God is working on her. She's starting to go look for a church she can go to regularly (hopefully my brother will go with her).
--I mapped out my unfinished basement on grid paper. I did a tentative basement design. I'm getting sick of toys and tricycles all over the basement. We'd like to enclose one big room with closets so we can actually put the toys away. It would just be a phase one, done as cheaply as we could do it...no bathroom or bedroom yet.
--I'm on day 32 in the book, Purpose Driven Life. I'm telling you, I love this book. I feel like I have direction. God is majorly working on me right now. I can't explain it very well, but He is taking me to a whole new level. I'm constantly inspired. I'm a new person. I've got this itch to serve others and serve Him as best I can. I'm still very present with my family...in fact, moreso. It's like, before, things were in black and white, and now...I'm seeing brilliant color. It's not all roses though. There has been some painful revealing going on too. A lot of crying, a lot of late night talking with Ted, but overall, a huge positive change, kind of like a cleansing, has come over me. It all started with my Women's Group retreat. I wanted to change my prayer life. I wanted one! I wanted a deeper relationship with Christ and I knew that started with talking to Him more. It all started with that big desire and God has brought to me things he wanted me to work on. He directed a bright spotlight on my relationship with Ted. We are working on some awesome things. I feel like this needed to be done first before anything else. We are still in the process of learning what God wants us to change, but I feel like the floodgates are open and that we are a powerful force now. We are reconnecting on a deeper level and are learning how to keep our communication lines open. Anything else I write on this blog pales in comparison to this section...it should be it's own separate blog. Oh well.

What’s bugging me?
--Ben is dumping everything!! The container of hotwheels, the container of Duplos, the basket of toys, the container of trains. ARgghhhh!! This is what has spurred me on wanting a room in the basement finished. I want to put the toys downstairs and make that room the playroom. My family room has become a toy pit.
--Blogger won't let me post pictures of Maggie! I'm trying!

What have I said I was going to do but I haven’t?
--Write blogs. I feel like I've missed a lot of days. My focus is on other stuff...like reading.

What’s my latest obsession?
--St. Therese. I just saw the movie and now I'm inspired to learn more about her. Today I ordered her "Story of a Soul" autobiography. In addition to that, I got the book "Captivating". This is the next book we'll read and study together in Women's Group.
--Organizing the house!
--My new skincare regime! I've got soft skin! I can't wait to get my new sea salt scrub (Arbonne) for my b-day!

What’s been making me happy?
--It's gonna snow tonight! Maybe we'll have a snow day tomorrow!
--The kids are allowing me some freedom.
--My new thirst for knowledge and time with God
--Talking more deeply with Ted