10. Captain America: Civil War. It always gets on my nerves a little when the heroes fight *each other,* but it was a really good movie and a lot of fun to watch.
9. Jungle Book. The movie was so good, but even if it wouldn't have been, I was sucked in by the scenery in the first 5 seconds. I kinda wanna live in that movie.
8. Some of our new friends brought over this beautiful bamboo tea box at a recent get-together we hosted. They said they remembered that we had SO MUCH TEA the first time they came over for dinner. :-) I love it!
7. Macy and Grace got me a shiny new juicer for Mother's Day. Probably because they were sick of my old one spewing juice at them every time I used it. (It had seen better days for sure.) But whatever the reason, I love it!
6. This scruffy little dog, who desperately needs to be groomed. But I love his floofy little face, and he is the sweetest thing ever.
5. We caught our first unicorn yesterday!!! Grace got me this for Christmas, and we've been waiting patiently for our little squirrel friends to return. And I probably shouldn't admit how much this makes me giggle.
4. Yesterday Macy came downstairs while I was working out to let me know she wanted to make herself some lunch and ask if I wanted some too. Duh! I said, "Sure!" And this is what she served. And I spend a lot of time wondering how many ways I fail my children, but this made me feel like I'm doing something right. :-D
3. Jared sent manuscript #14 to the publisher last week. Tentatively titled Crumbs from the Table: Discipleship for the Rest of Us. And I'm currently proofreading! :-)
2. And book #13 released the next day! Unparalleled: How Christianity's Uniqueness Makes it Compelling
1. Ok, I have to tell a short little story here. I always have such a hard time coming up with the perfect gift for my Mom, not because she's difficult to please (at all). If I gave her a $3 magnet for every occasion (or even just a phone call), she would be perfectly happy. But I like finding special gifts for people. And I rarely find things that seem special enough for my Mom. Recently Mom and Dad have been working on their back yard, doing some landscaping and gardening. And I remembered that one of my favorite things about my Memaw's yard (my Mom's Mom) was her always healthy and vibrant, always LOADED with fruit kumquat tree. Probably a strange memory, but I never claimed not to be strange. ;-) Anyway, I thought 2 things-- 1. That if that little tree is so big in my memories, maybe it is in my Mom's too, and 2. That if I loved that tree so much in my Memaw's yard, maybe my Mom's grandkids would love that tree in their Grandmom's yard. (And my Mom is never so happy as when her grandkids are happy!)
So. I ordered her a kumquat tree with a note that her gift probably wouldn't make sense when she first saw it, but that she should call me as soon as she received it so that I could explain.
She called me the minute it arrived. But instead of waiting for me to explain, she practically shouted, "Oh, Beck, it was like Memaw and Pepaw were right there in the box with it!" (My plan worked.)
I'm so happy! :-D