delighting in 1000 gifts // part 5

I am sitting in my favorite spot in my apartment (my armchair in the corner of my living room), sipping on eggnog, listening to a Christmas playlist on Spotify, and smelling the scent of an Anthropologie candle nearby. What a delight and joy to have time to rest and reflect some of my most memorable blessings, or gifts, of this past year.

Here is a recap of the first four parts:

>>part 1<<

>>part 2<<

>>part 3<<

>>part 4<<

Here are a few more gifts of 2014:

#356.  A long talk with my neighbor-friend about some of my worries and fears. I am so blessed to have her in my life. She brings so much joy in my life, whether sharing in our silliness, encouraging and uplifting me in times of stress and confusion, preparing meals for me, or dropping off groceries she bought for me, she is a gift. 

#383. The smell of fresh-cut grass and hearing birds chirping during an early spring jog on a nearby trail.

#404. Enjoyed seeing cherry blossom trees during a visit to Seattle in the spring, both at Greenlake Park and at University of Washington (here are more pics from my trip to Seattle, here and here)

 

#435. Going through A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 (by Phillip Keller) with my boyfriend via FaceTime, emails, and phone conversations. I quickly realized what a wise man he is. I learn so much from discussing different books, sermons, and Bible passages, and it's very humbling when he reminds me that he learns a lot from me as well.

#446 - #481. Speaking of my boyfriend,  I had several pages in my 1000 gifts journal listing little blessings from his first time visiting me. It was the first time we saw each other (other than FaceTime) since we met 2.5 months prior to this visit in April. We ate plenty paleo and gluten-free meals, hiked, walked hand-in-hand alongside the downtown waterfront, and took a trip to the coast (here are a few photos, though I left photos of him out of the post since we were still keeping it on the downlow).

#511. As I was charting at my work station, a little girl returned from the bathroom to the patient room her mom was in. But before entering, she softly knocked on the door and began singing "Do you want to build a snowman?" from Frozen. Her mom eventually opened the door, saw a few of the staff smiling at her, and embarrassed, grabbed her daughter back in the room, but not too fast for the little girl to look at us and sing "... ok, bye". It was pure perfection!! So adorable!

#541. After a productive day cleaning my apartment, I rewarded myself with taking my beach cruiser for a ride around the nearby farms on a sunny spring Saturday.

#589. Quiet time at a nearby cafe for catching up on blogging, reading, letter-writing, and journaling.

#607-#631. Road trip to San Fransisco with siblings (adventures where shared on posts, including: Redwoods National Park; bike ride along San Fran's Marina District and over the Golden Gate Bridge into the adorable town of Sausilito; a castle in Napa Valley; and beach-hopping from Carmel to Monterey.

So many gifts in the first six months of 2014! Excited to share some more gifts from the second half of the year! Stay tuned!