Make me smile...

--Watching the kitties search for mice under the Christmas tree skirt [note: our cats have never yet found any mice anywhere, but they continually search for them anyways]

--Looking at each of the ornaments on our tree and remembering their stories (they are all gifts or handmade items). My favorite today: a little reindeer hand-carved out of upholstery foam. Made for us by a Chinese grandpa who was in a free English class that John & I taught at a local church many years ago.

--Listening to GameBoy practice his cello, especially his jaunty rendition of "Let it Snow"

--Seeing GameBoy eat a caramel-chocolate-pretzel confection. His first sticky treat since getting his braces on nearly 2 years ago (they come off in a few days so we aren't worried about broken brackets now!)

--Swimming with the kiddoes on a weekend morning and discovering that I've got to swim pretty hard nowadays to keep ahead of them when we race (it was 80 degrees here, unseasonably warm for SoCal)

--Turning in the last long paper I need to write this quarter yesterday. Whew.

--Lighting a candle lantern with CatGirl in my room last night. Turning out the lights and laying on our backs in bed. Basking in the lovely cut-glass pattern that was reflected off of the ceiling and walls. Enjoying my daughter's breathlessness at such beauty.