And, a list!

Here are the thankful things:

• Home again! Home again! Yes, it’s not the same home, but it’s still our home. The sweetest little place with a fairytale-esque stone path through a garden and a wall that’s orange for no particular reason. And a perfectly cozy nursery for my baby where I can rock him and sing to him in the dark.

• Our cat Ezra, who has been missed by every member of our family, has returned home! (He was kept by my gracious mother-in-law at Kitty Camp-what her home turns into when Ezra joins her two cats—for two and a half months. I’m so thankful.) He came home purring and hasn’t stopped. His favorite new cozy spot? On my lap and Brooksie’s belly while the latter is nursing in the rocking chair. Brooksie still has that hand-opening-and-closing-reflex when he’s breastfeeding, so he just scratches Ezra’s fur. Both parties are happy…even if I’m a little squished.

• A baby so hungry that he woke up every two hours to nurse Saturday night. Even though my plan was to wait till his six-month doctor’s appointment this Thursday, I broke out the rice cereal and I’ve never seen a baby so excited for food. He face-dove right into it, waving his arms like a dancing bird. He can’t get enough and he spent Monday almost giddy with smiles.

• Second chances: New preschool today! It’s a co-op, something I had begun to be part of in San Francisco but hadn’t pursued here in Austin. Sometimes, we change our minds, and August and I had a really great experience there last week when we visited. (There’s a very relaxed potty policy…as in, there’s not a potty policy!) I’m excited for his day tomorrow.

• New community. Listen to this. You won’t believe it. At our new church on Sunday, when we passed the peace, we introduced ourselves to the guy in front of us. He just moved from San Francisco, too! When? Six weeks ago, my friends, just like us. What church did he go to in SF, you say? Well, he was at our church. He was friends with some of our friends. Then I said, well, look who’s in front of you, our other friends who were part of City Church when they lived in SF. That’s right, Fred Harrell, three rows of City Church alumni at Christ Church this past Sunday. We laughed about it but I wasn’t surprised. God has been interweaving my world for a long time now.

• My husband is amazing at making and prioritizing friends. I love that about him. He loves spending time with them. He loves talking about things that matter with them. And he loves watching the Philadelphia Eagles with them, whether or not they want to watch the Eagles or have ever cared about the Eagles. And the great thing about Chris? He can make them care…at least a little bit. So, right then after church, he convinced our new friend Paul from SF and another new friend to meet him for the game that afternoon. And, what do you know? They won.

• One Thousand Gifts: Cardboard boxes taped into a tunnel on the deck, the sheer physical exhaustion of unpacking boxes, a cool Saturday morning: pastries and coffee outside with my boys, August decorating his body with markers when we weren’t paying attention, a small group of UT freshmen girls I know I’m going to love, driving back from campus under Sunday night’s white-hot moon, the chance I’ll have to see my Yoobs at Cecelia’s wedding this weekend, a mother who will fly to Dallas to watch my boys so I can enjoy a wedding, a writer’s group at our new church, a writer-friend at our new church, a husband across the room: organizing our kitchen cabinets while our boys sleep, relief that good things are waiting here in Austin.

What are you thankful for today?