10 Things I'm Looking Forward To

It is a beautiful Autumn Day in Northern Michigan. The colors are starting to change. Cooler weather is here along with daily frost warning texts on my cell phone. The sun is shining, and the trees are gently swaying in the breeze.

This week's Monday Listicles is:

10 Things I'm Looking Forward To

1. Working From Home Again. I was so happy to have 2 of my 4 working days at home with my children. Now, they are back in school, and there really is no excuse for me to work from home. 
2. My All-Day Crop. People that don't eat, sleep and breathe crafting, really don't understand what this means. On World Cardmaking Day (yes, it's a real "holiday"), I am planning my first all-day crop. I'm so looking forward to catching up on some scrapbooking and cardmaking projects and spending time with friends.
3. Volunteering At My Children's School. I consider myself so blessed to be able to have a day off during the school week where I can participate in my kids' classrooms. I met this little girl in my son's class last week that has a learning disability. Each time she would solve a problem, her smile would light up the room. She was so excited and eager to learn and to show me what she could do. I left the school last Friday feeling like I'd met an angel, a true angel, and I said a prayer that this little girl would always have such a positive spirit for all things.
4. Reading Bedtime Stories. Since my son was 3 years old, I began reading to both children at bedtime. It has become a tradition that we all hold very dear, and I find myself counting down the hours until bedtime when we can pick up a story and get lost in the pages together.
5. Organizing My Basement. I long to finally get our basement in order and a "room" set up downstairs solely for the purpose of housing my kids' toys and allowing them a place to run around and create as much noise as they want to. The song that always comes to mind whenever I think of this dream is "Let Them Be Little". 
6. Fall TV Premiers. Survivor and Dancing With The Stars is back on, but I am really looking forward to Grey's Anatomy returning. I miss having a bigger channel selection, but we've found a way to still watch Duck Dynasty on-line, at least.
7. Making Christmas Cards. I've had a lot of changes in my life over the past two years, and sometimes I have major crafting mojo and other times, it seems to have disappeared. I am hoping and wishing it will return soon so I may be able to get my Christmas cards made. Last Winter, I think I made over 100 Christmas cards, and at least 1/2 were individual creations.
8. My Husband Returning From Work. I describe this as phases in our life together. When we first began dating, the thrill and anticipation of seeing him at the end of the day was pretty heady stuff. After we had children, I was grateful to have an adult to talk to, or even to take over so I could have 5 quiet minutes to myself. Now, as the children are moving past the needy stages, I find myself feeling that same excitement that I once did so long ago, half my lifetime ago, in fact. The trouble is beating my children to the door. LOL
9. Christmas. I think this is the one day that I can't wait to wake up for, in the hopes of catching my sleepy-eyed children as they stumble out to the living room on Christmas morning and see their first glimpses of the presents under the tree.
10. Spending Quality Time With My Family. As winter approaches, we find ourselves less busy with work and more time to share with our family. I long for lazy Sundays where we get to do anything we want. Jere usually watches TV. The kids usually play quietly together or by themselves, and I have extra time in my craft room, or taking naps mid-afternoon. 

I love my family so much. They really are my whole world. I can tell you that I am not looking forward to my kids growing up and moving out, or even away. They are 5 and 7, and my head spins whenever I think of how fast time has flown by from the time they were born to now. I love checking in on them before I go to sleep each night and finding my little boy clutching his stuffed animals close in sleep, or seeing my little girl tucked tightly to the wall, usually with the blankets flung off. I cherish these moments that I have with them, and with my husband. 

What Ten Things are you looking forward to? 

Casandra