These are a few of my favorite things

I felt like writing something tonight, but I didn't have the typical funny story or overly cynical take on an irrelevant sporting event. What started as a blogging brainstorm became a blessings basking. Nice alliteration, huh? The point is, I just started counting my blessings, thinking of some of the things in my life that make me smile.

• Starting every day by reading the newspaper and drinking a fruit/yogurt/protein shake
• Relaxing on the couch and watching a TV show with Missy
• Skype-ing with mom or my sister from Asia
• Seeing how much God has done with my little brother's life in the last 5 years
• Crushing online bridge tournaments with Francine
  
• When Addison puts one of her blankets on me while I'm laying on the couch and brings one of her books over and reads it to me while patting my shoulder
• The time I have to think and pray while running around the track at Earlywine
• The massaman curry chicken from Panang
• Covering a football game that won't end til 15 minutes after deadline and having it done on time anyway
• Tennis with Chad
• Making the right decision in a really tough spot in a poker game
• Wednesday nights with the awesome youth group at DPCC
• Getting yelled at by Addie for turning right on red because "Red means STOP, Daddy!!! You have to wait for GREEN!!! Green means GO!!!"
• Going for a walk with Missy, Addie and the Bailey dog 
• Talking about life with Mike 
• Seeing the crossword puzzle in the newspaper, because it reminds me of my Papa
• Getting a good needle in on one of my poker buddies
• Fantasy baseball
• Real baseball 
• Letting Missy drag me to corners of the world I would never go to on my own
• Dominoes with Keefesus, Dub, Player and Gibby
• Seeing all the great people I met over 7 years in L-Town
• Making up half a song on the guitar
• Rocking Addie to sleep
• Writing something good
• Eating anything my wife makes
• Beating the flat-bellies at basketball without ever going inside the 3-point line
• The flutter in my heart when I read the Bible and God shows me something I've read 100 times but suddenly has new meaning or is clearly speaking to my life right now
• Memories of my dad randomly popping in my head. They usually make me sad, but only because they're great memories and I just plain miss him

Obviously there's plenty more I could have included. It's pretty humbling to think of how richly I've been blessed and how little I've done to deserve any of it, but such is the love and grace of God.