Gifts

I received some pretty amazing gifts this weekend. 

First, my mom and Kurt took my three boys to their house for the entire weekend.  It was a sacrifice on their part to exchange their quiet, peaceful, orderly home for a loud, messy, boisterous one for two nights.  But, they did it joyfully and with open arms and the boys enjoyed a weekend-o-fun that included a steam train ride, treats from the Yogurt Shack, feeding the ducks, eating out, a ride on BART..and the list goes on and on!

Because of their generous gift of time, Steve was able to study the entire weekend for his finals and I got to re-charge.  It was wonderful.  I spent time with friends, saw 2 movies, cleaned and organized my house, enjoyed a little peace and quiet, shopped, read, went out to eat, and even slept-in an extra hour each morning.  I loved this gift so very much.  Thank you Mom and Kurt!   

Then, as if that wasn't enough, I was the receiver of another fabulous gift this weekend: a day of Todd Smith handy-man services.  (Well, the gift was technically given to me last August for my birthday, but I didn't cash-in on it until Saturday).  I love that Jen knows well enough to know that I would love a gift like that...and that she knows Steve well enough to know that while he's in law school, he doesn't have time for fix-it projects around the house. 

So Todd came over on Saturday, tool belt and all, and worked for four hours fixing drawers, hanging things on the wall, and crossing things off on my "to-do" list.  It was fabulous and such perfect timing.  Last week, we officially rented our house for the summer (yay!) so it felt good to start getting it ready for another family to to live here.  I just hope Todd can get past all of the muck and grime he saw at my house (ew....do I really live that way?).  He did mention, "It's a good thing Jen's not here" when he saw the crumbs that lined my kitchen drawers!  Don't worry Jen, the crumbs are gone now and my kitchen is officially organized.  Thanks for all your help Todd!