Countdown to a WHOLE lot of things..

These days I feel like I am living my life in a set of descending numbers. I think the following things when I wake up every morning (in order of proximity of time!):

1. Within a few weeks my brother will finally be safely home on American soil. I can not tell you what a relief this will be. I can't even talk to people out loud about it without crying. I think I am really feeling for Felice and the kids at this point, and I can NOT wait for the moment when they are all reunited.

2. Soon after that they will drive into Fl to spend the holidays with us. I am looking forward to all of this so enormously except...

3. It's a lot more days after that until Chris comes home. I am so mixed up about the holidays without him. I am definitely happy for my brother's family to be here, but sort of selfishly I want my own too. This is three years in a row Chris has missed all of this! If I have been saying one prayer every single day, it is for a single day with all of the people in my family sometime soon!

4. Somewhere in between all of these things, I am going to turn 28. It will be New Years Eve, and it will be a really strange night for me. It has been quite an amazing and eventful year (but I think that probably sounds like a whole separate post).

5. And then I feel like I am counting down to one more thing as well...my one year anniversary at USAA. As soon as this happens, I can use their tuition assistance and go back to school!

It's just weird. I know that I should be living more in the moment, and not between them. I don't want to look back at this month as the time between my wedding and seeing my brother, and seeing my brother as the time between my wedding and Chris coming back. I need to learn to love every moment of life as it is happening.

I really am so extraordinarily grateful for everything that I am blessed enough to have. And I have been pretty out of control sappy lately. I really just can't believe that my life is as amazing as it is.

So time for me to drop the countdowns and smell the roses, right? Right!