January 9

I had a really nice Friday. It started with Abby at the Mother Ship (well, we didn't wake up there -- we went there after waking up) where we enjoyed coffee (me) and a gingerbread latte (her; I said it was her version of my upcoming birthday dinner, since she heads back to school the morning of said-birthday and will miss it). And then one of my employee-pals let me choose which new drink to serve up as a sample, so we got to try the Dubai chocolate iced mocha. (The verdict? Good enough to potentially be my birthday freebie, despite the appalling calorie count.)

From there we went to the Postal Annex to have some photocopies made, and then headed over to the post office in Sunol to submit our passport paperwork. (Highly recommended experience, by the by! It's a tiny facility and there's almost no one there. And Sunol is just so cute and small town America'y that just being there fills me with a sweet sense of nostalgia for days gone by.)

Then we hit up Michaels and Target before returning home for lunchtime, and I had fun just window shopping with my favorite girl.

In the evening hours after dinner, we all went to Coldstone for ice cream to celebrate first semester report cards. Although transcripts aren't officially out yet, I'm proud to report that all three kiddos earned straight A's for the first time ever. Adam and I are both really pleased by the effort they each put into their work and were happy to reward their work with some sweet treats (even if I still think the words "gummy bears" and "ice cream" shouldn't appear in the same sentence much less the same cup).

It was a good day filled to the brim with the blessing that is time with my most beloved people. And I am grateful for that time.