February 20

We had another "last first" today at our house as Brady visited the orthodontist (who is really just our dentist but, well, distinctions help and all) and got braces.

Abby had them for several years in high school (as what I assume was excessive pacifier use wreaked havoc on her toofers' alignment) and Isaac still has his now (although hopefully, prayerfully, not for much longer because he's pretty tired of them). They both now have lovely smiles to show for the discomfort, so my hope is that Brady will have the same outcome in a few years' time.

So today I'm grateful that we can afford to shell out the big bucks to have his grin fixed. And I'm thankful that he has a good attitude about the whole thing, because Heaven knows that positivity is not always a guarantee with teenagers.

(And another tangentially related blessing? I realized that I'd lost my rather pricey Oura ring --it's a health tracker that I got for my birthday last month-- when I got home from the dentist and taking Brady to school and Starbucks. After I panicked for a minute, I scoured the house and the car and no ring. Then I went back to Starbucks, where I asked if someone had turned it in (nope) and then scoured the trash cans, meaning I felt the bottoms to see if I could make out a ring inside. No dice there, either. Then I went to the dentist's office, and the second I walked inside and asked if someone had found a rather large silver ring, the receptionist's eyes widened in recognition and exclaimed "yes!" and then pulled it out of a drawer. I'd prayed that I'd be able to find it, and I was so thankful that God answered my request as He did.)