Little Loves...

Have you ever watched a movie that was so good, that it stayed with you for days after you'd seen it? It was that powerful and that moving? Oh man - I love those kinds of movies...and books. Ones that challenge you to be better, to love harder, to be more present.

I watched one of those this past week.

And for the record, my non-movie loving husband watched it with me, and as the credits rolled he said: "That's a movie I wouldn't mind owning."

So, there you have it. It was that good.

Are you ready for the title? It's one that really grips you, right from the get-go.
Here it is...."We Bought a Zoo."

Seriously. That's the name of it. And it was the bomb.

I originally looked into it thinking it was going to be a fun, happy little movie to maybe take the kids to. But, it's actually a pretty heavy movie - definitely not one that my littles are ready for, anyway. It's sad and powerful and hopeful and redemptive....and there's some animals in it, too.....

Matt Damon plays this grieving husband and now single father of two young kids, and he does such an amazingly powerful job in this film. The fact that it's based on a true story gives it extra points for me, too. Anyway...after watching it, I left the theatre challenged.

Challenged to love hard and fully and wild, because all we have is today...and do my boys really know just how crazy I am about them? Do they know that they mean more to me than a clean house? This computer? My "me" time? Do they really know?

Because that father loved hard and his kids knew it, and that made me cry hard, and those two hours in that grungy dark little theatre helped to maybe kind of push the re-set button for me on a few things.

I love when that happens.
(WARNING: There are a few swears in said movie, just so you know....)

So, on this my Weekly Top Ten List, "We Bought a Zoo" is Numero Uno.

And for the remainder of my week, it was the little things.
Always the little things....

2. Cooking with my boys. I love having them in the kitchen with me.
3. Ransom's little critters that have meals with him in his highchair.
4. Lew with my boys. They adore him, and he loves to come over.
5. Ransom looking out the window with his little toes sticking out behind him.


6. More wood to keep us warm. I love wood.

7. Smudge. I love him dearly, and he has soothed these sad little boys this week.

8. Cheerios. There will come a day when I will no longer hear them crunch underneath my feet...and I just might be a little bit sad about that.

9. Embarassingly, amazingly generous gifts from friends who merely hear that I love something...and then they go on ebay and make it happen.

10. Little drawings of Risso that keep popping up everywhere. So sweet.

11. Er...I guess it's this week's top eleven. Apparently, I am unable to count. Fitting, since it's a picture of Cribbage - a new game for Kev and I that Lew has been teaching us. Let's just say that math is not my strong point and I have to use my fingers a lot. It's a little bit embarassing.

Yes, I is a homeschooling Mama...
It's all good.
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What did you love this week?
What challenged you?