Gratitude, Part 34 (Apr. 5 - 11, 2014)

 1. Surprise breakfast from my wife (Apr. 7, 2014)
  2. Helpful notice from my wife that I needed to cover my bike to protect it from incoming weather (Apr. 7, 2014)
  3. Jerry's Cakes & Donuts
  4. Fun conversation at Beer & Bible (Apr. 6, 2014)
  5. Finished planning class for the remainder of the semester
  6. Enjoyable lunch with Pres. Wilson, award-winning physics students, and the co-spokesperson of LUX
  7. Informative presentation from a SD Public Utilities Commissioner
  8. Good conversation about possible outreach opportunities to K-12 students
  9. Wonderful dinner with good friends (Apr. 11, 2014)
  10. Our friends' oldest son Matthew gave me a hug
  11. Meeting our good friends new baby (2 weeks old) for the first time (Apr. 11, 2014)
  12. Holding the new baby (Oliver)
  13. Learned more about my colleagues
  14. The latest episode of Cosmos, which I watched online.
  15. Wrote my first letter of recommendation
  16. Submitted a seed grant proposal a day early
  17. Learned that we do not like a particular restaurant
  18. More free evenings now that band rehearsal is done for the semester
  19. Books ordered for my class in Fall Semester
  20. Our friend Laura passed her Master's defense
  21. I was able to attend Laura's defense
  22. Attended part of the Honors convocation and congratulated our award-winning physics students in person
  23. T-shirt from the High Plains Regional Science & Engineering Fair.

Total: 1024

This list was inspired by the book One Thousand Gifts Devotional: Reflections on Finding Everyday Graces by Ann Voskamp. Since I am much more of a geek than Mrs. Voskamp, my goal was to list 1024 things for which I am grateful within a year.  God has given me so many blessings that I have reached this goal in less than 8 months.  Thank you all for reading, and thank you God for all the blessings.

Gratitude, Part 33 (Mar. 29 - Apr. 4, 2014)

  1. My sister's boyfriend getting a new job
  2. Our friend Emily's new son Oliver
  3. Beautiful weather (Mar. 29, 2014)
  4. Walking to the library
  5. Carrying books home from the library for my wife
  6. Getting fries on the way home
  7. Helping my wife install garden trellises
  8. Helping my wife make turkey curry
  9. Getting several tasks done that I meant to do yesterday (Mar. 30, 2014)
  10. Significant progress on my proposal (Mar. 29, 2014)
  11. Finding my balaclava, which was in the laundry the whole time
  12. Rode in and home safely despite the campus being closed due to a "blizzard" (Mar. 31, 2014)
  13. Excelling visit from a funding agency representative
  14. Our Spring Concert was well-attneded, and I think we played our best (Apr. 4, 2014)
  15. The other two groups in the concert were a joy to hear (Apr. 4, 2014)
  16. Walking with my wife under a beautiful sky (Apr. 4, 2014)
  17. Rode in safely despite unexpected heavy snow (Apr. 2, 2014)
  18. Physics lunch was postponed (not cancelled) due to the snow
  19. Good physics lunch at Dickey's BBQ Pit (Apr. 4, 2014)
  20. Ability to play in the concert here and call in to NOvA meetings at Fermilab
  21. Good discussion at the InterVarsity GFM meeting (Apr. 2, 2014)
  22. Talking via Skype with Gary again (Apr. 1, 2014)
  23. My wife had a good time at a gardening class (Apr. 1, 2014)
  24. Significant progress on purchasing equipment for my lab
  25. Submitted my proposal for the Board of Regents Competitive Research Grant Program (Apr. 1, 2014)
  26. I have my teaching assignment for Fall Semester 2014.

Total: 1001