So grateful for today!

-I spent hours replying to an email from a shul friend. (I'd actually received the email last night but it was technically today already by the time I finished.) I am so blown away with the love and kindness of this community!
-I got to speak with Rebbetzin Ellis today after she dropped off her kids at school, mostly to tell her how I was doing. She also informed me that someone with whom the Ellises had connected me for a potential job opportunity had told her that I'm a "beautiful person." See above "blown away" sentence.
-The head of the school had me do a really cool job: today, in addition to my usual library help. I learned how to use a lamination machine to laminate pages of a book that was just printed on a computer page by page. I guess the author didn't get it published but she sent the printout to the Chabad school here. It's a beautiful book for kids about Jews in Israel during Temple times, how they grew their own food and proudly did mitzvot and went to the beit hamikdash to thank God for all that He gave them. It described how olive oil was made and then used to light the menorah in the beit hamikdash.
-One of the rebbetzins of the Chabad center did some work at the front desk today and played nice Jewish music while working. I got to chat with her a bit. At one point, when I was not near her, she went to find me because she had a thank-you card for the gift we'd given her son at his recent birthday party. The card had a cute drawing that he'd made in addition to words of thanks (most likely written by his mommy).
-At one point today I wandered around the Chabad center just drinking in the holiness of the place.
-One of the rebbetzins of the Chabad center who has usually been giving us a ride lately did not have time today so Rena and I stayed for awhile to look at books in the library. When we were ready to go, all prepared to head home on foot, the Rebbetzin who'd been working with music said she was going soon and could give us a ride. While we were waiting to go, I spotted a pair of lost mittens and got all excited at the chance to do the mitzvah (good deed/commandment) of returning a lost object. The Rebbetzin had gone to a different room for a moment, and when she returned, I asked her where the lost-and-found was. She took one look at those mittens and realized that they belonged to one of her kids! So I actually got to return them to the family of the owner. When she dropped us off and we thanked her profusely (see "blown away" sentence again), she said she was glad to be able to give people rides. I told her I'd heard that giving people rides is actually considere to be part of the mitzvah of providing hospitality. She said that her mitzvah should be in the merit of the Land of Israel. I added that my earlier mitzvah of returning lost objects should also be in Israel's merit.
-Could this day get any better?! Upon returning home I checked email and was surprised to see a reply to an email I'd written to the husband of a friend in Israel who, in his words, "doesn't do email." I was overjoyed to see that my friend herself replied! Thank God, her family is safe and sound.
-I feel like clarity regarding a difficult situation in which I find myself is imminent. I know that God will make happen what is good for my family. God knows what is best for us, better than we ourselves know, and I know that sometimes what we think is best for us is not actually what is best for us, and vice versa. I will do my effort to the best of my ability and pray to God, knowing that He is there for me.

Yays from the past few days! :)

Thursday: On the way to swimming lessons with Rena, with snow on the ground and the sun shining brightly, we passed snowy yards that sparkled! It was so beautiful! :) I thought about how the co,or white represents purity and how great it is that God sends whiteness to cover the ground in winter! :

Friday: Rena was so excited for Shabbat to start! :) She loves grape juice but she was especially excited to go to shul (Yiddish term used for synagogue though it literally means school) because  we had to miss it last week. She couldn't wait to see Rebbetzin Ellis! :) (A Rebbetzin is the rabbi's wife so we call Rabbi Ellis' wife Rebbetzin Ellis. As that's quite a mouthful for a Little Bean I just have her say Mrs. Ellis.) Also we told her that Daddy would be doing Torah reading in shul.

Shabbat: Rena stole the spotlight while Daddy was reading the Torah. Need I say more? :) She wanted to play with the yad (the pointer used to read the Torah in synagogues; literally means hand in Hebrew because the end of it is shaped like a little hand) so he had to use the tzitzit (fringes) on the tallit (prayer shawl) he was wearing. (Touching the words with hands is forbidden as they are holy words- they are the word of God!)

Motsai Shabbat (Saturday night, after Shabbat is over)- I was just listening to Jewish Music Stream. (Its website is http://jewishmusicstream.com/ but I listen via their iPad app.) They played the best song ever- Hang Up the Phone by Lipa Schmeltzer. I just Googled it and discovered there's a music video that goes with it....I'll have to check that out another time as I have to keep quiet now. Goodnight and shavua tov! :)