41. Customers that bring us chocolate treats :)
42. The portability of bean bags - being able to bring my bean bag to our hotel was especially nice (cuz I can't sleep in anything else when I'm pregnant)
43. A phone customer buying a bean bag despite the fact that they could here my four year old and three year old chanting "we need to go pee" from the back seat of my car
44. My mom delivering bean bags all over the state of Maine (and just having her here to help in general...she just moved from South Florida)
45. Orders that pour in even when I have to take a day off (like for my daughter's recent eye surgery)
46. A sweet customer who sent us a video of her beautiful home & pictures of her royal kitty enjoying his purple bean bag

33. The beautiful fabrics our customers send us for their custom bean bags
34. Customers from all over the United States and beyond - and their accents :)
35. Being able to give my mom a large bean bag for her new cabin - and the way it fits perfectly under her stairs
36. The ability to ship our bean bags so many places
37. Customers who not only shop, but encourage me as a mom and a small business owner
38. The man who helped me start our bean bag business - and continues to be an encourager to this day, you can read more about him in the ABOUT section of our website
39. Squeegie, our shop cat - and how much she loves our bean bags

40. The way children (who have been in our shop) refer to me as "the bean bag lady" when we cross paths in town...usually it sounds something like - "look, mommy - the bean bag lady!"

Today I'm going to count some (though not all) of the places we find bean bag filler as blessings :) :) :) By the way, our bean bags don't leak (so you won't have to worry about finding them around your house).

22. In my husbands wallet (as well as check out counters where he opens his wallet to pay)
23. Behind our couches
24. In our children's excavators and dump trucks

13. My husband and I spending our evenings side by side (though on different computers) updating our website
14. Our most recent PHOTO COMPETITION
15. A repeat customer who just ordered 7 bean bag chairs
16. Adding an EXTRA LARGE bean bag to our inventory
17. A Christmas Sleigh filled with bean bags
18. The new bean bag barn right in our back yard - where we fill and ship our bean bag chairs
19. Down East magazine's recent article on Belfast - and the way our local economy is booming
20. Our boys helping us pick out bean bag fabrics

I've always thought blogging would be a blast, but I had absolutely no idea what to blog about.  After my daughter was born, in April of 2011, I read a book that encouraged women (well anyone, really) to keep a list of all of the blessings/gifts that they notice in their lives every day.  I started out by jotting them down on random pieces of paper, put a few on facebook and continually wished that I had them all in one place.  That is when I figured out what I could blog about - I kept it simple - just a list of my daily blessings.  Over time though, I started to add other random thoughts and ponderings - mostly about my faith.  I named it Grace in the Midst &  I LOVE IT!  Blogging is so much fun.

     More than one person recommended I start a business blog, but again I thought - what would I blog about?  And what would I call it? And then I realized, I can count our Bean Bag Blessings!  As for the the name?  Well, I thought I'd go with a play on words...my personal blog is "Grace in the Midst" (referring to God's grace in the midst of raising a young family), but "Grace in the Middle" works perfectly for our business blog.  Here's why.  When I first started our business, a really good friend, Grace, allowed me to use her picture for all of our advertising needs.  She's on our box truck, business cards, magazine ads etc...and now, she's in the middle of my new business blog.  Here's Grace:

So, welcome to Grace in the Middle - where, for now - I'm going to literally count the blessings of owning a small business (and working from home).

1. My 4 year old son Blake sitting on my lap as I type this (wouldn't be possible at a nine to five job)
2. My 3 year old son, Cole, and 19 month old daughter,Avonlea, are snuggled up in their beds only a few feet away.
3. My husband is an incredible artist and has made our website have such a wonderful feel
4. Remembering the expression on my friends and family's faces when I told them I wanted to start a bean bag business :) :) :)
5. Customers who call just to say thank you.
6. Repeat customers
7. Encouraging conversations with customers & customers who become friends
8. Friends who become customers :)
9. Selling a product I ABSOLUTELY LOVE and use every day!
10. Being able to sleep when I am pregnant (the only place I can sleep is in our large loveseat)
11. Craft fairs
12. Bartering - I recently got tons of books for my children from our local "Books are Fun" rep who wanted a medium loveseat bean bag