FIND the JOY

Marcus is a great example of being able to 'find the joy' in every situation. It is hard for me to see the good in people and/or things sometimes. In an effort to learn from him and be a more positive person, I have given myself the personal motto of 'FIND the JOY!'. Life isn't perfect. We aren't going to always have things go the way we plan, but we can find some joy in everything that is put in our path. Sometimes the joyous part is evident, other times, we have to dig deeper to find it. This is my personal reference to help me find joy when it seems hard. Maybe it can help you find joy too.

August 4, 2013 - Lavender essential oils - Max woke up with incredibly bad leg aches last night. You could tell they hurt just by the way he was walking, not to mention how loud he was screaming. We rubbed lavender on his legs, and after about 30 seconds he calmed down and fell right asleep.

August 3, 2013 - Cousins. They get crazy when they're together, but Max is such a happy camper when he gets to play with any of his cousins.

August 2, 2013 - A new job. When it comes time for payday, we know the money will be there. We no longer have to rely on tips to make ends meet. That is a huge blessing.

August 1, 2013 - Online schooling. It's not always easy to sit myself down and do my work, but I'm grateful I have the chance to do schooling online. I don't know if I would have gone back to school if I had to go the 'traditional' route.

July 31, 2013 - Holding hands during family prayer. I always thought this was a weird tradition of some families, but we tried it anyway. It was a fluke thing, no rhyme or reason. Just to get Max to calm down. Max actually held still! We will definitely continue doing this 'weird' tradition.

July 30, 2013 - New friends. You would be correct to say Marcus and I don't have friends. We have never had friends to go and do things with. Lame, I know. I'm too scared to invite people to do things. Lately though, we've been hanging out with the Marlers. I'm so thankful that they'll hang out with us and our crazy kids.

July 29, 2013 -  Orajel. It gave some relief to poor Max who has a massive canker,  which in turn gave me some relief from hearing his whining and crying about it.

July 28, 2013 -  Being primary pianist.  It's teaching me patience.It also reiterates  how important it is to teach our children to be respectful.  Having respectful kids isn't as common as it used to be.

July 27, 2013 - Air  Conditioning.  Living in Mesquite in the summer would be pretty much impossible  without it,  especially in cars.

July 26, 2013 - Over the Hedge. It is currently Max's favorite movie. Amazingly, he doesn't move around much when he's watching it. This gives me the opportunity to take nice, long showers when Cora is sleeping. I love long, hot showers! :)

July 25, 2013 - My small kitchen. When ants decide to invade, it only takes a few minutes to clear it out and have an ant-free kitchen... For a little bit anyway.

July 24, 2013 - Ida. She is a sweet lady we go visiting teaching to. She doesn't have the greatest life possible, but she is always happy and positive. Definitely someone I could learn from.

July 23, 2013 - Bubbles! They gave us a reason to have friends come over to visit, eat popsicles, and of course blow bubbles!

July 22, 2013 - Kids who won't nap at the same time. Some of my "me time" is gone for the day, but it gives me some one-on-one time with both Max and Cora. 

July 21, 2013 - I am grateful for having 2 or more callings to play the piano in church at any given time. I currently have 3: primary pianist, ward organist (some weeks), and choir pianist. I haven't had a piano at home since we got married (5 years ago, wow!). Without these callings, I'm sure I would have lost this talent.