my dear friend gave me the book, Heaven is Here by stephanie nielson. i read it and one line really stood out to me....
"the amazing thing is the more i make the choice to see and feel joy, the more joy there is to see and to feel."
i remember being in the hospital with abe and having the impression to 'let my heart rejoice' . one of the neat things about that whole ordeal was that i felt the lord teach me through it and one thing i felt him telling me was to allow my heart to feel joy. i always notice good things but sometimes i'm too preoccupied to actually allow my heart to soak it all in and really rejoice.
i also want to make the choice to see and feel joy.
this is such a great time of year and a great time of life!
here is my attempt at posting some joy:
hot chocolate.... and, we had the chance to tend our cute cousin jade. she fits right in. it was joyful.
sadie taught vivian that the sign language for chocolate chip is to hit her head.
sadie thinks it is hi-larious!!
vivs now does the "sign" for any treat.
here she is standing in front of the cupboard with the choc chips in it, hitting her head:)
when i didn't respond (because i was taking this picture) she headed over to me doing it more and slightly bigger, like, 'come on mom, i'm doing the sign for chocolate chip! don't you get it?"
it makes me happy, both that sadie thinks she's funny and that vivs is so teachable and cute.
my mom has been coming up and helping me conquer my storage room full of boxes from our move. it is a huge task. vivian LOVES it because we find all kinds of treasures that no one needs... like this huge flower that sadie used to wear in her hair:) haha! i especially love that i have a thoughtful, selfless mom who continues to help and help me!
for scouts, kai trick or treated for food for the local food bank. i went around with him and his friend. i got a glimpse of kai as a missionary and it made my heart rejoice. he is an awesome kid!
peek a boo in the store. those cute cinderella, sparkly shoes peeking out were so cute and then her happy beaming face would appear, followed by her cute laugh. so cute.
wii wednesday. we have been too busy to play lately so last wed, i told the kids if they got ready for bed they could play for a few minutes. i loved seeing them together on the bed. vivs loves those boys and they love her. did my heart good....
then, abe noticed i was taking pictures...
so he started acting "natural"
totally reminded me of his cute dad and made me so grateful for both of them!
dave and i spent friday night making soup together. it was as good as a date! we cooked and listened while sadie and her friends carved pumpkins and talked. then, we all gather around our table together. i've always wanted a place where our kids could bring friends and i looked around and it has happened.
i spent the morning with sadie and abe who are so fun and getting way too grown up. it was the day after halloween and all the christmas stuff was up in the stores, along with christmas music. i loved watching their excitement. then dave and i met up for an afternoon date. we went to schneels and rode the ferris wheel and had roasted almonds and talked. it was ideal.
we then, picked the kids up and headed to dave's grandma's birthday. it made me think about all the great ancestors we have and their lives.
i am so grateful for our families and can't wait to enjoy them over the holidays.
and last of all, i have no picture for this, but the other night i was reading to vivs and max was getting his chart done. i started to sing to vivs cause that is our routine and then i usually put her down and then go in and sing or make up a story or do raiki or sandman for max. he heard me singing and he came in and sat next to me and asked if he could sing to her. i gladly agreed. he sang one primary song and then asked if he could do one more. he proceeded to sing one direction, what makes you beautiful to his cute little sister. she loved it and he was very serious about it. max is such a thoughtful, sensitive, kind kid and brother. he has a huge heart. it was a joyful mom moment.
these are all just random moments and events and there are a million more of them that i could post! i agree the more i choose to rejoice the more joy there is to see and feel. that is my goal this holiday season.
and this made me laugh too:)
