find joy in the journey

scatter sunshine

On the last day of school I was at the elementary school assisting with set-up for the 5th grade party.  The party included a DJ and a big candy buffet/bar. Basically, sugar + loud music.  What else could you possibly need to make every 11 year old's dream come true on the last day of school?  I got to chatting with one of the other moms, one that I had never met or even seen at the school before.  Our paths had just never crossed.  We talked about the typical stuff - how many kids do you have, how old are they, how long have you lived in the area, etc.  Party set-up did not take long so we soon found ourselves just hanging out in the cafeteria, waiting until party time.  

Anna and her friend Olivia came walking through the cafeteria on some kind of errand, looking & acting like big 5th graders who owned the school, full of smiles, laughter, and energy.  In fact, while in mid-stride Anna picked up Olivia in her arms and spun her around.  (Olivia is about half the size of Anna).  I waved and she waved back with both hands and giant open mouth smile, "hi mom!!!!"

The parent I had been working with turned to me rather quickly and said, "Is that your daughter?"

Why, yes.

And then she got the biggest smile on her face and started laughing and I could tell she was bursting to tell me some kind of story.  I hoped it was a good one!

"Oh my goodness!  I see your daughter everyday after school while I'm sitting in my car at pick-up.  She walks past with the biggest smile on her face and her face is just shining!  [she made lot of big motions with her hands around her face] She is always in a hurry to get somewhere but she just looks so happy, and has this shining glow.  [More excited hand motions]  In fact, yesterday at the 5th grade promotion your daughter stood up to receive an award and I turned to my husband - 'Look - that's the girl I was telling you about with the happy face.'"

Oh my goodness!  That story absolutely made my week!

Everyone who knows Anna won't be too surprised by this story -- she has a radiant personality. My mom calls her, "my sunshine."  I was so touched to know, through this woman's experience, that Anna's glow was able to touch her.  

And it made me think about how many opportunities WE have each day to do / be that for someone else.  Right?  Endless opportunities.  And it made me think of the lyrics to this hymn:

In a world where sorrow ever will be known,
Where are found the needy and the sad and lone,
How much joy and comfort you can all bestow,
If you scatter sunshine everywhere you go.

Slightest actions often meet the sorest needs,
For the world wants daily little kindly deeds.
Oh, what care and sorrow you may help remove,
With your songs and courage, sympathy and love.

Thank you Anna for your example!  There truly are so many people out there who are weighed down with worries and sorrows who can benefit from our smiles, our hello's, our kindness.  It makes me want to be more aware of myself (my face!) when I'm in the grocery store or at school pick-up.  It's easy to walk around with a blank, sad, hurried, frustrated, or distracted face.  But I know that when I think about it and change my face to a pleasant one I personally feel so much lighter and I feel more inclined to engage with others.  And most likely there is someone out there who needed to see a happy face that day.

Anna at church today.  What a beautiful, glowing young woman.

the blog of awesome

Several years ago I gave The Book of Awesome to my brother, Kent, for his birthday.  He thinks that everything is awesome.  He's great at finding joy in the little, sometimes insignificant, awesome things of life.  As the book says, 

Sometimes it's easy to forget the things that make us smile.  Sometimes it's tempting to feel the world is falling apart.  But awesome things are all around us.

Right?  Right.  The book covers those everyday awesome things like popping bubble wrap, the other side of the pillow, hitting a bunch of green lights in a row, etc.

Well, as I was going through my photos from the wedding weekend in California I found several that were simply awesome to me.

1.  Driving down the road, knowing that we are heading toward cooler temperatures.  

Las Vegas - 112

Los Angeles - 73

Oh ya.  Awesome.

2.  This fantastic letter S right outside our hotel room.  Yesssss.

3.  Getting to love on baby Cole all weekend.  #babyfix

His shirt even says awesome!

4.  Getting to eat dinner with your bare hands.  Or no hands.

5.  Receiving a flower from a knight!

6.  After all the kids were tucked into bed, the adults gathered in my parents' hotel room to share some honeymoon survival gifts and marriage advice with Mason.  It was great.  Especially when Kent shared this video - It's Not About The Nail - as his marriage advice.  

7.  Too much partying, you think?  This one was so awesome I had to text it to my brothers (who have children) right away with the message "do any of your kids look like this?"  Ah, the gentle lull of the LA freeways.

8.  Streets lined with purple flowering trees.  Beautiful!

9.  Finding a triple peanut at Five Guys.  Just yesterday I discovered that Payton brought that very peanut home with him and he's keeping it on his dresser for Beary, his stuffed polar bear who eats peanuts.

Awesome.

What was awesome in your day?

surprise nomination

Popping in here real quick today because I have mucho packing and moving-related stuff to attend to . . . but this is something I have to share.

I'm pulling out of my driveway this morning to take the kids to school when I got a phone call from my mom.  She goes on to inform me that I am on the nominated list of "Best Family Blogs" on Apartment Therapy.  Wha-at?!  Wow!

So surprising and really, just crazy.

This is the part where I ask a favor of my dear blog readers and friends . . . . if you have a moment today or any day before March 2nd at 11:59pm EST (that's when the voting ends), I would love it if you would hop on over and submit your vote.  Obviously you don't have to vote for me, but it might be kinda nice.

GO TO THIS LINK, scroll way down and look for Life in General: Find Joy in the Journey.  Right now I have 3 votes.  

I really have no idea what the "winner" receives.  Maybe a cool button you can put in your sidebar?  Like they say at the Oscars, it's an honor just to be nominated.

*******************************

In other news,

I got LASIK surgery this weekend.

(after awakening from my 4-hour, post-LASIK nap)

Everything went really well.  I can see improvement in my vision, although there is a bit of a haze around things.  I'm told that improves with time.  I had the procedure done in just my left eye, so I'm trying to get used to having 2 functioning eyes.  Hopefully soon they will learn to cooperate and work together.  

Since the surgery I have been missing a bit of my "pep".  Things are still happening and progressing around the house, I just don't have a whole lot of enthusiasm about it all.  Crazy, right?  Packing up a 2400 sq ft house should be all kinds of fun!

This could be due to the poor sleep I've been getting lately (wearing goggles at night to protect my eyes - not so comfortable.)  Or the emotional toll of going through our last Sunday in our ward.  Whatever it is, I'm trying to will my "pep", my enthusiasm, my joy back into my system.  If for nothing else than to just fully enjoy the last few days we have here.  

Okay, I got to get back to work!  And put in some eye drops.  I'll leave you with this.  I'll be repeating it to myself all day.

Source: lilblueboo.com via Shannon on Pinterest

favorite moments of the past week

1.  Seeing my scrapbook room totally clean for the first time in . . . . a year?  I spent 2 days sorting, purging, and re-organizing and it feels good.  Here it is in the "disaster stage."

I am vowing to myself that I will keep it clean and so far I've stayed good on that promise.  Although, a few things are temporarily displaced in this room due to favorite moment #2

2.  Starting a loooong over-due, long planned project.  Painting the master bedroom.  I painted our bathroom last August.  Yes, nearly a year ago.  And now I can see the light at the end of this bedroom-sprucing-up project.

3.  Hearing Scott and the kids playing, laughing, having a great time with the trampoline + sprinklers + squirt guns while I was painting upstairs.  The kids thought Scott was just coming out to set up the sprinkler, so they were thrilled when they saw he was ready to play.  They had some game going that involved bombs and choosing a super-hero identity . . . whatever it was, it sounded like fun because everyone was cracking up.

4.  Watching Payton mow the lawn from my second story view.  I think this was his 2nd time at it.

5.  Spending an evening with friends, enjoying a delicious outdoor meal, chocolate cake, working/crafting with laptops all around, and laughing about a certain someone's love of "big nuggets."

6.  My new favorite line . . . . On Saturday, Scott and I were standing in the kitchen doing a little kissing when Anna came out of the downstairs bathroom.  She stood in the doorway looking straight ahead at us, and said, "Oh, there's the love!"  

7.  And my number one favorite moment from last week . . . . face painting at the local outdoor concert / market.  While the kids stood in line I asked Anna what she was going to have the girl paint on her face.  She smiled and said, "it's a surprise."  I stood back and let the kids do their thing -- the face painters were youth from our ward.  As Anna is explaining her request Rachel looks to me like "is this okay with you mom?"  So I walk closer to hear what Anna has to say:

"I want a curly moustache and glasses that are just on one eye."

Yes, my 5 year old girl requested a moustache and a monocle.  I laughed and told her to go for it.

She soon became the talk of the playground.  Blake (who gave my boys skulls with fire) thought it was awesome and dubbed Anna, "the coolest person I know."

Where did she get this idea?  My only guess is the movie Underdog (which we watched months ago) because she kept saying, "You can call me Sherlock Bones."

Anyway, it made for a very entertaining evening.

3070.3

That was the number on our van's trip odometer when we pulled into our driveway last night after a 17 day roadtrip to visit my parents and Scott's parents.

It was a great vacation.  And we all have tan lines to prove it.

Today the house is quiet . . . 

Scott and Conner are off on a hike with the Boy Scouts,

Payton & Anna are playing Bejeweled 3 on the computer,

I'm doing laundry,

making phone calls, sending e-mails, checking forms, and making to-do lists for Cub Scout day camp next week,

considering a fridge deep-clean, seeing as it is pretty empty right now,

waiting for the mail man to come so I can pay some bills,

feeling the cool breeze that is still coming through our windows at 11:30.  We're expecting a high of 77 today.  A far cry from the triple digits we experienced everyday for the last week.  Here's the funny thing . . . I was actually getting kind of used to it.

I have much to blog and share, but it will come slowly, bits & pieces at a time.

Just wanted to say hi.

oh, and share something from pinterest

joy of luck: gift

prompt:  what inanimate object/thing/concept is something that you take for granted on a daily basis?

good health

It was a rocky afternoon Wednesday.  After a bath to wash the puke out of her hair, Anna crashed on the couch at 6pm.  And didn't get up until 6pm on Friday.  I slept downstairs with her on wednesday night, which was good because she was wide awake at 3am and wanted to watch cartoons.  Thursday she slept in her own bed but I was up with her a few times.  I pushed pedialyte, water, and toast sprinkled with cinnamon.  She slept a lot.  I carried her to the van when it was time to drop off or pickup the boys from school.  I braided her hair to keep it out of the way. We rented Nanny McPhee Returns.  She rarely said a word.

This morning . . . my Anna was back.  :)  Talkative, playful, joking, sassy, annoying her brothers . . . life is back to normal.  

I think that the gift of good health is something that I take for granted sometimes.  Now, this wasn't a serious illness or disease, but this prompt reminded me that we are quite lucky and blessed in this department.

We have bodies that can move, run, jump, think, calculate, create, see, smell, explore, taste, hear, experience, and feel without limitation.  A gift indeed.

joy of luck

she left proof

in May, you may remember when I commiserated over the lack of grandmother photos in my possession.  I'm assuming I'm not the only one in this boat.  ?

Recently, I came across a blog post on the same subject.  This time focusing on mothers.  Me.  You.  Click on the link and read the italicized note.  About a mother who made it a point to get pictures of herself with her children often.  We shouldn't shy away from the camera and she explains, "to use excuses about how we look, as women, is ridiculous, since our children will never care what we looked like, but only that we had physical evidence of the bond between mother and child."

I whole-heartedly agree.  I love these pictures of my mom and me together.

 

And I know that she would look at them and comment on her hair, her pregnant belly, or the fact that she just gave birth.  (Sorry, mom.  I know you too well!)  But I think she is beautiful.  It gives me a glimpse into a time, a mom, a face that I can't remember simply because I was too young.  And it is evidence of time spent together, of time & effort spent for my benefit (even when I was making grumpy comments moments before the picture was taken -- upper right), and evidence of a bond.

Bottomline, put worry about looks aside and get in the shot.  Easier said than done, right?  :)

Secondly, we all know that moms don't get in the pictures because we are the ones behind the camera.  {Raising hand high}.  I try to fix this by handing the camera over to Scott (or the kids) and saying, "I want proof that I was here."  They are usually happy to oblige.  I just have to be happy with the results.  That automatic 10-second timer also comes in pretty handy.

On our recent trip to California I tried to put this into practice.

More than the physical, photographic proof that we leave for our kids . . . there is the in-the-thick-of-it, day-after-day, being there, loving proof that we are mothers who respect and treasure the responsibility that we have been given.  I've long appreciated these words by Elder Holland and was delighted and touched to hear them again in this segment for and about mothers.

That says it all.  And take a few pictures along the way, too.  

teaching ourselves to really live

Anna Quindlen:  Life is made of moments, small pieces of silver amidst long stretches of tedium.  It would be wonderful if they came to us unsummoned, but particularly in lives as busy as the ones most of us lead now, that won't happen.  We have to teach ourselves now to live, really live . . . to love the journey, not the destination.

{stealing this from Ali Edwards}

a few small pieces of silver . . . 

grabbing Anna for a game of steamroller on the family room rug after inspecting her school papers.  she laughs and laughs.

reading City of Ember to the boys and seeing the excitement in their faces as things really start to get good.

when I blow-dry Anna's hair and we make faces to each other in the mirror.

Conner's frequent visits after bedtime, "mom, I just need to tell you something" or "mom, I just have a question" . . . and taking a minute to listen to what he has to say.  It's usually something pretty golden.  Like tonight, "mom, I just wanted to tell you that you don't need to worry about packing, because I already did it."  And then he goes on to list everything that he packed (7 pairs of socks, 5 pairs of underwear, my second favorite outfit, black church socks, etc.) all wrapped up in a blanket.  I laugh and laugh.

getting dressed this week and opening my dresser drawer to find a love note from Payton.  Then, later, thanking him for it, gushing over how sweet it was, and pointing out my favorite parts of the picture he drew.  And the silver . . . . seeing his eyes light up, a smile beam across his face, and sensing the feelings of silent satisfaction filling up inside him.

fill your bucket

This has been a fill your bucket kind of a weekend for us.  The kind of weekend that just leaves you refreshed, happy, reconnected, recommitted, thankful, joyful, filled.

It's the simple things, the big things, the subtle things, and even the inconvenient things all meshed together that create this sort of a feeling for me.

Things like, getting to see blue in the sky . . . 

In the words of my mom, "happy day!" 

Things like, working together and getting a job done . . . 

The kids and I weeded the front and backyard.  The boys helped Scott clean up and level some dirt on the side of the house.  And we finally planted our summer vegetable garden.

 

green peppers, onions, zucchini, cucumber, tomatoes, pumpkins, carrots, peas, beans, strawberries, and zinnias for summer bouquets.  I love peeking out the window at my little 4x4 garden and sending encouraging thoughts, "grow, grow, grow."

Even the inconvenient, messy things, when paired with time together . . . 

We drove into town as a family to have dinner at Red Robin for Scott's birthday.  We had a good meal, ate lots of steak fries, the kids got balloons.  And the fact that Payton threw up in Sports Authority (on the floor) prior to dinner did not put a damper on the evening in the least bit.

{Car sick.}

Things like, feeling the love . . . 

Mother's Day was full of this with meals prepared specially for me, dishes were cleaned up while I was shooed out of the kitchen, and I received a handful of cards from children expressing their love for me.  How's that for filling your bucket?

 

The kids sang in sacrament meeting with the rest of the Primary.  I especially enjoyed watching Conner guide Anna up to the stand with his arm around her shoulders.  And then he kept one hand on her shoulder throughout the musical number.  Made me smile.

Things like, surprises.  Really good, thoughtful surprises . . . 

I've been wanting a nice table and chairs for the back patio, something big enough for our whole family to sit and eat at.  I found one at a good price a month ago, showed it to Scott and he was not on board.  Much to my surprise, he came home from work one day last week and began unloading the exact table and chairs into our backyard!

 On Saturday, the kids sat outside while they ate lunch and I fell even more in love.  With the table.  And him.

As I mentioned, Scott celebrated his birthday recently.  A few days beforehand I arranged for the kids to spend the night at a friends' house so we could have an evening alone.  He was completely surprised, and I think it made this the best birthday ever.  We went out to dinner, rented a movie, and enjoyed a very quiet house.

Things like, taking a big sigh . . . 

It's amazing how much a little stress can affect your day to day life.  Scott and I both had a little of this removed this week.

Scott received some really good feedback at work and it has made all the difference.

I was released from my Primary President calling.  I loved serving in that position, but as with all leadership positions, I'm sure, there was always an element of mental stress that followed me around.  This week I have felt more relaxed and "present" at home than I have in a while.

And then there's the subtle things, that you might miss if you don't pay attention . . . 

Scott walked in from work on Friday with a dozen of the most delicious cookies from Paradise Bakery.  For me.  I loooove them.  At the moment that he walked in, I was standing in the kitchen popping some brownie bites into the oven.  For him.  I loved this little coincidence.  But I loved it even more because it showed that we were consciously thinking of each other (at work, at home), and finding a way to brighten the others' day.

So there you have it.  My bucket is full.

a happy heart

feeling joyful.

feeling blessed.

loving the sweet moments of motherhood.

from the little rituals . . . 

    giving a bubble bath to Anna in the big tub after some intense (translation: sweaty) play at McDonalds

to the spontaneous moments . . . . 

    taking a detour to the bakery for cinnamon rolls and milk following Payton's dentist appointment.  And then to school.  

to the sweet surprises . . . .

    coming across Conner's journal.  One entry reads, "My favorite time of the day is when I get to see my mom."

I have a happy heart today.

jumping for . . .

May your walls know joy; May every room hold laughter and every window open to great possibility.

Maryanne Radmacher-Hershey

mid-week joy #3 and a giveaway

Whenever I make a goal I need reminders.  So I've been placing "joy" reminders all around me.  There's this one, which I love:

My red glittery JOY from Christmas is going to stay out all year.  It started in my kitchen, now it's in the downstairs bath where I comb the kids' hair in the morning, and I'm sure it will pop up in other locations around the house as the months go on.  I've got a quote from Pres. Monson's Joy talk on my fridge.  And pretty soon there will be a joy vinyl sticker on my bathroom mirror.  Overkill?  Maybe.  But I get distracted easily, so I need the visual reminder.

Part of this process is remembering that joy is found in the little things.  Like, opening my kitchen drawer and finding drawings from Anna. After which she shouts, "Happy Birthday!"

Silly faces from silly boys.  These eyeballs are barely edible but they make for some good entertainment.

  

Something cute and colorful and seasonal to hang above my kitchen island.  This is a fun Valentine project that I borrowed from Gina (thanks for the idea!). I love the way they gently float and twist and flutter.

  

And this is almost just too cute.  A cupcake?  No, a bath bomb in the form of a cupcake!  It looks so scrumptious you could just eat it!

While I love how this little darling looks, I'm not a bath person.  Personally, I just don't ever see myself taking the time to soak for 30 minutes or an hour in a tub.  Plus, I've got a big aversion to prune fingers.  {gives me the creepies} . 

But I do know there are many people out there who are bath lovers, so I'm offering this up for a give-away this week.  **To enter, tell me what it is you like about baths, do you have a bathing ritual, a set time you do it every week, favorite products, etc.  Anything!

I'll accept comments through Saturday night and post a winner sometime on Sunday.  (US residents only, sorry!)

mid-week joy #2

in the form of a quote or two . . . .

  

Here, here!  {swiped this from her blog}

Makes you think of someone, doesn't it?  And the thought of her makes you smile, doesn't it?  Or maybe you want to be that person.  {from She by Koby Yamada - great little book} 

 

I also love Elder M. Russell Ballard's quote:  "The joy of motherhood comes in moments." 

 

Here's to a happy weekend!

mid-week joy #1

Okay, so I thought it might be fun to post once in a while about finding joy.  And wednesdays seemed like a great day to do it because it's half-way through the week and sometimes you just need that extra oommph to get you through 'til Friday.  Granted, this will not be every week -- I don't need to commit myself to another scheduled project (365 is enough).  It could be anything from fun things I'm doing to add joy to our days, bits & pieces of joy I've observed or experienced, a poem about joy (no, not really), or whatever else I come up with.  Here goes . . . .

So in elementary school you probably heard about some of those obscure, strange holidays like National Watermelon Day or Make-a-Sandwich Day or Pigeon Day . . . . Well I came across a website through another blog that lists many of these bizarre holidays.  Let me tell you, there are some crazy ones out there.  How about Multiple Personalities Day?  Or National Nude Day?  It's on July 14th.  I really cannot figure out why we would need to celebrate National Beheading Day (Sept. 2), nor do I want to be around when anyone chooses to honor it. 

I went through the list and thought it would be fun to choose one fun holiday from each month and add it to our new family calendar (the new year's eve project).  I can guarantee that we will be celebrating No Housework Day on April 7th.  But there's no chance whatsoever that National Whiners Day (Dec. 26) will be honored in this house.

In January I chose National Popcorn Day on the 19th.  Other celebrations that will come through our house this year:

• Hoodie Hoo Day (Feb. 20)
• Something on a Stick Day (Mar 28)
• No Housework Day (Apr 7) - I'm serious about this one.
• National Pink Day (June 23)
• National Ice Cream Day (July 18)
• National Kids Day (first sunday in August) - but maybe we'll party on Saturday
• Talk like a Pirate Day (Sept 19), of course.
• Mad Hatter Day (Oct. 6) - a day to be silly & crazy
• Celebrate your unique talent Day (Nov. 24) - maybe a family talent show or Cookie Monster Day (Nov. 2)
• National Chocolate Covered Anything Day (Dec. 16)

Here's another website with an even larger listing of strange holidays.

I'm excited about this idea! I don't have to make it into a big deal, just a little something to make the month interesting.  A fun memory maker for sure.  15 years from now Conner will be saying, "remember the time mom made us all dress in pink and put pink curlers in our hair and eat strawberry ice cream and watch the Pink Panther?"  Payton will reply, "Ya.  Mom is weird."

I won't really make them dress in pink.

joy

definition:  feelings of great happiness or pleasure, especially of an elevated or spiritual kind.

My one little word for 2009.  JOY.

Partly inspired by President Monson's conference talkand his reminder to "find joy in the journey."  Partly inspired by my kids walking around the house the entire month of December belting out, "Joy to the world!" and wishing I could be that exuberant and joyful.  Wanting to feel joy, wanting to share joy.  Knowing that it is most often a choice and something that I must seek after.   

I love love love this quote:

Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are. 

-Marianne Williamson

I am blessed with so much . . . with my family, the gospel in my life, a comfortable home, good health, our needs are filled, debts are paid,  . . . things really are good.  I guess I need to be better at recognizing that so joy can happen.

Tonight I had the opportunity to speak at Enrichment.  I chose President Monson's talk for a topic and tied in this little word as well.  I want to share the link to a slide show I quoted from.  Another reminder to find joy in the journey.  The days are long, but the years are short.

Also, I'm salivating over this piece of jewelry . . . . custom made with your own "one little word" stamped right on it.  A great way to keep your word close to your heart all year long.

{from ali edwards' blog:  enter the code "myword" at checkout to receive 20% off.  I'm not sure when this offer expires.}