Day 184: Shake That Thang!

My sister-in-law recreated "Minute to Win It" stunts for us to try here. If you don't know what that is, go watch an episode at NBC.com.

Today's Joyful Moment was watching HH and my brother play "Junk in the Trunk". They each had an empty tissue box attached to their lower backs. Then 5 ping pong balls were placed inside and they had a minute to shake the ping pong balls out. You cannot imagine the hilarity that followed as they shook and wriggled in ways I'd never seen before.

You know when your cheeks hurt so bad from laughing? Wishing you all that kind of Joyful Moment!

Day 183: Ack!

I missed a day! So, I'm going to pretend I didn't and post date this.

Today's Joyful Moment was when my nephew said, "We're having a lot of fun at this family reunion!"

Made all the hard work and stress totally worth it.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments validating your hard work!

Day 182: Full House

I have 23 people in my home right now.

Today's Joyful Moments included:

Wishing my niece a happy birthday and finding out that the meals I had planned for the day were exactly what she wanted.

Watching Baby B smile and giggle with everyone and talk to my mom for several minutes.

Playing Apples to Apples with the adults in the family while my children slept peacefully.

Connecting to my one missing sibling via Skype and having a family meeting with all of the adult members "present".--Miss you, Meg!!

And tons more.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments! And tons more.

Day 181: We Are Family!

Almost all of my family is here!!! Joyful Moment. No time to chat!

Wishing you all Joyful Moments that take up all your time in a wonderfully fabulous way!

Day 180: My Other Brother

My brother and his family came tonight and brought my mom. I LOVE this kind of Joyful Moment!

But it's super late and I'm SUPER tired, so that's all.

Wishing you all SUPER Joyful Moments!

Day 179: Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?

Guess who came to my house last night?

My brother. And his wife. And his five fun, cute kiddos.

Joyful Moments!!!!

I had so much fun visiting with my brother and his wife (LOVE them!). And reuniting with my nieces and nephews is always a treat. I got to play partial games of Candy Land and Sorry with them (there was too much to do, attention spans were short) and I got to visit with them and find out what's new in their lives.

Joyful Moments!!!!

And I got to visit with my sister-in-law. We could talk for hours. We did. And thus they were late getting on the road for their next stop. Sorry! But I just love talking to her!

Joyful Moments!!!!

I would have talked to my brother more, but the poor guy did not get enough sleep last night due to a sick child.

Bummer.

And guess what the best part is?! They'll be back on Wednesday to stay for a few days and continue to provide me with...

Joyful Moments!!!!

Wishing you all something to provide you with...

Joyful Moments!!!!

Day 178: Compensating

So, Z was kind of neglected this weekend as we prepare for all the company. She was pretty sad by yesterday evening and we felt bad.

To make it up to her, we took her to the dog run and let her run and play to her hearts content. We've been alternating between heat/humidity advisory warnings and torrential down pours for the last couple weeks, so the dog run has seen few visitors. Thanks to some cooler weather today following a few dry days, the dogs (and their people) came out this afternoon in droves.

It was totally my Joyful Moment watching Z run and splash in the creek with all of these other dogs. She's a very social dog, so she couldn't have been happier. And the kids had a great time "esploring" through the foliage that has grown to insane heights due to the recent wet weather. And me, I just enjoyed being with my HH (Baby B was sleeping in the Moby Wrap) and taking it all in.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments of soaking in the joy of everyone you love being happy and content!

Day 177: Productivity

We have family coming into town this week, beginning with tomorrow. In preparation for the massive influx of people at our house we took care of some projects we've been meaning to do for quite some time.

We were SUPER productive today! And looking around my house is totally a Joyful Moment! It looks so good. And it's a lot less cluttered in the closet-type areas. So, I know it will be trashed shortly after 10 of my nieces and nephews arrive, but their arrival will be another Joyful Moment, so I can't wait!!!!

Wishing you all SUPER productive Joyful Moments!

Day 176: Still Funky Fresh

Well, alri-ight!

Today's Joyful Moment came from rocking out to the Sugar Free Allstars all day long as we drove here and there and everywhere. The kids and I had a great time getting our groove on and tonight HH was beyond impressed by my smooth moves as we drove to Target.

Car Dancing with the Fam = Joyful Moments for All!

Wishing you all groovin' Joyful Moments!

Day 175: Funky Fresh

And Sugar Free.

Today's Joyful Moment--attending a kid-oriented concert, watching Sweet P dance her heart out up near the stage, while enjoying snow cones with Little M and HH (Baby B slept peacefully through the whole event).

Today's unJoyful Moment--relapsing into the Deathly Ill-ness. Off to bed.

Wishing you all sugar free disco dance party Joyful Moments!

Day 174: Return to Me

I LOVE that movie. Love it.

But what I love even more is what brought me my Joyful Moment today. Sweet P appears to be returning to herself. Not the "herself" she was before receiving treatment, but the "herself" she was before any of this began. My sweet Sweet P. My loving, caring, obedient, wonderful daughter.

Words really can't express the depth of my Joyful Moment as she did something that was so totally her this afternoon and I realized that she is coming back to me. I was so afraid she never would. So, this was, by far, one of the greatest Joyful Moments I've had.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments as you reunite with one of your most favorite people in the world!

Day 173: Sous Chef

Thank you for your well wishes and prayers. Thanks to those and going to bed earlier, I'm feeling much better.

Little M has always had an interest in helping in the kitchen. At least, for as long as I can remember. And he's surprisingly good at it. Tonight he was in there helping me again. Cooking the ground beef and onions while I was running around trying to get everything else for our burritos ready. Don't worry, I kept a very close eye on him. I actually wouldn't trust Sweet P with that task because I'm fairly certain she would burn herself on the pan or the stove. But Little M is just a natural in the kitchen.

And having him in there, cooking right alongside me was my Joyful Moment tonight. And a true blessing as it was sort of a busy meal to prepare. It was nice having his happy little smile and cute chatter while we worked.

I'm so grateful to have my own little sous chef who is so cute and cheerful in his assistance. And he does whatever I ask.

Wishing you all personal assistants to provide you with Joyful Moments and delicious meals!

Day 172: Oh, Chute!

Deathly Ill is what I am right now. So, this is going to be super quick and then I'm going to bed. For a million years.

Or, at least until Baby B wakes up hungry.

Today's Joyful Moment was playing Chutes and Ladders with Sweet P and Little M. It went really well. This was the first time I've ever played a board game with Little M without him getting bored and destroying the whole game before it ended.

It helped that he won. Sweet P took second. I took third out of three. Legitimately--I didn't cheat to let them win.

The end.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments--even when Deathly Ill is what you are.

Day 171: Gentleman's Club

Don't worry, this post is totally G-rated. But you'll probably think it's an odd one.

Little M has always always always been a mama's boy. Even as a baby he preferred to be held by his mama. Lately, however, I've noticed a camaraderie building between Little M and his daddy. Today I listened and observed as Little M followed HH around trying to help out with various tasks.

One of which involved plucking a zillion baby centipedes out of our hibiscus tree. We think there must have been an egg sack in the new bag of dirt we just put in when we re-potted it. It's nast-o. So, HH was trying to make it less nast-o and Little M was more than interested in his efforts.

When they were finished they proudly brought me their little bowl full of baby centipedes. Then HH debated how to dispose of them finally deciding that flushing them down the toilet would be the most appropriate course of action. Naturally.

Then I overheard the two of them having a fabulous conversation all about Little M peeing on the bugs, putting out fires, and the like.

Maybe I should be embarrassed about this, but that was totally my Joyful Moment. It was just so cute and fun to hear the two of them talking and being complete boys. It's a whole different club. And it was totally my Joyful Moment!

And now some more friends just arrived--another Joyful Moment!

Wishing you all Joyful Moment full of manly man activities!

Day 170: Give Me Some Space

Today's Joyful Moment was being able to walk freely around our large storage room. Without fear of stepping in an open box, or on a dead spider. Or worse.

That's because I organized it. It's the room where I put the boxes that didn't need to be unpacked (i.e. Baby girl clothes) and later, the boxes I didn't know what to do with. And then pretty much anything I just didn't want to deal with.

To say it was a disaster would be putting it lightly.

But now it's organized and clean.

And ready to welcome the belongings of my brother's family. They aren't moving in with us, sadly, just some of their stuff. So, I'm relieved to have the space we told them we have.

And mostly, I'm relieved to no longer be hiding a nightmare in my basement. So, when HH woke from his much needed nap ( he's sick) and asked what I'd been up to, it was totally a Joyful Moment to drag him downstairs and show him.

Aaahhhh, the joys of a clean house!

Wishing you all clean Joyful Moments!

Day 169: Basilicious!

It's a good thing I resigned from depression yesterday because Little M decided to start picking up on Sweet P's craziness today and it was a fun fun day.

Fortunately, my garden is still well-behaved and brought me a Joyful Moment. For the first time ever, I got to use my very own fresh basil in a recipe. HH's favorite Bolognese sauce. Yumma Yum Yum!

And Baby B just carried on a sweet conversation with me for the last five minutes. Now he's screaming because he wishes he was asleep. But the conversation was very much a Joyful Moment.

But now I need to go give him the Joyful Moment that precious sleep provides!

Wishing you all Joyful Moments and good sleep!

Day 168: Consider This My Resignation!

Anyone familiar with "The Great Hudsucker"? It's a weird one. With Tim Robbins and Paul Newman. And a girl who says the line above. It's all about Hula Hoops. No kidding.

Anyway, don't worry, I'm not resigning from this blog. I'm resigning from depression. Or at least, from getting depressed every time Sweet P has an episode. It's just not working out for me.

So, in spite of two such episodes today, I experienced a number of fun Joyful Moments. At least, I had thought of a bunch when I was trying to decide what to post about tonight. But now most of them have left me.

One I do remember is writing HH a love note on the driveway with sidewalk chalk. He started it a few days ago when he left me a note saying, "I love Cheryl". So, this afternoon I replied, "HH is HOT!". And it made me giggle thinking about him discovering it, as well as the missionaries who joined us for dinner tonight.

That was another Joyful Moment. I know you're not supposed to try out new recipes when you have company, but I always do. Tonight I tried out two new recipes. A new Italian bread recipe--turned out delish! And yummy bread always gives me Joyful Moments. And a recipe for grilled pork tenderloin.

I struggled to find one that didn't include any taboo ingredients for Baby B's new diet, so I sort of combined several and added my own zing. Actually, it was really simple. I marinated it in Italian dressing with salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, (no parsley or sage, though), and garlic powder. All day. And then we threw it on the grill. That was the part I didn't plan very well. It should have been cooked on direct heat instead of indirect. But fortunately, I had a garden salad, a fruit salad, and the above mentioned bread for everyone to munch on while they waited. And since I was in my room feeding Baby B, they also helped themselves to the corn, pepper, bean relish that was intended as a topping for the tenderloin. That's what happens when you leave men to fend for themselves.

At least HH knew what he was doing at the grill. He's the one who decided to go ahead and increase the heating intensity to finally get those tenderloins fully cooked.

I don't really like pork. But biting into a piece of that was so fantastically yummy! And it was another Joyful Moment.

But, of course, nothing could compare to the Joyful Moment of eating the brownies I baked for dessert.

It's a good thing someone invented food since so many of my Joyful Moments are derived from that!

Wishing you all yummy Joyful Moments!

Day 167: Panera--Home of Female Bonding

Back in New England I had an amazing group of girlfriends. We didn't all live in the same neighborhood, or even town, but we all went to the same church. And once a month (give, or take) we would meet for dinner at Panera.

I love Panera. And I love those ladies. And I miss them. And I miss those evenings out with them.

So, I decided to organize a Panera Ladies Group here. Tonight was the first event and it went smashingly. Not everyone could make it and, though we missed those who weren't there, it's always nice to have a smaller group for easier conversation. We had so much fun! The conversation was great--hilarious most of the time. And I even found a salad and a sandwich that are approved by Baby B's belly.

It was such a fantastically fabulous Joyful Moment! And it wouldn't have been the same without HH volunteering to watch one of my friend's three children when she said she couldn't come because her husband had a meeting. Isn't HH amazing? A huge shout out, thanks, and smooches to him!

Wishing you all girly Joyful Moments!

Day 166: Bread

Just so we're totally clear--HH is more than capable of changing his own tire. The one last night was rusted onto the lugs, that is why he require assistance and it took them so long.

And I just kept thinking how grateful I was that he happened to park at the end of the driveway of a kind couple that were home and that were willing to help. And knew how to help. And so grateful that they weren't sociopaths or any other kind of freaks.

So, I did what I do when I want to say "thanks". I baked them a loaf of bread. Honey Oat Wheat Bread. Mmmm... HH felt a little awkward about this, so the kids and I drove up to meet him at the Good Samaritans' home on his way home from work with the freshly made loaf. I never met the wife, but Robert visited with us for quite a while and seemed genuinely pleased with our small offering of gratitude. He invited us to come back and visit any time and was just an all-around kind person, exuding optimism.

Afterward HH agreed that it was a good idea and he was glad we did it. Dare I say, we shared our Joyful Moment today in giving that loaf of bread and expressing our appreciation for this man's unsolicited act of service? I think I do. Wonderful how saying 'thanks' always feels so good and almost always results in a Joyful Moment.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments accompanied by the wonderful smell of freshly baked bread!

Day 165: Home Sweet Home

HH called me on his way home tonight to tell me he had a very flat tire.

Yay.

But he said everything was going smoothly and he expected to get it changed in a short amount of time. And then he called a half an hour later to tell me he still couldn't get the tire off of the car.

Yay.

Fortunately, there was no shoulder on the road, so he'd had to pull off at the end of some one's driveway (he works way out in the sticks). The gentleman of that house was kind enough to help HH with an assortment of tools and creativity until they finally got the tire off, put on the spare, and got HH back on his way.

Today's Joyful Moment was most definitely hearing HH walk through the door. I was worried about him and tired of being the only parent at home. And I love him. I don't know if I've ever mentioned that here, but it's true. I do.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments at home!

Day 164: Round and Round

Well, my first Joyful Moment was waking up and realizing that yesterday evening with my HH was exactly what I needed to finally snap out of my funk and re-join the land of the living. I actually woke up happy!

And then we had another heart-wrenching episode with Sweet P tonight and... I just don't know.

But before that happened, a friend told me that I looked "really pretty" today. How can that not be a Joyful Moment?

And part of my date with HH last night was shopping for new bedding at the mall. We were too tired to put it on the bed last night, so I put it on this afternoon and it looks so fantastic! I've been wanting new bedding for at least 3 years, maybe longer since we've been using the same bedding we got for our wedding. So, seeing something new and beautiful on my bed was a fabulous Joyful Moment!

Really, it was a great day. But sitting here right now, it just doesn't feel that way. What's a girl to do?

Wishing you all Joyful Moments that outshine the bad moments!

Day 163: Hot Honey Fever!

I've still got it after being married to him for 7 years! Today is our anniversary.

We went out to dinner and tried to pick our favorite thing from the last year, but there were way too many. And it was a Joyful Moment remembering all of these Joyful Moments together. And it was a Joyful Moment as we reminisced about one of the most joyful Joyful Moments ever--the day we were married.

That one decision was the best choice I ever made. I can't imagine a man better for me. Even with all of my depression drama, he still believes in me and loves me. And he reminds me that there are always more Joyful Moments to come, no matter how bleak things seem at the moment.

Happy Anniversary, Hot Honey! Our love brings me more Joyful Moments than anything else!

Wishing you all Joyful Moments worth commemorating year after year!

Day 162: When Being Warm Is NOT a Good Feeling

When you're carrying your 2 1/2 month old around Target in your Moby Wrap and suddenly your stomach feels warm. And wet. That's when it's not a good feeling. And that wasn't today's Joyful Moment. But it was kind of funny, so I thought I'd share. Maybe another time I'll share a non-Joyful Moment involving a cute new gym shirt, a walk across the gym, and let-down.

But tonight, I'm just going to quickly share a cute Joyful Moment I just experienced. We were getting the kids ready for bed and HH started playing ball with Little M. He's really good at getting the kids wound down like that.

He was giving Little M tips on how to catch the ball and when Little M started getting it and catching the ball repeatedly, he just kept giggling and giggling. It was so cute! And that, my friends, was today's Joyful Moment.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments that leaving you feeling warm inside and not on your shirt!

Day 161: Grillin' Like a Vilain

Did I mention the super grill I got HH for his birthday? My dad called it "the Cadillac of grills". I like that.

Anyway, tonight I grilled something for the first time. Ever. In my life. Not counting my George Foreman grill, of course. It was a fryer chicken cut into quarters. By me. The 12-year old me wouldn't believe it. Because that 12-year old was repulsed when watching her mama handle raw chicken and vowed to only ever use already-cooked rotisserie chicken.

I've come along way from that 12-year old girl. But cutting through chicken bones was absolutely repulsively disgusting.

And I digress. Because all of the repulsive disgusting nastiness was forgotten as I stood out there, wielding my massive grill tongs grillin' up some amazing dairy/soy free chicken. It was an exhilarating Joyful Moment. I always thought I'd leave the barbecuing to the menfolk. Step aside HH, I've got a grill cleaning brush and I'm not afraid to use it!

But my piece had a slightly underdone spot, so if you don't hear from me tomorrow, I'm most likely in the hospital with Salmonella poisoning.

Wishing you all sizzling Joyful Moments!

Day 160: The Best of Times

And the worst of times.

Today has been a bit of a revelation for me. One single day can hold many beautiful Joyful Moments (so many I'm having a difficult time choosing which to post). And that same day can hold horrible moments so awful that it pushed me way past my breaking point.

They told us that there would be some initial negative side effects with Sweet P's new treatment. That it would make certain aspects of her condition worsen before they get better. The reason I call her "Sweet P" is that she has always been a very sweet child. She's a bit of an old soul and has been very thoughtful and caring towards others, especially her family members.

Then as her condition developed, she became increasingly belligerent. I thought that was bad. But now she's just down right mean and unruly. I feel like I've lost my child because she's had this complete personality shift and I want my baby back. Her doctor said this is normal and that she should return to herself once her body adjusts to the medication. But it is not easy. I miss my Sweet P.

Combine that with extreme fatigue, the stress of trying to figure out this new diet for me and Baby B, and all the other things that come with being a wife, mother, and human being and I just feel like a broken person.

And yet, before all that, there were several Joyful Moments. And without this blog, I probably would have forgotten all of them after the hellish experience I suffered this afternoon.

A friend invited us to join them at the local children's museum. Little M has been begging to go ever since we bought our family pass, so it was a delightful Joyful Moment seeing his excitement when I told him where we were headed this morning. And of course, watching them play was another Joyful Moment.

My little sister called just as we were leaving and talking to her was yet another Joyful Moment. She's a new mama and she's such a good mama. I'm so amazed by the grace that she has in handling all of the trials she's faced with her tiny little baby coming earlier than expected.

And the final Joyful Moment I will share was listening to Little M "read" me a book that he had written. It was hilarious. I can't really remember any of it except one little part, "and there were bluebeyyies in the water. Yummy!" But you really had to hear it from him to get the full effect. He is so funny.

Thanks for listening tonight. I'm sorry if my recent posts have been downers. I'm trying. But it has made me all the more grateful for daily Joyful Moments.

Wishing you all an abundance of Joyful Moments, especially on the worst of days.

Day 159: Mr. Chatter Box

Today was sort of awful. Surprise! I know, I never say that.

But tonight, as I sat contemplating all of my failures in life, Baby B suddenly turned to me with big huge smiles and just started chatting away. Even though I completely spaced his diet yesterday and ordered a deli sandwich with cheese and who knows what other banned items, so his tummy was most likely hurting. He still wanted to express his pleasure at seeing my face and making eye contact.

So, even though I'm really trying not to duplicate Joyful Moments in my posts, I have to award today's Joyful Moment to my sweet little Baby B. He's so good at making me feel joy and forget all the bad--even about myself.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments and non-awful days!

Day 158: Z Double O

HH had the day off today--always a Joyful Moment! So, we took the whole crew up to the big city to see the big city zoo.

Family zoo trip + pre-trip run w/ Z + a few hours of driving + carrying Baby B and/or pushing Little M in the stroller + 7 hours on my feet at the zoo - crazy tantrums from Sweet P + post-4th fireworks upon arriving home = Mega Joyful Moments + 1 tired Mama.

Good night!

Wishing you all Joy+ful = Moments!

Day 157: Finger-Lickin' AMAZING!

For all intents and purposes, today should have been an awful day.

Yesterday was rotten and I went to bed in the lowest of lows. In fact, I last night's post was originally a list of all my woes entitled "Poopy". But my mama reads this blog and she doesn't like that word. So, I decided to spare you the whine and just give you the cheese.

You know, because wine and cheese go well together? Or so I've been told. I wouldn't actually know because I don't drink wine. And of course, I can't have cheese any more either. So, the whole "wine and cheese" thing wouldn't really work out for me. Thanks anyway.

But the amazing thing is, today didn't stink.

In fact, it was pretty good.

First of all, it's Independence Day and the only thing I really do know is that I really don't know just how good I've got it because I live in this blessed free country. I've known freedom all my life, so I don't have a clue what it's like to not be allowed to say what I want, worship how and whom I want, live where I want, and to be able to experience Joyful Moments how, where, and when I like. I do know that I'm inexpressibly grateful for it all, though. And for all the amazing people who contributed to that, from George Washington to my uncle serving in Afghanistan. Thank you all!

And I think today's second Joyful Moment would have to go to... (drum roll, please)... Dinner! HH grilled some Ah-Mazing ribs. So yummy! And I made a delicious fruit salad, Jello decorated like a flag, and Parmesan and parsley corn on the cob. And we enjoyed Oreos for dessert. Some people also got to enjoy ice cream (sniff, sniff, wah). But the dinner was seriously so delicious and it was fun that we made it together. AND we ate it outside on our newish patio furniture, using our cushions, pillows, and patio dishes for the first time. So, it was a totally cute meal to boot. And it was just plain FUN.

I really enjoyed myself, in case you couldn't tell. It was a grrrrreat Joyful Moment!

Wishing you all the freedom to experience grrrrreat Joyful Moments!

Day 156: Christmas in July

Today while on an errand for HH, I came across a few great Christmas presents for the kids. It was a Joyful Moment imagining how much they'll love these when they get them in six months. And knowing that having already bought them some gifts will bring me more Joyful Moments as Christmas draws closer and I don't have to stress over their gifts.

Wishing you all Happy Holiday Joyful Moments!

Day 155: Healing a Mother's Heart

I had a couple big Joyful Moments today.

One was a visit from some old family friends. My family lived near their family in three different states. They have two daughters (one just older than me, one just younger) and a son. And they are all just wonderful and fabulous and I love them. So, although it was a very brief visit, it was definitely a Joyful Moment to reconnect and introduce them to Baby B.

And preparing for their visit provided me with another, much needed, Joyful Moment.

Sweet P is constantly writing and drawing. If she finds any sort of writing utensil, she immediately find paper and begins marking. So, yesterday when she asked me to help her spell "friend", I thought nothing of it.

I've mentioned before that Sweet P is very much a Daddy's girl. Lately our relationship has become a little strained. The treatment for her condition is a hormone implant and as her body learns to adjust to it, it's made her very hormonal. Like a thirteen year old.

Suddenly I can't do anything right and I'm to blame for everything. She's defiant and sometimes just plain mean. If you know Sweet P you know this is completely out of character for her. She's normally very sweet and obedient. It's been very difficult for me to not take this behavior shift personal. It's been heart breaking and devastating at times.

This morning as I was straightening our house so I wouldn't be embarrassed when taking our friends on a tour of it, I came across one of Sweet P's pieces of paper. I was about to put it in the recycling pile (it's not that I don't value her work, it's just that there is so much it's difficult to keep it from taking over the house), but then I stopped to look at it. It had a picture of two people on it and at the top said, "To Mom". Then at the bottom it said, "My friend".

Now I have tears in my eyes and I'm struggling to find the words to describe how much my heart needed that little scrap of paper. And what a beautiful Joyful Moment that was for me.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments with the power to move you.

Day 154: I Get A Thousand Hugs From 10,000 Lightning Bugs

Tonight we were invited to a Firefly Chasing party.

It was SO fun! Our friends provided cute jars, complete with name labels so no one freaked out when they lost theirs. We also had s'mores and a great time chatting with the other families there. My mom always told me about catching fireflies when she was young, but I'd never done it before.

Turns out it's pretty easy--once you get over your ridiculous fear of touching anything possessing more than four legs. Lightning bugs don't fly very quickly. And the flashing light on the bum is helpful in locating them, too.

The only thing is, fireflies only come out late at night. And today was laundry day. So, HH is upstairs putting bedding on the kids beds so we can put the kids in their beds.

It's a quarter to 11. P.M.

I must go. But this whole event tonight was totally a Joyful Moment. I was very much in need of something fun and some girl chat. And tonight I got both. Plus, it made my children very happy. Bonus!

Wishing you all Joyful Moments that light up your life! Or at least the night.