Day 460: Extra Time

I tell you what--I've been waking up early all week to read my scriptures before beginning the rest of my day and what a difference it makes!  It's like I have three extra hours added into each day.

Take today, for instance.  After getting Sweet P off to school Little M and I mowed the lawn (don't worry, I have a push reel, so it's perfectly safe for him and his little toes to be out with me).  While I was mowing I discovered that the peonies are beginning to bud.  Even though I know it will be quite the wait before those buds turn into flowers, it was a total Joyful Moment!  I'm so excited for the gorgeous display they bring to my backyard!

Then I went to the gym and ran three miles.  Met a friend at the library for a bit.  Came home and did lunch.  And then realized that it was still an hour before nap time.  Usually, naps are right after lunch.  So, the boys and I headed down to the play room and played trains.  I don't have to tell you what a sweet Joyful Moment this was.

After putting the boys down for naps, I cleaned out the garage.  Which inevitably led to cleaning out the shed as well because I needed to move all the winter stuff (i.e. sled and snow shovels) from the garage to the shed and it didn't make sense to move one mess over to another mess.  It was a lot of work, but both areas look so much better that the clean freak in me experienced a very satisfying Joyful Moment.  And the wife in me experienced two Joyful Moments--one in anticipating how pleased HH would be to discover that I had tackled these two jobs we've been discussing doing for quite some time, and the second when he arrived home and expressed his happy surprise.

And just barely, while tucking Little M in, I whispered to him, "I had a lot of fun playing trains with you today."  He's been in trouble for one thing after another all evening, so he was probably expecting a scolding.  And I could just tell how happy my whispered words made him in the way he responded, "Me too!"  And then he must have thought I didn't hear because he repeated it even more enthusiastically.  And it was a sweet Joyful Moment all over again.

Moral of the Story:  Studying the scriptures is far more productive than staying in bed.

Authors Side Note:  But it's a good idea to go to bed early, too.  Staying out late with girlfriends, while exceedingly fun, leads to exceeding tiredness by the end of the next day.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments in putting the Lord first!