Day 527: Losing My Life To Find It

You may recall that this year my theme is Service.

I've kind of been going through phases with it.  But lately, my efforts have been renewed and I've been praying really hard for service opportunities.

So, yesterday I was on the phone with a friend who is about to move and she was telling me that the home inspector would be coming this morning and she was kind of stressed about what to do with her three kids and the two she babysits every day.  I was listening with sympathy until finally I realized that I could do something to help.  So, I offered for them to come hang out with us all morning.  She's a super capable person, so I pretty much never get to do anything for her, so hearing her say, "That actually would really help--a lot," with major relief in her voice was another Joyful Moment for yesterday.

Then, last night I checked my email when I posted here and I saw that another friend was in need of a baby sitter this afternoon for her two boys.  And again, I thought, "I could do that."  So, I emailed her back right away and told her to look no further.

So, this morning I went for my bike ride, came home, read my scriptures, showered, did violin practice with the kids, and then made waffles to feed our friends since they were coming kind of early.  The kids had a blast playing together for the next four hours, even got to play on the slip n' slide once the wind died down, while my friend and I visited.

Then a very quick lunch before sending Sweet P off to play with a neighbor's visiting granddaughter, put Little M down for a nap, straightened for a few minutes before getting Baby B up from his, and then my friend arrived with her cute kiddos.  We woke up Little M since he was who they really wanted to see and I refereed while those three rambunctious little boys had a blast.

About ten minutes after they left, Sweet P and her new friend returned, asking if the new friend could stay and play.  I could tell Grandma was in need of a break after a busy afternoon, so New Friend came on over and hung out until dinner was ready and HH was home.

If you read between the lines there, you might have noticed that there wasn't any "Me" time after about 7 AM.  Normally, I'm pretty big on getting my "Me" time.  But today it was okay.  I'm exhausted, but it's a really good exhausted.  After all the service I've been given while I've been sick the last couple months, it was really nice to give back.  Funny that it happened to all be on the same day, but it kind of worked better that way, too.

So, it was a day full of Joyful Moments, fun, and friends.  And completely satisfying.

And this was my favorite photo from the day.

Ah, so fantastic.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments that leave you both exhausted and completely satisfied!