Day 15: Decompression

The kids had the day off of school.

Which meant that we had to take a break from the routine and do something extra fun.  Which meant some time at the local kids' play place.

And then meeting up at the park for lunch and play with friends.

This little girl loves to swing.  And it's Joyful Moments watching her.  And watching all of my kids run around and play with their friends.

And then I came home and talked to my mom for over 3 hours.

I should probably call her more often.

But, there was an exceptional amount of craziness to talk to this time.

And it was really good to share it with my mom.

And it probably gave me the clarity and strength of mind I needed to deal with the crazy way our evening went down.

Day 14: Cherish

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately.  A LOT.

About family.  About what it really means to be a good parent.  About how priceless children are.  About what every child really deserves.

And I've gained an added appreciation for the priceless gift I have in my children.  So, today I was that much more in tune with their silly, imaginative conversations.  More patient with their tantrums and struggling.  And more affectionate in our interactions.  And I truly found Joyful Moments in just being with them and feeling the blessing of being their mom.

Day 13: Check

Have I mentioned that I belong to the largest women's organization in the world?  It's a part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and it's called the Relief Society.  Once a year we get to hear from the leaders of our church, speaking directly to us as members of this organization.

I look forward to it immensely.

Tonight was that night.

First, I enjoyed dinner at Panera with my friends, which was interesting, but fun.

And then we went to the church to listen to the broadcast from Salt Lake City, Utah.

I'll be honest, even though I look forward to it every year, sometimes I walk away feeling a little bit guilty because we've been admonished to do more and work harder.

This year, the theme of the meeting was keeping our covenants with the Lord, mainly by serving others.  And I sat there with a clear conscience.  I've been doing a lot more service in general, ever since I set a goal for it back in May.  But, the past two weeks, I've pretty much devoted more time, energy, and effort than I really possessed to serving.

And that was a good feeling.  A Joyful Moment.

Day 12: Repeat Already

Like last Friday, snuggling on the couch while watching a movie with HH was today's Joyful Moment.  I'd been looking forward to it all day.

All week, really.  I knew if I could just make it through everything until then, we'd all be okay.

And we are.

Also, I had a nice walk with friends this morning.  Friends who understand and accept me.  All my craziness included.

Day 11: A Princess

Being able to be a part of this obviously Joyful Moment was one of the highlights in my day.  These kids have completely won my heart in the two weeks I've known them.

And HH making a triumphant return to church basketball tonight was a huge Joyful Moment, as well.  It's been a long road back since his shoulder surgery.  There were times he wasn't sure he'd ever get back into the game.  So, sending him out the door was a great moment for me.

As was his return home.  Injury free.  Big sigh of relief.

Day 10: Children Are Worth It

Joyful Moments today began early with being able to offer love and affection to children who are in great need in that area.  And seeing their beautiful resulting smiles.

And then causing some smiles on my own children's faces.  Because they've been a little neglected the past few days.  HH and the kids biked to the park and I brought ice cream cones.  I'm getting a little sick, so riding my bike sounded awful.  Doing pretty much anything sounded awful.  But, it was worth the sacrifice to be together with my family, to watch their tricks on the playground, and to catch Darling A at the bottom of the slide about 5,000 times.

Day 9: Poured Out

I've been trying to stick more to the basic Joyful Moments this time around.  And not so much on all of the rest of life.

And honestly, I wouldn't even know where to begin if I tried to explain what has been going on around here of late.

But, amidst it all, I've been having some serious self-doubts.  And today, I think Heavenly Father decided it was time to put those to rest.

I have never been the recipient of such an outpouring of love.  I tried explaining it to HH at least three different times tonight.  But, I can't adequately convey what happened today.  I interacted with so many people today--some I know well, and some I've barely met.  And it was mostly to discuss some very serious things going on with our neighbors.  But somehow, everyone I spoke to had a similar message for me.  One that overwhelmed me to the point of tears every single time.  But, the basic gist was love and appreciation and support.

Most of it was expressed verbally.  But, there was also this from a couple different friends.  That stack of cookies might have been considerably taller when it was dropped off.

So, now, I need to take sometime to process everything.

Today was really awful in between all of that, so I don't ever want to go through it again.  But, I'm so grateful for the people and friends in my path today who shared what they did.  Because today, it made all the difference.