The smiles say it all...

My Happy list:

1) Delicious dinner out with my favorite person.

2) A new dress, wearing open toed heels (What snow?), and painted toe nails. Once a girly girl, always a girly girl

3) Reminiscing about our wedding and reflecting on the past 7 years.

4) Fun times walking around the mall and camera shopping.

5) Buying a new Bible story book for our kids. Discussing how important it is to us that our kids know Jesus, and making a plan for implementing Bible stories into their night time routine.

6) Being more in love than ever.

7) Looking forward to seeing my mom and dad, whom I haven't seen since Christmas!!

8) Looking forward to meeting our puppy, especially introducing Jay to him.


9) More "just the two of us" time coming our way (yes I am beginning to feel spoiled).

10) A hot cup of tea and the quiet that is my morning before the kids are awake. Sweet, sweet quiet.


11) Having taken advantage of that quiet in much needed prayer and listening time.
Lord, may I never waste a moment. Let me run to you in the moments of quiet and in the moments of chaos.

Things that haven't made the happy list yet:

1) A very painful rib. Chiropractor's diagnoses: coughed so hard I pulled muscles and got my ribs out of alignment (didn't know you could do that...). Chiropractor's solution: Lower activity level, stop coughing, lay down and ice area for several days. Didn't know you could do that. I laughed. He didn't. Apparently he was serious.

2) Fifteen month old who's previously content and laid back disposition is now contingent upon being held. By mommy. See number 1. Can't hold fifteen month old very comfortably.

3) Crabby fifteen month old.

4) Decisions to make about school for five year old this fall, and dealing with schools who don't have "an appropriate place" for him. Don't like the not knowing.

5) Behind on laundry. Again. It did that weird 'multiplying' thing again. What's up with that?

6) Being really peeved that I can't edit my post the way I want to for some reason today. I have re-spaced things like a bazziliion times and it never saves it how I want.

So, the good news is that the happy list is much bigger than the things that haven't made it there. And this is just the random early morning thoughts of one who's not fully awake yet. I'm sure the happy list could be much longer.

I was beginning to read the new book we bought the boys this morning and I found myself with tears in my eyes. Over a children's book. Sounds a little pathetic, but obviously I don't care, because I am publishing it in my blog that has had 272 visits in less than a week. So maybe all those visits were from my mom, sisters, and best friends, but now the six of you know that I cry over children's books. Wait, you already knew that. Never mind.

Any way, the book we bought was The Jesus Storybook Bible. It was highly recommended by other moms so I thought we would give it a try. I haven't looked in it a whole lot yet, but I have been really happy with what I have seen so far. This is what touched me this morning:

So God breathed life into Adam and Eve. When they opened their eyes, the first thing they ever saw was God's face. And when God saw them he was like a new dad. "You look like me," he said. "You're the most beautiful thing I've ever made!"

God loved them with all of his heart. And they were lovely because he loved them. And Adam and Eve joined in the song of the stars and the streams and the wind in the trees, the wonderful song of love to the one who made them. Their hearts were filled with happiness. And nothing ever made them sad or lonely or sick or afraid.

God looked at every thing he had made. "Perfect!" he said. And it was.

But all the stars and the mountains and the oceans and galaxies and everything were nothing compared to how much God loved his children. He would move heaven and earth to be near them. Always. Whatever happened, whatever it cost him, he would always love them.

And so it was that the wonderful love story began...

Sometimes it takes something really simple, like a children's book, to touch us the deepest. Sometimes we just need to be brought back to the most basic things. God made us because he wanted us. He loves us in a daddy way, but so far beyond that. I'm glad I read that this morning. The next story in the book is called The Terrible Lie and I know that one will not be so uplifting. :)