Some Happy Things

Can I be real honest?

This year has been one of my hardest years of happy things.
I'm not talking about joy.  Or thankfulness.  Those are entirely different.  Just happy.

And since that's not my typical personality, I'm not sure why it's been such a thing.   

Maybe because we've had a lot of sickness.  And still going strong.   

Maybe because we've had so many Big Days this year. (But isn't that happy?) 

Maybe because I'm struggling with my relationship with BlueEyes. 

Maybe sin.  (Well of course.) 

Maybe this.  Maybe that.  I really don't know.  

But suffice it to say I'm easily angered.  Easily annoyed.  Quick to gripe.  And slow to smile.  

And I HATE IT.  I mean I have everything!  And I'm thankful.  So what on earth?

But there's nothing like a nice long phone date with my Arizona bestie to help me fix my thoughts on my reality.  She is an awesome listener and suggested I keep a list of the things that fill my tank.  Those things that might help to get me out of this funk.  

 Such a simple task.  But something I enjoyed doing so I thought I'd share it on here too.

~Walking

The weather is perfect and my Fitbit is fun.  I've had such a good time with it and love to watch my steps accumulate. I have a neighbor that I like to walk with.  Not only does she push me to walk a little longer but I also enjoy the friendship.  But my best walks are alone.  Just me and my ear buds.  That is where I'm able to really think and pray right now.

~Essential Oils

I have so many favorites.  Lavender, frankincense, and lemon is what I usually diffuse at night.  Like almost every night.  Peppermint and lime is my favorite day time combo.  Tonight I'm diffusing eucalyptus and fir needle to help my man breathe better.   And I just bought Clove oil for my mouth sores.

~Music

Lately I have felt so starved for good music.  Especially from Jes and Mike.  They are my favorites.
But with soccer, and baseball, and golf, and Big Days and whatever else it's hard to squeeze it all in.
After our CO peeps left, I realized we didn't play and sing with them even one time.  And that is SO SAD because I love all their voices.

Tonight Mike moved a guitar into our bedroom.  THAT makes me smile.

~YouTube Mom Vlogs 

There are a few mom channels I subscribe to that encourage and inspire me to be a better mom.  My kids think it's crazy that I care what someone else bought at the thrift store!  And someday I might even do one of my own!

~My New Book

I put this in my Amazon cart to save for later and then next thing I know it was delivered to my door! Thank you Honey.

About 3 pages into this I realized I could not keep this to myself.  My kids needed this book too.  This is the true story of a fire that changed a man's life.  At 9 years old he blew up his parents' garage and suffered severe burns on 100% of his body.   It changed John's life in a way that is so remarkable and he writes, travels, and speaks on topics such as .... owning your life, admitting your mistakes, being grateful, and overcoming adversity.

Since I have a 9 year old, I know they make a LOT of stupid decisions.  So this quickly turned into our family read aloud.

~Bible Reading, Journaling, Coloring

My friend Shannon turned me onto this Bible study journal.



At first I was disappointed that the pages don't differ much.  But then I realized they don't need to since my reading will be different each day.  I have new thoughts and different prayers.  So the same sections will continually be different anyway.  See?



Anyway.  I do love working through it.

Thank you, Wendy, for pointing me to the happy places!