Day 31

I am blessed.  On day 31, and every other day, I am blessed.

Tonight after dinner, we had apple pie with vanilla ice cream. My son scooped vanilla ice cream in the middle of a hamburger bun and ate it.  He said he loved it!  It made me smile!

My daughter started her new job today and loved it!  She made new friends and had fun at work!  It brought me so much joy!

My son started summer camp today.  He can't wait to go back tomorrow!  When I picked him up he was grinning from ear to ear, soaked in sweat, and had a big green snake painted up his arm.  I still smile when I picture him walking out to meet me.

My husband got home from work, ate dinner with us, and then took our son outside to the pool and they swam for about an hour.  I know my husband is tired after working all day, but he still went out to the pool to play.  It gives me pure joy.

My son has always been a bit fearful of "the deep end" of the swimming pool.  Tonight, he swam from one end of the pool to the other.  He started in the deep end and made it all the way to the stairs at the other end!  What an accomplishment!  The satisfaction I get from watching my kids conquor a fear that once held them captive is overwhelming.

I went to the grocery store today.  I have mentioned in prior days that going to the grocery store, since we've moved, depresses me.  I feel lonely and unaccepted every time I enter the store doors.  I didn't really feel like that today.  That really makes me happy.

My mom, sisters, brother-in-law, nephews and niece will be here to visit for an entire week in one week and five days!  We have so many things planned to do and see!  I can tell you in advance, that we will have the most fun when we are just all sitting around the house together watching the kids play together.  That's when memories are made.  It gives me joy unexplainable.

We just had a week visit with my mother-in-law.  We laughed a lot, explored a lot, slept a little, and enjoyed every second of it.  My cousin arrived while she was here...two guests at once!  What a thrill!  I'm still smiling and talking about their visits.

I get to see a lot of wildlife.  We have deer in our front, back and side yard every day.  We have bullfrogs the size of small dogs.  There is a yellow stray cat that crosses our yard a few times a week.  The raccoons love our garbage.  Rabbits and black and gray squirrels use our yard as a playground.  Chipmunks are just everywhere!  Every once in awhile a wild turkey will roam through.  I am a lover of nature.  I always have been.  So, to see the above animals on a daily basis makes my heart happy.

My kids are meeting new people, exploring their community, and coming "out of their shells."  That is NOT easy.  Their comfort zones were taken away from them, but they are thriving.  They have a lot of people praying for them, and it is obvious.  My babies are bold and able to adapt...those are just awesome qualities to have...pure joy!!

My husband loves his job.  He enjoys going into the office every day and working.  He is friends with his co-workers.  What a blessing it is to actually love the job that you do every day.  We praise God for his job.  It makes me elated and proud.

I have family and friends who genuinely love and care about me.  There are no words to describe how happy that makes me!

God loves me.  I make a lot of mistakes.  I complain when I don't deserve to.  I don't forgive right away like I should.  I get angry at times when it is undeserved.  He loves me anyway.  I have a lot of questions I'd like to have answered, by Him.  He knows I have them.  I can't hide what I'm feeling or thinking from God, but He loves me anyway. 
That is just pure bliss. 

I could go on and on about the simple blessings that I see and feel all around me.  Just the fact that I'm sitting here, on my laptop, taking advantage of this wonderful technology is a blessing!  The fact that I can read and write and express my feelings is a blessing!  The fact that I am an American and have freedoms that many people in our world only dream of, is a blessing! 

Happiness is...I think happiness is sitting down and counting your simple blessings.