Tuesday Tidbits

I had a dear friend, Holly Johnson, post about my blog the other day and I wanted to share what she said because she captured exactly what Joy is to me:

Joy is not who you are,
Joy is not where you are,
Joy is not who you are with,
Joy is not what you are doing,
Joy IS what you think about all the above.

This is so true and exactly what led me to start a blog. I think it is so critical for us as moms and wives to think about the JOY in our lives. The joy that we can extend to others and the joy that is extended to us. I have been so grateful for how starting this blog because it has slowed me down in my life and made me become aware of all the little gifts and what I think of the joy they spread. Here are a few of them from our past Labor Day weekend.

 

Kathryn and her best friend Cora playing Trouble. We had so much

rain that we had to find things to do inside. These smiles bring joy!

 

 

Aaron's buddy Evan spreads so much joy because he loves to

do things other than play electronics. They have old-fashioned fun

together.

 

Emma spent time looking at Olivia's new photography blog. She

also spent hours under a blanket reading.

 

 

This moment spread joy to so many 5th and 6th graders.

One of Emma's dreams came true when she performed with

a praise band on Sunday for church. She knows how to

connect with God through music.

 

OK so it brought me joy that we rode our

bikes as a family to a local outdoor mall for lunch.

The funny of the day was Aaron's pedal kept

falling off. He brings such joy with his calm attitude.

 

 

Kathryn learning to make herself eggs in the morning.

This gives me such JOY that she will

be a great Mom some day.

 

Here is a list of the rest of the ways I think we had JOY....

 

• Aaron finally grew enough to ride his "Big Boy" bike.
• Emma and Kathryn spent time crafting.
• I talked to a dear friend and encouraged her that her daughter would begin to find peace with school.
• Prayed for all the women who are in the study I am helping lead.
• Took a walk with Mark and Sadie (the dog) while our kids read their books in bed.
• Mark and I cleaned the garage and made our lives more organized.
• We all laughed so long at a funny movie we watched together.
• We had so much awesome family together time.
• Mark and I had good talks about the kids and growing them to be more aware of how they pick their friends in a way that they are encouraged to stay thinking about J(esus) O(thers) Y(ou).

Thanks for stopping by to catch how we spread joy,

Shari