Laughter

Such a wonderful gift... the people or events in your life that make you laugh! Even when I don't really feel like it, laughing is a wonderful feeling. You can't be angry and laugh at the same time.... you can't be sad and laugh at the same time... you can't cry and laugh at the same time unless the tears are from laughing so hard of course! The sound of laughter alone is enough to make me laugh. My children's laughter is one of my favorite sounds in this whole world. A fast cure to a bad day is a friend who can share something with me to make me laugh. One of the things I love most about my sweetheart is he knows how to make me laugh and I love laughing with him. I have great friends that my best memories of spending time with them is in side-splitting laughter sometimes over dinner in a local restaurant or over coffee or at our home playing a driving game on a video game system! Laughter is a wonderful thing, and I feel so blessed when I am laughing and with those I love most!

Hugs!

Multitudes on Monday

Gratefulness is abundant in my heart today! If you follow my blog regularly, you know that last week was a tough week for me full of highs and lows. I prayed hard this weekend that this would be a week where I would have some relief of some of the heaviness that I had been having and experience some joy-filled moments. Once again, my Jesus answered me in a big way today. My sweetheart had the day off today to spend with us. You see, he NEVER has a day off with us. God has blessed our family with a hard working man who knows his role is to be our provider and protector doing whatever it takes to take care of us, my hero and my man, he has great integrity and honesty and people know they can count on him.. especially me. Due to Presidents Day, he had today off and what a joy there was in our home to have Daddy home with us.

The day started at 9:00am for me.... yeah that's right I slept in our bed until 9:00am!! That's the latest I have slept in such a long time that I don't remember the last time. He was up spending time with the boys while I slept. Then he made us a wonderful and BIG breakfast! Pancakes, turkey bacon, eggs, and hash browns covered our dining room table and the smiles from our family were just as big. Then, yes ladies he is totally taken (insert grin here), he cleaned the kitchen and dining room up for me while I showered and actually shaved my legs without one of the boys even once knocking on the door to see if I was done YET???!

We took the boys bowling and had such a great time playing with our children. What fun there is to get out of the house and do something like that... with Daddy! And my sweetie and I had a little competitive "wager" on who would win the second game and well lets just say I will be enjoying a nice long back massage tonight ;)

He took us to Starbucks for my favorite drink treat and because I knew the trivia question answer, I received a shot of espresso in my latte FREE... oh yeah! Then we returned home, it was card games with the boys that brought more laughter, smiles and fun. Dinner was a success and some good old fashioned wrestling and horse play was had by all the boys while I watched and hoped this moment in time would remain in my mind forever.

Such a great Monday and my prayers have been answered... for today my heart is full of contentment and gratitude and there is no heaviness to be found. Only love and thankfulness here! Thank you Lord for your gifts and blessings on me!

#24... the way my husband fathers our sons, teaching them to be men among men

#25... Starbucks, oh how I love thee

#26... a card sent to me with a gift card to my favorite book store with instructions on spending time on and with myself

#27... makeup and lotions

#28... laughter and private moments with a girlfriend who knows me well enough to know that is what was needed to make the hurt, hurt a little less

#29... Proverbs 31 and LT :)

Hugs!

Week of emotional lows and highs....

I started the week thinking of only her and what I am missing and what SHE has been missing out on...



Then I was extremely happy just days later when we celebrated Austin and his team with this....





Yeah, that's him. the handsome one fourth in from the left side! He and his team were the league champions with a completely undefeated team :) Yes, I am absoulutely one proud momma!





Then I had to pack up and send my sweetie off for the weekend for a youth group staff retreat and the sadness returned. See, we don't travel for business or without each other so I was not happy. I am thrilled that he is involved with the teens of our church but I missed him terribly. I am not made to be on my own, I am made to be beside him in this life and when we aren't together, there is definitely something missing.... So, when he walked through the door today to me, my heart skipped a beat and I felt happy again (he does that to me still after all these years!).

Needless to say, I am looking forward to a more "even" week this week! What does your week look like?

Hugs!

Multitudes on Monday

Happy Valentines Day to you my readers! Valentines Day isn't one of my favorite days but regardless I do love my husband, my children, my sister and brother in love, and my friends. So in that light, I can wish you all a Happy Valentines Day! Most of you know this already, but for those followers and readers I have picked up by blogging, then let me set it straight for you that I am not a romance killer or anything of the like... actually quite the opposite. My sweetheart would tell you quite the opposite, I am a die-hard romantic and often should be swept away to a much more romantic period in time. That being said, I will tell you that I lost my very best friend and mom on Valentines day.. that was the day she went to heaven to be with the true lover of her soul, Jesus. So you can only imagine that this day has lost its fun and love for me. Among the pain and the sadness though there are blessing to be found and counted and I am happy to be able to share them even though my heart isn't feeling so grateful today.

#18... the sensitive spirits of my son , who cries because his momma is just so sad

#19... warmer temperatures reminding me that a new season is coming soon

#20... longer hours of daylight. Very helpful to someone who suffers from seasonal depression

#21... that I didn't turn to food for my comfort, instead turned to my husband, my friends and my Jesus to carry me through. This is the first time I can say I have done that.

#22... wonderful and vivid memories of my mom.

#23... regardless of the pain, a peace that began the day mom went to be with her Savior to this day, that I will see her again and cannot wait to run into her arms

XOXO - Happy Valentine's Day!

Multitudes on Monday

I so enjoy this time of reflection over a week of blessings! But I do need to be honest with all of you my readers and let you know this week was not a great week for me in most ways but clearly God held this daughter of His closely, and I rested in His arms for most of this week and am continuing my stay for a while. He truly is holding and catching every tear that I have cried these days and I know He must hurt for me as only a parent can when we see our own children hurting. I also learned this week that the old saying of "God never gives us more than we can handle" is one of the most false statements ever to be said. You see God purposely gives us more than we can handle so that we can turn to Him to help us, to guide us and to even carry us when we can no longer do it ourselves. What an eye opener for me! All this time I have been convinced that I have been given things to handle because God sees me as this strong person who can just keep handling everything that He gives me... piling and piling one thing on top of another. I joke with my sweetie and those closest to me, "God must have me confused with another Janet Johnson!" Lol... no, He just needed me to see that I have a lesson to learn and that is that He keeps giving me things hoping that I will lean on Him to help me through it and not just handle it all on my own. Have I told you before that I am a really slow learner? What about you? What has God revealed to you this week?

#12... memories of my best friend, my mom

#13... having 120 kids in my life on a weekly basis

#14... reading my boys writing journals

#15... cooking and baking in our home

#16... the way snow looks first thing on a sunny morning.. all sparkling and shiny

#17... new levels of energy and joy in spite of the time and season I am in

Hugs!

Oh yeah....

I received this email yesterday and let me tell you, this momma's heart was so very full.....



Kendra Johnson to me show details Feb 1 (1 day ago)

Good morning beautiful! I just wanted to say how proud I am of you and how happy I am for you and your new healthy lifestyle! You are looking so good and just seem happier lately! I know that you probably feel like I don't always want to spend time with the family but thats not true at all! I love you all I have just been trying to spend some time with some other friends! :) I love you all so much and I love you more than anything! Your the best mom love you tons! Keep up the good work :)
<3 Boo


Its things like this that let this mom know that when the rest of the world is falling apart or things feel so very big and overwhelming, these are the things and people that matter!