Thoughts on Joy

In the Book of Mormon it says, "Men are, that they might have joy." 2 Nephi 2:25. I've pondered this scripture with fullness of heart that our Heavenly Father loves us so much that he wants us to have joy. But, I look around and see so many people without joy in their lives and it breaks my heart, especially during this holiday season. I've often wondered what the key to joy is. Then, the other morning, I was reading in the Book of Mormon the account of when Ammon ran into his best friend, Alma the Younger, and the other sons of Mosiah in the wilderness. The men had all been serving righteous missions and were so excited to be reunited. Ammon records that he was filled with "exceeding joy" the kind that "none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness." Alma 27:18. I suddenly had one of those ah ha moments . . . to have joy you have to seek it. To me , seeking happiness is living a Christ-centered life, which entails loving others, serving others, and humility.

With this in mind, here are a few things that bring me joy:

Santa's annual visit to our house, which strangely occurs each year while Andrew is gone. hmmm.

Christmas morning

Strong daddy-daughter relationships

Happy husband-wife relationships

Family ski trips

Friends

Friends

Friends

Friends

Piano Teachers

Piano Recitals

Joy.

Natalie's Hawaiian Adventure

Natalie and I just returned from a little mother-daughter trip. It was awesome, but let me first back up and explain how this trip came about.

A few years ago Andrew suggested I get away for a couple days while he watched the kids as a kind of "mother's retreat" (he has always felt a little guilty that his job takes him out of town so much and thought it would be fun for me to be the one that was out of town). That first year I met my best friend from high school in the Tri-cities (she lives in Seattle) and we spent the weekend doing "girl stuff." The following year Andrew offered to watch the kids again, but instead of getting together with a friend, I thought it would be fun to get away with one of my children. Alas, the annual mother-child trip was started. Each year I go on vacation with one of my children and they get to pick the destination. We only have 1 rule: the child whose turn it is to pick can't pick Disneyland or Disney World - for obvious reasons. :-) I went to Maui with Ally in 2005, Spring Training in Phoenix with Nicholas in 2006, and 2007 found me in Honolulu with my sweet Natalie. My grandparents even joined us this year.

Spending time with Natalie was wonderful - the weather in Honolulu was not. The wind blew like crazy and it rained, A LOT. We, nevertheless, made the best of it. Natalie's favorite thing to do was ride the city bus. It cost $2 and we rode that bus all over the island! We also went to the zoo, aquarium, shopping, and ran to the ocean every time the sun peaked out. The good news is no one got sunburned!

Natalie on her favorite thing . . .the bus! She's also giving the Hang Loose sign.

Check out that wind-blown hair!

A sun break

Hula Lessons

Natalie with Grandma and Grandpa