little things...

I will catch up on June, really I will.

But today I need to write.  

One of my dearest friends told me she could tangibly feel a blanket of blessings around her lately, almost like a hug.  She was being barraged by example after example of Heavenly Father's loving tender mercies through a million different little things that cumulatively ended up not being so little.  

I have been thinking about that a great deal, and as I have, it's like the world has opened up to me, as I have recognized I have been blessed lately to enjoy the things that make life so enjoyable and full.  Gifts, all of them.

So I thought I would take a moment to document a few of these little things that make me glad I wake up in the morning...

watching Mandalen learn to crawl

watching Zerin get himself up at the crack of dawn
in spite of being up super late the night before to help a neighbor take a truck load of yard debris to the dump

having good doctors who genuinely care about the welfare of their patient

watching my kids play together, uninterrupted by fighting, and listening to their giggles and squeals from the other room.  The "uninterrupted by fighting" part is a rare anomaly, which is why this warranted documentation :) 

watching Bella's face of delight as she went up and down on a carousel horse

choosing to listen to Asher for over 40 minutes as he told some off the wall story...from the toilet :)

a loving bishop

listening to Liah from behind a door sweetly reading to her younger siblings

watching Aeden come in unsolicited while Bryan was resting and gently hug his daddy

listening to Zerin for 20 minutes explain two minutes of the latest baseball game

watching Mandalen eat a pickle

having Mandalen put her soft face against mine and then just relax and rest on my shoulder

watching Liah receive a compliment and seeing her real smile

listening to Asher tell a joke

watching Aeden use his amazing sales skills to sell a photocopied book for $3 at a garage sale.

Truth be told it was probably more cuteness than sales skills that landed the sale.

spending less than we make

temple recommend interviews

wonderful neighbors

sitting on the back patio reading to my kids in the summer dusk

sitting on my front porch in the early morning hours listening to the water flowing in the canal, the wind chimes, and the birds waking up

the five minutes a day my house feels mostly clean

cleaning my basement

watching my kids catch the vision of hard work

eating brownies and ice cream at the end of a long day

the mental and physical quiet that comes when everyone is safe and asleep in their beds

...and a million other little things that make life great.

“How might we have joy in our lives, despite all that we may face? Again from the scriptures: ‘Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you.’ ” - President Thomas S. Monson