Mail Art

Look what was waiting inside my mailbox!! Gini and I have been trading a little art back and forth through the mail. Emails are good, phone calls are nice, but I find so much more JOY in a handwritten note, especially one that has been created just for me.

Gini, Thanks for filling my mailbox with JOY. It totally made my day!!

Christmas Toes

I treated myself to a pedicure yesterday. It was chilly outside, but I opted for my flip flops anyway. By the time I got to Magic Nails, my feet were very cold. The warm, bubbly water felt so good. As you can see from the picture, I chose a deep red. It even has teeny gold flecks in it. Very festive. I'm not usually a red toes kinda girl, but everytime I look down at my feet, I smile. I'm enJOYing my Christmas toes.

Words

Books, crossword puzzles, my journal, a game of Scrabble...words bring me JOY.

Here are some synonyms for JOY:
bliss
cheer
delight
glee
jubilance
mirth
pleasure
wonder
elation
happiness

Christmas CD's

Music gets me every time. I can keep my emotions under control in most situations. Add some music to the mix, though, and my emotions take over. Music has the power to move me to tears, but also to fill me with JOY (and sometimes those are JOYful tears). This morning I filled the CD player with my Christmas CD's. Tony Bennett, Amy Grant, Sarah McLachlan, and Martina McBride are all bringing me JOY this morning with their Christmas collections.

Holidays

We've entered one of my most favorite times of the year...the interlude between Thanksgiving and Christmas. A few days ago I unpacked the creche and my Christmas village. Their tiny lights bring a warm glow to our living room each evening. Coziness has descended upon our house. I'm finding JOY in...the quilts that have left their rack and are draped across the chair and the couch, a mug of steaming tea sitting next to me, bean soup simmering in the crockpot, and a cinnamon candle flickering on the shelf.

Sharing a Pew

There are many Sundays that I sit alone at church. Today I didn't have to, though. For ANOTHER safe return and Lee in the pew next to me, I am so grateful. A chilly Sunday, leftovers in the fridge, NFL football, and my best friend to share it with....pure JOY.

Snuggles

Lee and I have enJOYed watching the friendship between Jake & Penny take shape. They aren't always this calm :-) Much of their time is spent wrestling on the floor or in the yard. The toys that Jake rarely took interest in are now a hot commodity, both of them usually wanting the same toy at the same time. A fun game of "you chase me and steal the toy and then I'll chase you and steal it back" is another favorite pastime for them. So, life is definitely more rambunctious in our house, but the JOY that they bring each other is worth the craziness, as long as they take a break to snuggle and sleep peacefully every now and then.

Thanksgiving Joy, Part 2

There was a lot to be JOYful about at our house yesterday. Lee & I (and Jake & Penny too) spent the holiday here at home. It was the first time we'd ever cooked the meal by ourselves, and it was yummy. (The leftovers are even better!) We spent the morning laying on the couch watching movies and the afternoon cooking, watching football, and eating. Later in the evening we enjoyed dessert with our good friends the Roy's...Ben, Arinn, Anna, and Jane. Through all we've experienced here in J-ville, they've become like family to us. For them, for you, for each other...we are so thankful.

Lee & I would also like to wish his parents (my wonderful in-laws) a Happy 39th Anniversary! Linda & Phil bring much JOY into our lives.

Thanksgiving Joy

Choose Joy

A month ago we welcomed a new puppy into our home. Change has always been difficult for me, and this addition to our household was no different. Suddenly I found that my life wasn’t my own anymore, and it really bothered me. I quickly found myself wallowing in a pool of self-pity. My days consisted of sitting on the floor tossing squeaky toys, standing out in the pouring rain waiting for her to go potty, and traipsing around the yard with little plastic baggies cleaning up the mess.
Housetraining a puppy isn’t much fun, but I was getting lost in the "not fun" and missing all the JOY that surrounded me. I’ve realized over the past month that I’ve allowed negativity to set up shop in my life…yeah, it’s been around for awhile. I’ve been a glass half-empty girl for as long as I can remember. I’m tired of living like this. This blog is my attempt to cultivate JOY in my life. It’ll be my record of the JOY I find each and every day.