Flying: Lesson 8

Smile.

It doesn't seem like a big deal yet it can change everything - your tone of voice, reaction, the way you feel, anything I tell you!  I have been experiementing with smiling more, especially while I am talking to my children.  I can tell this is working because it is driving a few of them crazy!  :) (Mom why are trying to be all happy all the time!??)  I have been reading the Happiness Project and it has given me some great things to think about.  I want to be a more happy person, yet I enjoy being real with people at the same time.  I think the solution is this:  Smile more and ENJOY life more, notice your blessings more and complain less.

I'm not going to pretend like this past week was my favorite one.  The day after Clark's stitches came out the cut re-opened, two days later he cut open the inside of his lip again.  We are still praying for more work to arrive here in Colorado (in the form of hail, please).  I keep telling myself that Heavenly Father would not have placed us here in this home after that terribly long hard road getting here if He didn't have a plan to help us have it all be ok.  I've had kids in breakdowns still sad about moving and still torn back and forth about whethere or not they want to switch schools.  They don't have any friends near us at all and its difficult to know what families might match up well with our own.  Yet, we had a lot of things to smile about.  My children did a fantastic job of completing their homework each night, we got a great start on the garden spot in the backyard, I found another really amazing ancient video camero for my camera collection, we laughed and tickled together, unpacked more boxes, got the basement a bit more straightened up, stopped for frozen yogurt 3 times (confession!).  Has that craze hit your city yet?  I remember it being here when I was about 9 as well and then it faded away.  It's back and its fun!  Almost as fun as a two year old discovering that oreo cookies cover his eyes quite well!

I had a conversation with one of my brothers this past week who recently lost a very dear friend unexpectedly.  That is exactly what he said - something like - 'I don't understand all the whys of this but in the end you have to go home and move forward, have faith, be grateful you are alive and have blessings, smile more and complain less'.

  I believe it.  As hard as it can be sometimes, it makes a huge difference for me to just SMILE.  When I smile its easier for me to remember too that again, The Lord's hand is there.  It's lifting, giving energy and gently pushing.  It's always there.

Sailing on,

E