Life in General

President Thomas S. Monson gave a talk entitled "Joy in the Journey" in which he said "I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and nonexistant future when you have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey--now".

Every night before bed I like to ask my husband what his "joy in the journey" was for that day. It started out as kind of a silly thing, but now I really look forward to the answer. Sometimes he's really tired and his answer makes no sense, but I still love him :-). Especially now, we have a lot of joy in our lives--here's some of mine:

--Riley. She has to be first because watching her each day is my joy. She's getting so chubby and beautiful, and I swear she's getting smarter every day. Being a mom has helped me to see that sometimes the grossest things--poopy diapers and big burps--can be considered joy. I love watching her grow and figure things out.

--David. Now that he's working full time I don't get to see him often, so that makes mornings, lunchtime, and afterwork extra special. We try to make the most of those times, which means my morning, lunch hour, and afterwork time are great! He makes me happier than I ever imagined; I love spending as much time with him as possible. David is such a great husband and father; I couldn't ask for anything better.

--Cooking and Cleaning. Call me old fashioned, but I love making my house neat and tidy, and having food on the table for my honey when he comes home. I was really worried about giving up working fulltime when Riley came, but now, having worked fulltime, it's kind of nice to just clean house and make meals like I couldn't before.

--Walks. We like to go for walks! Sometimes it's too stormy (those generally end up being movie nights), but there is nothing more fun than going for a nice walk outside in the sunshine.

--My ward. So, our ward is really intense. REALLY. But I really don't mind--I'm starting to like it! One of my joys each day are the sweet relief society women who stop by with meals, or just to say hi. I've enjoyed getting to know many of the people in the ward; they are such good people! I'm excited to have the opportunity to serve and make new friends here.

--My family. I think I've talked more to my family in the past couple weeks than I have in a while. Just chatting with them has been one of my joys in the journey. I love hearing about their lives and their kids, what they're doing, and how everything is going (hint, hint...). It reminds me how grateful I am to have such a good family.

Those are just a few of the things that bring me joy every day--they aren't something I have to wait for "someday"; they're things that happen EVERY day. So what's your joy in the journey?

I love you all!