I'm happy because

I am happy because:

• I am so blessed, and in so many ways, that I can’t possibly number them all!  Suffice it to say that I am so very grateful for the Lord’s hand in my life!
• I have more energy than I have had for a long, long time.
• I have more patience that I have had for a long, long time as well.
• I think my depression has lifted somewhat, and my anxiety is more manageable, too!
• I have finally found an anti-depressant that works for me without all of the annoying side-effects!

I am happy because:

• I followed a prompting, and ignored my own doubts and instincts in order to do so.  And was rewarded with many blessings almost immediately, and I anticipate that these blessings will continue to grow if I continue on the course that was set before me when I finally decided to listen to more than just my head.
• I feel so much better than I did just a few short months ago, and I am so grateful for my doctor and the medications he prescribed me.
• I know the atonement is for me.  For each and every one of us.  Not just to forgive our sins, but to heal our wounds, to cure our pride, and to bring us closer to Heavenly Father.
• I am loved.

I am happy because:

• Every time I think I know something about myself, the Lord opens my eyes and shows me something more.
• I thought I forgave, but now I realize I didn’t.  Because now, now I am beginning to feel that peace that is promised to those who forgive.  I know I will have to forgive again, and I hope that when I mess up, I can see where I am messing up and make an effort to change it.
• I was unable to sleep in this morning, which turned out to be a good thing, as I had a nice quiet morning all to myself before the kids woke up!

I am happy because:

• I have a lot to be greatful for!
• I love country music, and don’t care if anyone else agrees with me!
• I’ve been blessed with good doctors who are helping me get well.
• It’s a great day to be alive!

I am happy because:

• I was thwarted, and it was a good thing to be thwarted.  A person should not always get their own way, sometimes it just isn’t good for them!
• My son got an amazingly good score on the mathematics portion of his AIMS test.  I always knew he was a genius!
• My increased dosage of medication doesn’t make me nauseous like it did when I first started it.  Doc said to expect more nausea, but it didn’t happen, yay!
• My sweet, sweet kitty is sitting on my bed waiting for me to stop fiddling with the computer and get into bed with her.  She loves to make biscuits on my face while I’m trying to sleep.
• My air conditioner just kicked on, thank goodness!  It’s super hot and sticky in the apartment today, for some reason.  I just cranked the air conditioner down, so hopefully I’ll be able to sleep!
• When I got home from work tonight, all but one of my children was sound asleep.  Becca wasn’t sleeping, she was sneaking her brother’s Nintendo DS.  Silly girl, I think I’ll get her up extra early tomorrow!
• Tomorrow I have a doctor’s appointment.

I am happy because:

• We had delicious crockpot pork chops for dinner tonight.  I love them, they are so moist and tender and yummy!
• Robbie seems to have done very well in church today.
• I had some fun watching a little boy falling asleep in sacrament meeting today, up in the chairs by the podium.  I smiled so hard it hurt my cheeks!
• I am going to bed early tonight!
• This upcoming week is going to be jam-packed, but that means it will (hopefully) go by rather quickly.
• My home teachers will be coming this week, which is always good.
• I have a working dishwasher.
• I felt like I could almost make myself, which is an improvement.  Maybe tomorrow it will be better than almost.
• I will see another doctor on Tuesday, which is going to be expensive, but I really need to talk to her and I can’t wait because I’m hoping she can help me with something.
• I’ve got a lot of names and dates, etc., ready to be entered into “New Family Search”, and hopefully the girls and I can make a trip to do the work by the end of September, if all goes as planned!
• I recognize the apathy, which means I can do something about it.
• There is ice-cold homemade lemonade in the fridge, and I’m going to go drink a big glass of it and go to bed.

I’m happy because:

I just returned from eating delicious soups and salads at Olive Garden for a birthday treat from, and with, my friend Stacie!  She also made me the coolest little tote thingymajigger for sewing tools, and she and I got to chat about this and that for a couple of hours!  It was really nice, and I’m so glad to have been blessed with a friend like her!  Now I’m feeling super happy, and thinking that a slice of that yummy leftover birthday cake is actually sounding quite good right now, especially paired with leftover ice cream!  Ah, that’s the ticket!  It’s gonna be a good rest-of-the-day, I can tell!

I am happy because:

Today I celebrated my 36th birthday.  I did not work today, so I got to stay home and watch some Law and Order, which is one of my favorite shows.  I love crime dramas!  I might just be a little bit obsessed with them, I can’t be sure.  I don’t get to watch it when the kids are up, because I don’t let them watch TV14 rated programs on the television.  I made myself two slices of french toast for a late breakfast/early lunch.  It was yummy!  When I finally got all of the kids home, we ate pizza for an early dinner followed by the yummiest chocolate/coconut/almond cake ever!  Oh, and I can’t forget the homemade vanilla icecream by Blue Bell.  We spent the whole afternoon just being lazy.  Dee played outside with friends, Robbie played his DS, and the older girls watched Disney channel while I finished up reading Rachel & Leah from the Women of Genesis series.  Such a good series!  It was nice.  Now everyone is in bed, and I’m ready to go to bed also.  Tomorrow the kids are going to their dad’s, and he is planning to take them to a music museum someplace, probably the fancy one in Scottsdale.  I’m sure that most of them will like it.  And I know they will have a good time, they usually do.  I am going to get to have lunch with one of my very best friends at one of my very favorite places to eat, tomorrow.  I’m excited about that, it’s going to be so nice!  Today was a good day, tomorrow will be, too.  Life is good.

I am happy because:

• it is raining outside, which I just love.  I love how nice and clean the air smells right now.  And how much the rain cools things down.  And how fresh it feels.  And there is that wet desert smell, too, that I love.  It’s just beautiful.
• I’ve discovered that sometimes it’s important to repent, even when you don’t really feel like you were in the wrong.  Sometimes you have to look at things from a different perspective, which can be difficult when you are as proud and rebellious as I am.  And sometimes you have to admit your own wrong-doing, instead of comparing it to the wrong-doing of others and justifying it as acceptable just because one is greater than the other.  And sometimes you have to get out of your own way in order to find the peace and happiness you are so desperately looking for.
• I have a delicious looking cake in my fridge from the local Safeway bakery.  And there is delicious “homemade vanilla” Blue Bell icecream in my freezer.  I can’t wait until tomorrow so that we can all eat it!  Mmmm!
• All of my children are tucked into their beds.  Thank goodness for snuggly blankets and/or quilts, soft smooshy pillows, and comfy jammies!  And the most lovely sound of sleeping children.
• After I drop off my wonderful children at their various schools tomorrow, I am planning to come back home and crawl into bed to take an hour long nap!  And then I’m going to watch some Netflix or something, while munching on my last bag of popcorn, all while in my jammies.  Because I’m spending almost the entire day in my jammies, because I love my jammies!  And, bonus, I’m making crockpot porkchops in gravy for dinner, ‘cuz it’s easy and the kids love them.  Tomorrow will be a good day!
• I’m hoping it rains like crazy all day tomorrow, because that would just make my day perfect!  The thought of potential rain makes me happy!  And if it doesn’t rain, I’ll just listen to rain on my computer, because that makes me happy, too.

I am happy because:

• despite my medical hurdles that continue to pop up in front of me, I am finally starting to feel better.
• some really smart people figured out how to manipulate chemicals/vitamins/etc.  in such a way that, when ingested, they can improve one’s health.  Drugs (the not-illegal kind) are good!
• some other really smart people figured out ways to diagnose all kinds of crazy stuff, which means docs today can figure out what’s wrong with a person and then prescribe above mentioned drugs to make that person feel better!
• Robbie’s teacher called me today to let me know Robbie had had a hard day in school, but that there were no major incidents.  She and I discussed some of the reasons he might be struggling.  I am really impressed with his teacher so far!
• tomorrow is my Friday because I’m taking Friday off!  Yay me!
• my air conditioner has the house at the perfect temperature right now, and it feels amazing.
• my kids are all sound asleep, it feels like a miracle!  I love when school is back in session! 
• each of my children really seems to be putting in a big effort this year, as compared to years past.  I think they see what benefits Amber reaped from such behavior last year, perhaps . . .
• I feel such a feeling of contentment with my life, even though there are aspects that are extremely stressful right now, I just feel content.  What a joy to sit in my bedroom with the fan clicking overhead, and the air conditioner humming, and the children all snoring, and a kitty purring on my feet.  To know that the children love me, and know that I love them.  To know that they know of my love of the scriptures.  To know that they know I have a testimony.  To know that they feel safe, and happy, and . . . , well, everything.  It just fills up my heart.   And I could have made that all into bullets, but I am starting to think the bullets are annoying.  I just want to write!  I’m not very good at it most times, but it’s easier.  So I guess I’ll be changing up the format a little bit!