Joy

Tonight in the middle of our regular old bedtime routine, I got hit with a rush of joy.

Pure, independent, God-given joy.

Either one of you prayed for me or God just decided to bless me in this way.  Either way, I know the ultimate source of this joy.

I had plenty of reasons to be happy evening.

Even though Nolan was up last night coughing and home sick from school today, I took his illness as an opportunity to fill up my snuggle tank.  He really just has the same head cold that Nora and I already have, but I'll gladly come running to "Mom, can you snuggle me?" any day.

This evening I had to run to Walgreen's to get a new cough medicine to try on Nolan.  I could have been grumpy about dragging three kids through the cold and falling blanket of snow.  Honestly, I considered sulking.  Instead I let each child choose one Valentine's candy to take home for dessert (after dinner, of course).

My total for cough medicine, three special candies, and a new pack of breath mints (because Nora eats all mine from my purse) came to $12.00 exactly!  As I previously mentioned, I love when my purchase total comes to an exact even dollar amount.  It's a small pleasure in life. 

Due to schedule conflicts while I manage the kids alone this week, I needed to reschedule my kids' haircuts (originally scheduled for Thursday of this week).  My sister is our hair stylist of choice, and she books up weeks in advance.  She made a special time for us to come in this afternoon so my kids could get their haircuts before our big snowstorm made the roads too dangerous.  We had the whole salon to ourselves, and my niece (one of my kids' favorite people) was there as well.  It was just so relaxing to watch the kids talking, playing, and dancing in front of the salon mirrors.  I think when my kids are grown they will remember hanging out at Aunt Kristi's salon.  A happy thought.

This afternoon I prayed a desperate prayer for someone I love who had called me with noticeable pain and weariness in her voice.  My heart longed for God to bring her relief, direction, wisdom, answers.  She called me back this evening, and I got to hear hope in her voice.  I got to hear how God rearranged the minute details of her day to lead her to an answer she needed.  I know that tomorrow isn't going to be trouble-free, but God answered pleading prayers today.

While I was on the phone relishing the sound of my loved one's lighter voice, Griffin and Nora decided to make some cards.  Griffin even made one for Nora--definitely a first.  He made two cards for me.  When I got off the phone, I read the cards.  The first one was so cute:

To:  Mom, From:  Griffin "I {heart} you"

Oh, but wait for it.  That card was just getting you warmed up.  Now I'm going to show you quite possibly the best card I've ever received in my life (no offense to those of you who have given me amazing cards).

Are you ready?

You are cute.  I {heart} you.  I am glad to have you as my mom.

Seriously.  Is there anything better in life?

Griffin was super lovey all evening, even after I made the kids help me straighten up the whole main level of our house.  I even let them stay up past their normal bedtime.  I felt better about life once the house was put back in order.

During the bedtime routine, Griffin read our Bible story for the night so I could apply Vicks Vapo Rub to the bottoms of Nolan's feet.  {Have you heard of this remedy?  My sister does it with her kids and it helps with their coughs.  Nolan pukes when he takes medicine other than Tylenol, so I was willing to try this.}  As I was trying to suppress my grin at Nolan's disgust over the goop on his feet and the feeling of having to wear socks to bed, I treasured the sound of Griffin's voice reading our Bible story.  He even asked us questions about the story at the end.  I indulged him and raised my hand to answer questions.

When the kids prayed after devotion time, I was so touched by their little prayers.  I wish I had them recorded.  Nora prayed for Griffin to stop being mean to her and to stop making this face {insert scrunchy nose mad face} at her, for Nolan to not yell at her, and for several other little details to make her life easier.  Griffin prayed for Lauren F. in Mrs. S's class in third grade at school because she wasn't able to come to school today.  Nolan always prays very adult-sounding prayers that tell me it is actually possible for children to develop a real relationship with God no matter their age.

As I prayed out loud, with Griffin laying his head in my lap and Nora cuddled up next to me, I thanked God for my three babies.  They make me smile in ways that no one else can.  Every single minute I'm with them, I can find so many things to enjoy about them (if I'm looking!).  After prayer time I asked Nolan how his dry hands were doing because he usually puts lotion on them before bed.  He said, "They're not good, but I don't want any more liquids on my body!"  I laughed uncontrollably.  He wasn't whining or throwing a fit, but he was genuinely at his limit of how much goop he could handle on his body.  When I told him that he cracks me up, he sarcastically replied, "Ohhh really?  I never knew that!  You hide it so well!"  Sarcasm from my seven-year-old is hilarious.

After I got the kids in bed, I finally located our bottle of super glue and fixed the mounting pile of broken toys that have been accumulating on my kitchen counter.  I reattached two soldiers' legs, a baby's leg, and a steering stick on a remote control.

I have SO MUCH left to do this week.  So much.  But I'm going to go ahead and take a moment to feel good about clearing off my counter and stopping my kids from asking one more time when I'll get around to fixing their toys.

And I got to talk to Jared tonight even though he's an ocean away and half a day ahead of us (so weird). 

Even though I can list all these reasons to be happy, I still feel the difference between circumstantial happiness and the permeating joy that I felt tonight.  The joy came over me at a time when I am usually most exhausted.  I'm physically worn out and emotionally tired.  I'm sick and haven't been sleeping well without Jared home.  Getting the kids finally down for the night can often require a little more gas than I have left in my tank.  But right in the middle of tired, sick, and doing chores, I felt joy spread across my chest and light up my face. 

A beautiful blessing straight from God.  If you're the one who prayed for God to give me that joy, thank you.  And guess what?  I just prayed for all of you reading this to experience true joy!

Jessica