Choose Happiness

(Family picture by LM Photography)

As I said my prayers last night, I thanked Heavenly Father for a wonderful day.  

It had been such a good one.  It was a normal day, but I hope to always remember it.

I thanked Him for my many blessings and for my precious family.

I can't help but smile when I think about Kathryn standing on a chair at the kitchen sink.

I was cleaning up after lunch, and found her washing her plate and fork.

She asked if there were any more dishes to clean, so she washed the rest from lunch.

 She asked me all day long if I had other things she could help with.

I can't help but smile when I remember all the little jumps, kicks and tricks Maxwell did all day.

Or the 100 times he jumped off the arm of the couch onto the cushions.

Or how he used a ruler as a sword.  What a boy, I tell you.

And best of all, the times he would spontaneously run and hug me around my legs.

He is my "Wild Thing".

I can't help but smile when I think about Samuel grinning and cooing at me.

Or when he was bundled up so nice and warm with his sweet little brown bear hat on.

He fell asleep snuggled up to me in the carrier,

While we walked around the neighborhood collecting fall leaves for an art project.

And my favorite part of the day, was watching Michael come home from work.

We were all clamoring for his attention, telling him about our day.

I loved when he motivated the kids to clean their room so we could have family movie night.

And I loved watching Kathryn and Maxwell cuddled up on his lap.  They were safe and protected.

Lately, I have been working hard on my happiness.

Not that I haven't been happy, but I have been bogged down with the stress and transition of life.

Of being a mother to three young children and the wife of a busy man.

The thing about happiness is, it's a choice.

So I'm trying hard to enjoy this moment in time.

The time I have with Kathryn before she heads off to all day kindergarten next year.

The time when Maxwell is my independent, temper tantrum throwing, passionate "Wild Thing".

The time when Samuel is cooing, grinning and waking up multiple times a night to eat.

The times when breakfast is never cleaned up before lunch.

When my counters are rarely clean and I have loads of unattended laundry on the washroom floor.

And when toys are strewn all over the house and the kids bedroom looks like a war zone.

I'm working hard on being happy in the moment, because I know life won't always be like this.

Trust me, I consider this a huge accomplishment for the OCD cleaner in myself.

I love my family, I adore them and I would be lost without them.

So I have a new motto, and it is as follows: CHOOSE HAPPINESS.  

Because life is too short not to!