heart happiness

Here's some things that make my heart happy lately:

1. I have given up Facebook for Lent. No, Mormons don't actually observe Lent. But we love Easter and the Resurrection, and growing up, I was always a little jealous of my friends who did observe Lent, because...well, what a lovely way to prepare for Easter! So, after 31 years of admiring Lent, it finally occurred to me that you actually don't have to be Catholic or Methodist or Lutheran or Presbyterian to give up something in preparation for Easter. You can, in fact, be any denomination and still do that. Brilliant, I know. I can be crazy insightful like that. So from now on, I celebrate Lent. My mom told me happily that it was a "very Lindsey thing to do". I'm not really sure what that means, but...I'm really happy about Lent this year. Turns out, I haven't missed Facebook yet. I like not getting sucked into my newsfeed, then wondering where the last 45 (or more) minutes went. I'm using my time better. And when I think about Facebook, and remember why I'm not logging in, I remember Easter and the Savior and my heart feels happy. Lent is good.

2. My mom came out for a visit last week, and Dane randomly asked her: "Grandma, what happened next week in Antarctica?" She was baffled for a moment, then came up with some totally nonsensical answer, which completely satisfied him. And THAT is why I'm never really sure if Dane and I are actually communicating. It is a consistent source of amusement for me.

3. My church responsibility right now is to teach the 16 and 17 yr old girls each Sunday. I LOVE it. My girls are amazing. I love them to the core and will miss them when we move. Last night two of my girls showed up on my doorstep unexpectedly (apparently David knew they were coming, but I didn't) with a plate of brownies and a gift card to my favorite restaurant. When I opened the door and hugged them, they smiled and told me to go change, because they were watching our kids tonight so David and I could go out to dinner. I was so surprised and choked up. What sweet girls. We're in a high-stress, tight-money phase of our life, and their gift touched me deeply. Dave and I had such a fun night and came back refreshed and reconnected. Man, I love those girls. They gave from their hearts last night, and I felt it.

4. Kai is getting old enough to attempt to work the system. This age cracks me up. Yesterday I told him he couldn't have candy, and he fake-cried and asked for Daddy. When I told him that Daddy wasn't home, but that he would say no too, Kai tearfully responded, "Daddy--say--Kai--yes--candy--and--play--phone!!!" I said, "Daddy says yes you can have candy and play on his phone?" And Kai emphatically said, "YES!" I started laughing, then heard Elijah yell from the next room, "That's a flat-out lie!" And then I really started laughing. And then I handled it. No to the candy, go to your room if you need to whine about it, and yes, what he said isn't true Elijah, but he's still to young to really understand what lying is. I like being their mom.

5. The gray hair is in, people. It's coming in like a little tidal wave. See pics below. And despite one of my Alzheimer patients at work pleading (literally) with me not to "let myself go" by not dying my hair anymore, because I'm "too young to stop caring like that" (I couldn't help but laugh at his earnestness!), I'm so glad I'm doing this. 

6. I borrowed my friend Megan's fancy-pants camera while my mom was here, and it was like heroin to an addict. I want one. Badly. That thing is unreal. The sheer quality of the images takes my breath away (they're amazing unedited, like below, but are also high enough quality to be really fun in Lightroom too), not to mention all the ways you can mess with lighting, focus, motion, and other settings. I'm in love. 

 

 

What's making your heart happy lately?