Catching the Sun & other Joys in Life

Here is Joseph trying to catch the sun and almost succeeding!
The gathering of family is over and the house is back to its quiet, just the two of us and after a little nap, I feel restored to my usual tried ol' self.
It was unbelievably chaotic, fun and noisy but oh so rewarding to have the whole family all gathered together again.
JUST LIKE CATCHING THE SUN AND HOLDING IT CLOSE, Burning it all into my heart to hold it forever in my memories.

This is the purpose of life, family. This is eternity. This is Joy.

Reasons for Joy!

Just a few of the things that make me proud, happy, laugh and remember that there is great joy to be found in the little things of life!

Have a great day!

"Finding Joy Therein"

I heard the phrase "Find Joy Therein" the other day and I've been thinking about it a lot since. What does it mean? How can I find joy? What gives me joy?
Then I found the cartoon above and although I laughed at first, I realized that it really applies to the questions I had about joy!
Think I'm crazy? Yes, of course I am, crazy, goofy and loony too, but I do have my serious moments and serious thoughts occasionally.
Joy comes from many, many things. Last night Carl brought his little family over and I was filled with joy being able to hold their new baby and smell his sweet baby freshness. I felt joy in tickling and cuddling Luke and rubbing Gage's little feet.
Joy mingled with sadness looking at pictures of Damon's family on their website. Joy that their family does such fun things together and sadness that they live so far away.
There is joy in feeling that a prayer has been answered and feeling the touch of the Holy Spirit.
And as in the cartoon above, there is joy in finishing a job, reaching a goal and knowing that you did the best you could do.
We as human beings compare ourselves to others and feel like we either fall short or that we are better than them. We often feel we did the wrong thing or failed to prepare for the task ahead of us.
But if we just try, if we just keep working and if we have faith in our Father and in ourselves we can do it.
And then we feel joy.
What do you think???