Today was a great way to end 2011. We had a very typical morning where we fed people, dressed people, cleaned up a bunch of messes, played outside and worked in the garage. We watched Kentucky beat Louiville, took naps (some of us) and went for a hike at Table Rock. Most of us even remembered to wear shoes (and those of us who didn't had to wear his big sister's shoes stuffed with socks in the toes and answer to the name "Benzo the clown" for the afternoon). Upon returning home we had an un-fancy dinner and went to bed early for the first time in what felt like months. It was just what we needed.
While I still have a long way to go, this "enJoy" project has done many wonderful things for me this year. For starters, it's opened my eyes to the hundreds of tiny moments that make up the story of our lives and made them special enough to document. It's forced me to stop in the middle of the chaos and notice the joy that is there if I'll see it. It has helped me to find grace in moments where it surely would have gone unnoticed before. And while it's been a full year of trying to notice and capture those moments, I feel like I'm only just beginning to really see them and be grateful for them. While this particular project has come to an end, I hope this year has been just the beginning of a habit of joyful gratitude that I can continue to develop over the rest of my life.
I'm so thankful for this year with my sweet family and all of the wonderful friends and family we've had the honor of sharing life with. 2011 hasn't been without its trials and struggles, but we're ending it loving Jesus and loving each other a little bit more than we did when it started and that makes it awesome.
Happy New Year joy....
(I couldn't be too annoyed with Ben for forgetting his shoes because I forgot my camera, which has become as essential as my shoes over this past year! yay for terrible quality cell phone pictures...)
While I still have a long way to go, this "enJoy" project has done many wonderful things for me this year. For starters, it's opened my eyes to the hundreds of tiny moments that make up the story of our lives and made them special enough to document. It's forced me to stop in the middle of the chaos and notice the joy that is there if I'll see it. It has helped me to find grace in moments where it surely would have gone unnoticed before. And while it's been a full year of trying to notice and capture those moments, I feel like I'm only just beginning to really see them and be grateful for them. While this particular project has come to an end, I hope this year has been just the beginning of a habit of joyful gratitude that I can continue to develop over the rest of my life.
I'm so thankful for this year with my sweet family and all of the wonderful friends and family we've had the honor of sharing life with. 2011 hasn't been without its trials and struggles, but we're ending it loving Jesus and loving each other a little bit more than we did when it started and that makes it awesome.
Happy New Year joy....
(I couldn't be too annoyed with Ben for forgetting his shoes because I forgot my camera, which has become as essential as my shoes over this past year! yay for terrible quality cell phone pictures...)