Joy comes in the morning

Continuing my journey of 100 joys...
#5: 11:30 pm. Child vomiting in the middle of the night. On my top 3 of least favorite things. Gonna have to dig deep to find joy in this one, right? At first glance, yes. Not gonna lie. This was some nasty vomit. The first stage is clean up. Joy has left the building.

Stage two. Freshly bathed, blonde headed baby girl wrapped in a blanket snuggling up under Mommy's chin. For now, it's a peaceful, silent night.

I look down at Heidi, her sleepy eyes barely open, looking up at me. She seems content. I rock her until she falls asleep. And then I rock her some more.  Joy.

#6: Kids & I stayed home on Monday to mend. Hubby had a scheduled day off so we all got to enjoy a day together. We stayed in our pajamas. All day. We watched movies, ate chicken noodle soup, and napped whenever & wherever the opportunity arose. As a family. In our pajamas. All day.  Joy.

#7: Michael Buble, Harry Connick Jr., Mariah Carey: Christmas Music!! Joy!

#8: I chatted online with my friend Rachel over the weekend. She has committed 2 years of her life to the people of Albania. She is there now, living with a local family (in a house without heat!), teaching in a local school, and doing it all with a smile on her face. She has found joy in doing what God asked her to do. Joy in obedience. She inspires me. Not to go to Albania (sorry Rach :)...but to be obedient...and there I will also find joy.

I Samuel 21:9: "the rewards for your past obedience will make an encore appearance in your future assignments."

#9: Took my oldest daughter, Ava, to the bus stop this morning. We waited in the warmth of the van. We munched on blueberry muffins and giggled at silly things. We sang a Taylor Swift song together. We prayed together. I kissed her cheek and off she went. SWEET JOY.

I'm finding that joy is abundant. If I am intentional about seeking it out. Middle of the night, first thing in the morning, sickness, health, heat, no heat, work, or play. It's there.

Would love to hear about the joys in your life. Feel free to share in the comments below!