Joy

I remember looking at Connor when he was 2 weeks old and just crying. Not because I was scared (even though I definitely had those moments!), but because my heart was so full that I couldn't do anything but cry tears of joy. Not normally being a crier, I just assumed it was hormones. And some of it was. But, I have found that those sweet tears of joy just come around more when you see your heart walking around outside of your body. 

And honestly? I'm thankful for that. I want to look at the small things and realize how special they are. If I ever get to a point where it's not like that I hope I have some people around me that set me straight. Because if I just sit around and wait for the big things to give me joy then I am going to be doing a whole lot of sitting. Big things don't come around every day, but the little things do. 

In 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 it says, Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. And that is one of those verses that reminds me how undeniably true and necessary it is to have faith like that of a child. Because who, other than a child, are joyful and thankful for almost everything? Dude, you give Connor a choice of what sweet condiment to put on his PB sandwich and he is over the moon excited about it. I love seeing that in him and am thankful that it is contagious. 

Last night we went to eat at Raintree Forest Cafe, which was one of those bigger joyful experiences that isn't an every day thing that I was excited to see through his eyes. He was a little unsure, but I somewhat expected that.

We sat in the middle of the restaurant (which we found out last night he calls a rest-are-not :) ), so we could pretty much see everything. The "sky" was right above us.

The tigers were to the right of us. He didn't particularly care for them. In fact, he was talking about the scary tigers when we got home :)

When we ordered his milk the waitress asked if he wanted a souvenir cup. Gammie agreed, and out they came with this HUGE mug. I'm pretty sure there was a 1/2 gallon of milk in that thing.

Little brother didn't miss out on any of the action, either. He was pretty enamored with this butterfly that would flap it's wings. 

The gorillas were to the left of us and brother would jerk his head around as soon as they came "alive". 

Poor little Cade started to feel very warm. You could just tell he didn't feel good and fell right asleep in Libby's lap. I knew if he could sleep through the animal and thunderstorm noises, then he must not feel good. Sweet boy had a 102.6 temp when we got home :(

Needless to say, we are having a low key day here. Lots of snuggles, which is A-OK with me!