Tag: 6 Small Things That Make Me Happy

tag: make a list of 6 small or "unimportant" things that make you happy.

1. Monsoons
It's that time of year again in AZ. I love the monsoon season. We have hot, hot mornings that just beg to be spent in the pool, then the clouds roll in in the afternoon and we get fabulous storms. The temperature can drop about 30 degrees in just a few minutes, and the kids love to run around the cul-de-sac in the pouring rain.

2. Homemade bread with homemade jam
Maybe my favorite indulgence! I made peach, raspberry-peach, and strawberry jam this week. Okay, I actually made peach syrup, raspberry-peach jam, and strawberry yet-to-be-determined. I have made peach jam a bunch of times, and this is the first time that it just did not set up at all. It still tastes great, but its use is limited to times when we don't care if it just runs all over our plate. The raspberry-peach was a first, but I think it's a keeper. I just made the strawberry this morning, so I hope it turns out okay. I'll need it when school starts again. Madison eats PB&J with homemade jam almost every day in her lunch.

3. Uh-oh
Or uh-oh-uh-oh-uh-oh....Levi has learned to say uh-oh and we think it is so cute! The best part is that even if he is in the middle of a crying fit, if we just say "uh-oh" to him, he will usually stop crying and start saying uh-oh over and over and over. He said it for quite a long stretch on the way home from our vacation. He has also learned "no." If we say "no" to him, he stops and shakes his head, then goes right back to what we were telling him no about. He's funny when he tries to shake his head, he can't just move his head, it is more like shaking his head and shoulders and most of his upper body. He's at such a fun age right now. We are having lots of fun with him.

4. Seeing all three of my kids playing together
Madison and Wyatt play together all the time, and Madison loves to play with Levi. And sometimes Wyatt will slow down enough to pay attention to Levi for a while. But every once in a while, all three of them play together, and for some reason, it just makes me so happy. Last night Levi was standing up next to something and Madison and Wyatt were sitting next to him, all of their backs to me. I wanted to keep that picture of those three little heads in my mind forever.

5. Watching my kids learn
Madison is reading so well. She surprises me with the words that she can read, spell, and understand. She was reading from the scriptures the other day without even pausing or stumbling over words. I found her laying in her bed reading on her own for the first time a few months ago, and it made me smile. I spent lots of hours like that as a kid!
Wyatt is my little math kid. He is reading a little, but he is really good with numbers. He can do double digit addition and subtraction, and he hasn't even started kindergarten yet! If I ask him a math problem that is a little hard for him, he goes and sits behind the chair, and counts it out in his head, then comes back a few minutes later with the answer.
And Levi is learning to stand on his own. We'll have a walker soon!

6. A clean, organized house
I sure wish I was better at this. I go on kicks sometimes where my house is so clean and organized, and I love the feeling. I wish I could make those times last longer or come more often.

I tag: Donna, Leah, Jerlyn, Nancy, Mindy, and Cherece (a good first post for a blog!).