Inspired by one of my favorite blogs I thought it would be a great idea to look back each week at those things that brought me the most joy. This is far too fitting for my blog to ignore the idea so I look forward to posting these each week!
I don’t know about you but last week was not a very pleasant week! There was so much negativity swirling around and being flung at everyone that it was easy to get caught up in all of it. I’m so thankful that I’ve been diligent about focusing on seeing goodness and choosing to be happy in spite of things going on around me. Choosing to be grateful for what is right in front of us is the easiest way to create an atmosphere of joy and happiness so if you aren’t already focusing on these I really want to encourage you to switch your mindset to gratitude and see how it can change your whole outlook!
1. Amazing customer service
Two year old twins are no joke. We have had so many issues with them getting into things that we never had issues with when the older kids were this age. We never went big on baby proofing for any of the kids because we wanted them to learn boundaries from an early age. Sure we put away real dangers but we left a lot out that wasn’t intended for them and they all learned that it’s not for them.
Except these two little guys. They will do anything and everything to get things within reach and out of reach. The reason we had to build a shelf for the LEGO Dimensions figures? Because they kept stacking buckets or couch cushions up to get to them and disassemble all of it. They also developed a deep fascination with movies and video game cases.
Early last week I noticed they got super quiet so I checked on them and they had pulled the game disc for LEGO Dimensions down and had tried to pull the disc out. Which meant it snapped. Ugh. We didn’t want to have to pay for a whole new starter set ($40-$80 depending on where you buy it) because all we needed was the disc – not all the other parts the starter set contained. I did some googling and found that if I contacted customer service at WB Games they might be able to help. I filled out their contact form and explained what happened and stated that we only needed to buy the disc, not the whole starter pack, and asked if we could do that through them. Then I waited for a response.
The next morning I had an email asking for my name and address along with a picture of the broken disc and a picture of our receipt. I gathered all the info (thankfully we bought the game online so I had a copy of our receipt in the store’s account) and sent it off. They promptly replied that a disc was in the mail and we should receive it in a few days. What? That is AMAZING customer service. The warranty is only technically good for 90 days and we bought the game over a year ago. But they want happy customers so they go above and beyond to do that. Simply incredible. We got our new disc and have been able to enjoy playing again. It can be the simplest gestures that can really make a difference.
2. Flip flop weather
What? It’s November and I live in the northern region of our country! We usually are in the 30’s by now and I’m sporting flip flops? Our temps have been averaging in the low 60’s lately and it’s incredible. I will take any extra time in flip flops I can get. I also need to paint my nails. But yay flip flops! And the kids have been biking, running around outside in sweatshirts instead of eighteen layers, and we got our outdoor Christmas lights hung up. Absolutely loving this weather!
3. Voting
I am not a political person. I’ve never followed politics or cared to know the ins and outs of all it entails. But I do know I have the privilege to vote. A privilege that many around the world would love to have. So while I may not have been 100% on board with our choice of candidates this year (for really any of the races) I did do research and prayerfully considered whom to cast my ballot for. I’m thankful for this privilege and I’m glad I was able to exercise this right this week.
4. Her sense of style
This girl. She marches to the beat of her own drum and does it with such confidence. She picks out her own clothes each day and gets herself dressed. Most days her patterns are crazy and colors don’t match. At least half the time something is on backward. But on this particular day she also had her pants on inside out. And when we told her they were inside out, “I like them that way.” She oozes confidence and rarely backs down. So while on this day it was only about an outfit choice I pray that her determination and self-assurance continues and she remains strong and steadfast in her convictions and beliefs.
5. Tea Party
This is a terrible picture, I know. He was standing nicely and right as I tried to take the picture he grabbed the tray to walk away and I couldn’t get him to come back. He was so careful in picking out food and dishes to add to the tray and talked in his own little gibberish language to me about all of it. Then he picked it up and carried it across the whole upstairs to Micah who was in their bedroom putting away laundry. It was so sweet and I was very impressed that he was able to carry it the whole way without spilling the contents.
Where did you find joy this week? Did all the intense emotions going on this week affect you or were you able to rise above all of it? How do you choose joy when life gets hard?
