Choosing Joy- Friends

I am Choosing Joy today by thinking about and thanking God for all my friends. Now I don't have a huge amount of friends,but the ones I do have are very special to me. They are always there to give me a nudge of hope when all seems too bleak, and they always help me to keep things in perspective.My friends help give the inspiration I sometimes needs to make the right decisions I have faced. I always have a big smile on my face when they call or contact me via the Internet. It is truly great to have friends.
We have all gone our separate ways, so shopping together or visiting each other is not an option anymore. And in separate ways, I mean we have all moved to different parts of the country. Oh, how I miss the times together, the laughter and sharing of life struggles and victories.
Thanks to the Internet and telephones, we still can share, laugh, and have our special time together. It's great,but I do miss the close times. The occasional hug, doing each others hair, the pat on the back. The sister type of stuff. Yeah, I miss that. I love the joy I feel when I think of my friends.

Red Poinsettias

I love the poinsettias at Christmas time. They are a must have, kinda like Easter lily's at Easter time. `

Hurry up snow!

This was last winter. But we can hardly wait till it snows again. It would be so great if we had a white Christmas!

Choosing Joy day 3

Today was a very full day, consisting mostly of waiting. I spent the whole day, 60+ miles away from home,sitting in a hospital waiting room. There we sat, me my daughter and granddaughter,waiting ,waiting , waiting.
My grandson is a special needs child and is in the process of going through a battery of tests to decipher what his actual diagnosis is. So today was just an MRI. Doesn't sound too bad. But for a little guy, who's only six, and doesn't really understand what is going on, this is trauma for him. So this MRI was only suppose to take about an hour, but he had to be anesthetized. So it took longer than expected. The nurse said they took a lot of extra pictures. Kinda makes us wonder why. Now we have to wait to have the results read, which could take a few weeks.
So Joy was not really a big thing for us today. But on the way home , my daughter reminded me of something. The city Christmas tree lighting ceremony is tonight. Ugghh! We all had been looking forward to this for weeks. But after today we were all feeling pretty drained. "Maybe we should just stay home" was our first thought. But after thinking about it for a few miles, I decided it was best to push through the feeling and just go. If it was too much for Zac, we would go home. We have to at least try. So we did.
It was great! The kids just lit up when we got there. It was great! They watched the countdown to the tree lighting, had hot cocoa, watched the snow fall, listened to the Christmas music, and talked to Santa. It was truly a joyful time had by all of us. And just seeing their little faces all aglow, made it all worth while.
We all had made the right choice. We could have choose to stay home and wallow in our day of waiting. No, we choose to rise above the feelings we were having and search for something better. Our decision gave us all joy. I am so glad we choose to go to the celebration.

Joy -Day 2

Okay...Here I am...Its only 9:30pm and everyone is sound asleep in their beds! The T.V. is off,because there isn't anything worth looking at. And I am trying to reflect on some joy today.
The first thing I thought of is the trip to the post office today. I have one hand holding the hand of my 3 year old grand daughter and the other hand in full of letters and such that need special attention. Lately she has started talking to every one like she is in a wind tunnel. When she speaks, she uses her loud voice. Like every one is hard of hearing. I know she hears well. Just try to open a piece of candy in its crackly wrapper as stealthy as you can. Even try it in the next room. She hears it and comes running. So her sound volume is temporarily broken and only knows loud.
The post office is full of people ,hustling and busily getting their packages sent. No one really seems to notice us standing there, until....She announces, in her loud voice, that she has to poop! I told her to quietly wait for just a few minutes and we'll go. So she starts hopping up and down saying "I gotta poop!" The look on every face in the store was, well, priceless. Needless to say, the clerk paused with helping his customer,and showed us to the bathroom in the back. It still makes me giggle thinking about it.
Okay, it may not seem that funny to you. Kinda had to be there in the moment. But it brought joy to my heart. I am not sure why. Was it her honest and get to the point attitude? Or maybe it was the lady that looked at me, like I was the one that had said it? I am still not sure if she was shocked because the little girl made the announcement or if she was frightened by it. I don't know. I just wish I could show you her expression. It was ,like I said, priceless.
And another thing. I love chocolate. And as I sit here and share this moment with you, I am enjoying my little piece of heaven,chocolate. Mmmm. I have chosen two joys to share with you. The house is quiet, I have chocolate and a pleasant thought about the day. Mmmm..three joyous moments. Here I am...choosing joy.

My love and joy of my life

My husband has been and still is the object of my joy for so many years. We have been together for almost 32 years. And that's does not include the years we knew each other as teens. We went to school together and lived in the same neighborhood. We were best friends even back then.
We have had our ups and downs. Sometimes the rough times are long and hard, but the up times make it all so worth it. We enjoy each others company. He is my best friend. He is my strength when I feel defeated. He makes me laugh. He knows me better than I do, at times.
This last month, he had a heart attack. I was really afraid. His heart is much better and the blood pressure is under control. Now his current battle is severe depression. He has a battle ahead of him and I am here to stand by and fight it with him. It doesn't sound very joyful, but I am so glad he is here.
I am full of joy, knowing he is here, alive, and on the road to recovery. He is my love, strength and my joy.

Choose Joy

I am going to join Sherry in Choosing Joy! I hope you so too. Here is the link to it: Choose Joy

I am hoping I can follow through on this and keep up with everyone else. Either way, I know it will be a challenge and a learning experience. Especially when blogging is so new to me.