HAPPINESS IS....

*Being given a wildflower from my 4yr old

*Listening and watching my 2yr old screaming while she is being "chased" by a chicken

*Picking and eating fat, sweet blackberries until hands and mouth are covered with purple juice
*Picking blackberries and not looking like I've been in a battle when I was done

*Feeling a cool breeze on a warm Fall morning

*Listening to my 7yr giggle while playing Wii Sports with his dad

*Being able and willing to help care for our friend's livestock so they can have a long weekend away together

*Talking and laughing with friends (about being moms and about the crazy things our kids do) until tears ran down our cheeks

*Feeling loved and accepted when wrapped in the hug of a sweet, wonderful friend (Luv Ya, Friend S!)

*Having a nice clean office where kiddos can do their school work

*Soaking in a hot bath with essential oils, even at 2am when I cant sleep

*Taking a risk and eating a yummy treat a friend made and NOT getting sick!

*Seeing an almost new calf in the pasture

*Knowing that even though a dear friend is moving, that she will only be 2 hrs away and close enough to still see often

*Seeing the freezer full of the unexpected bounteous harvest that we have received from friends and family this year.

*Seeing beautiful jars of home canned fruit on the shelves in the storage room and pantries

*Listening to my 2 yr old and my 4 yr old ask for "sissy's bread" and having everyone enjoy it so much they are eating a loaf or more every day

*Knowing that we had a successful, mostly quiet first week of school with kiddos

*Being so grateful that we have doctors, specialists, and school staff bending over backwards to help us get through the medical challenges on our plate with our 7 yr old

*Hot showers, flannel sheets and PJ's, and long naps

*Baked potatoes with some of my fave things - ham, feta, mushrooms and ranch dressing

*Looking forward to baking choc chip zucchini bread and pumpkin choc chip muffins with my 10 yr old

*Laughing at the fact that I received the exact same recipe from 3 different sisters, from completely different wards

*The smell of Summer rain - wish I could capture and bottle that somehow

*Reading a book until all hours of the morning because I just cant stand to put it away until I find out what happens at the end of the book

*Pushing little people on the tire swing in the barn at a friend's property and listening to them laugh and squeal as they swing and spin

*Watching my 10 yr old "rescue" my 2 yr old that has climbed (by herself) to the top of hay bales stacked in our friend's barn (stacks are almost to the ceiling) and being so pleased at how kind and gentle he was with her as he lifted and helped her down one level at a time

*Watching and listening to my 2yr old and 4yr old as they happily help with all the farm chores of feeding the cows and chickens and helping pick blackberries

*Seeing my 2yr old and 4 yr old sitting next to each other on a concrete block in the yard and noticing how they are the same size, even though there are 2 years between them, and thankful for the 2 minutes of peace between them while "sharing" that small space together

*Listening to my 2yr old say more new words every day - "Wahoo! Macmoni cheese!", "Go Diego, Go", "huh, huh, sam" (we were going for HAM), etc and noticing more and more how she is putting complete thoughts and sentences together. Listening to her as she tries to say new big words (ta-ma-to)

*Laughing at my 2yr old as she discovers the yumminess of cherry tomatoes as my 15 yr old feeds her one after another. Also laughing as she eats her brothers under the table by eating her entire meals - no matter the time of day - and then sometimes finishing theirs or also taking 2nds on everything -

*Watching my 13 yr old's excitement as she makes a special surprise cake for her dad and siblings to say "congrats" for a great first week of school

*Looking at the breathtaking sky with stretched filmy clouds that are all shades of pink and orange, and wondering if I will ever get the chance to someday create something that exquisite.