Finding Joy in the Mess of Life: Glorious Day

I wish I could really put into words truly how just seeking joy in the areas that I am thankful for have already impacted me! Today was an awesome day, friends, no family of ours asked us to venture to The Wild's with them today. For those of you who are not from Ohio, The Wild's is a beautiful place that Jack Hannah has with animals such as giraffes, rhinos, etc. freely roam hundred's of acres. You can ride an open air or enclosed bus for 2 1/2 hrs to see all of these animals. It was really incredible, some of the animals came right up to the bus, and the expressions on my children's faces were priceless!

These awesome people who are truly our family, as Landry calls them; Mr. Bill, Miss Ro Ro, and Miss Ra Ra, although now he can plainly say, Miss Cara had taken our kids to The Wild's just shy of a month ago while Josh and I were in Florida. The neat thing was even though they were just a short time ago, their reactions seemed as it if was the first time seeing these animals! I took a lot of pictures which you will see at the end.

There are so many things I am thankful for today and even though I'lm writing briefly about them, perhaps the pictures I will attach will be able to convey more of my gratefulness.

1. God's impeccable creation - As soon as you get off the exit to The Wild's, the beauty of rolling green hills and pastures, farm land, and back roads instantaneously appear. Today happened to be a gorgeous summer day, low 80's no humidity, bright sun, simply amazing. As you get closer to the place, you are just surrounded by more hills and astounding views. As we were on our tour I couldn't help but just think about God constantly. The creativity He has not only in how green and lush the grass was or how beautiful the blue sky was, but also in how each animal looks different, and how each part of an animal has a purpose. God didn't just throw together animals just because, He had a purpose. I could've literally just sat on top of one of the many hills and stared out in the views all day. I also couldn't help but think of how beautiful this place would be in the different seasons and how different each season would look. There is just something about being in nature that brings a different closeness to our Creator.

2. Ending the week spending time with people we love - People outside of your family who become your family is very rare, and thankfully, when our little guy was born, God brought this family into our lives. I love how they have loved our kids as if they were their own, they make time to spend time with us, and we enjoy being together. It was a fun day starting off early eating breakfast together, and then cramming all 7 of us into our highlander which says seats 7 but I think the car makers mean 7 children. It made for some great laughs and real bonding time. :)

3. My daughter's sense of humor. She seriously is a funny girl and she loves to make other's laugh. Sadly, sometimes I am so caught up in the busyness of life that I tend to not pay attention to when she is making me laugh, but today I didnt. I made the conscious effort to not have a schedule and just enjoy being with my kids. So as you will see in the pictures, there is a picture of her and I in the bathroom and a picture of a toilet. I was taking her to the bathroom when she said wouldnt it be funny to take a picture of this toilet? Then send it to daddy's phone? Normally I would say, let's go, hurry, that is silly and move on. But today I said that would be funny and I took out my phone, snapped a photo of the toilet and then took a picture of Hadley and I so we can remember this moment. I'll never forget her laugh, her look of I can't believe my mommy actually did this and how funny she thought it was to send this to her daddy's phone.

4. My sleeping son who NEVER falls asleep in the car or anywhere away from his bed - This kid has been waking up before the sun rise for the past few weeks and not taking naps, so he's been completely worn out. Today after our adventure, you could tell he wanted to sleep in the car but was just too excited. So we went into the restaurant and as he was taking bites of his food his eyes would start to close, then ever so gently he laid his head back on his chair, food in hand, and he was out for the next few hours. He was moved from his chair to cuddle up with his Miss Ro Ro, then carried out to the car, and he didn't even move, pretty stinkin' precious! And to top it off, when I put him to bed a few hours later, no screaming, crying, he went right to sleep. Also during the past few weeks if I put him to bed he started this crying, screaming fits for what seemed like hours..so tonight was a success!

So thankful for this day, spending it with people I love, spending it in God's beautiful creation.