Jake Graduates From High School

Jake technically graduates from Salem Hills High School on Thursday, but he already has his diploma and he doesn't plan on attending graduation. I am still hoping to get him in his cap and gown before he has to take the gown back -- but it might be hard to get Jake to put on anything called a "gown"!

Jake would prefer that I not say anything about him. He doesn't really love being the center of attention, and would be okay if nobody knew he was graduating. He missed going to school with his friends but smiled really big when he knew he didn't have to attend graduation! Jake is a very good person and we are very proud of him.

Jake has always been exceptionally coordinated, and he finally figured out that fact and has enjoyed taking various physical education classes. He likes to run and is good at it. The track coach tried to convince him to do track -- but he preferred not to. He has taken a few college classes and I am impressed that he was able to finish his college math class at home during quarantine and get an A.

One of my very favorite things about Jake is that he is a really, really great brother. He loves his siblings -- who love him back. If Kayli sees a spider she says "Jake, Jake, Jake, Jake!" and he comes and takes care of it. He is really great at fixing things and figuring out how things should go together. He is great at helping around the house and has a great sense of humor. We love Jake!

The Opposites in Happiness

Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash

I like thinking about happiness, as may be evident by the fact that last year I focused on "living after the manner of happiness" and this year I am contemplating joy.  For Mother's Day Trisa bought me a book that I wanted called 52 Lists for Happiness by Moorea Seal, and I have been reading (not for the first time) The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.  I really enjoy thinking about happiness and joy, and what kinds of things I can do to bring more of those things to me, and to others.

The very first list I am to make in the 52 Lists for Happiness book is what makes me happy now.  As I have been thinking about, and writing this list, I discovered that sometimes happiness is found in total opposites and so what makes me happy right now, might not make me happy tomorrow. 

Photo by Diego PH on Unsplash

I find a lot of happiness in having the sun shining.  I like the warmth, I like lifting my face up and feeling its rays warm my skin.  I find sunshine to be cheerful and comforting.  On the other hand, I also love dark clouds, and pounding thunder storms.  I like gentle rains that smell fresh and new.  These can remind me of God's power and how He takes care of me.

Photo by michael podger on Unsplash

I love talking to people, but I also love solitude.  I love organizing which means that I can see a room stacked full of mess and, if I have energy, can be happy at the idea that I can make it better!  Sometimes books where I can learn a little something helpful make me happy, and other times they just seem like work, and it is something romantic and funny that brings out the happiness.

In The Happiness Project Gretchen sometimes talks about finishing a nagging task.  Obviously, the nagging task itself doesn't bring happiness -- or it would likely already be done.  But finishing something that I've been dreading does bring happiness -- or at least enough relief that it feels happy!

Add to all of this the fact that helping others is often a great way to feel happy, but if I am tired, and hungry then helping others might seem like a chore because I feel more like I need to be taken care of than like I should take care of someone else.  That's not to say I shouldn't help when I don't feel like it, but I think I do need to take into account whether or not I have taken care of myself.  Maybe eating a sandwich and taking five minutes before I go to help can help me be a more willing and better helper!

I suspect that if there were not ever rain, I would not enjoy the sun as much, and if I was always alone, I would not enjoy solitude at all.  It is fun to find things that make me happy.  It is also fun to discover that if I look at the opposite thing, I might find something else that makes me happy.   I also might find something I don't enjoy like sickness which helps my happiness by helping me to appreciate and find joy in health.

I didn't know what to end with -- so here are some happy horses!

Derek Had a Birthday

Derek with his Ginger cookie.  The homemade peach ice cream was too soft for holding a cookie with a candle.  

You will probably notice as you go through these pictures that Derek has a real stubborn streak when it comes to looking at the camera.

Here is the blown out candle and that is Jake relaxing in the background.

This present was from Dan (except he still needs to work to earn the $s I paid for it :-)
It says To:  Dan Man.  The Present you always wanted.

And here it is.  A helicopter.  That was Trisa and Kayli's first guess!

This was on May 6th.  On Derek's actual birthday he made us all dinner, and cleaned it up and then we went and the boys and Trisa hit some balls at Peteetneet.  Tia and Mike were not there.  It was their 2nd anniversary.  They came on the 6th and made us all some yummy churros to go with our ice cream and cookies.   That day I bought pizza so Derek didn't have to make his own dinner on both days of birthday celebration!

Is God Really There?

The other evening, after a particularly hard day, I sat in bed flipping the pages in my scriptures, trying to find a thought I could share the next morning in a Zoom meeting.  I felt listless, and discouraged, and nothing struck the right chord until I read Mosiah 4:9

"Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend."

Peace settled over me as I read this.  It reminded me that just because I can't understand why something is or isn't happening doesn't mean that there isn't some good that can come from the way things are.  It also reminded me that just because, in any given moment, I might not feel believing, I can choose to believe!