January 9th- Be Happy!

I woke up this morning at 7:30am, and thought, "yesssss, it's Sunday, I can sleep in!" and rolled over and snuggled down into my warm comforter and fell back to sleep. 45 minutes later, I woke up with an uneasy feeling that I was forgetting something.... and then realized Church starts at 9 am, not 1pm like last year! EEK! I jumped out of bed, raced to wake up the children, then ran to my room to get ready. Amazingly, there were very few arguments (maybe there was no time?) while we were getting ready, and we made it just as the opening prayer was being said. Of course, I dislike being late, but we weren't as late as we could have been.
I was surprised when the Bishop called Jonathan up to have the congregation sustain him as a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood. I knew he had been interviewed last Sunday, but with the busy week that we had, I hadn't thought too much about it. Stephen will ordain him next Sunday.
The Smith Family spoke in Sacrament meeting about finding happiness in this life. I enjoyed all their talks, but I think the things I reflected most upon is that happiness doesn't come from things, and it isn't about waiting for some big thing to happen. Happiness is for today, and it comes from the relationships we have with those around us. I thought about this. I do feel the happiest when I am spending time with my family & doing things for them.
Stephen is pretty stressed about school. There is a lot of work to do, & it seems overwhelming to him right now. He has to balance work & family along with it. Today I made his favorite foods, Beef Stew & rolls for dinner, and banana pudding for dessert. I hope he enjoys it. Sometimes, it's the simple things that can bring us happiness.
I feel really blessed to have the kids I do. They aren't perfect, but each one of them is really, really good. Yesterday, I had a lot of errands to run. I left a huge chore list at home & put Jonathan & Kaitlyn in charge of making sure it all was completed. I hoped all day that they would get it done. I arrived home to find a fairly clean home. They all worked together, & did their best. It made me happy.
Of course, today, the house is a disaster again!