We Lived after the Manner of Happiness

This morning I finally sat down and unloaded my camera card onto the computer.  I've been putting it off - for good reason.  I couldn't help but cry as I looked through those pictures.  And here is a big reason why:

 

I made this banner soon before Jeremy got home.  It just struck me one day that this is what I want our children to say when they look back on their childhood.  I want this scripture to be true for our family.  And so I've thought over and over again how our different choices help us find happiness or unhappiness, and I want to teach my children how they can find happiness in their lives.  I truly believe that real, lasting happiness comes as we live the gospel and take care of our families and those around us.  Real, lasting happiness comes from obeying God and loving those who He puts in our way.  That lovely truth has been proven true in my own life.

 

As we drove away on the morning of our move, we left this banner where it was.  What I created as a reminder became an epitaph of sorts.  And looking at it now, I cry remembering that we did live happily in that house.  I loved all the times when I would lay on the floor and Timmy would climb on me, bursting with giggles.  I loved the cool evenings when the children and I would go outside and dip our toes in the little stream that often ran in front of the sidewalk.  I loved watching Jill run in circles on the grass exclaiming, "I love grass!  I love grass!"  I loved the winter time when the children and I played out front in the snow.  We were usually the only ones out there. ;) Our neighbors probably all thought, "You crazy Arizonans!" 

 

I loved watching Jeremy and the children play "smash the meat" (steamroller) for a Family Home Evening activity.  I loved watching Timmy's stair-climbing skills evolve.  He got to be quite a pro!  And I even loved scraping ice off our windshield.  I grumbled about it from time to time (or maybe every day), but I still felt all sorts of pleased that we lived in a place where there was ice to scrape.   I loved that the homecoming parade went right down our street.  I am sad to miss it this year.  It was wonderful!  And I loved how blessed we were there in Cedar City.  Jeremy finished two master's degrees.  Joshua got his testing done.  Wonderful people helped us out in countless ways in our times of need.  The children and I survived 2 months without Jeremy there.  They were a hard two months, bu they were good.  All of this combined together with a million other things just prove the point I was trying to make - we are blessed as we obey God.  It was His idea for us to go to Cedar City.  We obeyed, and we were blessed.  We were happy.

And so, as we drove away, leaving behind that beautiful house full of memories, I thought of that banner, hoping that the people who come there will see it and know and feel that it is a good, happy place and that we lived happily there.