Think Happy Thoughts

I've always been a pretty happy person - thankful for what I have, excited about what God will do for us next, but still enjoying the moment. Lately though, I've been struggling with putting it all together. I'm such a future thinker that at times I get too excited for what's coming next and forget to enjoy right where I'm at. We have a really big book called The 2,548 Best Things Anybody Ever Said. It has quotes on anything you can think of. Sometimes they are funny, sometimes they are really lame, but sometimes they actually have some meaning. Here are several I found on happiness that really hit home for me:

"Gratefulness is the key to a happy life. If we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy. We will always want to have something else or something more. Be grateful for what God has given you. Others may not be so blessed."

"Happiness mainly comes from our own attitude, rather than from external factors. If your own mental attitude is correct, even if you remain in a blah atmosphere, you feel happy."

"Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy."

"You need to learn to be happy by nature, because you'll seldom have the chance to be happy by circumstance."

"You will never be happier than you expect. To change your happiness, change your expectation."

"A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes."

Good reminders!

Crazy Snowflakes

Christmas with Family

Holiday Travel

Even though the NW was hit with the crazy artic blast this Christmas, we were still able to make it to my parents' house in Nevada for the holidays...but just barely. Our flight was scheduled to leave from the Portland airport at 8am Saturday morning the 20th. As we watched the weather Friday night everything was looking good. The storm wasn't supposed to hit until later Saturday afternoon...phew! So, we arrived at the airport bright and early Saturday morning and were delighted to find that our flight was on time. We made our way through the security lines to our gate with no problems and expected to board our plane within the hour. We were wrong- Apparently the last of the working de-icers had just broken down. They announced over the loud speaker that all flights were delayed indefinitely while they waited for their maintenance crews to fix the machines. An hour later they announced that they were trying to borrow a de-icer from another airline. Another hour later, still no de-icer. Again, an hour passes and now the snow is really coming down outside. We can see all the planes sitting at each gate, empty, waiting to be boarded, waiting to be de-iced. Still, no de-icer. It's now almost noon and they decide to line up all of the passengers on our flight to prepare for boarding. We're all standing in line, watching and waiting for the stinkin de-icers to arrive when we hear, "All flights in and out of the Portland airport have been cancelled....except for the following flights -" I held my breath as they listed 4 flight numbers - ours was the last to be called. We continued to stand in line and wait for boarding, and all the while, I'm thinking that they were going to change their minds and cancel our flight as well. Even though I knew there was nothing I could do about any of it, I was stressed. And when I get stressed, I get emotional. Finally, after about hours of waiting, we boarded the plane. As soon as I got to my seat and settled myself in for the ride I started crying. I'm such a nut case. Brett started laughing and I love him for that. He's always so level headed and never ceases to give me a reality check. Really, was this whole thing that big of a deal? Not in the least! I just over-think, over-worry, and over-react. Brett's helping me with all of that, but I have a feeling it might take a while. All this to say, we were the last flight out of the Portland airport that Saturday and even though we arrived in Nevada about 5 hours later than planned, we made it home to spend our Christmas with family. For all of that, I am very very grateful!

I will post some pictures of our Christmas with family in the next couple days. We had a great time and as always, it makes me wish we lived closer to all of our wonderful family! For now, here are some more pictures of the snow we had before leaving.

We hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Tis the Season

I love the holiday season. Although it's been busy, and I admit a little stressful, I can't help but love everything about the holidays. Mainly it's the fact that we get to spend time with family, but I also love all the decorations and lights around town, the Christmas music, the scarfs and hats, and the snow when we get it....which we did! We had the first snow of the winter season and I absolutely love it. I wish I had a nice camera that would take really cool pictures, but I did my best...

Oh and I had to add a picture of our Christmas tree...or as I like to call it, our Christmas shrub. Seriously, how can a baby be bigger than a Christmas tree? :)

Hope you all enjoy this Christmas season and remember what's most important!