Is Giving Thanks the Secret to Joy?

I am thankful for my life and the blessings God has given me but I feel like over the past couple months I have felt God tug on my heart to start a gratitude journal for my life.  Going from a corporate job to staying at home my days look very different than they used to. Doing laundry and changing diapers sometimes (a lot of time) loses its joy for me day in and day out.

I am in the middle of reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. Ann is a stay at home Mom on a farm and she challenges herself to list one thousand things she is thankful for in her life.  She writes about Grace, Thanksgiving, and Joy and how through Gods grace we give thanksgiving and thanksgiving is what brings true joy. I have had several "ah ha" moments reading parts of her books but the following quotes has impacted me the most and created a desire to take on a similar challenge of thanksgiving.

She writes: "The greatest thing is to give thanks for everything. He who has learned this knows what it means to live ... He has penetrated the whole mystery of life: giving thanks for everything" she continue later in the book that "Joy is the realest of reality, the fullest of life, and joy is always given, never grasped. God gives and I give thanks and I unwrap the gift given: Joy",  "Thanks is what multiplies the joy and makes any life large."

Starting May 1st join me in the challenge to write down three things you are thankful for everyday and see if you have more Joy in your life! They can be the littlest of things, here are some she wrote that I thought were so small yet I smiled that she gave thanks for:

                                       2. Jam piled high on the toast
                                     22. Mail in the mailbox
                                     38. Wool sweaters with turtleneck collars
                                   943. Stepping over a dog when coming in through the dark

I wanted to end this post with a song that was played yesterday morning at my women's bible study luncheon that brought tears to my eyes called 10,000 reasons by Matt Redman (this is an acoustic cover that I like). May your heart find 10,000 reasons to be thankful and bring Joy to your life no matter what situation you are currently in.

Jotter Cards

For Valentines Day my husband got me a gift certificate to Susanne Roberts to buy stationary (such a sweetie). I was so excited! There is something about personal stationary that makes me feel grown up.  After two hours looking at books of stationary we finally picked out a set of family stationary and then I spotted these jotter cards and had to have them. They finally came and I am so excited to use them for to do list, tags for gifts, and just random notes.  And of course if you own jotter cards you must have a jotter card holder right? (Did not know there was such a thing 2 weeks ago)  I just ordered this Kate Spade one so I am carrying my jotter cards in style.

Kate Spade Jotter Card Holder (Lord&Taylor)

Now I just have to organize my diaper bag that my husband likes to call the black hole ( He says once you put something in it that it never comes out, which is sometimes true) so I can fit my new jotter cards! Sometimes it the little things that can make you happy :)

DIY Patio

My DIY Patio started after texting my extremely budget conscious sister two new planters I bought at Target for $75 each. I thought this was a good price however she instructed me to return them immediately and told me I could redo my whole patio for around the same price as the planters. She sent me a materials list and off I went.  [Disclaimer: I went slightly over budget but not much!]
  
The Plan: To stain the concrete on my back patio a blue/grey and to hang outdoor lights across the patio using flower planters to make a cozy outdoor dinning area.

The Materials List:
1 gallon of concrete stain
1 bottle of concrete etcher
1 etcher brush
1 stain pressure sprayer (paint section of Home Depot)
2 2X4
2 Box woods
2 to 3 boxes of outdoor lights (I got mine from Target)
1 package of hooks to hang lights
2 large planter boxes (I got mine at Ikea)
1 bag of concrete
Planting Soil
Seasonal Flowers

Take Action:
1. Set the 2x4s in two paint buckets by mixing the concrete in the bucket and placing the 2x4 in the concrete. Let dry overnight.

2. Stain the Concrete: This was by far the hardest part. When the paint guy at Home Depot told me I had to etch the concrete so the stain would take I was not too excited about it. In the end it wasn't hard, just time consuming. The etcher is a liquid that comes in a bottle and all you have to do it put it in the pressure sprayer and spray it on the wet concrete patio. This makes the concrete bubble up (if its not bubbling then its not working) and then you take the etching brush and brush the surface. wash off the concrete after you have brushed the whole surface. Once you wash off the concrete from the etcher apply the stain by placing the stain in the pressure bottle (after washing it out). Make sure to apply the stain when the concrete is damp. Spray the stain on in a circular motion and let dry for about 5 hours before you put planters on.
Tip: wear gloves and closed toe shoes because the etcher seemed like a chemical I didn't want on me. Also do it during the day. I started it at midnight after B went to sleep and the stain was still wet in the morning because there was no sun to dry it.
3. Build the Planter Boxes: This is the fun part! The number of planters you need will depend on how your patio is setup. Take the 2X4s in concrete and place them in the planter (if you want to stain the 2X4 do that now). Fill the planter with soil and plant the box woods and flowers you got. Place planters on patio to hang lights.

4. Hang lights: Take the hooks and put them at the top of 2x4s. Place the planters on patio so that you can place hooks on the house and create a zig zag of lights across the patio to the planters.
Tip: My electrical outlet is low to the ground so I bought a white extension cord to reach to my first hook and then started the lights. Also I suggest you buy more packages of lights than you think you need and return any you don't use. I thought they would be longer and had to go back for more.
5 Enjoy: Place dining table on patio and you have a cozy patio to eat at for your summer BBQs! Here is my final product!

I am constantly changing things and creating new projects around the house which drives my husband crazy :)  Here is my next project for the patio, Keep you updated!

                                                Shipping Crate Sectional (Pinterest)

Mr Clean Magic Eraser

Yes I am doing my first blog post on Mr Clean Magic Eraser because these things literally changed my life yesterday by increasing my Happiness in cleaning my Home! I was volunteering at a cooking ministry for newly married women last week when the host mentioned to the girls how much she is in love with these magic eraser sponges.  So much so that she introduced them to her sister in law and after giving her a nice necklace for Christmas, the sister in law responded that she could have given her a box of these and she would have been happy. So I knew I needed to get some.  I went to Sams and got a box of 10 for around $10 and went home to try them out.  My least favorite thing to clean is the bathtub and I am embarrassed to admit this but it probably hasn't been cleaned since B has been born since that isn't the highest priority when sleep deprived. I am usually scrubbing the tub out for at least 20 minutes with every product and it still doesn't feel clean to me so this would be the true test.  I was amazed when I cleaned my whole bathtub in about 5 mins and it was sparkling!  I then moved onto our bathroom floor which is white natural stone tile and was the worst renovation decision we made especially if you have kids or dogs (we have both) because it is porous and never looks clean. Again I was amazed how clean I got it in no time.  I moved onto our white granite sink and baseboards with the same result, as I said these things have changed my cleaning life. Every other cleaning product in my house is either Method or an all natural cleaning product but these will be a staple in my house from now on!

Entering the Blog World!

Today I am officially entering the blog world!  Over the past 6 months I have gone from a pregnant career woman to a new stay at home Mom with a precious 5 month old son.  As you can imagine I have gone through body changes, life changes in my career along with mentally and physically trying to care for a newborn with little sleep.  Also through my passion of health and some random events I have become a distributor of a whole food nutrition supplement called Juice Plus which I am pretty passionate about and you will probably see in some of my post (you can see my whole  "Juice Plus Story" on my blog to the right).  When thinking about starting a blog I decided to write about the three things I enjoy: Health, Happiness, and Home design. I am excited to share my adventures in motherhood which I would consider in the Happiness category most of the time as well as insights, random thoughts and inspiration on Health and Home Design!