Simple Joys

I was recently encouraged to make a list of my simple joys -- the little things in life that make me happy, and, as this person put it, "if you lost it all, the things that would still bring you joy." I'm sure this list will grow over time, but off the cuff, here are some of my simple joys:

• Hugging Grant and having him rest his chin on my head
• Eliot's slobbery kisses (which he now gives me voluntarily, and which he gives to the picture of Jesus on one of his books -- melts my heart!)
  
• The smell of newborn babies
• Sitting at the kitchen counter at my parents' house and talking with my mom
• The McEuen girls' "sister hug"
  
• Playing "Steal the Bacon" with my nieces and nephews
• The smell of the pine trees in Flagstaff, Arizona, and hearing them sway and creak in the wind
• Remembering Grandpa's laugh
• Climbing into a bed with fresh, clean sheets
• The smell of home-baked bread
• Watching "It's a Wonderful Life" at Christmas time with Grant
  
• Eating a just-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookie
• Taking Eliot to get his picture taken
• Wave running and barbecues at my in-laws' during the summer
• The look on Grant's face at Disneyland
• Listening to Don Williams while floating down Lake Powell on the houseboat . . . miss those days!
  
• Buying Christmas presents for Eliot
• The sound of laughing with my mom and sisters
• Any homemade dinner by my mom -- even if I use the exact same recipe, it never tastes as good as Mom's
  
• Decorating for Christmas while listening to Christmas music
• My mother-in-law's pie crust (and the pie that goes in it, obviously!)
• Watching Eliot sleep
• A freshly cleaned bathroom
• Sunlight trickling through Oregon pine trees (it doesn't happen too often, but when it does, it's beautiful!)
  
• My nephew Nate's power hugs
• Seeing Eliot with his Nanny and Ampy and Grandma and Grandpa
• Grant's huge, contagious smile
• Fresh-squeezed orange juice and/or Hna. Dupont's fresh-squeezed guava juice
  
• Getting a hand-written card or letter in the mail, especially from my mom (who has the most perfect handwriting I've ever seen!)
• The smell of rain (and I'm in the perfect place for that, now aren't I?!)
• Hearing Eliot laugh
• The memory of holding Eliot for the first time -- the sweetest and most sacred moment of my life