Laughter..... is the best medicine!

I love to laugh!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! :)
It's true!!! I have found a lot of comfort and joy in the sound of ones laughter!
I learned at a very young age that it was more fun to laugh then to do any other thing! Being the only girl with 3 brothers, what other option did I have? Life can be boring without the power of giggling! he he he
I remember back when I was first married Dave and I hadn't been married long, but we had children very quickly! In fact, I had my third child a few days before my oldest turned 2 and a half! Yikes, 3 kids 2 and a half and under! It was quite crazy and could be very trying at times!! I remember specifically a day that Dave had come home from work for lunch! It just happened that this day was our anniversary, and as with days back then when my children were so small and so dependant, it was a trying day! However, I wanted it to be a good day so as I was preparing lunch I stopped while it was cooking and took a minute to give my ever-so sexy husband ;) a kiss!!! We finished our "welcome home for lunch on our anniversary" kiss (lol) and @ precisely the same time we both looked down on the floor! We saw something that we didn't immediately recognize until we gave it a little more attention.... @ our feet was none other then a little piece of toddler POOP!!! I distinctly remember thinking..... " I can either cry about this because that's what kind of day it is or I can laugh about it!" I chose to do the latter..... I looked dreamily into Dave's eyes and said ""HAPPY ANNIVERSARY HONEY!" bahahaha we both burst into laughter because well, the other option just wasn't as fun! We decided quite quickly with our rapidly growing family that joy and laughter would have to be a HUGE part of our lives! We have never regretted it and we choose to laugh alot in our home!
Have you ever laughed so hard your stomach hurt! I have... in fact I just did the other night, over something that wasn't meant to be as funny as it turned out! I had a smile on my face for 2 days just thinking about it!! It is very refreshing...... I dare you to try it, it's SOOOO worth it!!
It reminds me of the song from one of my favorite movies as a child... Mary Poppins (I just got to go see this play by the way... and there was no sign of my favorite song :(.. but that's ok... it was awesome to go to anyway!)
"We love to laugh,
loud and long and clear,
we love to laugh
so everybody can hear,
The more you laugh
the more you fill with glee
and the more the glee
the more we're a merrier we!!! "
I LOVE IT!!!! Laughter brings a sense of excitement and fun to anyones day! It makes the hard times easier, the sad times happier, it's like a burst of color on an otherwise dreary day! It gives one a sense of satisfaction, balance to the heart and brings a twinkle to the eye!!
I would like to think that when my children are old and grown that they will always remember the laughter that filled our home so many times through the years! And that whenever they think about the best advice we have given (and it's something I say quite often...) It will be,
**** When all else fails...............LAUGH ABOUT IT****
It is always the better choice! You'll never regret choosing to laugh instead of yell, and having a smile on your face rather then a frown! Life is so much more fun when you use LAUGHTER AS THE BEST MEDICINE!!! You''ll be amazed the things it can cure!
I am going to add one of my favorite videos... yes, I might sound like a slightly rude mother, ha ha, and some of you out there might find me completely crazy... but I LOVE IT!! This is the kind of thing we do to make everyday a happy.... or a crazy one @ our house!!!
p.s. please don't judge me or think I am an absolute loon!!!! hahahahahahahahah

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNOydNP8L_Q

Enjoy!!! lol

The opposite of anger!!

I am going to begin by saying I have felt more anger in the last month and 4 days then I have in my entire life!! For some, that might not be a big deal, but for me.... it is! It is not much in my character to be an angry person, in fact I hate anger... contention....despair... etc... anything remotely close to that emotion! I feel miserable when I am angry, but each day since July 13th when I lost my little sister I wake up and at some point (or a lot of points) during the day anger begins to creep in....
I am angry because my sister was taken at 15 1/2 years old... 15 1/2.....??? I am angry that God would, in all his intelligence, separate twin sisters and leave one here to live out the rest of her mortal life without her other half, that they will never get to go to a prom together, or go to eachothers weddings or help babysit eachothers kids!
Anger is very prevalent when I think about the accident and the events leading up to it and how choices can change things!  Choices in any situation can truly affect how things turn out!  I don't know for certain in this situation if better choices had been made that it would have changed things, but I have a hunch there is a big possibility that different choices could have been made for sure, and the outcome could have been different! 
I have put alot of thought into the feelings I have been experiencing and I really have been trying to overcome the anger! I came to a conclusion that if I could work on feelings opposite from anger then I would be able to overcome it, because anger is a feeling that can eat at you and tear you down every minute you let it consume your body and mind, and I can't allow that!!!
So I asked my dad the other day "Dad, what is the opposite of anger?" Think about it... do you really know? Well I didn't know, I had some guesses but wasn't sure which ones were right! My dad guessed happiness, but then I quickly reminded him that was the opposite of sadness, he thought longer and said.. "maybe love?" For a while I thought that it could be love, it took few days to realize I wasn't satisfied.. so finally with help from my cousin we found the opposite of anger! After finding it and looking through all the synonyms I found the I word I was looking for, it was......... PEACE!!! Think about it... how many of us like peace??? I know I do!
I haven't in the last few weeks felt much peace... in fact I haven't TRULY felt much of anything besides some glitches of anger... in fact there is a certain numbness that comes with the tragedy of losing a loved one, atleast for me... I have thought if I just don't feel anything than I can't feel the pain, right?
WRONG..... pain is felt much in my heart and I think it will forever own a part of my heart from now on... but that doesn't mean that we can't challenge ourselves to change the other emotions that we might be feeling at any given moment!
Just today... I have felt a small glimmer of peace... it is beginning to creep in just like the anger has been!  I KNOW, that once I give my heart to the Lord and cast all my burdens onto him..... PEACE WILL COME!!! That some day I will be able to wake up with the dawn having a renewed sense of energy, strength in my heart, and a serenity in my soul! I believe that despite all the clouds looming around, that the sun will shine again and it will shine bright... that nothing will ever be able to dim the joy and happiness that it will bring! I hope we will remember, things happen for a reason, that we have to trust in God, and know that He has a plan.
And through Jesus Christ our minds and hearts can be healed and we can FEEL again, the way we were meant to!
Once again, the only way to know true joy, is to know true despair.... but it doesn't have to end with despair... joy will come again... the sun will shine strong... the heart will heal... and to think.... all we have to do is LET HIM IN.... Love Him, Honor Him, Follow Him.... So that one day we can Return to HIM!!!
That is where true PEACE is accomplished... so on your journey through life, even though there be trials, pain, and sadness, we can always choose to walk to the other side and find experience, healing, and happiness!!!
So good luck.... find joy in the journey, happiness everyday and Peace in your heart!!!

Why does life have to be so hard?

"Why does life have to be so hard?" The words following are what I wrote to a cousin when he asked this question...... I thought I would post it and elaborate a little more!!
***Life is a test! And from my experience tests aren't always easy.... sometimes we ace them, sometimes we do significantly well and sometimes we just plain fail! But it's our ability to rise above whatever may come our way that will make the difference! If life is hard and you allow it to break you down and you become miserable and unhappy, you have let it get the best of you! If you allow the hard times to build your character and become a better person because of them and live each day with gratitude, than you have succeeded far beyond human imagination!***
It's amazing how the words I wrote to someone else have become words that can bring comfort to me!!

I have always felt like life was too short to not make the best of things! I have known for years now that happiness is a choice, and each day I wake up it's my choice what kind of attitude I will face the day with! I pray that from this point on I will always choose the better option.... Happiness over misery.... Love instead of hate.... good over bad.... patience over frustration.... and each new day that I am blessed with, will never see the alternative defeat me... That I can rise above that which will try to bring me down, that in times of pain... heartache.... and anger I will always find the strength within me to reach for love and happiness! For it's in those times of deep anguish when we learn to lift our selves from that darkness waiting to envelope us... that our character becomes stronger, that our soul is left with no other option than to feel deeper, love longer, laugh louder and to bring harmony and inspiration to oneself and others!

If we can allow the storm to pass and find courage to break free from the things that will hold us back from becoming better, then we can wake up each day with a renewed sense of gratitude for the things which we have endured. We can also look forward to the things that lie ahead, knowing that whatever may come our way.... we will stand strong, rise above and make it to the end!

Here is a quote to end my thoughts for today........

"No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God...and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven... (Orson F. Whitney)