1.) Spending time with my hubby :) I've learned a lot over the last year of being a wife of a traveling husband and am still learning! Since Eric started traveling I became so use to entertaining myself and started almost distancing myself from Eric when he was home on the weekends so I wouldn't mind so much when he would leave again as well as not making my best efforts to stay close to Eric when he was away either. However, after the last month of getting to have Eric home I started realizing my huge mistake and how much I missed spending genuine time with him! I feel like we've really been able to reconnect as a couple and especially as friends.
When Eric starts traveling again I want to make a real effort to connect with him everyday. To take time to text or write Eric an email for him to get during a long day at work, to not just video chat for a couple minutes so Mia can see him, but after she goes to bed so we can really talk or maybe even play a game or read together and lastly, make the most of the time we do have together when he is home... especially making time for weekly dates! It's tough sometimes to have a husband that travels a lot, but that doesn't mean you can't be happy and make the most of the situation.
2.) Being a mom! Now anyone who is a mother knows that some days being a mom can be really hard and "happiness" would not be my first word to describe how I feel at that moment. However, at the end of even those long days when I go in to check on Mia at night, my heart still melts as I watch her peacefully sleep and I come out with a smile on my face feeling so lucky to be her mom.
I want to start making an effort finding ways to enjoy being a mother everyday, by letting some things go and remembering that Mia is not even 2 yet and she shouldn't be expected to do everything right, by doing the things necessary for me to be more patient throughout the day, such as getting more sleep and not being afraid to step in a quiet room for a minute and take a breather and to be better about spending some time everyday where Mia can have my full attention so she doesn't feel like she has to compete for it.
One thing in particular that fulfills both of those "happiness" things for me is blogging. As you can probably tell I have really come to love blogging. I love having a place to share updates, my thoughts and experiences and connect with you other mothers and wives.
This has led me to my recent thought about starting another blog or taking this one to the next level. I'm not really looking into with money purposes in mind, but a place to put my major of Family Studies to use and share more about where my passion really lies which is families, family life, marriage and children. I would be combining the things I have studies with my own experiences. I would also like to do this to have the opportunity to connect with even more women and hopefully give, as well as get, inspiration and uplifting when needed.
I would love to hear opinions or advice on my idea. Whether it's a good idea; something that others would find helpful and interesting to read. Whether I should start another blog or use this one. Or if I should bother changing something I love and makes me happy already and just stick to my family blog with updates?
I would also LOVE to hear some things that you have thought of that has improved your happiness in your daily lives
Thanks to all my readers for all your support and uplifting comments/blogs which I love reading as well!
Hi! I'm Brittany. I was a sister missionary in Eric's mission. We were in the MTC together.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I enjoy following your blog. You are so inspiring to me! Reading your blog makes me want to be a better person, a better wife and homemaker and hopefully a good mom when I have kids someday.
I am totally going to add the book, "The Happiness Project" to my long list of books I want to read on goodreads.com. Thanks for the recommendation :)
I think the most important thing in life is our relationships with others (with God, Jesus Christ, our husband, our families, our friends, etc.) So the three things you listed to make you even more happier, are perfect!
I would add keeping a gratitude journal. In the book, "Simple Abundance" by Sarah Ban Breathnach, the author talks about writing a gratitude journal.
She writes, "(The) first tool (that) can change the quality of your life beyond belief: it's what I call a daily gratitude journal. I have a beautiful blank book and each night before I go to bed, I write down five things that I can be grateful about that day. Some days my list will be filled with amazing things, most days just simple joys....other days - rough ones - I might think that I don't have five things to be grateful for, so I'll write down my basics: my health, my husband and daughter, their health, my animals, my home, my friends, and the comfortable bed that I'm about to get into, as well as the fact that the day's over. That's okay. Real life isn't always going to be perfect or go our way, but the recurring acknowledgment of what is working in our lives can help us not only survive but surmount our difficulties."
I like this quote, "Gratitude unlocks the fulness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more."
I've started a gratitude journal off and on. Whenever I'm in the mindset of being grateful, it really helps me to focus on the abundance of blessings in my life instead of focusing on what I lack in life. It makes me extremely happy.
I really should start a gratitude journal with my husband. Just take a few minutes each night to write in it before we go to bed.
Sorry for the long comments.
ReplyDeleteHere is part 2 of my comment:
As far as your idea goes, I would say keep it simple. The blog you have is really nice! You could just take it to the next level and share your thoughts on families, family life, marriage and children in addition to documenting your family adventures.
Have you seen the 71toes.com blog? You could do a blog format like that. She writes this about her blog, "In writing this blog, my intent is not only to do what I started it for in the first place: to help preserve memories and keep a family journal. I hope to also be able to inspire others to find joy in the journey of motherhood."
Go to the 71toes blog and click on the "concrete mothering" link underneath the cover picture. You'll get a whole list of blog posts about things like motherhood, honoring each child, teaching kids to work, putting your husband first, reading with kids, teaching kids to serve, etc.
On Fridays she answers questions about raising a family. Those question and answer blog posts are fun to read.
*Make sure you click on "disclaimer" (the link found under the cover picture). To be honest, I had a hard time following the 71toes blog at first because it seemed like it was this picture-perfect family and I felt really inadequate as a homemaker. I was comparing my weaknesses with her strengths and feeling bad about it.
But after reading the disclaimer and reading posts where she talks about the hard times (how her family life isn't perfect - they have their trails and struggles too) then I learned to not feel bad. She has a lot of good ideas that I hope to put into use when I have kids. :)
Anyways, go for it! Take your blog to the next level! I would love to read your thoughts about raising babies and toddlers. (This is something that I don't get a lot of from reading 71toes. She has older kids - so a lot of the things she talks about I won't be able to put into practice until like 10 years from now).
Thanks for the great blog post!
Good luck and greetings from Germany! :)
A big thanks for your comment(s)! The author of "The Happiness Project" also did a gratitude journal and got me thinking I should take just a couple minutes everyday to write some things down I'm grateful for. You've definitely made the extra push for me to start! And thanks for your advice on the blog! I had come across the 71toes blog awhile ago and liked in but could ever remember what it was called so I was never able to find it again. Thank you for the link! I would love to one day to as inspirational as she is on her blog! And I totally know what you mean when it comes to reading blogs and feeling inadequate. It's a constant weakness of mine. Thanks again for the helpful and uplifting comments!
DeleteThank you for taking the time to reply. I love it when bloggers show appreciation for their readers by replying and/or saying thank you. You are a wonderful blogger :)
DeleteYou know i'll enjoy reading your thoughts on family and child development etc! I really loved this post. I too am going to put this book on my to read list!
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