joy

Joyful Pause Moments: Weekly Recap

20140607_084259 12First Daylily of the season.

puppies 12Two day old yellow and chocolate Labrador pup’s at their first vet office visit.

sleepy gidget 1200Sleepy (or meditating?) Gidget.

20140611_124148 12A box full of weenie’s in my mailbox from my friend, Mary.

20140613_161324 1200First rose of the season.

gidget waiting outside po 12Gidget  waiting for me outside the post office.

Jodee 561Visiting the Farmer’s Market for the first time this season and seeing our friend, Jodee… and her sweet pups Baci (in carrier) and new to their brood, Hannah.

My Joyful Pause Moments Weekly Recap.

g on bike e 1200This brought me a ton of joy! First time on bike for the season… and test to see if Little G liked the basket… she did! she did!

book review 1200A beautiful book review that had me in joyful tears. I was deeply touched. You can read review here.

honeysuckle 1200The honeysuckle plant I planted last fall right outside my writing cottage is beginning to take off!

IMG_2052 1200Enjoying my new Himalayan salt candle holder from my mom (purifies the air) and the stones I made in a stone making class recently. Great reminders for me.

20140531_133513 1200Afternoon nap with my Gidgie girl.

20140601_125024 1200Enjoying a fruit smoothie on the front stoop of my house.

Something New: Capturing My Joyful Pause Moments. Weekly Recap.

garden off deck 1200Looking out my writing cottage and enjoying how my little perennial garden is starting to grow once again for the season.

I’m trying something “new.” While I do try and live a joyful life, I decided I wanted to try and capture a moment of joy each day. Something that makes me smile. Something that makes me forget time exists. Something that fills me up. While I will concentrate mostly on capturing it in photos, I may also include a quote now and then too, or whatever strikes my fancy as a moment of joy.

The name of my website, Joyful Paws, was born because of my dogs showing me the way to more joy. Even when Cassie Jo was diagnosed with terminal bone cancer, and Frankie became paralyzed from IVDD, they lived each day from a place of happiness despite their challenges. They taught me that we always have a choice.

Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it everyday. -Henri J.M. Nouven

So each week I’ll recap my daily moment of joy and share it here on my blog (I’ll recap on a Saturday or Sunday- just depending on how my week plays out and what’s going on on any given weekend). I like this idea as a practice to look for, and choose joy, just as Henri J.M. Nouven said.

I hope you will find joy in my “joyful pause” moments I will share with you. And I hope it will encourage you to look for those little moments of joy in your own life.

Here is the rest of my joyful pause moments from the week:

flowers and rainbow outside cottage 1200Bringing home flowers for outside my writing cottage. A second, unexpected joyful pause moment was looking at the photo and it looks like there is a rainbow running through the center of it. I have no idea how that happened!

yoga gidget 1200Coming out of shavasana pose, onto my side, and seeing this sweet face.

cassy painting 1200Seeing my dear friend, Cassy Tully’s heart happy doing her art outside on a beautiful day.

tea and books e 1200Spending time on the deck in the morning, reading, sipping my warm lemon water, listening to the birds, and soaking in a bit of warm sun. These simple pleasures truly bring me so much joy.

tree frog  e 1200Hanging out with a tree frog.