These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

I love the movie The Sound Of Music. It makes me laugh and have all sorts of warm fuzzies. And while it is not specifically a Christmas movie, the one song in it gets radio air time during the holidays.

After I had loaded up the three kids this morning for a quick run to Kroger (like the three items I didn't have but needed to make stuff today!) we journeyed the three miles up the road to our favorite grocery store. Proximity is everything, people.

The buckling in of all the kids took no more time than usual, but still a hefty five minutes of wriggling children who do not want to be strapped down, the arguments of 'whose' music we are going to listen to (96.9 plays 'holiday favorites' for a month solid, so this is what we listen to, for a month solid), whose song is currently playing, and then the inevitable explaining of why I can't instantly replay a particular song over because I can't rewind the radio. Then, unloading, piling them all into a cart with a nifty car on the front ( I want geen, NO! I want bwoo! Not wed.) Then the shuffle through the grocery store where I let them sing very loudly 'I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas' (because I love that song and it's a great word coming from a pre-schooler's mouth) and finally to the check out where someone offers them about a thousand stickers because they are so cute.

I agree. They are cute.

Now, load 'em back in the van, another five minutes of my life lost to buckling car seat straps. And then explain why I can't make the 'Bippabodamus Song' come on again, can we just see what other Christmas songs they will play for us? We catch most of some massacre of 'Angels We Have Heard On High' (I didn't say the station only played my favorites) and my song comes on. 'These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things'. We drove around to the other end of the neighborhood so I could listen to it all the way through. It had me thinking about, well, my favorite things.

Our outing was to get a few more ingredients I needed for making sausage balls and some fudge, two of my favorite things. As I got Elizabeth out of her seat and held her close against me to shield her from the wind, I caught a whiff of sweet smelling baby, another favorite thing. The older two ran around the yard screeching at the sharp wind and giggling at the freedom to romp for a few minutes, and their giggles warmed my heart. I walked into the house, and smelled cinnamon, thanks to Barefoot's cinnamon cleaner (that I hadn't used since the night before!). At lunch, Thomas prayed for our meal, and I adore listening to him converse with our Lord. Then, as is the current custom in our house, I listened as Sarah Grace blessed our meal and plates and table and selves and again was grateful that my children desire to give thanks to our Lord for each blessing. Elizabeth grinned and laughed through out her meal taking, causing much laughter from her siblings and mommy. They went down for nap readily and without complaint, asking that I pray for them again. The house is peaceful, another love of mine, even though I love most aspects of busy children in my home as well.

And in about a two hour time span, as I looked about my home and saw books and pictures and odds and ends and happy children, I was reminded of just a handful of my favorite things. I used to think that you could only have one favorite. A certain color or number or food or song or friend. As I grow older, I am certain that you can have tons of favorites. I think I have a favorite moment of each wakeful hour of each day. Maybe several favorite moments. And they are sometimes musical or colorful or quiet or outside or inside or eating or cuddling or reading or, well, they are anything. And often, everything.

Thank you, Lord, for each of the blessings you have placed in my life. The big ones, the small ones, and all the in between ones.