Day 3: 100 Joys

#8: Joy-Ful Cooking

I love cookbooks. I especially love cookbooks handed down to me and the ones given to me as gifts. I love that at any given time, I can decide to try something new. And I love that recipes hold memories, just like photo albums. When I think of one of our favorite family recipes - chicken tamales, I think of Christmas Eve's spent with my Dad's side of the family at my Grandma's house. The joy felt in the presence of family enjoying recipes past down from generation to generation.

#9: Joy-ful Games

Spur of the moment joy like playing thumb wars while waiting for your name to be called for breakfast. I sat and watched this seemingly insignificant moment between my niece, Jennifer and her son, Jonathan. Instant joy. 

#10: A Joy-ful Corner

This joy-ful corner is in our living room, on the fireplace mantle. The photo is of my maternal grandparents. I never met my Grandpa but my Grandma is nothing short of amazing. She worked as a waitress, raised four kids alone and still found time to cook, clean and sew most of their clothes. She always makes me feel like nothing is out of reach. She's spunky and smart. And quite the card player, too.

This post is part of 100 Joys by Sarah Markley, author of The Best Days of My Life. I encourage you to visit her site and find out how to be a part of 100 Joys. (Be sure to grab the 100 Joys button from Sarah's sidebar for your own site)