This is my first ever Weekly Photo Challenge post. I love the theme; “What makes you happy?” This question was a ray of sunshine for me in a week of gloomy feelings regarding my continued struggle with Lyme disease, my sadness watching a dear friend near the end of her days with her battle with cancer and a week that was literally gloomy with clouds and rain hanging around most of the week.

But even in the midst of sadness, there are always things that warm our hearts. For the past couple days my mind walked through my files of pictures thinking about which ones to include. My pictures reflect some of my favorite things family, connection with nature and sunshine. Thank you WordPress for the timely invitation to focus on happiness.

The photo of my parents makes me especially happy and was taken this Saturday on their 50th wedding anniversary.  They have always been an inspiration to me on how to live life.  Loyal in their love to each other, committed to family and living their values of working hard and  giving to others.  We are grateful to have our father with us – he has been battling a rare cancer, is currently in remission (yeah!) and two years ago we were pretty unsure about whether he would be here for this day.  By coincidence in the background is an image of their wedding picture which was part of a slide show running in the background.

Mom & Dad 50th Anniversary

Rainbows

Hiking/blueberrying with hubby & our lab

kayaking

tomatoes ripening in the garden

First spring blooms

Soft winter light in woods

Orchids reblooming

Sunsets & mountains