Its the little things

As most of you know, I'm not a big fan of Memphis. I never have been really. When I was a teenager I really wanted to leave and would try to get my parents to move, but it never really worked out. I just feel like there's too much crime and racial tension here (can't we all just get along?!?!), and its just not a pretty place to live with lots fun outdoor activities or anything... So coming back to Memphis a few months ago was pretty hard. I haven't lived at home for this long since I was in high school so its just been kinda different, but my family has been great. They have done a lot for me and being able to hang out with them a lot has been fun. I kinda forgot what it was like to always have family members around. The thing I have enjoyed most tho about being around my family is getting to know my niece Audrey and nephew Jackson more. Especially Jackson. I think Audrey is the cutest little girl in the world, her personality is really starting to come out and its been really fun to watch her grow, but Jackson's the one who I feel like I am just now really getting to know and its been really fun. I think part of that has to do with him being 4 now, he is able to do a lot and is able to have pretty good and entertaining conversations too. Today everyone had to work so I volunteered to pick Audrey and Him up. I picked Audrey up first then drove to his school, when he looked out the window and saw me he gave me a huge smile that was the first little thing that really made my day. Its a great feeling knowing that someone is excited to see you. So we got in the car and He started talking about some fun things we could do. He remembered a time over the summer that I took him to Chick-Fil-A, so he wanted to go. (I had already decided before he even got in the car that's what I wanted to do, so I was glad that he had the same idea.) so anyways, we get there and eat, he plays on the playground, and I entertain Audrey, since there were some big kids (like almost 5 ft tall!) playing and i didnt want her to get hurt. After that Jackson decides he wants to trade in his toy for ice cream (we had split a kids meal, he wanted nuggets, i wanted fries, perfect!). I had told him he could either, keep the toy or trade it in for ice cream, before the playing he wanted to keep the toy but i guess that ice cream was sounding pretty good, so he decided that he wanted it. I was somewhat disappointed since Audrey was getting kinda impatient and I was ready to take her home so I could just set her down and let her walk around and play without having to watch her so closely, but I didnt want to disappoint him so I said that was ok, knowing that he is the SLOWEST ice cream eater ever. Well halfway through his ice cream cone (about 10 or 15 minutes later) he looks up at me and says 'boo boo (thats my family nickname) this is a really fun day.' I know you may be thinking, wow I can't believe I read all of that just to lead up to this. The point tho is that sometimes it only takes a little something to make someones day. All it took for him was an hour of my time and an ice cream cone. And all it took for me was for him to say that he was having fun. I thought about it later and was wondering how much of an impact would it have on our lives if we were more thankful for the little things. How would our relationship with God change if we told him thank you more, or just 'hey God, this is a really fun day.' It seems like we are quick to point out to God and our friends when things are hard, or not going our way. But how often do I call a friend to tell her about the great day I had? or to tell about the verse I read that revealed something new to me about Gods grace and faithfulness? It definitely is something I am going to work on, because from the little things big things grow.. just like from a little seed a tree grows...