Just about nine years ago, I was sitting in downtown Winston Salem watching two people cracking up at each other. He had the microphone and Johnny Cash's "A Boy Named Sue" was blasting away. She couldn't help but laugh hysterically at him. For that matter, everyone in the room couldn't contain their tipsy giggles. He didn't miss a beat to that song. Those were happy times.

I would see them from time to time. I'd get to know her as we watched our husbands play basketball in a small recreational league. Zoe would run circles around us. My daughter, just a toddler at the time, was right in behind her. She wanted to be just like Zoe (and she still does).

Their baby girl, Aadyn, was born just a week before my 2nd daughter. It still astonishes me just how much they act alike. Summer babies have an air to them that is all their own: independent, beautiful, and remarkably captivating. I now find my 3rd daughter wanting to be just like them.

You know what? Little girls really know how to live life. They're just so, so happy (until they're not!).

You see this gorgeous family, and you stop to think what you wouldn't give to be just.like.them;  they're happy. You can't ask for anything much better than that.

I've spent the last few weeks, as I'm sure many of you have, reading Heather's updates and wondering about how she is doing, and all the while never truly finding the right words to say.  I'll bet you've wanted to tell her that you would quit what you're doing at a moment's notice to help out. You've wanted to give them all a hug. You've wanted to bring them stockpiles of food so that they don't have to cook ...for years. You've wanted to bring them a smile. You've wanted to pull down the sunshine to their door, dividing up the clouds. You've wanted to discover the cure to cancer. You've wanted to prevent hurt.

Yet, despite the range of emotions that we are all feeling, they continue to lift all of us up.  And, through it all, you know what? Heather's happy, maybe not every second, but read her posts. See her pop out of a car a week after her surgery, and trudge through fields. Watch her interact with her daughters. She's remarkable.

Heather and Justin have found ways to find their happiness in each other and in their family and friends. While we all stumble over the right words to say, Heather's up in the middle of the night making plans. She's living her life in her moments. You know what? We want to be like that. She makes us strive to be better to each other, and to ourselves, and she reminds us that we  should all be so very thankful.

Watching them reminds me that you make your happiness. It doesn't mean that every moment is filled with good karaoke in an Irish bar, the birth of a child, or that it even goes without pain. But, our lives are filled with precious moments. As we watch Justin, Heather, Zoe, and Aadyn go through this moment and the next together, it's clear that we should cherish it all. Heather has shown us all so much love and compassion, and now, we can pay that forward through our own actions.

So, while we all stand back and watch their story evolve, it's important to listen to Heather's message.  Maybe, in the end, we can all find our happiness, too. You know why? It's because she's showing us all just how it's done.

Go find your moments and live {happily} within all of life's experiences.

#teamdillon #liveyourmoments #fightlikeamother #findyourstrengths