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It is so wonderful to share the JOY's of Independance Day with my girls! How exciting is it to celebrate our freedom and to remember who makes that freedom possible?!
We spent our Fourth of July with my dad and my grandparents. It was a wonderful time of eating, drinking, swimming, sparklers and fireworks!
Spending time with family we don't often see brings my little family JOY.
JOY in being with one another and just having a good time.
For those of you who know me you know I have a hard time with getting older. I think I have an even HARDER time with my girls getting older. Maybe because it just reiterates the fact that I am not getting younger.
My Anna finished Kindergarten this week. That was a toughie! How is it that I now have a daughter who will be entering school in the fall into an ACTUAL number grade?
Are you kidding me?!?
She has learned so much this year it is amazing. She started reading this year, writes her last name, spells, tells time, can add and subtract, knows some Spanish and sign language, asked Jesus into her heart, turned SIX, can swim and the list goes on and on. What a crazy time!
My daughter's accomplishments, big and small, bring me JOY!
JOY in parenting an almost two year old? This is something I'm having a difficult time with. My little girl Abigail is the cutest little thing. But she has a way of bringing me to complete and utter frustration. She is extremely stubborn, defiant and tends to make some of the most annoying sounds humanly possible.
I am no longer able to accomplish my daily tasks or errands. To take Abigail anywhere is a chore. It is "an up at dawn pride swallowing seige" to quote Jerry Maguire. Each day I try to find the small moments when she is being her cute self to enJOY that time. For that time is fleeting!
The JOY is knowing this stage will not last forever.
I do love my little girl and look forward to when she will speak and use words to let out her little frustrations.
I need to continue to find the JOY in her and learn to channel that when she is testing me. It's amazing how someone so small can stir up such feelings ranging from complete and utter exhaustion to absolute happiness.
At this point I feel as though I'm fighting a losing battle with no end in sight....maybe tomorrow I'll wave the white flag of surrender!
JOY is the theme of my blog (obviously). I have been finding JOY in many different aspects of daily life. JOY is something that a person should not be without. I feel that some people think that JOY comes from money, or a good job, or a nice car etc, etc. I know that those things are nice and yes, it may seem like JOY when you have them but true JOY is knowing that you DON'T need those things to enJOY life. Sometimes it takes losing one or more of those things to discover that.
The more I find in my JOY "searches" the more I realize that my every day JOY comes from my girls, or my husband, or things the Lord teaches me, or my friends. JOY never comes from things.
Now, I'm not saying I don't feel something when I'm out shopping and find that great new shirt or pair of shoes. That thrill is fleeting and lasts about as long as it takes to hang it in my closet. Definitely not the same type of JOY!
What gives you JOY throughout your days and weeks?
Wow! What a crazy week it has been! We spent Easter in Myrtle Beach with my in-laws. The weather was gorgeous and the girls had a blast with their Mimi and Poppy. We even got to go to the beach! The beach is always a JOY whether it's with kids or not. I love listening to the ocean and feel the sand beneath my feet!
We had a wonderful Spring break together as a family and did alot of fun things. JOY is spending time with my family and having fun together!
I have logged on every day for the past week and just couldn't write anything down.
I started writing this blog when I needed to find JOY in a certain situation. I began recording my JOY's every day. The more I looked for things to write about the more JOY I found in my day. Over the past few months I have eased up on my blogging but I haven't eased up on my JOY discoveries!
This past week has been a tough one. It certainly is easier to find JOY in a normal day when really the biggest complaint could be not enough sleep, a cranky baby, or a low checking account. It can be tough when your having a "day" but usually something can be found as a JOY. When I am faced with situations much bigger I do tend to focus on the negative of it. I'm human.
I am having a hard time focusing on anything positive when everything that has been going on seems so negative. I am finding JOY in the fact that just like all the other times we will be brought to our knees and when God knows we can't take anymore He will bring us through it.
JOY is knowing that you made it through!
Our weekend started out pretty mellow. I helped several moms on Friday afternoon cut out boxtops for the school as all of our kiddos played together. It was a beautiful afternoon and the girls had a blast running around and being with other children. It was a nice opportunity to get to know some of the other moms from Anna's school.
JOY!
Saturday I made cinnamon buns and my hubby got us Dunkin Donuts coffee (JOY!). I can NEVER have too much d&d coffee. It IS so good! It really does make me happy and I enJOY it. I am not ashamed to admit it! We then went to Manahawkin to my mom's fundraiser yard sale at her church. After that we had acquired Haily and went to visit friends.
Pastor Bill, Aunt Jean and Sue live in Manahawkin and so whenever we are near there we try to stop in for a visit. They live right on the bay and so it was an absolutely perfect day to be there. It was nice to be with them and be able to catch up a little. The girls loved walking on the docks and checking out the minnows in the bay. Being there gave Jer and I much JOY! We had dinner later on with Jer's brother and his family which was enJOYable and a good time!
This morning was mellow for us. I believe the girls are still trying to catch up from the time change so we all woke up a little later than normal for Sunday. We ran some errands and had a nice little picnic at the park! Our day ended with a trip for some ice cream which was a great treat! Our weekend was fabulous and we totally enJOYed it!
