new JOY

So, I've been racking my brain for two weeks. I really want to take a different turn with my writing and what I write about on my blog. I want to keep JOY in the title but I want to take a new spin on it. Every day I think and think of how I could go about switching it up.
Hmmm.....

A Year Finding JOY

Well, I can't believe a year has gone by. I can't believe all that has happened in this past year. I can't believe it's been a year since I started this blog. Crazy!
I have enJOYed reading the posts of this past year. It has brought back memories and made me remember why I needed to start this blog.  
I'm not sure how many people read this but I'm grateful for those of you who have.

2011 is going to bring new JOY moments and I look forward to them.
Thanks for reading my blog throughout 2010!

Christmas JOY

WOW! What a wonderful Christmas we had! It was awesome! So much fun with friends and family.

I believe Christmas and JOY go hand in hand. All holidays are special in their own way. For some reason though Christmas is a little extra special. We feel JOY in celebrating and reJOYcing in the birth of our Savior! We find JOY in giving special gifts to those we love. We see JOY in our children's eyes on Christmas morning.
JOYfulness is felt throughout the day when you see and spend time with those you love.

I enJOY the fact that our Christmas doesn't end on Christmas day. We spend the entire week reliving Christmas moments with family and friends we don't get the pleasure of seeing on Christmas day. We were able to host our SEVENTH "Christmas" breakfast for Jer's family and on New Years we will have Christmas with my dad. So much fun!

We had a snowstorm the night after Christmas which brings so much enJOYment to our girls!
Despite some car issues this week we were able to look on the bright side of things...that even though it happened it was great that it happened while Jer's dad (who is a mechanic) was here visiting!

I hope you were able to find the JOY this Christmas with your family!

Fall into JOY

Wow, I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post. So sorry! Where did October go? Can anyone tell me? Please?!? One minute it was back to school and now we are 23 days away from Thanksgiving! What gives?
We had a month of JOYful happenings! October is a great month; don't you think? You can do so many things. It's not OVERLY hot (although there were some hot ones this month!), the nights are cooler, the scenery everywhere is just beautiful. How could you not feel the JOY during the fall?
We started out our month with visits to our local firehouses. The girls really enJOYed both open houses. We went pumpkin and apple picking with the cousins. Went on our annual Williamsburg vacation with the Campagna side of the family. Within the past few days enJOYed some Halloween festivities.
I am so thankful for my beautiful family and all the good times we had together these past weeks. This is my hubby's favorite season and I am so glad he has been able to enJOY it with us.
Check out our pictures from this lovely month and my next post will be posted much sooner than later!

JOY in Back to School?!?

My oldest daughter now has two days in first grade under her belt! She is learning to adjust to a new teacher and new students. The hardest part for her is not knowing all the kids in her class. She does enJOY morning meeting and lunch though!

It's hard for me to let my baby girl go. I love having her around!
I know that Abi enJOY's having momma all to herself during the school day. I feel that today she noticed Anna was gone alot longer. She said, "Anna school?", at least five times throughout the day! Hard to explain to a two year old what's going on at times.

Once the year gets under way the four of us will adjust to the daily routine.  
I must admit it brings pride and JOY to my heart when I get to witness
all the things my sweet six year old learns! I love hearing her talk about her day to us and others.

JOY in back to school is watching your child spread their wings, learn new things, and the smile on their face when they see you at the end of their school day!!!!

August JOY

Wow! Where has this month gone? August has been absolutely insane but has also been absolutely fun too! We started the month out celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary. We celebrated with our girls who bring the JOY to our family!
Anna had a fun time taking her cousins to Six Flags for their first time. We had a great, hot day riding rides and eating!

Jerry and I went the following week to Baltimore for a little JOY trip to reconnect and have fun. It was a blast and made us realize we want to do that more often...we realize that won't happen but it was nice to dream.
We've spent alot of time at the pool that Jerry is working at. Anna was able to get her "band" which allows her to swim in the big pool ALL BY HERSELF! Watching Anna accomplish so many little things this summer at the pool has brought me much JOY and pride.
We took our girls to the aquarium and Rainforest Cafe'. Seeing their faces throughout that day was so enJOYable and made me smile.
We also were able to go with family to the Safari at GA and had an awesome time together!Jer and I attended a wedding for a colleague of his which was so much fun. Whenever we go to a wedding (which isn't very often) it reminds us of the vows we took and the love we have for each other in a special way. I must say weddings bring JOY!
Last but certainly not least (we do have SIX more days!) we were able to spend time with friends and family out to dinner the other night. It was nice to get together as adults, no kids, and just enJOY one anothers company.
All in all August has been a JOYous month filled with lots and lots of fun! We are sad to see it come to an end but excited to see the JOY ahead of us in September!

Summer JOY

Over the past month or so I've had a case of the missing husband blues. My hubby took a job at a swim club for the summer. In June he worked every Saturday and since then we have seen him on Sunday's. He is also working at a school in Northeast Philly doing a PE summer course. It's tough to go from teacher hours to basically 80 hours a week of work. I am grateful that he has work this summer because we both said we didn't want another summer like last year where there was no work and no money. It's just extremely tough to be without him.
My girls are having a hard time not seeing him. They are both daddy's girls and they miss seeing him every day.

The JOY in all this is we are definitly learning how to make the time we DO see him much more special. We are learning to enJOY having breakfast twice a week together since every other night he is working and we miss dinner with him.
The girls and I are finding new things to do during the day. We do get to spend time at the pool where he will pop over to the baby pool occasionally to see how we are doing. We will enJOY not having to play catch up with our bills come September! Once the summer school is done we will finally have him three days a week for three weeks where we will finally get to do the things we love doing in the summer as a family!

We are looking forward to the beach, lake beach, Great Adventure, another trip to PA and many other things that we are hoping to fit in before the school year begins!

Independantly JOYful

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.

Growing Up

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?

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!

finding JOY

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?

Break Time

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! 

Writer's Block?

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!

Beautiful Weekend

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!

Whirlwind

I am convinced that each week is slowly molding into one another.  I am feeling utterly exhausted this week. The time change always tends to throw me for a loop. I can't get my body adjusted for some reason. I DO enJOY the thought of springing ahead and getting more daylight!

The nice thing about daylight savings (at least this time of year) is the promise of warmer, longer days ahead. JOY!

My girls are really enJOYing the beautiful weather that we have been having the past couple of days. Abigail has learned to open the screen door and let herself out. Although it made me laugh the first time I must admit I am not liking this at all!
She is cute though....

I am really looking forward to spending the weekend with my husband and girly's and just chilling! Maybe we'll find some time to "catch up" on that hour that seems to have lost itself. That would be a little bit of JOY!

Glimpses

I am SO loving this weather we have been given this past week! Isn't it absolutely fabulous? I have enJOYed walking Anna to school in the mornings and NOT freezing my hiney off! I have enJOYed walking to pick her up in the afternoons and then being able to stay outside for her and Abigail to play.
What is it about the warmer weather that just makes you feel better? For that matter what is it about the cold weather that makes you want to attach yourself to your couch and a blanket and not move?
I find so much JOY in all the glimpses of spring slowly approaching! The grass looks a little greener, the buds from the flowers are starting to pop out of the ground, the daylight is lasting longer and the temperature is definitely warmer!
I hope everyone else is finding JOY in the glimpses we are being given....

Fun Weekend

I was so glad to get my WHOLE house cleaned on Saturday. I mean scrubbed top to bottom, well maybe not top to bottom but it got a good cleaning. I must admit that I do find JOY in a clean house. It makes me feel less claustrophobic when things are neat and tidy.

It was an absolutely beautiful day on Saturday and we took the girls outside to play which they DESPERATELY needed! Watching my girls play together and enJOY one anothers company makes me so happy. They are so cute to watch. We checked on our lily's which are coming up nicely! JOY!

Saturday night we went to a fundraiser for my girlfriends daughters softball team. I love my friend and always have such a good time with her. You could tell that all the parents put alot of work into it. I don't remember the last time I danced but it's been TOO long. I had a blast cutting a rug with my girl (and my man too!)! It was a great night and Jer and I got a night without kids! JOY!

Sunday morning was church and JOY entered my heart while walking into church with my family. Anna noticed doors on our church that are painted a goldenish color. As we were walking past them she said to me "Mommy look at those gold doors! Are those the doors Jesus uses?". I love how children are so innocent in there wonderings. Her little statement had me smiling throughout the service.
We had brunch at the Cheesecake Factory following church. Need I say more? JOY! And my delicious dessert later on...more JOY! :)

March!

Where has the week gone? I know everyone says the older you get the faster time flies. Seriously though I can't believe this week is over. It's not even that the week was jam packed. Well, MY week wasn't but my husbands was so that makes a week even more crazy for me.

My little Abi has been learning more words each and every day. I love listening to her try new words it is JOY to my ears. Although I must admit her newest word (MINE!!) does not. It just proves that the terrible twos are right around the corner. Yuck!

Anna celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday in school this week. SO cute! Every day was a different "theme". Her favorite was getting dressed up like Jessie (from Toy Story) and taking her Toy Story book to read to her class. Her second favorite was taking her Honey bear to class and a book. I find JOY while watching her get excited about school and hearing the stories she tells when she comes home.

One of my favorite moments of this week was discovering that my lily's had sprouted!
Watching Spring arrive in little ways throughout this week has given me much JOY and I am certainly looking forward to the longer, warmer days ahead!
I also enJOYed playing with my new camera this week. I had fun taking pictures of the girls and spring!

A Few Days....2

Sunday was my birthday. It was a laid back day that started out with me sleeping in. JOY! A delicious breakfast that came out of a basket of food my mother in law sent me. Chocolate muffin, croissant with cream cheese and coffee....JOY!

We spent the day at my sister's eating leftovers from the party and just hanging out.

Monday I was still so tired and spent the day just chillin' with Abigail.

Surprised!

I was so glad that both girls slept until 7:30 this morning. JOY! Especially since Jer was at a conference. It was nice to not see 6 on the alarm clock! 
I woke up very distressed. I came to tears a few times in the course of the morning. I'm still trying to figure out why my birthday is bothering me. Luckily before I could get to into my pity party the phone rang and out of it I came. JOY for a sister and sister in law who called and made me forget to finish the tears.

We spent the morning and early afternoon hanging with my sister in law and nieces. The girls had fun and kept busy! JOY!

Once my hubby came home he took me out to buy a new birthday outfit. As I've said before shopping does bring me a bit of JOY!


I was told we were headed out to dinner that night. I was looking forward to my last date night in my twenties. ;-)
We arrived at Buca Di Beppo and I was surprised to find a table full of family and friends waiting there! It is so nice to have a group of people you love to help you celebrate. Nothing is better than that. I LOVED my party and spending time with everyone. The food was delicious! JOY!

The "afterparty" was a blast as well and left me with many memories that will have me laughing through my "distress". JOY!