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Day 7 | Joy of Love: Generations

Sadly, we don't live close enough to either set of grandparents to fulfill the intended purpose of today's assignment, so I thought I'd use the theme to pay tribute to our trusty mini-van. The Silver Bullet is our first generation family car, purchased when Travis was just one year old. One of the first logistical challenges that came up when we discovered that little Six would be joining our family was the fact that we would officially be outgrowing Silvie. I still remember the first time I drove her and I loved her right away!I actually had a super-fancy, sports car driving mom tell me in the parking lot of Travis' kindermusic class one day that I "should not be at all embarrassed about driving a mini van", and I was stunned (for a whole host of reasons)! But seriously, who would be embarrassed to drive an awesome mini-van?! And that was way before I'd busted a hole in the back bumper OR the back door handle had fallen off! : )

But just yesterday, we purchased what will be the second generation vehicle for our family and we are so thankful for it, though I know I won't be the only one who will be very sad to see Silvie go. It is highly likely that tears will be involved, but I'm not going to think too much about that now. She's been put through the ringer (we won't talk too much about all that she has been through), but she's been more dependable and more reliable than we could have ever hoped.

First generation family car joy...

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Day 6 | Joy of Love: What They Love

Today's assignment was supposed to be about something that my people love. The only hard part of that assignment was narrowing it down and choosing just one thing! However, while spending a rare, quiet morning at home with just my biggest boy, I decided that I would switch things up a bit and post about something that I loved instead.

Travis is one of the most devoted followers of my blog. He knows all about my little project  of documenting the day's joys and will sometimes tell me, "That should totally be your post today." This morning he decided that he'd like to revive his own blog so that he can join me in journaling about all of the many things we have in life to be grateful for. I love it.

My boy keeping his own record of gratefulness (in the midst of a nasty bout of Poison Ivy) joy...

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Day 5 | Joy of Love: Love to Hate

There is one habit of Jimmy's that, I'll admit, really used to drive me bonkers. For some reason, my very smart, very capable husband just cannot seem to remember to close any cabinet or drawer that he opens. There have been times when I was able to accurately guess what type of snack he had made for himself just by surveying which doors and drawers were left open in the kitchen. Thankfully, after thirteen years of marriage, I can honestly say that I can laugh at this habit now. And when I come into our room and find his dresser doors open and all of the drawers pulled out and exclaim to him in a panicked voice that I think we've been robbed he laughs, too.

It's part of who he is joy...

I was willing to stage this photo if needed, but found he had it all ready and waiting for me when I went to take it. Isn't he so thoughtful? : )

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Day 4 | Joy of Love: What They Wear

I immediately knew who my subject would have to be for today's assignment.  Ben. Because every, single day, as soon as he is dressed, his very next "layer" has to be his knight costume. He wears it all day long and usually sports a sword, either tucked into his pants or down through the neck opening behind his head (so long as there is easy access, it doesn't matter). He eats meals in it, naps in it, rides his bike in it, chooses to wear it outside instead of a coat on some days (even though it is not at all warm), and wishes he could wear it anytime we leave the house (but has gratefully accepted that he can't be buckled into his carseat with it on). And he always wears it when playing with his knights.


This is what he wears joy...



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Today's Joy of Love assignment: Then and Now.

The point of today's assignment is to show how this person you love has changed over the years. My love might have a few more "laugh lines" and a tiny bit more gray in his hair now than he did fourteen years ago when my "Then" photo was taken, but he is still the same light-hearted, fun-loving boy he always was. And I know for certain that I love him far more now than I did then.

Then and Now joy...

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I found a free, online photography workshop for the month of February that emails an "assignment" every day that helps you to capture and record the little details that make up the people whom you love. Today's Joy of Love assignment is "The way they look".

Today I captured the way Jack looks when he plays house.

Our babies are safe with our fierce knight joy...

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I like a clean house. A lot. We have a few "Kyker Kid Clean-up" times built into our day that helps to keep things fairly tidy, but actual cleaning doesn't happen nearly as often as it used to a few kids ago. So when I actually do get around to cleaning the floors I like to savor them. I like to walk on them without socks and not feel anything sticky. And I've been known to be a little less than nice to the other people who live on these floors when they might not be as appreciative of them as I think they should be.

Lately though I've slowly begun to understand that, like most of the work that I do everyday, I clean the floors because they are dirty and they need to be cleaned, not because I should expect them to stay that way for any length of time. I've begun to accept the fact that aiming for always-clean floors is like "striving for the wind" (vanity) and leads to a grumpy mommy and a frustrated family. That just because I've cleaned them doesn't mean we stop walking on them so that we can all enjoy a fresh clean floor together (I would be the only person in my family who would think that was fun). No, I clean them because it is my work to remove one sticky layer before a fresh one is added. I know that tomorrow morning there will be spilled milk and Jack will drop a few globs of oatmeal on the floor, but I'm a lot less likely to freak out about that than I used to be.

But that doesn't mean that I can't take a picture of my freshly cleaned floors. Crumb and goo-free (even if only for a few minutes) floors joy.....