222/365... enJoy

Today I decided to be a super-fun mom and do the hard work of loading four kids (six and under), two bikes and a double stroller into the car and heading out for a walk/ride on the Swamp Rabbit. It was Ben's first time to ride on his bike instead of in a trailer and he was pretty pumped! It was hot. We didn't go very far. We we're pretty slow. But you know what? It was super fun. The ice cream at the end didn't hurt either.

Swamp Rabbit ride with my little people joy...





221/365... enJoy

Our entrepreneurs made up fliers a couple of weeks ago advertising their lawn care and dog walking services. This weekend they got their first call! So today, armed with their tools, they set out to weed the many flower beds in the yard of one of our neighbors. They were very serious and excited to work hard. I told them I'd be out a bit later to check their progress (and maybe snap a few pictures...) and was told that would be fine but I couldn't stay for long. It's a big milestone, getting hired for your first job.

First real job joy...


220/365... enJoy

If there's one thing that the Kentucky side of the family likes to do it's play cards! The game of choice is usually Euchre and I remember well the first time I went to Kentucky and got thrown into the fire that is the Thanksgiving Euchre Tournament. I had only just learned to play the game and was a little nervous being pitted against such fiercely competitive aunts, uncles and cousins. They tried to help calm my nerves by telling me that Granny Jane probably wouldn't yell at me since I was new. She might not have yelled at me out loud, but I'm sure she was cussing me out in her head a few times. : )

Things were a little more friendly tonight and Travis got to join in on the card-playing fun for the first time. He declared it his most fun night in a good while. He was really hoping for some beginners luck, especially as he saw the jackpot pile growing throughout the game! At least we kept the winnings in the family.

Card night with the Kentucky family joy...






219/365... enJoy

Kentucky cousins are here! We've been having a really great time with Jimmy's cousin Janie and her daughter Julia visiting us over the last few days. Even though we don't get to spend much time with them we always seem to be able to pick right up where we last left off. Janie and I have so much in common and I thoroughly enjoyed all of our late night talks (even if our seven "alarm clocks" were still set to go off each morning at 7:30 with no regard to the fact that we'd only been in our beds for a few hours). Janie will soon be starting a new job with a company that has a branch in Greenville... can anyone say, "Transfer"? We can hope...

Fun times with Janie and Julia joy...



216/365...enJoy

Whenever I want to laugh at complete cuteness I'll get a small treat of some sort and go find Jack. When I do, I'll say to him in my best sing-song voice, "Open your mouth and close your eyes and you will get a big surprise!" And then he'll lean his head back, squeeze his eyes real tight and pucker up his lips (because it's really hard to concentrate on opening your mouth AND closing your eyes at the same time - especially when you're anticipating a treat!). And I'll wait. And wait. And wait for another second. And while I'm waiting he's chuckling and I'm cracking up at the cuteness.

Open your mouth and close your eyes joy...


214/365... enJoy

Have I ever mentioned how much we love living so close to cousins? Well, we do. And impromptu spend-overs are just one of many reasons why. They've had so much fun playing dress up and "house", eating pizza and smoothies and I think even teeth-brushing was more fun with a cousin than it is on a regular old night. After a few minutes of wild romping together on the bed, they settled in for a story (we read about Noah in The Jesus Storybook Bible - the commentary was priceless!). Then these three little friends snuggled in together to listen to Ramona the Brave on CD while they peacefully drifted off to sleep..... until Afton got scared in the dark room and Ben tried to comfort her by telling her that she was probably only seeing his shadow and that he was really sure that it wasn't the shadow of a giant. I don't think she found that very helpful.

The addition of a night light and the bathroom light got everyone feeling cozy again and as of just a few minutes ago I don't think I've heard anymore chattering....

Spend-overs with cousins joy....






213/365... enJoy

We picked up this 315 page book at the library at 1:30pm. He finished it at 7:00pm that evening. And to think that this time last year I had to enforce a mandatory 30 minutes of reading every afternoon for this boy! Good thing we've already been down this road once before and are armed with lots of good books to keep him busy.

Getting lost in a good story joy...