333/365... enJoy

Last night we had the joy of keeping our three littlest nieces while their parents were out on the town. You might think that nine kids, ten and under, and a puppy thrown in for good measure would necessarily mean chaotic insanity. And it probably does. But when you're already used to crazy a little more crazy only adds to the fun. The good thing about tipping the scales a little more to the girl side is that in between all the wild romping they were more than willing to switch gears for the tea party that Caroline planned for them. Somehow they even managed to convince the boys to play along as well (I'm sure chocolate chip cookies had nothing to do with that...).
A little while before bedtime I realized that when Jimmy brought them over to our house he had forgotten to bring their beloved blankies for them to sleep with. We decided to just see how far we could ride without them and it would turn out that we wouldn't make it all that far. Before her curly little head even hit the pillow she was asking about her "matesy". I told her it was at home but that Uncle Jammies would  be more than happy to get it for her when she replied, "Well, I would try to sleep without it but it's just so precious to me." Uncle Jammies had that matesy in her little hands before she could even blink.

Another spend-over with cousins joy...







332/365... enJoy

The three oldest Kyker men had their first basketball game today! Coach K's word for the team this season is Intensity and Travis and Sam have taken that to heart.  Unfortunately, we have the youngest team in the league, but what they might lack in age and size they make up for it in enthusiasm and motivation. Their game was so much fun to watch and I'll confess to a few sympathy butterflies when Travis got to shoot a couple of free throws. And Sam will killing me out there with his team spirit. He was right there with a high five after any good play. And his "screening" may or may not have earned him a little consult with one of the refs (and a thumbs up from the coaches on the side). The final score was 22-12, Crusaders win!

Now if I could just figure out how to get Ben and Jack to enjoy watching the games instead of just wrestle each other I might be better able to participate in the after-game recap conversations....

Redeemer Crusaders joy...









(and who knew that Jesse could make a good babysitter?)


331/365... enJoy

With all of the begging and pleading to get our Christmas decorating done around here you might think it was already Christmas Eve or something! So, in order to get the Christmas celebrating going full steam ahead, tonight was the night. I'm not exactly sure who the person pretending to be the mom of this family was while out shopping tonight because somehow she got talked into buying colored lights for the tree this year. I wanted to protest (and I actually think I did protest), but after thinking about it for a minute and seeing the absolute joy that it would bring to the hearts of my children to have multi-colored lights on our Christmas tree I wasn't really sure that I could live with myself if I insisted on the traditional beauty of white lights. Again. So, for the first time in my life, I have colored lights on my Christmas tree. And while I can't say that I'm a convert, I do so love how  much they love it. I did, however, have to draw the line when it was suggested that we add silver tinsel. One day I'll get to decorate the tree however I want and I'll be sad about it so, for now, bring on the colored lights (but please, hold the tinsel!).

Oh, and can I please just quickly mention how much I love that Jack calls it our Christmas treat instead of Christmas tree? Because I love it a lot.

Tree trimming joy...






329/365... enJoy

Jack's impromptu spend over in Ben's room last night reminded me to get a photo that I've been wanting to get for a while now. Since it appears as though his days in the crib are numbered, I wanted to remember his sleeping set-up that he has insisted on for the last several months. Before any sleeping can take place he needs his two blankets (blue one over him, brown one at the end of the bed), his red hat, his "deagle" and his little orange bible. It can be a little annoying when any of those objects are MIA at bedtime, but mostly it's just endearing.

His creature-comforts joy...


328/365... enJoy

I knew the day was coming but I couldn't (and still can't, really) seem to let go of the containment that the beloved crib provides. However, tonight I was home with just the little (and one middle) boys and we were snuggled on Ben's big, cozy bed reading Christmas books before bedtime and as I started to carry Jack to his crib he pleaded with me to be able to stay and "duggle" Ben. At those words I turned into a softy and let him stay, with the reminder of, "No talking, right?", "Yeah, wight." And, "No getting up, right?", "Yeah, wight."

And he didn't. He "duggled" in close and went right to sleep. Now, even though Jack is, by far, the oldest kid we've ever still had in a crib, tonight was just a trial run. I really am not mentally ready to let go and let God in the area of Jack getting himself up from bed. But it was sweet nonetheless, and it does give me a little more hope that the eventual transition (which is going to have to come soon, I know) will go better than I've been dreading.

Duggling joy....


327/365... enJoy

After several days of a nasty cough and traveling and not much sleep we decided that a day off was in order for Travis and had him stay home from co-op. We had visions of a calm, quiet, rainy day with Travis doing a lot of reading while I did the normal Monday preschoolish stuff with the little boys (oh, excuse me, Ben asked to be called a "middle boy" now)... Anyway, I either underestimated the level of care that would be required by our sweet, precious little four-legged friend or I overestimated my ability to provide that care while caring for all of my two-legged friends.

Lets just say that while I had not intended to keep Travis home on our first week day with Chesty, I'm pretty glad it worked out that way. I still maintain that he's an exceptionally sweet and good-natured puppy, but he's a puppy. While Travis certainly handled the lion's share of the work today I think he would agree that it was a team effort between the two of us.

Towards the end of the day when Chesty was settling down in his crate for one of his many naps, Travis looked over and saw that he was sleeping. He quickly reminded everyone to be quiet not to wake him and then turned to me and said, "I have done nothing all day. I didn't go to co-op, I didn't do any of the school I'd planned to do, and I'm exhausted. Now I know why you look forward to rest and bedtime every day." I laughed with him and thought to myself how many times I've uttered the exact same sentence to Jimmy at the end of a day.

Even though he's a lot of work I think they are becoming fast friends.

Fast friends joy...



326/365... enJoy

Ok, so I know we've only had him for a day, and I'm sure he'll give us his fair share of sleepless nights and chewed up shoes, but so far Chesty has been a dream. He slept until 5:30 this morning without making a peep and then went back to sleep after a quick potty run and he's been so patient and sweet with all of his many admirers (or "parents", as they call themselves). We're all pretty smitten already and I think he kind of likes us, too.

He already feels right at home joy...