Living up to my name!

Maybe you've noticed the new look on my blog. I'm trying really hard to live up to my name...living a life full of joy! Those of us who have blogs can sorta re-invent ourselves. You know like we can show the good parts of life (like smiling kids & clean houses in the backgrounds of pictures), but sometimes life is not happy or tidy. My kids aren't always smiling & my house is not always clean...GASP! As a mom, I don't think my job is to ensure my children's happiness or to keep a perfect house. My job is to love my children unconditionally & to show them how to find joy in the simple things in life...oh wait...that's what they teach me! They find joy in the most ordinary things like playing in the dirt, playing baseball for hours in the backyard, playing with legos, fishing in our pond, finding little creatures, drawing masterpieces with sidewalk chalk on the driveway, telling silly jokes that really don't make sense, eating ice-pops on the back porch, snuggling at bedtime with their little sister & asking questions about when I was a little girl or when their daddy was a little boy.

This is going to be the "new & improved" Thankful Thursday. Each Thursday I'm going to highlight something that has brought me joy this week. Maybe it's something big, but more than likely just some simple way that we found joy this week. It's just my plain & simple {joy}ful life. I'd love to hear from all of you each week...what brought you joy this week?

I found joy this week in the hot summer nights that have brought lots of late night laughs as I've watched/refereed baseball games into the dark, watching Ryan catch countless bass in our pond, laughing along with Meg as the water splashes her little toes while we water the flowers, listening to the boys giggle in bed while telling their silly jokes, and this...my sweet baby girl's first little curl!