4/365 Reading Joy

My family loves reading...I have been a book-lover all my life. In grade school, the highlight of my week was always library day and by the time I got into 5th grade, I had a school library shelf of my own to keep straight and organized.  I loved the feel of the books, the coolness of the shelved bindings, the colors on the cover and the variety of words within the pages...I can spend hours in a bookstore (preferably used) or library, just mulling through the stacks.  As I've gotten older and more of my time is consumed by other tasks, I've learned to enjoy books on tape, then books on CD (currently listening to The #1 Ladies Detective Agency when I do my ironing) and most recently, I've discovered play-aways (which are wonderfully portable and come with a lanyard for easy transport while moving from room to room when cleaning, etc.) but my favorite is still the bound book.  My husband also likes to read and does so every night before turning out the light.  He reads a variety of genres.  While the majority is sports related, in the past few years, he has started checking classics off of his list.  And especially pleasing to my soul is the love each of my children have developed for all things book.

3/365 Apple Pie Joy

I need to loose a few of those pounds that I put on over the holidays and in order to do so, I need to get rid of all these goodies that are cluttering my counter tops.  Among them, a few slices of homemade apple pie remain.  Can I just say, "I love pie" and my apple pie (if I do say so myself) in particular.  Do I unceremoniously throw it out?  Can't... so I've decided to have one more slice for ole times sake :)  My taste buds will thank me for this one last hurrah before relegating them to a palate of chicken, celery and water!

Here's to you, taste buds... oh, the joy of pie :)

2/365 Barter Joy

My husband is an avid Craigslister...his favorite section is "Barter" because he loves to make good trades.  In the past, he has traded his way up to a boat.  It's amazing what people will part with because they'd rather have something else...something he happens to have :)

 New Years day, he exchanged a gun (which I'm sure he would have enjoyed keeping) for an off-road Go-Kart (pictured) and a very cute, pink camouflaged quad (which I'm sure we will ALL enjoy!)

 At first I was hesitant to venture outside into the cold...it was only 19 degrees last night!! But the kids' enthusiasm and my husband's request drew me outdoors.  So bundled up I went, freezing cold as it was, outside to check out my husband's newest acquisition.  As usual, he got a great deal and what a blast we had!  The Go-kart goes really fast and we took turns racing it up and down our very bumpy, dirt road.  There is work that needs to be done to get the quad running, but it's in great condition.

Raymond is old enough to drive it, so he took each of the younger kids for a spin, as well.

I wasn't sure what our little girl would make of it...I was a little worried that a 3-year-old would be understandably scared.  Not this one!  As you can see from the shear delight on her face,

she had a wonderful time! 

 It is such a joy to watch my kids (Kevin included) when they are thoroughly enjoying something.  So today, as the younger ones nap and Dad & Raymond are spending some precious father-son time outside, trying to get that new quad running...I am absolutely experiencing Barter Joy!

1/365 Flower Joy

Here we go!  365 daily posts, hopefully each one with a photo.  I'm not satisfied with my blog, but today is no day to make big changes...I'm just going to START and it'll have to be a work in progress.  Yesterday, I mentioned Shannon Joy's blog and I hope you were able to check it out.  Today I want to share an article she wrote about this very thing.  Hope you can check it out, as well and perhaps consider joining me!

I love flowers...they bring me joy. I recently read in a magazine that something you should always have is a bouquet of fresh flowers. It brightens the room and brightens your mood. I don't know if I'll always have fresh flowers, but I'd sure like to. This particular bouquet was given to me by a friend, so while they grace my table, I will have a constant reminder of what a blessing it is to have friends!

Happy New Year!

I've tried New Years Resolutions over the years...nothing ever seems to stick. I, as always, have some aspirations, but what they collectively all seem to boil down to is Family...This year, I want to focus more on my family and the simple joys of hearth and home.  I am blessed with a job that allows me to see my children throughout the day and gets me home (most days) at a reasonable hour...no excuses, right?  The problem is that I frequently mismanage my time and do not get all that I want/should accomplished. My husband frequently reminds me to prioritize and so I shall!  I have a few specific things I want to "work" on as the new year begins, but I don't want to jinx myself by actually making Resolutions, so I won't list them here. What I do want to post here are those "Simple Joys" that make my life as wife, mom and teacher worthwhile.  I have been blog-surfing lately and found some wonderfully inspiring blogs with a common theme: 365 days of Joy.  One that I like in particular is Shannon Joy's...you should check it out!  Many of them are photo blogs and since photography is among my many plans for the year, I thought I'd jump on the band wagon and give this a try.  No guarantees that photos will be found with EVERY post, but my goal is to find one simple joy in each day and share it with you.  Wish me luck :)

Things that make you go "hmmm"

Do you ever wonder how you got on a subject when you are talking to a friend?  Or why a particular train of thought got so sidetracked?  I stopped by to chat with a friend of mine today and she mentioned my blog, then asked about our chickens.  I set out to update said blog with info on the chickens and in fact, had originally entitled this post "Late Chickens"... when I ended up in WWII!  The following is what was the beginning of that blog:

I've recently been listening to "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" books on CD.  It is something that helps me look forward to (or at least somewhat enjoy) my ironing.  One of the things I appreciate most is the language that the author uses...the stories take place in Botswana, and although they speak English, the verb usage isn't always what we are used to.  For instance, we might say "my late grandfather", whereas they would say, "my grandfather is late".  (This is where I was going to mention my chickens, what with them being "late" and all...but got sidetracked)  Another thing I like is how patriotic Botswanians are... they love their country.  I wish we, collectively, loved our country with as much enthusiasm as they have for theirs.  On this 69th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, we should all stop a moment and remember the sacrifice that so many offered on that fateful day and in the many days of war that followed...(then I realized there was no getting to chickens from here).

And Jackie, since you are probably the only one what will read this, all of our chickens are dead...between the coyote and the dog, we are now chickenless and will no doubt remain so for the foreseeable future.  I'll keep you posted.

Thankful for friends

Dear Jackie,

Thank you for the reminder that it had been so long since last I posted...July??  REALLY??? Feels like another lifetime ago.  I have no good excuse, save being too busy with life to comment on it, I guess.  My plan is to blog "just a little" every day and hopefully more when I have time.  I'm still trying to work out the details, but Casey Ray is doing something called 364 simple joys and I might try that.  When I googled it, I found this blog   http://365simplejoys.blogspot.com/  which is actually pretty cool.  I guess you could just follow her ;) New year, new resolutions and all of that... anyway, thanks again for a slight push in the right direction.  It's good to have friends :)

Sincerely,
LaDawn