Summer Joys 1

Each Friday in the summer I will be posting a list of summer joys. This may be words or photos. I don’t know if people still count #1000gifts or not anymore, but this is the equivalent for me. Summer for me is defined by the school calendar, so while it may be spring where you are reading, it is summer here. I love having my kids home with me, but sometimes I just need the extra reminder to be engaged and mindful of my joys. If not, I tend to think about all the don’t haves. This is a way for me to intentionally focus my thoughts to what is good. We have 74 days in between the school calendar, thus the title. Enjoy!

1. Railroad Park laying in the shade and getting too hot.
2. eating Steel City Pops – chocolate, blood orange, coconut, and cherry sour cream.
3. Spending time at Nana’s house.
4. Pajama day
5. Listening to the rain pitter patter.
6. Watching kids movies all day – resting.
7. Painting toenails and finger nails.
8. Having girl time – just me and my girls.
9. Eating pizza at Costco.
10. My son’s smiling face.
11. Kisses from my oldest daughter given freely.
12. Watching kids play in the sprinkler.
13. Noticing fun details in movies – the opening song in Frozen for instance
14. Giggles.
15. My 8-year-old wanting to wear all pink and be the pink princess.
16. Doing summer homeschool with the kids.
17. Watching my 4-year-old write her letters, numbers, and name, and marvel at how well she does it.
18. Dinners on the porch.
19. Watching my oldest record what she has read in her summer reading log, and the joy on her face knowing how many tickets she will receive.
20. Having to tell her to stop reading and play instead.
21. my son’s face as he gets excited about having a special day with Nana.
22. when my daughter actually says, “ugh” because she reads too much.
23. finding a swimsuit to fit even when I am not the size I wish I was
24. Reading the kid’s summer journals and the stories they write.
25. Listening to the story of Nutty. Nutty was a pet acorn that was lost in Publix, and each night my husband tells my Libby where Nutty has gone and what he is doing now. Such a special and fun thing.
26. Throwing the football and baseball with Elijah. Seeing his excited face. Especially since we are not a sporty family, but he wants to learn.
27. Listening to the owls hoot while we eat.
28. Visiting my sister.
29. Listening to my niece talk and giggle.
30. Getting ready for a new nephew.
31. FroYo
32. Figuring out baby shower details.
33. Getting to talk with my sister.
34. Looking at four sweet babies (kids really) sleeping in the same room.
35. Standing on God’s promises.
36. Comfort in the gospel.
37. Emails from my love.
38. Encouraging words.