Sunday, September 4, 2016

The Enjoyment of Life


The word of the week is ENJOY
:  to take pleasure in (something) : to have or experience (something good or helpful)

I came across an e-mail I sent out to family and friends back in March of 2006. It gave me a chuckle as I reminisced about how our son, JJ, enjoyed life as an energetic 3 year old. I hope it reminds you to also enjoy life, and to especially take time to enjoy your kids and/or grandkids. These past ten years have flown by quickly as JJ went from 3 to 13 in the blink of an eye.

SUBJECT: The Energy of a 3-year-old

Good Morning! This e-mail is intended to let you know what our little JJ has been up to lately, and to hopefully bring a smile to your face as well.

Let's see.... Where do I start? Well, besides the usual jumping off the couch, chasing our poor cat around the house, tormenting his sister, and literally running in circles, I'll just list a few of the things I remember him getting into this past WEEK alone...

1. He hasn't been wanting to go to bed at his usual 8:00 bedtime lately. So, one night, after we put him to bed, he snuck out. David found him lying on the bathroom counter playing with the soap and water in the sink. The water was running in a pencil thin line so that we could not hear it!! (Smart kid, huh?) He loves to play in the water, but didn’t want us to find out where he was.

2. Another night, we found him in his sister’s bed. They were talking and playing and laughing with each other. It was really cute, but it was past 9:00 p.m., when they both should have been asleep. We have learned that we still need to keep the gate across JJ's bedroom door to "lock" him in at night. Hopefully, we will be able to remove the gate before he is 18 years old! 


3. Yesterday, we caught him and EL playing in the bottle of bulk enzymes we give to EL at meal time. These enzymes are a very fine powder and even the slightest breeze can make them fly all over the kitchen. We had quite a time getting all the enzymes off the counter and floor.

4. Also yesterday, I caught JJ just before he started to mark up one of my books with a pen. This is not the first time he has done this. One book that he marked up awhile back was one that belongs to the church library! We try to keep pens out of his reach now, but sometimes he still manages to get hold of one. When he isn’t marking up a book with one, then he and EL will take turns making "zebra stripes" all over their arms and legs instead.

5. I went to the grocery store one day last week when JJ was taking a nap. David was home with the kids (I think it was on Saturday). When JJ got up, he went looking for me, as he always does. Then, David had to go looking for HIM because he couldn't find him. Finally, he found JJ out in the garage, barefooted and with no pants on. It was COLD out there, too!

6. While I was in the shower one morning, the kids found a bottle of hand lotion on my night stand and decided it was time to give their stuffed animals a “bath” as well. They have done this same thing with liquid soap, also. At least they like their toys to be clean, right?

7. One afternoon, the kids were playing in EL's room and I found the sheets off of the bed, and the mattress half-way on the floor. They also had the dresser half emptied with clothes spread all over the floor as they were trying them all on. What a mess! At least they were being creative and were having some innocent fun. 

8. I took JJ to the Hospital to get some blood drawn at the lab (to test him for allergies). While we were getting registered, JJ sat on my lap, looked at the lady across from us and said, "Mommy, her nose is big!" I wanted to hide! Thankfully, the lady understood that kids do not have any sense of discernment and will bluntly talk about what they see. She was very nice about it and agreed with JJ about her nose being big.

Well, I guess that's about it for now. I could probably write an entire book about all the things JJ does to "keep us on our toes."

We are planning on going to the Circus tonight, as there is a small one here in town. Thoughts have briefly crossed my mind about leaving JJ with the clowns, as he would fit in very well with them. But, then, I realize life would be pretty dull around here without JJ to make us laugh, cry, and pull our hair out. He is definitely a very special boy and we are so glad God gave him to us.

Enjoy your day!
Vicky

Our family in 2006

1 comment:

  1. You mother says you have a brother Dan on your hands. She and I loved your blog. Write another book.
    Dad

    ReplyDelete

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