A little behind

Well I've gotten a little behind but that is because we got the coolest dog in the world last week.  Here is a picture of him.

This is one of the coolest dogs ever!!  We named him Goliath after Christian's favorite Bible Story but call him Goli for short.  Hey very rarely barks, lays in the middle of the floor most of the day and is super gentle with the kids.  The only flaws we've found are that if given the chance he will run away and sometimes he doesn't know how big he is when he wants to play.  He's getting used to the latter of those two though.  We absolutely adore him and are so grateful that we went to Kiya Koda when we did.

Anyway, that's why I've been a little behind but I have still been very blessed in raising my 4 beautiful kids.  Today is all about Joey....

This past week Joey has really shown her very determined side of herself which at times has been challenging but has also allowed her yet again the bragging rights of doing something first in our family again.  All the kids (except Kinnick) have wanted to go off the diving board forever but haven't had the chance to beings they haven't had swimming lessons and Mommy didn't quite trust them in the water yet.  Daddy got to come to the pool with us one Thursday afternoon and he said they could all try while he stood by and watched.  All the kids really wanted to do this but they all shoved Joey to the front of the line because they know that she has no fear when it comes to doing something new.  Joey, with no hesitation at all, got to the diving board walked right out to the edge and jumped right in and swam right to the side with no problems at all.  The other kids then followed because they saw that Joey made it without drowning. :) 

Joey has shown what a passionate heart she has.  Every time Goliath would run away Joey would collapse into this small pile on the floor and just sob in hopes that he would come back.  Or when the story of the lady who got picked on by the 7th grade boys came on the news her and Hayden were really shook up by it and could not understand why anyone would ever treat someone like that.

My prayer for Joey, today, is that she is always as determined and fearless as she is right now and that with that determination she doesn't it allow herself to miss the opportunities when she can be loving, kind and passionate about something or toward someone.  I love you tons Jo Jo