"There is a joy in the journey, there's a light we can love on the way. There is a wonder and wildness to life, and freedom for those who obey." (Michael Card)

Almost 3 years ago, I started blogging on Homeschool Blogger.  I had no idea what I was doing, or where it would take me, but in the process of creating and working on The Joyful Journey, I discovered two things.

1.)  I have something to say. (Those of you who know me personally can stop laughing at the obvious understatement of this simple declaration).   Originally, my experiences as a homeschooler provided most of the subject matter for my blog.   Increasingly, my daily life as a wife and mom began to find its way into my posts.  Over time, The Joyful Journey became a compilation of the mostly-meaningful expressions of my views and opinions on homeschooling and education, interspersed with the sometimes-pointless ramblings of a too-busy wife and mother.

2.)  I love saying it in writing. I honestly didn’t know how much I enjoyed writing until I started blogging.  But after about a year and a half of fairly consistent blogging, a combination of factors caused me to begin to spend less and less time posting, until eventually, I stopped altogether!  But I missed it and knew that one day I’d come back!

Several weeks ago, the Homeschool Blogger system was upgraded.  At that time, the entire system was moved over to WordPress, with Homeschool Blogger acting as host.  When I first heard about the change, I considered just saving a few of my favorite posts and deleting my blog.  But instead, my curiosity got the best of me and the new blog platform provided the impetus that was needed to motivate me to start blogging again.  But the change also brought with it a number of blogging frustrations.

Last week I began to consider the idea of moving my blog.  As I tested and played with the WordPress version of The Joyful Journey,  I grew accustomed to using WordPress and eventually decided to stick with it—minus the Homeschool Blogger host.

That was the long story.

Here’s the short one.

The Joyful Journey has a new home.  Just click the link and mosey on over!!

I hope you’ll join me there as I blog the joys and rewards of homeschooling and life!!

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This week’s I ♥ Faces theme is ALL ABOUT BABIES.

The I ♥ Faces challenge is to post a photo based on an announced theme. Of course, the main requirement is that your photo feature a human face! All the rules, regulations, and TONS of pics of wonderful faces can be found at the I ♥ Faces photography website.

Below is my entry for I ♥ Faces: Week 24 • All About Babies Photo Challenge

Our little Jimmy–7 days old…just before Christmas, 2003.

And the post wouldn’t be complete without a couple of “outtakes”!

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First, this little bit of blogging business.

I’m still trying to figure out which of the many available WordPress templates will allow me to do what I want with my blog!! I keep finding things that I like and/or don’t like about the templates I’ve tried…so I plan to keep looking until I find one that I love!! So don’t be surprised if you see a few more changes in the days to come!! Hopefully soon I will land on one that is just perfect so that I can put myself, and you, out of our collective misery.

But now for the important stuff!!

Last night was a night to be remembered!!  Our Chicago Blackhawks are the 2010 Stanley Cup Champions!!  I don’t think I have ever seen my girls this excited!  They credit their dad and Grandpa with turning them into hockey fans VERY early in life!!  And as you can see, we all GREATLY enjoyed sharing this history-making moment with each other!!

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It.  Could.  Did.  Happen.

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This week’s I ♥ Faces theme is PLAY.

I just discovered this fun weekly photo challenge/contest over at Nikowa Lee’s kind of quirky blog. The challenge each week is to post a photo based on an announced theme. Of course, the main requirement is that your photo feature a human face! All the rules, regulations, and TONS of pics of wonderful faces can be found at the I ♥ Faces photography website.

Below is my entry for I ♥ Faces: Week 23 • Play Photo Challenge

Nothing beats playing in the rain!!

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