Boys will be Joys

You may have noticed that I inserted a little phrase on my blog cover photo.

That little phrase “(and girls)” was very intentional. 

When I started blogging five years ago, I knew that girlfriends would come along and would eventually become wives, but I didn’t realize they would become “joys” to me, as well.

Coralee, or “Cora” as we call her, came into our lives a little less than five years ago, after Isaac texted us and said, “Hey, do you mind if I have someone over tomorrow?”

Derek always likes to point out that Cora was “so quiet” the first time we met her.  She quickly became un-quiet. The Rennerts are A LOT.  We know that, but Cora jumped right in and took us on. 

She loves fiercely and laughs easily. Those are two very important qualities when becoming a part of our crew. Cora added an element to our family that we didn’t even know we needed.

That I didn’t know I needed.

So, since I said so many nice things about Cora, I’m now going to tell you a Cora vacation story.

We visited Pigeon Forge, TN in the Smoky Mountains this week. There are literally bear warnings everywhere. Your garbage is in a locked cage. At the miniature golf course we visited, the last bear sighting was just 5 days earlier (phone numbers were posted at each hole in case you saw a bear). So, our bear radar was on high alert.

We left the house to pick up a few things from the grocery store. Isaac and Cora accompanied us. As we drove down the winding roads, Cora gasped, “Oh, bears!!! Did y’all see the bears? It was a mama with three little cubs! Turn around!”

I said, “Oh, my gosh, seriously?  Turn around, Derek.  I want to see them.”

That’s easier said than done.

So, my (mostly) patient husband, found a spot to turn around and go back to see if the bears were still there. 

My cynical mind started thinking, “This can’t be real, because cool things like this never happen to us”.  So, I said, “Cora, if these are not real bears…”

“Well, I think they were real,” Cora said shyly. 

Then we saw the sign as we entered the driveway, “Bear Crossing”. This was looking a little less promising every minute.

As we turned in, we saw the mama bear and her three cubs in exactly the same spot they were in just a few minutes earlier…

…because they were not real.

So, then… we laughed.

We ALL just laughed and enjoyed the moment.

It was a moment of JOY with both my boys and my girl!