{Begin with a Smile}

We started up our normal school schedule this week. It's always a bit tricky to get back into the groove after a long break, so I made it a point to have a special breakfast ready on Monday morning.

As we gathered around hot, syrupy French toast, I could still sense that some people were not quite chipper yet. Oddly enough, the Lord had already given me two diverting experiences that morning that I knew would surely bring a smile to some peoples' faces. So I shared.

"Guess what two silly things your mother did this morning?" Eyes widened in expectation. "I ran outside in my pajamas while it was still dark, and I cracked an egg between my knees!"

This got exactly the response I was hoping for. Now mind you, these were two separate occurrences. I did not crack an egg between my knees while running through the streets in my pajamas. But for the purposes of bringing a smile to some people, I chose to give only the details that were rather ludicrous. It worked.

I then explained that I had realized early that morning that we had forgotten to take down the trash. Hence my Wee Willie Winkie dash. And later, while making French toast, an egg slipped from my hands. My instinct, of course, was to try and catch it. With my knees.

After breakfast, I furthered the merry theme by introducing a "smile envelope" in hopes of keeping that perk in our morning. As soon as a child worked through his morning lessons, he got to take a secret peek into the "A Smile for You" envelope. Contained was something guaranteed to make them smile. Such as this:



Now, doesn't that make you smile?


I think Avery was about three when we took this picture. She wanted to play "baby," so I wadded her up. This was the creepy result.