"I happy now"

In the past few months, we have had to start implementing some discipline techniques for our sweet daughter. Our sweet daughter who is finding her voice and using it to say "No!" at inopportune times ... like when I want her to say "Yes."

Fortunately — (for her and us) — putting her in time-out and sitting her on the step are working (for now).

We talk a lot in our family about happy hearts, the joy of the Lord, and shining brightly for Jesus. Both our children's names are derivatives of "light".

Luke = Bringer of truth and light
Laney = Bright light

I pray so often that our family would "shine among them like stars in the sky" (Philippians 2:15).  Not so that we would be elevated, or seen as the "perfect family", but so that God would be glorified through His work in us.

All that said, when we send Laney to the step, we tell her she can come off when she has a happy heart and is ready to obey. So she goes and after hardly any time at all, she jumps up, comes running, yelling, "I happy now!" And 95% of the time, she is ready to do what I've asked her to do. (Why is getting dressed such a downer for two year olds?! And I won't even start on getting in the car seat.)

Wow. If only the rest of us could change our attitudes so quickly. If only we were as quick to transition from frustration into joy. Another reason God tells us to be like the little children, right?

My segue is going to be clunky but it's happening anyway. I'm moving from Laney's happy heart to Luke's.

For the past month, the word "SURPRISE" has been on our fridge calendar, in bold letters on the June 25 square. Luke's guesses ranged from new temporary tattoos to a moped. He wasn't even close.

On late Tuesday afternoon, we snuck our bags in the back of the Odyssey, buckled him in and drove down to our neighborhood mailbox, where his "clue" was taped to the back.

He may have gotten a little excited when he figured it out ...

The envelope his "clue" came in said, "To Luke: For your outstanding work in kindergarten."

The next 45 minutes were hilarious and a memory Rog and I will treasure forever. Our boy is a gabber, but this was a whole new level. He couldn't stop talking or bouncing.

We checked in and spent very little time exploring ... it was Luke's agenda and his agenda was to hit the waterpark. To be honest, I was surprised with how brave my cautious boy was. The yellow slide (below) he rode first is pretty big ... one where you have to lie on your back and cross your arms and legs. He didn't even hesitate! He got to the bottom and raced back to do it again (and again).

Luke rode every slide except the Howling Tornado. 4" too short for that one. It was a blast. He loved it so much, especially the one where all three of us could go on together. We debated about bringing Laney, but I think it was the right choice to leave her to adventure with Nonna. She would have enjoyed the waterpark, but it was so special having one-on-one time with Luke.

It was getting close to 6pm, and we knew we had to get food in him, even though Luke wanted to stay in the waterpark longer. The grouchies hit as we were waiting for our food, but a little glow-in-the-dark putt-putt golf perked him right up.

After another waterpark session in the morning, it was time to head home and get our sweet girl and give her the pink wolf Luke "bought" for her.

In case you were worried about poor Laney missing out on our big Great Wolf Lodge adventure, rest assured:

Happy was her heart, too.