Before we brought Joy to our home, I was a bit worried for her.
I mean, we live in boy world. The sound of falling picture frames and clashing foam noodle light sabers is the background music of my life. And I was a little concerned about how I would protect this sweet thing from these gas-passing, constantly wrestling, incessantly-discussing-the-size-and-shape-of-their-poo-and-other-unnamed-things delightful little boys.
And then I watched three boys fall in love in 5 seconds flat with the first child without a penis to ever reside in their home, and I realized that THIS girl — half by means of her affection and charm, half by way of her confidence and sheer toughness — can totally hold her own.
She melted these boys’ hearts the first time she kissed them on the cheek (something that happens literally 20 to 30 times a day with this sweet girl in our home). Even Superhero 1, who scores exactly 0 on the physical touch category of the Five Love Languages test, has been opening his arms for the hugs that this affectionate angel offers at every turn. And Superheroes 2 and 3, whose love languages are BOTH MOST DEFINITELY physical touch, cannot get enough. It’s been one massive hug-kiss-cuddle fest in this here house since Thursday. And as a toucher myself, three of the four of us are walking around on Cloud Nine with love tanks spilling over. (Superhero 1 will get there with a little homemade food to fill his love tank. ;))
She won their hearts with her lavish love and her adorable displays of affection.
But she won their RESPECT when she picked up her first light saber.
If you thought these boys were in love before …
This girl is TOUGH. The boys played gently with her … until she noticed and scolded them for not trying harder!
On the trampoline, she wanted to jump and wrestle just like the brothers, and in the tree house, she wanted to learn how to load and shoot her OWN Nerf bullets — without assistance from any know-it-all boys.
She fell over a few times in the yard and knocked up against a few heads on the trampoline, and only once did she even pause to pat her bright red, tender head.
(Dear Lord, I PROMISE I will keep this girl alive, but YOU have to promise to get her to stop gesturing to these boys to play harder! “Gentle” is not a word in the Cuthrell family vocabulary! And “that’s weak” is NO JOKE in this family. She will surely perish. Thanks for your intervention, please and amen.)
It’s Joy’s perfect mix of toughness and spunkiness that has also allowed these boys to let her start bossing them around! They’ve turned from alpha males into stray puppies just following around a 7-year-old girl who tells them what she needs and what they’re going to do, from brushing her hair (after Superhero 2 volunteered to spend an entire evening brushing Joy’s hair and singing her lullabies the night before, this smart girl woke him up at 6 a.m. gesturing to her head and taking his hand and brushing it through her hair!) to eating her ice cream.
Even when they’re full, this contagious smile means that these boys just can’t tell her no. :)
And if cheek kissing, light saber battling, trampoline jumping and tree house playing didn’t steal these Jedi warriors' hearts, this girl who lives in an orphanage and has likely never baked in her life jumped into the boys’ passion — cooking — with the most adventurous spirit and the most irresistible giggles you have ever heard.
Food — both preparing it and eating it — is the love language of these boys. A girl who can hang for all three hours whipping up wheat pumpkin apple muffins for every teacher on our roster is one who turns heads in this house.
And let me tell you — she is turning heads EVERYWHERE.
This tough, confident, affectionate beauty is a GEM, and these boys are about 5 seconds and two cooking dates away from creating an application for any family who wants to call her theirs.
Better get in on the Joy action before you have three protective host brothers to screen your life history (and your light saber fighting ability). :) Because if you don't, you're going to have to present your adoption offers with prime rib, crab legs and artichokes, and believe me, bribing these boys with their favorite foods is NOT a cheap option. Get in while you still can. :)
Want more information on this tough and hilarious heart melter? Email me at info@michellecuthrell.com.
#changejoysstory