J is our 7 year old son. He is a totally awesome kiddo. He has really been the easiest child out of all 6 of them. As a baby, he was very content and happy most of the time. As he has grown, his personality has truly emerged as one who is very laid back in most areas, a very easy-going type of kid. One of the joys of his personality is his humor. He has made us laugh since he was very little. Because of his personality, he can say absolutely hilarious things with a very straight face. We call them "J-isms". Several of these came out on vacation and I wrote them down.

1. In Branson, there is a Titanic Museum. The structure literally resembles the ship. You can see it here. D and H had talked about going. I had told them that I would watch the others if they wanted to go see it. They decided not to do that. On one of our last days there, we were stopped at a red light right by the museum. I looked over and saw a huge line waiting to get in to the museum. I pointed it out to D and he said, "Yeah, it looks like it would have been hard to get in to anyway." J, in his casual manner said, "Why? Is the water too high already?"

2. J rode his first roller coaster on the trip. We started with a mild one and then he tried the one called the Powder Keg. It goes 0 to 53 in 2.8 seconds, catapulting you up a high slope immediately upon take-off. Then it sends you through several loops and curves at high speed. Everyone else on the coaster was screaming, laughing, raising their hands, etc. J remained very silent and still, his hands simply holding onto the rail in front of him. When the ride came to a close, I asked him what he thought. He turned and with no expression whatsoever, he said, "It almost took my face off," and turned around very nonchalantly and waited until the ride came to a complete stop.

3. We were all riding the swings, the ones that lift you up in the air and then spin you around in a circle. They have those super long chains, therefore, they twist a little while going around. E is the exact opposite of J. She is completely dramatic about everything. She was getting a little scared when her swing would twist. With some panic in her voice, she kept saying, "I don't like these. I want down. When are they going to put us down? I'm scared." J, just as calm as can be, looked at her and said, "C'mon E. Just close your eyes and think of your happy place." That made her relax and laugh.

4. Back at the place where we stayed, we were just hanging out and D ruffed up J's white-blond hair. Remembering back to when we took a red-headed baby(H) to China twelve years ago, and knowing that J's white hair would also stick out, D said, "J, you know the Chinese are going to want to touch your hair all of the time." J simply responded, "Why? Are the Chinese bald?"

Well, I hope those brought a smile to your face. We feel so blessed that God gave us little J to keep us smiling and laughing. He is certainly a blessing!