Joy Ballard
Joy was born and raised in Mexico by a Minnesotan mom and south Mexican dad. Ironically, she fell in love with a Minnesota guy and now they live in the Twin Cities with their two sons and two daughters. She spends most of her time homeschooling, trying to keep up with the laundry, convincing her kids to like her dinner attempts, and teaming up with her husband in running their vacation rental venture: The River Lodge. On a rainy day, she likes to create art for the lodge, their home, and others.
Joy will always say yes to coffee, books and traveling--and all three combined are her very best life. She is awful at chit-chat, but loves getting into conversations about marriage, parenting, personality profiles, simple living and finding purpose and value in every day life.
Follow along with her lodge and art ventures on Instagram @theriverlodgemn and @lemonjoystudio or connect with her personally @joy.ballard
For the Love of Chapter Books
Nothing reminds me of home as much as the smell of ______. What would you say? My answer is: books! I have been surrounded by books for as long as I can remember because...
Thanksgiving Series: 2020 is Hindsight
Thanksgiving... Normally a time to surround ourselves with a congregation of family and friends, will undoubtedly be a bit different this year. However, the richness of this season of gathering isn't completely lost as...
Creative Bedtime for Night Owls
What do monsters, thirst, temperature, toilets, and tears have in common? They are the symptoms of little night owls who don’t want to fall asleep.
I have a few little night owls on my hands....
How To Be a Nice Human… & Mom
There are many things about the year 2020 that I’ll be glad to leave behind, and I know that no one needs to recap the year for anybody at this point. We are all...
Relearning the Magic Words
My chest tensed up and I held my breath, knowing what was about to happen. It had happened every single evening for the past several months. What deep trauma am I referring to? Dinnertime...
Why We Summer Homeschool
Summer break in Minnesota is like a holiday for all ages. And who can blame us? Before living here, I had never before experienced such a collective mixture of joy and urgency to capture...
Double Dating our Way to Lifelong Friendships
Seattle, New York City, Chicago and even our own Minneapolis are a few of the places my husband and I have stayed for a few days with other couples over the years. We have...
Lingering at the Table
The blue dusk air turned into black night, flickering with a million city lights as traffic moved slowly in every direction. Entering into the warm glow of home, families reunited, breathing in the delicious...
The Age Gap Baby: 5 Reasons To Go For It
To say we were shocked to find out we were expecting our fourth baby is a great understatement. We hadn’t exactly decided not to have a fourth child, but it had been almost five...
Homeschool Mom Life: A Snapshot
It is the middle of winter. 6:30 am. My phone alarm plays a Coldplay song into my foggy dreams.
Snooze.
I toss instead of sleep, as my waking consciousness recalls that I did remember to set...
Hygge With Kids
The freezing wind whips tiny ice chunks against your face as you carefully make the perilous journey from your car to the entrance of the house. You stumble inside and as you unravel the...
What I Didn’t Expect When I Was Expecting
It’s a baby! The news of a little one soon to join a family most often comes with a flurry of excitement and preparations to be made. It’s a good thing you generally have...
I Am Sorry
It was the end of a long day. My husband and I were having our usual debrief of the day’s happenings when all of a sudden, seemingly out of nowhere, our friendly chat turned...