Joy Lane Happenings

Dopey Bug spray is flying off the shelves! We're thrilled at the thought of all the hikes, beach trips, and picnics Melvin gets to go on! Oh! We forgot to tell you! We named our little mosquito Melvin T-shirts are available in the shop again AND they now have a little Melvin on the back too If you're new to Dopey Bug, it's our 100% natural, DEET-FREE bug spray formulated against mosquitoes, flies, and ticks with Citronella, Geranium, Lemongrass, Cedar, Peppermint, and Wintergreen essential oils. We make the patio candles with the same essential oil blend with a double wick...

On September 8th, 2021, I posted a photo of one of our lip balms, and one of our customers, @alyssaaduncan , commented that she wished it was in a cardboard container instead of a plastic one. I began looking at cardboard lip balm tubes that afternoon. After months of ordering samples, doing design work, and changing our manufacturing equipment to accommodate the larger size, they. are. finally. finished!! We’ve been using them ourselves, and like the switch to shampoo bars, we’ve found the change entirely pleasant. A huge thank you to Alyssa for putting this idea in our heads and...

Makayla spent an evening writing this haiku, filling a page with rough drafts until the wording was just what she wanted. I had to share (with the author's permission):"Lilacs bursting outwith little purple flowersclose to the green woods."-Makayla, age 8My goodness. I love words, and I love that she loves them.Happy lilac season, Joel and Katy#LiveJoyfullyDoGreatThingsCelebrateFamily 

When we were deciding if we’d have a fourth child, perhaps the person we thought about most was Emma. She was two and into everything. She opened a “child proof” medicine bottle the first time she picked one up, had an aptitude for finding (and hiding) tools, and when you told her she was independent enough to walk down the stairs, would exclaim assertively, “No, I’m not!” Then, her cousin was born, and for the first time we saw her sweet, maternal side, which has only grown. She loves to help pack Kelsey’s and Makayla’s bags, give them a hug,...

Our fraudulent life began on April 13th, the day after our 4th daughter was due. Katy had hours of contractions, and—knowing how quickly our third had come—I rechecked our hospital bags, got ready to call my in-laws, and posted our automatic email saying we were on maternity leave. But then, the contractions stopped, and we waited. And waited. Everyone who emailed received our auto response and said the nicest “Congratulations!” and I didn’t have the heart to say that the baby still hadn’t arrived. Finally, Katy scheduled an induction for April 22nd, ten days after her due date. We woke...