Just so you know....

Smylie has been loving wearing this towel...see the top..it's Rocket from Little Einsteins... he was never really that interested in the hat part until he realized The Wonderpets wear capes...so he's all about a cape now!!..and another McQueen sighting!!

Look at this Sweet Boy!! He wasn't that excited about being on top of the playland...so we practiced together a few times... I think he likes the slide now... what do you think??

.......I love my life!!

Have a Love-Fully day!!

Cup of Joy....almost Monday..

Well Hello Summer!!!

It has been a very busy start to the season...

but i feel rested for a new week!

I chose this verse for today's cuppa..because i feel a great sense of resposibility to "live up to" my name...I mean, most people would probably expect a person with the name "Joy" to be just that..."Joyfull"... although my life hasn't always been Christ focused...centered...i know i have always had this burden..(not necessarily worse case senario burden...but a responsibility)

However, now that.."I am being filled with Joy in His presence"

my name continues to be nourished by Him...My God pours fullness into my life..no matter the circumstances..with the knowing i am in His presence..i am filled with Joy!

So... now that Summer is officially here..I was looking for just the right new song to add..and i searched...and searched.. then Hubby reminded me of this song that he hears alot in Publix...and i thought it was fitting for our life.. We have had several months of what could possibly be our biggest crop of LEMONS!!! (not really lemons...just the stuff of life..)..And those lemons have made the most wonderful lemonade ever!! In abundance!!Icey cold...tall glasses of fresh lemonade!! What i am saying is...the squeezing is never the most enjoyable...the cuts on your fingers that sting when the juice gets in...and those stinker seeds that fall into the juice...grrrr! But look at all that lemonade you are about to make with all those lemons..all that juice...just a little sweetness and some cold water...so there's enough to share...and you've got yourself the perfect byproduct of your crop!

We're gonna need another straw!!

Brotherly love.

If you have a Publix where you live...(Hubby works there..and I always say.."they get points" for buying from them)...but even if you don't ..look for this salsa..it is YUMMMMMMMY!! I like it medium hot...and straight from the fridge..I just love to sit outside with the boys while they are chowin' down on PB&J..I can just eat my Jacks and chips...and be satisfied... !! Great summer snacky!!

And finally...the canvas is here!! My Mom and Dad splurged on us here and bought it..there was a 40% off coupon at the LOBSTER...so the project can be completed!! Thank you for being so very patient!!

Hoping you have a Love-Fully day!!

We Love Dada

Smylie...hmmm...i wonder how he got that name...?oh my...i could just eat him up!!!
This guy is so great to us!!! He works so hard to take care of us..

Smylie IS his shadow....Sammy doesn't have any words but says..."DadaDaDaDaDada!"

And I am so very blessed to be his wife!!

Happy 2 days after Father's day Dada!!

Feels like Summer

These pictures are supposed to be below the ones below...grrr.

He must have gone down the slide a couple dozen times... by the end of the evening i caught him going down head first!!

So remember the "birds of the air" post a couple weeks ago..?
Isn't this playset awesome!! We had been eyeing the playsets at Lowe's..pricing and whatnot...and even inquired with a friend about custom making a playset for the boys..well..another friend has a lanscaping business and his customer just didn't want this anymore..her child had outgrown it...so if we could get it out of her yard..it was ours!!! FREE!!! What in the world?!

So..3 Publix subs later....hubby and 3 great friends helped move that wonderful playland to its new home!! Let's see how the boys like it...

I was going to put a rule up here that said "no girls allowed...only Mommy"..but we have great girls who are our friends...brownie...and the price is right...and some others..i just don't have cute names for them...anyway...we are happy to share our fantastic new payset with girls too!

Smylie didn't miss a beat!!

Like a playset pro!!

Mr.Apprehensive taking his time..he really is saying.."it's okay"

Life is a Highway!

Our Great friend Clay helped us figure this out!!! Thank you so very much friend...you are so helpful!!! We love you!!

To listen to the video below...you may want to go down to the bottom of the blog and pause the music...En-JOY!!!

Life is a Highway...

Cup of Joy...Thursdays???

My apologies for missing this Sunday's post!! now...on with the show... I was so tickled by Sammy in the above picture...Our doggie .."Kisses"...hangs out behind this chair..and Sammy must have been stopping by for a visit... Kisses enjoyed his company too..i tried to get some pictures with both of them...but Cammy's batteries were fading...
I have been working on the gluten free baked goods... biscuits weren't so good...but somehow..the same recipe...cut into triangles...and with the name 'SCONE'...Gluten free..doesn't taste so bad after all!! These are surely our favorites!!

A visit to our neighborhood PetSmart is always a great field trip for our guys.... they are so fascinated by this wall of fish tanks...

especially Sammy....he could stay there for hours

(and can you resist 2 stripey tees...ahhh...I love stripes!!)

So here is our Cup of Joy... i decided to use 2 verses..because..i couldn't decide... First..the one up top.....the new first song on my blog, God Speaking, has spoken in depth to me over the past few months..take some time to listen... as some of the lyrics say...

"He'll do..and He'll use...whatever He wants to...To tell us 'I Love You'...".....I am having trouble coming up with the right words for this post to describe my thoughts...some of you know our life with these two boys...and to others i have been vague..

but for goodness sake..those canvases haven't gone on sale yet...

when they do you will see the picture i see...i promise...

but for now..God has been LIVING ...ABIDING...and so very PRESENT in our HOUSE...our HOME...He lives in the details..the mundane...the glorious...the everyday...and i am so JOYFULL that He does...He is Bold..He is Silly...He is Comforting...He is Evident...He is Mighty...He is Creative...He is

Always...Here with me....or there with me....or where ever i may be...happy..sad..waivering...He is here!! He dwells!! And i hope this home is hospitable to Him...that He feels welcomed...that He takes the extra time to stay and let me know....something I needed to know....It's okay!!

So now the second verse.... OUR net is so very FULL!!!!!!!!!!!

How full is yours???

I was given this windchime several years ago by a close friend..

and it still hangs in our backyard...it is actually one of Sammy's favorite sights and sounds in the yard... and this touches on an earlier post where i was tagged....What was i doing 10 years ago?....hmmm...well, i never knew i would have such a wonderful life now..then....it was good then....but never enough...my husband...always refers to his life as having several lifetimes in it...and i now refer to my life the same...10 years ago..2 beautiful, amazing children...THESE children... This wasn't even a dream for myself..I am so glad my God had bigger plans...

Have a Love-Fully day!!!

Cup of Joy Sundays

Here's the view just outside Sammy's window seat. Lee snapped this moment and it was my inspiration for this week's....

Lee really has a love for bird watching...not initially very exciting to me...although i am a true birdie lover at heart... he even has a book with all sorts of kinds of birds...and binoculars right by the back door...just in case he spots one... his love of neighborhood birds has become contagious...and i now have an interest in the care and keeping of their feeders..... Smylie has become my big helper as well...and LOVES this special job he has!!! Pouring the seeds in...the birdies love the little red headed boy...he always pours extra for the ground....
So this verse from Matthew is fitting for our little family right now....not just for the task of feeding the birds..but the knowing that we are being fed as well!! The nourishment we get is found in so many different places...we are taken care of!
This apple is another symbol of how plentiful our lives are... this tree only bore maybe 10 apples last year...this year.... i have counted 63....they are tiny..crab apples...but the tree is producing fruit!I feel that way about our boys sometimes... but i should not be discouraged by it...the fruit is abundant..tiny..yet abundant...

And look at this beauty...this isn't some unbelievable rose garden that we spend hours upon hours in... it is a neglected old bush from our neighbor..who can't stand plants of any kind....and hasn't even lived there for most of the year...yet this beautiful specimen is peaking up over the fence into our yard!

And this just screams..."I LOVE YOU"

It was a tiny little sapling a year ago from the Arbor Society...

(i can't remember the name of it....) and now it is up to my waist. And look at the heart shaped leaves!!!

I've been taking a look in and around my life... and i can't believe i am worth it...that i was worth it on the cross..

that i will still be worth it on my just about to lose it days...

and that He is abundantly showing me..daily...just how far His love reaches...

Take a looksee...see what you find!

(and have a Love-Fully day!)