Birthday Fun!

Look at my yummy cake (from Publix...where shopping is a pleasure..).. Hubby was in charge of this... I Loved it!!! And look how old I am!!! Ahhhh! I love being 23!!!

Wearing a Joxlette to compliment my Birthday attire!!! Do you need one for your upcoming birthday?? Or someone else that is so special to you that they just MUST have a pretty that will let them know!!

Smylie nearly bit that rose right off the front! he Loves Happy birthdays...and the cake that goes with them!!!
The loot from that pretty bag in the last post!! all of my favorite colors.... Thankyou so much my foster family!!!

So, we packed a picnic lunch and headed downtown this afternoon... we have this amazing watery-park that shoots water up from the ground... sweetums loved it..smylie kept his distance..

And then....we headed to this secret garden.... how wonderful...

we told Smylie we were going on a bear hunt....to find Winnie the pooh....and looky what we found....(notice his little piglet in the side pocket of his backpack!!) he was thrilled to see Winnie the pooh!!

Smylie..at a distance...keeping his eyes on pooh!!


Sweetums...need i say more!!??
At our picnic sight... such a great garden...we are remembering the details...would love to have the same in our yard some day!!
Sammy sat in my lap and ate his bagel and banana...

Sorry..you can see the bagel in this picture...

Does anyone else LU-UV These nuts like I do???

They are so very good for you... if you google "pistachio" there is tons of information on this yummy good for me (and you) snack!! Put them in a pretty bowl and grab a couple in the afternoon (or when you feel the munchies coming on).. evidently they won't make you gain any weight...as long as you just use them as a substitute and not in addition to all of the other munchies!!!

And look at my new Cuppa....isn't she a beaut !??

I don't have a long Cup of Joy post today...but lookee inside my cup... I LOVE this verse... and this midweek you will (finally) know why!!

The...

end...

Have a love-Fully!!!

ps....more birthday loot to show later...

Picture Pages...

Soooo...Hubby had the great idea to take an old door.... from sweet friend's house...and make it into my new craft table!!!

Oh my... i spent most of wednesday afternoon rearranging...and making the perfect new space for my creative juices to start flowing!!!! Thank you so much Hubs!!! Look how great... not only is it the perfect set up for creating... it makes a great race track....

My great garland from Julie at Joy's hope (can't linkydoo...sorry)... is making the front much more glamorous..

McQueen and Sally...having some more quality time together

This is some serious playing!!

Hmmm.....what could be in here??? Came today from my inlaws!! Thank you!!

Mmmmmmm! Something to tide me over while i am hard at work!!

A cuppa you know who...or what ?!!

All the goods all yummy and organized!!!! Ahhhh! What a great feeling!!

More Ahhhhhhh!
And just some fun...... buckets...rolodex...and jars holding things for later!!

Baby brother and his beautiful wife came to visit.... It was so nice to spend the evening with them!!!
Smylie at OT.... Jumping!!!
Oh My!!! How yummy is this.. we have been looking for a good hat for Sweetums.... his head is ...extra large.... but i found this sweet hat at Goodwill yesterday..new!! (I did wash it!) and look how yummy...he actually is okay with it on his head!!!How okay you ask..???
You tell me??
And Smylie got a new McQueen hat too....He's lovin' it!!!

I hope you are all having a wonderful day!!!

Hope it's a Love-fully!!

<:AtomicElement>

Cup of Joy....mid-week

Mmmmm! Love a good summer smoothie with a BIG straw and an umbrella!!! It's warming up around here..so i thought i would change my cuppa... you wouldn't believe how many pictures it took to get a pretty one... i wish everything fit in the window sill...the lighting was so good here..

So let's have a little sip together...

Above all, love each other deeply,

because love covers over a multitude of sins.

Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

Each one should use whatever gift he has received

to serve others,

faithfully administering God's grace in it's various forms.

1 Peter 4:8-10

So... we don't have much to give... not in the form of money or "things".. but we do have abilities... let me tell you a little story whilst you sip a little..(watch the umbrella)

We have a neighbor lady...remember the one who hasn't lived there for a year..with the beautiful (scragly) rose bush peeking over our fence...?... well...she had a leaky pipe..in her walls.. and it created a HUGE mold problem.. she was getting sick a lot... and so she had to move into her son's house..(temporarily)

meanwhile..all summer long...a company was cleaning out the mold... and pretty much demo-ing the inside of her home..

it has been a year now...and she has no walls or ceiling..it is not liveable in...(does that make sense?)

we really haven't even had a conversation.. we never took the time to go meet her...and now after all this time .. we know more about the situation from others than her.. so..last week..her grandson came over and left his 2 big pitbullish type doggies in his grandmother's backyard... he was in a dire situation and they needed a place to stay....it was a weird week of watching the doggies..1)jump the fence (scarey!!!) 2) be tied to a tree 3) be tied to each other 4) 1 untied..the other...etc...

*stay with me... i know...i'm into details...

Well...neighbors a couple doors down...that we have never met.. were being so kind and helpful... the grandson.. was coming twice a day..but doggies needed some more attention.. so they were coming over and helping out... fyi..they are not friends with grandson.. helping just because...

we thought...hmmm...we've just been sitting over here thinking of all the rotten things that were wrong with the picture...

i hesitate to even state them because it shows how very lacking my grace has been... so...not to be boastful... only in the kick in the pants i got from witnessing graciousness from a stranger neighbor.....what can we give... 2 cans of doggie food we had..

doesn't seem like much, huh? especially since we watched them for 4 days tied to this and that.. (we did try to spray them down with water from the hose..but they didn't seem to want a shower)...the doggies were gone that night and we haven't seen them again... well..Sunday.. I had it with myself...and since doggies were gone..i wanted to serve..love...offer hospitality.. use whatever gift i had... (my hands...my arms...my strength)

to show grace.... so me and my rake... took care of some business next door...and i was humbled by my lack of grace all along... it was so obvious to me on Sunday...

I want to be more neighborly... i think i am afraid or something... i have these visions of knocking on everyone's door... bringing them homemade goodness...and then something happens...and nothing happens...

Does this happen to you??? Do you have any ideas or encouragement to get me over the hump..??

I should be brave...

I am brave...but i should be more cautious....trust me..you don't want to hear my other neighbor story...

Well...if you are still with me....you may only have a couple sips left...so enjoy these pictures...

McQueen and Sally......

Smylie...lining up his cars...(on the bistro table)

Okay...how funny are these?? They were on Clearance at Target today... Sweetums needs some sun protection...and some sensory help just having something on his face... he was not that happy with his new Elton John look....

But he sure is Sweetums!!!

Have a Love-fully!!

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!)