Smile!

This photo makes me all kinds of happy!

I think I'll call it:

"Cousins...under an Umbrella"

Yep...all kinds of happy!

Have an extra special weekend!!

"Bu-Bye"

 This is one of my very favorite photos of Caleb. We have one of those play tunnels that you can crawl through.  Caleb was standing, and I dropped the tunnel over him....he just looked up and gave me a big smile!  This smile makes me so happy!

Yesterday I heard some Caleb news that made me really happy!  Caleb is non-verbal (you can read about that here), and he goes to the Kennedy Krieger Institute every Thursday morning for speech therapy.  Joe usually calls me with news about how his therapy went. Today he was very excited when he called.

Here's what Joe shared on Facebook yesterday:

"This morning, we were at Kennedy Krieger for Caleb's speech session. His therapist was working with him and I was watching from another room on CCTV. All of the sudden, you hear a little voice say "bu-bye". I about fell out of my chair. Caleb spoke!! It made my morning!! Here's to many more words hopefully!!"

How's that for awesome news!!

Totally made my day!

It's amazing what a couple little words will do to you.

 

Please remember Caleb in your prayers.

He works so hard at learning....he just wears himself out!

Remember his family too...never seems to be a dull moment in their lives!  The photo below was taken at the State Fair this year.  It's the first year that Caleb was tall enough to get on the Tilt-A-Whirl.  See what I mean?  Never a dull moment!! 

Thanks to Johanna and Joe for the photos...I got them off their Facebook and Instagram feeds!

Happiness Comes In Fractions - Revisited

This was originally posted on 08/28/2008.

 

Have you ever had a perfectly wonderful day? You know the kind where you wake up happy and everything falls into place and nobody rubs you wrong and it's smooth sailing and the sun is shining, and your grass is greener than the neighbor's, etc, etc, etc. I'm sure I've had some, but more often than not something happens that breaks the happy mood....sometimes before it even begins! Usually nothing of any real consequence....just little bummers along the way.

 

I woke up late for work on Tuesday ~ really late ~ I woke up almost an hour after I should have been there! My laptop was giving me fits Tuesday evening. I am oftentimes computer challenged and it was one of those times. I cut my thumb last night. It was pretty deep and bleeding a lot. Bummer, bummer, bummer. But each little bummer was followed up by burst of nice, a tiny glimmer of hope, a little fraction of happiness. My boss and my co-workers knew why I overslept and they were sympathetic and compassionate with regard to my tardiness. My son (the computer geek I've mentioned) was able to fix my computer glitch and then provided even more help (thanks Kevin). As for the bloody thumb ~ Bill, his Dad & Mandy were all concerned, each showing it in their own way.

 

 

 

 

You want a perfectly wonderful day? Good luck with that. They don't generally just happen. But we can do our part to make sure each one ends up that way. Don't focus on the whole. Look for those "fractions of happiness" along the way.

The smile of a stranger you pass in the store; the car that gives you "cuts in line"; the sun shining or the rain falling ~ we need both you know. The mail coming on time; finding the gas station with the cheap gas; hearing I love you; having your work caught up at the end of the day and coming home to dinner on the table (that in itself makes me happy ~ thanks Mandy). Not having to wait at the doctor's office; a really good sale on anything; prayers with your children ~ more "fractions of happiness" that all add up to a "perfectly wonderful day"!

 

I think that tomorrow when I'm going to work and the big, yellow, school bus ends up in front of me, instead of feeling a little impatient at all the stopping and going, I'll spend that time praying for the driver, the students and the teachers they'll have throughout the day. Talking to the Lord equals a big "fraction of happiness"!

This is the day the LORD has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24



Let's Get Happy!

I found the following quote over at Incourage.  I love it...it's so perfectly true. 

It's part of a post called 10 Ways to be a Happier Mom.  But honestly, I was thinking that it was 
all about being a happier person....Ann actually says that at the end. 
Ten encouragements towards being happier. 
I know I want to embrace being happier...how about you?

Check it out...it's really good stuff! 

 

"Make time today, even a moment,

to read Scripture and memorize it.

Without the lens of His Word,

the world warps."

Ann Voskamp

 

Have a joy-filled weekend!

One that is "warp" free!

 



 



That Makes Six!!

Yep...this Gramma is very excited!!

 

So is sweet Penelope....'cause she's going to be a big sister!  Here she is, practicing with her little cousin Lulu!

Kitchen Shelves

I love a little bit of whimsy in my house...and color too!

Here's a peek at a few things decorating my kitchen shelves.  Fake flowers, pencil sharpeners disguised as mushrooms, a button bouquet, and bowls that shall remain empty and cute!

They each make me happy ~ just by looking at them.  So happy, that I don't even mind dusting them!!

 

Happy Boys plus Happy Girls

Equals a very happy Gramma!

This happy little guy will be having a birthday party later this month.  They're all growing up so fast!



Make it a Happy Day

I woke up a bit cranky yesterday morning.  No particular reason...I just had a whole lot of things to get done and I woke up with the "to-do list" in my head.  Just thinking about it was causing me stress and I was ready to concede defeat before the day really began.

But then the Lord "popped" a verse into my head ~ don't ya love when He does that!  I realized that I was a whole lot more likely to accomplish things on my list if I decided to get happy about it. It worked! I checked three things off the list!!  The secret? I chose to be happy....simple as that.

"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bone."

Proverbs 17:22

Lucketts 12/2011

 I'm linking up to "Think on these things".  "Has God impressed on your heart something special this week?
Was there a Scripture verse, a song, a quote, a poem or an encouraging word that came your way and caused you to pause."

Lorraine would love for you to share it!

My Backyard

Bill was off yesterday so we worked in the yard a little bit. Actually he worked in the yard A LOT....I didn't do much though.  I managed to pull some weeds and do some sweeping but my knee isn't up to intensive gardening yet.  Soon, but not quite yet.  Once I finished all my hard work I wandered around taking pictures.  As I mentioned the other day, there's not a whole lot of beauty going on in my yard right now ~ changing that a bit is our Spring time project.  But I keep finding little things in the yard that make me happy...



...like this little Azalea plant. Their are Azaleas blooming everywhere in my neighborhood but for some reason we just don't have a lot of luck with them. I'm really happy to see a bush full of blooms this year. That's Jerome the Gnome in the background....he makes me happy too!

Rosebuds!!  There's a bunch of them. The prospect of roses makes me very happy.  Especially since they look like THIS when they bloom!

I planted these Columbine plants four years ago.  This is the first time we've ever seen flowers on them. Beautiful, aren't they ~ they were worth the wait!  Happy ~ Happy!!

My weathered angel and my "busted" window.  They've been hanging around for years!  I love both pieces, but what's makes me really happy about this picture is the skinny little maple tree that's growing in that pot that I neglected to put away last fall.  A new tree ~ yea!  

A bird feeder in need of repair and some colorful pots in need of some flowers ~ I just really like this picture and I really love that moss!!  I think I may do some kind of display in the feeder.  I'll be sure to share my efforts.   I hope you have time to look for things that make you happy today!

~~~~::~~~~

Happy Birthday to my Dad.

Born April 28, 1929

Died December 18, 1970

He would have been 82 years old.

He died when he was 41 years old.....41 years ago.

Getting Ready For Some Swaps

About 2 1/2 weeks ago I found out who my partners were for a couple swaps that I'm doing.  Now I'm trying to figure out where those 2 1/2 weeks went!  I have about ten days to finish two projects and get them in the mail.  It always seems like I have all the time in the world when I sign up for a swap and then that time flies!!  But, I need this.  All I've made since before Christmas are a few birds nests.  My fingers are itching to create, my idea notebook is full of wonderful inspiration ~ now if I can just get my health and my family to cooperate I'll be all set.  I've gathered my supplies for a 5x7 fabric collage and some altered eggs.  I've sketched and written out my plans and the weekend is coming!  I love the weekend!   

This probably seems like a lot of buttons for a 5x7 collage ~ I'm only using 6 or 8 of them, but I like to have options!  Plus I need some for the altered eggs!

I love this piece of fabric.  It was one of my thrift store finds last summer.  It has wonderful texture and body. I think it will work beautifully for the collage.

The plan is to start creating tonight.  We're (finally) celebrating Elijah's 3rd birthday Saturday afternoon.  Poor little guy had strep throat and ear infections two weeks ago so we had to cancel.  After the party it will be back to crafting for a few hours. 

Hopefully Sunday evening will find me back in the craft room where I'll be completing at least one of these projects.  That's assuming I can hear myself think above all the Super Bowl noise going on in the room next door!  Yes, there are football fans living in my house.  No, I'm not one of them.

Homeless Man, Golden Voice

Everyone loves a story with a happy ending!

Check out this link for a smile and maybe you should have a tissue handy too!
(thanks boss, for sharing this great story!)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWG6zNf4xY0

A Burlap Bee & Matchbox #9

Yesterday we had our office Christmas get together.  In years past we met on Sunday evenings at a restaurant ~ but yesterday we met for lunch at Geoff & Peggy's home.  I brought my camera but was too busy having fun ~ I took one picture the whole afternoon.  But even though I have no picture proof ~ I can tell you that I had a wonderful time!!  I'll try to do another post all about it, but for now here's a peek at one of my favorite gifts.  I received some wonderful gifts from my co-workers and my boss (loved them all) but

something about this gift from Peggy just delighted me.  This is a photo from the website ~ Ballard designs ~ isn't this tote bag great?!  It's BIG! About 15 x 22 inches.  

I love this bag and I can't wait to fill it up with "stuff"! 

  

*************

Matchbox #9

Isn't this a pretty pink matchbox. The colors are so different & fun and I love the little bit of bling!  Tucked inside is one of my favorite things. A little embellished tile and it has one of my favorite words on it!  JOY.  This matchbox came from Amy of Paper Trails  By A Paper Lover.  Thank you Amy ~ I love it!!



Made by Me

I was in a craft show last Saturday and I have one more the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  I was going to wait until after that one to show the things I made. But I changed my mind.  Here's a peek at some of my things.  I really loved making these things this year.  I've finally realized that it's much more fun to create because you love what you're creating as opposed to trying to make things that will sell.  Does that make sense?  I mean, of course I want things to sell, but it's not as important as just loving what I'm doing!

I hope you enjoy taking a little look at my little creations.  I'll share more after the next show. 

Thanks for visiting!



Now it needs a name!

Well, the walls are "cottage white" and new flooring will be going in this weekend.  Then the desk, a dresser and some shelves need to put in place.  Mandy, Katie and Mark will be helping me choose some new storage containers.  I don't want plastic bins anymore and they told me (back in June) they'd buy some new pieces for me as a birthday gift!  I'm not sure what I want yet but I've been gathering a lot of inspiration. 

I recently purchased a few things at the thrift store and I love the look of all the pieces together ~ I love these colors & textures!  This is the "feel" I want for this room.

   

I also recently bought this pretty two tiered tray from Becky of Sweet Cottage Dreams.  She has some great things in her Etsy Shop!  I plan to put my glitter shakers on this.

It's hard to believe that very soon I'll be unpacking all my "stuff" and  filling baskets and shelves with supplies.  I'll be able to display some beautiful pieces of artwork and special treasures from friends. 

I'm like a little kid waiting for Christmas morning!

Hmmmm....what to call this wonderful new space?  I've referred to it as "the mess" for a long time.  My father-in-law calls it my junk room. But it deserves better than that now.  It could be my craft room again, or my workroom. My studio, my creative space, or maybe even my castle (you know, the place where fairy tales come true!).  

What do you call the place where you create?