Life is Sweet!

 And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count.  It's the life in your years.  ~Abraham Lincoln

I was so excited this morning to finally cut up a watermelon this year.  Watermelon is one of our favorite things to eat, and I have been wanting one for months.  Plus I also got to use my fancy watermelon knife I got for Christmas.   

I packed Brody a big Tupperware of watermelon for his lunch box.   He was delighted to have it at school today.  Once again, it's the little things in life that matter the most to kids.  The taste of watermelon was equivalent to a new bike.  It's a blessing to be reminded of how a simple life is a good life!  

And oh, was it sweet!  

There have been several "sweet stuff" in my life this past week that are just too good not to share.


*First, is God's word.  
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.  Psalm 34:8

The Bible has just filled me up with God's encouragement.  We have been waiting on some paperwork to move with our adoption and a house selling, and sometimes waiting is just hard.  I look to the Lord for comfort, and He is so gracious with His love.


*Second, is my awesome husband.
Ryan has gone out of his way to say sweet words lately.  It just melts my heart to hear kind words.

*Third, is my sweet boy Brody.  He has become the post-it king with all his sweet notes to his mama.  I can hardly believe how fast he has picked up reading and writing.  I'm so proud of him. 

"I love you.  I like you.  You are cool."

Brody letting me know his room is clean.

Life is sweet, and we are enjoying all these sweet moments!

Count Your Blessings

My Lloyd Family Blessings

My Brice Family Blessings

How often do we sit down to name the things and people we are grateful for?  Do we really do like the old hymn and count our blessings?  Well, we should do it often!  In fact, we are happier people when we take the time daily to name what we are thankful for.  Counting our blessings puts our lives in perspective.  It also lets the people who are important to us know that we are thankful for them.  Our hearts overflow with joy when we focus on what is good. 

Just call me Pollyanna because I can always find something to be glad about!  I'm grateful for lots of family and friends, a wonderful home, a car great for traveling, food always on our table, books to read, hugs given daily, I love you spoken over and over, and salvation in Christ.  Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly, and you will keep singing as the days go by!

Count Your Blessings

By Rev. Johnson Oatman, Jr.

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.
Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.
When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.
So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done

Smile!

Brody and Mimi

Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.  ~Mother Teresa

It's good to smile!  The world always looks brighter from behind a smile.  Today I thought I post some smiles from some of the pictures I took last week.  And since I love quotes, here are some of my favorite quotes about smiling!  They say smiling is contagious so I hope these bring a smile to your face.

Nanny and Brody

 A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.  ~Phyllis Diller

Me and my mom

 Life is like a mirror, we get the best results when we smile at it.  ~Author Unknown

Brody and Mimi

Everyone smiles in the same language.  ~Author Unknown

Alex and Brody

 Keep smiling - it makes people wonder what you've been up to.  ~Author Unknown

Brody, Pops, and Nanny

 Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.  ~Janet Lane

The Brices going to a baseball game

 Smile!  It increases your face value.  ~Robert Harling, Steel Magnolias

Here's me sending a smile to you because everyone deserves a smile given to them daily!

 Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.  ~Mark Twain 

 A smile costs nothing but gives much.  It enriches those who receive without making poorer those who give.  It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever.  None is so rich or mighty that he cannot get along without it and none is so poor that he cannot be made rich by it.  Yet a smile cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away.  Some people are too tired to give you a smile.  Give them one of yours, as none needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give.  ~Author Unknown

Today, give a stranger one of your smiles.  It might be the only sunshine he sees all day.  ~Quoted in P.S. I Love You, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

I hope all my bloggy friends seize the day with a smile!!!

 

Six Wonderful Years!

As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.  Ecclesiastes 11:5

Thank you God for making Brody!  He has blessed our lives.  

My first time to see and hold Brody.

Our 2 lb. Tiny Wonder

Ryan's first time to hold Brody.

Happy 6th Birthday Brody!  Our "Tiny Wonder" is now a wonderful Big Boy!  He makes us smile, and he is a joy to have around.  Hard to believe how far he has come.  God is so good to us!!!

Our handsome 6 year old!

1st time to wear clothes- 6 weeks old  "Praise Jesus!"

God has taught us so much through Brody.  Because of Brody, I learned to completely depend on God to take care of our needs.  It has not always been an easy journey with Brody, but I would choose to have him again in a heart beat. I know God has a great purpose for him, and it's exciting watching God's plan unfold daily.  What a privilege God gave us to be his parents! 

We have made many awesome memories together, and there are more memories to be made. We had a small party for him on Saturday to celebrate life.  It was a Star Wars theme, and it was fun!

 
Life is good!

Life is precious!

Life is WONDERFUL!

And we are thankful for every moment of it!

Hello Spring!

If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall.  ~Nadine Stair

Hello Spring!  How I have missed you!!!  I'm loving these warm spring days.  So much fun to be had, and there is not enough time to squeeze all the fun into one day.  It's hard to blog or do chores when the sun is practically begging me to come sit in her rays.   

My Aunt Missy and me sitting on the front porch.

The ice cream truck even came last weekend.  There is something special about the first ice cream of the year.

Brody picked a Ninja Turtle ice cream

The boys on the street are having a blast playing outside.  No more being stuck inside for months!

Even the adults have Spring Fever and want to play!

Brody and his Mimi giggling at "stinky feet."

Chad on a skate board riding the dog.

Spring has a way of bringing hope, laughter, smiles, beauty, courage, and new beginnings!  What has spring brought you this year?

My Everything

Reading the Bible of the stories of Ruth and Job, I’m inspired at their faithfulness to God when they lost their families, homes, and possessions.  It’s hard to imagine losing everything.  What kept them “holding it together” when the world says “you should be falling a part”?    It’s God who kept them strong.  They had built their lives with God in the center.  So when everything came crashing down around them, God remained the same.  The almighty God deserving of all our worship and praise, stood beside them as they continued to bring glory to His name.  As they claimed God is still in control, they lived great lives that went down in History and set an example to all Christians of faithfulness.

How can I live a life of faithfulness?

I’m going to build my life on THE ROCK!

Matthew 7:24-27 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Jesus is my rock and salvation. I will know His truth (the Bible), stand upon His truth, confess His truth, and apply His truth to my daily life.  My life is meant to bring worship to Him.  It is not a life about me, but it is a life about making His name known among the nations. 

Jesus is my everything!  So if or when the world around me comes crashing down, my everything is still there.  I love my husband and son greatly, but they do not come first.  My relationship with God is #1.  I don’t want to be my husband and son’s #1 either.  When I take my last breathe here on earth, I don’t want their life to stop.  I want them to keep moving forward to the calling God has placed in their life.  I want to set an example for my son for him to teach his children that in everything they do, they need to seek to bring glory to Our Everything, God. 

One of my favorite parts of the Bible is in Exodus 3 when Moses asked God what he should tell the children of Israel what God’s name is.

 

Verse 14, And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” 

The Great I Am was saying I AM EVERYTHING!  I AM with you!!!

Is He your everything???   

Is He truly all you need? 

He's Been Good To Me!

Oh Lord’s been good to me!

Brody and I sing this song almost everyday.  We have so much to be thankful for, and it is our way to praise God for His goodness.  We are alive, we are well, and all of our needs have been provided for.  God is good! 

I’m thankful for my first grade teacher Mrs. Reaves who taught this Johnny Appleseed song to me that I will teach all of my children.  It is a tradition of thankfulness that I hope will be passed on for many generations. 

1Chronicles 16:34 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

Ephesians 5:20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.