Makin' Me Happy

I went around snapping some pics of the things that were making me smile today.
Here are a few.....

Some of my roses by the front steps..... who wouldn't smile at that?

John digging for treasure

Some plants springing up in the garden

The result of all John's "hard work". He's getting himself ready to have a campfire!

So, what's making YOU smile today?

My Day

I've felt like this all day, too!

Meeting the Queen

I met The Queen last week, for the first time.
You know which queen I'm talkin' 'bout.
One of my favorite bloggers, The Carpool Queen.

I was running only 2 minutes late, which was pretty good considering I'd just come from TJ Maxx, where I bought awesome zebra striped heels. I rushed into the Starbucks, and there was her famous self, looking all cute and stuff in a pink belted jacket. CPQ is a beautiful gal, and she has a sweet smile.
Plus, she liked my shoes. I told her I had PMS and needed to buy them, and she nodded in understanding.
And, she is tall.
Being almost 5'9" myself, I always expect everyone else to be shorter than me, and so I smiled when  I didn't tower over her by 2 feet. I think she's the same height as me.
And she has a very gentle voice, which was fun to hear, given all the funny things that come out of her when she writes.
And, I keep starting sentences with And. So I'll stop.

I ordered coffee and a treat, and she ordered some kind of drink that I don't remember because it had like 7 names to it. I even asked her to repeat it for me, but I still can't remember.

She even came bearing a gift, a dishcloth she knit all by herself. I was thankful and jealous all at the same time, because I really, really want to learn to knit. She's funny, and she knits, too.


We chatted for a few minutes, and she snapped pics of my shoes. Then I showed her my favorite camera trick with my iPhone, called QuadCamera. It takes four consecutive pictures, like this one of CPQ drinking her fancy drink:

Pretty neat, huh?

A few minutes later, who should walk past us to get to the restroom, but a clown. CPQ started snapping pictures of all the clown stuff, while I laughed and commented that she really does take pictures of EVERYTHING. When the clown came out, she told us she'd be right back, although we weren't sure why she was coming back.
She told CPQ and I that we looked like joyful people, (the joy of new shoes must have been radiating from me) and she made balloons for us.

I can't wait to see what characters we encounter next time we meet up.

Sweet Perfume

Last night it rained.
And that was a very, very good thing.

The past week, the pollen has been worse than I remember in years. EVERYthing has been completely coated in the yellow stuff. We even took pictures of our feet on Easter Sunday after walking through the grass barefoot. You know it's bad when the kids don't even want to stay outside.

This morning, we opened the door to let the dog out, and the sweet smell of spring came floating through the air. The rain had washed away almost all the pollen. The air smelled fresh and sweet, just the way a Spring morning should. I cracked the door open again and breathed in the fresh scent, and it lingered in the kitchen as I made the kids' lunches.

I was thinking this morning on the verse from 2 Corinthians 2:14 -- "But thanks be to God! He always leads us triumphantly by the Messiah and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of knowing him."

I also like the version in the New Living Translation, which says:
".... now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume."
 
For me, it's a great word picture. Do I spread the fragrance of Him? What is left lingering with someone when I leave? Do I leave the sweet perfume of the joy of Christ? Or am I leaving others coughing on the yellow pollen, polluting the air with gossip, negativity or complaints?
 
I want to be a breath of fresh air, to spread Christ like a sweet perfume. Thankfully, when I mess up, Christ comes like the rain and washes all the yuckiness away, so I can start fresh like a beautiful Spring day.