These are a few things that make me feel joyful and incredibly blessed…

Hydrangeas just taking on the blush of pink color. Just looking at them makes me feel refreshed and renewed, and I marvel again at God’s workmanship. Especially after I used a pocket rocket air blower thingy on the sensor on my camera and FINALLY got rid of the smudge that kept showing up on all my photos!

Palm trees all lit up at night, like a paintbrush illustrating the sky.

Palm tree fuzz.  Or bark.  Or whatever it’s called.  I think it has a distinctive funkiness and disorderly orderliness that all comes together into something nice.  Up close, it’s really messy.  Kind of like all the drawers in my kitchen.

Multicolored sunrises remind me that God’s mercies are new every morning.

I love this teacup and saucer.  It’s the only one I have in this pattern, and I got it in an auction basket for a school my daughter attended years ago.  All the tea is gone, but I kept the cup. Tea makes the world a bit sweeter.  But not if you drink it with an oleander blossom, as shown in this photo. Then it would make life a bit shorter.  (Oleanders are one of my favorite blooming plants…sadly they are toxic to pets and probably humans, too.)

Here is my beautiful daughter all dressed up for a hoe down at school.  I think she makes a gorgeous cowgirl. I’m proud to bursting to be her mama. She has a sweetness to her spirit that makes my heart sing.

This is my Superman. He’s has a heart as big as the Texas sky and eyes that match its intensity.  And he’s all mine. He’s been out of town the last twenty four hours and is due back any minute now.  And yes, I’m counting!

Oh, my sweet Lacee. She’s rewritten the book on Loyalty and is currently curled up beside me on the couch. She’s all stretched out so her entire back is making contact with my leg.  We call her the Luckdragon because she looks like the one from The Neverending Story.

See the resemblance?

Last, but certainly not least, is the newest member of our clan, Bella.  Or Dogzilla, depending on her mood.  Remember when your kids went through the Terrible Twos and didn’t know the meaning of the word NO?  She’s in the throes of such defiant behavior that I’d like to put her in time out and spank her little bottom!  This evening she consumed an entire BLUE crayon.  I took away half of it, wadded it up in a napkin and put it on the coffee table.  She found it and finished it off. Our yard will be very colorful before long!  Complicating matters is that the girl is just so smart.  Now when I bring out the correction spray (Bitter Apple), she dodges and runs and I end up squirting the carpet, the furniture, my leg, and my foot before anything gets to her mouth.  I know I love the girl deep down in my heart.  Those puppy eyes get me every time.  Even after the crayon.

I have such warm fuzzies from composing this photo list that I think I need to create a photo book of all the things that make me joyful and find a scripture for each one. Then when I’m feeling downcast I can look at my book and remember the overflowing blessings God has given me.  Sounds like a great summer project combining my three favorite things: God’s Word, photography, and writing.

I better get busy.  I’m so blessed this book is going to be THICK!