The Little Things

"Holding Pure Joy! Thanks Chris!

Some time ago, I came across a saying

It's the little things that make life Big

and instantly I fell in love with it, because my heart has always celebrated little things. I even asked my mom recently if I had always loved the little things in life as a child and she recalled that I did. That the small, wonderful and simple things were always amazing to me. Learning that made my heart smile.

Many that know me, know I love Reese Cups and the picture here is me holding a "GIFT" from a student that had just attended the concept of Spreading Joy presentation at their school. I held it up to Angie, saying in my mind "LOOOOOK what I just got!!" I was so excited because I came to the school that day to GIVE to the students, not expecting a single thing in return and he put what he had just heard to work by spreading joy MY way. Those kinds of unexpected little things will make my heart float through the day!

Inspired from a calendar of 10 Happy Things a day I purchased as a treat for myself last year, I started keeping a list in the back of my journal of the wonderful little things that make my heart smile. I've decided to share them with you here, hoping that as you journey through your day with a million little joys floating around you, you'll take time to notice them as well as appreciate them. Who knows, maybe you'll start a list of the little things that make your life BIG too!

In no particular order at all - Some of the little things that make my life BIG!

Coffee	Reesecups	Hugs	Diet Coke	Twinkling Eyes
Smiles	Missionaries	Gum	Books	Rainbows
Ocean	Sunrise	Sunset	Full Moon	Gel Pens w/Bright colors
Cloud Shapes	Bright Stars	Playdoh	Bible	Blowing Bubbles
Singing	Music	American Flag	Sunglasses	Handwritten Notes
Chuck Norris	Soft Carpet	Favorite Jeans	Monkeys	Roasted Marshmallows
Favorite Tennis shoes	Riding a Bike	Walk along a river	Roasted Marshmallows	Hot Chocolate w/marshmallows
Holding Hands	Blue Roses	Teddy Bears	Soft Kleenex	Over Sized Sweaters
Watching My kids sleep	Laying in grass alone	Sound of crashing waves	Laying in grass w/a friend	Catching snowflakes on tongue
Fresh Snowfall	Long necklaces	Wizard of Oz	Fireballs	Splashing in a puddle
M&M’s	Cute Socks	Technology	Toe Socks	Unsweetened Iced Tea
Breakfast	Christmas	Green LIghts	Soldiers	Heart dangle earrings
Standing Firm	Blackberry	Disney World	Nurses	Handmade bracelets
Jukebox full of Oldies	Lightning across the sky	Crossing a bridge w/out stopping	Police officers	Friends who call in the middle of the night
Roller Coasters	Puppies	Slinkies	Card games	Instant Messaging
Board Games	Cute Note Pads	Sticky Notes	White Out	Unconditional Love
Steady Rain	Rolling Fog	Crisp Breeze	Hot Soup	Waking to a kiss
Forgiveness	Cute Purses	Quotes	Poems	Making Cotton Candy
Belly Laughs	Pictures	Scrapbooking	Opals	Eating Cotton Candy
Sleeping Babies	Audio Bible	Audio Books	Skype	Thunder in the distance
Lemonade	Circus	Cute Sunglasses	iTunes	Precious moments
Face Painting	No Spill Days	iTouch	Hair Spray	Hot Cookies out of oven
Hugs from nieces/nephews	Watching when NO one sees	Overstuffed comfy chairs	My Heart Ring from Daddy	Hot Cake w/melted icing
Swinging on Swing	HUGE sliding boards	Empty Tomb of HOPE	Being SAFE in Gods Arms	Breakfast for Dinner
Choices	Triple Coupons	Coming Home	Operas	Hugs for NO reason
Walking Barefoot	Random Photos	Happy Endings	Roses	Little Debbie Cakes
Plants surviving in my house	Growing up to be my Mom	Being only ONE in the movie theater	Meeting new People	Sitting sideways in comfy chair
Ice Cold Slushies	Animal Cookies	Disney Classics	Hope	Always having music
Spreading JOY	Opportunities	Water Slides	God’s Power	Chuck Norris Bookmark
Golden Sunsets	God’s Plan	Safe flights	Free Dinner	Bath & Bodyworks
Smiles during tears	Toasted Bagels & Cream Cheese	Watching a merry go round	Movie Theater Popcorn	Social Media making world accessible
Hope Restored	New Watches	Misprints	Paper Clips	Kids that talk &talk….
Sparkles of love in eyes of friend	Kisses from Todd & Megan	Snow that is soft on day 2	Listening to the Rain	Watching my kids make the RIGHT decisions
Unplanned vacations	Full moon hanging on a cloud	Long lingering WARM hugs	Seeing Todd for 19th Bday	Hearing Harry Connick JR Sing in PERSON!
Blistex	Journey Perfume	Care Bears	Curve cologne	Monkey Bookmark
Sleeping to sound of ocean lapping at shore	PB&J Sandwiches w/Milk	Extra HOT Cinnamon Dolce Latte	Laughing thru nite w/a friend	Sleeping just after alarm goes off
Free Anything	Niagara falls	Contentment	A quick exit	Beach Trips w/Mom
Passing w/A “C”	God’s Character	God’s Promises	God’s Power	Free Audio Books
Golden Grahams	Curve 4 Women	Tweet-ups	Candid photos	Meeting Chuck Norris
Kids Praying	Being Welcome	Being Paid Up	…….Instead	Dreams Coming True
Singing YOU are my sunshine!	Power of Holy Spirit	Overhearing kids say something nice	Chocolate covered pretzels	Being held close as I sleep
Texts from my children	Sitting w/young people	Blowing bubbles w/gum	Kisses on the forehead	Chocolate covered Marshmallows
Seeing Dad in my dreams	A day of “To Don’ts”	Beauty in the Ordinary	Being loved as always	Saved messages in my Voice Mail
Unexpected help	Reesecups in mail	Being Found	Being Trusted	My Flower garden living
Angels Among us	Hugs from Santa	Being Noticed	Guidance	Ocean at Midnight
Not giving up	Pondering	Finishing	Soaring	Fireplace at 1 am
Cute Coffee Cups	Saying Thank YOU	Treasures of the heart	Courage to step out	Making a Difference
Smokies of TN	Cobblestone walkways	Firefighter friends in Boston	Acceptance of situation	Frequent Flier Miles
Early Morning Smiles	Loving with No Boundaries	Great things HE has done	Appreciating NOW	Learning to live again
Phone calls of thanks from ocean	Love that lasts forever	Realizing love hurts and it’s ok	Brightening MY corner of the world	Unbridled laughter of Teen girls
Meg sitting upside down	Todd’s time beside me talking about nothing	Noticing a smile & glance from across the room	Getting items donated for others	Discernment right on time
Getting what you need	Hearing what is NOT being said	Computer prayers answered	Sitting in Church w/mom	Being happy -regardless
Seeing Hearts Grow	My moms unconditional love	Winning the heart of a shy child	Hair blowing in the wind	Learning a friend is a true American Hero
Happy gatherings for no reason	Getting the gift that seemed ridiculous	Realizing the headache is easing up	Texts asking are you OK after horrid day	Kisses from my almost grown children
Laughing while others wonder	Unexpected gifts in the mail	Printing off cute photo hugs	Sight for sore eyes	Little Debbie making it easy to give by giving
Falling asleep immediately	Whiffs of old spice	Being prayed through	Color making my day bright	Laughing at myself
Friends Praying	Walmart @ 5 am	One More Day	Protection	Getting to the Point
Certainty	String cheese	2 hour naps	Another Chance	My John R. Rice Bible
Wild Flowers	New Journeys	Simple pleasures	Moments	Keeping things going
Giggling…a few days later	Honest Communication	Inspirational words	Listening…really listening	Being accepted just as I am
Being Believed in	Joy after the Pain	Blueberry Muffins	Family Cookout	Surprise phone calls
Strawberry yogurt	Extra night for free	Believing in my children	Brighter days ahead	Sharing my passion
Marie Pong	A car to borrow	New purse 4 free	Messages	Peace, glorious peace
Stress free ping pong	Cool nights after hot summer	Resources at fingertips	Hot apple cider w/cinnamon	Guilt leaving the heart
Passing with flying colors	Fasting & being close to God	Finding out you’ve inspired someone	Msg of Praise for blessing Psalm 6	Todd in suit & Tie for me
New book in mail	No bake cookies	Privacy!!!	Stickers	Knowing this isn’t all
Being inspired	Cool Sandals	Encouraging texts	Milk duds	1895 House a B&B
Learning from an expert	Being a persistent little booger	Beach all to myself	Emptying my heart of guilt	Trusting even when I don’t understand
m&m minis	Stickers in journal	Stickers on FB	Coming Home	Being a Homebody
Jesus - Always	Wanting to….	Gifts to myself	Silence	Cool sunglasses cheap
Todd saying “its perfect mom”	Foggy Quiet mornings	One of these days…being today	Exploring new places	Shaking hands w/40 military personnel
A smile that dries the tears	Bright paper to write on	Breeze from an open window	Sounds that brings smiles	Opportunities in another state
Going before security comes	Praying without ceasing	Travel and exploration	Coming home to a clean kitchen	Strength for tomorrow
Sweater when you need it	Moon hanging in the morning sky	Mountains every where I look	Recognizing simple miracles	Kids having the Bible I gave to them from 2nd grade & they are in 5th grade now
Friends sharing pics of beach & mountains	Visiting a new ice cream shop	Letting my light shine	Christmas Stockings	Watching a wall of rain approach
Lance cheese &pb crackers	Compliment from Princess Megan	Famous Author commenting on blog	Warm comfy Christmas sweaters	Phoning a friend, asking for help & getting it
Phone call from Todd	Contacts & Corrective lenses	Praying at Alter & a friend joins unexpectedly	Surprise Videos in email from friend	Unexpected knocks at door
Cool Journals	Chocolate Milk	Plums	Peace Lilies	Fixing a problem easily
Cool Whip	Sprinkles on top	Remembering	IT Heroes	Wonder Woman
Fresh Roasted chicken dinner	Fav Worship song being sung live	Dinner, movie & Bookstore date	Friends pics on FB	Watching my brothers with their Grand kids
Saying Yes to God and trusting	Muffins in the Mail	Mustard seed faith	Blissful UNeventfulness	Sausage Egg & Cheese McMuffin
Bewitched	Cool Boots	Blue Ridge Pkwy	Promises Kept	When the stars line up
Cake Icing Wars with Todd	Meg Blocking goals in soccer	Reading under a tree	Warmth from Fire Place	Cream Cheese Brownies
Sesame Chicken	Bundling up	Emergency Exits	Par 3	More than Enough
List making	Anklets	Bracelets	Cool shells	Stove Top Stuffing
Wireless Internet	Lucky Charms	Winter Olympics	“Getting” It	Hands free Headset
Laughing till I Cry	Del Sol Nail Polish	Mailing Gifts	Sleeping In	Hot hush puppies
Free E Books	Signed Book	Silly Book marks	Silly Putty	Chuck Norris Facts
Cute Stickers	Worship Songs	Balloon bouquets	Happy bunny	Key Chain from friend
Special Olympics & the smiles	Matching Hair color	Sugar free Lattes from McDonalds	Burger king Onion Rings	Weekend alone at beach
Scotch Tape	Sharpie Markers	Love Songs	Oldies	Paper Jam Free Days
Extra Strength Tylenol	Mechanical pencils	Chocolate cupcakes	Secrets of the heart	Finding lids for bowls easily
Faith	Oranges	Strawberries	Ranch Dip	Late nights on Twitter
Seizing the Day	Being Needed	An Extra Hug	Inner Strength	Living your Passion
Soothing rain	Bacon	Phases of moon	Bounciness	Upgrades for free
Wooden swing on tree w/ropes	Extra suite for guests	Sitting in warmth of sunshine	Kids doing what is asked on first request	Thinking of a friend late at night, calling and they answer
Exactly enough cake	Kisses from slobbery babies	Unexpected calls that make you laugh	Knowing what faith can do	Peanut Butter sticks
Messing with song director in church, during service	Wonder Woman to do book	Missionaries coming to visit church	Sitting with Angie in church	Minute maid sugar free lemonade
People Watching	Tip toeing	Wall of windows	Chips & salsa	Napping in the sun
Cute post it notes	Barefoot in grass	Romantic table for 2	Slow dancing	Love songs being sung to you
Laying in his arms	Children that prayin…believing	Laughter through troubles	Emails	Finding true love
Splitting a banana split	Ending the day with a friend	Arriving safely	Easter baskets	Sharing JOY with others
Facebook friends	God’s Strength	More than 1 bestest friend	Hot fudge brownie sundae	Starting a chain of yawning
Pony tail holders	Secret paths	Schoochin	Clean windows	Pimento cheese
Pig tails	Face paint	Challenge free trips	Corn dogs	Gazing at sky
Perseverance	Funny people	Something worth waiting for	Early morning thunder storms	Time capsules
Welcome home flowers	Watermelon	Emailed hugs	Feeling better after crying	Waking to roses
You Tube qued up	Help through the rain	Swimming	Being prayed for & not even knowing it	Deep, peaceful sleep – through the night

Whew.... that is a lot, I know. but trust me. this list will continue grow. Maybe the next set will be in color...as I do love writing in color. All of these things listed in my journal are in different colors.

What are some of the little things that make YOUR life big? What JOYS do you see daily that make your heart smile? I hope you'll take the time to tell us! You never know who YOU will inspire!

{{{HUGS}} yall