L Is for Laughter that Comes Easily!

 

Continuing with the April A to Z Challenge

My theme is Things that Make Life Better

L is for Laughter that Comes Easily

I have no idea whose baby this is - found it on the
internet. There is nothing like the sound of a baby's
laughter. It makes me smile just thinking about it.

One of the reasons I fell in love with Mark was
that he made (and still makes) me
laugh! We were laughing in the photo
booth.

Look at this baby laughing! I know
her!!

Here we are in October 2024 - laughing
hysterically and acting like fools. We were
in Greece or Turkey (I think!).

It was hot as everything - we
must be in Egypt in this photo. We
were laughing at ourselves.

L is for laughter—and if you know me at all, you know this one fits.

I love to laugh. Not the quiet, polite kind of laugh either. I mean the kind that bubbles up before you can stop it. The kind that turns heads in a room. The kind that makes your stomach hurt and your eyes water and leaves you wondering, “What was even that funny?” The kind that often gets me in trouble - even at 67 years old.

That kind of laughter.

We love to laugh—our family, our friends, our people. It shows up around dinner tables and in car rides and in the middle of stories that take way too long to tell, but Mark will tell them anyway -- more than once . . .or more than twice. Sometimes it’s sparked by something genuinely hilarious, and sometimes it’s just one of those moments where everything feels light and easy and good.

And honestly? A good belly laugh makes me feel better every single time.

It doesn’t fix everything, of course. Life still happens. Hard things don’t magically disappear because we laughed. But laughter softens the edges. It gives us a break. It reminds us that joy still lives here, even in the middle of busy days, hard seasons, or unexpected turns.

There’s something deeply connecting about laughter, too. It pulls us out of our own heads and into shared moments. It says, “We’re in this together.” No explanations needed.

I think sometimes we forget how important that is. We get serious. Focused. Responsible. (All good things.) But somewhere along the way, we can lose our willingness to just… laugh. Loudly. Freely. Without worrying who’s listening.

I don’t want to lose that.

So I’ll keep laughing—the loud kind, the uncontrollable kind, the kind that might be just a little embarrassing. Because it feels good. Because it brings people together. Because it reminds me not to take everything so seriously.

L is for laughter.

And I’m grateful for every single bit of it.

What makes you laugh the hardest? Do you laugh quietly and politely or are you like me?

K is for Kind Words at Just the Right Time

We are getting closer to the halfway point for the April A to Z blog challenge.

Today's letter is K!

K is for Kind Words at Just the Right Time

There are moments in life when everything feels a little heavier than usual.

Nothing dramatic. Nothing that would make the headlines of our lives. Just the quiet weight of responsibilities, disappointments, or the lingering question of am I doing enough?

And then—almost unexpectedly—someone offers a kind word.

Not a grand speech. Not a perfectly crafted solution. Just a simple sentence:

“You’re doing a good job.”
“I’m glad you’re here.”

And somehow, that’s enough. Bobby Scales is one of our retired pastors and he is an encourager. Bobby is in his mid-80's and has seen a lot of life and realizes how a kind word goes a long way. He pops into my office regularly to tell me that I'm doing a good job and his words usually come at just the right moment.

Kind words, when they come at just the right time, have a way of settling into our hearts. They interrupt the negative thoughts we didn’t even realize were growing - which as a #1 on the Enneagram . . .those negative and self-critical thoughts are on a roll in my head. They remind us that we’re not invisible. That what we’re doing matters. That we matter.

What’s interesting is how small these moments often are. A passing comment in the hallway. A quick text. A note scribbled in the margin. They take almost no time to give—but their impact can linger far longer than we expect.

I’ve been on the receiving end of those words more than once, often when I didn’t even know I needed them. And if I’m honest, I can also think of times when I could have said something kind—and didn’t. Not out of unkindness, but simply because I didn’t think it mattered that much.

But it does.

Kind words don’t require perfect timing—just a little attentiveness. A willingness to notice. A pause long enough to say what we’re already thinking but might otherwise keep to ourselves.

So maybe “K” is a gentle reminder.

If you think something kind about someone today, say it.

Send the text. Write the note. Speak the encouragement out loud.

Because you never really know what someone is carrying.

And your few kind words—offered at just the right time—might be the very thing that makes their day a little lighter… and their world a little better.

Share with all of us -- when has someone shared a kind word with you recently! We would love to hear!

Sunday Stealing - Tell Us Something

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

This week's meme was stolen from Ken and Dot's All Sorts. This blogging duo was asked to share things about themselves their readers may not already know. Their answers have been used as the basis for this week's questions. 

Tell Us Something

1. Can you touch your nose with your tongue? Yes. Did anyone besides me have to do it to make sure they still could? No? I didn't either haha!

2. What foreign language did you study in school? How much of it do you still remember? I studied Spanish in high school and when I was at UAB. I should have kept it up. I was good at it and took quite a few courses.

3. What recipe did you most recently prepare? Where did you get the recipe and how did it turn out? I made stuffed peppers for us one night this week. I made up the recipe. They were good.

4. What song have you listened to over and over and over again? Overcomer by Mandisa is one I have played many times! I've also listened to some of Lauren Daigle's songs over and over. I had this one on repeat back in 2005 . . .for several years. Give Me Jesus

5. Are there currently any pets in your household? Are you considering adding another? No. We had to have our Harvey put to sleep about a year and a half ago. I miss him, but we probably won't be adding another due to my allergies. We shouldn't have had him then. . .but we did.

Harvey watching the birds

Every blanket was for Harvey!

6. As an adult, have you ever performed with a drama group? (Student productions don't count.) I have been in a skit or two during a retreat or for an event 

I should remember this -- I was pretending to be
an old pregnant woman - Eve (gardening hat) is to the right
of me. I can't remember the other characters!

My friend, pastor Laura, and me
working at Night in Bethlehem

I am Mona Lisa in this skit (see below)

I'm on the far right in the orange shirt - speaking as
Mona Lisa - through her painting

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

J is for Joy

 

April A to Z

J is for Joy

My April A to Z posts have been centered around “Things that Make Life Better,” and most days I’ve written about small, tangible things—dinners with friends, books you can’t put down, simple comforts that brighten ordinary days.

But today feels a little different.

J is for Joy.

Joy isn’t something you can pick up at the store or plan on the calendar. It doesn’t require a reservation or a special occasion. And yet, it might be the very thing that makes the biggest difference in how we experience our lives.

I used to think joy and happiness were the same thing. But over time, I’ve learned that happiness often depends on circumstances—things going right, good news arriving, plans working out.

Joy is much deeper than that.

Joy shows up in the middle of real life—the messy, imperfect, sometimes hard parts. It sits beside us in hospital waiting rooms, walks with us through uncertainty, and somehow still finds a way to whisper, there is still good here.

For me, joy often looks small.

It’s the sound of the Diet Pepsi early in the morning . . . when I first twist the cap.

For Mark, it is the first sip of coffee when he wakes up.
A text from a friend at just the right moment often brings joy.
Laughter around the dinner table brings joy to my heart.
Joy is often a sense of peace that doesn’t quite make sense given the circumstances.

These are the kinds of moments that don’t demand attention—but they change everything.

I think joy grows when we notice it.

Not when life is perfect, but when we pause long enough to recognize what is still good, still steady, still full of grace. It’s less about chasing something new and more about seeing what has been there all along.

And maybe that’s why joy makes life better.

Because it doesn’t wait for everything to be fixed. It doesn’t require us to have it all together. It simply meets us where we are—and gently reminds us that even here, even now, there is something to hold onto.

Today, I’m grateful for joy.

The quiet kind. The unexpected kind. The kind that stays.

What has brought joy to your life in the last week?

I is for In Season Fruit

 

April A to Z Challenge

The Letter I

I is for In Season Fruit

I know that one of my readers doesn't eat fruit, so this post might not be interesting to her. But life at the Elliott's house is made better by fresh fruit. Mark and I and our kids and grandkids all love fruit.

Last Easter, I made a fruit butterflly for our oldet granddaughter. I used kiwi, grapes, blueberries, strawberries, and cuties (mandarin oranges).

For a neighborhood event, I made a beautiful fruit tray with grapes, strawberries, pineapple, watermelon, and papaya.

It is not an uncommon sight in our house to have lots of bananas! I enjoy them when they are yellow with no hint of brown. Mark loves them when they have LOTS of brown.

A few years ago, two different friends made a watermelon birthday cake for me! Watermelon in the summer time is one of my favorite treats.

In Alabama, blueberry season is in June. Back in 2020 (you remember what was happening in 2020, right?) Mark and I went to the blueberry farm and picked berries. I cooked some of them and made a blueberry "compote" for our Kodiak waffles. Yum! Yum!

We have great Farmer's Markets in Alabama and one farmer actually drives his truck to Birmingham twice a week (beginning about this time of year) and parks in a local church parking lot. I love buying fresh produce. I evidently bought a "haul" on the day below. Fresh ripe Alabama strawberries are hard to beat.

For some reason, I don't have any pictures of Chilton County (Alabama) peaches. They are like candy. I particularly like the Freestone ones - the peach doesn't stick to the pit!

In season fruit (and sometimes out of season fruit!) is delicious! What are your favorite fruits? What fruit is grown in your state?

H is for Handwritten Notes

 

Let's continue with April A to Z.

Today our feature letter is H and

H is for Handwritten Notes

Did you know that some schools are not teaching children how to write in cursive? They also don't know how to read a letter written in cursive. Handwritten notes make life a little better, but I'm worried they are on the way to becoming a lost art.

I love going to the mailbox to see if we have received anything fun like a handwritten note or letter. One of my Great Nieces (or Grand Niece? - I've asked that before) is a wonderful writer of thank you notes. When I've sent gifts for her children, she always writes a note.

Our favorite handwritten notes are from our young adults. Over the last 16 years, we have hosted hundreds of young adults on Tuesday nights for dinner and Bible study. The notes they have written to us have a special place in a drawer in our dresser. 

Have you ever heard of Discovery weekend for middle schoolers or The Emmaus Walk (for adults)? Both of those are spiritual weekends and at the end of the weekend, you are given a stack of letters written by your loved ones. Those notes are so special, too!

I actually have really nice handwriting and enjoy writing when I have time, but I have noticed that the older I get, the more quickly my hand tires out. Anyone else have that problem?

Do you like handwritten notes? Do you still write notes? Do you send thank you notes?

special notes taped to my desk at work

I'm Late . . . I'm Late . . .for A Very Important Hodgepodge

 

Normally, I pre-write the Hodgepodge almost as soon as Joyce posts the questions. That obviously didn't happen this week! I'm sliding in at the last moment.

1. Egg on your face, putting all your eggs in one basket, a good egg, walk on eggshells, nest egg, or a tough egg to crack...which eggy idiom currently applies to your life in some way? Explain. 

I guess "egg on my face." I've been teaching adult Sunday School and facilitating small groups for over 30 years and I feel like I know a lot about scripture. One of my courses at Samford University this semester is New Testament. I had a mid-term exam on Easter Sunday and I made the lowest grade that I've made since I started classes at the community college back in January of 2022. I made an 82.8. It was so hard! To get that 82, I made a lot of good guesses! Yes, I studied but I also worked a bajillion hours last week and hosted our family for Easter lunch. Egg on my face - yep. He has posted an extra credit assignment and I completed that this afternoon. He said he would apply the extra points to our mid-term grade. After he grades it, I will post what I wrote.

2. April 7th is National Beer Day...are you a beer drinker? If so do you have a favorite? Beer battered fish, beer bread, beer can chicken, beer brats...which one sounds good to you? Have you made any of these? 

I am not a beer drinker, but Mark is. Mark's favorite is Old Black Bear Scottish Ale in Madison, Alabama. He also loves Smithwick Red Ale, along with Oscar Blues Scottish Ale out of Austin, Texas. He is sitting beside me so I asked him! He said, "who are you telling?" I said . . .well, I'm writing on my blog . . .I think beer can chicken sounds good . . .or beer battered fish? When we were young (newlyweds), I made beer battered mushrooms quite often. They were a delicious appetizer! I fried them in my "Fry Baby." Did anyone else have one of those? Or maybe you had a "Fry Daddy"? I also made a horseradish sauce to go with them. I wonder if I could make them and cook them in the air fryer??

3. Do you have siblings? What's the best thing about being your sibling? If you don't have siblings, what would you say are the pros and cons of being an only child? 

I am the youngest of three "girls." My oldest sister died in November of 2024. She was in poor health and was on dialysis three times a week and she was miserable. She was 13 years older than I and our middle sister is 8 years older than I am. I don't know if there is anything good about being my sibling. Our oldest sister told me that I was spoiled haha! My middle sister and I are close even though we live many hours apart. Becky and I lived together after our mom died and our daddy was often at work at night. We talk Monday through Thursday while I drive to work! She is a really good big sister and has put up with a lot from me over the years.

4. How do you feel about floral scents in products? Do you have a favorite? 

Nope. I don't do anything scented. I have fresh flowers in the house and they have to be ones that you don't smell. I don't wear perfume. I can tolerate peppermint oil and lemon oil. A previous co-worker used Diva detergent and smelled like lavender. I want to like it, but it sends my allergies into overload.

5. What's one thing in your home that begins with the letter G that you would say is a keeper, something you'll hold on to? Tell us why. 

I have diet Ginger Ale (Canada Dry) and I really love it and I have Gingerbread muffins/doughnuts (pound dropper recipe) and those are both keepers. but I don't hold on to them. I consume them. I will hold onto my gas stove. It is a Wolf and I love it!!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Mark had his follow up visit with the surgeon today and it was a weird cyst -- not cancer! They took the ginormous cast/bandage off and he now has steri-strips. He has been "released." Yay! Thank you, Jesus!!