pillow love

Good morning friends.  I've had this plain nook space in my house.  It's dark.  It's at the top of our stairs, right outside of our bedrooms, and it just needed a little pop of color and interest.  Do you remember my "peeps" project??  I made that display from a frame and then added chicken wire.  I had an ugly pink bench in my storage room that I lacquered with red paint and then the best part of all...my new treasure.  See that pillow??...LOVE!!!!

My post the other day was about using your gifts, whatever they may be...and that we are ALL artists in one way or another.  This pillow is a perfect example of that.  My blogging friend Chrissie Grace contacted me several months ago.  She was in love with my work and vice versa, and we decided to do a trade. 

When I opened my package from her I actually teared up.  From reading my blog she knew I loved foxes and owls.  She knew I loved mushrooms.  She knew my favorite scriptures.  I told her these things too, but she knew!  She had found the perfect fabric and away she went...to create a masterpiece that would completely bless my heart!

Look at the detail involved.  I am in complete awe of her talent.  Her GOD GIVEN ability to create an art piece out of fabric...amazing!!!  Anyway that little dark overlooked space is not overlooked anymore.  Every time I walk by it reminds me of the special people in my life and that I'm blessed.  It reminds me that He knows me:)   If you get a chance bless my friend too and check out her amazing Etsy shop.

David Garibaldi: Jesus Painting from Thriving Churches on Vimeo.


Oh and I had this video sent to me awhile back and I keep forgetting to share it.  It will bless your socks off.  Take a second and watch it...with the music loud!!!  It's awesome.  Again the gifts that God gives his people is mind blowing!!!  Are you using yours today??

Have a blessed day.

192.  no need for an alarm clock on the weekend.

193.  sweet ones who love me despite my hormones.

194.  orange, red and yellow crispy leaves.

195.  my electric blanket

196.  sweet viola music filling in the silence around me;)

197.  craft paper, ribbons and pretty things to make something lovely.

198.  the excitement of a friend coming to stay;)

199.  the smell of my dinner simmering in the crockpot.

artist???

I've never been comfortable with calling myself an artist.  When I say it I kind of mumble it beneath my breath and downplay that I could have such a title.  I feel like a fraud, that I should have my work shown in a gallery or have credentials behind my name to say it.  To me it's like using the term Olympic athlete, novelist, rock star...Academy Award winner;)  How could I possibly be an artist?  It's such a cool thing to be:)  However, I truly believe unlike the other lofty titles I threw out there that we are all artists.  If you can create a beautiful meal, pull together a lovely home, sew something, create anything with love YOU are an artist. 

To read the rest of my post visit my beautiful friend Emily's blog HERE.

Have a blessed weekend.

take me home

 (Big chick's first purse purchase)

My mom and dad left this morning.  I always cry.  Even though I was ready for them to go I hate saying goodbye.  Absolutely excruciating!  Add PMS to the mix, and well...you get the drift.  Thank heavens I have my transitions class to look forward to this morning.  It's just the distraction I need.


Over the weekend we took them into Richmond.  Just so there is no confusion, I don't actually live in Richmond.  We are suburbanites and prefer to live away from a city...any city.


Everyone here always talks about Cary Street.  It's not too far from downtown and has loads of little shops and cute restaurants.  I'd eaten down there a few times, but had never done any shopping.  Can I just say I was a little disappointed?  I don't want to offend any Richmond people, but the shopping here is just not what I'm used to.  I greatly miss Minnesota's amazing shops.  Don't want to dwell on the past, but I'm grieving inside a bit over that loss.  Perhaps God is wanting to remove that unnecessary thing from my life.  It's not like I don't have everything I need.  Oh and we do have Ross, TJ Maxx, Target and Home Goods, so I've got those awesome shops.  I just miss the flea markety stuff that must just be a Midwest thing.  Oh and IKEA...the nearest one is 2 hours.  But that's okay.  Like I said I don't need anything.

I did manage to score a really cute jacket.  Have I ever told you I'm a jacket junkie??  I'm not wearing my new one in this picture.  I got the one I'm wearing on Melrose Ave. in LA.  Which come to think of it reminds me of Cary street...it's that kind of shopping.  Kind of weird items...expensive.  Just not normal stuff. 

Okay so after Cary Street we FINALLY went to Honey's work.  We've been here 3 months now and I've never seen his office.  Not sure if he's hiding it from me for a reason or what, but I was really curious. 

It's downtown...very urban.  Loved the old buildings and elevated railroad tracks.  It's right by the James River too.  The building he's in used to be an old tobacco warehouse and now it's been refurbished into really cool office spaces and lofts. 

Uh...can you say totally cool!  I was impressed.  It was bea-uti-ful.  I loved the tall ceilings and concrete pillars.  It had such a cool lofty feel to it. 

Maybe he's not impressed because his building in Minneapolis was a huge skyscraper and he had a big office with a window.  Regardless of that it seemed very nice.  I love having a picture in my mind of where he is now.


While he was telling my dad what he does everyday...for like the millionth time...I was bored and decided we needed a photo shoot with those cool killer pillars;)

Mom wouldn't join in on the fun.  Shame on her!!!

Our drive home. 

 

Had to show mom and dad Monument Avenue.  Not sure which statue this is, but that street is the coolest in the city.  Gorgeous row homes...charm and history just oozes!   

(playing dominoes)

Even though Richmond is only about 30 minutes away we ended up being gone all day.  Do you guys just melt when you come home after being gone a long time??  Something about kicking off those shoes, smelling familiar, changing into my sweats and just melting onto the couch...ahhhhh.  I'm not sure how or when it happened, but I prefer to be home.  I love the comfort of my dwelling place.  I'm sure mom and dad feel the same way.  Two weeks is a long time.  Home is going to look/feel/smell so good to them;)

Have a blessed day.

186.  honey's job
187.  2 weeks well spent
188.  a place to call home
189.  a nap in my near future
190.  my class of women who will make me feel so loved today.

191.  that my dad took home a little bit of Virginia with him!

life canvas

It's day number nine.  My folks are still here and I think they are here to stay...ha!  Oh my goodness I love them to death, BUT I am so out of routine I'm not sure if I'll ever get back into it;)   We've been busy running here and there.  Yesterday was a big day.

We drove the hour or so to Williamsburg and hit the outlet mall for a little bit and a wonderfully huge Yankee Candle store, which much to my surprise was enormous...like 45,000 square feet enormous!!  They had a whole winter wonderland inside and some really fabulous farmy things which I'll have to share with you another day. 

My folks have been married 50 years.  It's funny to watch them interact.  They get along splendidly for the most part, but just like anyone who've been together for a long time they have their "moments" too. 


The other day honey and I were having a "moment", and with my mom and dad living in our house for a few weeks they witnessed it.  It was nothing major.  Can hardly remember what it was about, but it was enough for my mom to actually pray that God would give her a sign that we loved each other!  When she told me that later I about died laughing.  My mom is a hoot.  If you knew her you would think she was hilarious.  First of all we rarely fight.  We just don't.  And it would be rather impossible I think to be married almost 20 years and never have a spat.  Well she got her sign...honey out of nowhere gave me some very very sweet compliments the other day and he did it right in front of my mom.  Which was really uncharacteristic for him.  God works in mysterious ways. 

Colonial Williamsburg was beautiful.  I only had my 50 mm lens, so most of my shots are upclose.  I like them like that anyway.  A tight shot that captures the detail is the most beautiful of all in my opinion.

 

My dad is a welder and has crafted many a metal thing...including rod iron fences.  This one was breathtaking.

Not sure if you can tell or not in this picture, but I just had 5 inches cut off my hair.  Growing up I never had long hair.  It was boy short.  A few years ago I decided to try and grow it long.  It completely transformed my look.  Honey was in love of course.  I think most men prefer longer hair.  I guess it's more feminine.  And for me it made me feel more feminine.  I have a round face too and it seemed to slim it down a little.  Anyway it was getting a little too long, so I took in a picture of Jennifer Aniston and had another new hair lady have at it.  It looks a lot better.  Not sure if I look like like the picture her, but I can live with that;)

Wouldn't it be kind of fun to dress up in costume everyday?  They were really cute and stayed true to character and only said good day when you said hello to them.

Kind of morbid if you think about it.  I can't really imagine living in a time where people were actually punished and killed for their crimes right on the street in front of everyone.  Thank God I wasn't born in that day and age.

 

Now this is what I would want to be doing if I worked in Colonial Williamsburg.  What a fabulous job!

 

A few quirky things about my daddy.  He always cleans his plate.  I'm mean CLEANS his plate.  Looks like it's been licked clean!  He LOVES his GPS.  He carries it with him everywhere he goes and makes it a point to tell me the above sea elevation every 10 minutes.  He's getting hard of hearing.  I notice him disconnecting in conversation when we are eating out or in the car.  He just can't hear what we are saying. 



He is a major procrastinator, but when there is something he is really passionate about he can't wait to get started on it.  For instance he wants me to paint a mural for him in his shed.  Mom bought him an old car that is flat and he wants it to look like it's driving down the road.  I told him he should try to paint it.  So now he is sketching it out on paper....coloring it in with colored pencils.  I love his enthusiasm and can't wait to see what he comes up with.

My mom is equally quirky.  She wakes up at all hours of the day.  Every morning when I come down for breakfast she's already eaten and been reading the word and praying for hours.  I love her heart for the Lord.  She does drama productions at church and when she gets ideas from the Lord it's all she can do to contain herself. 

On the way home I made a wrong turn...hate that!  And then I about sideswiped another car.  Good times:(  It's so fun having my mom gasp in fear every time I change lanes and hold onto the car handle thingy...NOT!!!  I was so relieved to finally get home in one piece. 


Amazing how a little one hour drive/day trip can leave you absolutely spent.  Oh and then we had a school carnival for little chick an hour after we got home.  Where we proceeded to back over a metal sign on our way out of the parking lot.  UGH!   See it's the good with the bad...all swirled into a big bold life canvas that represents our every days.  Just glad the good is brighter and takes up more space on that beautiful piece of artwork:)

Have a blessed day.

181.  pumpkin pancake mix from Trader Joe's

182.  cobblestone streets

183.  picket fences

184.  pansies in late October

185.  angels that keep me safe from harm

love in motion

I dreamed of painted trees and crepe paper last night.  I knew it was in my immediate future.  Today was Little Chick's official 8th birthday.  We wanted it to blow her socks off, so we've been dreaming of ways to bless her.


Not sure if you do this too, but I get a little nervous about birthdays.  I want so much for them to be meaningful.  I want my girls to feel special and loved, and for it to make this huge memory deposit in their brains forever!  No pressure or anything;)

So we decorated.

 

Right before the bus came we hung banners, scattered balloons and draped pink, yellow and blue crepe paper all over the house.

We were all waiting for her outside...cameras in hand.  She was crowned the "Happy Birthday" girl and had to wear her embarrassing headband!

The sweet little neighbor girls came over for a game of beat the butterfly senseless!!

 

Then we walked into the house and Little Chick got the biggest surprise...magic all just for her!

But it gets better!!! 

Then we made her close her eyes and we took her upstairs into her room...where momma had been very BUSY.  She begged for me to paint her room when the painters were here.  She wanted my special touches, so I promised her that I would do it up big for her birthday.  

I tossed and turned last night not really knowing what I was going to do for her.  I knew it involved a tree and some chalkboard paint, but I didn't have a picture or anything to guide me.  Despite that it totally came together.  Ribbons and banners gave it the added pops of color and whimsy.  She LOVED IT!!!

My generous neighbor friend across the street made a beautiful butterfly birthday cake for her, and as we sang Big Chick played happy birthday on her viola.  It really couldn't have been any more special.  I can't tell you what joy it brought to my heart to see her beaming and saying over and over again what a perfect day it was.   


These are the moments that as moms we shine.  These are the moments that we can step out of our boxes and go that extra mile.  It's love in motion.  It's tangible.  It's magical.  It's vital.  It's exhausting...but oh so worth it:) 

Have a blessed day.

176.  magic wonderland in my house

177.  chocolate cake and vanilla bean ice cream

178.  lunch in the school courtyard with my family

179.  a child's room full of love

180.  seeing generosity and unselfish love in my big chick