My baby love...

Babies grow in a blink of an eye. Seasons fly by. Once upon a time, there was time. Yes, our moments are fleeting...and no, we don't always savor them....but we must breathe them, be IN them and believe in them, for they are ours and they are us. I am so Blessed and in Love with so much in this life. I don't always appreciate or see all that I have...but I try. I try to remember what matters and what does not. I try to keep going when I want to quit. I seek to laugh and find joy in everyday even though sometimes it is challenging to say the least. This life is hard. No one promised it to be easy. There is alot we can be mad, angry and sad about...but I hope that I keep remembering to choose what to focus on, who to think about and how to be. I like this road that I walk upon. I hope I leave some footprints behind, pick many flowers along the way and see all of the sunshine up ahead...The livy monster is crabby as I type so I must go. I will try and update our latest happenings very soon. (I have a few recipes and thoughts and photos to share). :)

Preschool praise

This is Ben (cubs shirt) having fun at vacation bible school last night.

What a difference a day makes.

This is the same flower that I took a picture of the other day and put in my last post. Today, the kids and I found this butterfly on it. We chased it around the yard a bit and watched it flutter about nearby for quite awhile. Small little treasures. :). When I wrote my last post, I was feeling so overwhelmed, yet I was hopeful. I prayed for some peace and I got it. Although I didn't get too much done on my list today (and my coffee table is a mess once again), we had fun and delighted in the day for the most part. We made paper projects and played pretend, we laughed and sang. It was a nice day. :) Tomorrow, I will attempt to tackle the must dos and should haves, but I needed today.

These are some fun journals that I have made in the past, but I changed up my design a little bit. I used to glue the binding and have a slightly different covering, but now I decided to thread/sew instead. I like this better. I love these kind of books. I use them for all sorts of different things: kids quotes, to do lists, creative ideas, misc. musings. The covers are made of 2 4x6 photographs. The inside pages are misc. whatever I have around the house (notebook, graph, copy, cardstock, patterned, ledger, etc.).

Time to get the Ice Cream out... now, go catch some lightening bugs & GoOd nIgHt!

Coffee Table Chaos

A Summer Flower. :)
My Coffee Table this Sunday. - A wonderful example of the chaos of the 5 people living here. - And I wonder why it took all Monday to "straighten up" and I didn't even really get to the actual cleaning part. ugh, clutter and messes like this make me nuts, but it's something I have to just accept at times and let it be these days...at least for a little while. There is only so much time in the day. Once upon a time there was time....not so much anymore.

Garden Tomatoes

Vegetable Thief - will now be pushing up daisies courtesy of our German Shepherd.

Ben "The Ball Player"

**...**Random Musings **...**
Back to my Sunday Coffee Table...that kind of mess truly drives me crazy....but, I feel like that is a perfect representative of my days lately. They are not relaxing summer days (for me)...they feel kind of crazy, stressed, ovewhelmed, humid, unproductive....I just can't seem to get a handle on things like I truly desire to. I know I need to simplify and cut things out because there truly just is not enough time. I have to decide on my priorities, get organized and try to focus...but I am having a hard time doing that. I need to breathe. So, today is a new day. A fresh start. I know that I don't have to get all things done, but I need to get some. I know that I am in control of my day and I can set a plan and try my best to do what I can and what I can't that's o.k. too. I want to enjoy the rest of this season and most importantly, I want the kids to have a wonderful summer. I truly believe that they are, but I need to make sure that they keep getting what they need along with extra....meaning, I remember my childhood summers as almost feeling magical. The simple things like catching lightening bugs and chasing the ice cream truck, sleepovers and swimming, staying up late and exploring the great outdoors...oh Yes, I do believe in those childhood summers.
Home Front News: Our fish is still alive, I am planning a simple party for the kids birthdays. Must work on invites. I love that school supplies are out. One of very my favorite things to buy. I need to start planning the baby's baptism, hoping for October. Hope Isabelle's dress will fit Olivia at that point, but probably not. I am excited about the favors I am going to make for an upcoming family wedding shower. I miss Aunt Mary since she has been in reHab. Ben can write his name really well now. I rented "True Blood" first couple episodes in hopes that I get to watch it before it's due back. It looks rainy out. I love the rain. There's something comforting about it. I hope I can steal some time to do a little scrapbook or bookbinding/journal making somewhere in this day. k, the demands of the day are starting, wish me luck.

Another Painting..Do You Believe?

12" x 12" Stretched Canvas - Acrylic
This painting was so fun to create, but it's not finished yet! It is waiting to be personalized. I am selling this as a custom wall art. The person who purchases it just tells me what they want written in the cloud...a name, a word, a short saying...the SKY is the limit with this one. :)

Ugh, I feel sick, this heat is truly making me ill. I need a pina colada (or 2) to cool off. I think that might do the trick. This morning Noah went to FARMER & FEET (according to Ben) and got the kids some baseball/softball equipment. Ben has not put down his bat all day and Isabelle can't believe that her daddy found her a pink and purple glove with glitter to boot. We are having steaks on the grill, sweet potatoes and green beans for the evening meal. Since I have been painting, I have tons of cleaning house to do...I really don't know where to start so maybe I should just Let It Be as some guys once sang. Stay cool my friends.

A Little Birdie told me..-

Wanted to share some PAINTINGS with you . :) Above; is an Angel and Eastern Blue Bird painted with Acrylics on an 11x14 stretched canvas. Below: is a cute little bird with Olivia's name on a branch. I am starting to offer to paint personalized custom children's wall art and I have already got some interest which is so exciting because these paintings are so fun to create!

8" x 10 " on Acrylic Stretched Canvas

Here is my sweet baby girl with a cold wet washcloth on her head. Hey, we are just trying to keep cool in this horrible heat. :) hehe. Olivia is approx. 3 months old now and she is doing more and more every day. Sweet Dreams friends & family.

Little Boy...

Should I be concerned that my son enjoys doing things like this to his beloved stuff animals? I was told when he stomped on the toad that it was "normal" for a lad to do such a thing...and I suppose this is quite "normal" as well...but it just brings me to the thoughts of how raising girls and raising boys is such a different ball game. Ben is constantly surprising me (and shocking me) with the things he comes up with to pass the time. His childhood is defitnely filled with imagination and experiment around every corner. Most of his antics and creations bring a smile to my heart, but he certainly has his WiLd side. I'd say he's a little boy through and through, from the dirt on his nose to his untied shoe laces. Thanks to Ben, I am discovering a whole new world that I really had no clue about. I am even learning to enjoy "playing baseball" and reading stories about trains and superheros. As my baby boy is approaching 4 years old next month, I just keep thinking how blessed I am by his passion and his creativity...his laughter and his big blue eyes. I love that he still wants to go to bed each night with his "blankie cow" and some milkies (milk in a sippy cup). I want to keep him little forever...but of course I can not, I can only savor these moments of sticky hands around my neck and a trail of toys, trouble and laughter wherever he goes.

and a great gray wolf...

pounced out from behind a blackberry bush! This is a journal that I made featuring an altered storybook page of Little Red Riding Hood. The journal is really cool. It is folded pages that are bound together that individually open into circles the size of a cd.

A set of Alice In Wonderland Bookmarks that I made.

Bookmarks are such a fancy invention aren't they?

This is how my son plays baseball. He runs outside with his (dad's too big) mitt, a special signed by Baby Ruth (story in a previous post) baseball, and his FOOTBALL helmet. These days he is constantly asking everyone to play baseball with him.

We've got HONEY! I must admit that at the first knowledge of my husband's desire for beekeeping, it was really not my interest and infact, I was not fond of the idea at all. I was afraid we would all get stung by swarms of angry flying objects...yet, Noah is the only one who has gotten stung so far (and he doesn't seem to mind, plus now he has the special suit of protection) and now that we have HONEY , I am quickly growing SWEET to the idea...cuz it is gOOd Honey! Yum! As you can see from the pic, the little fingers of the children couldn't wait to swipe some up. We canned a little bit and that's all we can do for now, the rest has to remain with the hives for the time being (as to not to disturb). Now, I realize what all the fuss was about from Winnie the Pooh and licking his honey jars. In the future we have plans (hopefully) to sell some honey and maybe make some soaps, candles etc out of it. I think we should name it: BeeSki Honey.

Green Beans, Green Beans, Green Beans...this is only one bucket of several picked in the last few days. As we picked, cleaned, cut, blanched and froze all the millions of beans, I started to think, hey it would have been much more time consuming and easier to buy these suckers from the store...but, I am sure once I am eating them I will appreciate their supergardeness. Poor News to Report: Something has been eating our cucumbers and zuchinni. We will be lucky to get a little of either. I guess when you live right next to a wooded area, there may be lots of animals who are thrilled beyond the moon that you decided to plant a garden for them to rummage through in the wee hours of the eve and morn. Now only if they would have ate some of the green beans instead...

This morning everyone is still sleeping, except Child #3 is now stirring as she is realizing that it is time to wake up and be cute. Happy Sunday!

The Beginning of a Painting

I am feeling very inspired and am so excited to get out my drawing/paint tools. Ben & Belle are spending some special time with family...now if I could only get Olivia to take a nap...

Hand Painted Glass & rambling.

I am painting glass like crazy. I need to stop the art and start sweeping up some dog hair. (I swear lance is shedding like a maniac in this heat, it is a wonder there is any hair left to shed, yet everyday every moment theres some more - joy). Anywho...theres really not much to report. Today has been humid and yuk and I have been mostly painting and cleaning. Our fish is still alive. Our garden is now giving us: green beans (noah made this really good dish with them last night...just sautee them in bacon and onion with some pepper and a little butter and call it a side. Awesome. I should have went outside to pick more beans today and protest the groundhogs revival ,but I'm still waiting on Mary Poppins to fly in and take the children to the park for an outing. Except their kites have been un-operable since Easter so it's probably for the best. Looks like rain yet it doesnt. Don't ever buy AJAX dish soap. The bubbles disapear way too fast. It's really disappointing. Well, I've got a fussy bucket on my hands and a soapy bucket at my feet. Go now, Seek Happy nights & Happy days.

FINtastic Adventure

The fishermans (and girl) sitting on the dock of the bay.
3 stooges with poles and bait walk to the lake.

Olivia enjoying one of her many "cat" naps while the family fished the afternoon away.

The woods where I spotted a Gnome. (o.k., I did not spot a Gnome ((this time)), but I did collect moss for a terrerium that I want to create. I have dreams.

One of the victims. No fish were killed during this FINtastic adventure. Well, maybe one...by accident...possibly. It is not certain. We must move on...

It rained on us just a smidge today, but that wasn't really so bad. Nice afternoon out by the watering hole at the neck of the woods. Good times. I didn't even over- pack like I usually do. The picnic was pleasant. Kids really enjoyed themselves. We kept pretty low key this holiday weekend, so it was nice for the grand finale to be to get away today for a little bit. Just relaxing with hardly any cares in the world. The highlight of this trip was when Isabelle decided to pee in the woods is exactly the rare (or rear) time that a vehicle drove by. The worst part of the journey was when I dropped Olivia's favorite Bink underneath the car at an almost impossible spot and I had to crawl underneath on the gravel and all to retrieve it.

Ben just snuck into my bedroom to try and sleep in our bed. He brings with him curious george. oh also today, we brought my car into the shop. Almost 500.00 later, my car (brakes) is fixed. JOY. Oh well, I am very grateful that my car is repaired and does not make horrible noises anymore. We are almost out of milk. Hope there is enough milk for the Cherrios in the morning. Noah got the wrong kind of Cherrios, I was hoping the kids wouldn't have noticed that there is no Honey Nut, that they are just plain, but they noticed. Next time I need to be more specific in regards to my request. It happens. goodnight. :)