hello 44.

it's official. i'm 44. last friday was like any other day. busy with work. busy being a mom. busy with daily chores. oh, and did i mention i turned 44? even though it was an ordinary day i was blessed with sweet bday phone calls, cards, emails and some awesome homemade gifts. gotta love the homemade gifts. first up, the darling owl {i heart owls} felted wool purse from lisa lou that now holds my camera. lisa is amazing at knitting and felting. not to mention freehand stitching. yes, i said freehand stitching. so jealous.

next up, homemade strawberry freezer jam from my brother from another mother, timmy. oh my goodness. yummy doesn't even describe it. bliss maybe? i don't know. must make some more soon!!!

the next gift is not homemade, but makes me very very happy indeed. {please excuse the number of photos. e wanted to see what it all looked like.} i've been wanting to redo the bedding in my bedroom forevah! i found this awesome comforter, shams and turquoise pillow at target. i called brett and he said go for it. he bought me the comforter and shams and my sweet abbey bought me the turquoise pillow that i've been eyeing for about a year and half. i heart it all so much.

as if the turquoise pillow wasn't enough from my sweet child, she decided to make me 2 more adorable pillows to complete the look. she made me a round brown felt pillow with a red flower on top made up of freehand petals sewed on individually. absolutely amazing beyond belief!!! and then she made a pillow that looks like a log. yes, i said a log. we're big fans of woodgrain and trees around here. it is sooooooo cool!!! the pictures do not do these pillows justice. i can't believe how creative she is. she just blows my mind away. oh, and did i mention all of it was done freehand???? no patterns. she's icky cool that way. fearless. i admire her so much.

okay, and last but not least. remember my 43 list???

well, i certainly didn't complete everything on my list by my 44th birthday, but that wasn't really the point for me. it wasn't just a checklist, but rather a way to get me to grow and expand and really {do} some of the things that i've always wanted to do. i'll continue to work on the list until i feel like i've accomplished what i want and then i'll start a new list. it's been a great experience and one i want to do again for sure.

okay, there you go folks. the beginnings of a new year. who knows what it will bring. all i know is i'm ready. bring it on.

Changes

Let's face it. Change is never easy. It can be painful and scary. It can be full of uncertainty and doubts. But, out of change can come incredible growth and strength that you never knew that you had. Change can lead you to depend on God that much more for your focus and direction. Changes are coming in my life and I'm nervous, excited, sad, unsure, heartbroken and a host of other emotions. But, I'm also feeling my dependence on God strengthening and my spirit ready to grow again. Change isn't easy, but I know that God is with me. I trust the path that He has laid out for me.

"But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, 'You are my God.' My times are in your hands......" Psalm 31:14, 15

This scripture meant so much to me a couple of years ago when I was diagnosed with a rare condition. And, now I'm returning to it once again as I face yet another change in my life. All I need to remember is that God is my God and my life is in His hands. I just need to trust Him. Nothing else really matters.

hot, hot, hot

Oh my goodness!!! It is waaaaaaaaaaaay too hot for me!!! I feel like the heat is sucking energy and creativity out of me! This is when I wish desperately that I lived in Colorado or somewhere north. Somewhere that struggles to get into the 80's. Somewhere cool and refreshing. I'm trying to get inspired to finish some projects up so that I can start on some major Christmas projects. (I know. Yes, I'm already thinking about Christmas.) So, I've been cleaning off my scrapbook desk today so that I will feel like working there again. Trying to use forward as my mantra. :) I neeeeeeeeeeed Autumn. Crisp, cool, leaves falling Autumn!!

Check, Check

Yes. It has been a while since I've blogged. But, as you can see, I've been checking things off of my list. Been having some fun making totes for fun and for gifts...........

Made my 2 Polaroid Christmas albums that I've been wanting to make...............

Making something fun with these...............

Let's just say that I'm having lots and lots of fun creating and making and doing and MOVING FORWARD!!! I have loved my word so much this year. I've never felt so productive and motivated. This word has pushed me in ways that I never really thought it would. I think I'm going to keep this word for next year too and keep the momentum going.

Nothing else really new in my world except for being a mom taxi for my daughter to her job 5 days a week. The first day was a bit emotional to say the least. My baby is WORKING!!! It felt like the first day of preschool all over again. Not sure that I'm ready for her to be so adulty......

I will close out this post with a pic of some visitors that we had this evening. This little duck couple flew to our driveway and walked into our garage while Brett was out there building an airplane. So cool. They didn't seem to be too afraid of us. Maybe it was all of the bread we kept throwing at them. You think?

Happy Momma Indeed

Happy Momma's Day to me because I have this incredibly cool painting hanging on my wall painted by my ever so lovely and uber talented daughter. I asked her to paint me a tree. I was picturing a small canvas with a little tree. But noooooooo. My sweet daughter painted me this large, amazing canvas......................



And, it has this sweet message on it with a heart hidden in the trunk...............

And, these adorable little red birds.......................

AND, this sweet hidden message on the side........................

I {heart} this so much. Not just because it is so beautiful, but because my Abbey took time and thought to give me something so creative. I could not have imagined a more beautiful gift evah! Love love love it.

i {heart} rain

what is it about rain?
i absolutely {love} rainy days. i really really do.

i love. . . . .
the smell.
the clouds.
the different shades of grey.
the coziness of being indoors.
the sound coming from the gutters.
how everything seems clean again.
how the grass and plants seem brighter.
how lazy the pets are.
the sound of the raindrops hitting the windows.
the peaceful beauty of it all.

i think i could totally get lost in a rainy day. . . . .

{True Beauty}

this girl.

she is {true beauty} to me.

inside. and outside.

a beautiful heart. beautiful mind.

creative spirit. passionate soul.

my girl. can't believe that she's mine.











by having courage to be herself,
she put something wonderful in the world that was not there before.

52Q

So, here's what I've been working on lately. This really cool Aussie, Emily Falconbridge, has a question a week journal card project and I've been {playing} along. Using up bits and scraps of this and that. Reusing and recycling. Love doing that. Seriously, just playing and using up old photos. So much {fun}. You can find Emily on my sidebar if you would like to play too. Hope you enjoy. Some of the photos are a little bit blurry. Sorry. I think I might make a little fabric or felt pouch to keep them all in...............

Final Farewell

This is my Granny. These pictures were taken in 2004 on her birthday. She was 86 years young. Full of life. Spunky. A fireball. All of that packed into 4' 11". She died last Thursday. Finally getting to go home and be with Grandpa. I am so happy for her. Truly, truly happy. I know that she is in heaven right now with bird earrings, beads and a bright colored suit on dancing a jig. She's smiling and laughing. She's praising God. I miss her so much. She and Grandpa had such an influence on me and my faith. I've never known anyone like them. They LOVED everyone. Really. They knew no strangers. They were never judgmental. Everyone was a soul to them. They touched so many lives. And, no matter what was thrown at them, it was a blessing from God. Extraordinary people. I am so thankful and blessed that they were my grandparents and that they were a part of my life. I miss my Granny's hugs and encouragement so much. She ALWAYS had such faith in me and believed in me. She believed that I could do ANYTHING. Love that. I want to be like my grandparents. I want to have my arms open wide welcoming everyone into my heart and loving them unconditionally. I want to see every single person that I come in contact with as a precious soul. I want to have the {passion} that they had for reaching out to those around them. I want to encourage others like they did. I want to have just even a little bit of them in me. All I know is that I am a much better person for having known them and having them love me like they did. So, for now, I bid Granny farewell and look forward to the day when I get to see her again. Love you oodles, Granny!