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!

FYI

FYI, over at SisTV they have a Friday Freebie that you can download. Kinda fun. Just go here and look for Friday Freebie on the right. Enjoy!

today i feel . . . . . .

super inspired to create something.
happy that it is friday.
incredibly thankful that E told me about excedrin back & body.
like i haven't seen E in forever!! and i'm missing her terribly.
that with our technology we should have a transporter from star trek already. seriously.
like i couldn't possibly eat enough chocolate today if i tried!
that i should have fresh daisies in my house. they're such friendly flowers.
at peace that my office is finally clean.
giddy because i have so many things i want to do and i'm so excited about them all.
nervous about going on a mission trip.
excited about seeing family and friends tonite.
happy to be.

{sneak peek}

I know. I know. I KNOW. I haven't posted anything creative in a while. So.........here's what I've been working on. Just a few pages of it though. You'll have to wait to see the rest of it later. I'm working on a {43} mini album. What is a {43} album you may ask???? Well, back in August when I turned that bEauTifUL age I made a list of 43 things that I want to accomplish during the year before I turn 44. I wanted something to document the list and to remind me of all the things that I want to do. This is {the list}. After the year is over, I plan to do another small album showing what I accomplished. Anywho, here's a peek. Hope you enjoy. Peace out.

i {heart} bible study nite

I really really do. I LoVe LOve loVE bible study nite at my house. I love having all of these amazing women from different backgrounds and in different stages of their life in my house laughing, talking, sharing, studying and growing closer to each other and to God. I love planning dinner for them so that for one night out of the month they don't have to worry about dinner. I love studying and thinking about what we're going to talk about that night. Most of all, I love these women and what they each bring to my life. I am so blessed to know each one of them and to be able to share my journey with them.

Tonight was even more fun because we got to get {cRafTy}. One of my favorite things to do!! We talked about choosing a word for the year to focus on and then made magnets out of chipboard as a visual daily reminder. Love the words that were chosen and why. So cool. Tonight was a very good night indeed.

Tag

A tag from my peep, Nellie Rae.

Rules are: Anything you have done has to be in bold.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo (hard to believe I know)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (saw it, but didn't walk to the top)
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (does Camp Fire candy count?)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Volunteered for an Organization
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Visited Italy

Wow! There's alot I haven't done!! Need to think about adding some of these to my future goals.

Happy Groundhog Day!!!

My family {heart} this movie. We watch it EVERY Groundhog Day. Yes, I know. It's kinda repetitive and you wonder if Phil's day is ever going to end. But, it has the best message. No matter what is thrown at you {keep moving forward}. Don't get stuck in a rut. Don't give up. Don't always stay the same. Be willing to grow. Expand yourself. Step out on faith. Trust.

So, by now, you're probably wondering where I'm going with all of this. Well, each year I choose a word that keeps me focused for the year on what is important to me. One of my very favorite life artists, Ali Edwards, started this exercise of choosing a word for the year and this is my 4th year to participate. I have a link to Ali's blog on my sidebar. Check her out. She is wonderful at inspiring people to share their stories through pictures and words. Anyway, my word for this year is {forward}. Why forward? Because last year I felt like I lost momentum. I was just still. Paralyzed really. I wasn't moving forward and I wasn't moving backwards. Just still. Not really doing anything. This quote kinda sums it up for me:

"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all." ~ Oscar Wilde

That's it in a nutshell. I was just existing. Nothing more. Nothing less. I don't want to live that way this year. I let things paralyze me last year. If I didn't meet my own expectations, then I was paralyzed to move forward. If I failed at something, then I let that keep me from trying again. If I was overwhelmed by projects, then I just stopped. Not this year. This year I will be LivInG! I am so excited about this word!!! I wake up every morning and the first thought that comes to mind is {forward}. Moving forward in my spiritual growth, in my relationship with God, in my personal relationships, in my aspirations, in my goals, in my health, and in my career. I have so much I want to accomplish this year and I love that my word has motion to it. I won't allow myself to become a spectator of life this year, but to engage and be a part. And, believe it or not I've already put some things into motion that will help me to achieve some of my goals this year.

Strangely enough all of this forward motion has brought me great peace. Maybe because even when I don't meet a goal or an expectation for the day or the week or the month I let it go....and just keep moving forward. So, if you don't hear from me very often on my blog, don't worry. Just know that I'm busy moving {FORWARD}.

Checking In . . . . .

Hello, my peeps! Had a fabulous weekend!! Saturday was spent touring Route 66. Yes, I said touring. That's exactly what me and 4 of my friends did. It took us 12 hours, yes folks count them, 12 hours to get from Catoosa to Arcadia. The most fun 12 hours I've ever had in a car!! :) Why did we spend 12 hours in a car touring along Route 66 you ask? Because my sweet friend, Nellie, had on her list of things to do before she turns 30 to take a trip along Route 66 and I was lucky enough to be invited along for the ride. I will post pics later of our adventure and our encounter with "Madge."

Looking forward to Thanksgiving and having my family to my house for a change. Totally digging that. Abbey really wanted to have Thanksgiving at our house since we've never had it at our house before. Then, of course, the traditional movie theater trip after the big meal. Not sure what we'll be seeing this year.

Totally gearing up for Christmas right now. Having the best time making gifts. I've already made quite a few and can't wait to start a project for someone special on Saturday. Would love to have all my gifts made by mid-December. We'll see. Being very inspired by the November issue of Country Living and the December issue of Home Companion. So many gift ideas and eye candy to look at!!!

Ahhhhhhhhhhh. Isn't all just so lovely???

Also, looking forward to baking with my sweet daughter this year for the holidays. We haven't baked together since she was little. So, this year we will be making swedish ginger cookies, cranberry orange bread and who knows what else.

Well, that's about it for now. Have to go and take my darling daughter and her friends to the midnight showing of Twilight. On a school night no less. Unbelievable. Am I a cool mom or what???

M.I.A.

Yes, I know. I've been {Missing In Action} for a month now. Wow. A month. Where did that month go??? I needed to take a break from the computer. I've been feeling frustrated and unproductive and I just needed to take time and accomplish {SOMETHING}. Anything. So, I did. I had a very long list and I've been slowly marking things off. I still have quite a list of things to do, so I probably won't be updating every day, but I will try to at least once a week share something. In light of how I've been feeling the last month, this quote really spoke to me and I would like to share it with you.

“I beg you to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves...Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now...the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now.” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926), excerpt from Letters to a Young Poet

I've had so many things undone or not in focus in my life that I really needed to read this quote and remind myself that it's okay to not have all the answers right now and that I need to find my {joy} in the journey again. I've been letting things and others steal my joy. And, because of that it has robbed me of my energy and my focus. No more. I will find peace within any situation and I will not let others steal my joy. E reminded me of a verse that is so true.

"A heart at peace gives life to the body......" ~ Proverbs 14:30

So, here I am getting closer to that heart of peace. Working on it every day. Focusing on what is important to me. Asking God to be with me on this journey and trying to get closer to Him each day because without Him there will be no peace or joy in my {heart}. That, my dear friends, is why I have been M.I.A. for a while.

The Owl

For all of you who have a desire to see the demise of the poor little owl from the previous post go here.

i {heart} owls

It is no secret that I {love} owls. They make me smile. I'm drawn to them. My husband knows that I love owls. Today he yells at me to come and watch a cartoon short about an owl. So, of course, I think that it's going to be a cute little cartoon that he knew I would enjoy because of my aforementioned love for owls. Right? Well, it all started out cute and innocent and I was laughing and enjoying this cute little owl cartoon until the owl gets SHOT and then his eyeball gets sQuiShEd!!! I obviously couldn't bear to take pictures of those frames. All the while, my beloved AND my precious daughter are laughing hysterically while the cute little owl meets its doom. Sick. They are both really sick. To do that to me. Really. I should've taken a picture of them laughing. Unbelievable.