13 months

"Uh oh."

when the cup hits the floor, when she slips her own shoes off, when she takes off her winter hat, when I drop something, leave something behind, spill something.

"Hiya!"

when I meet her at the door to pick her up, when she finds her toy cell phone and 'answers' it, when her dad comes home from work.

"ooohhhh"

when she points at her "artwork", or at my paintings

her hair can hold a bow. it needs a daily brushing through the tiny curls. a shoulder shimmy while she dances, a stomped foot to a heavy bass, a slow spin to the tunes of Carole King, an "ah duh" (all done) at the end of dinner, a wet sticky kiss at bedtime.

shoot. i say. she's growing up.

Keeping Busy!!

I continue to keep myself busy, whether it's changing diapers or washing a white canvas with some brilliant blue.

Life is what you do, not what you imagine. So I'm doing which includes lots of "how to use a chef knife" videos on YouTube, mixing colors on a palette, cutting dress patterns with my mom, dancing with my one-year-old girl, learning a little along the way, trying to eliminate the excess and focus on the things that are presented each day.

Some recent things...



Used an old hymnal to add to it...



Our entryway organizer/note board... used a bulletin board, fabric and paper:



The full image, including the indian corn that Mom and Dad gave to me on their arrival. All the way from Barber's!



With Thanksgiving on the horizon, we are brainstorming ways to celebrate on the cheap, Christmas plans and all the chaos stress pennypinching fun that goes along with it.

Those blogs to come...

Painting

It's something I used to do. And now I do more of it.

Like... all. the. time.

I was invited by a friend/co-worker/worship leader to paint during a recent worship experience. He said, "Use this as an opportunity to do something you've dreamed of doing." So I purchased a huge canvas. I would've purchased bigger however upon inspection, I realized that I might not be able to reach the top once it were on my easel.

I went with 3' x 4'. 4' being just one foot short of my 5' spunky self.

The jitters haunted me all day. I imagined myself getting halfway through the painting and with several hundred witnesses, facing a bitter failure of work. I tinkered with colors, and musings, and my own heart.

It finally came down to me standing behind a black curtain, begging God to inspire my hands and heart beyond my own understanding.

I read a quote yesterday that said, "Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better."(Andre Gide)



There it stood. Daunting. Ambitious. The butterflies swarmed my insides as the music started. But it happened. With or without me, God sweeps in and captures hearts. I'm just glad that I was able to be a part of it last night. More than anything, I was reminded that I am His masterpiece. I am a canvas, thrashed and covered with color and scratches, rags dragged along my surface to clean and create. I like knowing this side of my Creator. Like a friend once said, "I feel like God understands me when I dance," I can echo her. I feel like God understands me when I paint. And if that's all it is, I'm ok with that.

Wait No More!

I know you've just been dying to know what I've been up to. Haven't you been waiting by your computer with baited breath, one mouse click away from TOB's latest words?

No?

Ah well.

Here are some of my paintings available for purchase just to tie you over to my next post...

The Move

AH again... things get sorted into piles, "keep" "give away" "trash"...

Moving. The arduous process of packing up your belongings. Sometimes I'm tempted to box them up and dump them all without looking. I genuinely dislike having so many "things."

Things that have no value.
Things that have sentimental value, but mean nothing to a stranger.
Things to look at. Wonder at. Smile at.

Things that I have to dust. Clean. Put away. Open. Close. Forget about.

THINGS.

Boxes labeled "kitchen" "baby" "office" "master"...

can't I just label some of them "trash" or "open at your own risk."

The last time we moved, I had a box labeled "If You Drop This, I'll kill you." That's the absolute truth.

Perhaps I should label some things to say "Please Don't Steal This".. like the bottle of wine that never showed up after some "hired help" moved our belongings.

Moving. To 35 minutes south. A new neighborhood. New town with new places to eat and call "home". A new zip code.

I travel around the Web looking at interior design ideas, paint colors, furniture, fabrics... time to make a change.

A new start.

So about that box labeled, "Old Things." I think I'm ready to toss it.

On a side note, be sure to stop by my new Etsy store to see some paintings I've been doing. I'll do my best to add my new ones every week!

First Birthday

Lots of firsts this year. This was one to celebrate.

To go from this...


To this...


The three of us celebrated with a trip to the toy store, pizza and cake. Not just any cake... but the kind that begs to be smashed and dug into with the eager hands of a new one year old. When she went head first, I was genuinely proud. I hope she lives her life that way - going in head first.

Figs and Ginger

This is me...


wearing my Figs and Ginger Bunny Necklace.

I won this necklace at The Bright Side Project for this entry:

mom and me, red cheeks
reaching high in autumn leaves
plump mac, sweet crisp love

Thanks Figs and Ginger and Bright Side Project!

You all should go and get involved in this fun community!