Saturday, June 30, 2012

What My Heart is Telling Me...

To one who has been long in city pent,
'Tis very sweet to look into the fair
And open face of heaven, - to breathe a prayer
Full in the smile of the blue firmament.

~John Keats, Sonnet XIV 


Right now
in this time 
of my life
I am taking
each day 
as it comes.

I am listening to my heart
and doing exactly what it tells me.

My Brave Art


I am filling the pages of my Art Journal with
Kristin's Summer of Color Challenge.
Oh what JOY this is giving me.
I have a new found love
for my Art Journal!!


Two of my fave words hanging from my studio bullentin board.


Thanks to inspiration from my blog friend Nicole I 
gathered all my old Weight Watcher
stuff and started that 
this week.
What a difference 
counting points makes!!
Thanks, Nicole:)

Today I am 
spending a bit of 
one on one time
with my sweetie.
We are driving 
to Iowa for business
but I am looking
forward to just talking 
with my guy:)

My Brave Art


What my heart is telling me
is to rest, take care of myself,
art journal and get
all those feelings
(good and bad) 
out.
Spend time with 
family.
Pray and meditate on Scriptures.
And write.
Post 
every 
thought 
and 
feeling.
Inspire.


Who will tell whether
 one happy moment of love
 or the joy of breathing
 or walking on a bright morning
 and smelling the fresh air,
 is not worth all the 
suffering and effort which life implies. 
 ~Erich Frommplies. 
 ~Erich Fromm


What is YOUR heart telling you, girls??

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

A True Brave Girl

Tonight my sweet Mama
 took Em and I out for a "Girl Night".
It was perfect.





We saw the movie "Brave".

Have you seen it?!!
It was GREAT!!!
So, So GREAT!!



Merida is the star of Brave 
and boy does she SHINE.
She is my new Hero.

"Our fate lies within us."


Monday, June 25, 2012

Taking it Easy



This is what I am doing at the moment.....taking each day as it comes. Enjoying my family, getting ready for a yard sale in July, planning two family picnics, staying home and watching movies together and creating. Lots of art journaling and index card art going on here:)

Have a GREAT week, girls. I will be back!!


And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer. ~F. Scott Fitzgerald

Saturday, June 23, 2012

A Sudden, Startling Joy

Something wonderful has happened.


Something my family and I have been praying and praying and praying for has become a reality.



Girls, my family and I have been through stress. The burden laid upon our shoulders has been heavy. My husband has been working day and night, trying his very best to stay positive and keep the faith.


Faith is courage; it is creative while despair is always destructive.  ~David S. Muzzey




Yesterday...that burden was lifted.

I have had this post-it note stuck on my bookshelf in my studio since last January...



Every time I would go there to work I would see it. Some days it annoyed me more than anything. On those dark, dark days I would think...Do I have enough Faith??



Faith is putting all your eggs in God's basket, then counting your blessings before they hatch.  ~Ramona C. Carroll


When those moments of doubt would creep in I would fold my arms and pray. Pray to my Father in Heaven and thank Him for all we DO have.

Here is another post-it note from my studio....




Yes, girls it is MY FAITH that has gotten me through this. OUR FAITH....my sweet husband and I's.


Dave & I on our farm Father's Day-2012


We still have a ways to go before we can shout from the rooftops..."We're FREE!!" 
BUT things are soooo much brighter.


Faith is what makes life bearable, with all its tragedies and ambiguities and sudden, startling joys.  ~Madeleine L'Engle

I experienced a sudden, startling joy yesterday. I am so grateful.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Spilling Truth

Sometimes the TRUTH can be hard to take. 
Most times the TRUTH can set us free.


Seek truth and you will find a path. 
 ~Frank Slaughter


Three amazing women have helped me realize that I need to be sharing MY TRUTH.


In the past few weeks these women have poured their hearts out and shared their TRUTH. I don't share what's real here everyday. I mean the real icky stuff. Obviously most of us Bloggers don't. Not every post anyway. And that's a good thing....I mean who wants to read every single gory detail of what's wrong in our lives, right?

But their does come a time when the TRUTH needs to told. We get so very tired of hiding behind the exclamation points and smily faces.



Here is an excerpt from my journal entry this morning....

"2012 has just been HARD. Probably the hardest of my life. My kids' choices and trying to keep them in line. Oh goodness our finances...all our financial burdens. Not having enough. I know I have been going through major depression. I have all the signs: tired, listless, want to sleep, losing interest in things I love. It's because I feel like I'm in this deep, dark hole and I'm being swallowed. There seems to be no way out. I am filling my time with ways to escape: food and tv. TODAY needs to be the First day of the rest of my life!!! It's time for an intervention. I HAVE to Take Charge of MY LIFE again. I want to be a BRAVE GIRL. I CAN be. I just need a plan."

Is this a little too much information? I don't think so. I think so many of us are going through hard times right now. And I seriously can't think of a better place to share and be understood than by my blog friends. Each one of you is so kind and understanding.

Today I am reaching out. I pouring out my soul in order to heal and start fresh. Each of YOU inspires me daily and have helped me have HOPE in my dark days. 






Overall I am pretty happy. I have been blessed in countless ways...

*My family and I are healthy
*We have a roof over our head (although this has been a HUGE source of my stress)
*We have food on our table (our garden is helping so much!!)
*We have wonderful friends that share their light with us when we need it
*We have been able to go on a few mini trips thanks to my amazing Mom!!

Most importantly we have our FAITH.

With each family prayer we say we thank our Father in Heaven for our blessings. It seems just when we need it the most...we are blessed with money to pay a bill. Honestly a few miracles have been given to us and I am so, so grateful.

Leanne encouraged me to BE REAL...she encourages us all to BE REAL. Here is an excerpt from her latest post...

The truth is . . . it's not always rose colored glasses here. Lord knows, I'm not always happy. The girls aren't always just bathed and smelling like baby lotion and sitting like little angels reading wonderful novels from writers long ago. Sometimes it's more like stinky little 'played outside all day long' girls with knots in their hair and fights over whose Barbie doll that really belongs to. -Leanne

This post spoke VOLUMES to me. Thank you so much, Leanne!!


Soraya...well she is just one of those soulful writers that fills my heart with light!! Her post on why she blogs had me saying YES!! THIS IS WHY I BLOG, TOO!!!

Now...here's the thing about blogging (and this is difficult, if not impossible to explain to someone unless they have experienced it for themselves)...but it changed my life!!! And I am not being melodramatic, I swear (although I do have a tendency to be sometimes). But it absolutely changed ...me!!! Now when I look back and read through some of my earlier posts...I see someone in search of her voice. A little unsure, a little desolate + lost...but still...showing up. I see someone who has a sense of humor...and who tries. -Soraya



That last line...and who tries. Oh, I love that!! You see since I've become a Blogger I have tried more things and put myself out there more than ever. I paint now! I draw now! I have 3 craft shows under my belt! I never would have tried any of those things without my blog!!

And then their is Stephanie Ackerman from Homegrown Hospitality. Her post reminded me how I can get direction back into my life....

Number 2 and 3 on my summer list are to stay on a schedule and well, make a schedule because without one, I am totally un-focused and out of balance and right now, at this very moment, as I sit and type this at 12:29 in the afternoon, I am completely out of focus and slightly off balance and honestly, I do not work well this way and when I get this way, all I want to do is sit down and read one of the three books I am reading right now...which reminds me that this is coming soon and well, reading always leads to a nap...which is maybe what I will do after I finish this long run-on-sentence-blog-post and cross a few things off my list...  -Stephanie

Do you know how long it's been since I wrote a list and kept it?? 

Here is my LIST for today:

1. put clothes away
2. laundry {daily}
3. Create index card
4. Work on Color challenge
5. Blog 
6. Exchange planner
7. 3:30 Art Experience to throw clay {yes, I am learning how to throw}
8. 5PM church meeting

It feesl so good to have this list!!




I know things will get better. I know life isn't always so hard. I intend on working on "Embrace each day and live it." Keeping it real though means it's not gonna happen overnight. 

But I  am gonna work on it.




Journal entry from this morning...

"I need a FIRE in my belly again. I want my heart to sing again. I want to look in the mirror and TRULY love what I see again. I am going to OVERCOME what is holding me back. I so desperately want to FLY again!!"

Here's to making lists, overcoming our weakness's, finding joy in the journey and flying.

Who is with me?

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Attack of the.....



This is what's making me happy this summer. 
My kids and good friends.

Did you know my son, Jackson makes movies??
 He does...really good ones.

Several years ago my awesome husband bought 2 pretty 
cool cameras and Jackson has
had a creative blast
ever since.


These photos are from his
latest production...



"Attack of the Giz".




Yes...I am talking about 
THIS 
Giz....





Pretty scary don't you think??




Here is Jacks and Elder Jourdain Scoubes.
He is currently serving his mission in our area.
These two are like brothers!!



Em and Elder Scoubes during filming.

He has been with us since January.
We have grown pretty close to 
this amazing young man!!


Two years ago Jacks filmed and produced 
a short music video that our church
used in the mission field. 
It was sweet!!

And if I can figure out
YouTube I will 
share a link to his 
first short film
"Signals"...it's 
a spoof on the movie 
"Signs".



That's Elder Daniel Hall using
our mini camera {love this young man!!}
 and one of our former missionaries 
on the couch, Courd.
He served here 2 years ago
and came back for a visit
last week!! 

We had a 
GREAT time!

As soon as Jacks
puts "Attack of the Giz" together
and posts on YouTube 
I will make sure we put
links here so you
can see. 
It looks pretty silly:)

Girls, I am enjoying my summer
and look forward to sharing more 
art with you soon!!

What crazy things did YOU do when you were young??

Monday, June 18, 2012

Cute Index Cards


This was Dave and Em last night on our family farm. We spent the entire evening just hanging out here for Father's Day. It was heavenly!

Last week I worked some more on Daisy Yellow's ICAD Challenge....





What I love about this Challenge is how simple it is.


And oh so FUN!


I missed a few days but managed to create two in one sitting. So far I have kept them pretty simple.


But sometimes simple is enough.



I am finished with Challenge #2 in my Summer Art Challenge and will post Tuesday along with a NEW inspiration.


What is inspiring you right now? Please share!!

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Ahhhh, Summertime!!



Summer is the time when one sheds one's tensions with one's clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit.  A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all's right with the world.  
~Ada Louise Huxtable

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Work Desks and Suzi Blu

It has just been too, too long since I showed you my Work Desk and linked up with Julia at Stamping Ground. Thanks to my friend Kay for the inspiration today!!

Here is what my desk looks like right now...



All kinds stamps and paint to use on my Index Card a Day Challenge.


I also went through a few weeks ago and re-arranged my work desk. Love it so much better now...more room {well, when I keep it cleaned}.


My friend Andria from Drawing Near sent me dozens of images, phrases and mail art goodies a few weeks ago. This "Be Creative" piece is from her.


Thanks again, Andria!!!


I picked up this little gem in Springfield a few weeks ago...



Have you seen this?? It is amazing!! Oh, that Suzi Blu is a talented girl.

Here is a peek inside...


Suzi goes through and teaches you how to create amazing girls for all your mixed media projects.


This is one from the book. Isn't it gorgeous?? Each of her girls has a different look....all amazing!! Along with the book you get a CD so you can see Suzi's process. This was a GREAT deal at $25!! Purchase it here.

Here is my first attempt...


I have a WAYS to go but I am on my way!!


I hope you've enjoyed seeing all I'm up to. Be sure and stop by Stamping Ground for more fabulous desks:)

What are YOU working on???

Monday, June 11, 2012

You're How Old?!

We've had bad luck with our kids - they've all grown up.  ~Christopher Morley


Reality has sorta hit me in the face...

My children are no longer little.
They no longer hold my hand
or fight over who gets to sit on my during movie nights.

I am no longer the center of their universe.

Each one of them is
becoming an adult.





My son, Jackson is a Senior
this year. 
I say it
yet can't quite get my heart to believe it.


There are two lasting bequests we can give our children.  
One is roots. 
 The other is wings. 
 ~Hodding Carter, Jr.

I do believe my husband and
I have done our best
and given Jacks 
what he needs to 
make it on his own.

Anyone that knows my son
knows he is fiercely independent.


He always speaks 
his mind and has
an opinion.

This summer
Jackson is Cadet Teaching
at the same Elementary School he 
went to.

Every morning he
gets up at 7 so he can 
get to "work" by 8.
He spends the morning with
40 or so kindergarten kids
and LOVES it!!



After graduation he plans
on attending Northwest Missouri State University for a year
then going on a mission for our church.

When he comes back he'll be back in school
and hopes to graduate with a teaching degree.

Ahhhh, my kids 
are growing up....


If I had my child to raise all over again,
I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I'd finger-paint more, and point the finger less.
I would do less correcting and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I'd do more hugging and less tugging.
~Diane Loomans, from "If I Had My Child To Raise Over Again"