as promised...

a light hearted post today--

i wanted to share one of my oil paintings. i am in my second year of class & i love it. sometimes on a rainy cold morning i want to just stay home in my jammies ( being the homebody that i am) but i do love it once i get there. i love to feel the brush against the canvas.

i love to smell the oil paints and especially the cleaner (no surprise there!)

& enjoy the classical music playing in the background.

this snap shot was taken a couple of summers ago in a wonderful sunflower field with sweet Caroline as my little model. below is the painting. most of the paintings i've done are just propped up in my closet....but this one i do enjoy & it makes me smile so it actually made it to the wall!
okay, so i fell way behind in the scrapbook kits once the holidays rolled around. decided i needed to cancel my beloved Jenni Bowlin monthly kit & just get caught up with some of the many projects & papers i already have. i find that when i feel rushed i just throw a layout together just to "get it done" & of course that's not what i want to do. i still prefer my simple one photo 12x12 pages but hopefully without the pressure of 'keeping up' i will be able to just enjoy the process. below are some from the November kit. the first is an all out scraplift from Jenni--just a bold faced 'almost' copy!

thank you precious friends for all your warm comments on the last post. i treasure each one.

may you have a blessed day

xo

i promised a light hearted post, unfortunately i can't do it completely. -- a precious friend of mine buried her 13 year old baby girl saturday after a 3 month battle with cancer. this precious mother is truly remarkable....her gracious spirit, her kind gentle voice, her strong faith. she is choosing to praise the lord in this storm. she entered in her post last night that she & her husband are in a new ministry--one they would not have chosen, but one they were placed in none the less....that of coming along side other parents who have lost a child.

she stated so eloquently---"The ministry I envisioned was that Ashley would be completely healed on this side of heaven and I was going to take her on tour to visit the youth groups who had been praying for her so that the kids could see a walking miracle of God. Instead, He chose to completely heal her on the other side and allow her life to impact the world. It is up to John and I to continue to walk closely w/God and to do the work He has called us to do...even with huge broken hearts! "--amazing grace, that's what that is my friends, amazing grace. Gods grace is present tense. He gives us the grace we need at the exact moment we need it. Reading what this precious mother wrote, you might wonder where that peace comes from. The scriptures tell us that He gives us peace that passes all of our understanding. I don't understand how she feels nor will i try to pretend that i do. I realize that nothing i say could bring her any comfort but I do realize the our Heavenly father can & will take care of her & the rest of her family. I realize that one day she will see that precious child again--free from her cancer & free from her pain. until then~please remember them in your prayers~