focus52 - {16:52}

Easter weekend was truly a blessing. Spending time with family is so very special and much needed in our busy lives. To take time to sit around, eat good food, chat about life, watch the kids play, appreciate the beauty of nature around us...yes, a blessing indeed.  Easter isn't complete without jellybeans!!

 

And we colored our eggs with Kool-Aid this year! Fun and it smelled good. Didn't turn out as well as other dyes have in the past but this was surely an adventure and one I am glad we tried. The girls enjoyed it too. It was such a nice day Saturday, we opted to dye the eggs on the deck.  

 

On Sunday at mom's, we sat on the deck for a little watching these sweet little yellow finches. There had to be at least 20 of them fluttering around. I was lucky enough to get a great deal of awesome shots!

I hope that everyone else enjoyed a lovely Easter weekend as well. Blessings. oxox

focus52 {16:52}

Theme: Easter

focus52 - {15:52}

(Thursday, 4/14/11) - I witnessed the sweetest thing but it was also very scary! I was on LWE and pulled into Burger King parking lot because there was a momma duck trying to cross the busy highway with tons of babies and cars were so close to hitting them! So a lady in the lot with me got out and stopped traffic so they could cross. but when they reached the other side, the momma got up on the sidewalk but the babies couldn't get up!! So they started to come back across! yikes! Thank goodness a couple on that side pulled over and employees from BK came out to scoop the babies up to safety! Awwww!!  This picture only has a few of her babies, the rest were still being scooped up from the sidewalk. Lesson of the day? We must always hold on to HOPE!

 

Theme: Hope

focus 52 - {13:52}

I didn't pick up the camera much this week but my daughter did and tried to get a good picture of our pretty Shelby while I was holding her. Shelby is a true scaredy-cat and well, we got her as she was getting all wide-eyed in my arms! HA! She is a silly girl. And we love her to pieces!

Theme: silly

focus 52 - {12:52}

Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty if only we have the eyes to see them. ~John Ruskin

 Theme: The View from Here

{moon...it was super}

ohh look, it's super moon!!

got a little artsy with the super moon...

it really was beautiful.

(please do not take photos without permission. thank you.)

focus52 {11:52}

Irish eyes are smiling.... especially when I treated my three little leprechauns with cupcakes as an after-school snack on St. Patrick's Day!

Theme: Green

added some fun in picnik. sorry for the lack of writing to accompany the photo. it's been one of those weeks.

oh snow you d'int

School was closed due to icy conditions again. We cleaned the house some, did laundry, dishwasher, played around online, turned music up loud & laughed a lot. Kari wanted to go outside to play in the snow but this time, she was surprised to have Emily and Jenna join her! They had a lot of fun. Good to see them laughing together instead of fighting!!! When I opened the back door to take some pics, of course, they started throwing snowballs at me. Do you see all 3 snowballs hurling towards me? :) I love those chicklets.

32:365

MCP Project 52
Week #5 - Theme: Muse

winter's song

Snow. We got it.  Tree across the street & our town square. Diptych.

I have an inside shot of my daughter and my niece playing Mario Kart due to the 2 hour delay that the snow caused. I will be using both in my project.

12a:365

MCP Project 52 - Week 2 - Illustrate a Song

"How Can I Help You Say Goodbye" by Patty Loveless
Time will ease your pain
Life's about change and nothing ever stays the same
How can I help you to say goodbye
It's ok hurt and it's ok to cry
Come let me hold you
And I will try
How can I help you to say goodbye

Picture is of my husband & our youngest daughter, Kari Ashlyn. They are standing at my husband's father's grave. Today marks 2 years since he passed away from cancer at the young age of 55. Kari has struggled with this loss. She was only 8 when he died. She was the only one of our daughters who saw him lifeless, hooked up to machines in the hospital the day before he passed. Rest in Peace, Dad. We love and miss you. ♥

MCP Project 52 - Week 1 - Around the House

You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.~Buddha

{truth}

When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love. ~ Marcus Aurelius

wreckage~ week 5

First of all, thank you to those who left some words of encouragement and support last week! It really helped!!

This week was full of creative energy. I was pulled out of my funk slowly but surely. My youngest daughter, Kari, has been begging to help in my journal since I started and I figured what better way to get back into the groove than to do it with a ball of energy that is Kari? Certainly only good things can come from that, right? I know!

So we started off by having Emily, my oldest, stand on a chair (she is tall) and drop the journal from high up! I barely got the shot but I think it turned out really cool! So do my girls, so that's all that matters! ;o)

I'm not sure if Kari was hungry or what but when I flipped to "chew on this page" I was repulsed and the hairs on my arms stood straight up as if I was back in third grade again when the chalk scraped down the board, I said THERE IS NO WAY I'M DOING THIS ONE...Kari quickly said "I WILL!!!"...ICK. EWW. ICK. EWWW!! Have at it babycakes! Just yuck.



Then we drew pretty flowers together and I didn't even get a bit uptight when she scribbled over her side at the end.....cringed a little but didn't get uptight. ha!



Then she was my friend that destroyed a page...

As you can clearly see, she enjoyed every bit of that too. Ever since she was in the womb, she has been my "chaos maker" child. She is notorious for reeking havoc. I finally caught her in the act. *snicker* Although, I think she was a little baffled by the fact that I was allowing her to be destructive without consequences!! LOL


Ok, she got sidetracked by our new kitten so I was on my own for a bit. And it is good that I was because I got a little serious with the project. Burn this page? Seriously? You want me to play with fire? I'm too scared!!! It is my biggest fear. Well, aside from something happening to my loved ones. Fire. Yep, it really makes my stomach hurt. I think it may have something to do with getting severely burned as a toddler by a pot full of boiling water. Right, no direct fire but still produces the same results...burn.

So, I got a bowl of water ready to throw the paper/book in as I went along because, well, I was petrified that I would burn my house down. I knew I didn't want to burn the actual page while it was still in the book. That was too much for my nervous system to handle! And I'm not kidding! So instead, I tore out part of the page and wrote some really negative, self-deprecating things that have lived in my soul for so long and then I burned it up! VERY cathartic!! Wow...let me just tell you that things got very emotional as I watched those words, the words that I have believed and lived for so long, go up in flames.








Then we had to wash away all the fears, hang ups from the previous week. Shower time!




Over all, a very productive, creative week!! Yay!

gourmet*jellybeans

just one of those fun little things in life...
you know, trying to figure out the flavor of gourmet jellybeans.

{exposed}

Hello there.

It's been awhile.

I'm sorry for that.

I was feeling a bit raw.

Exposed.

So I went missing.

Well...just hiding for a bit.

I want to exhale now.

So hello there.

Let me share some inspiration with you before I go...

Just a few of my flickr favorites.

These images helped me take a new breath.

For a moment, I came alive once more.

I will catch up on my 12 Secrets soon.

I promise.

{cup of inspiration}

1. In Case You Forget..., 2. it was a beautiful day, 3. One stem, 4. Please Return to Tiffany, 5. The soul is projection. Represent it., 6. fresh, 7. strawberry chiffon, 8. handle on bokeh, 9. My New Tea Cup In All It's Glory, 10. Untitled, 11. Yogi tea, 12. Le parapluie rouge, 13. for andie

sharing some beauty & inspiration with hopes that you have a blessed new year!

pocketful of pretty.

1. a good friend..., 2. vintage christmas ornaments, 3. day 117/365 gifted, 4. "May Peace be your gift at Christmas and your blessing all year through!" ~Author Unknown, 5. Lovely Sunday, 6. The Gate, 7. 30 Days of Gratitude- Day 26, 8. Dandelion textures, 9. winter umbrella, 10. “Let's be naughty and save Santa the trip.”, 11. about to miss you..., 12. delicateness, 13. and we baked

day is done.

She said she usually cried at least once each day not because she was sad, but because the world was so beautiful & life was so short. ~ story people


This is the amazing gift we were given as we left momma's house Christmas evening.

be touched...

Go grab a coffee and a soft blanket. And come back quickly.

Wait.

You might want to get a box of tissues while you're up.

Go on...I'll wait.

You're back?

Good.

Let your heart be touched ...

Words need not be spoken... just go to this site.

You're soul will be full of so much.

And that's ok.

Let it be.

Just be.

In the moment.

Now...

Keep living an inspired life.

a few of my favorite things

I am having a love affair with etsy.com lately. Herein lies the problem... I can't indulge myself aka spoil myself with the lush goodness that I am finding. Not yet anyway. But I thought I would share with you, a few of my favorite things...things that I seriously wish were MINE! ;o) enjoy. do you have any favorite sellers on etsy that you care to share? My favorite sellers list is huge. I mean, like, HUGE huge. It's an illness, people. This ring. Ah, this ring has so much charm and character. It is so me, no?

And then we have this adorable, big, rich, lush bag. A bit pricey for my wallet, but I covet it. I do. I even love that it comes in brown too. Mmm, goodness!


Oh, yum. Who can resist these fun and gorgeous lanyards?!?! Since I was hired by the school district, I need a lanyard to clip my id badge to. I am drooling over this fabulous green one and all the others she has listed! I need this one. Need!


One of my most favorite flickr people is kristybee. Imagine my delight when I found out that she is, in fact, selling her AMAZING images on etsy! I want so many of them! I can close my eyes and envision exactly where I would like them to go in my home. This image in particular would reside in my kitchen, naturally. Love love love it! Oh her work is soul soothing.


And this one, probably on my nightstand in a cute shabby chic frame.


Inspire and be inspired. My biggest life motto. This woman is insanely inspiring. Besides this print, I am hoping to get her book- Taking Flight- soon. Words cannot express just how her art seeps into my soul. I beg you, just let it.


Let's get funky, funky!! Everyone is making these fresh camera strap covers! Gotta love this one, like, lots!! Why be boring when you can express yourself? Yay!


Cuteness overload! No, really. I have wanted a darling key fob for a long time and these are just too cute and girly! You must take a look at her hair pretties too! Can you just imagine how darling those must look in a little girl's hair? I know!


And for now, I will end with this beautiful piece of art that I covet. Just lovely. Truly.


I hope you have enjoyed seeing some of my favorite things. I will do posts like this every now and again. I hope you come back to soak in the beauty that I have to share! oxox
now promise me that you will not go out and buy my beloved favorites for yourself before i have the chance to buy them all for me! haha! j/k

it's like love letters written for the soul...

so much inspiration... so much beauty... so much grace poured into each image. amazingly breathtaking.