Doing the Next Thing

daughter, M (almost 13), took this photo on the way to school. it was a very gloomy, yucky day and then, all of a sudden - a rainbow and a patch of sunlight! the phone camera just doesn't do it justice! The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. - Psalm 19:1

playing around with tangerine

Party Planning gathering things for a friends' baby shower

A friend on Facebook posted this brilliant video on 25 ways to tie a scarf. At the end, you can click the thumbnail of your favorite and get a tutorial. Love! (If you're like me, you have a bunch of scarves folks have given you as gifts. Now go grab one, put on your fave plain black tee, and get to work!) Now, anyone who knows me is aware of the fact that I'm NOT a fashionista. Like every mom, I'm busy - comfort and practicality determine most of my wardrobe. That doesn't mean I don't want to look pretty and feminine. I like to think of my style as cute-chubby-feminine-casual. ;-) By taking advantage of the pretty scarves I've collected, I can wear the comfy white tee AND look "put together." How easy is THAT? Here I am sporting the "DIY Infinity" (photo creds to 17yo son S) Since it's rainy, my go-to cute flannel flats are out. And clearance boots from Tarjay are in. (a size bigger b/c they didn't have my size in the clea...

We haven't had as many of these sweet days at home as I had hoped for. But when they come, they are very welcome! Nothing says "fun breakfast snack" like Easy Cheese on Triscuits. Yep, breakfast. That's her pj shirt there. Only in summertime. There are special rules for summertime. M (12) spent some time sketching. And because she takes after her mama, the little shutterbug had to document her efforts on film. A quick jaunt to Goodwill produced some white treasures. I'm working on a project, and have been collecting pretty white things. More on that in a future post... What A's (6) room looked like after room time. I wondered what all those crashing sounds were. The other half of the room. Needless to say, the young man had some regret when he spent much of the afternoon putting that mess back in order! Out of the blue, M said, "Mom, can I make a pillow?" I saw this as an opportunity to 'say yes' and put aside my afternoon plans for s...

A few weeks ago, I posed the question, "Am I a warrior? " I forgot to mention that yes, yes I am a Warrior! Back in May, my brother and I completed the Warrior Dash together. It was fun. It was hard. It challenged me in ways I didn't expect (like when I almost chickened out of going over the extremely vertical, quite daunting, 12-foot 'Warrior Wall' with nothing but a knotted rope to help me. I didn't let that wall win, though - on 'take two' I was up and over.) My bro and I had a great, sweaty, muddy day in the North Georgia Mountains. Here's the run down for this week. :) Monday : 1.5 miles w/ S (16). Like Kate , we keep going out too close to noon. It was hot and we struggled to catch our breath. Tuesday-Friday : life. Someone once said the hardest part of running is getting out the door. Definitely true this week. Focusing more on being a home-keeper than a runner. Saturday : 3.5 miles alone at the park. Did two miles on the hi...

Any guesses where this pic was taken?

happiness is...a Saturday morning run with my sis on a 40th birthday getaway

waffle dogs for Sunday breakfast!

measured at least 6 1/2 inches on the deck!

Resurrecting my Thirty Pictures series for the new year... My little corner of the world. I find myself here surrounded by art books with ideas fluttering around, begging to be organized into a syllabus and cohesive lessons. I'm teaching art! The opportuinity has taken me completely by surprise, yet somehow the Lord had prepared my heart for it. A small, simple class. An elective at M & A's school. It's exciting and intimidating at the same time. I pray that the Lord can use me to inspire the children to love art, learn the grammar of drawing and painting, and imitate masters as image-bearers of a creative God. Our new school situation has brought many challenges and many blessings. I had hoped for a "break," but that didn't really materialize. Juggling time in the car, homework, and lunches for the 2 in school with supervising two teenagers and the work their tutorial demands, plus the needs of an active four-year-old and a husband and a home ... i...

I write like Dan Brown I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software . Analyze your writing!

Nothing exciting to blog about today. Hit library storytime and then spent the day running errands with the redheads while the big boys did school work at the office with dad. One of these days I'll write a post about our experience being in Nashville during the historic flooding. But for now, here are some photos that I've taken recently, just playing around and trying to improve my mad photography skillz. ;)

salad, anyone?

playing dress-up (tied the tie all by himself!)

left my dignity at the skate park-trying out C's (13) rip stick. i think i went a whopping 3 feet before this happened:

my "rose window" - my own little morning gift from God the sunrise comes through the window in the little sitting room next to our room. often it casts a lovely rose reflection on the wall as i'm getting ready for the day. i love that it's the sun. love the colors the Artist paints, just for me. love the geometry. i tried to capture it here - took about 20 pictures experimenting with ISO, aperture, and white balance. I think this one was on an ISO of H1. whatever. it brings to mind Psalm 27. it makes me happy.

cousins, glowsticks, and a closet *click here to see the culprits

naptime for our Christmas kitten