Precious Moments

 

This is what I woke up to this morning. Jaycen crawls into bed with us and cuddles next to me every morning at about 7am. I couldn’t ask for anything more precious.

Still Here…

I know you’ve heard that before elsewhere, if you followed our last blog, but it’s true this time. Just catching up with myself. Hard to do sometimes!

The week has been a bit crazy. I’ve been overwhelmed with house-keeping and trying to keep my head. Good thing is I’m looking forward to homeschooling this year. I got Brooke excited by showing her one of the art pieces we’ll be studying (we use the Charlotte Mason method for homeschooling). I can’t wait. :-)

I’m listening to KIXI am online right now. It’s all the old classics, like old rock and roll, doo-wop music, things like that. I love it.

I have pictures to share. I just need to upload them. I will keep in touch as I can! I’m sure I’ll have MUCH more to share as the homeschool year kicks in starting September 1st.

Have a lovely Friday/weekend everyone! (hugs)

Dad’s Treasures

Last week sometime, I finally took to the task of transferring all of dad’s belongings that were given to me into plastic storage bins. I didn’t get rid of a single thing…not even his loose pocket change. I’m not ready to do that yet.

I had left all of the boxes in our room since Christmas, all scattered and open with dad’s things sitting there to greet me every morning. It’s been hard. So it was time to go through it and move it.

There was one particular box I hadn’t had the heart to go through yet, which was the last box given to me. As I went through it, I started to notice some really old letters and funny forms…as I looked closer, I realized they were letters home and things (including currency) from his service in Vietnam. I even found a little paper slip for issued bedding, and a large group photo from boot camp, with handwritten names on the back that dad had scribbled out.

I also found an old drawing that I assume was his. The paper was so thin and frail that I had to hold it very carefully to keep from ripping it.

Dad was an artist, just like his father. It’s something that I was blessed with when I was born, and I am very thankful to carry that with me.

Of course I found a few more fun pictures…including this one of him cleaning fish in a river. Dad loved ‘roughing’ it. I think if he could, he would have lived in a little cabin in the woods up in Alaska. He loved to fish, carry guns, chop wood for campfires, and play with fireworks (and other explosives, haha). I’m proud to carry that with me. I have always been a tomboy. Even in my moments of feeling girly, I always go back to jeans and t-shirts.

I look forward to teaching our kids how to fish and camp in Alaska someday. I only hope I can do dad’s teachings justice. I might tangle a fishing line or two, but I can’t wait to have the chance to pass his life-loving legacy on. :-)

Trying to Fly

I’ve been trying to ‘Fly’ in two ways.

First, with Flylady. If you have no clue what I’m talking about, ‘FlyLady’ is a website and email system (and much more) dedicated to helping people get their homes and life in order. And it’s free, which is awesome. I know I’m not the only one out there who feels like a failure with housekeeping…so FlyLady is a priceless gem. I am determined to get the system working for me someday.

(of course, that means I need to let my lower back heal, and stop going hog-wild and re-injuring myself…not even sure what I did, but it’s been going on for 2 weeks, silly me…)

Second, is letting go.

That’s the hardest thing for me. I remember stuff that happened as far back as Preschool that I still have pangs of guilt for. How funny is that? …but I know I need to not only let go of things I feel bad for, but people. I’ve lost friends and family over the years, some very painful losses, and it’s hard to just let that go. I think that’s where voids come from. We had something special, say a prize rose, and it dies…and we keep the pot. Why? I guess it all leads back to feeling guilty, like we didn’t do enough, or missing what we once had.

So, I need to fly. We all do. We need to take life like a kite, run with it, and let it go. If you don’t let go, it will never fly…no matter how fast you run.

(yes, I said this on facebook and twitter today, but I can’t help myself! It’s my new outlook! :-)

Love you all, *hugs*

Art Projects & Photo Editing

I have been toying around with making art cards. Did it a bit last night, and worked on photographing it today. It’s going so-so, I’m still having fun though…getting back in the groove of paper crafting. :-) I bought even more supplies on Etsy – the stuff above I got at Fred Meyer – I can’t wait for the new papers to come in the mail!

The hardest thing for me right now is taking pictures of my completed project! It has been driving me bonkers. I hope to be able to figure it out soon.

Speaking of taking pictures….

If you do paper crafting and you take pictures of what you do, there is a REALLY neat website called ‘Picnik’ where you can upload a picture from the home page, and do all sorts of really helpful editing…color, exposure, etc. and then save it to your desktop. It’s PERFECT if you don’t have a photo editing program…and it has actually worked better for me than Photoshop. :-)

(it’s fun to play with too...haha! I keep using it!)

I’ll have more to report again, I’ll keep in touch. :-)

Jaycen’s Birthday :-)

Jaycen woke up yesterday morning to a big iron man toy sitting on the breakfast table. After daddy came home from work, he opened his presents, then we took the ice cream cake outside to celebrate with Grandma Ann.

Grandma brought dot-to-dot markers and coloring books for both the kids, since Brooke’s birthday is coming in August. :-)

Today we went and visited Great Grandma and Grandpa. I forgot my camera…but it was a nice visit. Grandpa took the kids to Toys ‘R Us to pick out toys. Jaycen got more Iron Man toys and Brooke got a Barbie toy with a braider tool. Very cute! Of course great grandpa had to get another little cake. Jaycen was in heaven.

Oh, and check out this lovely little surprise that God gave us in our yard this week…a poppy! It has two blooms on it now.

Have a LOVELY weekend! (hugs to all)

Jaycen’s Birthday is Coming!

(woo hoo, check out this fun new picture display thing!)

Tomorrow is Jaycen’s birthday. He’ll be turning five! I can’t believe it! Jared has a cake he’s going to be picking up, and on Saturday we’re going to take Jaycen to Toys ‘R Us to claim a free Thomas toy train engine, take the kids to swim at the lake, and to visit Great Grandpa and Grandma.

He has toys that we need to wrap for him tonight. Jaycen has a mind like a steel trap, so he’s been asking about a few that he saw us buy a while ago (no more getting presents while the kids are shopping with us!) …I can’t wait to give him his presents. I love this age. It’s so fun to see how excited they get. :-)

I have more to share, but haven’t upload the pictures from our  camera yet. Ha ha!

See you next time! ;-)

Head in a Box!

A few weeks back, our neighbor at the end of our complex brought one of those organ donor biohazard boxes home from work. He works at a hospital. Of course, I was horribly curious when I heard the stir outside (the kids were out there playing with the dogs), and when I saw the box I had to go out and investigate.

He told us that there was a human head in the box. I didn’t know what to believe! You hear something like that and you can’t NOT believe it, once the image is in your mind, right?

He had the kids stand to the side while he opened the box for me to see. I almost believed him (silly, gullible me) until he opened the box and I saw that it was just loaded with dry ice…left-overs he brought home for the kids to play with.

He then offered to show the kids. They freaked out initially…especially Jaycen…but not in a bad way. They were laughing and screaming and running around. Finally he opened the box for them and blew into it to make the dry ice fog up like a cloud, and asked them to look in. Then he’d slam the box closed again.

He even took a water bottle and would open the box, bang the ice with the bottle (to build up pressure and make the bottle squeal like a tea pot) and then he’d drop the bottle into the box and slam the lid. “Can you hear him? He wants out!” It was classic.

We brought out bowls and cups of water to play with the ice and show the kids how it makes water bubble. It was fun. Something I’ll never forget.

Nothing like a little Halloween in the Summer time. ;-)

Waiting for Friday!

It’s one of those days. I want to put the kids in their room and close the door and leave them there. Is that terrible? They are driving me nuts, they have been fighting and whining all morning. No matter what I do, it doesn’t change. I’ve just decided that they’re both in bad moods. They’re actually screaming as I type this!

SAVE ME!

On a positive note…I can’t wait for Friday. I’m planning on getting some supplies for a new art project. I’ll probably talk more about it on my art blog, but I’m looking forward to getting some of these papers for it… I hope! :-)

They’re on Etsy…I hope to grab them before they’re gone. :-) Wish me luck!

Procrastination & Swap Bot!

(I know, I just wrote not too incredibly long ago. If you know me, you’ll know that I love to gab! Hope I don’t drive you nuts!)

Oh my gosh I am the world’s biggest procrastinator. I am procrastinating on at LEAST three things as I sit here and type this…

1. replying to dozens of emails in my inbox

2. cleaning the house (it is a horrible mess!)

3. making lunch …any ideas? I’m thinking hot dogs…

Another thing I’ve procrastinated horribly with is doing things that seem like they’d be lots of fun. I’ve seen some cool blog prompt and creativity sites out there, I’d love to get more into scrapbooking and paper crafting…AND there is this one particular site that seems AWESOME…

It’s basically the concept of pen pals, but it takes it even further. There are TONS of hosted swaps on there, one I saw today involved stuffing an envelope with a list of various items around your house, including rubber stamps, ribbons, etc.

How FUN! Now if someone could poke me with a hot iron and get me going with it, that would be much appreciated.

Or maybe you can do it tomorrow. *wink*

The Best of Me

What’s the best of me? It comes in two parts.

One…I’m an artist. It’s a huge part of my identity, something I recognized and embraced from the time I was old enough to hold a pencil. It’s a talent that my father and his father had, and so to me it is more of a legacy than just a talent. I love sharing my inspiration and dreams through my hands. I couldn’t imagine losing the use of them. It’s one of my biggest fears.

The other part of me, the part that is growing more and more each day, is being a mother. My children are who I am. They complete me and inspire me to be a better person. I want more than anything to give every bit and piece of myself to them each and every minute of every day. I struggle with doing anything less than that. They have become my center, and my universe.

(…now you’re wondering what the worst of me is? Trust me, you don’t want to see that! haha :-)

(HUGS)

What a Fun Week!

ALL this week, Jared was off work. So we’ve had a total of 8 days together so far, tomorrow is his last day before going back to work again. It’s been lots of fun. :-) I’ll miss it!

I got a bit of artwork done…not too much. Had to wait for my classic Mead sketchbooks to come in the mail. I just have to have my special sketchbooks! I’m so picky.

(No, this is not my special sketchbook. This was an intruder.)

The rest of the week, and most of our days, looked like this (yes, we got LOTS of 4th of July Celebrations in too! Got to use dad’s fireworks from last year):

  
We also got to go to what the kids dub ‘the duck park’. It’s a swim area off of a lake. Going early in the morning just after breakfast is perfect. Nice and cool and quiet. Perfect for family fun! I don’t have a swimsuit, so I rolled up my jeans to my knees and got in the water that way! :-)

  
This is one of the things our son did to entertain himself during the hot afternoons…

…and of course little Too Sweet is loving the heat sans air conditioner. It keeps her old little kitty paws warm! I love Too Sweet so much. She’s such a little cuddle bug. I could hold her like this all day. Literally. She would never move. :-)

That’s it for now! I’m so happy to be back into the swing of blogging. Hopefully I can do it somewhat steadily so you won’t have to sift through novel length posts and bazillions of pictures, haha! :-)

See you next time!

A Fresh Start :-)

(sorry, no pictures for this entry!)

I’m still here. I know some have seen me on Facebook and whatnot, and I’ve pretty much immersed myself in my artwork – which has been an amazing adventure.

Truth be told, I’ve been an emotional wreck since dad passed away. I think it’s silly that it still hurts so much, since it’s been since Nov. 2009, and at least the break between the waves is growing…but it’s still very hard for me. I’ve sort of lost track in a lot of ways, and it’s hard to find motivation to get back on it. Sometimes I feel like I just plain don’t care. But I’m sure it will heal over time.

Homeschooling is coming up again. I can’t believe it’s been a year. I’m determined to get through the school year this time. Thankfully the curriculum we’re using puts our kids way ahead of public school levels, but I’m still a nervous wreck. I’m *always* a nervous wreck about everything, ha ha! :-)

Oh, the story behind my blog title…when I first moved up here to Washington, lots of my friends kept saying that they couldn’t understand how I’d like the weather, etc. because I’d been in Arizona pretty much my whole life. Well, I ended up dubbing this place ‘The Land of Liquid Sunshine’ because even with all the rain (and yes, it drives me nuts sometimes), it was my little place where the sun shone in my heart. I’ve used that name for Washington ever since. It has made me happier than I’ve ever been in my life because I got to be with my father again, and it’s where I met my husband, and both our children were born.

This is my little heaven…rain and all. :-)

Talk with you again soon! (hugs)