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Sunday Mornings

I woke up this morning thinking what a difficult many months we have all had, friends and family alike. There have been financial hardships for sure, Mother's Day followed by my Mom's birthday are long and empty days without her, and we are fast approaching Father's Day which will hold an emptiness for me this first year because I cannot call him and hear him say he's "doing bout ninety backwards" which translated into "just fine". Today I prayed for a focus on all the simple special moments I will miss if I only pay attention to my empty place. So I noticed the soft sunshine filtering through the trees, and a huge woodpecker with a head completely covered in rich red who showed up at my feeder, while I was pulling these biscuits from the oven. A feeling of gratitude washed over me as I smelled them and applied the butter and jam.
Yes, it's the simple gifts that add up to feeling whole again. Sundays are a time of renewal, preparing for the week ahead - and thanking the Lord for protection, guidance, grace and forgiveness. I paid attention today to the silence, the sounds of nature, my breath, and knowing that every tomorrow brings surprising miracles all over the world as well as my own life. You just have to be paying attention. I have also received many gifts and blessing in recent weeks and need to give them the praise and appreciation they deserve. The world is loud and moves very fast, I only need to put one foot in front of the other and take it one day at a time, and decide to focus on the things I CAN change - a better healthier lifestyle, a better steward of my finances, relish in the joy of time spent with friends, and making a difference whenever I can.

Meet Miss Ava

Well, this little cutie is Miss Ava. She is the beautiful daughter of Melissa and David, very good friends of mine. I'll be featuring Ava in many of my posts as I am lovingly working on her "First Year" of memories scrapbook. It is easy to work with such a photogenic baby and really sweet cutie pie - well you'll see soon enough. It also helps that her mother is an awesome and helpful photographer. We have done several things that should make this book very enjoyable for years to come and an especially personal look at the love that surrounds her. Melissa generously gave me her pregnancy journal so I would be very connected to the entire process of bringing Ava into the world. Also I gave her a list of very personal and thought provoking questions which will be included as "advice" for Ava - kind of "things your Mother wanted you to know"...I think Ava will like that. Well, that's all for now - stay tuned!

Outside the Zone

I decided to use the collage pieces I made in a class with Bernie Berlin as my Header. Mainly because it was so exciting to do mixed media and completely out of my comfort zone. I'm usually really controlled and plan every detail out and this was free, wild, anything goes. She was a great artist and teacher, fully aware that most of us didn't want to get paint all over us (LOL). We laughed, we asked a million questions but in the end we all had unique, awesome pieces that we loved. It was all about layers, most of us worried about covering up a layer we really liked, or a stamped image that turned out "just right"....It really changed us, changed how we create and taught us a lot about different techniques and mediums. We used, stamps, gel medium, paint, metal tape, alcohol inks, gesso, fiber, and too many other things to mention. So there we have it, I like it, and am so glad I ventured into the unknown for a change - I think I like it out here ;-)