Starting Fresh

I can hardly believe that a week from today

I will be starting my NEW job teaching

Art and Photography.

I am so thrilled... but a tad stressed

trying to get everything around here finished.

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I am almost finished with my

"Throw out 50 Things" book.

I can not say enough about how wonderful it is.

Without a doubt.. it is the most life changing book

I've read in a long long time.
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I waited until the end to do Brady's stuff..

What a mess of toys he had in his little room.

So many, and in such chaos that he hardly

even played with them.

Soooooo.. we dumped ALL of them out

and started separating into sections.
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You can see on his face just how

NOT excited he was about this project.

But... we went through every single toy..

and found a whole bunch we'd forgotten about
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HE had so many (of his older sister's) beanie babies

that he could almost bury himself in them.
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I went to Wal-Mart and bought
see through tubs.
(this I have found is a wonderful secret for kids)
Now he can see exactly what toys he has.
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We organized every thing we were keeping,
and put them all into SECTIONS.
He is quite picky about making sure
the cars do NOT get into the animal section. haha
I just LOVE how it all turned out...
and Brady has played more with his toys
in the last few days than he has
in the last 3 months put together.
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While on my "GET rid of stuff" tour
through my house. I decided that I didn't
really like anything at all in my living room.
SO... I cleared almost ALL of it out
and I am starting over.
I found some of my MILLIONS of frames
in the garage and painted them all
various shades of turquoise.
I have pictures to go in almost all of them
and will show you the finished wall
as soon as I get them all in and the wall painted.
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I also found this HUGE canvas
on the side of the road
and brought it home.
I know exactly the painting I am going to do
on it... but just haven't gotten around to that
yet either.
So for now everything is just
a random shade of uncluttered blue....
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May we all... (MOSTLY me)
remember that everything does NOT
HAVE to be done TODAY!
Sometimes it's the SLOW rides that are the most enjoyable.

Exactly What I Wanted

Here are a few more of my Favorite shots

my precious friend and photographer pal Sherry

took of Brady and I while

we were in Waco last week.

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We found this garage wall by accident

while driving down the middle of the alley.
The colors were the most fun I could have ever wished for .

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I am just so incredibly excited about all of these pictures.

Now all I've got to do is figure out which walls

I'm gonna put them on...

and how big I'm gonna make them.
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Man how this little fellow has changed my life !

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What a fabulous day we had together.

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paceMaking memories I will NEVER forget.

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May we all have at least one incredible photo

that shows exactly how we feel about our children...

and best of all a great friend who can do it!

My Greatest Gift

I just got home from Waco

where I met one of my dearest friends.

I only see her once or, at best, twice a year

because she moved half way across the world.

I try my best to wait patiently each year

for our fun filled, full of giggles... Summer Visits.

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She is also a photographer nerd....

(the term we have affectionately given ourselves)

We can sit for hours and talk about lighting, photoshop,

and our new favorite techniques....

I can say without a doubt that she

is the ONLY person in the entire world

who truly understands my philosophy

of what a photograph should be.

The #1 goal was to capture emotion...

and everything else is a far off second place

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So... this year I asked her to please take

my yearly photograph with Brady.

I knew the exact look I wanted and knew

that she was the gal who could capture it.

This was the RESULT...

No amount of money can ever buy or replace this moment.

She knew my heart so very well

and knew just what I wanted...

and man oh man did she ever catch it.

I will have more of our shoot to share later in the week.

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May we always understand that most anyone

can take a photograph....

but only a few can capture a memory.

Thank you Sherry !

Wedding Wishes

My mother has been here this week

to help watch Brady

so that I could finish a Wedding Album.

As I worked on their album pages

I traveled many times to my little

FAIRYTALE world of romance and happily ever afters.

I am always touched by the uniqueness

of each couple's LOVE STORY.

And out of all the Weddings I have photographed

over the years........ NO two have ever been the same.

I enjoy so very much getting to know

each of my couples and hearing

their LOVE stories.

It is always inspiring and somewhat magical

to be in the presence of LOVE....

and what better place to find that

than in the middle of a Wedding.

So... as I worked on the pages of this book

and relived a few sparks of their magic....

I thought I'd share some of my favorites.

The best part about seeing a Wedding photograph

(and not being a part of the wedding)....

is that you get to make up your own story.

Some of my favorite pictures

are ones where I had NO clue what

was REALLY going on... soooooooooo

I made it up!!

I hope that everyone out there

in BLOG world today is sprinkled

with a little magic...

I hope next time you're at a Wedding...

you will STOP and watch for the sparkles..

and... I hope none of us EVER stop wishing for

a Fairytale in our own lives..

Sometimes all it takes is a sprinkle

for one to begin!!

Bliss and Blessings your way today..

May you find LOVE looking just around the corner.

Art and Soul

First let me just say that

I promise I am going to do better blogging this month.

Time seems to be flying around here,

and I have been enjoying playing with my family,

not being especially creative, however

making BIG changes within myself.

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The timing in my life could NOT have been better

for the mixture of fabulous happening around here.

First.... let me just start off by saying that

I was hired last week to be the new

Art/Photography teacher

at a private Christian High School minutes from my house.

There are honestly No words to express

how incredibly excited that I am to begin

this amazing new journey in my life.

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So... for the last week I have been writing lesson plans

of all of my favorite artists for us to study.

Tarkay is my VERY VERY all time most fabulous artist of all.

I adore his shapes, his composition, and most of all his color.

I can hardly believe I am going to get paid to teach and paint about him.
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Let me back up a little bit and tell you how all of this came to be.

This has been a summer so far of pure personal GROWTH for me.

It is a culminating effect of the 13 week Dave Ramsey class
I am taking, the 7 week study of James we are doing at our church,

and the wonderful book THROW OUT 50 THINGS.

Mix all of those together... and if you don't do some changing

then you must be dead.
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The 2nd Sunday of our James (Life 101) sermon at church

I came home almost moved to tears.

I felt like our Pastor was speaking right to me.

He talked about people who can't make up their minds,

and float about this world double-minded.

Your mind is never settled in one direction

and in James it says You are tossed about ...

anyway... I realized that was totally me.

I toss to and fro all the time from opening a store,

or going back to teaching (which I dearly missed)

Then I began to pray and think deeper and realized

that I had LOST MY FOCUS !!!
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The very next day I looked on line,

and found the most PERFECT job in the world for me.

It was a part-time Art Teacher

(they are on block schedule and I only have to go during my block)

at a Christian school.

It was the one place I could combine 3 of the things

I LOVE most in the world....

1. making things

2. the Lord

3. motivating and making a difference
IT was just too Perfect....

now I just had to apply and pray
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anyway... to make a LONG story SHORT...

I got the job and couldn't be more thrilled.

It is the perfect ending to my

Throwing out the Old ( junk in my house & in my mind)

and IN with a brand NEW Beginning .

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So.. as my summer continues

I will be studying, painting, and keeping track

of all the changes in my life.

I have made a vow NEVER to think I'm too old

to start over, and given up thinking that

I'm not quite good enough.

AND... most of all I have throw out the idea that

I've made too many mistakes to have a happy ending.

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May you all experience the JOY from throwing out the JUNK

we pack up and carry around in our minds.

Some kind of BUSY

I have been so busy throwing out

my 50 ++++++ things lately

that I can not seem to STOP and get

on the computer to keep you posted on the progress.

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I can however tell you that this is one of the

MOST life changing books I have ever read.

I would so highly recommend it to every person

I know.. and even those I don't.

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I have been very diligent to go through

EVERY closet, EVERY storage box, under the beds,

and yes... even my garage.

I can tell you that there is ONE word that comes to mind

when I look at all of this stuff... WASTE.

There is no telling how many thousands of dollars

I have spent getting small stuff that

I was one day going to do something with.

AND as you can see... MOST of it never got around to

becoming that "something it could be!"

This is MY old studio room...

Which in a few weeks is going to be Brook's new room.

We have all been piling everything in here to "go through"

and needless to say... there is a VERY LARGE

garage sale in the works.

I have made a new vow to myself that

IF I don't know where it is going to go,

or if it does not have a purpose "at that moment"

then IT is no longer allowed to visit at my house.
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Brent (the big son) has been one of my number one fans

throughout this process...

A process that .... may I say,

has been rather difficult at times.

It is almost like exposing your worst feature

for the world... and most importantly

for YOURSELF to see.

But... As with most things in life

THAT is how we learn.

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So... as I continue my cleaning,

I am thankful for the encouragement

and never ending words of praise from

a son whose LOVE I hold dear.

(even if he did come home with a hair do like that) ha

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Then.... there is the MIDDLE child.

My one and only daughter...

who can I just say is NOT full of pep talks

and "your doing good MOM" speeches.

However.... she has given me something I truly

needed these last couple of weeks.

She is my child who freely

pours out her honesty.

AND though it may not sound as pretty..

It was just as good to hear.

Everyone needs a wake up call on occasion.
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In the midst of our ROOM SWAPPING transformations,

my sweet Brook had her 17th birthday..

I took she and her boyfriend to the lake

to take some pictures for her to put

in her new room.

I must say... they are so darn cute...

and just the most darling looking version of

America High School USA I have ever seen.

I kept waiting for Norman Rockwell

to come around the corner.
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Here she is with her best buddies...
THE BEST FRIENDS CLUB as she calls them.
(Brandon, Brook, Kristen, and Trelle)
Trelle has also been one of the catalysts in our room transformations.
He has come to live with us for his Senior Year.
Lets just say that his situation is very unfortunate
and when Brook (my honest, full of logic child) said
"MOM I think we could make a difference in his life
if we let him live here this year," I had to listen.
As usual... her heart was in the right place.
So.. Trelle has taken Brent's old room
while he is off at college
and more room transformations are in the works.
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Anyway... we didn't let our MESS upstairs
interfere with our party downstairs.
I have always tried to make a big deal
out of my kid's birthdays.
After all... I tell them
"It is the day that God decided to give you
to me to borrow."
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How ever old the kids are...
that is how many presents they get.
It is always fun for them to open,
and a challenge for me to find.
Some of the gifts mind you are gum, lip gloss, and I have even
been known to wrap a pair of socks separately..
BUT... it is always FUN !
After the turn 21 however... the multiple party gifts are over.
And let me just tell you...
Brent KNOWS he still has one more year to go.
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Brook got a guitar for her birthday this year from my mom.
She has always wanted to learn how to play,
and thought this would be the year she'd give it a try.
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My precious mother...
brought not only the guitar...
but the perfect matching cake to go with it.
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We took a day off to party...
and quickly got back to work.
This was Brook's old room.
She had an Arabian Bed complete with about
6 loads of laundry. haha
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Her bedroom is now Brenae's ( who is home from college,
and going to live with us all year while she does her student teaching)
new bedroom.
We gutted it completely... painted it to Brenae's request
and color scheme.... and in less than 2 days
Her new room was ready to MOVE IN.
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Here is her room NOW !!

I call it " A grown up version of FUN."
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ONE more down... and 2 more to go...

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Sometimes the progress is slower than I'd like,

but it has taken a while to go through all of our (mostly my) STUFF...

YET..... when I am finished

everything in this house will have a REAL place to LIVE....

And as I empty the physical mess... it has been amazing

at how the mental mess has gone hand in hand.

Gail Blanke (the author of Throw Out Fifty Things) says

"Always remember, clutter (of any kind) blurs clarity."

And I.. my friends, had so much of it,

that I had LOST MY FOCUS.

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May we all mull the truth in the statement

that "The more STUFF we surround ourselves with,

the less room we have for the never-been-so-good

before part of our lives." Gail Blanke

My New Office

Our LIFE and our entire upstairs

have gone through fruit basket turnover since school was out.

WHAT a HUGE mess parts of it still remain.

Brook decided that she would really like to have

my upstairs studio as her bedroom for her Senior year.

I have always hated working that big room

(for some odd reason I do so much better in small spaces)

so I thought

that would be a great idea.

But.... It required that everyone switch rooms

in order to make that happen.

My office went from about 850 sq. feet.

to one bedroom....

and I have to say... I can not be more excited.

Here's a little peek into my new world.

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Glenda the GOOD witch rides along side me daily.

I bought her last year at a garage sale for 2 dollars.

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Here is my sewing corner where Glenda hangs.

Found the brackets to the shelves at a flea market.

Bought the whole box for 1.50

painted them with dots... and now my shelves are fun!
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Here is the whole sewing table

and fabric corner..

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I bought this scarf thing at Goodwill for a quarter.

The picture above my shelves is a copy of the original

that Brent drew when he was 5 years old.

My table is filled with both the things I need to sew and the things I need to smile.

I LOVE the idea of the frog prince... and have lots of them in here.

This room also has to double as a guest room.

If you remember my garage sale adventure..

This is the headboard I bought last year for $1.75.

Now that was a deal...

I painted some quickey stripes on the wall.
and my favorite picture of my "big kids" a fun shade of pink.

It made that fancy gold frame so much more fun !!!

Brad and I bought this cabinet several years ago with a tv in it for $40.

A fast coat of white paint and some dots later... I have storage with energy !

I adore flying pigs..

They remind me that dreams are possible!!!

I made this lamp years ago and remembered it in the attic.

It is covered with dollar general cheap flowers... but it makes me smile.

I have now have the most functional desk in the world.

I just have 1 more drawer to paint.

The top I found on the side of the road.

I remember getting out of the car to stand by it because I thought someone else would get it before Brad got there to put it in his truck.

I filled it with everything I need, and a few things I like to look at.

I painted the entire desk with BLACK paint

so it would sorta look like it all went together.

Then I bumped my painted dresser up behind it

so it would give me extra counter space.

On top of that dresser is one of my ALL time favorite things.

A pig from the yard section of Wal-mart I painted,

and another Good Witch I bought at a garage sale for $3.

She makes me smile from the front and the back.

One of my other all time best smile getters is this elephant.
I bought it for Brady when he was a baby.
He never really liked it, but for some reason I always did.
I put Brook's old tutu on her and man I can't get the grin off of my face.
The last wall of my office is eventually going to be filled with
all of my kids old art and some of mine as well.
Things that I always loved, but didn't have a place for.
I somehow thought that my old studio was supposed to look grown up.
But... Now I've decided that in this one I am filling it with things
that I LOVE and things that give me energy to WORK and create.
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May we realize that sometimes smaller can be WAY better!