thoughts from the deep recesses

God sets us in families. He is the giver of good things. And family is good. Our family of origin is divinely appointed, I believe. But I also know, and have seen on countless occasions in my own life, how God expands our family to include other brothers and sisters. Fathers and Mothers beyond those to whom we were born. As a child and youth, I was blessed with a second family. A family with whom I spent many a weekend. With whom I ate many meals. I even tagged along on a few vacations. Corey's family was quite different from mine. She had younger siblings. I had older. Her family went tent camping. We 'roughed it' in cabins or hotels. They ate spicy, exotic foods. Us, not so much. They were more 'fly by the seat of your pants' while my parents were well-planned. Corey's Dad was a talker. He could go on for hours. And hours. Dispensing advice, telling stories, giving warnings. My Dad? Quiet. Corey's Dad owned several boats while we were growing up. But whene...

Things have gotten pretty hairy for me lately in regards to time management... we're crazy busy with all the early spring things that seem to happen this time of year. I'm not managing it particularly well, so I'm going to take a blog break. I just have to every once in awhile. Otherwise, I have this nagging feeling, like "if I don't post something on the blog, everyone's going to quit visiting, but I'm too busy to take the time and I don't have the energy to be clever and creative and entertaining..." and then I become resentful of the blog. And I don't want to be resentful of the blog. All in all, I love blogging. But there are times when life - real life - must take priority. And this is one of those times. I'll be back March 1st. Or thereabouts. Here are a couple of cute Valentine's Day pics - just cause I think they're cute. See you all in a couple of weeks. (And I'm not opposed to checking and answering emails... so if yo...

K. is taking a digital photography class at school. These are some shots from his assignment this week... Cool to see the world through his eyes this way...

Blah. That's all I'm feeling today. Not having much success as a parent lately... feeling like I just can't get through to them. And getting easily frustrated. I'm struggling. And don't have anything wise or insightful or funny or entertaining to say. So, in the spirit of keeping it real, I'll just say hello in my best effort to maintain some semblance of relationship with the faithful few who come here often. And if you're the praying type, I'd love a little prayer. Hug you all.

The cruise has been officially booked. May 13th - Tampa, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize, Costa Maya... home on the 20th. Good stuff. So excited. Found a picture of my cocktail dress to share... (I can't imagine getting a good picture of myself in it, since there's no where in Spokane to take a decent picture in the winter...) Anyway - at least ya'll can see the dress... Love it. S. and E. have been sick... S. had to come home from school on my birthday - so much for a fun day of shopping for me... but it's okay. I'm still in my jammies... guess I'd better get moving. Happy weekend, friends.

It's my birthday. So I'm making a list. Call them declarations. Or 'things I know for sure'. Some are decisions. Some are little lessons I've learned along the way. All are truer than true, on this, my thirty-eighth birthday. Forty isn't that old at all. Music is lovely, but silence is better. There is such a thing as the perfect childhood. Chicken and rice can be prepared a hundred different ways and still taste good. Tweezers are my friend. Dog drool is not the most disgusting thing on the planet. Levi's 515 Nouveau BootCut are the best jeans in the world. Having friends with gardens is a good thing. (Fresh produce without all the work...) I don't have to wear a wedding ring to be married. Old friendships are worth nurturing. $1 dollar a bottle Suave is just fine for my hair. One can never have too many candles. Slippers are warm. And comfy. And good. Creativity is soul food. A plate full of sauteed veggies can be more delicious than the best cake. D...

Last Friday was the monthly crop at the store. I almost always work the crops, hanging out with the croppers and working on some of my own projects. There are quite a few women who come every month. Last weekend, though, I was at the marriage conference with Asia. I took the crop night off and another store employee handled it. Of course, the ladies who attend the crop didn't know I wouldn't be there - and they had all gone together to get me a cake and have a little early party for my birthday. But I wasn't there. They brought the cake over to my house on Sunday. Isn't it pretty? ***** It's been awhile since I've taken any Gracie pictures. A couple of days ago she was sitting in front of the window in the kitchen and I had my camera out, so I snapped a few. After a very short time, she became bored and refused to look at me. So I got out some treats. This is my favorite shot of all the shots I took. She's waiting for me to say "Okay!" She would s...

Good Monday, ya'll . We had a great weekend. Asia and I spent Friday night and all day Saturday at a "New Beginnings" marriage workshop, observing what most of the couples we will be mentoring go through as part of our church's 'preparing for marriage' program. It was a great weekend... so fun to see all these young (and some not-so-young) couples do the hard work of learning to communicate and work through some of the tough issues of bringing two people together. I was so proud of all of them. It was good for me to watch and listen to the advice and information doled out over the course of the weekend. And good for me to look at my husband and appreciate the good thing we've got going. I am blessed with a great husband. And I'm so thankful for the healthy relationship we have. I love being married to this man. There was a whole section on personality types in the workshop, which I've studied off and on over the years. Or rather, I should say, I...

My lovely friend Tawnya has tagged me. I'm it. {List 6 quirky things about yourself} I simply cannot relax in the evening if there is schtuff lying about. I have to go around the living room and put things away and straighten things a bit before I can sit down and relax. I've even been known to get out the Pledge and dust a bit before plopping my bum down on the couch. I may be just a teeny tiny bit OCD ... I am very much a 'go with the flow' scrapbooker . If I smudge ink or glue on something, I'll just change the layout so I can cover up my smudge. I don't measure. And I never preplan my pages. I just pull stuff out and start playing... it's all very organic to me. I have to have the laundry folded a certain way. If Asia goes downstairs to grab something out of the dryer and he folds things, thinking he's helping me out, I have to re-fold it the right way. Even the socks. There definitely a right and a wrong way to fold laundry. I have terrible fin...

Here you go - some of my favorites... Karen Foster's easter line. Paper Salon - dyed elastic - this falls under the "why didn't I think of that?" category. Elsie Flannagin's line for KI Memories. Too cute. Gotta get my hands on some of this... Doodlebug's Black and White Collection - of all the black and white patterned paper we saw there, this was my favorite one... (and let me tell you - there was a TON of black and white patterned paper.) Hambly Studios - cool cool overlays and rub ons. Amazing. Imagination Project. LOVED almost all of their new releases, but this was my favorite. Cool. New Heidi Swapp masks... lots of potential for these. Love the bird. There were birds everywhere... Heidi Grace has done it again. She is one amazing designer. LOVE her flocked and glittered papers. She had a paper line with mushrooms on it. Cute little toadstool mushrooms - like people used to tole paint in the 70's. (And guess what? There were owls everywhere to...

So I'm home. And tired. And buried in laudry. But we had so much fun. SO much to see. I'm really just a little too overwhelmed to deal with a real 'report' of the show right now. I've got to get my pictures uploaded, and my suitcase unpacked, and my life back in order. I'll make an official report before I go to bed tonight... It's great to be home.