Baby~ Day 2

Grandpa's arms

Grandpa's big hand next to little baby face- love this one the best.

I'm a Grandma!!!

Proud grandparents!!

Colten James born 9/29 at 1:02pm CST. 6.7#'s and 21" long! Mom and baby doing great! He has a TON of black hair!!!

Lose yourself to laughter

I love this photo of me taken last night at my friends bridal shower/party. I was laughing so hard I couldn't see, trying to catch my breath and desperately trying NOT to pee my pants! The silliness of friends, the joy of living, and being happy. Just cutting lose with the girls, joking, being stupid, immature and totally inappropriate can be SO FUN! It gives you that break you need from the seriousness of life so that you don't have to think about anything else at that moment. I cherish these kinds of moments in my life. I have the best family & friends anyone could ask for and I love to lose myself to laughter when I'm with them. Now...if I could just remember what was so funny.... lol

Women

"The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined..."
~Margaret D. Nadauld

Summers End

It seems like this summer has come & gone so quickly. We had so much rain in the beginning and then a few HOT days and then it has been unseasonably cool the past couple of weeks. I have enjoyed sleeping with my windows open and feeling the breeze but I sure miss the longer day light hours and the warmth of summer. I hope winter chooses to come and go just as quickly and I will be enjoying spring before I know it!!

25 Random Facts by Valentine

1. I'm a true strawberry blonde.


2. I love to eat.


3. I'm not fat, I'm fluffy.


4. I have never smoked.


5. I love to go for car rides.


6. I am deaf.


7. I tolerate 2 cats in my home.


8. Even though I don't like cats, I do eat cat poop if I get the chance...(it's a weakness of mine, I know~I can't help myself, even if I get in trouble!)


9. I have traveled to Kansas and Arkansas.


10. I used to have a playmate named Oscar.


11. My Mom was a Cocker Spaniel


12. My Dad was a Poodle


13. I now love my Mom Stacey the BEST!


14. I like to give kisses. (because of #8 they are not always welcome~)


15. I like to get back rubs (or tummy rubs)


16. I hate to get a BATH!


17. My collar and leash really get me excited! (refer to #5)


18. When I could hear I could sit, lay down, roll over, play dead, and knew what OFF & WAIT meant.


19. I will be 17 years old in January!


20. I take medication for back pain & hind end weakness.


21. I have Halitosis (you might blame #8 but I don't think so)


22. I know I'm pretty cute.


23. When I've been a bad girl I put myself in the corner.


24. The only food I do not like is American Cheese.


25. I can still chase because I do not know I'm old.

Metal Chairs!

I don't think I'll be painting dogs on these chairs. I need to sand and primer them to stop the rust but I rather like them all distressed like this.

2 Red

2 Blue

On another note...I have this old trunk that someone painted with white paint and then left it outside to rot. I got it for $5 at an auction and thought I'd re-do it. I tried power washing it on Sunday and it started falling apart. What would you advise? Leave it as is? Burn it? I can not bring it indoors-it flakes paint too badly. I've had it under my covered porch. It has so much character, I hate to part with it.

25 Random Things About Me

• I love to sleep with the windows open and the fan on. Nothing is better than a cool breeze.
• I cry when I'm angry
• I collect.
• I like to learn and try new things.
• Shopping has always been a form of therapy for me.
• I have faith in God.
• I'm allergic to penicillin and codeine
• My head spins all the time with ideas.
• I love to travel.
• I miss riding in the back of a pick up truck.
• My dogs have been Buddy, Poochie, Duke and Valentine
• I wanted to be a teacher or a veterinarian.
• I am a Registered Veterinary Technician.
• I don't feel my age.
• I really like pie crust.
• I worry about my children.
• I'm deeply in love with my husband.
• I like to fish (but don't like baiting my hook or taking the fish off)
• I'm attracted to water.
• I have trouble staying up late.
• I get my feelings hurt easily.
• I was a single mom for 6 years.
• I loved school and still have many friends from those days.
• I have never liked liver or onions
• I love history and antiques

Valentine goes 4 wheel'in

Our 4-wheeler has not run for about 3 years and my husband just fixed it yesterday. Valentine used to love to ride on it with me. She was younger and stronger then and could sit on the seat and balance herself. Now she is weak in the back and hind legs so Jim fashioned her a basket so her and I could still ride together. I figured if my Grandpa could ride a jet ski when he was 91 years old then Val can still go 4-wheel'in at almost 17. It will be a treasured memory of mine forever!

A great gift idea

I know if your like me, you usually try to make handmade gifts. If I really care about someone I want to give them a piece of me and so I try really hard to make them something I think they will like. I don't always get the response I want, especially if I made something that really took a large amount of time and effort to create. I just want to "light someone up" with joy and if they don't seem to excited it's a let down. This year I'm doing something different! Less time and effort on my part but OH, SO GOOD!!

My dear old friend that travels the world and always brings me back the perfect gift from where ever he goes brought me some jelly last year after traveling to Canada. It truly was the best tasting stuff I think I have ever eaten!! It was Strawberry & Grand Marnier Preserve

and it was delicious!! I needed a few gifts for birthdays in September and October so I thought I would order my friends some of this delicious jelly. It's made by the Prince Edward Island Preserve Company. After shopping their website and getting ready to check out I realized that if you buy 24 items then you get free shipping. That would be like $40 in free items! So, I have officially started my Christmas shopping because I did buy 24 items! I highly recommend this company's products. If you are wondering what to get that certain someone, who is always a challenge to buy for (for instance, my father in law), they will be amazed and filled with yummy joy over this!! :)

Just something I made

I love Cathe Holden's blog Just Something I Made. It's "The Creative & Inspirational Journal of Cathe Holden". I don't know where she finds the time (or the energy) but I love her post. Today she posted some group photos. She always shares her work with her blog followers so I thought I would try to make something with one of the photos from today's post. This is the result. My type doesn't show up as well as I'd like but I didn't want to use a bold color like red or blue. If I could remember how to do the shadowing of the letters then I think it would stand out better....but my memory fails me. Anyway, it was a fun process and I'm so lucky to be so inspired by such artistic blogger friends!


With the invention of blogs, I can look at the creative processes of women from all over the world without ever leaving my home. I see the art and think, "Wow! I wish I had thought of that, what a great idea!". It will often get my creative energy flowing and it really does help relieve the stresses of life to relax and enjoy other peoples artwork or to carve out enough time to make my own. I thought of all you artist when I read an entry in Our Daily Bread by Dennis Fisher. "Sometimes we use the word giant to honor ordinary-size people who have done extraordinary things. One example is the 17th century physicist Sir Isaac Newton. A committed Christian, he credited his success to other "giants" who had gone before. "If I have seen a little further," he said, "it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." What a great quote! I will have to make a charm using it. I can't help but feel that if I ever have any future with my art it will be because of the Grace of God and the rest of you, my giants, who I find so inspiring.

Valentine inspiration

I really adore this little dog. She tolerates my surfing the net as she runs in and out of my office begging for attention. As you can see, she lays in front of the fridge, hopeful that someone will come along and give her a "snack" She LOVES baby carrots or apple slices, but she will eat anything, with the exception of American cheese. I swear, I need to get that on video because it is hysterical! She literally makes a face and spits it out!

One of the doctors at my work is going to give me some of those old style metal chairs and I think I'm going to paint a picture of Valentine on one of them. I think she said she had 4 or 5 of them that I could have. How great is that!?! I could paint a doggie picture of every dog I ever owned. They could each have their own little chair. Then if you came to visit I could offer you a seat in the "Buddy chair" or the "Poochie chair" or the "Duke chair" or the "Valentine chair". I would then have a fun doggie chair porch and Valentine can take the credit for it all!