BlueSkies

An Ending

2012-01-07T01:03:00.001-08:00

My mom lost her long battle with COPD, complicated this time with pneumonia.
I'll be back in a couple of weeks and would treasure your prayers at this time.
Make an effort to go to someone that you love, look them in the eye and tell them what they mean to you. You will never regret it.
xo
lynn

Short break

2012-01-04T08:31:00.001-08:00

Hi friends. I'm taking a short break. My mom is in hospital.
Keep thinking of your words and hang onto them. I believe you have them for a reason.
Don't forget to tell your mom you love her.

xo
lynn

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T18:49:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!

Did you stay up? Did you watch the ball drop? Kiss your love at midnight?

I did, which was pretty amazing, considering we are usually sound asleep at midnight.

I am liking the thought of New Year's more and more as I get older, especially this year. It will be FULL of art. Art classes, doing art, art projects big and small and art shows.

The other part I like about a New Year is instead of a resolution, I pick a word for the year. I've seen on several blogs that this is the hot topic for January. Guess what? We did it LAST year!

Do you remember this post?

My main word was "intention." It was a terrific word, I used it all year. It came to mind in several situations and was so much better for me than a resolution. Intention was a word with some "oomph" behind it and reminded me of what I wanted to do during the year so much more than a resolution.

I'd like very much to do it again this year.

Do you have a word? Or perhaps a color, like my friend, Deb?

I have two words this year. They both have come from finding the most amazing quote and working on

the the Sketchbook Project.

Truth

(and)

Hope.

Or,

Truth

Hope

I truly believe that when we have truth, we have hope. If we have neither one, there is a big hole in our lives.

The other lesson I am learning is that, when I keep speaking the TRUTH, my voice does stop shaking, and I find HOPE.

Pretty cool.

So, my friends, what about you?

Do you have a word? Maybe just one that spurs you on for the year?

Let's share them in the comments and I'll put them all together in a separate post.

Here's to a wonderful 2012!

Post Christmas Ramblings

2011-12-29T09:31:00.000-08:00

I can't say I'm enjoying the movie, An American In Paris. But I'm still in the room with my daughter and husband just because it is rare that we do things like this and I don't want to leave the moment.

How was your Christmas?

Ours was lovely, even though my sweet husband had to work. He got up extra early, went into work and came back in time for stockings and presents.

My poor eldest child is always, always the first one up Christmas morning. We have beaten it into her head she is in no way allowed to wake up Miss B before 8a.m. Trust me on this one-as sweet as my child is, if you wake her too early and then bombard her with Christmas, she is not easy to live with. At all.

All that to say, Lauren was up from 5:45 on, excited as she was when she was little.

I so love her for this.

But I almost love her more for staying in bed.

We have had our annual Christmas illness, and I'm happy to report all barfing made it straight to the bathroom. Just thought I should share this.

Your welcome.

I haven't done much in the way of art, I have done a lot in the way of clearing out the wreckage of opened gifts, and hanging out with my girls.

I really, really need to stop eating peppermint ice cream with home-made hot fudge sauce. Hot fudge sauce is one thing I didn't burn over the last two weeks, so maybe I'll stop eating it tomorrow.

Or Friday.

Did you get any strange gifts this year? I got a scarf half knitted from a crazy-busy college girl with a promise of it being finished before she left for school again.

I made Butternut Squash Risotto last night. Oh, have mercy. It was so good. I almost burned the rice, but caught it before it was too late because I could smell it staring to burn. I really do know how to cook and do enjoy it, but I'm telling you, something is up this vacation.

I have a confession.

I did not take ANY photos during December 25.

Not one.

WHAT IS THAT????

Have I lost my mind as well as my cooking abilities?

Geez.

Oh, wait. I took one.

I took down my "late" Christmas tree two days after Christmas.

Why?

It was a goner.

Can you tell in the photo? The tips of the branches are turning in.

Unlike the fake one, which is still up.

And might be until mid-January.

Who knows.

What do you do for New Year's Eve? I'm so pathetic, I love to be in bed early and feel human the next day. Unless there is something totally, super fun to do. Which kinda never happens.

Well, I could keep going, but

I'm also guessing this has gone on long enough...

Have a fabulous day, my friends!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T08:12:00.000-08:00

It's official.

I should not cook dinner during Christmas Break.

Now, I'm a good cook. I really enjoy cooking.

But there is something about cooking during the craziness of Christmas.

Besides burning popcorn and about 3 dozen bagels and tossing every cookie sheet I own into the trash, I charred pizza last night.

Since I didn't have any cookie sheets left (really. I tossed all three of them with quite a diatribe into the trash can after messing up the bagels. You should try it. It was very freeing.) I had to put the pizza I had planned for dinner on the grill. I have done this before and it turned out beautifully.

This pizza?

It ended up in the trash.

It looked like briquets.

Or a tree after a terrible firestorm.

Charred beyond recognition.

All this after telling my eldest, I love cooking for my family. It's nurturing and creative.

She was still hoping I would rather do her laundry.

I just might be persuaded.

My wish for you this Christmas is peace, laughter with your family, (whether or not you burn dinner beyond recognition), moments you can treasure and HOPE.

Enjoy a quiet moment listening to this beautiful Christmas song:

Take Good Care of This Moment, Take 4.

2011-12-22T22:28:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Take Good Care of This Moment.

I know it' a very busy time of the year, but I'm hoping these have brought some great time to reflect and think about what moment you would like to tuck away in your heart and mind for later.

If you have one to share, please feel free to join in the linky below!

Today was one of those "spectacular" days in Southern California. The winds have been at it again, howling away, but during December they blow cold, and the sky is swept clean and clear -you can see forever.

Not that I was enjoying it much.

Somehow I got a wild hair to make home made bagels.

It took about 5 hours, a bag of flour, several bowls, three ruined cookie sheets, one bent spatula, two times sweeping and mopping the floors, and I don't know how many times I scrubbed the counters of flour and bagel water.

Not to mention having to take apart the stove top to clean water that boiled over from the bagels. It was SO not my finest moment as a cook.

They look revolting, but they tasted pretty good. Especially warm out of the oven with butter and cream cheese.

Feeling like I had completely wasted a day, and more than a little frustrated, I decided it was time for Brenna, Miss Party and I to get out for a bit.

The three of us bundled up and headed for the dog park. Miss Party is not overly fond of the dog park, but she does enjoy a good walk and Brenna has a bike she can maneuver around the park area. It was good to go, to feel the wind gust and feel the cold against my face. It cleared the cobwebs from my head and seemed to right my thinking. Not to mention it got the smell of bagels out of my head.

I happened to look up at one point during our walk and was literally stopped in my tracks by the colors set up with this particular tree, the sky and the surrounding hills.

The tree was stripped bare of it's leaves, but there were clusters of bright red berries that were set against the blue sky.

It felt as if it were a treat just for me, because I looked up.

It was a wonderful moment to stop, BREATHE, and take notice.

We walked and rode, enjoyed the beautiful day, picked some oranges and headed home.

And somehow the day was better.

Thanks so much for participating by either reading along or posting your own moment!

Christmas Week

2011-12-21T11:49:00.000-08:00

Christmas week.

I love it!!

Each year,our Bible study hosts a Christmas party for our Adult Disabled group at our church.

It is just the best.

Our kids come home for it, we all pitch in and put together gift bags, buy pizza and salad and make the rounds around town to pick up the party goers and bring them in for some Christmas fun.

It is, by FAR, the best Christmas party ever.

No fuss, loss of giving, sweet receiving, fabulous singing, and merriment in it's purest form.

I'm not sure just how to put into words how amazing it is to share this time with this group.

On impulse last night, we loaded up the car and drove to an amazing neighborhood.

I think we walked for close to 2 hours looking at house after house lit up like Main Street in Disneyland.

It was about as crowded, too!

But just as magical.

We wondered where all of this is stored?

Then we wondered if you sell your home, is it in writing that you carry this on as a new owner? Because not one house wasn't lit up.

Maybe not all were as extravagant as this one, but there were lights EVERYWHERE!

All kinds of interpretations..

And of course, the Starbucks runs this week.

It's just a part of who I am...

and it helps with the wrapping I'm not getting done!

Hope your week is going well and your MOMENTS are piling up!

Join me on Friday-I have a sweet one to share with all of you.

Ramblings

2011-12-19T08:48:00.000-08:00

My computer has decided to not connect to Internet, so once again, I'm resorting to my trusty phone..
Which is probably just as well,since I feel a rambling post coming on.
Wrapping. Does anyone actually enjoy wrapping gifts at Christmas? I had an epiphany last night that I do NOT enjoy wrapping. I always want it to look like the simply beautiful gifts on the cover of Country Living magazine, but somehow they look like the grinch and his dog wrapped them.

At least I am finished with shopping. I do enjoy that part.

I'm thinking we could enjoy baked goods say, twice a year instead of waiting to devour all of the offerings in December.

I have only broken one ornament this year, and, as predicted, my eldest does not like Justin Bieber on our small tree.

I love that Brenna still believes in Santa-110%.

Do you buy your pets gifts at Christmas? I'm debating with Miss Party, as she has been on the naughty list far too often this year.

O.k., I do recall saying I would keep this rambling short...wish me luck with Internet connection.
Happy Monday!
xo
lynn

Take Good Care Of This Moment, Take 3.

2011-12-15T23:42:00.000-08:00

WELCOME!!

Thanks so much for coming by and participating in

Take Good Care Of This Moment.

Whether you share a moment on the linky below or just read the offerings, my hope is that you come away with a renewed sense of joy and peace during this crazy, beautiful, stressful month.

This week, my moment came in the form of a 3 ft. noble fir tree.

Just a little background history:

A few years ago, I caved and got a fake tree.

I did.

My eldest daughter was so incensed, she refused to decorate it and while I hung ornaments on it, she stood in the background reminding me of what a sad, sad state our family had fallen into. True to her form, she never hung an ornament on it. I have since defended our sorry fake tree (yes, it really is kind of a lame little tree) and have grown to be rather fond of it. My kids have never really spent much time decorating any tree real or fake, so I'm happy with my quick to put up-pre lit tree.

But, I have to admit. It's just not the same with out a real tree and the first year we had the fake tree, I conspired with some friends who were leaving on Christmas morning to drive to Colorado to stop by our house early in the morning and leave their tree. It arrived before anyone was up, in a stand, with the lights still on it. Doug and the girls came downstairs to open stockings and found that little (real) tree waiting for them, just so ready to spread Christmas joy. It was a fabulous moment!

Fast forward about 6 years:

We still put up that silly fake tree and then go find a real tree, smallish in size for the family room.

This year, Brenna and I took on the task and went after school to our local Lowe's. When we first entered the tree area, we were a little taken aback as there were only a handful of trees left. We were informed that they had been selling like mad and "this late in the season, there weren't many left."

Late? Since when is December 14th late to purchase a tree???

Maybe I was supposed to get it on black Friday?

To be honest, I had a small moment of panic, because the only trees to be seen were the giant, 10-12 foot variety.

Then, back in the corner, there they were.

The smallish ones.

Very smallish, but when one is "late" in purchasing, I guess you can't complain.

Full of green, piney good smells, standing proud with all it's 36 inches, I didn't care how small it was, it was just plain CUTE.

Brenna and I were pretty slap-happy by now and the man who was supposed to be helping us was busy doing who knows what on the phone, scanning who knows what to replace the trees that were bought by more savvy people than myself, so I began to sing.

"Have a holly, jolly Christmas, and in case you didn't hear, have a holly jolly Christmas, this year."

Thank goodness Brenna likes to join in on the fun, so she began laughing and I began marching around the tree, twirling it, singing what ever verses I could recall from Burl Ives.

The nice man from Lowe's was taking quite a long time to re-order trees for the poor, unfortunate, late-in the-season people, so we laughed and sang our way around our cute tree until I was a little dizzy. The other nice thing about being late-in-the-season-purchasers is that no one else is buying a tree, so we were free to fully enjoy ourselves and embrace our MOMENT.

We then went to purchase our late bloomer of a tree and I did a double take at the register.

$10.00

Say what?

$10.00

Half off for the poor, late-in-season-people.

I almost burst into a rousing rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus, but kept my wits about me and purchased three little poinsettias instead, put our treasures in the car and at home, jimmied it into the monstrously large tree holder.

It's awaiting it's decorating debut today.

It will be an honored tree.

For you see, there is not just any ornament to be placed on this late-season tree.

It's a Justin Bieber ornament.

Yep. Brenna's pick for the year.

This tree knows good things come to those that wait and sing.

A Little Art Offering For The Day

2011-12-15T10:23:00.000-08:00

How is everyone's week going?

It's the final days before Christmas break around here, and TONS to do before school is out.

One thing I like to get done before my girls are out of school is all the Christmas shopping.

It's a rather large goal, and one I don't often accomplish, but I just might do it this year!!

I took a little bit of time to journal and work on my Sketchbook project this morning before starting on the day,

here is my little art offering:

I found the text from a commentary on Romans 5:13 (message version)-

"Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives filled with the life giving energy of the holy spirit will brim over with hope!"

Are you looking for your MOMENT that you will take good care of?

I found mine yesterday. I can't wait to share it with you!!!!

See you back here tomorrow for the linky party...

Coming Up For Air.

2011-12-12T21:03:00.000-08:00

Hey, friends!

So sorry that I have been MIA since Friday.

It's been...a little crazy.

Since Friday, I've attended a funeral, an all day class with Jenny Doh, a Christmas party, finished 8 journals, a canvas and got everything together for an art show.

I was a little more than loopy by Sunday night.

But it was well worth it.

It was one of the most fun shows ever.

Ten artists in the alleyway next to a well-loved coffee shop in downtown Redlands called Augie's.

I packed up part of my living room, some twine and my canvases and met two of the bestest gals ever who helped me set up and ease my panic.

(THANK.YOU, Robin and Rach!)

Yeah. Just a little panic. When I arrived, NO ONE was there and for a brief 2 or 7 minutes I thought I had gotten the date wrong and the show had all ready taken place.

Kinda like those dreams you have of never really finishing high school.

Everyone showed up, but I can pretty much guarantee you they weren't as spazzy excited as I was.

Great music, beautiful art, twinkle lights, and no rain.

A beautiful time.

Many, MANY thanks to Aeron Brown for putting this together.

He is one seriously talented artist. Stop by his Etsy and take a good look!

I kinda made this sign Sunday morning, about 2 hours before the show. I was having a blast getting ready.

Until I looked at the clock and had about 35 minutes to shower and get ready!

Two new (favorite) canvases:

Some journals and reliquaries...

I will be listing these in my etsy soon.

I was blessed with great feedback, a few sales and the support of wonderful friends and family.

We are hoping to make this a quarterly event, I sure hope it works out!

Take Good Care Of This Moment, Take 2.

2011-12-08T22:28:00.000-08:00

Well, my friends, welcome back to "Take Good Care of This Moment".

Did you find one?

A moment that made you stop and reflect? A few minutes, maybe, that you were able to savor in the midst of this hectic, fun, crazy, maddening season?

If you did, and you would like to share it with us, we would LOVE to hear about it! Link up your moment at the bottom of this post, and we can spread the moments aaaallll over, and when we do, we can encourage each other that our time still counts. That it is so good to stop just for a little bit and breathe.

I know after reading the moments last week, I thought about them during the days after. I thought about rain and windshield wipers in the middle of the night and looking into my child's eyes.

My moment came on Wednesday.

It started out like a typical day for this month. Brenna and I needed to get her new glasses adjusted. The glasses that she had gotten on Monday and still did not wear. The glasses that I thought were too tight behind her ear and she INSISTED they were fine. Until we got home and I thought she was going to cry because they were too tight. You know the feeling-when the arm of the glasses is hitting that little bone just behind your ear and you think your head will split in two unless you get them OFF.

But I digress.

It took us two days to find the time to get over to have the glasses readjusted. Trust me. It did.

I also got a phone call saying my allergy shots were ready and, wow! I could come in on Wednesday morning. Wow! I said, perfect and would be there after I dropped of my child to school and I could be there by 8:45, as it would take about 25 minutes to get there.

So, Wednesday morning, Brenna and I were able to take a little bit of a more relaxed approach to getting ready for school, as the optometry office didn't open til 8:30. At 7:15, I thought I'd get ready because we didn't need to leave until ten after eight.

Right.

Making sense yet?

I came to at 7:45 and realized that some how I could get to the optometry department by 8:30, have Brenna back to school around 9:15 and get to the allergist by......

8:45.

HUH??????

I was running up and down the hallway confusing Brenna by telling her we weren't going to get her glasses done, and HURRY, WE HAVE TO LEAVE IN FIVE MINUTES.
Then I ran back down the hallway and told her, never mind, we'll get your glasses fixed and I'll call the allergist.
All the while, Brenna is telling me no to whatever I'm tossing her way about what it is we are or are not doing.
I can't really blame her.

I can say, we got her glasses adjusted, and I made it to the allergist at 9:30.
I've never done this before, but I think I'm going to like it. After my shot, I sat for half an hour.
This is when I had my moment.
Because I just sat.
It was quiet.
I wasn't running up and down the hallway.
I organized a couple of things in my calendar, goofed around on my phone and sat.

Much, much later that night, I realized that the 30 minutes I spent sitting was the quietest part of my day. I was so thankful for it!! I could and did look back on that 30 minutes of peace off and on all day. It was amazing.

So was the coffee I got myself for being brave.

Oh, and we have to get Brenna's glasses adjusted again.

I think I'll wait until my next allergy shot.

Up To My...

2011-12-08T13:15:00.001-08:00

I think I am now up to my eyebrows in paint. I had a spark of a creative idea that is now a wildfire. But I think it's about 80% contained and there is no need to evacuate the house.
Yet.
Don't forget to join in on the Linky love back here tomorrow. I know I'm looking forward to hearing how you have "Taken Good Care Of This Moment".
Can't wait to hear and see how we can encourage each other!
xoxo
lynn

Up To My Elbows

2011-12-05T21:42:00.000-08:00

Hi friends!
I sure hope you enjoyed the moments people shared last Friday, I know I did! Don't forget to join in the fun this week, we will be sharing those moments that made us stop and remember something amazing or caused us to pause and reconsider things.

Right now I'm up to my elbows in paint, getting ready for a local art show this coming Sunday. It's going to be a blast. Super casual, painting as we sell, music, a great coffee house, what more could I ask for?

Here's a sneak peek at what I'm working on:

Hope your week is happy!
xo
lynn

Take Good Care Of This Moment

2011-12-01T21:17:00.000-08:00

It's here, it's today!! Hooray!!

I'm so very excited you are all here.

I LOVE having people over. I wish you could really all be at my house. I would make coffee and pumpkin bread and we would sit for hours and share our moments.

Ah, well. Someday...

Until then, let's share on this blog. Tell us your moment. The moment of the week where you stopped. You re-looked at your moment. You kept it with you all day, knowing you would save it for a long time to come.

It might just be a photo with a few words. It could be you felt like

you saw your child's eyes like it was for the very first time.

Did you see your first snowflake of the season, and did you stop and take in the wonder of it?

Hmmm, maybe you were caught short and didn't know which direction to turn. So you kept that moment and during the day you saw your situation in a different light.

Even if you don't have a "Moment", please look through the blogs that have linked up and take home something wonderful for the day. Leave me a message that you did and I can pass it on to the others.

Here is my "Moment":

This is a small part of our extended family.

There are 5 families. Four of which we have known over 20 years.

We have held each other in and through birth, death, and literally, everything in between. We have all been in Bible study together almost all of those 20 years.

This is a photo of just the girls from all our families:

(not sure where the the guys went, but they were there somewhere!)

But this-THIS is my MOMENT:

The Saturday after Thanksgiving.

We usually spend Thanksgiving day together, and when our family isn't there, everyone comes to our house for a left-over dessert and game night.

When I snapped this photo, I thought to myself, "Oh...there is so MUCH right here, right now."

Is it possible to go through 20 years in an instant of taking a photo?

Yes.

In this moment, I thought to myself, "This is what life is about. Right here, right now."

Twenty years of knowing what goes on behind the laughter, twenty years of watching and praying and seeing them grow. TWENTY years of shared life. Sending them off, rejoicing when they come home. Sharing in their accomplishments, holding them through their tears.

I have tucked this moment away to pull out through all of December, and for days to come.

The moment of stopping and realizing there is so much fullness in this life. It doesn't come with a fancy price tag. It comes from investing and committing and loving a life. The moment of knowing you have loved and are loved in return.

Thank you for participating!!!

Please feel free to take the Blueskies Badgeon the right side bar to use on your blog, should you choose to participate.

We will be doing this each Friday through the month of December as a way to encourage each other to find hope in this season.

Don't Forget!!

2011-12-01T08:22:00.000-08:00

Don't forget!!!

LINKY PARTY HERE TOMORROW!!!

take good care of this moment.

(see announcement here!)

Today is the last day to let me know in the comments if you grabbed my badge and invited your friends on your blog to join in on the love.

If you did, I will send you one of these tags-don't forget to leave me an email address!!!

*****

Don't you love it when other bloggers send you some bloggy love?

It's especially nice when that blogger comes in the voice of an amazing cat!

Yep, that's right.. a cat.

You will have to go check out Romeo's blog.

I'm not a big fan of cats, but this guy, well, he has made me change my mind..at least for him!

He sent me the sweet "liebster" award.

Liebster’ means ‘favorite’ or ‘dearest’ in German. This award, which originated in Germany, recognizes up and coming bloggers and is meant to showcase bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers. This is all done in the spirit of pay-it-forward.

So, in that fun spirit, I'll introduce you to some wonderful blogs by ladies I have met through the Kelly Rae Roberts Flying Lessons class I took last summer.

Take a minute to stop by and introduce yourself-you will be glad you did!

http://thatgirldesigns.com

http://deborahvelasquez.blogspot.com/

http://www.susanscharmingtrinkets.blogspot.com

http://blog.joanacarvalho.com

http://leissnerart.blogspot.com/

(if the above mentioned ladies would like to carry on "the pay it forward", select 5 people you would like to give the award to as well!!)

See you tomorrow!!!

Art Every Day Month-day 30 and a Linky Party!!

2011-11-30T11:12:00.000-08:00

The LAST day of Art Every Day Month!!!

Another addition to my Sketchbook Project.

I wasn't so sure about it last night.

But it is always better the next day in different light...

I did this page to kick off my

"Take Good Care of This Moment"

month.

And to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed Art Every Day and met some wonderful artists, and will miss the daily check ins!

So, let's talk December.

It can be a mad rush to keep up with everyone and the radio constantly telling us we only have __ shopping days left.

It can be an utterly heartbreaking month where things go horribly wrong and they just aren't supposed to in December.

It can be exhausting keeping up with all the kid's parties and festivities and school programs, not to mention our own get togethers.

It canbe a month with sweet, cherished moments.

It can be a month where we take a couple of minutes and post about a moment we took good care of,

and then encouraged others with that moment.

Which is what I'm aiming for!

I'm learning to "Take Good Care of THIS Moment".

Whether it is a sweet, cherished one, or a rather difficult one.

For instance:

On vacation last week, I saw the sweetest little girl dancing with the waves on the beach.

She wore multicolored striped leggings that stopped at the ankles and a florescent pink skirt with a top that had the Superman emblem on it. Plus, it had a CAPE.

I took such good care of that moment and stopped to remember the joy of walking in the sand, the squeals of my girls when they were little and the water surprised their toes. I stopped to cherish the time I had to build sand castles with Brenna that day. I have cemented it in my heart and mind for forever, and it is a wonderful memory to have to look back on.

Or, for instance:

After vacation, I was at the eye doctor's with Brenna and was informed she had the beginnings of cataracts.

Yep.

How was I going to "Take Good Care of THAT Moment"???

Well, I stopped for the moment and took stock of the situation.

I screamed a little in my head-"REALLY, GOD, REALLY????"

Then I thought about how Brenna is not in imminent danger, her life is not threatened, nor is she being admitted to the hospital. Plus, I really like her doctor.

It was an interesting situation to look at that moment a little differently.

All that to say is,

You are cordially invited to

A LINKY PARTY!!!!

When:

Every Friday in December.

(2, 9, 16, 23 and 30th)

Where:

Blueskies

Every Friday for the month of December, (the 2, 9,16, 23 and 30th)

you can join in. Share your moment that you were able to "TAKE GOOD CARE OF."

Post it on your blog, link it to this one and we can all encourage each other through this month.

Now, the really fun part!

If you take the code for my badge on the right side of the blog, and post an invitation for others to join on YOUR blog, leave me a comment (with your email) here telling me you did so, and I will send you a little thank you in the form of one of these tags pictured.

Let's get the party started this FRIDAY!!!

I'm looking forward to "Taking Good Care" with all of you!!!

Art Every Day Month-day 29

2011-11-29T08:49:00.000-08:00

I'm finding myself very sad to be at the end of Art Every Day Month.

Maybe I'll have to continue it on my own...

and just visit my own blog.

Ha!

O.k., enough of that sadness.

Here is what is rolling through my head.

"Take Good Care Of This Moment."

or,

TGCOTM.

nah...

what about

TGC for short?

I know, I know, it's bad when things are rolling through my head and I put it all out on the blog.

But I think it will be worth it.

Just think Linky Party for December to help each other through the craziness of the season.

Or, Linky Party at Blueskies!

Or, Linky Party to help us not lose our minds during December and get caught up in stuff we really don't want to and if we did, we have a place to come to get a breath of fresh December air.

Just keep tuning in and I'll have it all worked out tomorrow, how's that?!!

On to art work:

My eldest introduced me to a product called Misket, or Liquid Frisket.

I like the name as it reminds me of Peter Rabbit.

I'm telling you, I'm pretty tired today!

Anyway, it's a liquid that you apply to your substrate and then paint over it.

It's also advisable to let the paint DRY before taking off the frisket, as seen above.

Use a small eraser to take off the frisket. It's a very thin rubber-cement like texture when it dries.

I had a page in my practice journal that just had color on it and then I applied the Liquid Frisket and let it dry and then painted black over it to help it stand out. My daughter has a knack of getting really clean lines with her lettering, and it looks beautiful.

Just be careful with your brush, because mine ended up looking like this.

Have a great day!

Art Every Day Month-day 28

2011-11-27T22:30:00.000-08:00

Back at the Art Everyday Month!

I hope each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Last week,

some of my art came in the form of writing in the sand at the beach.

I read quite a bit about thankfulness and trust this past week.

Those two words bring so much freedom to me.

When I let them.

I come from a "pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps" kind of a family.

Which definitely comes in handy when one needs to work hard.

But trust?

Thankfulness in the midst of hard times?

Isn't that just a pollyanna kind of view?

I do struggle with this notion, but I don't think it's "pollyana-ish"

when it is a conscious decision.

To be able to put my thoughts in a better place is a gift!

I want this...notion...to continue way past Thanksgiving.

Through December, even!!!

I want to treasure each day, especially during the holidays.

What about you?

I have a little idea rolling around my brain and at the end of the month, I'll have that idea put into a plan,

so be sure and stay tuned!!

Art every day month day 23

2011-11-22T21:57:00.001-08:00

Welcome to day 23 of art every day month.
Today, I played. I did nothing with the intention of selling or caring if it was "good enough".
I think I'll continue it today as well!
In the October issue of Somerset Studio, in the article entitled, Oodles of Circles, there is a great "how to". I really am not sure how the artist got to their finished product, but it's beautiful and I'm enjoying the process of my colors and layers.
We are having a long, lazy week as a family and enjoying each minute. Certainly something to be grateful for!
I doubt I will post on Thanksgiving, so today I'll wish each of you many blessings and the hope found in giving thanks.
xo
lynn

Art every day month, day 22

2011-11-22T10:47:00.001-08:00

This is a photo of my grandmother (red scarf) and one of her four sisters. I printed the photo onto tissue paper and added it with gel medium over a painted background.
I love this photo as it reminds me of the twinkle in my grandmothers eyes and her fabulous laugh. She was an artist and taught at Carpinteria High School. I painted first with her and began work in clay with her. She left me her potter's wheel when she died. It's long gone now, it was an old kick wheel and it now lives at San Jose State College.
I often wonder at this photo. My memories of her sisters weren't ever this lively and I would love to hear from them about the background of this photo. Theirs wasn't an easy life. But seeing this, it makes me smile knowing they shared this moment together.
Happy Thanksgiving week!
xo
lynn

Art every day month, day 21

2011-11-21T09:39:00.001-08:00

Still no Internet connection. I have my trusty phone and time for art, so I'm very thankful! Yesterday was blustery and rainy. We baked pumpkin bread, went to a bookstore and spent all day together. I kept thinking of a devotional I read and it talked about how thankfulness and trust are our main receptors to God. This page from my sketchbook came from those thoughts. I also realized the old pen and ink works wonders over watercolor crayons.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving week!
xo
lynn

Art every day month

2011-11-19T21:24:00.001-08:00

Thank goodness for this phone. I can't get Internet access on my laptop, and I HAVE to still put up posts for art every day month challenge!!
Today I decided to enjoy the artwork of the Creator of heaven and earth. Hope you like it as well!
xo
Lynn

Art Every Day Month-day 18

2011-11-18T08:15:00.000-08:00

Can I just say I'm so stinking excited for Thanksgiving break???

I love breaks from school.

Why is that? I don't remember being quite this excited when my kids were young.

I think it's because they are older and it's actually a break!!

I remember when they were younger thinking it wasn't much of a break when kids were out of school,(except for summer) but I sure love it now.

There's hope, moms of young children!!

And whoever moved Thanksgiving break from just Thursday and Friday to all week, well..

THANK YOU!

I'm moving to a larger canvas. I haven't done this in quite a while and it's nice to just take my time with it.

I get so excited about color, I tend to forget that I have to have any ink down BEFORE using the watercolor crayons. Once that is on the canvas, you will ruin your pen if you try and go over the crayon. Wax, apparently, is not good for Faber -Castell Pit pens.

Bummer.

I think my bird's body is a little wonky. Might have to go in and do some liposuction with shading.

Happy Friday,

and enjoy your days off!

Art Every Day Month

2011-11-17T08:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a little busy...but I got a couple of hours in the art room.

Inks, gesso, paint,

transfers, more paint..

I love it all!

Happy Thursday.

Art Every Day Month

2011-11-16T09:37:00.000-08:00

Day 16...

I did not win in the sleep department last night. It was another hormonal party that I distinctly do not recall sending out an invitation for.

And for the record, it's too quiet for a party between 3 and 5 a.m.

All though bed time routines have amped up in our house, thanks to Justin.

Yes, one of the girls from school found this handy-dandy singing toothbrush and gave it to Miss B.

Who then got the bright idea to take several pictures of it on my iphone.

"SAVE them, MOM."

{{Uh, o.k....should I make my wallpaper on my phone this picture?

While I'm at it, I'll use it as my desktop photo on my laptop.}}

Not only did she brush a LOT, she marched around the house in time to the songs.

Maybe that's when the party started and I just thought we had to keep going.

Wait, no, that was at 8 p.m., I don't party THAT long. Plus, I'm pretty sure I was out cold by 10:30.

Oh, well.

A large version of the bird in progress...

Along with my large new best-snowman-friend.

For more great art, check out the other posts at

creativeeverday.com

Happy Wednesday!

Art Every Day Month

2011-11-15T08:53:00.000-08:00

Art Every Day Month, day 15!

I missed yesterday, as I was asked to come help in Brenna's class at the last minute. I left the house at 7:30 and got home after 4:00. Can't say I'm used to that-and by the time I got home, I was B.E.A.T! But I do love her class and working with her teacher is just the best.

Today I'll share what went on this weekend...

I started in the sketchbook and it seems to keep getting bigger and bigger!

Next, I'm working on a 16x20, which I haven't done in a long time.

I just need to say this over and over, along with the original quote, "Speak the truth, even if your voice shakes." That I think needs to be on a really large canvas this time.

Have a great Tuesday!

Art Every Day Month

2011-11-13T12:38:00.000-08:00

Today is the 13th day for Art Every Day Month.

I relented and took Miss Party for a couple of walks...it is stunningly beautiful today,

even if it makes my nose itch like crazy!

Back to the AEDM.

I'm continuing on my theme of "speaking the truth," and was inspired by my sweet friend, Amy, to take it a step further.

This is a page in my Sketchbook.

I think of so many people when I wrote this.

Even if we just begin to speak to ourselves, each time we do, we will be stronger.

Have a wonderful Sunday speaking to yourself.

Art Every Day Month

2011-11-12T11:48:00.000-08:00

Finished the canvas I started yesterday..

I printed a large clock and hands from Karen, over at The Graphics Fairy onto pattern paper and added numbers from a gel transfer. Add to that paint, stamped letters and hand-drawn letters.

Kinda like it!

I even like the inverted look from my iphone app. Gives me ideas for different colors!

Off to do more of what I love...

Happy weekend to all of you.

Art Every Day Month

2011-11-11T12:43:00.000-08:00

Welcome to day 11 of Art Every Day Month.

I, for one think it's going too fast!

At least I have a great weekend planned...

My sweet girl is spending some time at a friend's house and I'm going to...

wash the car.

Naah! Just kidding.

This will be my set up all weekend:

Maybe dinner with the husband.

That would be good, too.

Then back to this:

I like the color red.

It's my favorite in the month of November and December.

Especially when it holds coffee.

And I'm seriously having fun with the new Iphoto app, FX Photo Studio.

I have to admit, my weekend will be complete if I don't have to walk the dog.

oooh. I am speaking the truth, just don't tell Miss Party!

Art Every Day Month

2011-11-10T09:51:00.000-08:00

Day 10.

An epiphany sort of a day.

This is what I wanted to share with you from the Sketchbook Project.

It resonates deep within me, this quote from Maggie Kuhn.

The realization today was that I tend to question what I create. I am joyful, energized, and right where I know I should be while creating. Then, somehow, when I step away, my thoughts turn against me:

It's not really "good enough." If I changed ________, it would be better. It's childish. If I created it like ______, it would be a little more credible. Who would want this?

Yep, those are my inside voices.

And I want those to change.

I want to speak the truth,

even if my voice shakes at first.

Because, I realize this: What I learn in my life goes onto my canvas.

Every emotion is on there, all the thoughts and heart felt achings are on display.

ahhh...it's on display.

Now I will own it instead of pretend it really isn't there.

I will own it and live it out.

Now,when I look at my canvas, I want to say this:

Darn, that was good.

I'm so happy with this.

I want this on my wall.

I want this to go out into the world.

I want this to give someone else the courage to be brave, the courage to live their life.

I want to communicate that we are loved beyond measure.

I want to learn to love myself for who I am and who I was created to be.

Then live it out in every aspect of my life. To hold who I am and hold it tenderly. To tend to it and help it grow.

What is your truth today?

linking to Heather and Vanessa over at Inspiration Friday.

Art Every Day Month

2011-11-09T08:41:00.000-08:00

Day 9 of Art Every Day Month!!

Don't forget, you can see more wonderful art HERE.

Yesterday, I had the best day ever in my art room.

Here is what came out of it:

Lots of paint, pattern paper,

De Arche crayons, stencils,

a Tim Holtz stamp,

and the thoughts of when we are standing together, we are always stronger.

(Plus a shot from my fun new phone app:)

Who will you stand with today?

Art Every Day Month

2011-11-08T07:19:00.000-08:00

What a difference a couple of hours in my art room can make in a day! I was able to finish the next page in my sketchbook project. Today I'm back in my favorite spot in the house...

And I'm happier than happy,

as I feel I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing today.

I found a cool new photo app for my IPhone from Kris over at Cherishdesigns-check it out!

I'm plugging in my favorite music today and working away to

Lady Antebellum and my new fav:

Nickelback, When We Stand Together. Click the song title to hear it.

LOVE.

Fun stuff with the new phone app...

I'm excited to be able to continue this sketchbook project. I've got it on my calendar to go see ALL of them, including mine (!!!!!!!!!) May 25th-26th in Los Angeles.

Have a happy creating day!!

lynn

Art every day month

2011-11-07T08:31:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday, everyone!! A quick post today. Here is my offering for AEDM, I'm working in my sketchbook today...
Hope your day is wonderful!
xo
lynn

Art Every Day Month

2011-11-05T15:51:00.000-07:00

Today's entry for AEDM is pretty special to our family.

It's photos from HOMECOMING!!

Ready?

Getting ready with the girls.

Brenn's teacher, who we love!

Sophomore prince.

Proud papa!

Walking out to the field.

Love this.

Pretty darn cold for us Souther Californians-45 degrees and rainy. The rain stopped right at half time, so we did not have to postpone the festivities.

The court, and someone rescued Brenna with a jacket!

The BEST fan club, EVER.

Well, with the exception of her sister.

Umm...and her mom.

Queen for the night.

Senior girls.

Love that they all wore boots!

Brenna is all excited for the big dance tonight.

I held it together pretty well during half time. The only time I lost it was when my sweet husband turned to me and said, "Well, did you every think seventeen years ago in the hospital room that we would be here, experiencing this?"

Such a blessed life.

Art Every Day Month

2011-11-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

I'l continue the Art Every Day Month (AEDM) by showing you the next pages of my Hope sketchbook.

It's kind of a crazy project, in that I fight feelings of wondering what people will think, should they pick it up to look through it. I imagine there will be thousands to look through, but what if someone picks mine up? Will it encourage them? Will they wonder what my thoughts were as I did each page? Will they put it down to look for something better? Does one EVER get past the negative thoughts when they put their artwork out for the world to see?

"Blackbird" is one of my all time favorite Beatle's songs.

To see more entries for AEDM, click HERE.

Today is the day to get Her Royal Highness ready for Homecoming court!!! Pray for the nervous, excited, giddy parents!

Art Everyday Month

2011-11-03T10:55:00.000-07:00

Hi, all! Thank you so much for all your kind words and encouragement over our newly crowned princess. I read each and every comment to her and she had a lot of fun hearing all the encouragement. Lots of love and hugs were given!
This month, I'm participating in two venues. One is Art Every Day Month over at Leah's at www.creativeeveryday.com
The other is the sketchbook project, which you can find out more by going to
www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject.
I'm a bit behind on the art every day, but my first post will be my sketchbook. I chose the topic of HOPE.
(Hope) you will continue to stop by and see what transpires!!!
xo
Lynn

Royalty In The House

2011-11-01T11:17:00.001-07:00

This is the last post for the 31 for 21 series, and as promised, it's a keeper.
This week is spirit week at school. Today was pop culture day, so Brenna dressed as Justin Bieber. Big surprise, right? Actually the big surprise came at the end of chapel, when the Homecoming court was announced. Take a wild guess at who was voted by her class for Sophomore Princess?
Brenna.
Holy cow. She is beyond thrilled and has the.biggest.smile.ever.
And roses.
Best if all? Brenna has the love, friendship and support of her class behind her.

31 for 21

2011-10-30T14:57:00.000-07:00

All is quiet in our house this weekend. This is a good thing. Brenna and I are taking advantage of the Dr.'s orders for keeping low. Unfortunately, my computer has decided to join us and until I get it figured out, I'll have to post from my phone. Because the best post of the 31 for 21 comes on November 1st..... Stay tuned and happy Sunday to you!!
xo
lynn

31 for 21

2011-10-28T23:01:00.000-07:00

It's pretty amazing what is going on this month with writing the 31 for 21 posts.

Does my life seem a little crazier than normal because I'm documenting everything, or is it just really this crazy around here?

For instance.

I'll preface today's story with this:

it is a good outcome,

and I am BEYOND grateful,

and BEYOND thankful for iphones and computers and Facebook where I can text and make status updates and have so many people praying it will make your head spin.

Friday morning, 7 a.m., I was downstairs in the kitchen with Miss B., and we were getting breakfast ready. We sat down to eat and she began rubbing her eye.

One thing I forgot to mention was the opthamalogist we see on a regular basis. Brenna has a nasty astigmatism and has been pretty close to being legally blind as far as distance goes. This has been corrected somewhat over the years. She also has nystagmus. She has the back and forth kind.

Then she said she was dizzy. "It should go away", I said, not overly concerned.

Miss B. said, "No. I'm DIZZY."

I looked at her and realized her nystagmus was literally going berserk. Not just her little twitchy side to side movements that you can see. Not the medium side to side movements that are more noticeable when she is very tired.

These were full blown, wonky, rolling, different direction, one eye crossing and staying type of movements.

I froze.

"I'm dizzy, mom."

Got that.

check.
Time to be concerned.

Three minutes later.

"Still dizzy, B?"

"yep." said miss eye roller.

This is when the mommy mode kicks in and you try very hard to not panic as you debate in your mind several scenarios.

Seizure.

Heart malfunction.

Brain tumor.

What the?????

I then made the decision to exit stage right.

Unfortunately, Miss Dizzy couldn't walk a straight line, so I helped her to the car, where she began to worry about not eating her breakfast. And the dog decided she wanted to go as well.

Grab dog. Toss into kitchen. Like, really tossed her.

Grab plate, toss into Brenna's lap. Not tossed too much. What ever.

am i really posting a picture of what my hair looks like when it dries on it's own???

Call Doug, who is, of course out of town.

Wonder if I should stop and call an ambulance.

Drive way too fast to the E.R. which, for the hospital we go to is 20 minutes away.

All the while saying, "Still dizzy?"

"yep."

Thankfully, all was calm at the E.R., the wonky eye rolling had subsided, and we were transferred to a bed immediately.

waiting for cat scan.

Long story short, Miss B. has had a sinus infection the last 2 weeks, and has been on antibiotics for that time. After labs and cat scans were done and came back NORMAL, we had a neurology consult and the Dr. figured out that Brenna has what is called Vestibular Neuronitis. It is a secondary inflammation, brought on by upper respiratory problems, where the vestibular nerve in the inner ear is in inflamed. Apparently that's not a good thing.
I was instructed to give Brenna Meclazine, give her lots of fluids and keep her quiet for a week.
HA HA HA HA HA HA.
Oh, sure. She was mad she couldn't go back to school after the E.R.
Maybe she will lay low til Sunday.

sigh.

After six hours in E.R., nice nurses, a great resident, two follow up appointments for next week, one tired mom and one tired teen, we are home. Having a "slumber party."
No way she's sleeping in another room tonight.

Food Friday and 31 for 21 Love

2011-10-27T21:14:00.000-07:00

Let's start with 31 for 21 today...

As in I got a note sent home today from the teacher.

As in my child (!) is not being respectful when the teacher(s) is/are talking.

As in, she is making faces with her friend and giggling.

Out loud, even.

After the teacher asks them to stop, even.

And then blames it on her friend for starting it.

*sigh*

I do know a way to stop this disruptive behavior.

Talk about Justin Bieber all day in class.

Yep.

Justin 101.

History of Justin Bieber.

Music class with Justin Bieber.

The science of Justin - O.K., I think you get what I mean.

(which is your favorite-Zac Efron or Justin? Thanks, E, for helping us figure this out!)

Like I've said...more alike than not like others...

Onto Food Friday.

These bake sales are killing me.

Especially when we make

Peanut Butter Carmel Corn.

This stuff?

How shall I put it?

Amazing?

Fabulous?

Addicting?

Yummy?

Addicting?

All of the above.

The best part was popping corn the "old fashioned way", and having Brenna oooh and aaahhh over watching the corn pop in the pan. (we have a glass lid. very cool.)

Since when did popcorn go up to over $2 a bag???

It was good all by itself.

(But even better after we finished.)

I found it in my Cooking Light Magazine.

No.

Just because it's in there, doesn't mean we should eat buckets of this stuff.

But it does make you feel better about it if you do.

HERE

is the link for the recipe.

Happy Friday!

lynn

christmas? and 31 for 21

2011-10-25T11:03:00.000-07:00

I did it.

I started shopping for Christmas.

The last time I started this early, everything was LATE, because I forgot to mail it.

Don't ask.

I was on pinterest (LOVE.) and found these cute as pie hand warmers.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK TO THE WARMERS!

Aren't they the best?

I immediately thought of my mom, who at 81, is forever cold. I thought it would be fun for her to warm these up and tuck them into her pockets of her robe or jacket.

AND, best of all, it fits my desire to buy handmade this year.

How about you?

Handmade? Etsy? No shopping malls? Gifts shipped to you?

Such a good idea.

So, today for the 31 for 21, I'm thinking about how Brenna, or anyone with a disability for that matter, is so much more LIKE others than not.

As in, she cannot wait for spirit week at school. Or for the football games on Friday nights. She wears her volleyball team shirt every Tuesday without fail, because it's game day for "her" girls. She likes to sing Justin Beiber songs in cooking class with her friend, Kimmie. When she walks the hall ways of her school, she says hi to just about everyone.

Brenna hasn't mastered the art of sleeping in quite yet, but I'm always hopeful.

She has asked me about driving some day.

She wants to go to the same college as her sister.

Brenna adores working in the nursery at church.

She digs going to the movies and LOVES. POPCORN.

For all of her life, I go back to what my eldest sister said about her when she was born:

"She's just wrapped up in a little different packaging is all."

So, so true.

Brenna has crushes and blushes when someone teases her about boys.

She can roll her eyes at me with the best of them.

Brenna is the most social kid I have ever seen-she comes by it naturally-and is forever asking if we can invite someone over for dinner.

She has learned to swim, ride a horse, photograph, knit baby hats, likes to paint, goes to camp, and hates doing her chores.

Pretty typical, yes?

Kinda.

So, why is it, when I watch her growing up, that my heart gets squeezed so hard, that I feel physical pain?

Well....

Brenna is not the first one asked to come over with everyone else. She doesn't have a core group of friends that call and make plans together. Brenna has a hard time just "hanging out and talking." Brenna likes to still play tag and Candyland...kinda not the most popular things to do. She tends to obsesson a few people in particular. Physically, she just can't do some of the stuff others do, and she tires out a lot faster than others. If my husband and I don't make plans, she doesn't do much. So we make a lot of plans.

I know many, many people go through this with their kids, whether they are disabled or not, it happens. Again, more LIKE others than not!

And truly? I want her to make friends "like" her. These will be the people she will eventually live with, socialize with and learn with. We are just in a funny period of life where I know this will pass and balance will be worked out. It's a fine line between "typical" and "disabled", and I thank God on a daily basis that there are such a variety of people in Brenna's life right now.

We also live in an area where teen groups are zero for kids with Down Syndrome. Something that needs to change....in the near future.

While this is a reality we face, it causes my husband and I to be pro-active and begin thinking of what we want Brenna's life to look like in the future.

This is where it is vitally important for me to practice focusing on the positive.

Brenna has a couple of girlfriends that are life time friends. LIFE. I actually asked one of them why she is friends with Brenna. I was truly curious. I don't think I would have sought out someone like Brenna when I was young.

Her answer was this, "because Brenna doesn't hold grudges. There is no girl-drama with her. She always, always has a smile on her face and is the first one to ask how you are doing and to say hi. Brenna is totally honest and makes me laugh."

As a parent, I have to remind myself that we are beyond blessed with people who support us. Family, friends, church, community. We have people in our lives who rise to the occasion when we say we need a time out from life. AND, while writing these posts, I am again reminded how full, how incredibly rich Brenna's life is.

The other vital thing for me to remember is what I am learning with Brenna in our lives. I am humbled on a daily basis. I take life at a slower pace. I have met people I would have never met if it weren't for my child.

I am learning to ASK FOR HELP.

This is one of the toughest things for me. Ever. I hate it. But guess what happens when you ask for help?

I remember God's grace when people respond. I remember I am not alone in this world. I meet others that I can also reach out to. I see in a profound way that we need each other. I stop feeling sorry for myself and my heart isn't squeezed so darn hard. I have pretty much spent my life putting my head down and gutting it out when faced with difficulties, and it just isn't working anymore. Little by little, I am leaning.

And guess who is teaching me?

A seventeen year old.

lynn

Art and 31 for 21

2011-10-24T14:14:00.000-07:00

Short and sweet today, I am battling my ridiculous sinuses again.

Although...

It might be all right, as I took Brenna's amoxicillin instead of my medicine this afternoon. Between the two of us, it's amazing this doesn't happen on a daily basis.

Umm, I needed three of my pills, so I took an extra good dose of amoxicillin.

sigh.

Moving along now.

I did finish this sweet canvas, I love it.

What do you think?

It will be up on Etsy soon.

It's a small 5x5 canvas

with the bird done in different strips of paper and the definition of surrender found from a vintage dictionary. The "B" is from a set of playing cards I bought over at Linda's etsy. She has the BEST vintage everything in her store!

Continuing on my 31 for 21 post...

Five things I love about Brenna:

1. If you just need a day to curl up and watch movies, she's your gal.

2. I love that we can go to a dog park and stay for a long time and she is so fascinated by the dogs and knows a lot of the different breeds.

3. I love that she loves Starbucks.

4. I love that we sat on the couch yesterday and colored for 30 or 40 minutes.

5. I love that she loves Curious George.

lynn

Food Friday

2011-10-20T20:35:00.000-07:00

Brenna and I made

SNICKERDOODLES

for the bake sale this week.

We found the recipe at Food.com.

I had an old family recipe, but I cannot remember where it went.

This one was pretty darn good.

And easy!

I had to triple the recipe, so we had a ton of butter and flour flying all over the kitchen.

Begin by mixing 1 cup of butter,

2 large eggs-do you love these?

They are from our friends chickens.

and 1 1/2 cups of sugar.

Here's where Brenna took over and began photographing the mixing!

Add 2 3/4 c flour,

2 tsp. cream of tartar,

1 tsp. baking soda,

and 1/4 tsp. salt.

Chill the dough before forming into balls.

By now, Brenna had taken about 60 pictures and thought it was funny to be taking so many, so I took over so she could help roll....

Put 3 Tbs. sugar in a bowl and mix with 3 tsp. cinnamon.

--OR--

3 Tbs. sugar and

3 tsp. pumpkin pie spice.

I got the idea for this when I googled the recipe for snickerdoodles and came up with

this blog.

Heat the oven to 350, roll the dough into a ball and coat with sugar mixture.

Bake 10 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Do NOT eat as many cookies as I did because you will feel sick and not even have room to try the pumpkin pie spice cookies.

But I didn't eat all of them. Brenna had enough to sell out at the bake sale!

xo,

lynn

and

brenna

A Thursday morning

2011-10-20T12:30:00.001-07:00

Today I cannot seem to get into a groove to create, so I decided to clean up the art room. It lasted all of 10 minutes. As I was carrying a piece of glass to the trash, the thought literally popped into my head to draw on it...I'm happy to say it's been a rather peaceful 1/2 hour!

Join me tomorrow for Food Friday and 31 for 21
xo
Lynn

The Eagle Has Landed

2011-10-19T11:25:00.000-07:00

Last night was volleyball and Brenna did her weekly water girl duties. Man, she loves those gals. She cheered on both j.v. and varsity teams. It was 6 games of love.

Until the Eagle landed.

I have never seen her jump up off of a bench so fast in all my life.

This photo says everything that I love about Brenna.

Someone who makes a beeline for a character like this with her face shining with expectation and happiness just has to make your day.

It just takes my heart and wrings it out.

"The EAGLE is here!!!!"

Nothing else mattered in that moment.

Oh, I wish I could express how happy she was to get a hug and that the Eagle said, "hey, Brenna."

There is a fine line between make believe and real, don't you think?

But in Brenna's world, well, it's all real.

That makes me stop and take another look at what is good, and honest and kind, and then strive to be that for others like her.

She sure has changed my life.

lynn

Art and 31 for 21

2011-10-18T15:44:00.001-07:00

A schedule. Yep. That's it. I need to get back to a schedule. THEN I will have time for artwork.

Here is what was NOT on my schedule, but decided to be:

... printer spitting paper randomly at me all day. 2 hours to fix internet problems. pool mess to clean up. dog is making me n.u.t.s. I sewed through a section of a quote i wanted to use on a canvas and had to start over with my crazy printer. I keep sweating for no apparent reason. we have 3 hours of volleyball to go to by 5, it's 3:40 and MOM has NOT had a shower. eww. I also had 46 thank you cards returned to me by our mail carrier for more postage. ummmmm....i think that's it.

Then, smart girl that I sometimes am, I grabbed my devotional (better late than never) and read this:

"Go gently through this day, keeping your eyes on Me. I will open up the way before you, as you take steps of trust along your path......."

from Jesus Calling.

Five things I love about Brenna:

1. She does things I would never do.

2. She doesn't realize there are things people think she can't/shouldn't/would never do.

3. If she wants to do something, she will figure out a way, and there is usually someone that wants to come alongside and help.

4. I love that she is the team's water girl.

5. I love our team and the way they love B.

O.K. gotta go get cleaned up now...

lynn

Art and 31 for 21

2011-10-17T12:06:00.000-07:00

I have way too many thoughts in my head. Probably not a good thing. Add to that 7 loads of laundry, a small colitis flare up, the fact that Brenna has a sinus infection, 4 dozen cookies that need to be made by Wednesday, and you get a mental hurricane that could be named Inga.

Oh, and I'm trying to figure out what to do with my art.

You know, the art I would be doing if I could stop everything and get into the art room.

I have been in there, a little.

But I'm realizing my strong point isn't organization,

It's perfectionism.

Not good when I am thinking about how to make, market, sell, blog, facebook, etsy, etc. ect.

Then my strong point is being stuck.

Boy, you are all so good to talk to.

31 for 21 + Food Friday

2011-10-14T07:28:00.000-07:00

Please note:

I take no responsibility whatsoever for your consumption of recipe to follow.
I was just relieved that the finished product left my house...

Every week, Brenna and I bake for her class's Bake Sale.

The kids learn to cook, package, sell, handle money, get everything ready and reap the benefits of all their hard work. Yesterday, the class went out to lunch using the money raised from the bake sales.

I have learned that the demand is for BAKED goods.

Fairly monster-sized baked goods.

Who am I to argue with what the market demands?

That is why we ended up making Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I found the recipe on pinterest, at Very Culinary. (fabulous blog!)

I edited it just a bit, as I honestly cannot put 2 sticks of butter into a chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Plus, I tripled the recipe and 6 sticks of butter sounded even worse.

I looked around and found a good recipe for the cookies over at Food Network.

Begin by making your cookie dough.

note to self: do NOT make it ahead of time. because every time you open the door to the refrigerator, the cookie dough is staring you down and you give in and take "just a bite."

Using an ice cream scoop, make a ball of the dough and flatten it just a bit.

Add an Oreo on top. I used Joey's from Trader Joe's.

Make another ball of dough and add that to the top of the oreo.

Gently smoosh it all together and seal the edges as you go.

It helps to put the dough in the freezer for about 2 minutes when it gets too soft.

It does not help to make these before dinner.

Because you have to try them. And then you don't want dinner.

The smell of these baking will make you surrender to eating one. Or at least part of one. They are really, really rich.

After the cookies are sealed, put on parchment paper and onto a cookie sheet. I put 6 or 7 on each cookie sheet as I didn't know how far these would spread.

Not bad, but I wouldn't put 12 on a sheet.

Let cool, package them up and GET THEM OUT OF THE HOUSE.

lynn

and

brenna

Linking to:

Mique, over at 30 Handmade Days

And

Ashley, over at Simply Designing.

31 for 21 day 13

2011-10-13T10:50:00.000-07:00

There is one name in our home that is like magic.

Would you like to know what it is?

Can you even guess?

It's pretty serious.

Justin Bieber.

Yes, we even have the movie, Never Say Never.

It is not watched on a daily basis. It is only watched every once in a while. I can't do more obsessions in this house. But I will say, it's a pretty good movie the first couple of times. After that, well....

Now let me jump to another discussion and I will yet again tie it all together.

Drying hair.

Several months ago, my friend called and I had to call her back, which I did, but it was about 45 minutes later. "What were you doing?" she asked. So, I told her-it was a "help Brenna get cleaned up night." Which entails making sure her hair is SCRUBBED, the shaving of legs, nail cutting and drying her hair. (Now, Brenna does a good deal of this-supervised. She washes her hair by herself, but I do need to check once in a while, due to her wonderful skin...)

There was dead silence on the other end of the phone. "Hello?" I said. My friend's reply was this: "You still dry her hair?" "You have to do all that? How is it I never knew that? Sometimes you tell me things that I have no idea you have to do so much and it just surprises me."

All I heard was, "You still dry her hair?"

This conversation led me to call my friend ,who also has a daughter with Down Syndrome, and ask if I'm doing too much. To ask if she thought Brenna should be more self sufficient by now. Like drying her own hair. Thankfully, my friend talked me off my cliff by telling me that her daughter-who is 21 still needs help every once in a while getting all of her hair dry, and not to worry about it. She also told me if it was something we wanted to work on, to get a small, travel sized dryer and work on it over the summer. Small steps.

Back to Justin Bieber.

This is where this all makes sense.

So, Brenna and I were making cookies for the bake sale at school and we were watching Justin Bieber music videos at the same time. (We had a lot of cookies to make.)

Afterward, it was time to shower, etc. and when Brenna was finished she called to me, asking if I would dry her hair. I went upstairs, and as we got the dryer out, she asked if SHE could dry her hair.

"uhhh. Yeah. Sure. If you like." was my intelligent reply.

And so she did.

And I stood back and watched and marveled at my child, wondering where this had come from. Because did I get the small travel dryer and work on this over the summer? Nah. Brenna has pool hair almost every day and doesn't really like her hair dried after swimming and a shower as it's just too hot.

While Brenna was drying her hair she said to me, "Mom. I am drying my hair just like Justin Bieber."

HUH?

"Yep. Mom. Remember in the movie when he dries his hair?"

Uhhh...

"He does Mom. Do you think Justin Bieber would be proud of me for drying my hair by myself?"

At this point, I snapped to and was able to give a decent reply.

"Yes. Absolutely. Justin Bieber would be very proud of you."

And so she finished drying her hair, and, like a goof, I took pictures.

She dried it until she deemed it done, let me brush it, dried it a bit more and put the hair dryer away.

And it was a good day.

lynn

31 for 21

2011-10-12T12:22:00.000-07:00

I am a bit off track for posting each day about Down Syndrome.

But I have a really good reason. (or two)

Reason one:

Writing these posts, I am realizing, knocks the stuffing out of me emotionally. BUT, it brings a lot of clarity to some of the thoughts I have and things I struggle with.

Reason two:

We have been blessed to care for our friend's two girls while mom and dad are away for three days. Let me tell you WHY this is such a blessing, and I hope I can tie all my thoughts together.

When my eldest left for college, our life changed drastically in our house. As in, it became very, very quiet. My husband and I knew our home would change, but this was ridiculous.

How do I say it?

Lauren brought a different pace to our house. Sports, friends, activities, church, groups, school, projects, you name it. Brenna, of course had her activities as well during these years, they were just on a somewhat slower pace. I guess I'm talking about how Lauren's activities carried a life of it's own. I discussed this with a friend the other day, who also has a daughter with Down Syndrome. Our "typical" children make plans, pursue driving, go to college, and are on the go basically 24 hours a day. There comes a time when we, as parents aren't involved in those plans so much and their life is set in a self-sufficient trajectory.

I'm in no way saying our children with Down Syndrome cannot and do not realize these same goals. Many are in college, driving, living on their own, etc. What I am saying is that for OUR family, at THIS stage of the game, plans for Brenna aren't realized unless Mom and Dad take action.

Which we do-

Brenna is involved in a multitude of activities, but they all include mom and dad, and guess who is tired of having mom and dad around all the time?

As in:

I took her to a pumpkin carving party last weekend and as we were getting into the car, she literally had a horrified look on her face and said, "you're not coming WITH me, are you mom?" Then she was very happy that I told her I would just be her driver and would drop her off and leave.

So, all that to say, it's really quiet around here.

Except for this week.

Enter in two sweet girls.

I love it. There is motion and playing and talking and giggling and cuteness and love.

Brenna has stepped up to the plate and made breakfast, set the table, helped with bath time, done homework, played, taken walks, and talked non-stop. It's pretty amazing to see how she responds to other's energy. Others as in not me. Do our children grow bored of us as parents? Probably. Do they all sense a need to make a move away from us as parents. Definitely.

Now, I'm not stupid.

I know if these 3 were actual siblings, there would be tears and rivalry and boredom and real life. But it's been pretty cool to feel the energy in the house and see the interactions.

We have given much thought to having other children. My pregnancy with Brenna was especially difficult and had lots of problems that put both of us at risk. The thought of doing that again was not especially what we wanted to do. Add to that the fact that by the time we could even consider becoming pregnant again, (after Brenna's numerous health problems) I was 40. Add to that the statistics of having a second child with Down Syndrome and we chose to believe our family was complete.

We just like to add to it whenever we can...

Now I have to get busy and get a canvas ready to ship off to Somerset magazine and see if it will be accepted for publication...

lynn

Sunday Scavenger Hunt

2011-10-09T09:41:00.000-07:00

It's time for

Sunday Scavenger Hunt.

I didn't think I would do it this weekend, but lo and behold-Brenna and I took off for a visit to see her big sister and all the prompts jumped out at me. All of these were taken with my trusty iphone, so it's not quite the quality of my SLR. I have to say...it was fun and I really felt like I was on a scavenger hunt!!

{{on a side note, don't forget 31 for 21 posts. I'll continue tomorrow with my thoughts about siblings.}}

Food.

I love this shot. Brenna took it while we made Rice Krispy treats for the bake sale at school.

Blank space.

Cool shirt found at Urban Outfitters.

Triadic colors.

This was the toughest one. I looked and looked and looked. I kept repeating the colors in my head and for some reason, I just couldn't remember them. But I thought this was such a cute display in a scrapbook store in San Diego, I took a picture of it, hoping it was close. Sure enough-orange, green and purple.

I whizzed past a Denny's sign that stood out behind a bright blue sky for the yellow, blue and orange-it screamed at me, "TRIADIC!!" But I chose to pay attention to driving. This is a tough scavenger hunt when you really get into it!!

Landscape.

My favorite part of the drive to my eldest daughter. I know we are beyond home and very close to her when I see this bridge. (Rainbow Bridge.)

Black and white.

It is pure inspiration at my daughter's place. She lives with 4 other college girls. Three of them are art majors, so beauty, art, edgy design and fun abound.

This is an old, chippy window frame that my daughter and her room mate painted with chalkboard paint and my daughter worked her word magic on it with chalk.

For more amazing photography, head over to

Ashley's.

lynn

31 for 21 day 7

2011-10-08T16:51:00.000-07:00

Last Monday, I got a call from my eldest daughter who said she could really use some "Mom love", and could I come for the day on Friday?

Could I come?

A chance to see my girl and get her groceries, take her out, maybe do some shopping....

uhh...YEAH!!

It's a bit of a challenge to find care for Brenna after school, (that's a whole other post!) but we have a dear friend I can call on, and did for this occasion. It was all set that she would pick up B, and have her spend the night, so I could come home late as my husband was in another city in conferences all day.

********

I will have to say, quite often in our life with Brenna, we are thrown curve balls to our plans in the way of illness.

Over the years, we have learned to roll with it as best as we can.

When she was small, we knew all of the staff in the large pediatric clinic we went to by name. I thought we should have our own tent pitched there, but didn't think it would be so comfy come 2 a.m.

Literally, we were there 1-2 times a week until she was about age 10. By then, Brenna had also had sinus surgery and her tonsils removed. She had also had a hospital stay for RSV, fought off pnuemonia, and was seen on a cyclical basis for sinus infections, inhaler treatments, neutropenia, sleep studies, severe reflux, being unable to stop vomiting from stomach flu too many times to count, and hypothyroidism. Oh yes, and the heart thing...

At least that's all I can remember for now. There's more, I'm sure, but you get the picture.

Thursday after school, Brenna sneezed and it was as if someone had flipped a switch.

"Mom? My throat hurts."

WHAT? Nah, can't be. Here, take some something and you'll feel better.

"Mom? My throat really hurts."

Sigh....

Maybe in the morning it will be better...

Well, by 12:30 a.m., it wasn't and she was in our room telling me about her throat again.

I texted my daughter (of course she was up!), telling her I'd have to call off our day. To my surprise she asked how sick was Brenna? Like barfing and fever sick? No....

Then the came the text:

Well, mom, bring her anyway and I'm sure one of my room mates can sit with her while we go out for a couple of hours and get some coffee.

Off we went with a large box of kleenex and some movies the next day.

(Brenna's throat was better-don't worry, I waited to see about that!)

What a sweet, sweet time. It was very low key, Brenna got to watch the Justin Bieber movie with Lauren's room mate, and we made dinner at her apartment.

Brenna's "other" big sister came over and joined us for dinner and they had the great debate over who was cuter- Justin or Zac Ephron?

Needing Mom love must have been in the air, because all of Lauren's room mates were gone that night to see family. So guess who got to spend the night at her big sister's place???

I found Brenna being sick this time around wasn't too bad, and as she gets older, it's pretty cool to be able to roll with it.

lynn

for more on 31 for 21,

go to unringing the bell.

31 for 21, day 6

2011-10-07T08:42:00.000-07:00

Today is Friday, and you know what that means...

Food Friday!!

We have a guest photographer today, please welcome

Brenna.

Yep, all photos are courtesy of her magical touch with the iphone!

Rice Krispy treats for the bake sale at school.

(Yes, they sold out.)

Melt 3 tbs. butter in a large pan.

Add 4 cups miniature marshmallows and stir until melted.

Pour in 6 cups of rice cereal and stir until it is a uniformly gooey mess.

Pour into greased pan.

Use a piece of wax paper and pat down to form a square.

Add sprinkles if desired.

We used an extra big lasagna pan. We hear high school students like large quantities of baked goods, and we aim to please. Three batches filled this big pan.

Let cool.

Cut into large squares.

Melt chocolate into a double boiler and dip/smear/ somehow get chocolate to coat the end of each monstrous square.

Add more sprinkles, 'cause they are fun and you can.

Enjoy!!

lynn

and

brenna

31 for 21, day 5

2011-10-06T13:01:00.000-07:00

I'm working on another collage with a thought pattern behind it.

The pattern would be around this word.

Especially in regards to raising my daughter.

I took away her ipod touch yesterday because I was tired of the eye-rolling and her muttering, "whatever." under hear breath. Of course, when I did take it away, it was probably beyond the point of no return and I did not fairly warn her that I would take it away if she continued her behavior.

Which means I got the full exposure to the biggest, saddest face on this earth. Add to that the biggest, saddest tears and I automatically entered myself into the bad mommy category.

The reason she was blowing me off in the first place was because I was pushing her to exercise. It was late, I felt guilty we hadn't done anything and she just didn't WANT to.

My constant question to myself in raising this child is,

When do we let it go as parents?

When do we push our children to be their best?

Who gets to decide what the best is?

We have always been told, "never treat her any differently than your other children".

O.K.

But there is an added dimension of grace needed here.

An acute ability to detect manipulation,

a severe need to be able to know when enough is enough.

To see your child as a unique individual.

I could never, ever scold Lauren in a firm voice. It would reduce her to tears in an instant.

Brenna?

She's my one that will give it right back.

Which brings us to last night.

I know better.

I'm waving the white flag today.

lynn

for more posts on children with Down Syndrome,
please head over to
unringing thebell

31 for 21, day 4

2011-10-05T17:49:00.000-07:00

whoops!!

It's all ready 5:30 and I'm just getting around to posting today.

It was my turn for Doctor appts., one of which I learned I am due for the annual, DREADED colonoscopy. (for ongoing ulcerative colitis, for those who are new to this blog.)

Rats.

Guess that's what I get for being good and going to follow up appointments.

I'm committed to posting each day for the 31 for 21, so I'll treat you to some baby photos.

Can't go wrong with those now, can we??!

Then, tomorrow, I'll hit the art room again.

(much better than doctor appointments.)

Trisomy 21, otherwise known as Down Syndrome, was found to be the triplication of the 21st chromosome in 1959. Not really that long ago, was it?

{{In trisomy 21, the presence of an extra set of genes leads to overexpression of the involved gene}}

~Len Leshin, M.D., FAAP

This is my take on "overexpression"

more tomorrow!

xoxoxo

lynn

31 for 21, day 3

2011-10-04T10:52:00.000-07:00

Today was a Dr. visit day.

I think it's pretty amazing that all of Brenna's cardiologist appointments are lining up with this month of posting 31 for 21.

Our day began by driving to the clinic for the cardiologist to listen to Brenna's heart.

Brenna has a heart condition called Tetrology of Fallot. Don't worry. You are not the first person to look at that and say, "huh?" Here is a link to a fairly simple explanation.

Brenna's first open heart surgery was when she was 9 months old.

We expect to have her go through another surgery, but we just don't know when. We thought by now she would have had another, or possibly 2. So far, so good.

Can I just say I hate waiting rooms?

Brenna doesn't mind, they usually have a good movie on. Today was "Oliver", as in the animated cartoon about the cat, and Billy Joel is the dog's voice. I like that one. It was better than Pinocchio where we first checked in. I'm pretty much banging my head on the wall with those movies by the time we are called back to the room.

Yeah. I was bugging her.

When she was little, she would either sit and watch the movie or watch the other babies. Babies fascinate Brenna. She adores them.

Over the years we have developed quite the list of doctors. Some kids with Down Syndrome have very little in the way of health problems. Some, well, some of us hit the jack pot. We have spent long hours in offices of her G.I. , endocrinologist, eye, dermatologist, pediatrician, ENT, Orthopaedics, cardiologist....I think that covers everyone. I love each one of these doctors. We have been so fortunate. They are kind, caring physicians who treat Brenna with great respect.

But, like I said, today was Cardiology. It's not my favorite, because it's the scariest for me. The doctor is very thorough and takes his time to explain what they are watching. (When I asked if we could take pictures and explained why he did look at me in great surprise, but shook it off. Brenna was in charge of photos at this point.)

As best as I can explain, if you are looking directly at the drawing here, on the left (bottom of the photo) side is the ventricle where Miss B. has problems. The blood flow leaks significantly into this ventricle and is not carried back up. This enlarges the side of her heart, which is not what we want. The other side also leaks, but not as significantly.

The doctor listens to B's heart and today said there was no significant change from last year, and in 2-3 weeks we will do another echocardiogram. We used to have to sedate her for these. It was a nightmare. She has ultra sensitive skin and the EKG leads would stick to her skin for days and by the time I could get them off with her screaming and crying, they would leave large bruises. Brenna wouldn't wear band-aides the first 10 years of her life. Thank goodness for technology, as the material they use for the leads now comes right off and they don't stick!

The doctor asks all the usual questions:

Does she turn blue?

Does she sweat when not exercising?

Fainting?

Short of Breath?

Chest pain?

Heart racing?

Thank God we answer no to each question, which usually makes the doctor do a double take, considering how her blood flow in her heart sounds like a water fall.

Our favorite game while waiting in the rooms used to be tearing the paper cover into small pieces, wadding them up and then playing basketball. Or, coloring all over the paper. Or playing with the blood pressure cuff and the light they use to look in your ear. Or blowing up gloves. Or answering "are we done yet?" a hundred thousand times. Now we play on the iphone. Have I mentioned I love technology?

While waiting for the nurse I found myself in a familiar position-snuggled into Brenna while she sat on the table, my face buried into her back and neck. I breathe deeply as if to imprint her smell on my brain and run it through my very pores. I close my eyes and pray a big thank you that there was nothing significant heard on the examination today, and try not to think about the upcoming echo. It is very quiet for a few minutes and for a fleeting moment I wonder what life would be like without this amazing gift we have been given.

Then it's time to go and Brenna is more than ready to get back to school and I am thrown into real time and we gather up our belongings, thankful that there isn't time to dwell on the what-ifs and head out the door to meet the day.

to read more stories, please visit

Tricia

at unringing the bell.

xoxo

lynn

31 for 21

2011-10-03T10:44:00.000-07:00

As promised, I am contributing to raising awareness for Down Syndrome by participating in

I will post every day during the month of October and link it back to Tricia over at unringingthebell. At the end of her post each day, there will be a link to stop by other's blogs and read their offerings for the month.

Did you know......

October is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month!!

It's the month that in Times Square, pictures of our sweet kids will be shown on their jumbotron.

It's the month people all over will participate in a Buddy Walk.

It's a great month to promote the National Down Syndrome Society!

Along with regular posts this month, I will post each day about our daily life. I don't have an agenda, I will just try and honestly tell our story through our regular days.

As in...

Today we overslept.

Why is it my lovely child will wake up on a Sunday morning at 6 a.m. and over sleep through her alarm going off at 6:40 a.m. on a school day?

(I just rolled over today and passed out again after turning off the alarm.)

Why is it my sweetest child doesn't see the need to run around like a chicken with her head cut off when she sleeps late and has less time to get ready for school?

God bless her for coming down in her favorite shirt and utterly wrinkled pants.

I thought we had come to an agreement that she would only wear her "favorite" shirts that advertise something on the weekend. You know, the beefy-t's that you get when you finish a sport, or get when you sign up for a 5k walk/run? Yeah. Those. The bane of my existence, the haute couture of my child's life.

I will say, the older I get, the more I'm letting go of the control freak nature.When one hears their child breathe a large sigh of relief in response to you not making her change her shirt, one realizes there are many, many other battles in life that are far more important than what shirt your daughter wears to school that day.

like my all time favorite one (not.)

Which brings me to the point of my thoughts for the day.

I know blogs are supposed to be always light, funny, and happy.

But during this month, I'll be light, funny, happy and add a little reality as well, realizing that I risk exposing myself and showing all of you that I'm not perfect.

Wait, what?

You all ready knew that?

oh.

I feel like I am being watched. All the time.

Not in a creeper, someone-is-stalking-me kind of being watched,

but the feeling that every where I go with my Brenna, people are watching.

Probably the reason for me being anal about what she wears.

People look to me for interpreting her actions and words. Strangers look AT us more than I would like to admit. Lots of times they smile, once in a while they out and out stare.

Some day I'll get the nerve to do something other than stare down the ones that stare at us.

I might say in a kind voice, "did you have a question?" or, "is my wig not one straight?" Oooh. I know, how about, "WHAT? What are you looking at? My daughter's face or her t-shirt? I couldn't get her to wear anything else and I'm tired of TRYING. I'm encouraging her to be INDEPENDENT."

Who knows. It will depend on the day. But I will try and couch it in niceness.

Usually, at a restaurant, the waitstaff will look at me to interpret what Brenna just ordered. I look at Brenna and ask her to repeat what she said, as I figure there will be days she needs to make HER needs known and I won't be there. This is when she usually pulls the great, "I don't know" out of her hat and refuses to say what she wants.

I used to fear she was embarrassed at having to repeat herself, but with every day advancing into the teen years, I think she really gets frustrated with people who don't understand her the first time and she'll be darned if she has to expend the energy to say her great words again. Don't worry. She does this to us at home as well. I call it the "Queen Bee" Syndrome.

Sometimes small children will stare. I'm not quite sure about this one. Brenna will usually mutter something under her breath and look a little perplexed. I will encourage her to give a smile back. Then, in a loud voice, she will ask, "What are they doing, Mom?" I've learned to reach into a repetoire of responses for Brenna, all the while withholding myself from reaching over and smacking sense into a stranger's child. I'm really good at multi-tasking.

When she was younger, and on a "typical" sports team, it felt like I was being watched for my reactions to Brenna's participation on the team. Part of this is my own neuroses that comes with raising a special needs child, part of it is truth.

Now, I hesitate to admit this. My posts go on Facebook, people I know and interact with will read this and I will hope I don't offend them. I write this to encourage other moms that put their kids into settings that make you, the mom, uncomfortable.

Our kids learn by leaps and bounds while interacting with "typical" kids. It is an amazing phenomenon to watch children that will naturally help yours to participate. It melts you like chocolate in a hot pan.

{It's good to refrain from running onto the field and smothering that child with hugs and kisses.}

I have had moms look over at me when Brenna made a basket with tears in their eyes and sheer joy on their faces. The ones that don't know us are searching to see who's kid IS this?

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm not sure how to process so much emotion and still know that I'm "the only one" with a child such as mine on either team.

Now that she is older, we participate in Special Olympics, and at school, she enjoys herself immensely by being the water girl for the girls J.V. and Varsity Volleyball teams. I can vouch for a fact that what we have learned in being able to put Brenna on a "typical" team has factored into our joy in watching her participate on a Special Olympics team as well as watch her perform her water girl duties.. She is a much more well rounded person for it and I'm thankful for the ability to have those times.

Silly me.

I'm the one being shaped and molded, not her.

Some days I get it, some days, not so much.

Today was good.

More tomorrow...

xoxox

lynn

If you would like to read about other's and their lives with children that happen to have Down Syndrome, please hop over to Tricia's blog HERE

Sunday Scavenger Hunt

2011-10-02T12:03:00.000-07:00

I was a bit more prepared this week for the Scavenger Hunt hosted by Ashley Sisk.

I kept a list in my wallet of what the prompts were.

Yeah, I did.

It was fun, too!

Here are the prompts:

Brown:

Brenna and I made Carmel Corn for the bake sale at school this week.

Let's just say it was a very good thing it was sent to school.

Coffee or Tea:

Ummm....

yes, these are all mine from this week.

Could be worse.

Linger:

Brenna and I took our lunch to the park on Friday and this was the sky we sat and looked at.

Pretty sweet.

Hazy:

Now, I could have just taken a picture of my brain fighting a cold, but, whatever.

I added haze to a portion of a canvas I worked on this week instead.

Inspired by a book or movie:

My favorite books-

Have fun perusing what other fabulous photographers have done

At Ashley's.

**************

LOVE THIS!

On a side note, I have discovered while perusing the other's fabulous photos, that there is a movement going on to post every day about Down Syndrome since October is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month. If you click on the button at the top of the side bar, you will be taken to some pretty amazing places where people love a little more and a lot deeper.

I'll begin today by tagging on the end of this post that our lives our changed for the better with our Brenna. It's hard and it's crazy at times, but we wouldn't EVER want it any other way.

Stay tuned for more!!!!

xoxo,

lynn

Pizza Time for Food Friday!

2011-09-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, we made pizza for the team.

Seriously.

We made 35 pizzas.

I have never seen so many all at once in my life.

I have never seen pizzas eaten so fast in all my life.

Did you know it takes approximately four hours to cook 35 pizzas in a regular oven?

It does.

And football players will wait for pizza to come out of the oven!

O.K. here we go.

I won't give you the recipe for 60 hungry football players, but this amount will make 2 very nice size pizzas.

Lean Dough

In a large bowl, combine the following in this order:

3 cups warm water

1 Tbs. yeast

6-6 1/2 cups flour

1 Tbs. salt

Stir, cover and let sit for 2-24 hours.

For the pizza, you can split the dough into two balls and let each rise.

When ready,

take the ball of dough and cover it in flour.

Begin to roll it out with a rolling pin.

{{Here is something I have learned in the kitchen..

You know how you will roll out dough and it seems to shrink back to it's original size?

If you roll it and let it set for a couple of minutes and come back to it, it will cooperate and spread out. You might have to do this a couple of times.}}

Now, you can either bake it a bit in a hot oven (450 degrees) before putting the toppings on, or like we did, we put toppings on and put it right into the oven. I have found baking the crust for a bit first keeps the toppings from burning if you need the crust to cook more.

You can also brush the crust with a bit of olive oil before putting on the toppings.

We made some with pesto, mozzarella and pecorino-romano cheese, and some with pizza sauce and fresh mozzarella cheese.

Pizza Sauce:

Crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, onion, garlic, onion powder, garlic powder, dried parsley.

This is how Mama Shaver makes it-throw it all in a pot, season to taste and simmer.

It was a feast!!!

Hope you enjoy yours just as much.

lynn

Etsy

2011-09-28T11:18:00.001-07:00

What is Etsy?

I found this definition:

Etsy is the world's most vibrant handmade marketplace

With that said, come on over and visit my newly re-opened

ETSY!

lynnatblueskies.etsy.com

Or, click on the same name under the Etsy window on the side bar.

Have fun browsing and let me know what you think!

you like it!

{get it? "hope" you like it?}

o.k., I know. That was cheesy. I think the heat is starting to get to me!

xoxo

lynn

Launch Your Creativity

2011-09-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

This Saturday, I will be attending the Launch Your Creativity.

It's a seminar at a wonderful tea shop, Paris In A Cup Tea Salon, in Old Towne Orange.
I kinda can't believe I'm taking this next step!!!
But I've ordered business cards from Staples, so here I go!!!

You can also order through Vista Print or Moo.com, but I went this route because of lack of time for shipping.

I do like the outcome. I used a portion of this collage and downloaded it for the background:

I'm excited for this event for a couple of reasons.

1. I will be able to listen to Guest Speakers such as Jenny Doh and other business owners and artists.

2. I'm going to have to put on my Big Girl Britches, as I've decided to do the "Pitch Your Product" portion of the afternoon.

From what I can tell, you take your "product" (my collages) and show it to people like the editors of Romantic Homes, Cottage and Bungalow and Victorian Homes, among others.

Gulp.

3. The least that can happen by doing this is that I get some fabulous feed back on my creations.

(I'm hitching up the panties by now.)

4. I get to have a fun lunch and scones and tea...

5. I can wear something other than jeans or shorts on a weekend.

6. Maybe I'll have to go buy some new Big Girl Britches. That always helps.

I'll let you know how it goes!!

lynn

Scavenger Hunt

2011-09-25T14:10:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd have a little fun today by joining in on the Scavenger Hunt going on over at Ashley's blog.

I found out about it by looking at my friend, Linda's blog. ( Make sure to take a look. Linda has some fabulous photos!!)

Each week, participants are given a list of things to search for during the week. I have to admit, I forgot what they were all week, until Friday. I would see something and think to myself, "hmmm, that would make a great shot. I wonder if it's on the scavenger hunt?" Great logic, right?

Here is what was REALLY on the list:

Monochromatic/Analogous color:

Scarf:

this was extra tough, as it's been hotter than a lot of our summer days this past week. Today it's gloomy and chilly. A woman at church this morning was wearing the most gorgeous scarf in a shade of sage green I had never seen before. Since it's probably not real appropriate to take out my Iphone in the middle of church and snap her photo, I asked Miss Party to pose. She is wearing one of my favorites that I bought when I went to India.

Next is Low Key.

You aren't really supposed to pull out of your archives, but it was either this or the one Doug took of Brenna and I last night watching USC get slaughtered by Arizona State. Let's just say I was so tired last night, I was asleep by 8:30 and the photo reflects that.

Instead, I'll pull the one from Michaelangelo's Piazza, where I caught Lauren in a very quiet moment by herself:

Circle is next, and I saw this on my walk this morning:

Next is phone. Phone? That's what I thought. How boring are phones right now? They all look the same. They are all cellular.

Except for the two I found in the new yogurt shop last night.

It only cost me $2.18 for this photo.

I went back in today after church to ask to take a photo of their phones and I just couldn't pass up a little bit more of the peanut butter frozen yogurt. Just a little.

It was worth it for the photo of the phones.

There you have it.

Take a minute and stop over at Ashley's and see what others caught this week!

lynn

linking to:

Food Friday

2011-09-23T16:08:00.000-07:00

Since Miss B. and I are still cooking for the football team, I thought I'd install a little feature called

food friday

Sound good?

Cool.

Today's feature is mini bell peppers, Mama Shaver style.

I cooked up 8 pounds of these cuties. Most people aren't cooking for 60, so you can eyeball how many you will need. Two pounds should be good for 4-6 people. It depends how much your guests enjoy peppers.

Heat Olive Oil in a pan large enough to hold your peppers in one layer.

Heat the oil to very hot and toss in your peppers.

Be careful, as they will splatter!

Cook until the peppers are "limp", or fairly charred on all sides.

Now add a good amount of Kosher salt. Don't skimp!

After the salt, add Balsamic Vinegar. I went around 3 circles on my pan with the bottle of vinegar.

Cook this until the vinegar begins to glaze, or thicken just a bit.

Pop into your mouth and enjoy-that's it!!

Have a wonderful weekend!

lynn

A quick note

2011-09-22T12:38:00.001-07:00

Hey friends! I have been on a roll and am submersed in the art room for the next couple of days. What a gift of time!! Hoping your day is full of beauty...
xo
lynn