Soul Carving

We had the privilege of celebrating a birthday recently. Richard now has 36 years of mortal experience behind him. He's one year older, and, due in large part to our "little people", he is another year wiser! We enjoyed a trip to an Aerospace museum. Richard may not be a soldier, but he's seen some time in the trenches. And while he's never flown a jet fighter or won any war medals, he has captured my heart. I'm sure glad I ran up that white flag. He may have thought I was surrendering, but I know it was my greatest victory yet. Look at all the little troopers that have joined our ranks since then. With comrades like these, you can face any challenge. Company, atten-TION!  Forward, MARCH!!   

     The morning had not started well. I'd made the mistake of saying good morning to the children and telling them it was time for breakfast. This was met with outbursts of how unfair it was that they never  had any time to play and how I was always  interrupting their games with such trivial things.      Well, excuse me for living.      I felt the anger rising in me. A dozen accusations bubbled in my mind, threatening to spew out in spiteful words from my lips. It was early enough that my husband had not left for work yet. So, biting my tongue and clenching my fists, I burst out the front door and into the morning air in hopes of releasing that pent up frustration.      I walked briskly, determination in each step. I'm so sick of this! How can they be so ungrateful? The list of injustices began to multiply in my mind. But I knew, I had a choice to make. I could continue my tirade and succeed in making this a long...

I got wind of a chalk art competition over at the Shops at Riverwoods and thought the children might enjoy seeing the artists at their work. We'd found a wonderful  book by Bill Thomson  which inspired us to create our own chalk drawings. The squirrel (on the left) may have been inspired by this incredible  music video  from Coldplay Stoplights and crosswalk We attended the festival, and at first I was a bit disappointed. Not that the drawings weren't impressive, but, as my husband said, there was a lot of artistic ability without much creativity. We saw mostly Disney characters and Superheroes. I'll admit, Iron Man was pretty awesome. Things started to get a little more interesting. . . But when I saw this one, it took my breath away: The brunette on the left is April and she's the one responsible for this gorgeous work of art.     ...

     For a long time now, I've wanted to join the ranks of bloggers out there and provide a creative way to share some of my reflections on this crazy adventure we call life. So, here it is! Here is where you'll find photos of the things most precious to me. Here is where you'll read about the simple treasures of my daily life. Here, I hope you'll find the refreshment and the restoration you'll need for your own crazy adventure. Here, you will find me.  Here I am.