Highlights

Happy May Day!

Crazy that April is already over! I planned on doing more blogging and I blinked and the month was over. I don't know how those of you who are such faithful bloggers do it. I'm not so good at balancing everything. Maybe this month I can do a bit better? Not promising though! :)

Here is a glimpse of some of our April highlights...

Lots more snow arrived. One day the snowflakes were landing just right on our large picture window in our living room so we could see the details of the flakes. Love how unique they are! ♥

 

Wisp woods customer came to pick up his tables. Hubby did a beautiful job!

You can see from this detail shot that his projects are not quickly put together.
They are made to last and are beautiful to look at as well.

{Kaelyn says her daddy is the best woodworker ever!}

 

{K's baptismal birthday ~ opening a fun gift from her godparents}

{loving the outdoors}



{Be Still & Let God art print}

New prints were added to my etsy shop.
 



{special customer reuest ~ Your First Breath}

 

{chicken & veggie dish}

{daddy/daughter day ~ they go all out with their fort making}

I had a fun girls day rummaging. This set of My Little Ponies was one of the best dollars spent. Yep, $1 for a set of 5 ponies in great condition and they have kept her entertained for a long time! Yay! :)

{Wisp Woods onto a new walnut table project ~ check out that chunck of wood!}

{sanding the walnut is going to take a lot of work ~ can't wait to see the finished product}

{Brookings triathlon ~ Hubby is in lane one on the far left}

We didn't know if the triathlon was going to be cancelled on the 27th due to all the snow we were getting. We were still getting snow on the 24th! To our surprise the weather turned out to be gorgeous! Temps skyrocketed to the 70's!!! It was a gorgeous day!

{K loves finishing races with her dad!}

{hubby did great and got third in his age group}

{finally warm enough for a family bike ride}

{and a bonfire!!! I LOVE warm weather!}

{K says she wants to roast marshmallows every night.}

Sadly the warm weather only lasted for the weekend, but it should be warming up again soon... I hope. At least we didn't get more snow today like they forcasted. :)

Ok, I better stop with the pictures. My tummy is grumbling. I better get to making supper.

Guide Me {mixed media in progress}

{Guide Me ~ in progress}

 

"Guide Me" is about giving up control and letting Him show the way. The sailboat racers are like us who want to have complete control. The sailors want control over their boat to come in first. Well like in life there are other components that factor in and no matter how hard you try there is a bigger power in control. In the sailboat race, weather/wind is a huge factor... something that cannot be controlled. Sometimes you just have to roll with what comes your way even if it isn't easy.

 

I get these kinds of images and thoughts in my head and feel the desire to tell the story through artwork. I have no idea where my fine art will lead if anywhere. I don't know if others will like the final pieces I come up with. Maybe no one will care about the meaning behind them or think they are crazy but that is okay. I create them because they share a bit of what's on my heart. They tell a story to me and I love creating them more then doing anything else. (other then time with my family)

 

Giving up control takes time and a lot of faith. When you switch your thinking to thinking about His purpose for you, you may have a change of heart. I've been learning this more and more and realizing my desires may not be what He has in mind. And when you let go, everything is good. The pressures on yourself are released. Life is brighter.

God is the one in control and I'm more then happy to allow Him to guide me.

 

Linking up with Jennifer from Studio JRU.

Check out her fun giveaway going on and see what others are working on.

 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Spring... really?!

{view out our back door after the snowstorm on Thursday}

I don't believe South Dakota got the memo that it is spring.

The weather has been nuts here and 3 days in a row of no school this week.

Last week, the snow was almost all gone... it sure came back in a hurry! Blah.

I am so ready for heat... from the sunshine that is, family bike rides, walks, kayaking, boating.

Hubby has a 5k and a triathlon in 2 weeks and more snow is in the forecast.

 

There has also been more gloomy news this week for our family.

A couple more losses. :(

Kaelyn is so good at showing me the positive points. Oh life through a child's eyes...

Her view on snow: Yay! Let's play in it!

Her view of my cousin's visitation/funeral: Yay, I get to see my friends!!! (a.k.a. her cousins who are close to her age that she rarely sees.)

 

Thank you God for Miss Kaelyn who brings so much brightness to my life.

Off to sleep and then more family time.

 

Hope you have a good weekend! Life is too short not to enjoy it.

March Recap

Ready for a photo overload? :)

Here is a glimpse of our past March...

{A lot more snow arrived ~ on this day it was like snowballs falling from the sky.}

{K had fun going to friends' birthday parties.}

{swimming party ~ K loves the water!}

{K decided to decorate her room with her art ~ this is one of my favorites! Love rainbows!}

{She created her own art wall.}

{fun at the science museum}

{Jayse's baptism}

{Restocking for Unglued ~ so thankful for them selling my designs!}

{Palm Sunday}

{And it is still freezing outside.}

 

{So much fun dyeing Easter eggs at Grandma Cindy's!}

{The little ones put so much thought into it. So cute!}

{Love the colors and aprons!}

{Happy Easter! Eggs made at Grandma Cindy's the day before.}

{Great aunt Sandy and cousin Wendy had a fun egg hunt set up again with coins. Still think that's one of the best ideas!}

{Decorating her great aunt Sandy's Easter tree.}

{A busy month for Wisp Woods. Another one of his projects I wanted to keep.}

Of course with the good comes the not so good.
The last couple weeks have been rough. We lost our 12 yr old fur baby Trigger. He was the sweetest kitty. It is strange having alone time... I was used to him being right behind me if Kaelyn wasn't.
Then we had a traumatic health scare with a family member. Thankfully after being hospitalized she is doing much better. I certainly learned how important family nearby and our basic needs are!
Then there is age 5... wow, I wasn't expecting this age to be so tough.
We're constantly working on respect and patience.
May God help me to do the right actions and say the right words because my limits are pushed daily... but I must say I am thankful to be able to have the challenge.

Ok, sorry for the extra long post. I hope your April is off to a fantastic start!

No Joke

When Miss Kaelyn asked to go outside and play today, I agreed but said not to get in the mud. I had just taken her coat and gloves out of the dryer since she had gotten them so dirty a couple days before. She told me, "I'm just going to use sidewalk chalk and ride my bike mom!"

 

I was inside finishing up my business tax info when she was banging on the door. I go open the door to see her covered in a nice amount of mud. My real surprise came when I went outside to get the chalk off the driveway. My mouth dropped! She didn't even have any help. The neighbor kids had left their trike and scooter there earlier in the morning. Notice K's bike handles??? Caked. Chalk? That's pretty nasty too. This was just part of the crime scene that she did in record time... 5 to 10 minutes, tops!

Oh and on top of that, our town had no water due to a water line break before noon. We didn't get water back til tonight.

 

Her response to all this... "I just wanted to make pictures!"

In the last two weeks she also drew a smiley face in ink on her pink pants and a face on my art room floor. (Just discovered the floor one a couple days ago.) And she said "I'm just making things look good mom. I'm an artist!" Oh boy. What do I have coming? Ha!

Another Mixed Media in Progress

 

Here is a glimpse of my newest mixed media in progress.

I love when the picture starts coming alive! 

Time to work on this piece has been hard to come by, but thankfully my art group gets together tomorrow, (Yay!) so hopefully a lot of progress will be made. :)

 

Linking up with Studio JRU.

Check out what other creatives are working on HERE and feel free to join in!

 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Keeping Kids Busy {gift idea}

Animal doodle activity cards are awesome for keeping kids entertained! I love projects that push their creative imagination. Kaelyn got these doodle cards for her birthday and we love them so much I thought I'd share them with you in case you are looking for a fun, creative gift for a kiddo. There are 50 wipe-clean cards (activity on front and back) with pen.

 

I found that you can get them through Usborne Books & More or even on Amazon.

The Usborne site says they are for children ages 6 and up, but I would say

they are great for 4 and 5 yr olds as well.

 

Do you have a kid favorite activity that doesn't involve electronics?

I would love to hear about it.

Healthy Living {where to shop}

Do you suffer from one or more of the following... weight gain, sleep disturbances, skin problems, reoccurring sicknesses/flu, bloating, allergies, autoimmune diseases or something else that just doesn't have you feeling as good as you should? With health problems on the rise, it is no wonder people are looking for healthy resources. Did you know that most health problems start in our gut? With that said there is one major thing to look at, what are we feeding our gut? Are we eating entirely nutritious foods? And yes, I said entirely. Today it seems that if a food has one nutritious ingredient it is believed to be good for you, or maybe you are eating foods that are highly marketed saying they are healthy and all natural when really they aren't good for you... it's only a sales tactic. Horrible right!?

Well I have learned a ton in the last 3 years of my own families health struggles. We've dealt with thyroid problems, Graves Disease, sleep problems, stomach problems, anxiety, a large number of allergies and skin problems with our daughter and reoccurring sicknesses. We've seen 6 different doctors with some of the above issues and now know that most doctors look for a quick fix to mask the surface problem. But I wanted to find the root of the problem! I didn't want my daughter or myself to continue to not feel well. I could write a book about our health journey but I don't want to bore you to death right now, so I will fast forward and say by making a huge change in our diets by eating organic, our family is doing sooo much better! Seriously to have control again over your body feels amazing!!! You might not even realize you have a problem until you make the change. Before when I woke up in the mornings, all I wanted to do was go back to sleep. Kaelyn would be dragging me out of bed! Not any more! My skin is a lot better and all of Kaelyn's horrible rashes are gone! Other then a cough she hasn't been sick even when she shares germs with all her preschool friends! You have no idea how huge that is when a year ago she would come down with something just going to church! We were worried about her starting school and picking up all the germs, wondering how many days she'd miss due to illness. Knock on wood, I'm happy to say she hasn't missed one so far! So I am a strong believer that eating good organic, nutritious foods can fix most health problems.

Eating healthy seems to come at a price. We don't have many options with the stores around us. The one health section we have is expensive and to tell you the truth half of the food doesn't even taste that great and even though a lot of it is in the health aisle, it is not healthy. People need to know what they are eating and feeding their gut. There is a lot to learn about reading labels. But back to the price point, one day I came across Vitacost when I was in need of getting some more quality multi-vitamins that my doctor suggested. I was amazed at the Vitacost site. To put it short Vitacost is healthy living made easy! Seriously shop in the comfort of your own home, in your pjs if you like. :) It is easy to find whatever you are looking for from foods to beauty products plus so much more with their search box, the products are so much cheaper and the quality is amazing! They also have great product photos with detailed descriptions with helpful reviews! What else could you ask for? Free shipping? Spend over $49 and it is free! Believe me, that is not hard to do with all their awesome food and household items. If you still think the prices are high, think of it this way, if you are just eating cheap crap food, your going to get sick and their will be many more doctor bills... just saying... it will probably come back to bite you in the butt, it did me.

Anyway, I was so excited to find Vitacost that I wanted to share the news with you. I know how horrible it is to not feel like yourself so if I can help one person feel better, I'll be happy. :)
I'll continue to do health related posts every once in awhile on tips and good products that have helped our family. Healthy living has become extremely important to me and I hope more people will focus on it as well.

I'll stop rambling so you can check out Vitacost. Click Here! They are having a 12% off sale on all products today. Use code 1BIGSALE at checkout. I'm definitely going to be ordering more. :)

Eye of the Heart {horse mixed media on wood}

{Eye of the Heart}

 

It is complete! I have to admit, I didn't go all crazy with this one like I was planning. My original idea took away from the horse too much. I decided less was more with this one, but I did still have some fun. :) The knot in the wood looked exactly like an eye and I just couldn't cover it up so I worked with it. After doing some research I found that the horse's heart is actually right near that area where the eye/knot is located. I won't go into the meaning of this piece right now, so I hope you enjoy looking at the detail.

 

The white spots are glitter! Something new that I wanted to try and I think it adds so much. Every angle, every light you see the glitter differently, sometimes not at all. Something unexpected and exciting! :)

 

 

Linking up with Jennifer's in the studio sneak peek friday.

Check out what lots of other creative souls are working on and join in the fun!

 

Have a wonderful weekend!