From the princess...

 

Happy Halloween!!!

 

♥ Kaelyn {age 4}

Quote to Ponder

 

"Healing does not mean going back to the way things were before,

but rather allowing what is now to move us closer to God." ~ Ram Dass

Life Lately

Just a few random things from our life lately...

{K loves having visitors!}

{Our pastor told K she could pick a pumpkin from their patch... she was so excited!}

{Fire Safety at preschool... she was one of the few girls who wasn't afraid of the trucks & firefighters.
She tried on some gear and even got to spray water. She had so much fun! Photo taken by her teacher.}

{Hubby ran the Jack 15 ~ 15 mile run from White to Brookings}

{Still having fun at 10+ miles}

{K loves to cheer on her daddy and finish races with him.}

{K got a medal for finishing too! David did a fantastic job and beat most of the relay teams!}

{Pumpkin party at Grandma Cindy's}

{Riding horse with cousin Laney}

Bless Her Always Prayer

 



I remember days of searching everywhere for a good kids Christian gift. There weren't many stores nearby that gave me many options and rarely did something say just the right thing... so down the road it led me to create my own items. Thank goodness etsy has made shopping so much easier! :) Here is my newest prayer that is currently available in my shop. The print comes from my original acrylic painting. I've always liked to give the letters a bit of a vintage/worn look to represent a lasting faith. Here's a cropped shot to show the detail:

 

Due to special requests, boy versions (like this one) of the prayer are also available.

Manteo

Manteo fit our family perfectly. The island had so much character, was quiet yet offered a wide variety of things to do. Definitely a family friendly place. Straight out from where we stayed was the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse and to the left of there was a Maritime Museum. Yes, my husband liked that! Pretty sure he stopped by at least once a day. :) Very close to the museum were lots of shops and galleries. I love browsing through art galleries and Kaelyn really enjoyed them as well because most had a pet inside! Win, win for the whole family. Here are a few of the highlights from Manteo...

Maritime Museum

{this sailboat had just been built, Roanoke Lighthouse in the background}

North Carolina Aquarium

{Kaelyn's favorite part ~ petting the stingrays}

Elizabethan Gardens

A very unique garden. I wouldn't say the flower gardens were all that impressive but the statues sure where!

Amazing!

North Carolina bees are enormous!

Seriously, they look like they could eat you!

Roanoke Island Festival Park

A great spot for kids to learn and play.

We were lucky to be able to look around the ship before a storm came.

 

There were several more things we could have done on the island but these were the bigger things we chose to do and they were all very affordable.

 

I kinda wish I had a job reviewing different destination spots... of course my family would have to join me to really test them out. :)

Do you have a favorite place you like to visit? I would love to hear about it!

Let Go & Trust ~ mixed media

Remember this "Let Go & Trust" mixed media piece I showed in progress a few weeks ago? Well it is almost finished. I just need to sign it and seal it, and hopefully not mess it up during the sealing process. Here are a few more progress photos:

She's coming alive! :)

Now for the pop of color on the bird.

And there she is as of today. I had fun experimenting with the border by adding water to charcoal. It was like turning the charcoal into watercolor. Worth trying out if you haven't before.
One of these days I hope to get better pictures of this piece and my last mixed media in good lighting. I think that is the hardest thing to do. :)

Coquina Beach ~ Outer Banks

I love when people share great destination spots. I've never been much of a "crowd" person. Being out enjoying the peaceful nature is much more my thing. It seemed God just knew which direction to point us... yes He knew I needed a nice relaxing break away with my family... and boy did we get just what we hoped for. We had the perfect Inn with so much character and amazing views and the ladies from the Inn told us what beach was best to go to. They were right on! We went to two beaches on the Outer Banks and the one they suggested was by far the best. Not many people, great parking, large bathrooms, changing rooms, showers, lifeguards and a nice boardwalk to the shore. Here is Coquina Beach...

The beach was Kaelyn's favorite part of our vacation. If she had her way we would have never left the sand and water to do any other exploring. :) The boogie board was her absolute favorite which I'll share more pics of soon.

 

If you have a favorite beach location I would love to hear about it!