Makes Me Happy...

I needed a break from work and decided to share some things that have made me happy this month.

 * {Warmer Days and a Cutie} This photo I took last summer is sitting on my art room table. First of all, he is such a cutie! Just looking at him makes me smile. Then the photo excites me for warmer weather to come. Our snow was almost gone this past Monday and then on Tuesday we got dumped on, about a foot of snow, not exaggerating. So looking at summery photos make me happy. :)

* {New Recipes} Last week I created a couple yummy recipes. Love when an experiment turns out. If you have followed my blog for awhile, you would know that awhile back I hated cooking/spending time in the kitchen. NOT my thing. But when you are given health issues to deal with and a very limited diet you have no other option then to spend time in the kitchen. I've learned a lot and now I know I can create in the kitchen, with food! I will be sharing recipes in the future.

* {Toothpaste} It has been months since I wanted to make my own homemade toothpaste. I finally did it early this week. So far I LOVE it. My teeth feel like they have just been professionally cleaned and it is all healthy, simple ingredients. HERE is the recipe I went by. After I use it for a month or two and if I still really like it I will be sure to share what exactly I used.

* {Bible Studies} We have been going to a Sunday morning Bible class for awhile now and have recently started going to a family bible study too. I leave both with an amazing, uplifting feeling. I believe they make me be and strive to be a better person. Such an experience that it is hard to explain. ♥

* {Things Kids Say} Kaelyn is so excited for her first ever sleepover. She planned it. She originally said, "Mom and dad need a date! I don't care what you do without me, just go." She's been on the countdown for awhile now and she can't wait until it happens this weekend. So I get a quiet night out with my man. Yay!

* {Health} No crazy stomach pains that caused me to curl up on the couch this week. Hurray! I thought I had been doing so much better and wham I tried some new foods, not knowing one was in the nightshade family. Nightshades HATE me. :( They make me feel like someone is tearing my insides out. Then I also find out things that are labeled gluten free aren't necessarily gluten free. So much of a percent is okay with certain labels and Celiacs have to know their special labels!!!! URRRR! Learning stuff the hard way. Makes me more thankful when things go smoothly.

* {Art Group} It is fun to get away and do fine art with no other distractions and have other supportive artists around you. It is a time set aside to do what I love.

* {Customers} So very thankful for all my customers. I have new design ideas for the shop and I can't wait to get them created!!! I also get so excited when I see photos come my way showing how people displayed my work. Makes me happy!

{First We Had Each Other art print in aqua and orange}

Okay, now I need to get back to work. Big sale tomorrow. 

Not quite ready... that doesn't make me so happy. Ha! Hope you all have a happy weekend! :)

Living Today {A Heart Wrenching Letter}

Several people I know have recently lost their life to cancer. It is scary. More are struggling with it. A young teenage boy from my town is currently fighting for his life. And we continue to pray and offer support when we can. Although the situations are so very sad, there is so much to be learned from these events, from the people who are struggling.
Some of you bloggers may follow Sweet Something Designs and know that Michelle recently lost her fight to the horrible disease. Or maybe a better way to put it is the Lord was ready to take her pain away and take her home, because she never gave up fighting. While scrolling down my feedly posts I came upon the sweetest letter Michelle's husband wrote to her on her blog. Here is the first sheet:

Please go HERE and read the rest of the letter.

My heart is heavy. Justin's letter made me cry. How often we focus our lives on things and thoughts that don't really matter... money, things, future goals, our looks, personal wants... One day not too far off we will be gone and these things will have no value. So should our motivation in life be any of this? Maybe one of our top priorities should be to learn from each other. To teach others to be better (in a graceful way). We should love one another and support each other through good times and bad. We shouldn't turn our back on those who need us. Sometimes we stay so busy that we are missing out on what is truly important. Tomorrow any one of us could be gone. Are you ready for this to be your last day on earth? It could be a loved one's last day... Do what you can today, for there may be no tomorrow.

Drawing in Progress!

If you didn't know already, I LOVE to draw!!! It is the one thing I feel confident at. I could draw all day but sadly it never seems to be at the top of my priority list. I don't know why. Maybe I feel like it is too much fun and I should be doing harder work instead? It is a good thing I'm part of an art group that meets once a month or who knows when I would make time for it. I'm starting to think my priorities need to change. :)

What are You Eating? {Peeling Back the Layers}

Three plus years ago if you would have told me I would mainly be eating only veggies in my future and no cheese, ordinary bread, pasta, popcorn, desserts... I would have laughed at you. But when my health took a drastic turn, and I no longer felt like myself and was scared to death of the cancer word coming out of my doctor's mouth I was ready to eat as healthy as I possibly could. After lots of research, trial and error, and a ton of time in the kitchen I am feeling soooo much better! Thank God for pointing me in the right direction and providing healing, healthy food!
One of the veggies I fell in love with are brussels sprouts. No way would I have touched them before getting so sick. Boy was I missing out on something good! But even with the good, one has to be very careful! Fresh veggies are hard to come by when living in South Dakota in the cold winter months. The best we can get for "fresh" brussels sprouts is from Green Giant. The package says you can heat them as is in the bag. Sounds good and easy in our fast paced world. Well, first of all I wouldn't heat anything in plastic and microwaves are another concern but that is a whole different story. Yes, I may have become a health food Nazi. ;) Anyway when I take these sprout gems out of the bag to cook on the stove I like to wash them again for myself. Here's why...

*** Warning! If you are about to eat you may want to read this/see this post later.

What is supposed to be ready to eat and easy to make in the bag is not so if you start peeling back the layers. Every package I get is similar to this. Some even much worse. You never know what you will be surprised with.

 Do you see the mold? There is also bug/worm like things on there and something that looks like eggs. Gross!!! These are all the bad pieces I pulled off.

 Closer views for ya...

Just to prove when I was making these, February 26 is on my phone, the enjoy by date on the package is crazy; these would have been totally disgusting to eat if we had waited until March 4th! With already compromised health I can't afford more health risks from eating foods that should be healthy for me. So I end up taking lots of time to clean and pick through the yucky leaves. It seriously takes me a good half hour for one bag. And I do this because I love them and they are healthy when you get to the good stuff.

 I always cut them in half before sauteing. This also helps to make sure I didn't miss something nasty.

 Heating them up with ghee, coconut oil and garlic cloves. Yum!

And I could eat the whole pan full in one sitting.

Being a gardener in the summer, I know how hard it is to keep the bugs and worms out of the good garden produce. It would take a worker far to long to inspect each sprout, I get that. But by no means should Green Giant's packaging make it sound like this is ready to eat. It should state to wash the sprouts well yourself even though they have been prewashed. When people are working hard to become healthier they need to know to clean all food thoroughly themselves because someone else isn't going to spend near the time cleaning food they aren't eating.

Hope you find this information useful and will share with loved ones.

Heavy Heart

I was planning on posting some art this week as it has been far too long but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Something else has been on my mind. Early this week we received news of my husband's aunt passing away. My heart sunk. She had just found out her cancer had spread and was given six months to live. Only a couple days after getting the news she was gone. When we heard she had six months I still had hope. Hope that God would cure her here on earth. I've seen a friend given no hope from doctors and God healed her so I was very hopeful. Maybe too hopeful as I have seen several loved ones lose their fight to cancer. My heart aches for the girls who lost their mom, the husband who lost his wife, the mom who lost her daughter, the young grandkids who lost their grandma... and though it is so sad I have to look at the brighter side. She is no longer in pain. She has gone home to the Lord.

"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,

and death shall be no more,

neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore,

for the former things have passed away." Revelation 21:4

For those left behind...

"I will strengthen you, I will help you,

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

Death can really make you look differently at life... what is really important. Our time here is short.

A Fairy Party

Instead of spending much time on a special cake this year for Kaelyn's party I spent it on the invitation. 

From a designers standpoint that is by far the most fun. :)

Kaelyn was busy months ago working on fairy pictures for the walls. We added fairy balloons, fairy figurines (which she already had), fairy coloring/sticker books, and wands. Fairy success!

I made allergy friendly/gluten free chocolate cupcakes. Recipe is found HERE from The Renegade Kitchen. I made a couple tweaks, I doubled the batch, used half the coconut sugar and added a little stevia, plus added in a sprinkle of Enjoy Life chocolate chips. I then made the healthiest frosting recipe I could find... coconut, recipe also from The Renegade. I cut out the agave/coconut syrup part and I didn't have full fat coconut milk on hand so had to use light which made for a runnier frosting but worked fine. I can't give my input on taste since I was unable to try them at this time, but birthday girl gave them two thumbs up and wanted to eat them all, so they passed the test. :)

 There was lots of play time...

Kaelyn thought it would be fun to have help on her Valentine's box.

Last year we went with mini play doughs for her classmates, this year it was organic suckers which all the kids seem to love the fruit flavors. Kaelyn had her mind made up for how she wanted to make valentines so I didn't have to help at all. {insert happy mom that didn't have much time!}

Happy Valentine's Day! 

Be sure to hug a loved one and let them know how much you care about them today.

Six!

This past Saturday marked a very special day... Kaelyn's sixth birthday. Can't believe how quickly she is growing up. Her dad and I are so blessed to have her in our lives.

Some of her favorite things include creating art (she says she is going to be an artist and a mama when she grows up), family movie night, biking, running, eating kale chips (her favorite snack), playing with her mom and dad - preferably with her princesses or horses, and playing with friends. Although she can be super stubborn and hard of hearing when it comes to mom and dad's voices, she does have a soft heart and loves the Lord. She's always teaching us... whether it is to give freely at church or that we need more patience. :)

It has been such a good five years. I look forward to the new adventures this year holds for us. :)

Friday Fun {keeping kids busy}

Happy Friday! I don't know how another week flew by so quick. Before I get going on another project I wanted to share a picture of the mixed media K and I created this week. We started doing an art day once a week. Kaelyn has a night of painting with her dad and part of an afternoon of creating a mixed media with me. On this one she came up with the scene she wanted to create (inspired by one of her books). The idea was to take turns drawing different parts, but she was so excited she took over most of it. :)
It's definitely a fun project to do with a kiddo. Start drawing/painting something and have them finish it. I look forward to seeing all the creations that will be made. A book might have to be made at the end of the year.

Hope you have a fun weekend!

Our Path {Health & Inspiration}

I found this passage from Our Daily Bread to be inspiring...

Interruptions are nothing new. Rarely does a day go by as planned.
Life is filled with inconveniences. Our plans are constantly thwarted by forces beyond our control.
What we cannot see, however is the other side of inconvenience. We think it has no purpose other than to discourage us, make life more difficult, and thwart our plans. However, inconvenience could be God's way of protecting us from some unseen danger, or it could be an opportunity to demonstrate God's grace and forgiveness. It might be the start of something even better than we had planned. Or it could be a test to see how we respond to adversity. Whatever it is, even though we may not know God's reason, we can be assured of His motive~to make us more like Jesus and to further His kingdom on earth.
To say that God's followers throughout history have been "inconvenienced" would be an understatement. But God had a purpose. Knowing this, we can thank Him, being confident that He is giving us an opportunity to redeem time (Eph. 5:16,20). ~Julie Ackerman Link

Such powerful words, and so true. Through time I have been witnessing God working in my own life. He really does answer prayers. It most likely won't be done when you want it to and it might not even be the way you were expecting or hoping for but He will answer. Through my crazy health journey, there have been some very low points but I can see now how He was pulling me closer to Him through the struggles and even protecting me in other ways. I know He has been guiding me while I work hard at putting the pieces to the health puzzle together. It definitely has not been an easy course, but the healing is happening and I couldn't be more thankful or excited! God is so powerful! I highly recommend leaning on Him for guidance above all else. Lots more to share about this in the future!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Music for Him

Just a couple of recent tidbits...

I love when she sits down at the piano and makes up a "God song" as she calls it. :) So sweet!

In other news, yesterday we celebrated my grandma's 91st birthday! Kaelyn and her great grandma made more music together and we all played hide and go seek... Kaelyn's request! Now how many 91 year olds do you know that are still playing hide and go seek?... and yes, she takes her turn hiding! I LOVE it and so does Kaelyn. After we left Kaelyn said, "That was the BEST!" We are so blessed to live near her and be able to spend time with her. My grandma is such a wonderful role model with a strong Christian foundation. She has taught me so much over the years and continues to do so. Praise the Lord for family and good times together! :)

Hope Filled New Year

 Happy New Year!

 

To be honest I am happy that 2013 is behind us. Sure there were some great moments, but health wise, well lets just say it is not a year I want to repeat. I guess the good part is I gained more knowledge about the body and healthy food. The beginning of December I got yet another diagnosis, another medication and a tweak to my diet and for the first time in a LONG time I saw improvement! Praise God! It was like a cloud was lifting from me and I was finally starting to feel like myself again. It was amazing and I hope that more good things (healing) will come in 2014. I am hopeful. :)


A few fun Christmas photos from 2013:

{Part of Kaelyn's Kindergarten progam}



{After Christmas Eve church celebration ~ time for songs & Jesus's birthday cake!}

 

Kaelyn had a memorable Christmas day!

Christmas was so much fun! We had a wonderful time celebrating the birth of Jesus, spending time with family, watching the joy of the season from a 5yr olds view and laughing... I hadn't laughed so hard in a long time. (Thanks Sandy!) Kaelyn didn't want the festivities to end which made me even happier. It was a great ending to 2013!

Now 2014... oh how I wonder what you have in store for us. Praying that it will be good. I'm sure it will be an adventure and we will learn many more lessons.

We may face some limiting circumstances today. Whether it is the result of failure, or through no fault of our own, we can "go" through it or seek God's strength to "grow" through it. The challenge of every confinement is to increase rather than decrease; to grow and not diminish. The Lord's goal is to give us "a future and a hope". ~ David McCasland
I know, Lord, that You can use the circumstances I am in for my good.
Change me, and grow me in my knowledge of You and intimacy with You.
Give me Your strength.

Joyful

I am so enjoying this time of year. I don't have everything done that I should but I'm not even feeling stressed about it... I'm simply enjoying the little things. As soon as Thanksgiving was over and K saw neighbors putting up their Christmas decor, she started begging to put up ours. So December 1 was the day that holiday decorations started coming out. She was thrilled!

There is something so special about walking around the house at night and seeing the glow of the Christmas lights on the tree and around the nativity... a sense of peace and joy.
I also love all the sparkles in fresh fallen snow. I think my husband thinks I'm a bit crazy how excited I get. :)

 K loves the snow and gets so excited for her Grandpa to make snow piles for sledding.

 And then there are the sweet Christmas programs.

 Kaelyn was so nervous to talk in front of a crowd at a newish church, but she did a fabulous job!

And once the weather warmed up a little, it was time to go sledding...

Kaelyn's countdown for Jesus's birthday is on. She can't wait to celebrate! :)

Thankful

{Turkey by my little artist, Kaelyn ~ age 5}

 Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and continue to have a great weekend!

We spent quite a bit of road time on Thanksgiving but we were able to see a lot of family which was good! On our morning drive we had gorgeous views. My photo doesn't do the sun rays justice but I tried. :) Kaelyn said excitedly, "Mom, do you know what that is?! God's light is shining down!" I love witnessing how God is an important part of her life. So very thankful for her, my family and all of God's blessings... big and small.

Online Auction Going on Now!

{Auction item from Enduring Arts}

If you follow me on twitter you probably already know about this online auction that is going on, but I wanted to get it posted on here as well. Again this year I am donating a print of choice to the highest bidder in the Ekubo Auction. They are raising money for the Children's Home in Uganda. Auction ends this Sunday night, November 24th at 11:59 pm (EST).
Sorry I didn't spread the word on the blog earlier... so much going on. For one I've been seeing my share of doctors this week. My sweetheart of a dad sat with me for several hours yesterday while going through more health tests and we were both busy reading for a good part of it. At first I wasn't sure what to bring with since one of the tests took 3+ hours alone. Well the one thing I had and knew would keep me busy for a long time was the Bible, and it gave me wonderful words for this post...

"If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,

he too will cry out and not be answered." Proverbs 21:13

 

There are so many wonderful items in the auction. You can bid by leaving a comment. Sometimes the comment area may not show up if you are on Google Chrome or a Smart phone so try switching over to Internet Explorer and maybe try hitting refresh. Go check it out, you might get a really good deal on an item and you might find something that would make a great gift for the holidays.

Go HERE to check out the items!