TIDINGS OF COMFORT & JOY!

My husband, Joe, and I have recently received several New Years cards in the mail from friends near and far. They've helped me realize that there are others like me who are still wrapping up Christmas, "UnDecking the Halls", and sweeping up tinsel in mid-January!

As always, these letters have told our friends' many stories... a new baby, a job change, a wedding, a family vacation, graduations, goals achieved, many ordinary moments, and extraordinary milestones. And sometimes the most honest of these letters have also brought news of difficult life changes and personal losses. Truly, for each of us, every new year holds something new...

And so, as I pack up the manger scene and take down the Christmas wreath, I think about how comforting it is to know that, into our everyday lives, Jesus was born. He is our Emmanuel ~ God With Us. He invites us to walk with Him into each new day.


May your New Year be filled with the comfort and joy of walking with Jesus each day!


From my sketchbook ~ Prismacolor pencil & micron pen on graph paper

THE LAZY DAYS OF SUMMER

When I was a little girl, my family lived in a small town in New York State. Our house was an old, stucco tudor that was set on a hillside in what used to be an apple orchard.

Because the winters were long and snowy, I always looked forward to the summertime! I loved being outside!!

...admiring the flowers, investigating the bugs and bees and butterflies, running barefoot through the sprinkler.

I spent many happy hours swinging on the swings in our backyard, trying to touch the clouds with my toes...



...and nothing could beat the feeling I had as I zoomed on my bicycle, as fast as the wind!


Many summer evenings, after my Dad came home on the train, we packed up the family station wagon and drove all the way to the "Y". As an outdoor-loving little girl, I thought nothing could be better than swimming for hours and eating a picnic dinner with my family and catching lightning bugs after dark! On special occasions, we stayed up really late to watch movies out under the stars...


When it was finally time to come home, I loved to snuggle down in my bed under the covers and read by the light of a flashlight 'til I was finally fast asleep...


Thank you, Lord, for these wonderful childhood memories of summertime!

WATERCOLOR 101

One rainy day last week, Jane (3) was in an artistic mood and asked if she could paint. Her brother George (now almost 2) enthusiastically climbed up into his high chair so he could join in the fun, too! Out came paper, two sets of watercolors, a variety of brushes, and two tiny containers of water. With kids' music playing in the background, we were ready to PAINT!!

Jane immediately set to work, carefully dipping her brush in her green paint and filling the whole sheet of white paper with a lovely shade of emerald. Once the first paper was filled, she gently laid it aside and proceeded to fill her second page with more green.

George, on the other hand, had quite a different approach! Right away, he plunged his little hand into the water, and then coated his fingers with a rainbow of colors. After dabbing them all over his paper, he wiped them on his arms, face, and my arm too, just for good measure. Taking a paint brush in each fist, he pounced them randomly (and with great glee!) in the paint, all over the paper, and then on the tabletop as well. Of course, he had to taste the paint, happily sticking each brush in his mouth over and over, 'til he had a very colorful smile! For George, it was all about the TOTAL painting experience!!


Thank you, Lord, for these two little ones! They teach me so much each day about creativity and joy!!

FIRST SNOW

There are few things that can fill a child's heart with delight and anticipation more than the very first snow of winter!...

That's why recently, on a cold and blustery January morning, I was greeted at work by two bright-eyed, excited children! They were bundled up to their cute little noses in scarves and winter jackets, still struggling to pull on their boots and mittens and hats. HURRY! HURRY! The snow was falling... and there was LOTS of winter fun waiting for them outside!!

I thought for a moment, "If only I had my camera!".... and then captured the snapshot above in my mind's eye.


Thank you for these precious children, Lord! They teach me to see the world once again through the eyes of wonder!

YOU'VE GOT MAIL!!

Owen is my little buddy who lives with his mom, dad, and a great big dog named Floyd two doors down from me. He's a 3 1/2 year old blonde haired, blue eyed, fun-loving charmer who adds a whole lot of joy to my life!!

Owen has been coming to my house since he was a baby -- he knows where I keep the cookies and the dog treats and all the "cool" trucks (leftover from when my boys were little). I love the way he walks right in and makes himself at home! If he's curious about something, he just comes right out and asks his question -- "Why is Salem a barking dog?"..."Can I have that orange?"..."Can I play with your video game?"..."Do you have any more cookies?"...

One of Owen's favorite things to do is to bake cookies with his mom, and then get on his "bike" and deliver his sweet packages to all the neighbors (as you might imagine, Owen has made a lot of friends on our block!). Or, if cookies aren't available, a good second best is to deliver one of his recently handmade preschool masterpieces. The other day, I was surprised to hear a little knock, knock, knock on my front door, followed by loud barking. Not seeing anyone through the window, I opened the door and there was Owen with a big grin on his face! He had come to deliver some artful "email"; but try as he might, he just couldn't reach my mail slot. I mistakenly thought he would just hand me his picture while I "Ooooo'd" and "Ahhhhh'd" and thanked him profusely -- silly me!! Instead, Owen got me to shut the front door and then lift him up high so he could slide his "mail" through the slot. It was so much fun, we had to do it over & over again! The best part for me was the big hug that my little "mailman" gave me!

What a great reminder to me, Lord, to give out of love, with joy and simplicity!! Thank you for blessing me with my little friend, Owen!

Written 2/16/06

WITH MANY THANKS TO STACY!!!

Yesterday afternoon, on my way from here to there, I stopped at a local scrapbooking store I'd never explored before. As I'd hoped, it was brimming full of colorful papers and stickers and magazines and idea books -- the perfect place to come to get my creative juices flowing!!

One book in particular caught my eye -- the big picture, by Stacy Julian. Stacy's the founding editor of Simple Scrapbooks magazine, and I've been an admirer of hers for a long time now! After scanning the books' pages (and realizing that I had in my hand the only store copy), I hurried to make my purchase.

At home, with a cup of hot coffee in hand, I began to read; and as I read, my excitement grew. Here, on one colorful page after another, was laid out a philosophy of creativity and joyful living I could appreciate and really relate to!

Now, I'm not a photographer or a scrapbooker. I'm more of a craftsperson/self-taught artist/journaler (is "journaler" even a word?). I have filled up numerous 3-ring binders over the years with my doodlings and my writings. The writing has always been just for me. The doodles have been the way I've "played" with color and words on plain old graph paper ('cause I like having the lines to guide me) with markers & colored pencils. Sometimes I've used my little drawings as a springboard to an actual finished product (like the collages I've occasionally offered on eBay for fun -- more about that later... ). But, mostly they've been filed away in notebooks as an ongoing record of my interests and my growth as an artist.

Up 'til now, I've only rarely combined my writing and my artwork. Never really thought about doing that... don't know why. But, as I began reading Stacy's book, I got to thinking that I have the opportunity in blogging to do just that -- bring the words and the pictures together where they can be seen and shared. And that excites me!!

It may take me a while to figure this out -- I'm hardly a computer whiz. And, as I attempt this kind of blogging, I promise you that the artwork will be less than perfect – sometimes my little scribbles will be on graph paper, 'cause I don't want this to be anything but fun and real.

Many thanks, Stacy, for your encouragement toward simplicity and self-expression !! Your helpful ideas are both powerful and freeing!!!

Written 1/22/06