HEAVENLY HANDIWORK

"Heavenly Handiwork"

My husband and I recently made the trip from our home in the city to his family's home in the country. We traveled at night under a nearly-full moon. Like a true "city girl", I found myself amazed by all the millions of stars twinkling overhead! The words of the Psalmist came to my mind...

"The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of His hands."
Psalm 19:1

Thank you, Lord!!... When I lose sight of how infinite and powerful You are, You gently remind me by all You've created.




"Heavenly Handiwork" is available for purchase in my Etsy shop, PHOLKART*BLESSINGS

THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA

"The Princess and the Pea"

Once upon a time, in what seems like a very long time ago, I was the happy (and busy!) Mom of two rambunctious boys. Our home was filled with primary colors and all things little boys love ~ legos, trucks, Playmobil, and Ninja Turtles. My guys liked to dress up and have adventures as cowboys and Indians, pirates and superheroes. As they grew older, we accumulated a basement-full of rollerblades, bikes, and skateboards. Without a doubt, ours was a home geared toward BOYS!

...And so, it should not have been a big surprise to me that taking care of Jane (a sweet baby GIRL, then 8 months old) would be a real learning experience for me.

Even from a young age, Jane seemed drawn to all things pink and sparkly. She loved to play tea party with her many dolls, and delighted in the world of fairytales, princesses, and make believe. Jane's favorite way to spend a rainy day at home was to dress-up in her pink princess dress (the purple one just would not do), and dance in the playroom with great joy and abandon. At lunchtime, she never grew tired of hearing stories about the many adventures of Princess Jane...


Many thanks, Jane, for helping me to remember the wonders of being a little GIRL. This sweet princess is inspired by YOU!!



"This Princess and the Pea" is available in my CafePress store, PHOLKART*BLESSINGS, on a variety of baby & kidswear.

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

JANE AND THE BEANSTALK

I've found there are many times while taking care of little children when I'm called upon to put aside my "big people" pride and practice some "little people" humility. Recently, I had just such a humbling experience...

On an excursion to our local Childrens' Museum last month, Jane (now 3 1/2) decided she was up for the challenge of climbing the Giant Beanstalk. She'd been thinking about climbing it for a very long time, and finally she'd summoned up the courage to do it!!

The Beanstalk is a steeply sloping stairway with netting around it that winds its way up from the museum's ground floor to the second floor. With great excitement, Jane slid off her tennis shoes and began her climb to the top...

Somewhere about two-thirds of the way up, I realized something was definitely wrong... Jane was stuck!! Without her shoes she wasn't able to get the traction she needed to keep going up, and she was too afraid to crawl all the way back down.

...And so, there was nothing to do but to climb up the Beanstalk myself and rescue her!

Looking back on it now, I know I must have been quite a sight! ~ a 51 year old babysitter (not as thin or as agile as I used to be) holding my bulky purse and a pair of little girl's tennis shoes tight and making my way (with great difficulty!) up the Beanstalk. But, to be honest, I really didn't care about what I looked like or what other people might be thinking about me. All that mattered was calming a little girl's fears and encouraging Jane in her climb to the very top!

As I've thought back on this, I have to admit that I sometimes feel just like that little girl, perched precariously and in need of rescuing. And Jesus comes into my situation with me. He stays with me in my predicament. He brings with Him just exactly what I need, and He cares for me. He calms my fears and then He encourages me forward.


Thank you, Lord, for little children, who teach us so much about humility and so many profound lessons in life about being loved by You.


edited by Patti Moore ~ Nov. 14, 2007

WW * A VERY unSCAREY SCARECROW

Here is my very first entry for Wordless Wednesday!... Just couldn't resist jumping in for some group blogging fun!!

Happy Fall Y'all!!!

"A Very UnScarey Scarecrow"

This collage is made from acid-free scrapbooking paper, Prismacolor pencils on smooth Bristol paper, and acrylic paint on a canvas panel.

iDOODLE

Here is one of my favorite ways to "jump-start" my creativity and get new ideas flowing....

Pick a theme & doodle mini-pics relating to the theme (l chose Autumn here). Try to fill up an 8 1/2 x 11 inch sheet of graph paper. No need to be perfect... just keep on drawing whatever pops into your head. All it takes is a pencil, a good eraser, a micron pen, & a tablet of graph paper.

You can easily take this creativity-booster along with you wherever you go, so have fun doodling!! :)

LEARNING CURVE

"Space Explorer"

I like to learn new things. I find a lot of satisfaction in being able to search for helpful books and web resources about things that make me curious, and then dive right in and learn things on my own.

So, it made perfect sense to me, after purchasing a basic graphics program called PaintShop Pro (PSP) for my new computer, to wander down to my favorite local bookstore and buy a how-to book. I chose what I thought must surely be a very simple book ~ "PaintShop Pro for Dummies" ~ and eagerly headed home to learn the ins-and-outs of digital manipulation.

Well... it didn't take me long to realize that I might as well have been trying to decipher hieroglyphics! I just didn't seem to be able to "get" it. And so, reluctantly, I put this learning project aside.

Happily, this past summer my college-aged son (who amazes me with his ability to whiz around in Photoshop!) generously agreed to tutor me in PSP. Suddenly, some of those baffling PSP hieroglyphics started to make sense to me! Soon, I was scanning my line drawings into the computer and "painting" them on the screen... what fun!!

I still have a lot to learn about the "art" of PSP. But one thing I did learn this summer ~ some things are just more fun when learned together!

Thanks, Jesse, for all your patience!! Love, Mom

Space Explorer is available on a variety of fun kidswear in my CafePress shop, PHOLKART*BLESSINGS.

A DAY IN MITFORD

"A Day in Mitford"

If you travel west from our house, straight up Hwy. 421, and wind along the Blue Ridge Parkway (where the mountain views are endless!), you'll eventually come to the charming village of Blowing Rock, North Carolina.

This summer, my husband Joe and I spent a wonderful day together in Blowing Rock. We wandered through the many tiny shops and art galleries. We marveled at the lush gardens and hanging baskets of flowers that adorned every corner of town. At the recommendation of a local shopkeeper, we treated ourselves to a yummy lunch at the Storie Street Grille.

But the thing that made this visit most special for me was just soaking up the atmosphere of the town that had inspired the series of books I've been enjoying all summer long. Author Jan Karon lived in Blowing Rock when she penned The Mitford Series. Her lovable characters ~ Father Tim Kavanaugh, Cynthia Coppersmith, Miss Sadie, Louella, Dooley Barlowe and so many more ~ have all warmed my heart this summer.

For me, spending the day in Blowing Rock was almost like spending the day in Mitford with old friends.