I'M READY FOR SPRING ~

How bout you?





My mom took these pictures a couple of years ago while on a trip to Holland and they are so gorgeous I just had to share them with you again this year.



I'm ready for Spring big time. I'm ready for the daffodils and tulips to start blooming. I've even started spring cleaning a bit early - well with all the sicky germs going around I'm trying to keep us from getting sick again and cleaning baseboards, windows and moldings will all start sneaking into those cleanings.

This part of my post is really for my parents - they live in Germany and I WANT SOME OF THESE PLEASE!!! Aren't they just too cute! They remind me of the little angels I shared with you at Christmas from my in-laws home holiday decor.

































I painted my first bunny - it is part of a blog header for one of our One World One Heart Winners and I absolutely loved her blog header and suggested we paint a canvas to match. Won't show all of it until she receives it so that I don't ruin the surprise ~ but here's a sneak peek.

Have a fabulous weekend. I'm spending mine painting, painting, and painting & spending time with all of my boys!

Blessings,
Sandy

Morning Glories ~

That's what we painted in paint class yesterday. This was my last class in February and now I'm preparing for my classes next month. I'm also getting ready for another trip to Florida for another painting certification. I am so excited that my friend Charlie is going too!

I've always loved morning glories and how they climb up a fence post or tree and bloom with vibrant gorgeous pink and purple flowers.

Melanie





























Becky - this was her first class and she did amazing! She also won the drawing for and took home the project that I painted in class.






















Jenny ~ sorry Jenny ~ I really must check my pictures to make sure that eyes
are open!





























Dale



















Anne

























Sherry

























Roz























Nicole &
Nicole
playing hide
and seek






























Betty

This was Betty's first class with me too and she
did such a beautiful job.






















Barb



















So the boys are all back at school and doing well. We all still have the persistent cough and tickle in our throats but doing so much better than we were a week ago. My middle guy with big ole bump on his head is doing much better as well - thanks for the comments, emails and prayers. He is playing in a tournament this evening and I thought about making him wear his bike helmet- I'm sure he wouldn't go for that though ~ hehehe.

Haven't updated you on my bowling - because well, lately it really hasn't been worth mentioning. Today was okay and better than I have been bowling lately - 157, 143, and 166. Guess I can't complain since I don't practice from week to week ~ I know Linda there is a story there isn't there? When my older sister and I were younger we twirled the baton and competed in contests. Well, Linda would practice so hard almost every day and I barely picked up my baton from contest to contest. Unfortunately for my older sis I usually beat her and my dad became fed up with it and told me that if I didn't practice I couldn't twirl anymore because it wasn't fair - so needless to say I gave up twirling and my sister went on to win many baton contests around the country and ended up twirling for Memphis University and later taught the majorettes after she graduated from MSU.

Anyway, enough about that. My friend Charlie tagged me so here it goes

Here’s the rules:1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

OKAY friends - don't analyze me too much with these 7 facts.

1. I have a weird obsession with numbers. I really like it when it's 12:34 on the clock - or 1:23 don't ask me why but I like it when I look at the clock and it's in number order.
2. I am a huge procrastinator!! I always wait until the last minute to do just about everything.
3. I work well under stress (brought on because I'm a procrastinator).
4. I was in one Beauty Pageant and WON ~ Miss Millington 1984. Wasn't really something I wanted to pursue though.
5. I am deathly afraid of spiders - big or small - webs - everything that goes along with spiders.
6. I wish I had my sisters hair - she has great hair and no matter how it's cut she always knows how to fix it!
7. Although I love 4 seasons I'd really like to like where it's tropical weather year round!

I'd love to read more about all of those on my favorites list so if you want to participate please consider yourself tagged!

Hope you have a great week.

Smiles,
Sandy

A quote & and an injury ~


Saw this quote today on an email that was sent to me and just loved it so I put it on this gorgeous picture that my mom took while in Holland a couple of years ago.










We've been spending the weekend trying to get better. Lysol wipes are in full swing as are Vapor baths and lots of meds that really don't seem to be working too well.



My son Kendall had his last basketball game yesterday and well - let me just say that he is accident prone. If it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen to him. If it's going around (illness) he's gonna get it.
He went for the ball and so did a player from the other team and neither was letting go. They fell to the floor and Kendall hit the back of his head on the floor. All of us in the stands cringed and said OUCH. No sooner than he stood up the bump began to GROW and GROW and GROW. He sat out for a couple of minutes and they put a bag of ice on it for him. The coach was great and kept prompting him for information that he knew Kendall would know just to make sure he didn't start wiggin' out.
Oh...the referee called it a jump ball.

Side view

Busy getting ready for my two painting classes tomorrow. We are painting morning glories which I love.

Have a wonderful weekend. Think about the quote above and give lots of PRAISE & ENCOURAGEMENT this week.

Smiles,

Sandy

Clayin' & Paintin'
(Oh and trying to take care of sick boys)

I'm looking forward to being germ free in our household! Tuesday I took the older two boys to the doctor and they tested positive for Mono. They both woke up with a temp of 103 and just over.
My little guy got home from DC on Tuesday evening and was so sick. So, I took him to the doctor yesterday and he tested positive for Mono and after a chest xray the doctor said he has a mild case of walking pnemonia. They gave him a pretty strong antibiotic and inhaler to hopefully get his lungs cleared up.
I'm feeling so much better and just hope that I can get rid of these germs and stay better.
DH is still fighting whatever he has and hasn't made it through a day at work this week yet.
My middle son was feeling good enough this morning to get up and get ready for school. Hopefully he'll make it through the day ~ his fever was gone and has just a little cough so my fingers are crossed that he'll be fine at school today.

Playin' with Clay ~
So after creating the iris the other day I had to start thinking about my painting classes coming up in March. We are painting Easter Lilies in one of our March classes and well ~ my mind kept coming back to the clay so I decided I had to make some out of clay and put it on this egg I got last year with the intent to paint something on it.

front view































side view
























Wednesday paint classes ~
Yesterday we painted on fabric with a twist.
We wanted our painting to look a bit like watercolor painting so we painted with lots of water.
Love this look and everyone did such a fabulous job. They had some creative license on how much of the watercolor effect they wanted.










Jane

























Sherry

(sorry Sherry - didn't know your eyes were closed)





















Erica

Erica brought her daughter and friend with her today as they are on school break this week.





















Anna
(Erica's daughter)

She won the drawing and got to take home the project piece I painted in class.

















Heather


























Alice





















We painted the same thing in our evening paint class ~




Jenny


Jenny won the drawing and got to take home the project piece I painted in class.


















Dawn

CeeAnn

Joyce




















Barb
























Marilyn





















So now I'm on a mission to get this hold dissenfected and washed down. Have a great day!
Smiles,
Sandy

Happy President's Day!

What a difference a day makes! We had terrible storms roll through - a tornadoes hit just 15 minutes north of us and the wind and rain was unbelieveable. Out with the storm though went my terrible headache that had been around for 4 days. I woke up feeling full of energy and ready to get this house cleaned and ready for my boys to return home - 3 of them anyway. My DH and 2 older boys went to the farm to visit Oma & Opa and hang out with their cousin Dillon. DH went up not feeling so great and brought two sick boys home with him. I also got a call from the lead chaperone on the D.C. trip and asked if she could give my son cough medicine as he was coughing uncontrollably. She was there were about 6 students that weren't feeling so great and were going back to the hotel with a chaperone for a rest after lunch. He called me last night to let me know the medicine helped and they were about to have open mike night. He told me he was going to sing SLOW RIDE. OMgoodness, never thought my boys would be singing 80's rock songs - Lovin' guitar hero and listening to the oldies and so are the boys.

I did manage to be a bit creative this weekend with CLAY.

I painted a slate heart for Barb last week and decided to replicate it with Studio Clay.

Then, when we were at certification we SAW how to create an iris and although I took notes I couldn't understand them. I should have written down everything but was watching, trying to write down the important parts and when I tried to follow the steps I had written it just didn't make sense. So, I went on what I think an iris looks like and came up with this.

Thanks for all the comments, emails and especially prayers for me and this flu. I am feeling better today and so appreciate knowing you were thinking about me!!

Gotta go and take care of my boys and put rooms back together after moving furniture and washing floors.

Have a wonderful week!

Smiles,

Sandy

Anchor Thoughts ~
I'm still down with the flu this morning and won't make it to church so I decided to watch Joel Osteen this morning on TV.

WOW! What a blessing for those that are able to attend in person.
His message this morning really hit home with me because it's something I think I've tried to work on for the last several years and at times have done great and at others have failed miserably.
It was all about Anchor Thoughts - mainly negative thoughts that we continue to tell ourselves everyday...
So with a vulnerable heart here are mine...
I'm fat. I'm a terrible wife, friend, mother.
I'm not able to do that. It's going to be a terrible day.

What a waste of time in my day to beat myself up with thoughts like this.

Letting these thoughts keep a strong hold on our minds over and over keep us from the life that God has planned for us.

Sometimes it's like a lightbulb goes off when someone puts these things in different ways of thinking about them. Joel O.'s analogy was incredible ~
our brains are like a computer and when we purchase a computer if we load it with the wrong software it doesn't work properly. No matter how great the computer is with all the fantastic factory settings it has if it doesn't have the right software it won't work.
If we're filling our brain with all these negative thoughts daily we're not going to work properly. We'll find ourselves in a rut. Almost paralyzed to move forward.
His advice was to get back to the factory settings - positive thoughts, reading the manual - the Bible for our reassurance and positive anchor thoughts that we are VALUABLE, we are TALENTED, we are VICTORIOUS in a life with Jesus.

Let's change those anchor thoughts ladies to positive ones every morning when we wake up!
We are the APPLE OF God's EYE!
Have a blessed Sunday.

Sandy