Our new art journals...

Kalli had an amazing report card. In the spirit of trying to Eat Clean and stay healthy, I have tried to NOT give dinners out and ice cream as rewards...  so, I offered her a chance to get an art supply of her choice. Happily she picked an Art Journal. We picked it out today and devoted some time to getting both of our Art Journals started. (I have had mine for a while...  and never made time to start it). We made a HUGE mess in the kitchen while listening to great music and having a wonderful time.

 I also got her a GREAT idea book called 1000 Artist Journal Pages....  she loved it. It was so much more fun than fattening old ice cream! :)

She is so artistic in her style. She has WAY more artistic courage than I do for sure. She painted RIGHT over this picture she had me take of her:

And on this one, she painted over her hair. Man, I was impressed by what she did. Hers were better than mine! She traced and cut out her hand for this one and used her ONE WORD of the year - she thought up her word all by herself. I cannot imagine this kid when she is 13. She amazes me daily at 7.
Here are my pages I did so far - I am learning about watercolor because I have never used it before. It is fun to use, and all of it is a bit messier than I like to be, but fun, too!!

I have a big learning curve when it comes to all the new mediums we have picked up lately...  watercolors in tubes, pastels, watercolor pencils, and charcol pencils. All of it seems so much fun. And, it is WAYYYYY more fun having an art buddy to experiement with. While we were cleaning up for dinner, she said "Wow - that was so much fun. Good thing I got good grades, huh?"

Peace

If you are a scrapbooker, you probably have heard of Ali Edwards. She is wonderful. She totally inspired me to get over my need to make it perfect and she made me realize the importance of capturing the little day to day things because those actaully matter more than all the big things. Well, she does a thing called ONE WORD and I have done it for the past few years. My first WORD was SIMPLIFY (it did not work that well that year) and my word for 2009 was JOY and it rocked. It rocked because I got a JOY necklace that reminded me all the time to find JOY in our lives. In the little things - not just the big things that we cannot afford right now. I did project 365 and found total JOY in capturing our happy little lives day-by-day last year. So, my word for this year is:
PEACE

And, I love it. I love it because PEACE makes me happy and it makes me feel JOY. I love it because focusing on PEACE will help me simplify. It will help me think about the bigger picture. I also love the word PEACE because both girls LOVE the peace sign and have hats and bags and shirts with it (so I will see it daily and be reminded of my word).

I also love it because the PEACE sign is often found in my photographs. Of the girls, our friends from other countries, and myself. It just is in our nature to flash a PEACE sign in pictures. So, I should be able to have a nice focus on my ONE WORD because I am surrounded by it daily.


And, I hope for PEACE in our home (meaning work with my brother Matt to continue organizing things), PEACE in my work (meaning PLAN AHEAD and stay ahead to allow for more PEACEFUL evenings), PEACE in my relationships (accept people as they are and accept what life has handed us), and PEACE in my fitness plan (stop worrying and enjoy the continuous journey toward better health).

So, from me to anyone reading this...   I wish you PEACE in 2010 and I challenge you to stop by Ali's blog and read up on the ONE WORD concept. Pick a word. It just might help you focus on something you have been meaning to..... Just one little word. :)

No More Tonsils for Kalli!

Ok, this post is NOT for the faint of heart. It has one rather nasty picture that I happen to love, but others might not be so impressed!!  So, before you scroll....  BEWARE! :)

Kal got her tonsils out today - she did so well. She is such a cool, tough kid. We are home, and she is eating popsicles and resting. I am about to get her down for a nap, but I wanted to post a couple pictures so you can see how simply cool she is....

Papa Vern came to bring a surprise and check on his grandbaby!

Right after she woke up - the nurses could not beleive how calm and happy she was the entire time.

Kal and her super nice doctor.

The first of MANY popsicles. :)

She was so excited to go home!

NOW - do not look at what comes next if you have a weak belly...  these are her tonsils! YEP - I asked the doctor to take a picture for me, and THEY DID! I know, it is gross, but you have to admit - it still is pretty cool, too. She is doing well and hopefully the chronic strep that never goes away will stop soon!