Walking Among The Lillies

I took my dog, Emma, walking this morning.  I love to walk in the mornings along the trail that meanders beside a creek that surrounds my neighborhood.  The weather was absolutely beautiful today.  The birds were singing.  The creek was bubbling and Emma had many smells to smell along the way.  I am always in awe of God's gift of the beauty of the earth  but today was exceptional.  I saw robins and cardinals flying about.  There were squirrels scampering about looking for the acorns and nuts they hid over the winter.  We saw a couple of chipmunks  that were as interested in looking at us as we were watching them.  Emma wanted to play with them, or eat them, I'm not sure which.  Watching the chipmunks was where I saw the beautiful white Lillies blooming among the leaves and mess of the woods.  I have walked this trail for eight years now and I have never seen these Lillies before.  I felt like God gave me flowers today not because I deserved them but because He loved me anyway. Thank You, God!  I picked them and brought them home to let my family enjoy them too.  Now I am sharing them with you!

I hope this inspires you to get out and walk and see what gifts you get!

Re-Invention

Well, it's been a very long time since I posted anything on this blog.  I have been extremely busy re-inventing myself.  I am still wondering what I want to be when I grow up but I like the direction I am going in.  When I last wrote on this blog I was unemployed and learning to make jewelry.  I was selling it some but not really making money.  I was just barely getting by financially.  Since then I have improved my jewelry making skills and am now working and selling my handmade jewelry in a shop in our local Mall.  I love the girls I work with.  They are like a new family to me and I love working in the store.  It is a beautiful, unique place.  We have only been open 10 months but it has been well received by the public and we are now expanding to a larger location.  The store's name is Harper Lane.  It is locally owned and we sell works created by local artists.

It has been a blessing to see how much has changed since coming to work at Harper Lane.  I have met some really nice people and the girls I work with are so much fun to be around.  I also sell my handmade jewelry in the store.  

These are some of the items that I have placed in the store.  I love making jewelry but I especially love seeing the customers wearing or giving my pieces as gifts. We have been open for 10 months and now we are expanding.  The store is going through a new transformation.  We are moving from one location to another inside the Mall.  We have outgrown our space and need more room to add more artists' work.  I am excited about the move but the process is exhausting.  We are working literally around the clock to move.  I will post pictures of the progress and new store as I can.  We hope to re-open early next week.  

The rest of my family has gone through a few changes as well since I last posted.  I will fill you in on those later.  I am glad to be where I am in my life.  I have been through some tough times but they have made me a stronger person.  Re-invention is painful at times but necessary not to live a stagnant life. I am grateful for the journey.  Hope this inspires you to make some changes in your life to make your life better and more enjoyable.  

A New Year!

It has been four months since my last post. I seemed to have put my life on hold when my son was diagnosed with cancer. That became my focus and everything else was put on hold. I think even my breath was held until he was free of cancer. Now, it seems, life can get back to normal. The Handyman is back at work and feeling good. His energy is up and his hair is growing back. I am breathing again and I am trying to reinvent myself. I don't know what that is going to look like but I have to get some order back into my life. I have been so busy the entire month of December making stuff. MOMD gave me a new sewing/monogramming machine for Christmas and I am keeping that gift humming. I love it!!!! Here are a few examples of some things I have been working on.

These are sweatshirts I did for my Daughter, the Princess', boss. I was so excited about how these turned out. I have also been making jewelry from some silverware that MOMD had from his maternal great grandmother. It was a mismash of patterns and pieces and we didn't know what to do with it so I got this idea to make jewelry from it and give it to his family as gifts for Christmas. They were a challenge to make but I love them. I think everyone liked having something practical and beautiful to remind them of their grandmother.

They were all different yet similar. I used freshwater pearls to make the chains and I handmade the clasps. I was very pleased with how they turned out. The patina on the individual forks and spoons was beautiful. All I really had to do was polish it up. They are really very comfortable to wear. I want to see about adding some like them to my etsy shop. It feels really good to get my life back to some normalcy. I am ready to start a new year and create a new life!!!! Here's to new beginnings!

Fall and Football

As it turns out, MOMD is an Alabama football fan. He is a transplant from Ohio to Alabama. His son is a student there so we were invited to tailgate with his son and friends before and after the game. It is my first Alabama game though I have lived here all my life. I enjoyed the company and the game. The weather was nice, 82 degrees, with a slight breeze. Our tickets were given to us by an acquaintance of MOMD. They were great seats, around the 50 yard line, and most importantly, we were in the shade the entire game. I took a few photos to remember the game. MOMD enjoyed the college life for a few hours, hanging out with the kids. You don't realize that college is the best time of your life until it's too late and you are in the middle of a job you don't like and bills that are always due and there are demands on you that you don't want to meet. You try to tell the kids that but they just don't see it. They think life is so hard with all the study and tests but it isn't, it's the best time!

The Million Dollar Band took the field before the game. The cheerleaders got the large crowd all excited about the game.

The teams warm up and the excitement builds.

Here is the first play of the game. . . .

here is the final score. I was glad the team won for my first game. It made the rest of the evening a lot of fun. Of course the highlight of the day were the Nachos Grande that were covered in jalapenos! I had a great time in Tuscaloosa and especially enjoyed spending it with MOMD!

Changes!

Life if so full of changes. Sometimes I would like for things to remain the same, at least for a little while, but they don't stay the same, they are constantly changing. The weather is changing and I do enjoy that! But there are some changes that I just don't like. My life keeps changing. I have had many changes over the years that were exciting and fun and changes that were painful and sad. One change that has happened lately is with my son, the Handyman. He is twenty four years old and an outstanding young man. He has been married to his high school sweetheart, the Tough Chick, for three years. I was really hoping for some grandchildren to come along soon. But, my son was recently diagnosed with testicular cancer. It started with a random pain in his lower back, like maybe he had a kidney stone. He was in a good bit of pain and luckily went to the doctor. He is not one to go to the doctor regularly unless he has a problem that just won't go away. Tough Chick got him to go and have it checked to see if he indeed had a kidney stone. They did an ultrasound and saw "something". NOT a kidney stone. He went from doctor to doctor having xrays that whole day. They sent him for a biopsy to see what the "something" was. We were all waiting for the doctor to come in and tell us what he found and he came in and just said it... CANCER. I almost had to shake my head because I was sure that wasn't what he just said. But it was. He was certain it was cancer but uncertain as to the type of cancer he had. I was blissfully unaware that there were different "types" of cancer. I have since learned a whole lot about it. It is always best to know everything you can about an enemy. I was shocked that it was something my "baby" would have to face. It is amazing how, when faced with a trauma, a grown man can quickly turn back to a three year old in your mind. Tough Chick fell apart and luckily her dad was with her and he was able to help her. Handyman was stilled drugged from the procedure so he was oblivious to what the doctor was saying. I was hanging onto every syllable coming from the doctor's mouth. I wanted to know what I was going to be dealing with. The surgeon was blunt but honest. He gave me information, and in his own concern and query about this particular cancer and where it was located he gave me clues. (It was in an unusual spot, the middle of the abdomen. It didn't look like pancreatic cancer, it looked like testicular cancer, but we won't know without further testing.... wait on the results of the biopsy, he said.) I just wanted it out of him and my son back to normal. Where this tumor was located apparently isn't a place cancer usually starts. So we had to find the original source. Dr. V called a cancer surgeon to see if he could see us immediately and the next day we started our journey down a path I never wanted to be on. In a span of two weeks we had been to several doctors, Handyman had taken a leave of absence from his job. He was viewed inside and out from head to toe. A battle plan was formed and the fight has begun. We have been on an emotional roller coaster, and I hate roller coasters, for the past three weeks. Many changes have taken place. We have had a few attitude adjustments and now we have our game face on and are fiercely fighting the enemy, CANCER! Handyman started an aggressive round of chemo. It was five days, all day, of chemo. It was tough on him but he faced it bravely and is through with round one. DING DING DING!!!! We will have two more rounds before we evaluate again. He has two weeks off to recover his strength and gear up for round two. I am so very proud of how he has faced this problem. I,on the other hand, am waiting to fall apart, but AFTER the enemy has been defeated. We have had so many people encouraging us and praying for him. I know that God will heal his body. I also know that we all have lessons to learn from this. I hope that we learn to never take one single day for granted. That we appreciate the small things and love our families and friends unconditionally. If you have read any of my older posts you will have read about the pennies. That seems to be the way God reminds me that He is still right beside me and is taking care of me even when I don't realize it. The day that Handyman, Tough Chick and I were seeing the surgeon, to find out what we were about to face, we stopped for lunch on the way. I found a penny on the floor of the restaurant and smiled. I knew before we ever talked to the doctor that everything was going to be okay because God had just reminded me that He will go before me. All my life when there have been mountains that were in my way, God would go before me and remove them so that I didn't have to climb them. Most of the mountains were "me made". I felt peace and calmness before going in to see the doctor. I knew that whatever he told us we wouldn't be facing it alone or unarmed. I put that penny, that I call "a blessing", in my pocket to remind me to let God be in control. I have it sitting above my dressing table in my bedroom so that I can see it every day and be reminded. I made a necklace from the penny I found when my daughter was in a car accident. I don't know what I am going to do with this penny when the enemy is defeated. For now it sits and waits, like me, for the enemy to be obliterated. I know that everyone has enemies to face and mountains looming ahead, but I hope that you face them with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords at your side. When He leads the battle, the defeat of the enemy is eminent. He has the ability to move the mountains. That is not to say that we won't face difficulty or have pain or sadness but we won't have to handle it alone. Nor do we have to use our own weapons. We have pea shooters compared to weapons of mass destruction that God can provide to annihilate the enemy, whoever or whatever it is. We just have to depend on Him and His strength. If you let Him, He will speak to you in a way only you can hear, because you are the most precious thing to Him. He won't let you face things alone as long as you call on Him. Be encouraged to put on the Armor of God daily because the enemy is always creeping around. Be prepared by reading His word and praying. He will be there for you, just as He is there for me and my family right now. Don't delay, call on Him today!

Be inspired to Have a great Labor Day!!!!

The Empty Nest!!!!

A few weeks ago I noticed that a Mockingbird was building a nest in the Crepe Myrtle in my backyard. I went inside and removed some dryer lint and placed it on a limb next to where she was working. I sat quietly in the backyard and watched her take twigs and pine straw and some of that lint and build a fine nest. A week or so later there were eggs. I was preparing to leave on my trip to Gatlinburg and I forgot to take photos of the eggs. I didn't get to photograph them at all because they were already hatched by the time I got back from my trip.

There were four cute little screaming, hungry babies in the nest when I returned.

From my vantage point, in the backyard, I watched the mommy and daddy birds taking turns hunting and feeding their growing family. The babies were voracious eaters. It was a constant rotation of feeding almost all day. It was amazing to watch the birds alternate coming and going.

This activity continued for a week or more. As I sat on my screen porch I could hear the babies screaming for more food. The parents worked continuously, one after the other, feeding the babies as a team. I don't think a single bird parent could keep up with the demand, it definitely took two birds to keep the family fed. I have a garden near by and they picked the bugs off the plants as fast as they could and fed the babies.

Yesterday, I was sitting on my porch watching the Hummingbirds feed, and photographing them, when I noticed that I didn't hear the screaming babies. I saw the mommy bird sitting on the fence but the babies were chirping instead of screaming. I turned my camera and zoomed in on the nest and I caught the babies leaving. It was all very exciting. One by one they took flight until all were gone. I just kept watching and snapping pictures. Be sure to click on the photos as a baby leaves in each one.

All that is left is an empty nest. I wonder if the bird couple will start over and raise another family or will they totally abandon the nest. I will be watching and waiting to see what happens. I know that today they are probably resting from all the work they put in to raising their family. Are they sad to see them all go? Will they still see their babies? What happens to the family once the babies leave home?

I too have an empty nest. My two baby birds have flown the nest and though they come back from time to time, I am still trying to decide what to do with the nest. I am not going to abandon it because I love my little nest, but I am changing it around. I am spreading my wings and trying to find my place in the world of creativity. I don't know where I am going or what I will be doing but I know that I will be enjoying the journey along the way. I will be sharing my nest with you as things settle in. It is all a disorganized zoo of chaos right now but little by little I am feathering my nest to take me to the next phase of my life. It is exciting to think about where I might go or what I might do. I am really grateful to have MOMD to go with me. I just had my fiftieth birthday last week. I can hardly believe I am 50!!! I still sometimes feel 18 and yet I look in the mirror and realize that those years are long ago gone. I have a great life. It is not without bumps in the road but an interesting adventure none the less. I feel inspired to spread my wings and fly but I don't know where to go. So for now I am sitting on the fence looking out at the possibilities. Life is a journey. It could be a short journey or a long one, only God knows, but I plan to spend each day of the journey grateful that I am blessed beyond measure. I am creatively inspired to journey on. I hope you have a creatively inspired day too!!!!!

Vacationing in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge Tennessee

We took a family vacation last week to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge Tennessee for a family reunion. MOMD (man of my dreams) and I had a wonderful time with family! We wandered around Gatlinburg seeing all the sights and enjoying some great food! Here I am standing in front of the stream that ran in front of our hotel. We watched a cute little beaver scrounge for food while sitting on the balcony overlooking the water.

We met the rest of the family at a beautiful mountain cabin above Pigeon Forge. It almost took your breath away when you saw the view from the deck of this beautiful cabin.

It rained most afternoons and cooled things off but the very first night we saw a beautiful rainbow after the rain. That was a good sign that we would have a wonderful time. And we did!

I have so much I want to share about the trip so I will save it for tomorrow. I had a really great time with MOMD's family. I got to spend a lot of my time just chillin'

It's nice to find the time to just put your feet up and enjoy each other's company!
Hope this inspires you to spend some quality time with your family soon!