Welcome 2012!!

heellllooooo???

why are there still people checking this blog? I MOVED!!
http://www.thelifeandartofkt.com

i feel smart when i’m wearing these…

slippers.

haha.  just kidding.  i feel smart when i wear my glasses.  i kinda hate that (wish i felt smart all the time instead) and kinda like it.

i’m hard at work on my new blog/website.  no time to write tonight.  nothing much to say anyway (yeah right).

i wish i had the super-power of not needing to sleep.

i work best at night.  i always have been a night owl, but even much moreso since i had kids and figured out that peace and quiet makes for a faster, more efficient, and most of the time a more creative way to get things done.  however, i am tired.  i’ve been tired for like 4 years.  and i’m sick.  i felt for a long time that if i’m not physically capable of being a night owl anymore, God should at least give me a few doses of morning person every now and then.  nope.  never.

i really do need to get to bed…i’ve been on the internet for 3 hours…pausing every 3 minutes to cough.  a dry, annoying, every-time-i-take-a-breath-i-need-to-cough kind of cough.  i haven’t felt that bad during the day (especially today since i got a glorious nap), but at night, all through the night the cough and congestion kick it into high gear.

ANYWAY.

apparently my domain expired.  for my website.  if you click on that little box to the right that has my logo and says “the website”, it’ll now take you to some dorky generic domain registry ad page.  that’s why i’ve been on the internet since 8:30…doing research on what my new site should be like…suggestions welcome.  i’m thinking i want to just nix the whole website thing and just do a fancier blog.  especially since i’m going to be combining my blogs….i feel i’ll be more devoted to upkeep and making it cool if i only have one spot on the web to worry about.  however, i am feeling VERY uneasy about having to leave this blog and its archives behind.  wondering about making it into a book…

i’m rambling.

here’s a sampling of my day brought to you by google images.

    

    

    

blogosphere.

isn’t this whole internet thing strange?

i guess it’s not-so-much the website thing (like target or the library or even google) that blows my mind, but moreso the things via the web that involve people connecting to each other.  e-mail, yes, but i’m talking moreso about network-y things like Facebook and blogs.  anyone who’s been around the “blogosphere” (world of blogs) for any decent length of time, has figured out that you can learn a great deal about someone from their blog.  yes, you can stalk someone on FB and learn pretty much anything you want to know about someone, but it’s usually people you’ve met before.  the world of blogs is different.  you can read a total stranger’s blog for YEARS and never meet them and still know ALOT of stuff about them.  [actually, i have many friends who blog, and, now that i’m thinking about it, i guess you can learn alot of things you didn’t know about them, too.  but that’s not what this post is about…even though i love all of you gals…]

there are several bloggers out there who i have fantasized about meeting.  for real.  i would rather meet these girls than any celebrity i can think of…i’m thinking…  yup, can’t think of a celebrity i’d want to meet more than MEG or ASHLEY, for example.  i have literally had dreams about meeting meg.  dreamS, as in, more than one.  pathetic?  maybe.  (more pathetic: the fact that i’ve commented on a post both times to tell her.)  but if i’m going to be reading “articles”, i’d rather them be about real life/faith with 5 kids than about what some terribly-acting movie star ordered at Starbucks while her nanny-for-one-kid wrangles the child outside.

i almost peed my pants when i saw the photo in meg’s post today…i know there are alot of well-known bloggers in the picture, but the only ones i recognized were meg (bottom right) and ashley (top right).  i almost peed my pants because i was thinking about how much i would’ve paid money to be anywhere in that room while all those ladies were talking and crafting and probably eating some ridiculously delicious treats.  make me a fly on the wall (“i’d be honored for you to swat at me with that homemade totally-cool fly swatter!”)or a rug on the floor (“please, walk on me with your awesome broken-in-but-not-too-dingy shoes!)”….Lord, do you hear me?  i’d love to magically transported to meg’s house in kansas next time there is an event like this. 

seriously though, these bloggers encourage me, inspire me, and humble me.  i’ve mentioned joanne a few times in the past few weeks.  hers is a blog that i’ve read for about 3 years.  i’ve “spoken” with her a few times over e-mail and on Facebook, and i’ve even read one of her books, but we are strangers nonetheless.  it has been so so neat to read comments these past few weeks from readers just like me who are saying how much joanne has meant to them and inspired them through her blog over the years.  (by the way, she’s made a ton of progress in the 20 days since the stroke…if you haven’t clicked on her link yet, you should check it out!!

don’t really know how to conclude this post except by saying: i am thankful for the opportunity to read about other Christian women’s lives and be encouraged, challenged, and taught by them.

blue.

did these paintings for my friend jenny. i was so honored to do them, and even more excited that they were going to hang in her office. she’s an extremely successful wedding and portrait photographer, and she’s also a Christian (as am i) so she draws alot of encouragement and inspiration from scripture.

she knew she wanted 2 passages of scripture on 16×16 canvas, with some sort of blue (her office is white with light blue accents). 
first, phillippians 4:8

next, proverbs 3:5-6 (which happens to be my absolute favorite passage of scripture).

here’s a link to a blog post she did with pictures of them hanging up.

3/4 of a year

maitland turned 9 months yesterday.

re-reading that statement reminds me this: motherhood is an awful, beautiful thing.

it is so heart-wrenching and confusing to be stuck between enjoying your child as a sweet, chubby-bellied, babbling, bald creature and being excited about where you know they’re going: cruising, walking, spoon-feeding themselves, getting their driver’s license.  i wonder if i’ll ever get over it?  i wonder if i should even try.  maybe these feelings of being torn between where we were and where we’re going are what will help me not to take even one day for granted.  or, for that matter, not to look back on the past and ever say, “thank goodness those days are over.”

i guess i’ll just choose to be thankful for everyday.  period.  end.

i know, i know…that booger is driving me nuts too.  but what’s the point of editing out dried snot when he is eating grass while sitting in the dirt?  he’ll thank me later for leaving it there.  (even though i really want to break out that healing brush.  really bad.)

wednesday, already?!

time passes so quickly, doesn’t it?

i can’t believe it’s been over a week since my last post.  i did post on my other blog once, but man i am slacking off.

all the kids have been sick.  harper’s at the tail end of it and layne is just easing in…some sort of virus with disgusting huge boogers and a slight fever.  and attitude.  lots of attitude.  haha.  maitland on the other hand was a very sick little baby.  he was running a fever for 3 days with no other symptoms (just sleeping ALOT) and then he started with the congestion, too.  he wasn’t sleeping well at night and i started to suspect an ear infection.  saturday morning i called the ped’s office and they were booked solid so i ended up taking him to the urgent care.  WASTE. OF. MONEY.  luckily it was only $30.  the doctor was nice, but…to put i nicely, clearly clueless.  took him to the pediatrician on monday morning (2 days later) and she took one look in his ear and made a really sad face.  than she looked in the other ear, and, same face.  he and harper both had “overflow” in their eyes.  so gross…basically there’s so much mucous in the nasal passages and it’s not coming out of the nose so it comes out of the eyes.  so disgusting.  especially maitland because he can’t really wipe his eyes.  after 2 days on an antibiotic, he’s doing MUCH better, thank goodness.

i’m not feeling the best…pretty sure i’m getting whatever the kids have.  luckily i’ve been working on our new year’s cards (no comments on my tardiness, please) all morning so it was a good excuse to sit on the couch and watch TV, which i never ever do during the day. 

the girls are watching a new show and they are seriously SO out of it.  harper could’ve easily taken a nap, but didn’t, and layne just woke up…they’re both super tired.  i think there are invisible strings tying those eyeballs to the TV.  sheesh.

i hear maitland waking up and i need to get off my butt and do something productive.

i’ll leave you with this:  the bubble guppies

 

i woke up from a nap about 45 minutes ago.  it’s 9:45 PM.

i put Layne to bed (Harper was already zonked out) and thought, “I’ll just lay down and sleep until Ryan comes home.”  (he was at the library.)  this was all because i could hardly hold my eyes open while i was reading to Layne.  ryan came home and sat down on the couch.  i sat up only long enough to move the pillow and lay back down on his leg.  slept for another hour.  got up and ate some cereal (random).

and now i’m getting things done.  finishing a painting, folding laundry, and hopefully i will have NO problems going back to bed in an hour.

pretty sure maitland has pink eye.  his poor little eye is goopy and swollen and red.  he had some sort of bacterial infection in his eye when he was like 2 months old and the dr gave me drops, but told me to try breast milk first (“you mean like, squirt it in his eye?”).  i did for half a day.  the mixture of the milk and the yellow crap in his eye was more than i could take…SO gross.  so i used the drops and it cleared up.  this time, i’m thinking we’ll have to have an antibiotic.  i tried milk once today before his nap and when he woke up, it was 3 times worse.  i used the drops twice already and it was definitely still in full force.  anyway.  enough about the dumb eye infection.  (but he is really pathetic-looking.)

my good pal amy stopped by today.  she is such an amazing friend to everyone she calls friend.  this was her who-knows-what-number trip in the last several months from her home of orlando.  she comes down here as soon as she can anytime anyone has a baby.  that was her reason for this one.  and i think the trip before last, too.  AP, it was great to see you.  i always love hanging out with you, however, i hope i don’t see you for awhile, or if i do, i hope it’s in your town and not in mine.  for your poor car’s sake.  (love you!)

ryan is in bed reading some book and keeps laughing out loud. making me smile.

i had a teeth cleaning today. has anyone else ever thought about asking for something to hold your mouth open so you could go to sleep? even though i don’t floss and my gums are crying out for mercy the entire cleaning, i seriously think i could go to sleep in that chair. i just love the aspect of being obligated to LAY somewhere for 30 minutes straight without being able to do even one thing else.
(by the way, thank you Alyssa for watching kiddos for me!!)

i cannot believe tomorrow is thursday.

please continue to pray for joanne and her family.  if you read toben’s post today, he said something about TIGER WOODS sending his well-wishes!  what in the blazes?!

just found this picture from almost exactly 2 years ag0.  cuh-razy.

full.

full day.
busy.
blessed.

any day that starts with the kids not climbing into bed with me until 7:30 and pre-made cinnamon rolls soon after that, can’t go badly, right?
the girls played “happily” together for a few hours this morning (the only unfortunate part of that is that their new favorite place in the house is our closet…it really didn’t need a good trashing). then we packed up and went to meet some friends (jenny!) at the beach. i was apparently clueless that it was GORGEOUS outside and didn’t even bring sunscreen! we were only there for around an hour, so any “color” my kids got will be gone tomorrow. got home late so layne didn’t get a nap, but she actually did great…contrary to what i’d prepared myself for.

my friend rachel and her girls came over for awhile while i was making chicken pot pie.  we hadn’t seen them since before christmas, so the girls and i both had fun seeing them.  rachel and i have decided that we’re going to start trading babysitting.  she and her husband have no family in town and have only lived in jupiter for about a year.  most of their friends live about 25 minutes south, so babysitting options have dwindled a little.  they never get to go out, and i really need to have a day every now and then where i can catch up on things for my business.  so, we’re thinking that she’ll watch my youngest 2 kids (while harper’s in school) for a few hours some Fridays and then that same night, we’ll keep her girls while she and her hubby go out for a dinner date.  hopefully we’ll start making this happen like once a month.

[don’t hate me for saying this, but david crowder is seriously overated. i know he’s probably caused alot of people to come to know Jesus, but he CAN’T SING. anytime he comes on my kick-butt pandora worship station, i thumbs-down him.]

after rachel left, we ate and did the bedtime thing and then i headed to Bible study.  so grateful for time with so many beautiful, sweet, FUN, Godly women.  there are so many tuesdays where i think about not going because i’m just drained and tired and don’t feel like small-talking to anyone, but i always feel so encouraged and renewed when i get home.  (holla, tina & sarah! they’re the only 2 with blogs…other than jenny who i’m sure i already embarrassed once.)

i just spent about an hour working on transfering scripture onto a painting.  it’s my least-favorite part, but i figured out that if i listen to worship music while i’m doing it, i really get alot out of it.  like, i really feel like i’m worshipping while i’m tracing.  sounds dumb, but the work is really mindless, so i can focus on the words i’m hearing.  i tear up every now and then when something hits me hard.  i appreciate that because it could be a song i’ve heard several times before, but i had never really thought about it.

if you hadn’t noticed, i put a button on my sidebar (“praying for joanne”).  if you’re interested in getting updates on joanne, you can click on it.  at this point she’s still in a medical-induced coma, but they are saying she’ll be hopefully coming out of that sometime in the next several days.  a small step in what will be a long, long walk.  i am still so struck by this situation and have been really thankful for the reminder that we can make all the plans we want, but God will laugh at us.  chuckle…lovingly.

it’s almost midnight. i need to go to bed. i need to go to bed and “accidentally” wake up ryan and then try to fall asleep before he falls back to sleep (virtually impossible).