my buddy...

Last month, my good friend Kim Danley, Dreamlife Photography, took these precious pics of my buddy. I really just can't get over the fact that he is 5 whole years old. these are a few of my favorites, and yes, it was extreeemely difficult deciding on which ones to order. Absolutely smitten with the last one of him and my dad. For anyone who hasn't checked out Kim's lastest work, click on her blog linked to the right of this page. She's amazing! Thanks again, friend.

http://www.dreamlifephotos.com/

for my crowville boys...

If you remember a few posts back, earlier this summer, I had made a 'Louisiana Boys' canvas for our good buddies. Their sweet mama, D'Ann, and I used to teach together, and Cart loves to play with Levi and Preston. Tomorrow, they will be visiting us from the big town of Crowville, so I decided to make them some goodies to add to their big-boy bathroom. D'Ann is one of those special friends that you can spend hours together and only scratch the surface of the meaning of 'catching up'. I make fun of her obsession of Louis Vuitton, and she sooo makes fun of my uncanny ability to remember absolutely everyone I've ever met or been in contact with. In fact, I think one of her goals is to find atleast 100 people in northeast La that I've never heard of or met... yes, sometimes it's a curse, but most of the time it comes in handy.

(Sometimes I go OCD with it and lie awake at night trying to remember the names of the kids in my first class I'd ever taught 9 years ago. The freakish thing is the names usually always come to mind... I know I'm a freak, but please don't tell anyone.)

lost for words...

Well, I'll start by saying that most of you know me as a humorous gal who loves to laugh and feel pretty much carefree. This post is nothing of the such, so I'll apologize for the length of it. I just felt drawn to share this with everyone...

Frequently, I come across something that really and truly makes me stop dead in my tracks and get down on my knees to whole heartedly thank our heavenly Father for. Whether it be the health of my family, the love from our Lord, or the blessings He has bestowed on us, I feel like I could never repay the debts I owe. Tonight as I was scrolling through blogs, after I got Carter asleep in his sweet bed, I happened upon a particular fellow blogger that kept me at her domain for over an hour. Her name is Courtney Roth, and her family is from Ponchatoula, Louisiana, which is near Hammond. For the last two years, she and her husband, along with a vast array of doctors, pharmacists, nurses, and family members, have been providing CONSTANT CARE of their sweet baby Tripp.
You see, Tripp is not your average 2 yr. old. He has a very rare skin disease that requires CONSTANT CARE to change bandages, giving meds, and making all attempts to keep this little guy comfortable through the constant pain. I will let you know that this mother's journey is not for the faint of heart. Although some of the pictures are extremely hard to bear, as a mother, you began to see this precious baby through her eyes, which makes him perfect.
You see, after reading about sweet Tripp, I had to stop and realize just how blessed most of us truly are for our healthy babies. Sometimes I get really tired of playing StarWars or good guys vs. bad guys... I get aggrevated when I have to clean up spilled apple juice all over my freshly mopped floor... I tend to get irritated about having to repeat myself several times to clean his room, but tonight, in the stillness of my home, with the faint sound of my husband snoring on one end and the thought of my sweet, healthy 5 year old soundly asleep on the other, all I can do is praise Him.
I praise Him because I am so blessed, and I praise this brave mother for being the kind of mother all of us could hope to be. And you know what?... my everyday aggrevations and irritations seem so pointless and small. I feel so pointless and small. Then I realize that we are under the CONSTANT CARE of our Father and Savior who has a special plan for us all.
I urge you to read this mother's story and look into your own. If you can't think of something to be thankful for, bless you.
http://www.randycourtneytripproth.blogspot.com/
Godspeed, precious baby Tripp. You are a hero to us all.

letters for sweet brothers...

Sweet Liam will be arriving any time in the next month and will be coming home to a precious blue and brown nursury and an excited big brother, Layton, who also will be getting some cool sports letters for his big boy room! Thanks again, Lyndsay.

sunflowers...

My dad and brother planted a patch of sunflowers for dove hunting this fall and of course I had to take advantage of the photo op!

(The only 2 obstacles were Cart not looking at the camera with his eyes open and ABeth being terrified of bugs.)

couldn't resist...

Okay, I had to do more playing around with this... went ahead and made my fam a tree! I think this may be the subject of my next paint party. The color choices are endless and the critters/things added could be anything. If you are interested in booking a party for the late summer/early fall, just let me know. This may be a hit!
So much fun to make, I think I'm addicted.

a family tree...

My sister's birthday is coming up soon, so I decided to try out a new little project I've been thinking about painting for a while now. I think it will make a great gift and look cute hanging in her foyer or kitchen or anywhere!

for another sweet newborn to be...

This is for the latest precious addition of the Haneline family. A great thing about this business is getting to meet wonderful people and having a story about their orders.

Mr. Jack should be here sometime this week, and his daddy surprised his mommy with this cute birth announcement for her hospital door. (They had seen my work on another door at St. Francis and asked my friend where to get one!)

Thanks again, Adam... and thank you, Lindsey, for the referral!

for the sullivans...

Okay, from time to time, I am asked to create the perfect sized canvas for an odd space. This was such an occasion. My good, dear friend asked me to design a canvas for her brother and sis-in-law's new home that will off-set the odd shaped antique mantle below in the 2nd pic and coordinate with the creamy green-blue walls. There will also be funky pillows in the room to bring out the blue, orange, pink, purple, & green.

Well, you know I'm always down for a challange, and I absolutely love the results. Thanks again, Tori. So glad at least you and I loved it.

(regardless of what Drew will think!)

more letters for another sweet girl...

This little sweety is due in a few months and has a cute cousin, Colton, who I also painted for back last fall. Love this bedding and paisley print is one of my faves to paint. My camera casted a terrible glare on the letters above, so the pic just doesn't do them justice. I love them, so precious! Thanks, Robin. Enjoy that precious baby girl.

for a sweet baby girl to be...

Thanks again, Jessica! So glad you liked these. Love the colors and also the simplicity of the design. So sweet.

it's almost that time again...

This cute teacher canvas is for a friend of mine. Her classroom is decorated with "Stick Kids" accents, and she wanted a personalized addition to her 'conducive learning environment'... (Okay, sorry about the education lingo, I knew you'd find that funny, Lindsey! It's funny how everything we learned in college goes out the window when you are just trying to survive your first couple of years of teaching, y'all!)

Before we know it, (5 weeks) we will be kicking off a new school year... oh summer, where did you go?! Anyway, thank you so much for letting me create something to greet your new brood of children, and I hope you have a great year!

for sweet little eliza...

This super large (36x48") creation is for a precious little newborn to go over her changing table. Love the way this turned out. Tried to bring out the blues, while putting in some pink. I think the colors turned out fab, this pic just doesn't do it justice. Great choice, girls! Thanks again, Bahia. And thanks for you and Georgie's input. (I love it when a customer has an idea of what they want and is not afraid to tell me. My number 1 goal is to please!) Enjoy those sweet grandbabies this summer!

our trip...

Well I know these are quite a few pics to look through, but I tried to give everyone a good idea of all our fun times on our vacay. Loved all the pretty sites and history in South Cackalacky.

Getting ready to ride on chopper. (Cart was super excited, mama was super nervous)

View from above.

Lovin' the beach!

Hopsowee Plantation

Boone Hall Plantation outside of Charleston. This may look familiar... it was Allie's parents' summer home on The Notebook! (one of my fave movies of all times)

In Charleston, infront of the Daughters of the Confederacy Trading Post and City Market.

Some of my favorite homes on Rainbow Road in Charleston.

Hilton Head Island

Cart & me infront of Paula Deen's place in Savannah. (No, Kelli, we didn't get to eat there... You needed reservations, not to mention it was still packed at 3 pm. Dang...)

proud to be an American...

Every time I hear the National Anthem or children saying the Pledge of Allegiance, I get teary eyed.

The words that can best describe my emotions would probably be

PROUD and BLESSED.

I am proud of our country... proud of our heritage... and proud of our heroes that fight for our red, white, and blue. I am blessed with freedom... blessed with peace... and blessed with the grace of our Father above.

Last week, as we drove across only a portion of our great nation, it was hard not to think of how beautiful of a country we live in. How vast and glorious and free it is and how blessed we should all be to call it ours.

God bless America on this 4th day of July.