Taking Our Country Back Tour

Well, on the spur of the moment last Saturday, I decided to be spontaneous and I splurged for the ticket price and went to the Ford Center for the Taking Our Country Back Tour.  I was so glad I did.  I learned alot.  After Glen Beck spoke, they had a tribute to Oklahoma soldiers who had lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, and then their families came out on stage, many with large photos of their loved ones.  It was very moving, and the entire audience was on its feet.  My photos are not very good as I was not close and the lighting was not advantageous for taking a photo from so far away. 

Survive 'N' Thrive by Arise Ministries

  June 11th and 12th, I was blessed to experience the Survive 'N' Thrive Statewide Single Mothers' Conference.  It was held this year at Crossings Community Church.   Arise Ministries was started by Pam Kanaly and Shelley Pulliam and you can tell that it is truly a ministry to both of them. 
  Pam gave two wonderful sessions, called Surviving Tidbits.    Bear with me, this is somewhat rambling...but here are just some of the things she told us to do: About Face and cast your burden on God (my paraphrase, your difficulties and struggles do not define you.  As you give your broken pieces to God, He will sustain you, you will draw closer to Him, you will persevere and it will build your character);   Be season oriented (if your children are still at home, make this time count, be intentional with your parenting, according to God's Word.)   Chase after Godly control.  You need to understand what you are healing from.  Learn how to be single.   Two pitfalls of single moms:  looking for rescue with another man and not seeing yourself as precious to God.    When it is time, if God allows, learn to date God's way.   Establish who is in control of your life - is it you or God?   
  I also went to 3 wonderful breakout sessions: one was by Cindy Beall on Choosing Forgiveness over Bitterness (if you don't know her story, see her blog);

another was on learning to hear God by Alice Richardson; and the third was on using your time wisely by Beth Cox-Brown and she had great information on communication styles so that you communicate appropriately, spiritual gifts, the 5 love languages, David Isaac's Key Human Virtues, Age Appropriate Chores and so much more.  

  And I had a great time bonding with girlfriends.  Who could ask for a better or more enriching weekend?

Demonstration by Mitsuno Reedy

Mitsuno Reedy gave a demonstration this evening at the Edmond Art Association meeting.  She is a portrait painter who paints in both pastels and oils.  She was such a joy, so unassuming.  I got to the meeting a few minutes early and she saw my little sketchbook and showed my hers and all her beautiful drawings.  She did a pastel portrait of Sharon, one of the artists in the EAA.  She answered questions and was even interested in the students from Oklahoma Christian School who were seated at the back of the room.  Please forgive the photos, I took them with my iphone and I could not control the lighting and my tremor was acting up (enough excuses?)

Spring 2010

Spring has sprung...and so have my allergies!  I am practicing the art of awareness and being grateful for each day, even when I can't talk because of allergies.   As an aside, a male friend told me tonight at our dinner group that some men would say that a woman who couldn't talk was the perfect woman!  Of course, as he winked at his wife, he insisted that he was not one of those men. 
  I could not resist taking a few photos of the flowers that grace the entryway into my apartment complex.  Not having my camera with me, my iphone had to suffice.  I think it served its purpose.  Perhaps being available is more important than being perfect....

What do you think of the flowers?  What is your favorite spring flower?

Happy Easter

  I thought I would share a photo of the pond at Crystal Springs Church Camp in Lincoln County, Tennessee that I used to go to as a child.  It is a Cumberland Presbyterian Church Camp and my grandfather, Robert H. Hall, was a country preacher.  When I was little, we would spend a month in Tennessee every summer, and I was his shadow.  I loved my grandpa.  He even got them to let me stay at the camp for the first time when I was a year under the age limit.  He went into a room to talk to the people in charge.  He came out of the room and said the verdit was that I could stay, and he had agreed to stay as well and run the camp.  What a grandpa!  I had a blast.

  But, this was supposed to be a post about Easter.  I am grateful for Easter.  If it were not for Good Friday and the work of our Savior on the Cross and the Resurrection, Christmas would not matter.  So, I am grateful for Easter.  I am also grateful that I woke up this morning. And that I have the energy to write on this blog.   I am trying to remember to be grateful for the everyday ordinary things that I tend to take for grated. 

  How about you, what are you grateful for?

Black and White Family Photos

Carol http://carolhammontree.typepad.com/blog/2010/03/black-and-white-family-photos.html posted about old family black and white photos, which got me to thinking I need to find a place of honor for some of my old photos.   This first one is from about 1955 and is of my mother and me.  I am guessing this is an Easter Sunday at our apartment in Alexandria, Virgina.  The second  one is from about 1960 and is of my brother and me with my father and his parents.  They lived in Worcester, Massachussetts and I think this was their only trip to Alexandria, Virginia.  This photo was taken in our front yard.   The third photo is of my dad and I think this is from 1953, in back of the apartment in Washington, D.C.  The last one is in January 1953 of my parents on their wedding day.

Enjoy the Process

I am striving to live in each moment.  To really savor each day, for experience can be a good teacher, if one allows her to be.  Any guesses who this is?

Chocolate Torte

I made this Chocolate Torte last Saturday for a dinner party.  I had never made a torte before, and it was worth the wait.  The crust was made from gingersnap cookies that were ground up in the food processor and butter.  The funny looking things on the top are crystallized ginger.  It was so good.  This recipe is definitely a keeper.

Gratitude

I am a firm believer that it is not so much what happens to us in life, but how we react or respond to our circumstances.  I can be grateful for whatever comes my way, or I can respond with bitterness.  I am trying to learn gratitude in everything.  I have had some difficulties in the last few years, and I think that goes along with being human.  I have also had many blessings. 

The Gift of an Ordinary Day

Just in case there is anyone who has not yet had a chance to see this video of Katrina reading an except from her book, you have got to take a few minutes to watch this.  She has such a way with words, and she has given permission on her blog for her video to be put on other people's blog's and forwarded.   I had to go out and buy her book, and it is next on my list of books to read.   I am so lucky to have found this video on another blog, one about gratitude, and have been reminded of something I try to always remember, that is, to be mindful of the here and now, and enjoy the ordinary days.  Here is her video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olSyCLJU3O0

More Sketching

Another sketch, same subject.  Although I guess this is really a work in progress - as we all are.  I keep telling myself that learning to draw is a skill that is learned with practice.  I do tend to get frustrated that what is in my mind and what comes out on the page do not match.   Comments? Advice? 

More joy

If you look really closely, there is a small red ornament in the middle of this tree.

Ice and Snow

January 29, 2010
Yesterday morning the rain turned to sleet and eventually to snow. Luckily the wind was not as bad as it was during the last snow on Christmas eve. This one however, was primarily ice initially so that when the snow started, it was on top of the ice. Today it is just a light snow. When I went outside my door to take a few photos, the snow made a distinct crunching sound of the ice underneath. It is not worth it to me to venture more than a few steps to take photos. I am definitely not trying to dig my car out from under the blanket of snow and ice. The news crews are showing downed power lines across the interstate. Luckily, I received a phone call and did not have to go to work the last two days. There are many people without power, so I am grateful that I still have power, at least for the time being.
One of the photos is from yesterday, a composite showing snow in front of my door, in order to show the change over two hours.
I have been trying to learn new things in photoshop. I have an older version, so I have to work around some of the instructions that are given online. It took me forever, but I was finally able to make an overlay. I set my camera on a slow speed in order to attempt to capture some of the snowflakes as they were falling. Then I put the overlay I had made (thanks to the instruction video on karenika's blog), and added a sentiment.
Thanks for looking.
Off to enjoy more of the gift of today.

More Watercolor

Merry Christmas and the Blizzard of 2009

The weathermen had predicted we would get 3 to 8 inches on Christmas Eve. As it turned out, it had rained during the night before, then about 7 am, it turned to sleet. I made it in to work, then a little after 8 am, they told us all to go home. I had not had a snow day since I was a kid in school. The roads were noticably worse on the drive home. The wind was blowing so hard that the sleet was biting when it hit your face. It turned to snow before 9 am and the blowing snow continued all day. It was blowing so hard, there was very little visability, even looking out the window. I braved getting out my front door once in the afternoon to take pictures, particularly one of the snow drifting up against my front door. (I tried to take a photo later in the afternoon through my window, but the camera focused on my screens.)
All events for the day were canceled, the governor declared a state of emergency for the entire state. All the interstates were closed. I am grateful that we did not lose power. On the news, they said that so many people had gotten stuck in their cars that the roads looked like parking lots, and many cars and trucks had slid off the roads. The last I heard, they had 12 inches of snow at Will Rogers Airport, and this was a record snow fall for Oklahoma.
I am grateful for Our LORD and Savior, who came to earth as a babe so that I could have the free gift of salvation.
I am grateful for the snow day. It gave me more time to spend with my son who is here visiting from St. Louis. And I baked some of his favorite Christmas baked goods.

Handmade Christmas Ornaments

This weekend I took a class at My Heart's Fancy in OKC and made these Christmas ornaments. There is alot of detail on each ornament that you really can't appreciate from a photograph. I am pleased with the way they turned out. The large Santa one didn't photograph well as I took it at the shop with my iphone and the lighting wasn't right. I don't have it available any more to photograph again.

Deeper Still

I had the opportunity to go the the Deeper Still Conference this weekend at the Cox Center in Oklahoma City. It was so wonderful. I met a friend and her husband at the Spaghetti Warehouse for dinner and then we walked over to the Cox Center. Kay Arthur taught Friday night and then Priscilla Shirer and Beth Moore taught on Saturday. Saturday after the morning session, Kay Arthur had her photo taken with the Precepts Leaders. There were so many of us that the photographer divided us into two groups. Travis Cottrell and the worship team had us on our feet the whole time. Kay, Beth and Priscilla did a question and answer session on Saturday that was hiliarious. And I ran into old friends and got to reminiscence a little.

Happy Thanksgiving

I am grateful for so many things this Thanksgiving. My son drove in from St. Louis to visit his family. Thanksgiving is always more poignant when one has family and friends. Life is good.

Bert Seabourn at the Edmond Art Association

I was able to watch Bert Seabourn demonstrate his craft
at the Edmond Art Association meeting November 23.
His wife Bonnie was with him and they are quite a team.
They were both very personable and made all of us feel
like old friends. He brought his sketchbook and let us
look through it to our hearts's content. They answered
questions until Sharon Webster had to finally tell us that
we were out of time for the room. Forgive the photo as
it was taken with my iphone.

Happy Thanksgiving

I thought I would share this Thanksgiving card that I made for my mom and dad.