Cubby's Christmas

This video pretty much sums up Cubby's Christmas. He was so excited about all of the paper that he kept trying to steal presents and open them. Silly guy! Finally, he found one just for him--courtesy of Aunt Hanna and Uncle Michael--and took it behind the chair so that we couldn't get it from him. What a dog...

My new blog!!!

So, I've been talking about creating a "teaching blog" for awhile now. I'm sure plenty of these exist, but over the years I've found myself with too many stories to let them go to waste. So I did it! Now I won't have to remember them all either, because I can simply write them down. :) I figured that moving into a new position (where I'll have more time on my hands, at that) was as good of time as any to start documenting the hilarity. Here you go! (Thanks to Hanna for turning me on to tumblr. It's pretty slick.)

ihearthomework.tumblr.com

The patio and teeny-tiny herb garden...

Here are a couple of pictures of our little patio...We might post pictures of the house before we go to Duluth, but it might be more fun to bring a video with us, and watch all of the "first" reactions. So, the waiting just might have to continue for another week and a half or so. :) But here's a sneak peak! (I just finally planted the herbs yesterday, as it seems like the construction has finally slowed to the point where I won't have to move them around all the time. I think I found the last herbs in Denver!! I'm way late this year...)

26 of 52 [08-09]

We went walking around downtown last night. It was absolutely gorgeous, and I was able to snap this before my contact totally freaked out in my eye and we had to go home... :)

24 and 25 of 52 [08-09]

Here are my two from the past two weeks...

my third attempt

whew.........that was laborous!!                 so doll, that's what i have from love and my camping trip............which ended up being such a success on so many levels

BUT NOW...IT'S YOUR WEEKEND WITH YOUR WHIOLE FAMILY..........WE ARE SMILING ALL WEEKEND HERE FOR YOUR MOM AND YOU ALL!!!!           ENJOY EVERY SEC.

squeezes, me 

#23, 24 and 25 of 52 creations.... simple beauty

i'll have to have you show me what i am doing wrong..............   when you are here       : )                i seem to not be able to add multiple images at the same time time anymore              : (

#23, 24 and 25 of 52 creations.... simple beauty

well now this is weird...i had my standard three to submit and only the middle one came up.......hmmmmmmm

that's how rusty i have become!!!!

let's try this again......

22 & 23 of 52 [08-09]

Well, here are two more! The first is one of our new IKEA lamps, and the second was taken on the way home from Utah, somewhere in the middle-of-nowhere-Wyoming (at 80mph, no less!). I need to get out of this habit, and get back to doing this every week. Maybe it would help if we had a chair in front of the computer...haha. The chair that we've been using has to come inside from the sun porch! :) Speaking of, we need to post some pictures. Maybe tonight. Love you!

20 & 21 of 52 [08-09]

Here are a few delayed pictures. No, Cubby did not actually get packed up (although he very well could have accidentally!!) and there really isn't any artistic value to it, aside from the fact that I did manage to take one photo during all of the insanity. The poppies, on the other hand, I love. They seemed a perfect metaphor for my life during those few weeks--unkempt and chaotic, yet evidencing growth and beauty. Thankfully things have grown still, and far less chaotic, although no less beautiful.

Love to you! Pictures of the new place coming soon. Oh! And...we're going to IKEA this weekend! Wahoooooo!!!

just a lil random slice of life

oh, i shouldn't of done side writing on these..... not such a good format...oops!     really just wanted to send a lil slice of life your way.  AND, WE CAN NOT WAIT UNTIL WE SEE YOUR NEW HOME PICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!     i sure pray each day brings a bit more rest and settledness............OH, you know what i want to say.......i wish we were there!!!

 

how good it was to hear from the both of you.....feel a bit caught up in the pile of details in yourt last days, weeks.

whew

well hon, sending oodles of squeezes your way,

love, mom

# 19, 20, 21 and maybe 22 of 52 creations

hi sweetie..............whew, this has been forever, tho, i haven't forgotten about it!  

between, flying, packing, washing, working, people and the gardens screaming i have had no energy........... more truthfully, no time!   ( i know you know what i am talking about )

anywho, in the moments i've had to do, to be...............my eyes have seen some amazing lil vinettes   ( that i love......that even tho creative playing had to take a back seat for some days, my eyes are developing a new habit of seeing !!!!     : 0      )

these are my favorite out of the last patch of shots i took:

-i love any object holding a drop of water..........it always stops me  ( your recent one included )

-the tree shot was just out the dining room window......it also stopped me.....the grand display and variations of green caught my eye........I LOVE SPRING FOR THAT REASON

-i loved the lines in our birdbath branch landing for our feathered friends

- just thot it might be kind of fun to see what a photo would be like looking into our gazing ball......a random, playful thot

so there are my additions to the assignment of 52 somethings this year...........these definitely were more of a stopping to creatively see what god has majestically already created

" gran parte degli uomini ignora la beliezza del mondo e lo splendore delle piccole cose ! )

in case you are wondering............. a great part of mankind ignores the beauty of the world and the splendor of small things            taken from a lil language of flowers book that i have from italy!

love you,  ~me

16, 17, 18 & 19 of 52 [08-09]

Oh no! I totally posted these last night, and it must not have worked. Here they are again--so sorry they're so late. I'm determined to not be late anymore--no matter how tricky the next couple of weeks are! C'mon, June!

#18 of 52 creations flap jack beauty

hi sweetie...well here's my entry from last week.......i know, i know, this next sunday is already fast approaching .          weeks can just fly by, can't they?    my goal now is to just have submitted 52 entries by the end of the year !!!!!!!  teehee

well dear, when we went to a few of the garden centers on mother's day...succulent gardens were the thing!!!!   woohoo     we picked up a few for ourselves-this being our favorite-----flap jack.      i'm going to feature it in the combo that ends up in the grand container that jojo bought me for my birthday.

i'm sitting here tonight doing this and paper work with my fabulous volcano candle on    : )

thank you for that......it makes me think of you both........ and smile so......

'the doors we open and close each day, decide the lives we live'     flora whittemore

.......hmmmm, interesting....... i need to be reminded of this as these last stretches of days seem to find me feeling a bit overextended...yikes    

how are your days going?....i know you're headed into a FULL few weeks......we're praying,doll, 

and will talk soon

#'s 15,16 &17 of 52 creations.......... new growth

whew...ok doll, i'm back on track....at least for now, i think i am caught up......yikes

i think the majority of my energies, for a time anyhow, will be spent looking for growth, changes, new life, my favorite lush green found only in springtime!!!!!!!.......... ahhhhh, i can't stand it........that color is so spectacular and i wait sooooooo long for it to pop!!!     

i don't know what the products will be..................but for now here's where the last three weeks have taken me for my weekly creative '52':

the first.... a sneak peek

the second ......your succulent garden

the third.... the journey

i know hon that you now have a few crazy, crazy weeks ahead of you...so we'll both just do our best to send along a creative moment when it happens, ok

i read this line on the trip home and loved it....

'when the heart speaks, take good notes!'             : )

15 of 52 [08-09] Christi

Well, here we are for the week. The artichoke was dinner on Wednesday night--the kitchen didn't have enough lighting so I put it in a bowl, on the floor in the middle of a huge patch of sunlight. The second is a picture from the bar at the Oxford Hotel, and it's amazing. The last is a shot of the ceiling of the ballroom at the Oxford...very cool place. Kind of a smaller version of the Brown Palace. We also got to go up to the top of the clock tower on 16th street--Cole got some cool shots of the clock face, so definitely check out the Flickr 52 this week, too! It was a fantastic way to spend a Sunday.

#14 0f 52 creations part 3!!!

how silly....but my time is running out to figure out what is happening here and i want you to see all five in order to get a lil sense.......... so bear with me doll....

the 'floral' arrangement is the only one that actually has flowers in it...it's for the hospitality room...........all the others are really designs of texture...sticks, pods, grass, moss etc

so there you have a glimpse.....now we just have to get you two loves here in person .......somehow...sometime

' the world need dreamers and the world needs doers.  but most of all, the world needs dreamers who do '        sarah ban breathnach

: 0     oh doll, that's you , in this season!!!!!!   hurrah for you

#14 0f 52 creations cont. the 2nd part

i guess this will be in 3 parts...i don't know what i am doing.... 

this is my favorite arrangement-2 pieces- but unfortunately it's the worse shot...(there are windows all around)     it sits on the end of a most beautiful concrete/metal coffee bar

#14 of 52 creations a new turn for me.....

ok sweetie...this  post is going to be in two parts i guess...i don't know why it wouldn't let me choose all 5 of my shots????!!!

i am officially done with 'stacking'........and so...i am now on completely new territory   yikes!!!!

i have NO idea where this will take me    : )  but i do know ....my creating is not in photos per se

(tho, it sure has been fun seeing what the 'masters' are producing !!!!       christi, you've definitely graduated into the original '52' league.....)    so bearing that in mind...i'm not sure what you are going to see from week to week here      ( i promise you i will do some creating but what and how it will be shown...i'm not sure )    that alone is kind of scary and freeing all at the same time!!!!!!

so, this series of pics is what occupied my time ALL last week....these are the main arrangements for the new church building   ( again they are not artistic photos nor was the lighting condusive to good shots)  and     i did not do all of them soley myself but did have a hand in each of them  ---  ang and i kind of team created

........plus, i wanted to give you just a teeny sense of what bella's part was in the finishing touches of the church's look

so there, my dear, is a snapshot of my creating energies last week!!!! 

14 of 52 [08-09]

13 of 52 [08-09]

I feel funny putting up another picture of myself, but this was all that happened last week amidst the intense paper-writing. Cole and I were playing around with some of the old pictures that I'd taken, and he was showing me how do a bunch of new stuff. I love the way that it turned out, but again, cringe a little at the fact that it's another huge picture of my face...

Oh well. At least it's something! :) Love you!

#13 of 52 creations a foursome starting with 'short stack'

ok doll....i might be going out here with a bang .......as we certainly hope that winter is doing the same!!!!!!!   this was the morn after the ice storm that hit a few days back!!!!!!      where, oh where is spring?!?

not really too much to do with the notion of stacking other than a whole lot of layering going on ( and a lil play with words )...............it was just too awesome looking of a day not to take advantage of the vista all around!    

 i don't know, i might be done with the exploration of stacking......i had one more idea that i might try for next week , otherwise, i'm feeling like it is time to move on........even if spring isn't on the outside it is CERTAINLY GOING ON STRONG ON THE INSIDE, ready for new things.................. emerging ideas, new birthings !!!!    oh how fun ...   and ... a tad bit scary!!

to know what you prefer, instead of humbly saying ' amen' to what this world tells you you ought to prefer, is to keep your soul alive.

                                                                         henri matisse         

ahhhhhh, there i am back on track...good thing 'cause a busy week is ahead....we'll talk, hon

#12 of 52 creations "stacking of time"

whew.......better late than never, i guess!!!!           yikes, thank you for your most generous spirit......i had had this idea tho, so i really wanted to try it.....the week just wasn't on my side!

feeling better, at least a bit...i still sound bad but have energy for most of my days now.....and with it being friday............well, one just can't loose!!!!!   i have energy just 'cause it's friday!!!

teehee       dollie, today was the day you saw the apt. choices again.....at least, i hope

next week is crazy, also, in that we are moving into OUR NEW CHURCH BUILDING!!!!!!      just 6 blocks away, i might add.......     : )        and angela, the owner of bella is donating/gifting thousands of dollars worth of arrangements!!!!!!!!!!    yikes, they're fabulously fun but it will be long hours next week ( as she is out on maternity leave!!!!! )     oh, the wonder of life!!!!

all culminating with easter........oh, it makes me want to say, sure wish we could ALLLLLLL be together to celebrate..............the wonder of our lord's ultimate gift!!!!!

"above all and before all, do this: GET WISDOM!

write this at the top of your list: GET UNDERSTANDING!

throw your arms around her--believe me, you won't regret it;

never let her go - she'll make your life glorious.

she'll garland your life with grace,

she'll festoon your days with beauty!!!             proverbs 4:4,5

i love that!!!!!!!!!!!!!    that is my prayer for you and cole    and may i add, you're doing a grand job so far.............

squeezes hon............now, hopefully, you are able to play the rest of your break!!!

12 of 52 [08-09]

Luckily, I caught one photo before it snowed AGAIN!!!! I thought it was called Spring Break, not Snow Break. Oh well.... :) Played around with it in PhotoShop quite a bit. I'm starting to think that all my projects are turning out kind of the same. Maybe I'll aim for something slightly more subtle next week. Heehee...

11 of 52 [08-09]

This is it, this week. Still feeling quiet...

#11 of 52 creations 'growth'

hi doll....welcome home!   hope it was a very fruitful weekend....can't wait to hear

i have to be honest .....this was a shot from a while ago......i liked it so i kept it for....maybe, just a moment as this:     i had a different 'shot' in mind for today, had it figured out, just needed a lil tweeking, a lil more set-up... kind of had the whole day sort- of -thing, i was doing 10,000 different to-do tasks.......lauren came home from guards, jojo had some thots needing a 'family' conversation and, BEFORE I KNEW IT, I LOST MY DAYLIGHT WHICH WAS NEEDED !!

oh my...i tried with the overhead light on but all i got was reflection...........tomorrow is a pretty full day for me so i decided to go this route and save my original thot for next week

i feel like i'm cheating just a bit..........    : (        it sort of matches my energy level right now tho...i'm fading fast    

and i most cetainly don't even expect to see one from you tonight, dearheart..............

'grace does not pressure---but offers.'    john bowen coburn

i love that !!!!   and i think i'm riding on the coat tails of grace this week       : )

love and squeezes to you

10 of 52 [08-09]

Clearly, I was goofing around with PhotoShop this week. :) I took the picture at an antique store on Broadway and couldn't get past the 'circus-y' feel to it, so I decided to have a little fun. It's pretty over-the-top, but it made me smile...The original is down below for reference. Fun times!

#10 of 52 creations 'superior' stacking

oh sweetie.........i know this is over the top.... but the scene was so unbelievable, i actually got some sort of cool shots and i wanted you to gain a fuller sense of the entire wonder.............isn't God amazing?       add to this, a sunny mid 50 degree day and well,.......it was soul-filling, that's for sure!!!!!

there is a whole lot of stacking going on here, so i guess you can take your pick this week   : )

"make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen."

                                                             robert bresson