Along came Polly.

Our new baby (seriously) Polly has been getting adjusted to us... and us to her these past weeks. All of you that have had a puppy in the house for a period of time know about the all the joys and hardships of this!

The Polly-potty-training is in full force (ugh!) and she has discovered her voice (another- ugh!) but overall she is the sweet new fluffy princess in our house. Daddy walks (sometimes drags; oh don't call him into the Puppy Protection Agency for it-ha!) her in the early morning to tucker her out and she is understanding the rules of the house with some patience and obedience about it all.

So you want to know more? (Probably not, but she is now a part of the Foster house...so too bad. LOL.)

                                            Bath time. (how pathetic!)

                                       Post-bathtime (loves the hairdryer)

She's all personality.

Cherishes her toys and playing soccer outside.

Couch time and anyone to snuggle with? She's there.

She sleeps on her back (and snores) with her belly stickin' in the air.

Belts out a hearty burp after every meal.

Cocks her head every time she's intrigued by something.

We are crazy about her sweet kisses and when she prays with the girls at nighttime... (no kiddin'!)

(okay- I have to admit, the preciousness of this picture kinda makes up for all the pooping and peeing on the kitchen floor, and carpet, and....!)

What to do? SpRiNg BrEaK?

Lazy on the warm, white sand...breezes...a good book...sipping on something with an umbrella in it??

Heck, I need to snap out of it!

Spring is bursting out a bit here and we can certainly find some Spring Break things to do in East Texas. (Although, uuuuuh the beach sounds so nice right now.)

We were saying a happy "hello" to Mr. Sunshine this week. We've missed you!

What was happening for Spring Break at the Foster's:

~some hotel swimming
~celebrating late and early birthdays
~eating out (who doesn't love this; especially the female chef of the house!)
~"dates" with Gramma and Grandpa
~slippin' and slidin' at The Villages waterpark
~"window shopping" (hee hee.) on Knox Street
~art/painting on the driveway
~sweet Lauren's first little piano recital (with trophy and all)
~a Dallas football stadium tour (the guys said is was aaawesome!)
~the girls loved the American Girl store in the big D
~nail painting, movie watching, bike riding, board games, playin' with pals...
~most important of all, the girls loved the week long visit with Gramma and Grandpa from Ohio...

You might wonder why I regularly document happenings on here (not just for family and friends who live far to see pictures, etc). Well, I just got the cutest book. It was so easy. I went to blog2print.com. I clicked. I ordered. A week later we got this 96-page beautifully printed hardcover book of 2008-2009. A precious journal to cherish and to last a lifetime!

The memories and the love that is shared is what these days and weeks (and years) are all about. They certainly fly by too fast not to remember them!

Extreme Home Makeover!

Destroy a home and build one amazing house in 7 days?

Impossible?

Not for ABC's Extreme Home Makeover show.

The show came to give a very sweet, deserving east Texas family a new home. The Carr family in Mineola, TX (about 25 miles from here) was blessed to get an incredible home and I was blessed to get a call to help out with it! There was a domed ceiling that needed a mural design painted on it and they were needing muralists/artists. Yes! Yes! Yes!

What an opportunity. What an experience. I was so excited. My sweet and creative-searching art friend, Colleen, was able to join in the fun with me. Here we are with our lovely hard hats!

Two days last week joining in all the love the community had for this family and tons of people volunteering their skills (and time) was fabulous to see and be a part of. It was a bit of a crazy, chaotic, everybody doing everything all at once time. We ended up pretty much painting what needed to be painted, some waiting around and a tad of confusion mixed in. It was actually fun to get painted on, bruised and plenty dusty. (Thank goodness for those fashionable hard hats...LOL.) We met some amazing people and experienced the "Hollywood" side of things, really. Colleen and I were superstars! (Not really, but hey- it's always fun to pretend.) We got to do a bit of "acting" on the side. We acted like we were working in a certain room while they were doing a small shoot!

Ty Pennington (mmm.hmm. and he is just as cute in person) on the scafling where some of the artists were painting the ceiling.

I caught this picture after a shot being done with comedian Bill Engvall (from Blue Collar Comedy Show) and Paige all pretty and pinked-out!

A ton of great food was served day and night- and about the best desserts ever I must say.

It was an honor and privilege to be a part of this. I am so happy for this incredible family, I am so shocked that the house got finished on time.... and I will be up tearing up with you (just like every other Home Makeover show I watch!) when it is aired on May 9th.

Tune in!

A "Spa-tacular" Party

Candles, relaxing spa tunes, a rainbow of nail polish color, fancy glasses with lemon slices, scrubs, bubbles, and cool cucumber slices mixed with lots of pink, giggles and silliness...

...and what do you get?

           ...why you get a sweet 10-year old's SPA birthday party!

                                        Wishes were made.

                     Toesies were soaked, scrubbed and painted pretty.

                   We got our craft on. (Didn't these turn out cute?!)

                         Shared some love...

           And WOILA!...A perfect girly evening with perfect friends.

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

We have been here for about 12 years and it has only snowed (just a dusting that melts) maybe twice. So, 6 inches was HUGE for here! History making, really. We were just as excited as everyone else in town. It was like vanilla frosting was clumped so beautifully all over everything. God's awesome masterpiece in our backyard.

               (sweet picture that Josh took of an enormous snowflake falling into our lil' snowbunny)

Josh and I grew up north- where this white stuff was nothing. We have snowman-making embedded into our blood. So we instantly got rolling and packing in the fluff, gathered some accessories, Oreos, Fruitloops, carrot, badmitten rackets and poof!... here he is. (I seriously think this town beat all records on the amount of snowmen that were built in a 24 hr. period!) 

Shivering a bit, we all (furry one included) snuggled up by our fireplace with a cup of warmth. Doesn't get much better than that. We lost electricity, so the chill in the house got the best of us eventually and we packed up our fridge to head to my Mom's warm air. These flakes were a TX memory to never forget!

Mr. Snowman at about lunchtime.

 

Mr. Snowman at about dinnertime.

Life boils down to two questions... (not really, but I thought these anonymous pictures were hilarious in an email)!

Should I get a dog?

Or... should I have a child? 

Polly

Meet Polly. She's about the most adorable fur ball with four legs that you'll meet. She came home as a SURPRISE (mmm.hmm) with Daddy for all of us, but especially for a dear almost-10-year old in our house. She's a Lhaso Apso- not quite 2 months, confident but precious and makes us laugh! She's here to bring joy, memories and companionship to our lives ('cuz really, life goes by too fast not to have this).

I know, we are CRAZY (or at least my hubby is! ha!). We had been talking a bit about adding a furry-something to our home for some time. The right one, the right fit for us. And TRAIN it. Train it correctly, like we are planning...Dog Whisperer style. Lhaso Apso's seemed to be the breed to fit us. Josh apparently researched, found a family that breeds and... WALLA! Suuurprise! (Oh, he was so excited, just smitten in love... he's such a teddy.) Needless to say I was taken back a bit but I'm falling head over heals. She's got spunk, smart, a cuddler and a lover (plus, this breed doesn't really shed, no aggressive attributes and no yipping- yeeees!).

HUGE responsibility and hard work? Yep.

Unconditional love? Yep.

Gonna raise this one right? Sure gonna try.

Come and say hello. You'll wanna put her in your pocket and take her home too (but the girls won't let you, ya know).

Wish us luck.

journal delights

I have lots of questions. Don't we all? I'm wanting to be patient towards my heart and trying to love the questions themselves. After all, I wouldn't be able to live in the now if I wasn't. To be able to live in the delightful, blessed day that we are all given (love the word delightful!). 

One of the many things this year I want to do is to come into and draw nearer to my authentic, creative self. To embrace the questions, be intentional, excite my God-purpose, and listen to the small whispers of my heart within that. I yearn to pause and breathe. To take a gentler path. To brightly and confidently smile within all that is so graciously given to me each and every day (yes- within the demands of kids, meetings, worries...garbage to take out). 

I've started an illustrated discovery journal. I've journaled for years. Whether it's lots of prayers, happenings, frustrations...journals have been healing, releasing and just plain healthy. (Plus, it is cool to look back at your days; your happy's and your sad's; how you have overcome and grown.) The 2010 journal this year will be different. It is an illustrated one. Filled so far with decorating ideas, feelings, sketches, bible scriptures, magazine clippings, even my sweet Lauren drew a waterfall in it. It just has stuff I like in it along with some dreams, wishes...me. Real life stuff. Kind of a treasure map collage I suppose. It's messy, honest, and delightful to do!

I typically read 3 books or so at a time (not all at once, silly!). Two that I am reading right now encourage and inspire journaling. I read the Simple Abundance devotional through 1996 when I was going through a turning point in my life, and I've dusted it off and picked it up again this year. (It's really wonderful, girls!) A new book I'm enjoying is The Creative License. It's for anyone that has a creative fire burning in their belly (that'd be me) and doesn't know what to do with it at times... or is just plain stuck. 

You don't have to be all expressive, deep or have something to conquer to journal. Just get a cheap, 8x10" or smaller/bigger artist sketchbook at a craft store. Get some pens/pencils (fun colored pencils) a glue stick, scissors and an open heart. It should be whatever you want it to be...whenever (no pressure) you want. Take the perfection blinders off (I have those) and let yourself go. 

There are things about ourselves that we tuck far away. It is fun and enlightening to dig in.

january jibber-jabber

Okay, it's January-something. Wednesday I think. Time for a blog entry. I have neglected this blog and blog-world in general all month I suppose. I have been the most unmotivated blonde in a fuzzy grey sweater and yoga pants these days. It's been cold and drab outside...I've just been a give-me-a-hot-cup-of-tea-and-a-Snuggie woman.

My heart has certainly been aching for the country of Haiti, my sis-in-law... and a cutie in our house that is getting over a bad case of pneumonia. The January gremlins have hit.

On the drive to and from Colorado for Christmas I had time to sit (alot of time!) and read, reflect and review my new year resolutions. My resolutions are more like goals, dreams, aspirations and a dose of hope for each day to come ('cuz there is always hope, ya know). Have I looked or done much with these since? Uuuh, NOPE.  I have had glimpses and moments of inspiration (with a bit of passion in there too) but these January days haven't gotten me too far. Perhaps I need a touch of green outside, some sunshine on my cheeks or in my hair, go buy a really pretty colorful shirt to wear... and a get a big positive creative-shove. Anybody with me? 

*Here is "Sockeye" finally finished. (Isn't he cute?) He's Dave and Juliet's full-of-life Boston Terrrier. I've never painted a dog before...so it was fun. He's coming your way up to Ohio~ xo.

Our Colorado Christmas

For every new love that enters a family, there are hearts that are full. What a truly perfect gift it was for us Foster's to finally meet Tristan John Whiting. He is an angel that dropped down to give everyone all the joy, hope and wonder a new sweetheart can innocently give. We oo-ed and aaw-ed at his adorable little grins, enjoyed every sweet snuggle and were delighted, with misty eyes, remembering the beauty of the circle of life.

 Here is the gang with the traditional Santa hat picture. Gastorf's...I know you love this one!

It was indeed cold there, but that didn't matter one bit. The three times we went sledding was a total freezy blast. I hadn't been sledding for years and we all enjoyed it just as much as these two little snow bunnies who couldn't get enough of the white stuff.

We all think that Lauren thought the powdery snow was warm coastal sand or something. She would throw herself into piles (and throw piles at anyone in her path!) wherever we were.

After lots of unwrapping (like, 5 hours on Christmas Day...I'm not kiddin'!) eating great food, sliding in the snow, laughing, movie watching, and squeezing all the love outta Tristan... we decided to hit a couple cool museums near Denver.

Here are two little one's filled with wonder and awe gazing at an awesome aquarium we visited.

                              

This is one of several hilarious pictures of the "gift of the year" in use. The Snuggie! I suppose we are officially getting old and have a really hard time finding some great gifts for each other. That is until the Snuggie was opened!! Who would have thought a Snuggie would bring so much happiness? (After all, you CAN where it virtually anywhere and be snuggled in warmth!)

And we can't forget the free reading light that came with it! ...oh, and Josh is completely set with the glow-in-the dark koozie in hand too. (hee!)