Things I've come to know...or reminded of lately. Part 8

- The core of the human spirit comes from new experiences. Go and do! (Go on...get off your phone!)
- The best t-shirts ever are so thin that they are somewhat translucent.
- Never carry more life "stuff" than you can hold.
- Me and morning time will never be friends.
- Dove dark chocolate. Oh how I love you right after dinner.
- We are all so small, but have a big gift of ourselves to give to the world.
- Marijuana is stupid. Period.
- Have family dinners together. A lot of them. It's so so important.
- Making beds is a waste of life.
- Our world. It troubles my heart to see the things happening. War, weather, drugs, refugees, poverty...
- I love to follow lovely lady bloggers that decorate, encourage and DIY. (And try not to have envy.)
- We all want to feel connected to something.
- We ALL are fighting some kind of battle of some sort.
- I need to be my husbands biggest fan.
- Local grown, organic awesome meal delivery? Yes, please. This is who we are trying right now.
- Dogs get sad and have high anxiety at times. Poor Polly.
- Continuous grey rainy icky gloomy skies puts everyone in a sad and irritated state.
- Some people live for drama and issues in their lives.
- Johnson's baby powder is a great dry shampoo.
- Bees. We Americans need to make big changes so that we don't lose them. It is so serious.
- Dreams deep down can come true.
- 90 percent of incredible art (from music, decorating, paintings, writings, etc) is because it makes someone FEEL something.
- Never underestimate the value of giving something time.
- Never underestimate the value of a real listening ear. Everyone wants to be heard. Everyone.
- Pray to want what God wants for you.
- Right when you want to give up, something wonderful will happen.
- Surround yourself with wise friends. Who you surround yourself with really matters.
- At the end of the day, it's not how much money you have.
- Get rid of noise. Quiet is good for the soul. So good.

- Hi.
- I know this blog post is getting a little out of hand... and long now. Hang in...

- Conquer a fear. Big or small. It is freeing.
- Garage sales are so fun to only some people.
- Call your Mom (and Mother-in-law) more.
- It's possible to buy the perfect pair of jeans (or shoes) online without even trying on.
- Lauren and I can become obsessed with YouTube makeup tutorials. You can learn a lot!
- Create a "In our house, we..." family mantra. And post it somewhere where it is seen every day.
- Documentary's. I love to watch them!

I know.

You want one too?

- American suffers big time from hunger despite the obesity problem.
- If you don't get back to a text right way...it's OKAY.
- Anyone can find you online. At anytime.
- Wear fun striped Tom's shoes.
- If you have waves and curls. Set them free already. (I'm still workin' on this!)
- Go and splurge with fun stuff at Victoria Secret. Go!
- Wish I would have know back then, what I know now.
- The right things happen just as they are supposed to.
- Kids can keep adults in line sometimes.
- Every 20 seconds a child dies due to lack of clean water and sanitation. This is NOT okay.
- Don't kick a soccer ball too hard in Converse tennis shoes. You will ruin your toe for a long time.
- Don't feel guilty if you need rest. Some people need more. (Um, me.)
- Ocean. I desire you!
- Some (maybe most) people with show their true colors eventually.
- Stay humble. It's a fab quality to have.
- There is nothing you can do about getting older. Nada.
- Life is so much sometimes.
- Oh you darn hormones. You make me crazy sometimes. (Along with my daughters!)
- Sometimes you just gotta hold on and let go at the same time. Crazy, huh?
- Find something creative to do. It's in there. Bring forth from which you were born.

More here if you'd like to read on!

"For the spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self discipline."

2Timothy 1:7

I'm in the stores!

At the end of the day it's all about the love you put out into the world (in whatever way you are gifted to do). I got blessed with an opportunity to put some love and encouragement out in 15,000 ways across the country. I love that little pieces of me are being spread around through a channel called Hobby Lobby. Some dear friends in South Carolina and Texas found some this week! So did we here!

My Texas girls found me!

Then cousins in Illinois scouted me out...

Then here in CO....

Ohio....!

I never thought that the paintings Hobby Lobby chose...would have been chosen! The cross painting is when I first started playing around with watercolors and illustrations/lettering about 7 years ago or so! It is special to me because I painted it around the time my Dad passed away. They manufactured 3 paintings in frames and 2 on a textured wooden-type surface. They wanted the one with the baby face (below) changed to a brighter green, the sweet face removed, a rectangle and simple flowers. They were looking for a cleaner/modern, encouraging juvenile art that could go in a grouping.

(No one has found the "Morning Little Miss Sunshine" painting yet!)

The art representative that I have been working with said that the Hobby Lobby buyer was interested in doing a tween girl (9-12 year olds) wall gallery for their stores. Wall galleries with fun miscellaneous items grouped together are trendy right now. They want a fun, simple and modern look with certain colors. So these six paintings were chosen to be made into samples and are now being looked at. It takes about 4-6 months of meetings/decisions and manufacturing for everything to finalize. I am competing with other artists/designers... and ultimately what the Hobby Lobby buyer is looking for. (Fingers are crossed!)

20 YEARS

There's this guy. He has my heart. He is my heart. He carries my heart in his heart. 

He is my yesterday, my today, my tomorrow and my dreams come true. 

We have been falling in love for the past 27 years 

(our first date was September 23rd too) 

and today marks 20 of those married! 

I am beyond words for the ways I love this man.

A little about Lauren lately.

We finally took the boat out this year! 

Miss Lauren just jumps in the cold lake water with Uncle Steve. 

They were fer sure alot braver than all the rest of us.

Here is Lauren rockin' the volleyball season again.

With her sweet friends.

They went down the cold Platte River here...and we now can say that Lauren is crazy with a GoPro camera in her hand.

She's just plain crazy fun.

This chalk drawing was judged out of 12 schools and got to be in the Castle Rock Art Show.

You go Lauren!

Speaking of art...she painted this L for her room. 

I let the girls re-do their rooms on their own...they were outgrowing them and so they both picked out their wall color (and painted the walls themselves), bedding, pillows, accessories and such.

Here is her gallery wall she wanted on the other side of her room. 

She didn't want Momma's work on her walls....just hers.  

Totally cool!

I love to encourage the girls to establish their own style. I think it's so important at a young age. I let them personally chose (within budget of course:) all their clothes, their makeup/jewelry, their decor. I want them to feel good in their space. Also to feel good about themselves about what they wear. 

And express themselves just how God made them.

(This is kinda how we ALL have been in our home lately!)

Lauren although is just like her Momma...

Needing more than average sleepy time!

With volleyball season being over and things kinda slowing down-

ah, come here Mr. Bed.

Zzzzz.

In our home.

The girls started school.

The words above are how we roll in our house.

I needed them to be visible. So I typed 'em up.

To be posted around the house.

I seriously don't know where the days go.

Hannah is now a sophomore.

Lauren an 8th grader.

Sniffle.