A few Easter shots. The photos in this post loaded in reverse order. A good thing to know!

Yes- it's an Easter egg hunt at our church, and yes...it's a Halloween bucket you see. This is what happens when Mom has no clue where any Easter item currently resides and has been gone the week prior to Easter.

As if that would make any difference. :)

Here is T. in her newly aquired pose- arms crossed. It is properly interpreted as follows: "I'll do it myself!"

The amazing ways God works...

A little over a week ago I was at home continuing about my daily routine much as I am doing now. Just taking one day at a time- trying to keep up on laundry, feeding the family, and all the other daily chores that can become monotonous. I then received an e-mail one morning sent very late the previous night by my parents. My uncle, who was well advanced in age and had been ailing, had passed away.

It was very important to me to be at the funeral for my aunt's sake as she has cared for and loved me and my family so faithfully over the years. My aunt has been a continual presence in my life ever since I can remember and she has been ever present in the life of my children and husband- never failing even once to send a birthday card to any one of us.

I put in a call to my father-in-law inquiring if he might by chance have a spare frequent flier ticket that he would be willing to pass on to me thus allowing me (and my under 2yo daughter) to fly to the funeral. I was in luck as he said he did have one and graciously gave it to me. The first of several blessings.

No more than 2 days later I was to fly with my daughter T. My husband drove us with our other 2 young children in tow 3 hours to the airport and dropped us off about 7AM. Just after my daughter and I had cleared security I saw one of the car seats that becomes a stroller and thought how cool they are...then... I panicked. I had forgotten the car seat in the van and my husband had taken off already for the return home! I called him and after a nerve-wrecking half hour or so I retrieved the car seat from him and sprinted towards security...again. I was very fortunate to make it through quickly enough to allow just enough time to grab some food to take aboard the flight. The 1st flight was not crowded and I was thrilled to have a row to ourselves as T had never flown before...and I was tired. :)

From Houston our flight to LAX was to be full. They announced that it was to be a totally full flight- and I inwardly groaned. Since it is impossible to exit a tin can hurtling 100's of miles an hour at 35,000 feet or more- I was praying for seat-mates who would tolerate T. well. Just as I finished sending up the bullet prayer a gentleman asked if I minded if he sat in the aisle seat. Then a woman came and sat in the middle seat...for about 2 seconds and then she moved. Then the crew announced that we were departing. But what had happened to the full flight with several on 'standby'? I did not know nor did I care- T had her own seat! I was ecstatic! Later upon passing us by- a flight attendant remarked that I had lucked out because 2 people had decided to take a later flight. Our seat-mate turned out to be quite pleasant and helped to entertain T. when needed. It was fantastic. The Lord heard my plea and answered above and beyond what I had hoped for.

Upon landing I was picked up by a good friend I had not seen since we left NYC. She now lived in L.A. with her husband and was expecting her 1st child. We stayed the night with her and it was a joy to visit and meet her husband and see where she lived. They then graciously drove me to where my uncle's funeral was- which was a couple hours drive.

I had not seen my family for about 3 years and they had not met T. While the funeral was a sober and sad event, it had the silver lining of not only seeing my aunt and immediate family- but of rooming with and visiting a lot with my cousin whom I had not seen in years. It was such a blessing and a joy getting to know her on a much deeper level and to talk into the wee hours!

The day after the funeral another friend of mine, Angi, who just happened to be in L.A. picked me up from the funeral location and drove me back (another couple of hours) to where she was staying with a friend of hers. She had 'put out there' that it might work out for me to be a second driver for her on her return trip home to Mississippi. I decided to take her up on the offer which as she tells really wound up being a big help to her. I spent one day running around L.A. with her and her 2 son's as her eldest son had some appointments on their final day in CA. The next morning we loaded up in her car and began driving home.

It took two days to travel from L.A. to my house with 2 moms, a 15yo, a 2yo and a 1.5yo in tow. It got a bit wild at times. :) It got a bit crazy- but it was all good. It was exhausting, but well worth it for the experience... and the company.

I am still in total awe at how the Lord took mourning and turned it into joy by reuniting old friends, allowing new bonds with family, and even throwing in some crazy adventure all out of the simple desire to be present and minister to my aunt at a time of great sorrow.

The Lord is good...all the time.

Facebook | The Art of Rondall Reynoso

Facebook | The Art of Rondall Reynoso

Here is a link to my husband's new Facebook fan page. :)

And then there was one.

Tooth, that is.

I had been thinking I needed to get a photo of my baby boy, M, (who happens to be 7) before he lost his two front teeth that have been loosening. I did a wiggle test and figured I had enough time to get my camera back from having the sensors cleaned. I lost that gamble.

We were at church tonight. I was in the service, my husband, R, was with said 7yo on the playground. Suddenly I find myself being summoned to the foyer by my husband while hearing whimpering from the foyer I believe to be emanating from my son. As I exit the sanctuary I see my baby sitting on a chair, crying, with a wad of paper towels up to his mouth. Poor R did not know that his 2 front teeth were loose already, neither did he realize how far back his two permanent bottom teeth had grown in. (He'll need braces in a few years for the crowding.) So R was pretty concerned.

We went about the motions of ice, tylenol, etc. We were even fortunate to get input from a dentist via phone who said it will look much worse tomorrow. Greeeat.

It turns out that M had jumped down from the top of the spiral slide and when his feet hit the mulch they slid out from under him at which time his mouth connected with the side of the plastic slide. The tooth that was the loosest came out due to the trauma and the other tooth is now considerably less firm. It is not a pretty sight. After the shock that included body shakes and a consult with a nurse who was present wore off and we were home M decided that the other tooth needed to come out as well.

The child apparently does not understand that mom is not ready for not even one much less BOTH front baby teeth to be gone. For with the dispensing of the baby teeth he will become an official "big" kid. ~sigh~

This just goes to show- if you have an idea for a picture that includes an intact boy- move quickly for boys will be boys.

Yay! No more Magnolia trees!!!

Can you see me jumping up and down in delight??

You might wonder what, exactly, I have against Magnolia trees. Well- nothing really. I think they are beautiful trees. I come from a part of the country where they are not common. I love how they are different than the types of trees I grew up seeing. I enjoy looking at them. But...

..I do not enjoy seeing them right out my front window. Right on the veritable edge of my property. Right UP the street...being located where the wind blows down the street and past them...onto my driveway and into my front yard. Thus the magnolia trees as beautiful as they were...were my nemesis.

Oh we have trees in our yard. A few pine trees and a huge oak. But the litter from those evergreen trees pales in comparison to the constant deluge from the magnolias. There were also quite skillful at evading the mulching blades.

So I am rubbing my hands in glee!! My blower will be happy as well. Not to mention my 17yo son. :)

Patience is indeed a virtue... and hard work helps!

My husband received some great news this week! A gallery in Philadelphia, PA will be picking him up!! That means they will be representing him and displaying and selling his work. :) He is already being represented by a gallery in Oklahoma City.

There is a back story with this Philidelphia gallery. My husband has actually known of them (and they of him) for about 8 years. The gallery liked his work, but had made a commitment to represent only established artists so they did not chose to represent him at that time, even though they liked what they saw. They are on the mailing list my husband has assembled and have kept up on him and his career.

R has been very intentional in his career. He is a professor of Art/Art History at a small liberal arts college and he also heads the department. He has made a point of gaining and maintaining professional contacts as well as keeping an eye out for any opportunity that might avail in his field such as securing shows, applying for grants, or submitting work to juried exhibitions.

He was selected as 1 of 8 American professors/Art Historians for a 2 week seminar that took place in Indonesia that dealt with Christianity and Contextualization of the Arts. (I was only slightly green with envy that he went w/o me as I was very much pregnant and really would not have physically enjoyed the trip in that state. :) ) You can read more about it here on his blog. (Just scroll to the bottom and begin reading your way up.) As a result of that seminar he now has artwork in a show that is touring the country and will then tour Asia.

He has also been awarded a solo show in Sao Paolo, Brazil in the near future. It is not connected with the seminar.

It is so nice to see that his hard work and dedication is reaping some reward. It has proven to be a nice boost for my guy. Now, of course, one never knows when work will begin to sell with any regularity, however it's certainly a good start. :) Galleries have a reach that the independent artist would find hard to duplicate.

It's in the Lord's hands and we shall just enjoy the journey. :)

I have nothing much to say today and have not for a number of days.

I have realized why. I have used all of my words (and brain cells) in dealing with 5 children. :) Profound, no? ~giggle~