it takes a village

it's the little things in life that completely make my day

& yesterday

a little thing was accomplished

i

FINALLY

learned how to play around with some textures in photoshop

about a year ago i stumbled upon Shana's amazing photography on flickr

A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

Shana creates the most fantastic textures & actions

so

of course i bought some

well

they've sat in "mom's folder"

on my hard drive

for months

& months

lately some of my fave bloggers have been rockin' at their photoshop

editing techniques

i pouted & thought

"why the heck can't i figure this out"

so i did what any self-respecting photoshop needy woman would do

i begged for help

my 17year old

was first on the list

i offered her cold hard cash if she'd 'gimmejust15minutes'

sweet child

then

i emailed my buddies & they came in as fabulous relief pitchers!

tracey , traci, & jeanne you are rockstars

& i totally appreciate all your patience

{tracey, apologize to your family...

tell them the crazy woman from atlanta

promises to leave mama alone today }

thank you for getting me started

sometimes

it takes a village!

here is a before~~



& here's what the shot looks like after adding the milk & honey overlay
















the down side....
i may never leave this computer seat again!

freshly fallen snow

over the last month

we've been your basic overscheduled family

one cheering basketball

one playing basketball

one being the administrator covering basketball

3 different schedules

added into the already busy mix

& since its been too cold to play out side

i've painted the dining room

i've painted the living room

repainted 2 dining chairs

changed out the chair covers

changed up the light fixtures

& replaced cabinet knobs

bought new pillows

new lamps

&

added to mercury glass collection

{will share later, ok?}

between valentines & easter

we will also celebrate

3 of the girls birthdays

my birthday

& our anniversary

savannah turned 17 on valentines day

that weekend

we also got the largest amount of snow Atlanta's seen

in many years

& since this entry is already off

to a " does this all go together anyway?" format

i'll go ahead & throw in the pics

remember those little tags i grabbed off etsy?

well i listed 5 random reasons "why i love you"

for each of the girls

they got tickled reading each other's lists

& since my sweet man

just bought my dream sofas

i felt certain he would appreciate

this vintage valentine

they each had a little valentine package

waiting on them too

savannah & her besties came over for a little

valentinesdaybirthdaycelebrationsnowday photo shoot

& a some snowball throwing with little bit

most years we get very little, if any, snow

& it often seems to be grey and overcast

but that next morning was absolutely glorious

so after a crazy couple of months

the sweet peaceful silence

after the freshly fallen snow

was like a balm to my hurried soul

The Postmistress

a couple of days ago while awaiting the arrival of my girlfriend
for our lunch date

i began to peruse the life section of USA Today

on the front page was a write up on a new book by Sarah Blake ,
The Postmistress

they gave it a stellar review

compared it to the wildly popular "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

Kathryn gives a little blurb on the cover ( here's an interview with both of them)

after lunch i zoomed over & grabbed my own copy
complete with a gorgeous cover
you know how shallow i am about gorgeous covers
and
ruffed pages
how i love ruffed pages
is that what they're called or did i make that up?

figuring if Kathryn Stockett loves it
& i love Kathryn Stockett
then by golly
certainly i will love it too!

speaking of "The Help"

please tell me you have read it
if not, climb out from under the rock & go grab yourself a copy

hands down one of my fave books of all time

i could hear the voices of those fantastic characters as i soaked in every page
i hated for it to end
i terribly missed Abileen, Minny & Skeeter
not to mention a fantastic cover :)

rumor has it
"Saving CeeCee Honeycutt" is fabulous
its certainly next on my list

don't send me hate mail
but i must be honest
"the time travelers wife"?
shoot me now
i could barely take it
i really needed that 500something pager to be done with itself
never could really follow the time line
& their love affair was a snoozer to me
i know all my favorite bloggers encouraged me to perservere
i did
glad i'm done
i sorta maybe kinda liked the very very end
hate me

francine rivers is a fantastic story teller

"The Sin Eater" & "The Atonement Child"

were both pretty good reads

also really enjoyed

"The Summer House"

by nancy thayer

"Pretty in Plaid"

started totally laugh out loud funny

but quickly disolved

besides the incredible "The Notebook"

why do i continue to read Nicholas Sparks

someone dies

you always cry

& i must admit

in my who-really-cares-opinion

i don't think he's an incredible talented writer

sorry nick

anyway

"The Last Song"

was okish

saw the movie "Dear John" to spend time with my 14 year old

which is the total target age for this movie

maybe because of ole Channing

did not like the ending

thankyouverymuch

savannah read the book

fairly certain she whizzed it across the room when she finished

shockingly the book ending was apparantly even worse

but on an upnote, i did love the music from the movie

my girls loved "The Doll People" series

so Caroline & I are reading that together

ya'll know i always love to hear what you're reading too!
xo

happy valentines day birthday!!!!

My favorite valentine~

I want to wish you a fantastic wonderful 17th birthday sweet girl!

I am so so so very proud to be your mom. There is not a day that goes by that I fail to thank the Lord for giving YOU to me. You have been a ‘nearly’ perfect child to raise. Unfortunately, I feel I have given you reason to believe you are everything but that. I apologize for that. I do not want you to leave our home feeling anything but LOVED! You have never disappointed me nor let me down.

I apologize for the times that I have hurt you with my words. I apologize for the times that my actions lead you to believe you were anything other than a precious child to me.

Savannah, you have so much potential. I have always known that! You have been a bright & gifted child from a very young age.

I realize that after Daddy Gregg died, you became my helper. There are times when I’m sad because I feel like I didn’t allow you the time to be a little girl. You always exceed my expectations. I am certain he is more proud of you than even I.

Please know that I carry much pride in being “savannah’s mom”. I love going to a meeting or an event being “savannah’s mom”. I love to introduce myself as “savannah’s mom”.

Know that I will always be on your side. I will always be on your team. & I will always love you more than you will ever know, sweet girl.

This is probably the last full year we will all live under the same roof as a family. My daily prayer is that the Lord help me show you just how much you are loved & cherished.

The world awaits you my dear.
I hope you always hear me cheering behind you & championing You on!

Happy 17th Birthday Savannah Miller
I love you
Mom

If i were to pick two best friends for you

I would have chosen Bailey & Danielle

they love you so much

they also wrote a little something for you~

Savannah Miller Knudsen has been such a blessing to my life. To think that we did not even know each other four years ago blows my mind considering how in these past four years there has been many times when I did not know how I was going to get through it without her. John 14:13 says "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends," and although, thankfully, neither Savannah, bailey, nor myself have ever had to give our lives for one another, we are all constantly making sacrifices and going out of our way for one another. I think the best friendships are made when people are repeatedly reminding one another how much they love and depend on one another the way that I am repeatedly depending on Savannah. Savannah's heart is beautiful. She has gone through her fair share of heartache and pain, maybe even more than the rest of us, and out comes a graceful, independent girl who happens to be a best friend of mine. So happy seventeenth to you Savannah! I love you, Danielle

Happy 17th!
I can't believe we are already 17. it honestly feels like we are still 13 again walking the halls of Trickum. I want you to know that the past four years that we have been friends have been such a blessing. You are a wonderful friend and I am so lucky to have you in my life. We really have grown up together. You have matured into a beautiful, brillant, inspirational girl. You have always been the sweetest friend, always there for me when i need you, always there to get excited with me about something and a sholder to cry on when I need that as well. You have become the sister I never had, and the greatest friend I could ever have. You are my person, and I hope that there never comes a day when I can no longer call you my best friend. Happy Birthday Savannah, I hope your birthday is perfect! I love you. Bailey

blessed is the man...

i wanted to share one of the gifts i have given to my sweetie

a couple of years ago i was taking an oil painting class

oh i loved it

i love the smell of the oils & the turpentine

i loved the feel of the brush against the canvas

i'm no artist

not by a long shot

i painted a few portraits of my girls

but usually i "practiced" by using an image

from N.A. Noel

or Jennifer Lanne

i saw this very simple painting of a single tree

done by jennifer

& immediately thought of one of my favorite scriptures

psalm 1

it describes the blessings

that will come to a man

who is wise

& who surrounds himself with Godly men

this is my Dan

he is highly respected in his position

as a highschool asst principal

he is a godly man

who is slow to react

& slower to anger

in fact

in all the years we've been married

he's never been angry with me

he shows our girls

a forgiving gentle spirit

but yet a strong capable protective daddy

i painted this tree

& thought of the shelter he provides

for all his girls

& the stability he creates

through his loyalty to

me

i love you sweet man

& happy early valentines day

YOU

are

my

soulmate

&

I

can't imagine

my life

without

YOU

He is like a tree planted
by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
Psalm 1.3

the heart of a 13 year old

one of my alltime fave movies is "you've got mail"

i love meg ryan

i love tom hanks

i love goldens

& i love goldens named brinkley

i love that she owned her own shop

i too used to own a shop

i love that her shop is a bookstore

because

of course

i love bookstores

i love her wardrobe

& i love the precious relationship between the two characters

i can quote practically the entire flick

i love it when meg, as kathleen kelly, types this:

"Sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life - well, valuable, but small - and sometimes I wonder, do I do it because I like it, or because I haven't been brave? So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around? I don't really want an answer. I just want to send this cosmic question out into the void. "

i too lead a small life

& sometimes i feel like my blog writing is just like this

a cosmic question

or entry

sent out into the void

so today i do have a cosmic question

there might not be an answer

per say

& i don't know that i even need an answer

maybe just an affirmation

that you too

struggle with this

you see

i have a 13 year daughter

who loves many

& is loved by many

she is perpetually happy

& cheerful

she sees the good in all people

& gives the endless benefit of the doubt

to everyone

{something, i must sadly admit she did not inherit from me}

she is loyal

crazy loyal

for several years she looked just like the character that played Lucy Pevensie

in "The Chronicles of Narnia"

( she had the same bob & that precious round face)

not only one of my most favorite stories in literature

but undoubtedly

my favorite literary character

( which explains why i wanted to name my golden Lucy if

she was a girl

but since he is a boy...he his brinkley

follow?)

that's my emi

forgiving

innocent minded

&

trusting

so how do i teach a child to truly see the good
& trust people
to forgive

yet
at the same time
teach her that she can not blindly trust everyone
that her loyalty is like a gift
that others aren't always a sweet & kind as she thinks they are

how do i encourage her to be a friend to the friendless
yet
be careful because sometimes those friends
might not be good friends

that being loyal to her friends
might include asking adults to help
if that friend
that needs her loyalty
also needs some help
that is out of her league
as a innocent minded sweet 13 year old girl

how do i teach her to do
just as she has learned from scripture
to turn the other cheek
to do unto others as she would have them do unto her
&
yet
be careful
because not everyone will treat her
as the precious child she still is

there are people who will
take advantage of her loyalty
who will abuse her forgiveness

she has the strengths that are noble
i just want her to be careful

i don't want to come across as the jaded adult

or even just the realist that i am

its so hard....

letting them

be brave

when the bravery

is in the giving

of their heart.....