Beginnings

Here are a couple of new prints I've been working on. I'm sure I'm driving my family nuts with the time I've been putting in on this... but I'm getting better with Gimp (a free image manipulation software application) and I've found something I really enjoy doing. Yay for me! (Can you tell that I like the color yellow?)

I'm working on another one... should be able to post it tomorrow if I'm not too busy with everything else.

A Tree of Inspiration

So I got some inspiration from one of the blogs I've been reading and decided to try my hand at creating prints. Check out these:

David Turns 3!!!

This year, I decided to do a birthday week with David. We did all kinds of fun stuff. On Tuesday, we went to Pump it Up for Preschool Pop-In Time. (Monday and Tuesday mornings from 10am-11:30am. Cost: $7.65 per child. Adults are free.) Berakkah and Hosanna went with us (some of David's favorite people). Unfortunately, neither Berakkah or Hosanna knew you were supposed to wear socks, so we all took turns wearing my socks... EWWW! I know! But what are you gonna do? Good thing I wear clean socks!

David had a blast going down the big slide!

Okay, so get this... he spent an hour and fifteen minutes bouncing and going down the slide without incident. Then, I decided it was time for him to go potty. As we were getting his pants down, he falls forward. Since he couldn't catch himself with his feet, he fell forward, hitting his lip on the toilet. EWWWW! I know, right! He made a big deal about it for 20+ minutes, but I'm sure it won't be the last busted lip my big boy has.

Then, on David's actual birthday, we went to Chick-fil-a where they were having Superhero night. (Wear your superhero costume, get a free chicken sandwich or kids meal.) PERFECT for David!

Web shooters!

Pictures with the cow (who, apparently, doesn't have a name).

There were lots of super heroes to hang out with, but in the absence of super villains, the heroes started fighting each other... and the ones that weren't in on the fight... shouted, "FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT" in the kids' play area! LOL!

At David's birthday party, the kids were invited to dress up like super heroes or princesses. This is Batman (Josh) and Spiderman (David) riding around in their... umm... Batmobile? Spidey-car?

They had a blast with the little ball pit balls. They batted them and threw them at each other.

Keeley even got all dressed up as a princess for the party! Isn't she the cutest ladybug princess you ever saw?

We had silly string for web shooters. Silly string war? Let me tell you how much fun THAT is to clean up!

Oh, but my dad figured out a great way to do the clean up!

Batman and Super Levi share lunch and a wagon.

David and his cake. My dad (aka Boom) and I spent 5 or 6 hours building this cake the night before. I got in bed around 4am. Yuck! But I think it was totally worth it! David had a blast at his party and was a good little guy!!! Yay! Happy 3rd Birthday to my David Russell!

Cherry Trees & Photo Editing

My sister, Berakkah, is gorgeous. Unfortunately (or perhaps, fortunately), she can't see it... she just sees the flaws. The cool thing is, she isn't just gorgeous on the outside, she's also one of the most genuinely caring people I've ever met. Animals and children love her in a way that is extraordinary. I guess you could almost call her a baby whisperer. Sometimes, because she's so giving, she gets run over a little bit. She'll do just about anything for the people she cares about... but don't take her for a spineless sissy. She's got guts! She knows what she believes and will stand up for it. Plus, she has a quirky sense of humor that giggles at boogers and farts. I like hanging out with B (that's what we nicknamed her), especially when we sing together. Her specialty is the high harmony in songs. We also have fun doing art and craft stuff together. I'm often afraid of taking advantage of her because she gives so willingly. Being a mother of two small children, I'm inclined to accept any help available and Berakkah certainly makes herself available in an inordinate way. She's turned into an incredible woman... and I'm super proud!

In Memphis, the cherry trees bloom at the beginning of spring for a max of maybe two weeks. It's a sure sign of spring and many Memphians have a long standing tradition of taking family photos each year when the cherry trees bloom. So far, that hasn't really been a Stablein family tradition, but we've always enjoyed the blooming trees. This year, when my Aunt Carol came into town, we went out and had some fun taking photos under the cherry trees. Then tonight, I had fun using Picasa to edit the photos. I think the photos of B are stunning!

Gutsy

At the moment, I'd describe myself as guarded and overly cautious... not something I'm proud of. Someday, I think it would be amazing for someone to describe me as gutsy (and not just because they read this blog). Gutsy is such a great adjective. It comes directly from "guts" as a description for someone who has them (guts, that is). I admire gutsy people. Like my friend, Emily, for instance, who has a one year old and moved to another city to go to law school. This, after she's already been out of school for a while and had a pretty established life. The problem is, I don't know how to become a gutsy person and there's not exactly an instruction book for people who want to become gutsy... at least not that I know of. So what should I do? How can I become one of those people who GO for it? There are so many things that feel impossible, but I'd like to do them. SO many people fail... but there have to be some who succeed. Maybe one could be me??? I suppose that some people just have more gutsy personalities, but maybe one of the main ingredients for gutsy-ness (is that a word?) is confidence that what you have to offer is valuable and other people will want it.

I still haven't figured out how to even start being gutsy, but I would like to pay tribute to all those who went for it and failed... you're more gutsy than I.

Fight or Flight

Yesterday, I went to a Toastmaster's meeting for the second time. This is an organization that my husband has been a part of for a while and, as I found out yesterday, he is apparently pretty good at it. He's been learning to give speeches and have clear interpersonal communication through table topics, etc. This organization's meetings really force you to think on the spot and respond quickly. Quite frankly, that scares the heck out of me. I think the reason it scares me is because I'm not good at it. Yesterday, they made me stand up and introduce myself and briefly share about whether I prefer St. Patrick's Day or the Final Four. My son, David, was eager to tell his name and all about himself. In fact, I had to remind him not to speak out of turn (he's almost 3). But I wanted to hide behind David. Oh, I should add that the group has a grammarian that counts how many times you use filler words, including umm's and uh's. I should also add that I was sitting right next to the grammarian... who was my husband. As I tried to introduce myself and find something witty and funny to say, I couldn't think about what to say for fear of saying "umm." Add that to the fact that I was nervous... it was pretty sad. I stammered and struggled for something to say, while laughingly telling Mike to stop counting my umms. It was pretty embarrassing. When I left, I had mixed emotions. I am a hopeless perfectionist, so to stand in front of others without preparation and talk is dreadful. I guess I'm not sure whether to run and hide or stand up and face it head on. The question really is: If you're not good at something, is it better to face it and get better at it? Or just pretend it doesn't exist and hope you never have to use it? I think we all know the answer to that question.

Are you who you say you are?

Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness but a faithful man who can find? Proverbs 20:6

In this age of social networking, we can all be exactly who we want to be. On Facebook, in our blogs, and in our tweets, we can all say who we are without worrying about anyone finding out the real truth. But what really counts? Is it what you say about yourself or how you actually spend your time and live your life? Is it really about how you treat others?

You've all heard the old adage "Actions speak louder than words." I think it still holds true, but the difference is that we don't really give people the opportunity to see our actions anymore. Our community has changed. Yes, the world is still small... and it seems to be getting smaller since we can all connect with not only our adult friends, but also our elementary school friends through social media. So many people to keep up with and we can do it all... behind the monitor of our computer, using words to describe ourselves. But we don't really let other people in very often. We don't let people see the the good, the bad, and the ugly. People have always been afraid of rejection, but now we have the power to never be rejected unless we say the wrong thing. And even in saying things about ourselves, we have time to really think about what we say before we say it. Is it really a friendship if people only love you for who you think they want you to be? Isn't unconditional love (real love) about loving people in spite of and through their shortcomings?

So, what you say about yourself may fool me into believing you're perfect, but you still know the truth. What really matters? Say what you want about yourself, but be the person that loves your friends and works hard and doesn't give up. Otherwise, all the words in the world don't make a difference.