February at a Glance

For me, February has gone by sooo fast!  I'm afraid I've been a neglectful blogger lately...sorry.  Anyway, I just decided to sweep together some pics highlighting the occurrences of this month.

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     So, Riverdance came to a city near us....our dance class just couldn't pass up the chance to watch the pros at work!  Understandably, picture taking during the show was prohibited...but the exhibition was a BLAST.  We enjoyed it immensely.

Before the show, Mama, the sistas, and me met with our dear friends and classmates, the P's, for some pizza.  

Clockwise from left, Mr. and Mrs. P, Maura, and Lydia P.

"Do I have pizza sauce on my mouth?"

Mama, Katie, and Naomi 

"Oh, I'm so excited!"

Picture time!  Four sistas in the back, three sistas in the front.

  The lovely ladies in the matching tees are our Irish step dance classmates.

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Fast forward a couple of weeks...

     Eric Hovind, with Creation Science Evangelism, came to speak at a nearby church!  Like his dad, he's such a vibrant speaker; and his message was very powerful.  It was encouraging to see him glorifying God through his work.  

After the message, there was a door prize, and to our glee, Emori won!

Pictured here is Emori, precious DVDs in hand, with Katie on her left and our sweet friend Susanna B., on her right.

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I just had to squeeze my baby tomato plants somewhere into this post!  Here they are, growing beside our window, sheltered from the cold.  Seeds are such a testament to God's miraculous providence.  Can you believe that in just a few more weeks these tiny plants will be producing tomatoes?

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Emori was mopping, and found an efficient way to fend off family members tracking mud through her freshly cleaned floor!

 

"'Detour'... please take the alternative route through the den."

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Our cousin Kevin and his wife Stephanie stopped by last Saturday!  We had a good time catching up.

 

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We celebrated our grandmother's 83rd birthday last Sunday at our aunt and uncle's restaurant, the Log Cabin.

Before opening hours, we all sat in the restaurant sipp'n coffee while Mamaw went through her gifts.  She is such a sweet person (with enough energy to run the energizer bunny into the ground)!

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Oh, and here's my attempt at a double portrait...featuring Mama and Daddy.  You can see I had to get tips from a few different photos...LOL.


 

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     And last but not least, here are the latest pictures of our new baby goat!  She is such a cutie!

And, no, we didn't chop her ears off.  The "no ear" look is characteristic of her breed - La Mancha.

Curious kid, doting doe.

Well, see ya next month! 

Evolution of a Horse....Painting

    Well, rummaging through some CDs that contain photos of a few years back, I found this great photo of Katie training a young horse we used to own (her name was Ella).  I decided to use these two pretty gals as models for a painting:-)

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to share the process of how the picture came together.  

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Here's my preliminary sketch.  I used my pencil to make sure Ella's proportions were correct.

I then did some shading...it really helps to have the values blocked in before I start painting.

Using acrylic paint, I first washed over the horse with a "Blood Bay" recipe: yellow, red, and a spot of blue.  At this point, I simply left the highlights bare or only thinly painted.

Fast forward a few layers of washes later...I just added more Blood Bay to Ella's coat, and intensified the shadows.  In the darker areas I added more blue to my Blood Bay recipe; in the redder areas I added, well, more red.  I also gave her a mane and tail: black, white, and blue for the mane; and a touch of blood bay at the tail's tip.

I also sketched in the background...and gave Katie some decent riding boots instead of those frumpy tennis shoes I'd copied in my original sketch.  Just looks more equestrian, don't you think?

Heres my completed painting.  I darkened the shadows under Ella's belly, neck and head, using a mixture of black and red paint.  Katie's skin tone is made with (a lot of) white, mixed with yellow and a tad of red.  Yes, I also painted a background that is pretty different from the photo, but I just thought it would look good :-)

Well, that's all for now folks.  Thanks for stopping by!

Sand, Seagulls, and Sheep!!!

         When Mrs. Jolee asked Katie, Maura, and me to join her and the boys for a day at the beach, we said, "Sure!"

     I mean, forget that it's almost February!  In the balmy morning air, it could have been April for all we knew.

We let the menfolk tote the chairs.

Maura and Samuel in front of the deep blue sea.

Peering out at the piers:-)

"Free at last!"

Something about feeling the sand between your toes...

Don't be fooled by the cuteness of this seagull.  He's actually waiting for a chance to snap up our picnic.  Yeah, the gulls that day were evil!

"Catch it!  There goes my pringles chip!"

"Don't worry, I'll get it back for you!"

"Wew, I'll get it later."

We gather seashells by the seashore... 

 ...oh, and GO RON PAUL!!!

"Cheers."

"Come on in! The sand is fine."

Such a lovely picture of Mrs. Jolee and Nathan!

Three "sistas"

Looks like these two are trying to surf on dry land.

Thanks for our fun time at the beach, Mrs. Jolee!

After our visit to the seashore, we go to our place to wind down...

...and feed some hungry lambs.

The courageous prince, sword in its sheath, stealthily scales the enemy wall.

Hi, little shepherds!

What a beautiful end to the day!

Thanks again, P. family, for the great visit!!!

Baby Shower

Last week we hosted a baby shower for one of our ladies at church, Mrs Dana.  We're all sooo excited for her, and can't wait to meet the new little Mr. E.   

Here's a pictureful account of our day:

We had a lot of flurried fun preparing for the festivities! 

Here's a peek at Katie, our chef d'oeurvres, who baked a TON of cupcakes....

      

 

....and topped them with buttercream roses :-)

Those look bloom'n good.

It's a baby carriage cupcake cake!  Yes, I agree...it's almost too cute to eat.  Almost.

Streamers.  A must have for any party!

The food is assembled!!!

Mrs. Dana (guest of honor) is in the background!  Smiling for the camera are a couple of her young gents.

Silas, Nathaniel, and Michael S....I love the camo!

We're all here!

This is the best punch EVER!!! Coffee, milk, ice cream....it's a dream.  Recipe courtesy of the 

hospitable M. family, camellias courtesy of Mrs. Jolee.

LieghAnna, cake sentinel.

Brother and sister (Michael is wearing camo paint, not chocolate frosting).

Hi, Eli!

The food was amazing!  Thanks to all you great cooks!

Hi, Maura :-)

"Say cheese, Elam!"

Was the fruit bowl a hit?

Enough said :-D

"Coffee punch on the house!"

Catherine S., showing us her pretty smile!

"That food looks yum...will I have to remove the pacifier?"

"That's a good cupcake."

Now it's time for games...

...Mrs. Carly knows how to have fun!

The "right, left" game was hilarious...

....Hannah won the door prize - Ghirardelli chocolate...not fair :-)

I love this pic...laughter in motion.

 Our dear Evie, soon to be oldest sister to eight!  Yay!

More beautiful laughs.

Warning: the doll changing game may cause giggling, grins, or even excessive laughter!

I think somebody needs to go outside.

Let's go outside!

Little boys who play soldier love hay bales.  Common knowledge :-)

Sadie volunteers her canine services.

Samuel believes, "The pen is mightier than the..."

...water gun?

"Take cover!"

"Message from HQ, sir."

"Raise the colors!"

Cutest little soldier ever!

"Let's move, move, MOVE!

"A good soldier never leaves a man behind!"

Gifts are opened!

Mrs. Dana has such a lovely smile!!!  

Great picture book :-)

Another sweet laugh.

Eric, fascinated with the Huggies wipes.

Presently, the women of the company venture into the sheep field.

Let's play with some lambs!

"Hold still...perfect."

This little sheep loves Elam's belt.

Emily S. 

Emily E. 

Two little lambs

Mr. Straight face, Miss Giggle, and Master comedian.

Hi, bright eyes :- )

Nathan, that lamb's almost as big as you are!

"Boys, the flag's drooping."

Don't you just love his hat?

Well, it's been such fun, and we're just so glad everybody could come!  Hope you enjoyed looking at the pictures...we had such a blast.  Congratulations once again, Mrs. Dana!

We're all so blessed.

Until next time, OVER AND OUT.