My dad is coming to spend Thanksgiving with me and my family! I am soooo very excited. He arrives today and leaves on Tuesday a week from tomorrow. I have been busy planning menus shopping, and getting things ready for his visit. It has been about 4 years since i have seen him last. Longer for my sons, it is six long years since they have seen him! So the entire family is looking forward to seeing him. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving to those who celebrate. This year i have so many things to be thankful for. I feel so very blessed.

Hugs to all, I will be back blogging after my dad leaves.

I got this in a mail today, and thought it was wonderfully inspiring. For me personally it was a reminder that no matter how bad things look, there is always a silver lining if one looks for it.









One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a dry
well. The animal cried piteously for hours as
the farmer tried to figure out what to do.

Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the
well needed to be covered up anyway;



it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and
help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began
to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the
donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly.



Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally
looked down the well. He was astonished at what
he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his
back, the donkey was doing something amazing.
He would shake it off and take a step up

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel
dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it
off and take a step up.

Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey
stepped up over the edge of the well and
happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds
of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well
is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of
our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out
of the deepest wells just by not stopping,
never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.

Free your mind from worries - Most never happen.

Live simply and appreciate what you have



Give more.

Expect less

Serenity Series Painting #2



Buck up close



Here is another stage in my second painting on the Serenity Series.

Today I added more trees, depth and worked on the Buck.
In the next stage of this painting I will be working on more greenery as well add mist, work on more details on my buck, highlight snow, and figure out if i need more trees.

I am really enjoying the process in this series.

I hope everyone is having a blessed weekend!

Words from the heart.

I know i haven't posted much lately, I am sorry if i have worried some of you by not doing such. I have been in a slump of late. Fibromyalgia has been rearing its ugly head, as well as putting me in a rather blah mood. The weather has been gloomy matching my mood i think. You add that i am not happy with who was elected for our president and am feeling very unsafe in knowing that he will be our President, it has really taken a tole on me spiritually and physically.

I know a lot of you voted for Obama, and I am happy for you and your happiness that Obama won the election.

For me however you need to please understand this man simply scares me.

Sure he is handsome, and young, has a nice smile, and is very charismatic, but i never did look at outer appearance's or just go on words alone. In my opinion actions are more important then words. Any one can talk a good game, but when it comes right down to it, it is actions that speak volumes. I look at the soul behind the person, and the actions one has exhibited. I believe he is going to do more harm to this country then good. He stands for most everything I am against.

I do not believe this man has any morals, and in the long run he will make only changes that will hurt our country, and not ones that will actually bring the change that most want. (Economically speaking.)

I know most of you who voted for the man will read this and you will feel angry. Know though that i never really share my thoughts regarding politics with others for that very reason. I do not like to offend anyone, and i am not comfortable with others being angry. This is why i keep my thoughts to myself. I believe though that my blogger friends will respect my feelings as i have respected a lot of yours when i have read your passion for wanting Obama in office. :)

I know that my blogger friends know me well enough that I am not saying any of this to judge others, but am simply expressing my thoughts and feelings on this topic. I do have a right to my thoughts just as you all do. I think you all feel the same way, and as i have said in the past I have the best blogger buddies one could ever ask for.


I do not like this mans Character. Some will say i am judging him harshly. I do not think this is judgement at all in not agreeing with Obama, or his views. It is having discernment. It is looking at the whole man and seeing his true character..

I am a mother who has a responsibility to teach my children about good Character, and what is right or wrong in the eyes of God... Not in the eyes of man....
For this very reason I have looked at all Obama stands for. I have looked at his Character, and i have had to dicern if this man truly will be good for not only my family but the country. I have had to look deep and to see the true soul of this man. I can honestly say from seeing this mans Character, looking at his actions of the past, and knowing that he is going to be our president, i do not feel safe one bit. So yes this depresses me.

What does bring me peace of mind is that God is watching over us. I am very blessed, and I know this, and I fully appreciate all the blessings God has given me. So I am putting all of my fears and all of my worries into God's hands. I will try and not worry about the direction this country has been taking for a very long time, and trust that God will continue watching over this nation as this new President takes office.


On that note i will close this post.

I hope you all have a blessed weekend.

Here is my Serenity Painting, shown from different stages. I thought it would be nice seeing the stages all in one post. It makes it much easier to see the improvements made in each stage. I wish i had taken a picture before i put the fox in. Oh well , I did do that with the second Painting in this series. You can see that in the post below. The second painting in the series will have a buck in the painting. :)

I have started the second painting in my Serenity series. This is the first stage the painting process. As you can see I have outlined an image of a Buck in the far distance in the painting. I will be working on placements of trees and bushes before I actually paint the deer. I am still trying to decide whether or not i will add a momma and her baby to the scene. I thought it might be really neat to have the Buck looking over his family out in the distance. I am not sure however if adding the momma and her baby would be to much for the canvas.

Today I will start painting more, and allow the scene to take shape as I go.

I hope you all are enjoying watching my Serenity series take shape as much as I am while painting them.

Blessings!


*** Btw I exchanged the picture in the previous post (Part 1 in my Serenity series) with a better quality one! The one i had showing all weekend was taken via my phone cam. I finally got around to taking a picture of the painting with a digital camera. :) Be sure to check it out. I was also thinking of making a post of all the paintings stages of my Serenity painting all together in one post. Allowing you all a better idea in seeing how each painting takes shape. Is this something you would be interested in seeing?