leprechauns!

last night doug came over and the boys and i watched a movie. dan and doug have trouble staying awake for movies. sure enough, halfway through the movie they settle back on the couch and their eyes close. i hear a bit of heavy breathing. andy is still awake. i take a deep breath.... and yell, "LEPRECHAUNS!!!!!!". it was stinkin' hilarious. they didn't move a muscle, though. they must be getting used to my little trick. i just can't resist.

trick my treat

boo hiss, halloween is a cruddy holiday. let's dress up our precious children as vampires and devils and send them out to get abducted in the dark, or to fill their sacks with poisoned and/or razor blade filled candy. please, i have been waiting for a holiday where sickos steal and kill my kitty just because it's black! (sarcasm)

i love costumes. i love candy. i love children having fun. i love parties. i love decorations. i love pumpkins (and have 5 right now). etc. etc. that's why i find halloween so frustrating. i guess it's the time of year when my "new nature" gets reeeeeally frustrated with the "old nature" of the world. "even so come Lord Jesus". amen.

let me just say, if a little child shows up here looking for candy i will definitely have some on hand for them and more power to them. i just hope that they don't get hurt this halloween.

to prove i love a costume, here i am at my niece elerene's birthday party. it was a princess theme. i was obviously a fairy princess. jack? he was prince charming. it is hard to tell, but that is a black velvet jacket he is wearing.

green bean

lauren has inspired me to start some still lives. this is after the fact that i believe recently God has inspired me to take up being an artist again. this is also after the fact that my wonderful husband bought me a french easel.

i have in fact finished my green bean painting. that was last week. i have yet to photograph it. so, i have yet to post the photo. you are not missing out on the mona lisa or anything. i am not saying that the green bean is a masterpiece. i am saying that it is a finished painting. that is cause for celebration. it is a start.

my painting isn't quite what i had in my vision. yet, i am really digging on it. i would classify it as folk art. i have never really tried to make folk art and i really enjoyed it. it is watercolor and acrylic. it has a soft side... and it has a dark side. dreamy pastel watercolor is layered with black acrylic swirls. there is an element of norwegian rosmaling. there is an element of asian brush strokes. there is an element of a painterly style, and there is an element of an illustrative style. and i think it looks a bit french, too. if i was going to paint one painting i sure put a lot into it.:)

i won't tell you what my husband thinks of it. he's a bit of a money grubber.:) he does not feel the immense satisfaction of making art for arts sake. i can say that at this point in time... I DO!

habit forming

jack has some new habits. he has started fussing and wailing when he gets tired. my little sunshine can turn into a shrieking machine. i usually end up running for the pacifier and the rocking chair. he'll start sucking away to beat the band. then his eyelids droop and the iris's sort of roll back and you can almost palpably feel his little body go "ahhhhh". then, he raises his pudgy arm and lays the back of his hand against his face! like a southern belle saying, "whatever shall i do?". then he falls asleep. he's been doing this in his crib, too. what in the world! what comfort he can possibly derive from laying his hand over his face?

jack's first haircut

looking back on jack's baby pictures yesterday... i noticed how much less hair is on his little head! wow. i see him everyday. i never realized all his lovely little baby hair was disappearing. soooo... i cut the last long lock off the top of his head. i waited until after the sear's portraits saturday in case i massacred it.:) i took the scissors yesterday and snipped it off. it looks nice! that's a blessing. i taped the lock in jack's baby book. i would say it looks exactly like the baby hair my mom saved in an envelop from my first haircut.

i do so love these stripey pants.

andy's beautiful

andy is very handsome. i think he looks really great when he's just serious. i tried to tell the photographers this, but of course it came out all wrong. i said, "could we do some where andy's serious? he's beautiful when he's serious.". it's so goofy to call a boy "beautiful" that i made andy smile, thus ruining the serious vibe. as you can see, andy got the vibe back for this shot and it is indeed beautiful.

sears portrait cont. -- "just jack!"

the sound effect that should accompany this shot is
"ta-daaaaaaa!".