~~~Gratitude Galore!!~~~~

What a beautiful Saturday morning here in Texas!! The sun is shining and the skies are blue (at the moment..it is Texas you know)! I feel so thankful just to be sitting at the computer, at home and finally blogging again! So, to start off with, a picture and a big THANK YOU to Kecia and Rosalyn Sue for sending me so many wonderful goodies for Valentines. We had a little swap going, and I promise girls that you will get mine very soon. February has turned out to be a crazy month for us!! First it was the stomach bug, then my mom entering the hospital, then transferring her to another hospital with a respiratory rehabilitation program, then my son gets the flu....thinking maybe I was meant to be a nurse! But thankfully everyone is on the mend! My mom is getting stronger everyday, she looks great, her color is good and she has the sparkle back in her pretty eyes!!! My son is feeling better too, he slept for two days and napped lots on the third...but now is playing games on his computer...so think he is getting over it!! Hooray!!! Combine all that with the sunshine and I am one HAPPY girl!!!

I think when you spend much time at a hospital, you see that you should be thankful for everything little thing. One patient at the hospital has had both legs amputated, is legally blind, suffers from diabetes and has to have dialysis ....bless her heart! Her husband is faithfully by her side everyday, reading to her. My heart just aches for her, then there is the woman that has had bone grafting back surgery and has not had her feet on the floor since December 27th! She just yesterday got to sit for just a few minutes as they fit her for a brace she is to wear. She is so afraid of doing something to injure her back again. When you see all of this on a daily basis, my mom and I agreed it makes you so thankful for the blessings in our own life!!

~Looking for the beauty in all things~

haven't posted in a while...life can get really complicated when you least expect it! We finally recovered from the stomach virus and headed back to work and school for all of one day...when we got the call that my mom had been hospitalized. She has COPD, a pulminary disease that causes her to be on oxygen 24 hrs a day. Well, on Tuesday morning she woke up and was struggling to breathe, my brother was there and took her to the hospital, where she was admitted with pnuemonia. As of today, she is still there, but getting stronger everyday, thank God!!! She finally was able to sit in a chair yesterday and keep her oxygen level at a good place. It is always such a scare when she gets sick. She is absolutely the best mom there ever was ( I know that is what most daughters think!) she has filled the role of both mother and father most of my life and also the role of a dear friend!

NOW, for the beauty in all of this (there is always beauty if you look real hard!!!) I have had the last 7 days to sit by her bed and give her my undivided attention. I have been able to help her when she needed something, which feels so good since she has given her life to giving and doing for her children. And...we got to watch our fill the decorating chanel and play "guest critic", catch up on our magazines and show each other the pretty things in each one...and talk about our dreams and what we want most.....time is a gift, a beautiful gift !!!

Now what is a post with out a picture or two...just thought I would share with you some pictures of a job that I have been working on. It is a little girls room and is in vivid colors of hot pink,spring green and black. I just wanted to share with you the progress and to give a big thank you to Wendy at POPIN http://www.shoppopin.com/....she ordered the adorable bed crown that I painted on to go above the beed! It is so amazing the connections that can be made in the blog world!!! Thank you Wendy...the project is coming together with lots of thanks to you!!! Check out POPIN, if you have kiddos, this is a great site and shop!

Can you hear those little birdies sing???

Yes! here in Texas, the sun is shining and the birds are singing...what a beautiful day!! Especially after the last few days we have had here in our home! The "stomach bug" really got a hold on us!!! First I got sick, days of throwing up ( I know...not nice to talk about it!) and then slept like I was in a coma for two days, finally waking up and feeling better...to face my poor son getting it too! I spent all night up and down with him (so thankful that I was feeling better) trying to make him feel better. Nothing to really do but let it run its course...he is sleeping now, hope he can do that all day with no more runs to the bathroom. Bless his heart! and he was such a good caretaker while I was sick...bringing me Gatorade and checking in on me!

But on the upside...the sun is peeking in my windows and if I just sit here and imagine...I can pretend it is Spring! I can hear the birds...you can't blame a girl for trying! Well, if I study the painting of the little bird in my painting above...I can surely smell the flowers in bloom! As soon as I get my Etsy on this blog, you can see more of that sweet bird as he is available in prints now!!