We aren't gone yet, but knowing that we'll be gone for a chunk of time in the near future certainly has me feeling like I need to get things in order.
I'm working hard on Mamamade. We're lining up some fantastic new participants, and everyone has such talent. Pretty soon there will be new posts to the Mamamade blog (linked in the sidebar)- you'll want to watch for Mama bios, sneak-peeks at merchandise that will be available, and loads of good pictures! For those of you outside the Nashville area, plenty of our Mamas are on Etsy or have online shops.
Personally, I'm also trying to prepare new pieces for the sale and find that every day, ideas pop into my head. I truly feel like God has ushered me into a time in my life when this talent He's given me will be used. I don't have a total picture for the long term, but I'm certainly moving forward as opportunities become available. The painting I posted about, Bond of Perfection, sold at artstream. Such good news! And such a good cause! I'd like to do more charity paintings.
So, it's not snowing today. This is a big disappointment to Grant as he did all he could to bring the white stuff our way. His teacher joked that you can get it to snow if you do a snow dance and wear your pjs inside out the night before. In a fit of silliness last night, he did an awesome breakdance and turned his pajamas wrong side out. We woke up this morning, checked the weather and got so excited when we saw how low the temperature was going to be. Sadly, the white precipitation icon beside the temp. was *hail* and not soft flakes. We'll see. :-)
Now, in preparation for our trip, Eric has upgraded our camcorder to an HD model. This has caused a huge stir up of old footage. We're not the type of family that re-watches what we take. I think we just like knowing that the videos are there. Of course, a quick skimming of the past 10 years was just enough to bring on SERIOUS waterworks! Oh my goodness! I was bawling last night. There was video of us visiting as our first house was built, there was footage of me in my HUGE FAT pregnant-with-Grant stage! You may not believe it (maybe you might?), but I was ginormous. Wow. There was newborn footage. And in there were two (sadly) short snippets of my mom. And it hit me, that all these great moments that I was getting sentimental over came AFTER my mom died. I hate that she has missed it all. Well, she was there for our wedding and when we knew we were pregnant with Grant- but that's it! Gosh I hate that and I miss her like crazy. Monday will be eight years since her passing and I guess it just might be a hard week for me. Normally, I'm alright, and I feel that my grief is well worked through- that the Lord brought me through that and has given me strength and support. But, I still have sadness over her not being with us. Whew. Okay then. Where was I? [good sigh, and wiping tears away]
Right, preparations. We're trying really hard to prepare all five of our bodies for our trip. No sickness, I say! We're taking
Airborne, staying away from sick people as best as we can, and have even begun
taking apple cider vinegar. Unhappily, I report that I have a cold today and I don't think we started our regimens soon enough. Here's hoping that it is out of our system before our travel in March. I can't see why it wouldn't be, unless we continue passing all this gunk around. Yuck. Though I feel greedy for a bit more snow, I am ready for the warm rays of sun that spring will bring- and health, and fresh air, and walks to the park!
