5211-21

I usually am not a dress or skirt person (especially when my legs are so transparent looking)
but I do dig a good twirly skirt. Don't you?

Saw this quote - probably on Pinterest - and thought it fitting:

When in doubt, twirl. -Anonymous

I love having no inhibition and feeling free like a kid and spinning and twirling
will definitely make you feel that way!  

Try it! 

WARNING: it will also make you dizzy and possibly nauseous so twirl with care! ;)

There will be a little something new over at the 52 Week Project site. Just some new inspiration for the weekly challenges.  If you are not participating, I urge you to give it a try for kicks and giggles.  There will be a wonderfully driven and inspiring guest blog post so I'm super excited to see her ideas. 

Friday.

Morning.

Be there:

52 Week Project

5211-20

Well you knew this week would include the most precious little sweetheart ever!

Excuse me but I am still high on Carlee Love! 

This was just a few hours after she was born and she already has me wrapped around her finger!

Carlee is here!!!

Thursday changed our lives forever!

I really don't know what else I can say except to show you:

I present Carlee Claire Whitten

 

Words cannot begin to describe how perfect she is. SERIOUSLY....I really am not just being biased because she is part of the family.  She came out NOT looking like a newborn.
Don't you agree????

Carlee's stats:
Born 8:23 AM, Thursday, May 12, 2011 @ White River Medical Center in Batesville, AR
HERE is the link to her hospital pictures: WRMC Babies
Dr. Keith Harville
She weighed 7 pounds 2.2 ounces
She was 18.75 inches long
She has fuzzy blondish hair with a hint of strawberry
Long fingers
A sweet little dimple when she purses her lips
Beautiful dark eyes
She can poop with the best of them!  (I know TMI, but it's for posterity's sake) ;)
Amy (her mom) had a c-section and although sore and exhausted is doing well.
She already has her Daddy wrapped around her little finger!

If you have followed my blog at all you may remember me posting about Case Lee Whitten, who would be 5 years old this summer. I know Case is watching his little sister from heaven and will be her guardian angel.

It's been a rough few years on my stepson and DIL, Cody and Amy after losing Case at 5 days old with a serious and rare genetic disorder, but the amount of prayers that have been lifted for them is probably not measurable on this Earth.
 
I honestly had no doubt that God would make this child completely perfect and I am so full of pure JOY that Carlee has made her debut and all apprehension that our family and friends had completely melted away Thursday morning when this blessing arrived.

I just give thanks to the Lord for his mercy and rich blessings on our family for allowing us to spend many years to come with our angel on Earth, Carlee Claire Whitten.

5211-19 Happy Mother's Day!!

You knew I would do my self portrait this week with my mom of course!

I decided to do something a little different and non-traditional this time.

 I am truly blessed with a wonderful mother! Her unconditional love for me is amazing!

Happy Mother's Day to you one and all. Since I am not a "real" biological mother but have had quite a hand in raising stepchildren, I leave you with this wonderful poem I found. I truly feel these words!

Not flesh of my flesh,
nor bone of my bone,
but still miraculously my own.
Never forget for a single minute,
you didn't grown under my heart - but in it.

5211-17 & 18

Well, once again I have neglected to post. :(

Our weather has been totally crazy with storms, floods, tornadoes and such and ironically my Week 17 pic was a capture of an oncoming storm and my little cousins and I doing a little acting!  We were fortunate right where we live, but others around...not so much. I pray that our storm season is nearing the end for the year!  Those tornadoes in Alabama are truly sickening. I also pray for those being affected by the flooding rivers. The Mississippi is expected to crest in the next several days and it is heartbreaking how many people have had to leave their homes and belongings behind.  

I guess this photo will also remind me of what has occurred during the Spring of 2011.

Last week's photo was just the typical bathroom mirror shot with a little fun post-editing. I think this particular editing utilized Coffee Shop Photography blog action. {Have I mentioned lately how much I love her actions? Well, I do!}

If I don't get back Sunday, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to you all!!! 

Heart-shaped-strawberry-pink-ice cubes.

This is a sort of tutorial. I mean really you probably don't need a tutorial to make ice cubes with fruit, but humor me if you will, I felt like a genius for doing this!

Last weekend was my stepson and daughter-in-law's baby shower for Carlee Claire who will be here soon! I helped with said shower and was in charge of punch, decor, and tableclothes. Well, not only did I get a little crafty with the decor (enter tissue paper pom-poms) but I decided to jazz up the sherbet punch.  I chose raspberry by the way so the punch would be girlie and pink!

I had some strawberries on hand and thought I could make some ice cubes for the punch for a little added fun.

Wasn't wanting to use ice cube trays as that would be boring (plus I didn't have any) so I opted for a muffin tin.

Told you I was genius!

I then decided the ice cubes needed a little color so I went digging for some food coloring to mix with water...then it hit me....pink lemonade!   Which I didn't have on hand, but I did have these Crystal Light pink lemonade packs that you mix with a bottle of water.

Shazam! pink ice cubes!

Thought if I cut the strawberries just right they would resemble hearts. 

(these would be cute for a Valentine dinner or banquet too, don't you think?)

So I added a heart-shape slice and added a little lemonade - 

I probably filled up my tins one-third or so. 

I put my tin in the freezer and waited till they were frozen. 

Then voila....I had my sweet little pink strawberry ice cubes! 

They popped out of the muffin tin super easy and I just stored them in a plastic dish in the freezer. 

Little strawberry hearts frozen in pink! Can you get any more girlie and sweet? 

And here is the final product...pink sherbet punch for a pink girlie baby shower! 

The ice cubes ended up in the cups and were a nice surprise for guests

Oh, I didn't mention this is served in my Grandmother's antique milk glass punch bowl.

Thanks Mom!

How awesome did this shower look with all the delicious food, decor, friends, and family!?! 

Since a baby girl is coming into my life real soon, 

I welcome any links to other projects and baby-girlie DIY's.  

I have started a new board in my Pinterest called Baby Delights 

so I can keep all my found baby inspiration in one spot. 

Have I mentioned how much I love Pinterest? 

I do, it is the most visually inspiring thing ever!

I hope to have another cute tutorial posted soon for a simple and fun idea 

for a baby shower gift that was inspired by something I found on none other than Pinterest!

It has a cupcake theme. 

wheeeee!

5211-16

Week 16 is a tribute to my family that I married into...the Whitten's
That lady there in the middle probably shouldn't even be alive right now, but her strength and faith has given her more life to live.  The other reason she is her is that baby bump you see over on the right...that would be Ms. Carlee Claire Whitten, aka "peanuts" and she is coming very soon and making me into a grandmother! {it's really weird to type that!}

This was taken at Amy's shower last Sunday and represents the majority of the women tied to the Whitten family.

And since we are talking about this baby shower event, I thought I'd share some more photos from the day:

 

 

 

 

We cannot wait for your arrival Carlee Claire!!! 

5211-15

So I am a week behind...oh well. 

This is one of my favorite so far this year. 

I took this one out by my Mom's toward the farm.
There is nothing more peaceful than my grandparents' farm. When I am there I feel a sense of peace and love like none other. I truly feel God's presence and people there really is nothing better than that.

The sky was a little overcast and it was pretty windy, but it felt amazing!

something dandy

If you have read my blog in the past you know home much I adore sunsets.  Well, I looked out a couple of evenings ago and the sky had this beautiful pinkish hue so I grabbed the camera to capture some images.  Those types of lighting situations always make everything look amazing.

Here are a few of the shots.  

I call this one "naked dandelions"! ;)  

The wind has robbed them from their pretty cotton tops. 

(I did do some post editing on this one)

 

The rest of these are just bumped a little bit. 

The color was so pretty there was no need for much!

This time of year is truly DANDY! 

It has felt so good to hold my camera again and see the world through my viewfinder. 

5211-13 & 14

Well, I suppose it's time to dust this thing off and post something!

I have been so absent from anything creative, reading my favorite blogs, posting here and  barely doing my 52 week picture! About all I've done online is Facebook and Twitter...mostly because they are on my phone.

However, I am hoping things are turning around!  Memaw is finally home after 3 months and 2 weeks.  Praise the Lord for his Mercy on her and Bless her for her Faith in God and strong will to live! It has been a roller coaster and one that we are hoping will just stay on a straight line for awhile. 

I decided I would start by going ahead and posting the last two weeks of my 52 week project.

This first one is a little triptych of my groovy dance moves! ;) I love to dance and decided I should try to capture that somehow. I was in front of a window so there was a bright light behind me - thus the washed out look around my silhouette. 

 

After a long weekend of one thing after another, my energy was on empty so I decided since I spend at least 40 hours a week at work, mostly at my desk, I should capture that somehow.  Thus Week 14:

Definitely not my favorite, but I love how it also captured part of my little camera collection, my letterpress print and all the little things I surround myself with each day.  I look pretty rough, but mind you this was at the end of the day right before going home and it had been a crazy Monday. I had jury duty, got stuck in pouring down rain, and faced a huge to-do list when I finally got to the office, so I was pooped!

Hopefully it won't be another 2 weeks before I post again.