Busier Than Ever

I thought that when school was out that I would get a break. You know, do nothing? I don't think that is ever going to happen! We are just a busy kind of family. It's a "good busy" though. After a crazy few days, we found some time on Memorial Day to go ziplining.
Mike and I went last year and talked about how much the kids would love it the whole time. We took them back and they did! We did the Wahoo Ziplines in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. They have a clean and safe set up and wonderful guides who really make it an experience to remember.

We were in the Smokies already due to a baseball tournament. Carter got to play some! It was so good to see him in uniform and back on the field. The boys did well and, most importantly, had fun!

On Friday, I handed out report cards and then it was all about dance! Lauren had her very first dance recital. The whole family came and made it a special night for her. She was a flamingo in the ballet of Alice in Wonderland. She also did an adorable tap routine in the second part. I am so proud of her for getting up on that stage! She loved it!

Now I am sitting here with a ton of laundry and shopping bags! After I get this all cleaned up and organized, it is back to the painting table. We don't have anymore adventured planned for a while so I should be zipping through some orders!
This is a recent etsy order. You've seen this one in browns, but it was custom ordered in white, gray, and red. I am barefoot right now and plan to stay that way for a while! Enjoy your summer!

Home...For A While!

I had a couple of hours to put in this morning. Then I went and got Carter's hair cut. When we got home, Dee looked thrilled to see us. I think he is the only member of our family that is not looking forward to summer break!

I did a canvas with this little saying on it a while back. My neighbor, Regina, loved the idea. She wanted a different color scheme and the wedding date added. I think it turned out so pretty! I love the burlap ribbon and the three shades of brown.
What a perfect gift for the newlyweds!

I think what I am going to enjoy the most about summer break is just having some time actually at home. With all of the running around that we all do, we forget what a nice place home can be.

Summer!

Can you tell what I am dreaming of?

I am wearing the new fruity smelling Bath and Body Works lotions. I got a spray tan this afternoon. I ordered a new swimsuit.

That's right! School's out for summer! I do have some inservice time left, but I am dreaming of laying in the sun, the sand, and swimming.

I had all of this on my mind the other night and I have been thinking about a new summer design. I was browsing my very favorite place to get Lauren's personalized shirts and saw this one. It was perfect!

I haven't ordered this shirt yet, but I know it is fabulous! I did get Lauren's birthday shirt here and loved it so much that I ordered two more as gifts. She is that good!

What Every Couple Needs

I love this verse! Michaela tells me that it is for her bedroom. I can't think of a better place to put this fabulous advice for any couple.

I also love the colors she chose. This is the lamp (she is in the process of recovering the shade!) that the bedroom colors and all centered around. She also requested something "not too feminine" to suit her husband's taste. In other words, no flowers!

Michaela plans on putting it on an easel on the dresser so there is no ribbon. I think this one is so simple and pretty.

I want to add that Michaela is the talent behind Toot Sweet Boutique. Some of you asked me about Lauren's beautiful Easter outfit. This is where I got it!

Joey's Alphabet

This alphabet bedding from Pottery Barn Kids is so cute I can hardly stand it! The painting is based on the quilt so the design was really easy. It practically painted itself!

Okay, so really it took me forever to paint all of the details on this baby. It turned out so beautiful and cheery that it was totally worth it!

Darla in New Jersey ordered this for her son's room. His name is Joey but Darla already has his name on the wall. I added his name really small to the "J" box just to make it special.

Here you can see how big it really is. I love that she is hanging it vertically. I can't wait to see it hanging over his crib!

School Years

Jenny in Kansas is one of my best customers and she always comes up with the cutest ideas! She wasted a small 5x5 canvas for her son's first grade teacher. Usually I just put the teacher's name, but Jenny wanted this wording. I love it! She left the design up to me and I added the rhinestone in the heart.

Jenny also wanted a custom message down the side which I think is another really good idea. As a teacher, I know it is nice to have that little reminder of who is was from. So cute!

In our family school news, Lauren graduated from kindergarten this week. We are so proud of her! We were also so thankful that our whole family was able to be there.

Look out first grade!

Pinkalicious

Pink, pink, pink! Monica wanted something for two special little girls in all pink. There are pink on pink polka dots, pink lettering, pink rhinestones, and two shades of pretty pink ribbon. I can just see them hanging together on their wall or on their doors in the hallway. So cute!

Teacher Love

My classroom has never been primary colors and I have never decorated with apples, but I am loving this canvas design right now. Maybe inspiration for next year? This one is off the Mrs. McCarthy in Murfreesboro. Thank you, Monica!

Monica Lindquist also ordered this 8x24 for another special teacher. This teacher has three simple rules for her classroom. She has also decorated in earth tones and animal prints. Sounds like my kind of girl!

I love the rules and how this canvas turned out. That "burlap" ribbon on top just fits perfectly! I don't do this size for classrooms very often, but I am thinking this would fit just right over my door. Hmm...more inspiration?

Cards and a Sneak Peek

Let me just say that we are totally overwhelmed by the amount of love and support shown to us over the past week. I have never been a big card sender, but now I see how much good a card can do. Carter and Lauren have loved sitting and looking through them over and over again. There are 134 ecards! You guys are amazing!

Here's a little sneak peek for Darla. Her son's alphabet has been a long time coming! It is finally finished and turned out so cute and colorful. Love it!

Sweet Silhouette

Stacey Elam received a gift certificate from one of her cheerleaders, Allie Golden. Stacey is having a baby girl and Allie wanted her to be able to get exactly what she wanted for her nursery. Stacey emailed me right away with lots of beautiful pictures of her pink and chocolate brown room.

She wanted a clean and simple little girl silhouette with her name underneath. I love it!

Carter Update: We are home! We don't have to see another doctor until Monday. It was so nice for all of us to sleep in our own beds. I've been catering to my little man's every whim today while unpacking and doing laundry. We feel so blessed!

Update

Well, here we are at the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. I just now have the chance to use the computer. I did not even think to grab a camera. Everything has been a flurry of activity and panic. Carter is settled now after his surgery and recovering slowly. We may possibly get to come home either Thursday or Friday.

For those of you who didn't know, he has had pneumonia for two weeks. He lost a lot of weight and just couldn't seem to kick it, even on strong antibiotics. When his fever shot up on Saturday, our pediatrician sent us here. We were sent from the ER to the OR. Scary. They had to go in with a camera and clean out several pockets of infection and drain the lung of fluids.
He now has a chest tube to take care of the rest and an IV for nourishment and more antibiotics. He's weak and in quite a bit of pain. However, he is expected to make a full recovery. We just have to be patient.

Thank you so much for all of your comments, posts, calls, texts, emails, and most of all, prayers. We feel blessed to have so much support and love. It makes this so much easier.

Carter loves getting mail. You are more that welcome to send him a card here or to our home. The hospital also has this awesome service that prints out and delivers ecards to our room. He's already gotten several (thank you, Irving College Elementary!) and loved looking through them. Here is the link.

Needless to say, I have not been painting and I don't know when I will again. If you've placed an order that is due soon and would like to cancel, I totally understand. If you are not in a hurry, I appreciate your patience and look forward to painting for you when this all over.

Graduation Day

There are so many new graduates today! Congratulations to all of you! Toni Morton ordered this bright and cheery apple for her daughter, Kayla. Kayla is graduating today and hopes to become a teacher. I know that must be exciting for her!
I don't know how it got away from me without a photo, but I did a 5x5 of this canvas. It is currently available at Et Cetera and just waiting for personalization. If you need a quick and easy teacher gift, just stop by and snatch it up! I'll get the name on it for you right away!

Show Us Your Life - Favorite Vacation Spots

Today I am linking up with the "Show Us Your Life Series" on Kelly's Korner. I love to travel and take the kids with me most of the time so I was super excited about today's theme. I always have our trip planned to a tee about a year in advance. I love to plan a good trip! Last year I just couldn't decide and nothing felt right for our summer vacation. We had been thinking about taking the kids out of the country, so we had passports.
I found a fabulous last minute deal to Cancun, Mexico and snatched it up. We were kind of nervous because we did not know what to expect. It was the least planned I've ever been! The kids handled customs like pros and it is a short three hour flight from Atlanta.

The Moon Palace is an all inclusive resort about 15 minutes from the Cancun airport. When I say all inclusive, I mean it. I kept waiting for hidden charges or extras, and there were none. We ate, drank, and played around the clock and were never charged one extra cent. Fabulous. It was so nice to be able to say yes to everything and not worry about a budget for a few days!

The room we had was all marble and had this fabulous tub. There was a great TV with plenty of English speaking channels. Room service and a fridge full of drinks and snacks were also included. I know sometimes the beds in other countries can be kind of skimpy, but these were very nice and had high quality pillows and bedding. Very important!

Here's the beach. Need I say more?

We did pay $20.00 a person to rent snorkels. The boat trip and guide were included. The day I took my children snorkeling in Mexico will forever go down as one of the best days of my life. I cannot tell you how beautiful it was.

The resort has several huge pools that are all connected by bridges. There is a swim up bar and several poolside restaurants and snack bars. There is also a lady that comes around to you every ten minutes or so to see if you need anything. Oh, my goodness!
I loved these chairs in the water. My husband preferred the row of chairs behind these that were under little grass huts. Something for everyone!

This is the dessert tray from one of the restaurants. There are all kinds of food. You can eat from a different country every night!

One night we tried the Brazilian steakhouse (included). There were about 15 different kinds of meat and they sliced it right at your table. All of the sides were buffet style. The kids had a ball! There is a wonderful Kid's Camp (also included) so my husband and I got to spend some alone time by the pool and a few dinner dates. The kids did crafts, played games, and had their pictures made with monkeys, iguanas, and parrots!
For the price and service, this was hands down the best vacation with kids for me. When we asked what they would like to do this year, both of them replied, "Go back to Mexico"! I guess it was the best for them, too!

Catching Up

I am playing catch up in more ways than one! It seems like I am behind everywhere I go. It is always busy during this time of the year, but having a sick child has really thrown me for a loop. Carter is still suffering from severe pneumonia and pleurisy. If you don't know what pleurisy is, don't worry. Neither did I! It's an extremely painful secondary condition that often occurs with pneumonia. We are spending a lot of time at home and back and forth to Murfreesboro.

Thank you all so much for asking about him and us. I appreciate that more than you know. I apologize for the slow down in painting production. Again, I appreciate your patience and understanding.

Now...on with the artwork! The "Pack" monogram was ordered as a wedding gift by Candace Smith. I love how it turned out! She didn't really specify any colors, but wanted something neutral and classic.

Carly in Michigan showered me with some customer appreciation! Thank you, Carly! She sent me this photo of my "Happy Cherries" hanging in her kitchen. They look fabulous!

:D

Guess what?

...

I'm writing a book. With pages!

And there will be pictures on the pages. And words. And maybe the pages will be really aerodynamic or something. I haven't really decided what all of the hi-tech features are going to be yet. It's tough to choose.

Anyway, I've been wanting to tell you guys about this for a very, very long time, and now I finally can!

Touchstone (a division of Simon & Schuster) will tentatively release my book in Fall 2012, which sounds like it's a long time away, but really, it's only the gestation period of two slightly premature babies. And if you're a time-traveler, then it can be as soon as you want it to be. It can be now!

If you're not a time traveler, here are some helpful time-frame comparisons to make the book's publication date seem not as far away:

So really, it isn't actually that far away.  And I'll keep updating here in the meantime.  

The book will contain roughly 50% new material.  The other 50% will be posts I've published on this site already, but some of the posts that did not previously contain illustrations will be illustrated.  It will be basically just like my blog in book-form (illustrated short stories, guides, etc.), but it will have at least an attempt at an organizational structure, probably.  

There isn't really an appropriately climactic way to end this announcement, so here's a picture of some shapes: