2009 reflections

i decided to post our family christmas letter, as it is an entertaining look back at our year, written by my hubby... it's long, but enjoy! (p.s. the mohawk is gone, as sam is starting nursing school & wanted to make a professional impression :)

Dear family & friends,

With 2009 coming to a close, we are so thankful, even through the ups & downs. This year we continued the now 2-year-old family tradition of blueberry picking in Michigan. They actually were not as good as we had remember…actually some of them were just down right sour! Now, I am mad about spending money on sour blueberries! I guess the new rule is do not pick blueberries in a orchard that is next to the interstate highway in which we can see the cars passing while picking! We also did some apple picking at Edward’s Apple Orchard & now the whole family is addicted to honey crisp apples. I (Sam) eats a minimum 2 a day so he can keep the doctor away, but really all that means is that he has been pretty regular, clinically speaking, during the picking season. We also took our first road trip to the Colorado Rocky Mountains (a definite highlight of the year). Let me just say that we have some amazing kids that were excellent during the 20+ hour car ride. Our Favorite Little Mister read most of the time (we didn’t even know he was there most of the time, as he was lost in his books), Sunshine Girl talked to Julie the ENTIRE trip & colored princess drawings created by Juile—thank You Jesus for a wife who has a B.F.A! (I knew that degree would coming in handy…), & Pumpkin-Poos pretty much sat in between the kids trying to see what they were doing (or pinching them to get their attention). Humorous story—on the way there we get to Aurora, Il (a mere 25 min into the drive) & Sunshine Girl starts saying, “I really need to go POO!” So we end up stopping at the McDonald’s right off of the highway to which we end up having a second breakfast of pancakes & magically Sunshine Girl does not need to go anymore. After another 20 minutes in the car, Sunshine Girl again says, “This car ride is SOOOOO long—how long is it going to be?” Thinking how relieved she would be when we actually get there (20 hours later), she pops out of the car & says, “That wasn’t so long! Colorado is so close Mom!” Ahhhh… the time perception of children.

Well, onto the annual report of the members of the Chen clan…

My Favorite Little Mister is 6 ½ years old & is our building, thoughtful, jumping bean of a boy. He continues to be a hodgepodge of Julie’s reserve, diligence, judiciousness, astuteness & eating preferences, combined with Sam’s energy, humor, & love for science. He is in 1st grade to which he has made some pretty cool friends. One of which is our car pool partner has been a great companion building LEGO’s® & playing make believe. His favorite part of 1st grade when asked is, “MOM! We get THREE recesses!!” which I have heard is a big hit with kids. He still is a LEGO® fanatic & has built some amazing things such as a dog (which is Pumpkin-Poos’s favorite animal), robots for mommy, spaceships, etc... He loves to read & enjoys the math homework that we find on the internet for him, even sometimes exclaiming, “I love these things!” Oh how I hope that is the case when he is studying for the SAT’s… He is our most thoughtful kid, as he is constantly making books & notes to tell us how he appreciates us & loves his siblings. He even created a phonetic book for Sunshine Girl to help her learn how to read! This past summer at vacation bible school he also publicly professed that he believes that Jesus is his Savior. Just recently he lost his first tooth in which Julie & I were on a date & missed it (& literally it got lost down the drain). Two days before losing his tooth, he mentioned (mimicking his dad), “There is no such thing as a tooth fairy—it’s just mom or dad giving the money…“When we got home that night, the fairy visited & left a red envelope (the kind used for Chinese New Year) with 2 quarters in it under his pillow. He then awoke the next day not even knowing it was there & Julie pointed it out to which he exclaimed: “Now we can tell daddy the tooth fairy IS real & ours is Chinese!!!” Love it! He continues to amaze us with his heart, intellect, & skills as he has become pretty skilled with stapler & a roll of tape to create a lot of things. One last observation is his great sense of humor to which has been a combination of the new found introduction to Calvin & Hobbes (introduced to him by yours truly) & by the genes passed down through his Ah-gong (grandfather) as some of his favorite jokes are— “what do you call a old tire?...a tired tire! Hahaha! Get it?? Tired tire??” Another one: “What do you call a bird that steals?...A robbing robin! Get it?? Robbing robin??!” Ahhhh the lesson on homonyms was a field day for him in class. This type of humor has been replacing much of the potty/poo/pee/fart/burp jokes so I enjoy this measurable exhibition of becoming more mature.

Sunshine Girl is 4 ½ & can be summed up by combining Julie’s beauty, love for art (can’t stop drawing), with my spastic personality, love for music with his sleeping & eating preferences. Come to think about it, do I even have a eating preference? I suppose “contain calories” is a preference, or is it just quantity? Anyways…she still is our entertainer as her favorite activity this year was ballet class & loves to demonstrate at home to which Pumpkin-Poos loves to join in & mimic her. She is CONSTANTLY singing, creating her own songs (with motions of course) & repeating the songs she learns in preschool. Unfortunately, she sings a bit flat…actually just plain monotone, but to make up for the tone she really cranks up the volume. She will sing loud…I mean really LOUD to which the passengers in the car with her (My Favorite Little Mister) will say, “You are singing so loud I can’t even think!” To which she will take it from a level 11 to a level 9 in volume. Of course being the star performer she dislikes anyone singing with her & will “shush” others to make sure her performance is heard. She has been known to wake up the others when they are sleeping in the car on the way home from a night out, but we still LOVE her singing. She continues to enjoy school & has made a several good friends, including a boy to which I have been thinking my deferment in procuring an intimidating firearm/weapon may be shorter than I expected. As mentioned, she has demonstrated that she has my sweet tooth & eating habits as she is our second biggest eater next to Julie (wait, OH, I mean Sam) & can be found eating whatever & whenever. She also is our night owl as frequently we have begun to name her “the bump in the night”. While My Favorite Little Mister plays super hard throughout the day & falls asleep within 5 minutes of putting him to bed, Sunshine Girl will be found frequently at 9:30 or later (1 ½ - 2 hours after their bed time) singing, kicking the walls, bringing out toys, reading books in the pitch dark. She continues to make us laugh & enjoy life as she enjoys so much.

Pumpkin-Poos is 2.20833-year-old & is probably best describde by a ball full of passion. In terms of her looks, she has been mistaken as adopted when Julie was alone with her—though she does have Julie’s ear lobes. We had put it to a vote & the clear winner of our loudest child has been won by this little girl. (Ama has said that all of her energy is going into her voice). Clearly I had made the right choice to change her Chinese name from “the Lord’s peace” to “the Lord’s joy” (shout to the Lord with trumpets & the shofar joy). Despite her volume, she does have trouble speaking & is in speech therapy, but she can communicate in many ways. Julie has become somewhat of a linguist as she can delineate between “bbaaabaa” from “baabaaa” which mean blanket or baby doll with the closing eyes & not the one that is battery powered. I think there was some Russian influence as her best word is still “DA!” which means several things: Yes (most of the time), Dad, That, & I am saying something…anything so I get out of this lecture about taking my sister’s markers. She is our most avid dog lover & can spot one from a very long distance which I am thankful for her excellent eyesight. Just a couple of months ago while in a shopping cart, she started shouting, “WHoooHHOOO!! WhhoooHOOOO!!”—which means, “Woof woof look there is a dog!!” I could not see it for the life of me until I had walked another 40 feet closer to a endcap which contained gift cards & one of those gift cards was for PetSmart & had a .75 cm dog on it. How she saw it was amazing to me. She continues to adore her older brother & loves her sister with that sisterly love. You know the kind of love that is fiercely competitive & likes to play the “let me pinch you for fun” game with Sunshine Girl. We can really tell they love each other as Sunshine Girl will reciprocate by loving her back with a “I will squeeze you till your eyeballs pop out & then fall on top of you” hug to show how much she loves as well. We are so thankful for such expressive daughters. We love how Pumpkin-Poos brings so much passion & joy to the house—it would be boring without it.

Julie continues to be the most amazing wife in the world. juggling the kiddos while taking care of the house & all of the freelance work she gets from Tyndale, which we are really grateful for. Probably the biggest thing that has happened with Julie is the opening of Life Verse Design, Inc. in which she is doing some AMAZING designs with God’s Word & other inspirational quotes to encourage people & bring them a visual picture of God’s Word. This is the link to the store if you want to see what she is doing: (http://www.lifeverse.etsy.com) Not only has she been able to use her artistic gifts, but because of God’s grace, Demdaco (company that sells the Willow Tree® people in Hallmark stores) has decided to license her design! (http://www.demdaco.com/SearchResult.aspx?Vendor=374&ViewAll=True) As you can see we are not kidding! God is really generous. Julie also has started a blog: http://lifeversedesign.blogspot.com/ & you can read up on her latest doings.

Sam has finished up his 7th year teaching at Community College & has made a big switch as he was granted a sabbatical to obtain a Masters of Nursing Science in Chicago. So he will be studying for the next 18th months…ahhh the circle is complete now the master has become the student—no wait that is not how it goes! Anyways, this last year he had been involved in leading worship & that season is coming to a close. He has met some amazing student that love Jesus intensely & has been encouraged to do the same.

Well those are the updates & we again, we hope you remember the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ & celebrate his gift to us as we await His return! May you worship Him fully and trust in His grace to keep you for the new year.

Love,
Sam, Julie, My Favorite Little Mister, Sunshine Girl, & Firecracker (Pumpkin-Poos)

giveaway!

head on over to this fun, inspirational blog for the chance to win an 8x10 print of your choice from moi!

http://monkeys-on-the-bed.blogspot.com/

36

as of yesterday, i am 36 years old! wow. where has the time flown? (though, photo disclaimer: this pic was taken last fall, i have no current pictures of me since i am usually behind the camera)...

last week, at my MOPS meeting (Mothers of Preschoolers, an organization to encourage the mommies in the world) our speaker asked the question, "If you look back 10 years ago, would you have thought this is where you would be NOW?" i have been thinking a lot about that now, as my birthday has arrived and i have pondered where i am at in life and where i want to be in 2010. i guess my answer is yes & no.

if i think back 10 years, to 1999 i would have been married just 2 years and happily working full time at Tyndale House Publishers, designing books. since i unexpectedly loved my career so much, kids were not on the radar (cuz i knew once i became a mom, i wanted to stay at home with them full time). though, i DID want kids somday: 2 of them. my hubby & i are not the "5 year plan" type of couple... we just take life as it comes and pray for wisdom in the choices laid out before us.

but, after that speaker asked that question & really emphasized that so much of our lives are the unexpected blessings which we did not plan & that those things are really what makes our life full it got me thinking...

so, fast forward 10 years to now:
did i always want to do art? YES.
did i ever think i would actually own my own creative business, creating inspirational art for the home? NO.
did i think i would live in the suburbs of chicago forever? NO.
do i love our little town? YES.
did i think i would love book design so much? YES.
did i dream i would get to work on such books as the Left Behind series (books 4-12) and the Jesus Storybook Bible that would literally change the world? NO.
did i think i would have 2 kids? YES. (or at least i hoped)
did i think i would have 3 kids? NO. (for i am the "middle child" and have always wanted an even number... but, then our "love child" came along :)

just thinking about what God has done in my life over these past years puts me in awe. my new creative outlet & relationship with Demdaco & Tyndale are huge blessings. as well as blessing number 3! i wouldn't trade it for the world and i am incredibly thankful.

so, though i will NOT be making a 5 year or 10 year plan, i do have dreams. those dreams are simple:

1. to love Jesus much, much more than i already do and grow in my relationship with Him
2. to be a loving and encouraging wife
3. to be the best mommy i could be
4. to serve the body of Christ through my gifts

and anything else, well, we'll just see what is to come... better days even, i am sure of it!

grace & peace,
julie

project 320

last week, a friend of mine told me about this blog & this awesome group of women who are joining forces to provide clean drinking water in africa. they are partnering with charitywater.org
and are hoping to raise $5,000 this week!

go to their blog, and for every $10 donation you make to the cause you will be entered in a raffle to win a prize bundle! (not just one prize, but many are in each bundle)

they already have overwhelming response from artists and crafters around the country, receiving 300 donated items.

below is the 8x10 print i have donated.
ephesians 3:14-21 happens to be MY life verse (as i have said before, what can be better than knowing God's love?!), so i was so excited that they have chosen ephesians 3:20 as their key verse.

now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine ... to Him be the glory forever!

let's see what He can do with this cause and a bunch of generous hearts?!

for more details, go here.

grace & peace,
julie

christmas

what "makes" christmas for you? i think i have decided for me, a big part of it is the music and how i am able to worship Jesus through the wonderful christmas songs. also lately it is of course, the traditions we are trying to establish with our kids: of the advent calendar (chocolate of course!), reading the christmas story in a variety of ways (since i love children's books), baking, trimming the tree, and painting ornaments every year so that by the time they leave home they will have many for their own tree some day.

honestly, though we have done some of these traditions already this year, i must say i don't much feel in the spirit of things. my business (thanks to you all) is booming and i have been busy doing shows and filling orders. i am just plain tired and spiritually i feel dry. i am incredibly thankful and honored that so many people are loving my art and having God's Word and other beautiful pieces fill their home, and i must say i am looking forward to the "lull" in january. (come the 2nd week of january i will most likely be sad that sales are slow :) ha!
in any case, we had a little photo shoot this morning before sunshine girl's preschool program. my mom bought the girls beautiful christmas dresses so they freaked out this morning to put on their "princess clothes" and we put them in the stairwell with the natural lighting (and to force them to be close to each other, since i like tight shots) and we shot away. daddy was a crazy monkey (or something?) behind me and i got to practice using our new canon 7D!
i must say i think i have the best kids in the whole wide world...
and of course, the silliness begins... can't do a photoshoot without crazy faces or butt shots!
here is my favorite little mister, now 6 1/2! last tuesday night while we were at the chris tomlin and christy nockels christmas concert (though very sad to say christy was sick... i almost left right then, but decided to give chris a chance)

anyways, he pulled it out by himself! (this is something i did not like doing as a child and have feared as a parent... the day i would have to pull a tooth! though, with him i don't think i'll have to touch one!)

we got home and our babysitter said how my favorite little mister pulled his tooth out while they were reading stories. our babysitter told him to put the tooth on the counter so he did. later on our other sitter was cleaning the kitchen and put his tooth down the garbage disposal thinking it was a crumb!!!! (of course i got out the flashlight and looked down the disposal trying to recover the tooth)

anyways. he said my favorite little mister was a bit upset of course thinking about the tooth fairy now not coming since there was no evidence of a lost tooth. (which is funny to me, since 3 days earlier daddy & little mister were talking about how santa & the tooth fairy are not real)!

well, i could NOT wait to see him in the morning with this gap in his teeth. (he is adorable :) so, he came down & i of course made a big deal & made him tell me the story & i said, "did you look under your pillow?" & he said, "why? i LOST the tooth!" & i told him to go check. he comes running back down a minute later with a chinese red envelope which enclosed 2 shiny quarters and his exclaims to me, "MOM, now we can tell daddy the tooth fairy IS real, and that OUR tooth fairy is chinese!" (priceless)
and here is my sunshine girl at her performance today. she had been singing and doing her poem for weeks. when we got there and all dressed in her angel costume, she got so upset but wouldn't say why. later on tonight when i asked her why she was sad (if she was nervous or what?) she said she was sad because she had to wear the costume and that meant people could not see her new dress. (so funny!)

anyways, as of today because of her program and just taking more time with the kids to read and share and enjoy cookies, i am feeling more in the spirit.

if any of you still need one of a kind gifts, something meaningful and unique, please jump over to my shop!

grace and peace,
julie

new LOWER prices

i have lowered some prices for the holidays (& maybe beyond...)

5x7 framed art is now $25
4x6 framed art is now $15
4x6 matted prints to fit an 8x10 frame is now $8

happy shopping!

behind the scenes: giving thanks

our life has been a bit of a blur lately with so much work and events, but i wanted to stop and get back into the blogging world by thinking about some of the things i am so thankful for:
1. God who is always there, loving me
2. my hubby, the best by far who allows me the freedom to pursue my dreams, encourages me every step, and is the best daddy any kid would ever want
3. my 3 crazies... you should have seen them dancing wild tonight (last week that ended in a bloody fat lip for my favorite little mister) they make me smile and bring me so much joy
4. worship music which keeps me going & keeps me focused
5. my line with DEMDACO and the blessing it has been
6. when customers tell me how much my art means to them and why
7. honey crisp apples (we are addicted & for years i have had allergic reactions to apples... my favorite fruit, but this year i tried again & i am good so far & enjoying every minute)
here is my original photo for the psalm. i love the warm glow and selective focus.

so, i am wondering... does anyone really read this blog? and if so, what are YOU thankful for?

may your hearts overflow with thanks to God our Father, the faithful one who loves you so.

grace & peace,
julie

fall festivities!

every year our downtown hosts window painting for the kids. it is always freezing, but we love it (as you can see, they were just a little excited to get started).
my favorite little mister admiring his work. he made googly monsters this year.
sunshine girl was so proud of her ladybug and flower masterpiece.
and, my pumpkin poos was just plain thrilled to go wild, dip her brush, and go to town! (she kept looking at me, waiting for me to take the brush away for making such a big mess!)
i love their creativity. it was a great day. the only sad thing in the day was that my favorite little mister got rid of his mohawk to match daddy. oh, i miss it. it makes his personality. but, he said, "well, mom, i HAVE had it since i was 4 years old!" it'll come back someday!
after the window painting, our church hosted an amazing pumpkin chase, which was a halloween carnival for kids. oh, my, they were in their glory doing games & winning candy! the girls were a bumblebee fairy & a butterfly.
on the way home as their buckets overflowed with candy, my hubby smelled chocolate. of course we interrogated the big kids, "who's eating MORE candy?" then i thought it may be pumpkin poo's clutched candy she had not put down. sure enough, she bit through the wrapper and the above is what we found when we stripped her down for bed. she was so proud. it was so funny!

happy fall!

grace & peace,
julie

my favorite little mister

the above is my new favorite picture of my favorite little mister. it fully captures who he is: so handsome, sweet, kind, compassionate, and an animal lover. he rescued the frog he is holding out of his cousin's window well. we then made a "habitat" for froggy to live in (on our kitchen counter), and he along with daddy would hunt bugs every day to feed him. froggy was living the good life in our home until the weather got colder and the bugs were more scarce. so, we decided to take froggy to a new home and we let her (she thankfully did not croak, so we know she was a female) go a few weeks ago at one of our favorite places, the morton arboretum. i took one last picture of him & his frog before it literally leaped out of his hands into the lake. as we watched her swim away, my favorite little mister was proud to say that froggy will be much happier here among the lilly pads with other frog friends. we'll be back in the spring to look for tadpoles!
here's another pic of my guy. man, i love him soooo much.

and, his sisters absolutely adore him also.

hope everyone is enjoying the colors of fall. after it stops raining, the kids and i are going on a leaf hunt!

grace & peace,
julie

treasure in heaven

oh, how i hope you know and live the truth and promise of this Scripture! the living hope and new birth that is available to all of us through putting our faith in Jesus and accepting the gift He has offered us.

in thinking of the image for this passage, i kept thinking of a treasure chest and especially a lock, in which though the outside may get battered and weathered and worn, the treasure inside which is yet to be revealed remains precious, priceless, pristine, and utterly untarnished. beautiful. it remains. i also think of the song by watermark (or now, christy nockels) "incorruptable", which gracefully speaks of this verse.

i also think of how God is the one who holds the key to this inheritance or treasure. it is His to give. He is in total control of it, though i may not fully understand it, as we need to work with Him, giving our trust and love to Him. but, it is in His timing that the fullness of our salvation will be revealed. someday He will turn that key and unlock in our lives the fullness and wonder of how great our salvation is and we will experience eternity with Him.

until then, hold on to Him tightly. love Him deeply. live for His glory. and, like this verse says, praise Him, for He is worthy!

grace & peace,
julie

pumpkin-poos is two!

on september 29th, my little pumpkin turned two! her big brother & big sister were so excited to buy her a dolly & princess dress up shoes. we had her favorite food (pizza & mac-n-cheese) and then blew candles (of which her piggy tails almost went in the flame as she leaned to the side)!

i have called her my little pumpkin since the day she was born, as we went to my favorite place, the morton arboretum, to induce labor by walking her out. every fall they decorate the arboretum with tons of haystacks, pumpkins, and gourds, and so when she was born just 4 hours after leaving the beauty of nature it seemed appropriate to nickname her that (plus, she had NO real name for 2 days, but that's another story...)
here's one of my other most recent favorite pics of her.
here she is at the arboretum at age 1.
and here she is with grandma and a little pumpkin of her own when she was just one week old.

we love you pumpkin-poos! you are such a blessing & delight to us!

grace & peace,
mommy (julie)

2009 fall craft show schedule

since many of you have asked me for my fall craft show schedule, i decided to post it here with all the vital information:

september 26
CHICAGO BABY EXPO from 9-5 located at 18501 South Harlem Tinley Park, IL

october 17
BATAVIA MOTHER'S CLUB 24TH ARTS & CRAFTS FAIR from 9-3 located at Rotolo Middle School 1501 Raddant Road, Batavia, IL

november 6-7
DOWNERS GROVE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL 20TH ANNUAL CRAFT FAIR from 9-8 on Friday & 9-3 on Saturday located at 929 Maple Avenue Downers Grove, IL

november 7-8
COLLEGE OF DUPAGE ANNUAL ARTS & CRAFT FAIR from 10-4 on Saturday and 11-4 on Sunday located at 425 Fawell Blvd Glen Ellyn, IL

november 14
MINOOKA CHOIR 10TH ANNUAL CRAFT FAIR from 9-3 located at 26655 West Eames (Route 6) Channahon, IL 60410

november 15
DEMDACO signing at Anna's Hallmark in Downers Grove, IL

november 21
DEMDACO signing at Terry's Gifts in Belvidere, IL

november 28-29
MARMION ACADEMY 19TH ANNUAL CRAFT SHOW from 9-4 on Saturday and 10-2 on Sunday located at 1000 Butterfield Road Aurora, IL 60502

december 5
GINGERBREAD JUNCTION 28TH ANNUAL CRAFT FAIR from 9-3 located at Hill Middle School 1836 Brookdale Road Naperville, IL 60563

i hope to see you all there!

grace & peace,
julie

behind the scenes: psalm 139

when creating the art for psalm 139 and meditating on the passage, i would think about how God knew all the details of life while the baby was yet being formed in the womb. physical details, which made me think of every hair on the head, every tiny finger and toe. emotional details, such as how the baby already had personality. intellectual details, as to how the brain was developing. and, spiritual details, as to what the baby, child, then adult would put his or her faith in.
when my pumpkin-poos was 4 months old, we did what i refer to as "the big naked photo shoot". several of my designs have come out of this photo shoot, and psalm 139 is one of them. i decided to focus in on the precious little feet of a baby, so that it could be "anonymous" and represent any baby. the feet are tenderly being held by the loving father, representational of how God's tender love holds us.
this is one of my favorite shots that day. he loves her so much.
here she is, moving around... probably cold since it was january near chicago!
those big bright eyes!
and smoochy cheeks! more to come of the naked baby shots!

grace & peace,
julie

behind the scenes: jeremiah 29:11

when i began this blog, my original intent was to let you into the "behind the scenes" process of my art which i get asked about so often.

here is the history of jeremiah 29:11: the above piece is the original art i created for this passage, using other people's photography (with their permission, of course). as i meditated on the verse, i thought about how God know the direction of our life, even when we do not see it, and so the compass represents the direction He is giving us collaged onto a scroll, as our life or story is being rolled out or revealed. the other idea behind the compass is the fact that if you want to go in the right direction, you must obey it or follow it.

i then wanted to change the art to utilize my own photography, so i did the following:

as i meditated on the verse again, i thought about how we go through life and sometimes it just feels as though we are in a maze, not being able to see the future, the outcome, or even knowing which direction to turn. but GOD sees from above: the overall picture! the beginning and ending of our life, and He knows which direction we should go as He sees the big picture. so, as we walk by faith, it is so comforting to know that He truly does have good plans for our life.
i then take the artwork, convert it to sepia tone and add textures and layers to come up with the final art.

this summer, Demdaco asked me to revisit my visual interpretation of the maze and suggested a compass (even though they had never seen my original art!)
i borrowed an antique compass from a friend, as i wanted the compass to have more character and beauty than the modern one i had previously used and i bought an antique map (on ebay :) looking for interesting shapes, line work, and open spaces for my text and shot the above image with a macro lens.

below is the final art, soon to be in my etsy shop, and being produced by Demdaco for next summer.

first grade

my favorite little mister (my BABY boy!) started first grade today! i got through with surprisingly no tears. i think it was because he was so very excited. i am still amazed that he is mine, much less 6 years old, and now an official first grader. my, how the years have flown by. he said his favorite thing today was organizing his desk (sounds like his mommy...) he also learned how to properly open a milk carton. oh, the good old days.

daddy gave him his back-to-school haircut. yes, the mohawk is back after a whole summer without it (he turned to talk to daddy during his last haircut, thus ruining the "hawk"). daddy even got a matching mohawk to start his school year out also. they're my boys and i love 'em.
teachers truly deserve to be honored and need encouragement throughout the year. hope all of you & your kiddos have a great one!

grace & peace,
julie

"if you say so..."

here is my 4 year old princess . . . and, her new favorite phrase is, "if you say so..." which she says while slightly shrugging her shoulders and waving her hands up in the air. the funny thing is that she's not saying it out of defiance. she says it and goes along with the flow to obey whatever i am asking her to do. the really funny thing is that she is my "why?" girl who normally questions everything, again not so much out of defiance (though i can tell when she is asking it with attitude), but she just really wants to know why? so, i must say i am enjoying these (probably) fleeting moments of the simple, quick obedience with no questions asked, and just wonder how long will this phase last? hopefully through the teenage years? hee hee hee.



and here is my latest baby/child piece featuring my princess herself. thanks for your sweetness sunshine girl!

grace & peace,
julie