RIght Where I Planted It

It's Mother's Day today.  Of course you already knew that.  I'm at the show today, enjoying a day of happy sales........... unfortunately without my family.  :(  Anyhoo, I've been doing a lot of reading, thinking, and talking about happiness lately.   When I think about joy in regards to my family it can literally whoosh my body with excitement.  I am a very lucky gal when it comes to this department.  Kids are normal and pretty darn cute and sweet.  Husband seems to be going through a luv my wife so much phase= he's way lovey dovie and attentive.  My parents are just skippy and my sister is finally balancing new motherhood.  Whew.   I guess joy/happiness can be found right where you plant it.  Sometimes though, you've got to remember where you put it and may have to dig a little.  But you know, that's OK.  Because the digging is what makes the joy deeper and last a lot longer.

Pumpkin Carving Time!

Carving pumpkins with my father has always been a fond memory of mine.  Years of orangy goo has tickled my fingers.  And a few weekends ago my children had the opportunity to follow in my footsteps. 

She is really beginning to favor me......like really.  William and Mailey both designed their own pumpkin face first on newspaper, then on the orange squash.  Mailey's was supposed to be a pig, William just a scary face.  But with Pawpaw in charge they soon took on more life including a banana pepper tongue and drilled hole freckles!

She loves goey messes and bugs much more than this pretty face below:

Look at all those yummy seeds!  Which of course I toasted up with some crazy salt and smart balance spray.  Have you ever tried toasted pumpkin seeds?  They are the best fall snack!

I was trying to get some shut eye in the hammock when these two monkeys climbed in for some Mommy love.

So here are those crazy pumpkin heads....my kids AND their pumpkins.  What a great day, and a memory that will last forever.

We're Growing Up

It has been a HUGE day in the Horne house.  This morning at 7:30am I dropped my 8 year old Mailey off for her first week long camp.  Yes, I said week long sleepover camp.  She was so excited, and quite honestly so was I.  Not because I'm getting her off my hands for the week, but because she was genuinely excited about doing this.  Going away from Mommy doing this.  This is super huge.  And as we Moms of the 3 girls below waved good-bye,  I was the calmest.  I think because Mailey and I are both ready for this to happen.  And she is going to have an amazing time.  I just know it in my heart.....

So as they say, while the mice are away the cats will play!  William and I conspired last week that today we would do something together super fun in Atlanta.  We packed ourselves up and headed to Marietta for a little day at Whitewater park.  Hardly ever do I get to enjoy things like this with just William.  And being with just him today reminded me how much I enjoy his little personality,  his sensitive side, and his kindness.  He's also a little chicken I found out today, not wanting to ride hardly ANY of the cool slides.  Man, I was bummed about that.

On a last note totally not about my kiddos but about good people......

So being in Whitewater today I was able to do some serious observing.  I mean this place is like a people watching mecca!  Now I've been in places with multiple people in swimwear like the beach, the club pool, etc.  But for some reason today it hit me like a brick what being in a place such as this does for showing your authentic outward self, and make you really look at your own self.  I mean no make-up, no hair, no shoes, and literally hanging out all day in bra and panty amount of clothes will make you stop and think about certain things.  I also noted an unusually large number of rather large tattoos on both men and women.  Now, I love tattoos and the artistry that goes into them, but since most people have them under the clothing you don't usually get to see so many masterpieces just walking around.  In a way though, we were all on very equal playing ground in this place.  There were no cars to compare, no blaring brands on bathing suits, no fancy jewelry, no hair styles, nothing to really make any one person stand out from another.  And although I am not suggesting we all start running around in our bra and panties without make-up or our hair done, I am saying that maybe looking past all the glam on the outside and getting down to the water park authenticity could be a very good thing for our society.  The best part of my people observing was the true happiness that exuded from everyone.  Even in the long boring lines people were giggling, holding hands, kissing, talking and just listening to one another.  I mean, you certainly can not take a cell phone or laptop into a wave pool.  You get unplugged and uninhibited.  You get to SQUEAL going down the flumes and you get to smile larger than life in a wave pool without getting a mouth full of salty water.  So if you have an opportunity to take your child or heck, go with your friends and enjoy and certainly observe.  Because my people watching today was surprisingly refreshing.  Now I am off to shower and rest, because the other thing about a waterpark is that it is indeed a work out!

Fireflies and Love

So the past month has been a little hard for us as a family with our daughter. Really. I won't go into it all, but let's just say that daily tummy aches, no desire to play with anyone, or eat out are just a few of her new behaviors (on top of the others we lovingly embrace). Thus why I was tickled when she actually wanted to attend the Serenbe event with me. Even though she didn't last long, it was the longest she'd been out in awhile AND she ate in a restaurant. I think she forgot that it made her tummy hurt because she was so excited about her jewelry. Anyhoo, we also have recently found out that two married couple friends are not doing so well. sigh. So these are two of the paintings that sold this weekend. As they were passing my hands and into the new owners it hit me that maybe, just maybe, finally more of me is entering into my art than just my hands. And that maybe I have something to say. And maybe someone will really listen. The top painting says how to grow love....the bottom says let nothing dim the light that shines within.

I think I've already shared these with you, but now that they are gone, the words kind of stand out to me. And the message is loud and clear. Standing firm in what I believe is good and right for our family is of top priority right now. And that little light well, just like in the fireflies little hinney, I am not going to let anything dim what is shining so bright inside me right now. And I am hoping that maybe, just maybe, you can see the light too and are not afraid to let it shine.

Spreading Love

I firmly believe that spreading love and kindness on your relationships lead to long lasting ones. And today, I'm spreading a little your way. I finished up the last of the new paintings today. Whew. It's been a very exciting time in the studio with my brushes. I drew most of them out last Tuesday so I could keep momentum going. But then along the way I got inspired to do one of these and one of those, and the next thing you know I now have 30 new paintings already packed in my car for the Wesleyan Show this weekend. Yep. I said 30. Now, many are ittle bitty for me. Like the top flower for instance, the image size is like 3" x 15". Lots are under $200.

And lots with hearts. I noticed this trend as I was photographing them all today.

This last one is a new favorite (It's about 12"x16"). The colors in person just "wham" ya. The bottom corner (which I cropped out by accident I see) says, "How to grow love". And the jars say, "Patience, trust, joy and kindness." I showed my husband and he said, "I like it, but you need a lot more than just those four things to grow love." Huh. Maybe he needs some hearts thrown his way? I have been a little absent this past week. Now that the paintings are done and I can CLEAN this place up I can throw hearts all over the place. For starters, I am going to throw a little magic into the pot of homemade spaghetti sauce on the stove. Nothing like hot garlic bread and homemade spaghetti sauce to make my family big puffy heart me again.;)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Whew. The day is almost over. And it has been such a fun one. It seems like just yesterday though that we had last Christmas. I remember as a child it never felt this way! But now as I watch my little ones throughout the year, it almost seems I blink and we are off to the next. I had promised myself this year would be more relaxed, that I'd take it all in better and enjoy the season. I'm not saying I didn't, but I did stay a bit too busy. One thing we did differently with our children however, is shop early and not get stressed about the bills and not being able to find what we wanted. We still don't own a wii if that gives you any indication of our Christmas last year. This year we hit the nail on the head with William getting a basketball goal and Mailey the S'mores pony. He's dribbled and shot baskets until I think his fingers have blisters and Mailey has groomed and played mommy to her fur real friend all day (7am wake-up not too bad). They also received the little I-pods as a trial run on them. Mailey has not taken them out of her ears since we downloaded some of her favorites- Ingrid Michaelson, Sara Bareilles, Allison Kraus- Mom's favorites too and of course High School Musical. William has not sat still long enough all day to listen to his!

We are off to south Alabama for the Lewis family gathering which includes my Mother, Sissy, 2 aunts, cousins, little sis and her husband. The weekend is sure to include tons of yummy eating, fellowship, and some time out in Gosport shooting my new , well actually not new but new to me, 38 revolver my Father gave me last weekend at the Adkins family gathering. It is a beauty! I found this while searching for the above file. It has to be Mailey's 2nd Christmas, where she's 1 so William is 3. OMG she has changed so much in looks. William is just a bigger version of himself here, and he's wearing the construction boots he wore always always, so sweet. And they used to love on each other all the time. He carried her and held her ALL the time. Now they fight wayyyyyyy too much! Gotta show them this and maybe it'll joggle the good old days again!

Hope you and your families had a wonderful holiday!

The Husband of an Artist

You've met my 4 cats, dog, turtle, fish (have I blogged about the fish?), the kids, friends, the studio and so much more. But, I've neglected to introduce the biggest source of support and inspiration to my blog readers. This is the husband of an artist, Billy. Or, shall I say with a bit of a giggle, The Honorable Billy Horne. Yep. honorable all right. You see, he was just re-elected to the House of Representatives here in Georgia by an overwhelming 77%. Yeah!

Over the 17 years we've been together Billy has been supportive of my career changes and artistic whims. For example, our house has changed many times over the past 13 years, and it never seems to faze him. It's not uncommon for him to come home to me on top of a ladder re-painting our bedroom. He'll say, "I liked the blue". And I reply, "okay, but do you like the green?". "Sure". And so it goes. Those of you who really know him are laughing right now because you perhaps don't get that to me this is inspiration. But it is. You see, he's never once told me no, you can't do that nor has he ever stifled my dream of being a real artist. He never complains about the weekends I'm away for art shows, junkin', art workshops, and all the other crazy things I get myself into. His support of my life, the windy path I've chosen to lead, inspires me to be a better Mother and Wife for our family. He believes in me and what I can be. And that to me is what a solid marriage is ALL about. As a family we support and love one another, making decisions to better our lives and our future. He's proud of all my accomplishments and I his. Which lately, he's wayyyy heavy with the achievements.

Go Billy! Here we are, the happy couple on election night Tuesday.