Artsy Fartsy

I paint to relieve stress, or to ignore people, or to avoid doing housework. And I think all of those reasons are FABULOUS reasons to do almost anything!!!

I might have a slight obsession with color as well, but eh, no one seems to mind. That or they are too nice to say anything. ;)

New Addiction: Painted Boots and Shoes

I have a serious obsession with painting boots!

I use leather acrylic paints.

Then I seal them.

I can't seem to stop myself.

I love taking an old pair of boots, and make them new again.

So cute for little ones.

Or weddings.

So Fun!

They add personality.

A great expression of yourself.

LOVE!

Love, Love!

Monkeying around!

Today I bring you greatness, or at least some mediocracy!

I have decided (for now) that I will post all the things we don't do! ;)

So today for your viewing pleasure . . . We made cake pops!!

Cake pops!

Try to ignore that two of them are missing. I do have kids and they do LOVE sugar!

Anyway I got the idea from good ol Martha Stewart. She has awesome ideas, never underestimate a convicted felon, jk (kinda). Super fun and messy to make.

My only recommendation would be to make sure you follow the directions on the chocolate melting package. I didn't! And they didn't quite set up right. But they were still delicious.

Not following directions reminds me of the fifth grade. We had this fabulous teacher, who I suppose was tired of us not following directions. So he gave us a pop quiz, telling us to make sure and follow the directions. The entire class worked tirelessly and whined a ton about the quiz! Turned it in, only to find out we all FAILED! Hello, I was devastated!! We failed because not a single one of us read the directions. It was a three page quiz and we wanted to get DONE. So he handed the test back to us, read the directions to us out loud, and boy were we shocked. Directions: Write your name at the top, turn in the paper! Whoops!! Point taken! I read the directions from then on!! Of course, until I made these cake pops, hehe!

Guess learning has taken place once again!!

Directions:

1.  Make any cake mix as directed, let cool!
2.   Once the cake is cool, crumble it into a large bowl and mix in an entire can of frosting!
3.   Try not to go ahead and eat the entire bowl!
4.   Cover and put in fridge (if you are patient) or freezer (if you are me) and let the mixture get cold.
5.   Once the mix is cold, roll into balls, place each ball on wax paper on a cookie sheet!
6.   Put this in the freezer til cold, cold! (cold, cold is a cooking term in my house)
7.   While waiting for the cake balls to get cold, cold, melt your chocolate (refer to package directions, IMPORTANT).
8.   Take the cake balls out of the freezer, push some sort of skewers, or Popsicle sticks into the balls.
9.   Dip into the chocolate, sprinkles, or whatever else you like, then place back on the wax paper.
Do this over, and over, and over, and over!
10.  Place back in the freezer. Don't place in the fridge, they will sweat if you do that. Put them in the freezer.
11.  Wait til the chocolate cools. This only take 15-30 minutes. Then pig out!! YES, this is my favorite step! Of course I only made it here because I didn't eat the entire bowl after mixing. See that, patience pays off!

Art Auction = SUCCESS

Had an awesome experience last Sunday afternoon!! I donated a couple of art pieces to an auction to raise money for Jerry's Kids. Dalton Black of Kiowa, Kansas has MDA and has a fund raising campaign every year. Dalton is just a kid himself, with a ginormous heart!! Love it!! Jamie Terwort, of Barefoot Art Studio helped organize and set this auction up to help Dalton in his fund raising efforts!! I was just so moved and touched at the outpouring of love and support he received!

I actually went to the auction to watch. Jamie is a great friend and I wanted to support her by being there. She had told me that she would be thrilled if the auction raised $500. Well, it far exceeded that!! I want to show you the two pics I donated. I wish I had pictures of some of the other amazing, amazing, far more amazing than my art, that was there.

"Bob" An acrylic on canvas, 18"x24"

"Just Getting Started" acrylic on sprayed canvas 18"x24"

Sorry for the cruddy pictures (taken with my phone). I was pretty excited that Mrs. Jamie Terwort called and asked me to donate some art. Who would have thunk it!! I was super stoked! Both pieces sold for far more than I would have sold them, so I thought that was cool!

On to the good part. You all ready for this. An auction in a town of less than 200 people (there were less than 100 people at the auction), raised . . .  over $10,000. Yes, that is the real number over ten thousand dollars!!!!!! Isn't that just super, wonderful, great and awesome!!! Give the good Lord some praise people!!

I SUCK AT BLOGGING

Well, I think the title covers it. It has been a few days since I last blogged, okay, okay, a few months. Seriously though, I don't know how these women, who work, have a house load of kids, make it to the YMCA to workout three to five days a week and get together with the neighborhood ladies the other few evenings, have time to blog!! I mean really!!! I check out all these blogs and see ALL the things these people do daily and I am OVERWHELMED, big time. Not to mention all the crafts, cooking, housekeeping, family issues, blah, blah, blah they keep up with! AND they have time for mani/pedi's . . . REALLY!!!

Just so you know (sure you have already figured it out), I am not one of those ladies. I am however going to try to get better on this blogging thing though. Mainly to see if I can still type.

I will keep posting info. about my super fabulous and wonderful family and the multitude of things we don't get done ;).

My babies, Emerald, Harley and Liberty!!

She didn't REALLY hit him! But really this is how they act sometimes :( Sibling Rivalry

You seriously have to try picnik.com! Super fun easy way to edit your photos!!

They really are!!

Through the long road of life, may they always have each other!

Okay, so the pictures with the canvas' were super simple. I had the kids take pictures holding a BLANK canvas. Remember a blank canvas, I suppose you could have it any color you want though. Anyway, go to picnik.com  (it is free) and play with the editing features. This is how I added the text onto the canvas. I typed what I wanted, added it to the image, changed the font and color like a hundred times, til I got what I wanted, then TADA, customization baby!! It is very user friendly, had to be if I used it!! Try it out and let me see your masterpiece!!

Did anyone but me notice how flipping much I used the word "really" in this post!! I mean REALLY Lacy, find something else. I read through it and it just reminded me of those people who always say the words like, umm, and, well, all while talking to you. They seriously use those words every other sentence, sometimes every sentence. I have become one of those people only I type it!! I will try to get a grip on that!

Cousins

Oh from time to time I lose my mind and surround myself with miniature bosses! I let them overtake my home and tell me what to do. But they sometimes disobey and I must regain control . .

Locked up! Can you see their fear, lol.

My evil plan has taken hold! They can't reach me!

We (my two youngest and my two nieces, Hadley and Kenzie) spent a couple of hours at the park and that cage is just a super great slide. (Completely ruined my control image, huh) I remember playing on it with my cousins as a child and remember it being great fun. I also remember it being home to bees and getting stung by a few. Lucky for these cousins there were no bees!

Fast forward a couple of months . . .

My nieces Hadley, Kenzie and Ainsley with my kiddos! Sleepover!!!

This is how they truly act!

Poor Harley is always outnumbered! He takes it well though and is doing a fine job of 'protecting' all those girls. He is a great brother and cousin. He is awesome with babies, heart of gold people! So the girls played dress up, horses, and house. Harley spent most of his night entertaining Ainsley, she thinks he is super funny. Emmy helped corral them all! And Tom and I just did whatever they told us too. 

That night I dreamt about that slide and all these kids locking us in. They were smarter than us, they figured out how to keep us there. Whew! Waking up was a relief, no shackles.



Kenzie telling me that her dad makes a better bowl of cereal than I do. She says, "My dad is an awesome cook!" I say, "Awesome, what does he cook?" She replies in a matter of fact tone, "Well, he makes better cereal than you!" bwahahahahaha

I love having my nieces and nephews over! I am lucky enough to get to see these three at least once every couple of weeks, if not more. When I was growing up my cousins and I all lived in the same town, and we spent almost all our time together. I have great memories with my cousins and I hope my kiddos will have the same!

Here's to cousins who are friends and not just family and the memories they share!!!

God's Love is Always There

Our lonely tree.

Today we woke up to snow, a lot of snow! I think they forecasted five inches but we got between ten and fourteen inches. And it was white, and bright. Beyond our lonely tree in our backyard there was nothing but tons of snow. That tree reminded me of a dear friend. Alone. And that forecast reminded me that what we believe we may get may be entirely different than what we receive.

Now she isn't alone, alone. She has plenty of people who love her and care for her and she loves the Lord. But she is devasted and struggling with the loss of her son. I looked out the window and seeing that dark tree against all that white snow, with tracks everywhere, I couldn't help but think of her and her loneliness.

She is that tree. Dark, dormant, just waiting for awakening, for peace, for a spring, a fresh start. That snow is the good Lord, always there, always surrounding her, also waiting, being patient, giving her moisture (life), preparing her for her spring. Those tracks are the people who love her, walking toward her and away when needed, all through God's love. It is a dance, a beautiful yet tragic dance.

I sat there looking at that tree for quite sometime, before I decided to take a picture and share it with you.

You see I don't care for the snow. It usually means it is cold, something I am not fond of. But I failed to appreciate it's need. The moisture it gives to that tree right now, while it is cold and seemingly lifeless, will be that tree's saving grace. That tree will blossom, it will provide needed shade, and will be surrounded by life anew. That doesn't mean that the tree forgets its old life. It carries it's past. Some of those memories you can't see, like the rings inside a tree (always there, but invisible from the outside), but they are there. Some you can see. It bears scars of wind and hail, of animals and children. The tree loves those scars, they have made the tree stronger and who doesn't need to feel the wind blowing through them, or need a good knock on the head from time to time. Oh and what would life be like without the memories of animals and children, helping us appreciate love. A love that doesn't even compare to God's love for us all. Something so hard to imagine.

I will never look at the snow or that lonely tree the same again. Sometimes it is hard to see the light when you are asleep, but it is there, always present, always providing for us, always loving us and always, always, always working through the life around us.

Rejoice in our suffering, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.      Romans 5:3-5

Meanie Houdini, Grrrrr, Blah, blah, blah, blah

Whiny hiney, fathom the thought of someone calling ME a whiny hiney. Stinking meanie houdini! I was just standing there minding my own business, when out of the blue, I blurt out "Smelly cat!!" I didn't yell it to a person, I was talking to my dog! He stunk! Pretty sure he ate a skunk, nasty troll! That is when I heard it, "Meanie Houdini." At first I thought the dog was talking to me. And no I haven't been drinking any funny juice or taken any goofy pills. There was no one else around!! Just me and the smelly cat/dog! I looked around and sure enough my mind wasn't playing tricks on me . . . No ONE IS THERE! So I chance my life and call the monster mutt a smelly cat again, and again I hear it "Meanie Houdini." I walk across the deck, lay down in the middle and look over the side, you know like you did as a kid checking under the bed. Nothing there! I am freaking out!! This dog has some sort of mind powers. I crawl over to the picnic table and there is our "stalker" dog/ peeping tom. She looks in the windows of the house all the time, creepy! And like usual she is just wagging her tail so hard it is about to knock her smooth off the deck. I am wondering how in the world she can stand up . . . so I try it. I don't have a tail so I just shake my head and sure enough I fall off the deck, taking the smelly cat/dog with me. He's lucky, he has four legs and lands on them. I am not so lucky, I land on my bum. By now all the forest animals are watching me and pointing their feathery wings and furry paws rolling around laughing. Whose the meanie houdini now?

This was all made up, has no point and I was bored. Coffee at 10pm isn't a great idea!

My (Lacy's) Brother and Sisters, The Gifts God Gave Me

My biological brother and sisters, Wade and Jonie and Dallas, have long been my heroes. My favorite people next to my husband and kids. I couldn't imagine my life without them. They know more about me than almost anyone on this Earth and love me anyway. They went through the good and the bad with me, and there was a lot of both, and chose to remember the good. I am thankful for that! So very thankful.

I am not sure you can imagine how lucky I feel like I am. I am certain that I wouldn't have made it through life the same without them! Wade and Jonie were my leaning post, the two people I could rest on and talk to, the two people that would tell me what I NEEDED to hear not what I wanted to hear. The two people I could always depend on. They are the two people that although I don't see a lot or talk to everyday, I need to know are there. They are a vital part of my life. I can't stand for either one to hurt, I can't even stand the thought of either one hurting. I want them to be happy and I want them to feel loved. I would give my life for them. I am sure questions are running through your head, why do I always say "two."

Dallas is gone. She left us Nov. 6, 1982. She went home. She had strawberry blonde hair, and was a spitting image of my mom. A beautiful little girl. She died of Reye's Syndrome. Her life was short, but super sweet. And the impact she had affected us all. We will see her again. God Bless You Dallas Sabrina Woods!! We Love You TONS!!

Wade is pretty quiet and serious, but I know he would be there. I know without him saying anything, not one word, that I could ask and he would be there as quick as he could. I know this because he has a commitment to family. He is overprotective, forward and overprotective, I know it seems I am repeating myself but he is! I love him! I admire his strong work ethic, his quiet demeanor (I know I need to take some lessons), his love for his wife and kids, and his individuality. My kids think he is soooooo cool and that he has an awesome job. He works hard, harder than most, because he wants to succeed. He wants his family taken care of. I hope his girls are lucky enough to find someone that is willing to give their all for them. Of course like I said he is overprotective, so they had better find someone good . . . or else.

Wade and Dacy (his wondermous wife)

Mackenzie, Dacy, and Hadley (great sis-in-law, and awesome nieces)

Jonie is tenderhearted but strong. She has been through a lot. And moved on!!! There were times I locked her in closets, so Wade and I could go ride bikes (sorry Jonie). She forgave us . . .  I think? She cries a lot, but it is because she loves greatly. She forgives easily, and commits herself to everyone. She is caring, she loves kids (all kids, even the BRATS). She gives second chances, and sometimes more. She is an awesome Mimi to all her nieces and nephew, because she knows how to be fun!

Jonie and Tyler (you can tell she is fun can't you!!)

Jonie and Tyler's pumpkin Taylee (another awesome niece)

We have all three had our bad moments and our great ones. I know I have made it through the good and the bad because of the support of my brother and sister.

And there is more . . . I was blessed with more sisters, yes . . .

I have more sisters!! Pretty lucky aren't I?!! I didn't start with these three but I sure want to end with them!!

Betty, is older than me and came to live with my Dad and step-mom when she was 14 (I believe?) She was my best friend before that. And I was lucky enough for her to become my sister. Although I would have considered her my sister anyway! She is one of those follow thru on your dreams type of people. She told me when we were kids that she wanted to be a pilot and she is. She has always chased her dreams. I don't believe that she was 'given' opportunities, I believe she earned them. She worked for them, and I think that her determination is amazing and inspiring!

Betty

Shandi, became my sister when her dad married my Mom. She was still in grade school when I moved out. But she was already a super responsible individual. You could see her strength in her own quiet way. She has grown up and become a wonderful mom and is still strong and responsible. She has a tendency to put herself last, and not realize just how great she is. But she is!! She is loyal, lovable, strong, and wondermous.

Shandi

Shandi's blue eyed beauty, Ainsley (awesome niece)

Sabra, was a kindergartner when I met her (she and Shandi are biological sisters), and independent. Had to do what she wanted when she wanted too. She still does what she wants, when she wants too. She also follows thru. She says I will finish school, and she did, on her own. She chooses her road and accepts where it leads. She is still young, almost 19 or is it 20? Young anyway, and has her entire life ahead of her and lots to learn. She loves her family even when they make her mad, and she is a survivor. She will make it no matter what, because she won't give up! :)

Sabra and Ainsley

I love you all!!!!!! And I thank God for each and everyone of you!!! If you didn't already know it I LOVE YOU!!!

Dates With My Fabulous Are Wonderful

Awe, just rereading the title makes me happy!!

We went on a date with our 30 something church group. And it was AWESOME!! A wonderful, terrific, awesome, fantastic and super funny evening.

Tommy looked hot, and the kids said we looked nice, but that it was disgusting when we kissed. So sweet.

It was a real, real, real, real, real, it really was a real date. Really! Dressed up, dinner reservations, great friends, lots and lots of laughs. So enjoy the pictures, because I just can't put into words how great it was.

Looking good

Some of the greatest people in the world!!

And here is how we were greeted by our kids the following morning . . .

GOOD STUFF!!