Thankful!

Wow! I have got to say that I am glad that Christmas is over, at least the commercial part of it. I learned a lot this year. I have made some New Year's resolutions for next year: no holiday baking (at least my version of it which entails making at least 10 different things), no Christmas parties and limited sewing projects. Hmmm, sounds like taking those things out might ease the stress a bit. All in all I enjoyed doing every one of those things and they were all simple in and of themselves. However, lumped together, not so good. But you know God gave us a life to live and not a year to live because it will take us that entire time to figure things out, and even then, at the end of our life, we will still be left with room to grow. God has been showing me that I don't need to linger in guilt over not having it all together but rather accepting it and enjoying the journey. That is what we're on, a journey. I guess I really do want to be perfectly prepared for whatever but what am I Wonder Woman? The true Wonder Woman is the one that doesn't throw in the towel but keeps going even if it's at a snail's pace.
The expectations that I have on myself are unrealistic and cause me stress and cause me to be impatient with the kids, which is not fair to them. But alas, I am making changes and if feels SUPER!
The picture at the top is of all of the kids on the Sprenger side of the family, all the cousin's kids (except for Leah and Ruth). They were so cute and were actually pretty patient getting the picture taken.
So yes, the title of this entry, Thankful: I have once again been reminded of how fortunate we are in America. Christmas gifts galore, amazing health ( for most of us) and good medical treatment if we need it. We not only have roofs over our heads but beautiful ones at that, and full of nice furniture, a million choices of clothes to wear and food to get fat on. So many all over the world are dying of hunger and disease .............and we get cranky if we don't get our Starbucks!

Just a little perspective that's all. Trying to give it to the kids too, they get it in small ways but can't fully comprehend it all now. I just feel overwhelmed with gratitude and i hope you do too!

Christmas

Wow! Hard to believe it's the Christmas season again. I always look forward to Christmas. It has always been a good time for me. No sad holidays yet that I can remember anyway. However this year seems to be extremely stressful. I'm not sure why but it seems that the workload has doubled in every way. We added a Christmas party (for our worship team at church) to our schedule this month. You'd think that a simple Christmas party would not come this that much stress but my goodness! My motivation is slipping away and I'm afraid that I'm not going to be able to finish getting ready (the way that I wanted to at least). For next year I need to prune way down the amount of things I try to accomplish for Christmas. It's not the things I do for my family. It's all the things I try to do for everyone else. I need to do less baking for one thing. I enjoy it so much but now it's becoming a burdensome tradition that I can't keep up with. I am also making several homemade Christmas gifts, which I also love to do, however, more time and more stress. Hmmmm, there seems to be a pattern here. It seems that I am putting too much expectation on myself and that I need to do less than that.

You know why Christmas was so fun and exciting as a kid? It's because everyone else did all the work and we just got to enjoy it all. We were the recipients of all the hard work.

So the question is...........do we, as the adults now do what our parents did to make Christmas so special in so many ways to make it equally as special for our kids. Or do we do less and set our kids up for success when they grow up with a whole lot less expectations???

I guess it all goes back to the real meaning of Christmas..............and it's certainly not the snowman in the picture above!

I am curious to hear what you all will have to say.

"Tuscan Sunset"

This was probably about my third painting. I really like this one too. Seems like some of your first ones are your best. Now I'm trying new things and getting out of my comfort zone. This was a Christmas gift for my brother-in-law. I drew his name and he requested a painting.........brave soul!

Shawna's room

My first contracted work. I went to her house to figure out what kind of painting she might like and where she would like it. We decided small paintings over the window would suit her style the best. These are originals. I took the cues from her bedding.

Spin-off

I did this one after I finished Kari's. The circle pattern showed up nicely on the right but I got a little sloppy on the left. I still like it though. This one is to go to a coffee shop that Liberty Bible (my old church) is opening up soon. They are looking for local artists that want to display and/or sell their work. Might be a good place to start.

Love this one!

This is a replica that I did for my friend/neighbor Kari. I wanted to keep it!

For Annabelle

This was a set I did for Annabelle's room about 2 years ago called "Peonies."

This one has no title but it has a twin and they hang above our bed

Freedom

This was one called "Freedom" that I did for the church foyer

Artwork

I have been wanting to post some of the paintings I have been working on for a while but have just now gotten all the pictures together. I still have 2 or 3 that need to be photographed (hopefully better quality than the ones I am going to post). I also have a couple that are in the works that should be done soon. I started painting probably 3 years ago but have done a lot in the last year. I really enjoy seeing things come to life on the canvas but don't really know the techniques just yet. I am replicating a lot of things to gain some experience. I enjoy watching Bob Ross and a couple of other painting instructors on TV even though I don't personally care for any of their styles. It has given me a bit of an understanding as to how to get started anyway. I have done some originals which has been fun, I guess probably and equal mix of originals and replicas. The painting you see above, "Rustic Pear" was one I did for the Portland Symphony's annual auction. A lady that I used to do some gardening for actually ended up buying it so that was really great.

Time with Ruth!

We got to spend a lot of time with Ruth and Leah over the past four days. Jessica was in the hospital with a fever that wouldn't go away so we got to help with the kids. It was so much fun. The "big" girls had a blast playing together and all the girls enjoyed playing with Ruth. She is such a happy baby. All you have to do is talk to her and she lights up with all the smiles. Noel and Sydney had a great time making Ruth laugh and they even set up a baby daycare with signs on the door and everything.

Kindergarten!

Big Girl On the BUS!
Here comes the Bus!
All ready for school!
The Sign says it All!


Well, here we are! It's so hard to believe that it's time for school already! She came down the stairs this morning all dressed and ready to go for school at 7:15am. She is in afternoon kindergarten, which is nice for me because that is Sydney's naptime. She got on the bus around 12pm with her friend Savannah who is in her class and also is a redhead. They hopped right on the bus and did great. Savannah's mom and I drove and met them at the school and walked them to their class where they found a seat and started playing with blocks. I think she is going to love it. I can't say that I'm proud that I didn't cry, I really think I would've but I was a little distracted, thankfully! What a big day..............and what a big girl!

Girl's Night Out!

We had a really fun time at the Girl's Night out at church last week! They decorated the Kidz Life building all up in girly stuff with Pink everywhere. The girls dressed in their princess dresses and glass slippers and got to get their hair done up fancy, their nails painted and we got to make pretty boxes and tutu's. It was so fun, a little chaotic, but very worth it. There were about 90 girls (of all ages) that came that night.

Daddy's 31st Birthday!

Ben, Teresa, Noel and Sydney hangin' out!
Stephani and little Ella Girl!
The Birthday Boy!
The Gang celebrating outside!

Daddy turned 31 so we decided to celebrate Daddy-style! Good friends and good food were on the menu. Our friends Kevin and Stephani and little Ella joined us along with Ben and Teresa. We had a great time chatting and enjoying some dinner and cake together. The guys had their "band" talk and we girls talked about...........you know, whatever we talk about! It was a lot of fun and always is good to see and spend time with our friends. Noel and Sydney had a good time trying to keep us all entertained with their jokes and dances. Happy Birthday Daddy! Will it be a tattoo or an iPhone?

County Fair

Yee-Haw for family day at the Clark County Fair!
Noel volunteered to perform in a "pretend" circus where she dressed up as a snow leopard and acted out a part with other animals on the kids stage. We enjoyed deep-fried cookie dough (don't think I'd get that again) after lunch before heading off to the Rides. We went all out with the 80 ticket package ($$$$) and the girls got to ride a good amount of the rides. I of course had to go on several of them with Noel because........well.........she couldn't just go alone! It's a mother's duty right? Let's see.......we went on the little swings, the train, the fun house, the shrek adventure obstacle course and slide, the big slide, the roller coaster, the mini pirate ship and the broken airplanes. It was a lot of fun........so much so that the girls were both crying and whining when we had to leave........we were literally dragging them to the car. They gave up pretty easy though. All in all...........it was a blast!

Sydney's 3rd Birthday

Birthday party madness took place this last Saturday at Grandma and Grandpa Sprenger's house. There were lots of kids (cousins and friends) there to enjoy the Slip-n-slides and the fun bounce house. The weather wasn't the best for water activities but it wasn't bad either. We prayed like crazy for no rain and God answered our prayers. We BBQ'd and had lots of good eats along with the "swimming pool" cake. Sydney had a hay-day opening her gifts. She got some toys, games, clothes and art supplies......oh and a kids laptop. Now she can have one just like everyone else in the house. Noel got one for her birthday too. Hmmm...........does that make you wonder what they see Mom and Dad doing quite often?????

More of Ruth

Could she be any cuter????
The girls and I got to go over and hold baby Ruth while Jessica went to her doctor's appointment. She was perfect.........Leah was in California visiting her grandparents, so the girls got to play with all her toys........which meant I got Ruth mostly to myself. It felt so good having her in my arms. She is a beauty.

Meeting Ruth

Ok, prepare yourself for some ooey, gooey, sick love, mushy stuff cause I got to meet my new little niece today! Needless to say, I'm a bit excited. She is so beautiful, so perfect, amazing. I don't think I've been this ga-ga over a baby since my two little babes. She looks like a little Gabe. Dark hair, dark skin, slanty eyes and Gabe's ears and hairline (both of which I have too).
Leah is looking forward to bringing her home and getting to be a big sister. She has gotten to spend the last four days at Grandma and Grandpa's so has had a lot of fun but I know is looking forward to getting to be with mom and dad and little Ruthie (or Rufie as she and Sydney pronounce it).

Baby Ruth!

Little Ruth is finally here. We've all been awaiting this moment. She was born on Thursday, June 28 2007 at 11:30pm. She weighed in at a healthy 8lbs 11oz and was almost 22 inches long. As you can see from the pictures, she looks a lot like Gabe.

Ruth, we're all so glad you are here and we can't wait to get to know you!

Yes, I am a very proud Auntie!

Beach Pictures!

Camping with Kids!

Well, we just got back from quite the camping trip. We went to Shortsands (where all the surfers go) about 20 minutes South of Cannon Beach. It was very tiring, to say the least. I had to do nearly all the planning and packing (I know, boo hoo) because we left as soon as Ben got home from work. When we left it was pouring down rain...not too encouraging. The weather surprisingly turned out to be really nice. Noel and I got to go on a couple adventures while daddy and sister took a nap. We ran from the waves, walked on the rocks in the river/creek that ran into the ocean and went for a hike. If you ever have a chance to camp here, do it. You camp in this beautiful wooded setting but can walk 1/2 mile down to this awesome beach enclosed on three sides by rock cliffs. We enjoyed eating junk food, that we never normally eat, and had s'mores. The girls really looked forward to the s'mores and then didn't really eat them. We had a great fire that daddy built - that was our peace and calm after the girls went to bed. All in all we had a memorable time but we both thought we would go insane several times during the two days.

Noel's 5th Birthday!

We just celebrated Noel's 5th birthday! It was a lot of fun. It was her first friends party. She had her cousins and 3 friends over. It was a Hawaiian themed party. The girls all dressed up in Hawaiian accessories and made up a dance/performance. They also had fun doing facepainting and cake decorating. Thanks to my mom who stayed and helped..........I needed it. Poor Sydney wanted to be a part of everything the "big girls" wanted to do and of course, I made six of everything, not seven. OOPS!