Pumpkintown

We have at least 10 pumpkins on our porch this year and most of them came from good ol' Pumpkintown!

The boys love to go there every October and visit the pumpkin people.

Ben's teeth are missing and he looks like a real life Jack o' lantern! 

We hope everyone has a happy and safe Halloween!!!

Beach fun!

Labor day weekend was pretty windy here in the Northeast.  Ben didn't want to go in the water cause the waves were pretty high.  I think he had more fun at the edge of the water keeping dry!

97 years old and looking good!

Our grandpa is in town this week visiting us from the south.  He is 97 years young and fit as a fiddle!  He is one of the friendliest people you would ever meet and has an optimistic outlook on life.  My Sister and I make a yearly trip to South Carolina to visit him.   Grandpa still drives his car to the grocery store, mows his own lawn and cooks and cleans his house.  He is a very busy and active man! 
I remember him telling me that he has always had faith that someone above is watching out for him and he knows it will always work out and it has.  Grandpa is always moving forward in his mind and his body.  I'm sure it also helps that he has healthy eating habits.  Plenty of fruits, vegetables and fish are what he likes to eat.  He has always lived his life gracefully and is an inspiration to us all!
Long live Grandpa!

School is out!

School is out!  Yay to sleeping in! We have lots of fun and activities planned.  The boys are super excited!
I think Lady has mixed feelings because she is getting lots of attention, but along with attention is Ben bugging her.  His latest thing is using her for a pillow whenever she lays down.  Thank goodness she is a patient and such a good girl.  I wonder if she will be happy in the fall when school is back in session!

Spring Fling

At least once a year, my husband and I get dressed up to go to a formal event.  This year we had two back to back.  I usually dread them because going means I actually have to think about what to wear besides jeans and a tee shirt.  A friend took this picture from their i phone and emailed it to us today.  We don't have very many pictures of the two of us since I am usually the one taking all the pictures. 
My husband turns 40 in a couple of weeks.  Everyone thinks he looks young for his age and I think so too.  Happy 40th Birthday Honey! 

This kid knows how to manifest!

Today we were walking in a fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis.  It was a great family event and at the end they had a raffle.  Nathan said that he really wanted to win one of the two scooters available.  I reminded him that he needed to tell the universe exactly what he wanted, know that it is going to happen and let it go and he did.  A little later on he came to me and said he was a bit nervous because he really wants it.  I told him if he doesn't believe that it is his then it won't be.  I asked him which color he wanted and he said he wants the red one.  I told him to picture himself riding it at home today and to feel the joy of it and then to let it go.  He did all that and skipped away.  About 10 minutes later they were announcing the raffles and the winners.  The scooter drawing was one of the last to be announced.  The blue scooter went first to some lucky kid and then came the drawing for the red scooter.  I saw the girl reach in the bowl and sure enough....she said Nathan!  yay!  This is not the first time he has won a raffle.  He has won at least five that I can remember.  He believes in the power of the universe and he is proof that it really, really works!

Twins?

Typical day....The first thing my youngest son said when he woke up yesterday morning was I want to wear what Nathan is wearing.  He didn't see what his brother wore because he was still sleeping.  He lucked out because he happened to have the exact shirt his brother wore that day.  I have learned to buy similar or the same shirt whenever possible.  They have at least 4 or 5 of the same shirts.  My youngest will change 5 times a day to randomly match someone in the neighborhood or his brother.  I'm not sure what that is all about, but I guess it does make life interesting and makes for a good photo! 

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Happy St.Patrick's Day!  I have always loved this day.  Even before my son Nathan was born on March 17th ten years ago I thought it was the greatest day.  Now I have two reasons to celebrate - St. Patrick's Day and my son's birthday.  Happy 10th Birthday Nathan!  You really are Nate the Great!!!  Check out the shirt Sasa made him for this special occasion!

Do you see what I see?

Two weeks ago it snowed in the middle of the night.  When morning came everything looked like it had white frosting on it.  I had to be somewhere at 9 a.m. that morning and I felt like I was driving through a winter wonderland.  When I came to a stop sign a couple of miles from my house,  this broken down beaten up fence took my breath away.  Click on the picture above.  What normally looks like a fence that needs replacing looked like an abstract painting to me.  I'm not sure if it was the colors, contrast or the blanket of snow on everything, but it was a beautiful sight.  I had my camera with me, so I snapped a picture vowing to paint an abstract painting showing the colors and contrast of a worn out fence and a fresh coat of snow.

Favorite things

While I do love apples, its the star bowl of pocket peace rocks from my twin Sister that fills my heart with joy!  She hand painted the peace sign on small smooth rocks for me to randomly give to company to spread peace.  I love the look of delight on their faces as they pick their favorite one.  I've given out at least a half dozen so far and the bowl is still full!
As if her pocket peace rocks alone isn't the coolest thing on earth.....she also paints peace rocks on larger stones and spreads them throughout the world!  When she travels she brings a bag of peace rocks to place in random spots for people to find.  The best part is that she numbers each one and puts her peace blog on the back so the lucky people can say where they found one of her very special rocks!    Check out her blog- http://www.sasa-peace-rocks.blogspot.com/   Even if you do not find one of her very special rocks....she has peace rock give aways and peace inspiring messages for all!

Let the sun shine in

The weatherman said that there would be no sun all week, just clouds and wet/snowy weather.  I painted a little painting to help me remember the sunny days coming this spring.  75 degrees and sunny is my favorite kind of day.  How about you?

Lady our rescue dog from Tennessee

This is Lady our 1 year old rescue dog from the South.  We recently found out that she is a Carolina Dog or an American Dingo as some call them because of their similar physical appearance to that of a Dingo.  The Carolina Dog was the first domesticated dog of the Americas.  They were an Indian breed and they come from the deep, southern regions of the United States.  They are believed to be direct descendents of the ancient pariah dogs that accompanied  Asians traveling across the Bering Straits about 8,000 years ago.   The Carolina Dog is not a completely domesticated breed and specimens are still found today that exist in the swamps, forests and savannahs of the South. They do make excellent pets and are highly adaptable to domestication.

Lady is a sweet, sweet girl.  She is a little shy around new people, but is a clown with everyone else.  She is very smart and able to learn a new trick or command in minutes.  I've been very busy keeping her busy so she won't chew our entire house.  She has a thing for socks and stuffed animals.  When I talk to her she tilts her head to the side like in the photo above.  I am constantly taking pictures of her and have recently started painting her.  In fact, I just started another blog for my photos of her because I have so many.  I am so inspired by my Lady girl....I will post some paintings soon!

4 leaf clover give-away!

Yesterday I discovered a very luck patch of clovers in my front yard! In a 3x3 foot patch of grass I found over twenty 4 leaf clovers! I also found one 5 leaf clover!!! I feel blessed and lucky at the same time and I want to share it with you!
I will mail out four lucky 4 leaf clovers to 4 lucky bloggers! Just leave a comment on this post. If someone really could use a bit of luck let me know and I will whisper it to the patch and let it do its magic!
Good luck!

Happy Birthday to my twin, Sasa!!

Sasa is the name my boys call their Aunt Alison. She is the greatest girl on earth. I know it and my boys know it. We all adore her! She makes this world a better place by just being in it. Thank you Sasa for making my birthday extra special and for brightening our lives! We love you!!!!

Quote by Vincent Van Gogh

I LOVE Vincent Van Gogh and the beautiful paintings he left us to enjoy and admire. (The painting above is a little 2x3 inch study I did of his Cypress Field paintings) I've been reading about his life and more importantly his attitude about the world around him. He had a love for people and nature and his passion was to express his love for them through his art. Here is a quote by Van Gogh whose birthday was yesterday...

"I tell you, the more I think, the more I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to LOVE people."
Vincent Van Gogh

Do you want a good laugh?

This is my neighbor's Chocolate Lab, Gracie. She is 3 years old and very sweet so when my neighbor asked me if I would walk her as a favor I said "sure!" It's been at least 20 years since I've walked a dog and I guess I was out of practice because yesterday I didn't see this coming. About 5 minutes after I got her outside Gracie spotted the neighbor's cat slinking across her yard. I saw her look and I thought she was thinking "who cares about that silly cat" OH NO! she was thinking "dinner!" She took off in a flash and first I felt my arms yank out of their sockets and then I realized my legs and feet were kicking out behind me as my body lunged forward. My flip flops were holding me back so I let them fly off my feet and suddenly my body was airborne until I hit the ground and was dragged across the grass. It was just like in the movies and I was determined beyond belief NOT TO LET GO! The weight of dragging me across the lawn slowed Gracie down and she lost interest in the cat and ran over to me jumping on me and trying to roll on top of me. I think she was laughing at me. I couldn't get up because I wasn't sure if all my limbs were intact. The only thing that snapped me back into reality was Ben crying "Mommy fell down and Oh no! Gracie's eating my Mommy!" So I snapped out of it and brushed myself off pretending it was nothing and my scraped knees and grass stained body is an every day occurrence. So today I am sore in various places and was a little bit leary of this afternoon's "walk." The one thing I've learned from this experience is......don't walk a big dog in flip flops!

Sasa's BIG Pine Tree

My sister Sasa has the biggest Pine tree I have ever seen!

She lives in the woods and is surrounded on all sides by trees and greenery.

I always feel rejuvenated and peaceful whenever I go to her house.

Maybe its the nature and their very cool house or maybe

its just my sister's and her husband's peaceful presence!

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Mr. Pickypants LOVES his Elmo shirt!

I breathed a sigh of relief today as Ben declared "I love my Elmo shirt." I can now add this to the list of 2 or 3 acceptable shirts in his drawer. Thanks! Sasa! He looks adorable in it and is easy to spot running accross the neighbors lawn.