random - in no particular order. unpredictable. in a haphazard way.

example - not the main thing in influencing others. it's the only thing.

I decided to start up a new blog in memory of Kelsey.  I've been asked by so many of her friends to leave up her Facebook page so they can remember her.  For now it will stay active.  I thought it would be nice though to have a place to compile all the things about Kels.  A place that I hope others can learn more about her life.

In picking the name of the blog I knew it needed to be something unique and a bit quirky as Kels wouldn't want it any other way.  She loved to be and was random in the things that she said.  If you knew Kels you could appreciate this about her.  It was part of who she was.  So I knew somehow the word random needed to be a part of the title.  As I thought of other things that reminded me of her the word example came to mind.  I know in my own personal life Kels was a wonderful example in the way she handled some of her struggles.  Since she passed I've had an overwhelming amount of people letting me know in some way how Kels touched there life.  So of course it had to be example! So it just stuck and became Random Example. 

During this difficult time we have had so much love and support!  It has been so amazing and a blessing in our lives!  I cannot express how much I am grateful for everything.  The amount of emails, texts, facebook comments, and cards has been so overwhelming.  I am so grateful to have these as they are a wonderful reminder of a beautiful daughter that went home earlier then any of us would have liked!

I hope you will follow along and hopefully find something that will make you laugh, cry, smile, or inspire you.  Again thank you so much for the love and support we have received.  We are forever grateful.

Random Example

This saying has a whole new meaning for me.  This past Tuesday, March 8th my sweet daughter Kels was taken home to be with her Father in Heaven.

She had just turned 16 in Dec and has the sweetest soul and spirit about her.  Her services were held yesterday March 12th.  I was grateful and amazed by the support and the turnout of people we had come to share with us this special yet difficult time.  I'm so wishing now that I had recorded at least the life history that my brother did. It was absolutely amazing.  I've never been in a funeral where you could hear so much laughter and I mean laughter.  It warmed my heart.  I was glad that people were able to see into how kels is and yet if they knew her well that they were able to remember these things and feel that connection and love.

She has been such a wonderful example to me in my life as well.  I appreciate this so much and it helps give me the strength to know she is now doing work in a different place.  She has a new task at hand.  We may not know what it is, but I know we can find comfort and peace in knowing that she is doing the Lords work on the other side.  I can not even describe the peace and joy I have felt the past few days.  It almost feels weird to feel this way after losing my child.  I know that the rough days will come as well, but  I know  that she is where she is needed and is being watched over as she continues on.  I'm grateful that one day we will see her again and I will be able to look into her beautiful eyes and feel her warm embrace. 

 
There is so much more that I could and want to share. I'm just afraid I would be here all day typing.  I'm thinking of setting up another blog in memory of kels to post more things on.  When I decide on this I will post this.  I just wanted to share with so many friends and loved ones this time in our life.  I am so grateful for the love and support that we have received and continue to receive.  We have felt the prayers and spirt so strong this week.  We are grateful to each one of you that has reached out in any way.  I'm just so glad to know that my baby is now without her diabetes and other trials that she had her.  That she is happy, dancing, taking care of others and doing the Lords work.

We love you Kooks!

My most recent post that is.  Just finished it up and then it was gone. Not sure where it went, but it's not here anymore.

So this time around it's simple and to the point...maybe that's better.

Have you seen this class...Soul Restoration?  I was on the fence until the last night possible to sign up for it.  I told myself that I needed to take some more time to myself...one of my goals for the New Year.  So this was the perfect start.  I jumped in and signed up.  I was sad when it started because I was pretty sick for several days.  I found out Monday that I had pneumonia.  Yuck.  It really kicked my butt last week!  Now that I've got the meds I'm feeling so much better...just waiting for more energy to return.  My mom keeps reminding me to take it easy so I thought spending time on this class would help keep me busy, but at the same time taking it easy.

In this class I've already found my "one little word" reminding me!  I'm finding I need the inner "strength" to journal.  I'm not very good when it comes to writing.  My mom didn't pass on that talent.  I do however love the art part of it!  It's been so long since I've taken out my art journals.  I've really been enjoying the process.

 
I'm also finding that I will be able to gain strength in areas of my life that are really lacking it.  I've been taking time out everyday to spend painting, journaling, and just enjoying it.  It's been wonderful working on this so far.

 
In this journal I'm not worrying about it looking perfect or just right.  I'm really trying to enjoy the process and try new things on my pages.  It's been fun letting go and just letting it happen.

In between all the germs, kiddos, house stuff, and whatever else goes on I've been squeezing in some time to put some new stuff together for the shop in Mesa.  I've also been working on some new stuff with Kels.  I will be adding that to the shop as well as Etsy here soon.  Yep it's time for another Etsy update!  Need to get my camera out!

I hope you take some time to yourself this weekend and some time to enjoy some of your favorite things!

So happy to have this new year here!  This past year had a lot of bumps in the road for our family. There is just something about having January come around.  The feeling of a fresh start and recommitting or committing to goals and new changes.

The past several years I have picked a word to focus on for the year.  You can read more about it here.  Ali Edwards does such a great job with this.  If you look here she has a list of tons of words you can choose from if you are having a hard time coming up with your own.

I usually start thinking ahead of time about my new word, but this year I completely forgot about it until I saw new words popping up everywhere.  The past few years my choice has been very easy.  This year I struggled with it and the ones I had been thinking just didn't seem to fit.  Then it finally hit. 

 
My word for 2011 is STRENGTH.  At first I just shrugged it off and tried to think of a new one, but I found it coming back over and over through out the past few days.  So I finally decided to just go with it!  Tonight I took sometime to play around with some photos and the word a bit.  It was nice to take some time for just me!  Something I need to work on more this year!

So have you thought of one little word that will help you to push yourself into a new direction and hopefully better your life?  I may need to have this photo printed up and hang it as a daily reminder!

"Each time we face our fear, we gain strength, courage, and confidence in the doing"

to be grateful for!

 
This past 4 weeks a lot has happened here at home.  It reminded me how grateful I am for the simple things that we have!  I guess when you have a trial it really can put things into perspective, if you allow it to! 

I'm so grateful for my family and close friends for the strength and support we recieved from them during this time.  We truely have been blessed with so many things.  I need to try and remember them all year long and not just around the holidays!

We will be spending time with family and friends for the holidays and enjoying ourselves while remembering the many blessings that we've been given.  I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

So I’ve been busy taking photos and uploading some things to my etsy store today.  It always seems to take longer then I plan for, but I enjoy the time doing it.  While I was at it I made a new shop banner.  Nothing elaborate,  simple and to the point.  I was able to use some photos that I had taken of vintage finds.

Even though it’s still in the triple digits here fall is quickly approaching.  Keeping my fingers crossed that the weather shows us the fall temps soon!  I thought I would add some trim cards to the shop.  All the trims here are vintage and would add a unique touch to all those upcoming projects!

I also added some of my mini kits.  There are a few different ones to choose from.  They have hand cut mini wood shapes along with vintage goodies and embellishments.  Also shown are hand crocheted flowers and scallop punches. 

With Sept being back to school for most people I thought a back to school art journal would be fun to have.  I have made 2 different sizes to choose from.  This one is the larger one and comes with an embellishment kit as well.  The journals are made up from lots of fun vintage papers.  These would be great to add photos to or even journaling through out the school year.

This one is a sample of the smaller art journal. It also has lots of fun vintage papers put together on a large book ring.  I’ve even stitched on the side of some of the papers for added texture.

This last item is a hand painted welcome sign.  I painted it on aged barn wood.  This adds to the character and patina of the wood.  The sign is ready to hang on the wall or would look great sitting on a shelf as well.

Thanks for stopping by.  Pondering what to put up for White Wednesday!