Jekyll Island

We left at 4am , drove 6 hours and arrived JUST on time to board  the ferry for Cumberland Island. Only to realize our family of five and all our packed gear for out 1st official camping trip was...not...even...going to  fit on that boat.  I watched them board the ferry with one backpack per person. No sleeping bags or pillows and coats in sight. Where were their coolers or even tents for that matter? Seriously my boys were not going to live off granola an entire weekend, hence the very large cooler with wheels that took up the entire back of our van. Did I mention there were 5 of us,including 4 BOYS camping for an entire weekend? They can do without running water, electricity or heat but will not miss a snack practically every hour.

Change of plans...  

While we ended up on a different island and different beach I have a feeling we created just as many great  memories for our 1st family camping trip either way.

Coming Soon

Welcome Fall

                                

Come visit me and check out The Garden market this Saturday November 10th 9-3:30 pm.                                                http://www.gardenmarket.blogspot.com

                                   

 

       

" What Do You Paint?"

 Artists have always been taught to paint by studying and repainting  the masterpieces of artists before them. So when I see a sky painted only by the hand of God , what greater masterpiece is there to attempt? Some  find landscapes, seascapes and skyscapes mundane, but they never lose my interest. Just watching a sunset is a series of a hundred paintings. Each minute of light change creates an entire new palette.  I will ever exhaust paintings  inspired by sky and sea.

"What do you paint?" I should have a prepared answer in mind that rolls off my tongue considering how many times over the past 15 years I've been asked this. Still I never seem to know exactly what to say. All I can go on is what I'm painting at the moment because my subject matter has varied so over the years. But my heart has always been the coast.

My feet hit the sand and I see the first reflection of light across the water.  Then there's the sounds without all the noise. You know when the crashing waves and wind are so loud you can't hear anything else except for the conversation right next to you in the moment. It's the stillness and calm, yet the mighty and awe invoking reverence of power and strength,  at the shore's edge.  Perspective alters, problems seem a lot smaller next to this  vast expanse. You are reminded how BIG this world is and how small you are. It's walking humbly with God- total dependence on Him.  How can I not place all my cares and concerns  into the same palm of  hand of who created and beholds ALL this glory. If  He can bring the tiniest of shells in perfection  to shore by the fiercest waves I know He can carry me. For a moment a  curtain is peeled open and I catch a sliver of eternity.

There are places all over this world I know  moments like these  happen I've yet to see. I'm sure you will be seeing a series of desert and mountains from Angie Reuter one day, even if I'm 60!

The Ones That Almost Got Away

I am  not a photographer.I love photos and look at them  in  magazines, blogs and  in my hallway every day . Photos of my family are probaly my most prized possessions. I took photography in college and can take pretty good shots if I try with a decent camera. I almost got a degree in magazine journalism because I wanted to work with layouts of photos.  I do have an eye for composition , color, contrast and balance when you are setting up a shot. And all day long I see life through snap shot images in my mind and think, " Oh that would make a cool photo or interesting painting".  I say  I'm  too busy living in the moments to stop and capture the moments. While I see through a lens I don't live behind one.  But regardless of why,  I don't take photographs.  

So I am  grateful to live in a day when sharing photos is so available and easy.  For while I am at most all the school functions and family events I am never the one camera in hand. I am thankful to all the generous moms who share the moments of my boys' school days.  I am thankful to aunts and uncles who capture all my boys birthdays and family vacation memories. And I am thankful for friends who share our lives and  capture all the other  " in between" events.  And I'm thankful to my husband who faithfully  remembers to take a photo of each of my paintings just before they are sold and slip out the back door!

These are a few that almost got away!...

More May

 So  I was just writing about sending Cae off for his  first day of Kindergarten and Caleb to 3rd grade.... and now the school year is coming to a close. It never ceases to amaze me just how MUCH they change as I look back. While the year seemed to whiz by us,  their first day of school seems like quite a while ago... haircuts and all!

Caleb tackled multiplication, fractions, long division and subject matter in science and social studies that I don't think I even knew about till 6th grade. I still am taken back when Cae nonchalantly reads everything in site, as I remember " Oh yeah he can read now!" And honestly I've been amazed by the artwork he brings home. I wish I could bottle his excitement for  learning for his middle and high school years!









And little Colt ... well we are still working on potty training ( yes he is over 3 years old). But at least we got rid of the pacifier and graduated to sharing brothers' room and sleeping in a twin bed. I have cherished just the 2 of us spending each day in his 3 year old world, while big brothers were at school. As tag along for all  brothers' school and soccer activities, I joke he's " our mascot". But in reality he's already big man on East Side Elementary campus. Strutting down the halls all the boys are giving him " high fives" and girls are hugging him, " He's soooo cute!"

We are finishing the year out strong with Field Days, school Marathon , Zoo and Aquarium field trips, Strawberry picking, end-of-year class parties and picnics, school art shows, end-of-season soccer games and celebrations, tournaments and awards. And oh yeah  in the midst of it all  I even squeezed in a Girls' Beach Trip  thanks to Shawn ( and Nonna) who took on our boys' May madness for a few days...best Mother's Day gift ever!
It's not even the end of May yet...I seem to look forward to summer more and more each year!

H.E.A.R.T

So Caleb was beaming after soccer practice about a month ago when I picked him up. Players are selected by the coaches from Academy to take home  the "H.E.A.R.T." jersey for showing honesty, effort, attitude, respect and tenacity. The player gets to sign the jersey and wear it for few days.   He was especially proud this time because it was the 2nd time this year he had received it and  was playing up with older boys during practice when they acknowledged him.

 Honestly he was just as excited about the jersey than  when I've seen him win a game or get a goal. Nothing compares to moments like these as a mom when I see the boys not just succeed but thrive.  Knowing you are largely responsible for cultivating your child's idea of success can be a daunting task.   We walk the tight rope in life early of performance and praise with grades, winning, losing and being accepted by others.  Yet at the end of the day  all I want more than anything for them to know is,  it's not what we do but who we are that brings us the most joy and fulfillment and will carry us the farthest.

" For the Lord does not see as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7

It wasn't by chance this was the first verse I ever had Caleb memorize and  write over and over when he was about 4-5 years old. And it's moments like these when I realize  the weight of these words and how crucial they will be to his life. So for now I may leave the job of cultivating success to the world and  pray for God to show me the job of cultivating hearts.