CLOTHESLINE CLOTHESLINE CLOTHESLINE

I know I am doin a little copy cat posting here... but, I'm sure Kate won't mind! I am just so supa dupa excited about the upcoming Clothesline event. I just love being a part of this show. I love the core artists who are involved and I love the casual, non-gallery friendly vibe that breezes through this lovely event. If you haven't made it to this event in the past, you gotsta get here and see just how inspiring it is!!!

Come out everybody and see our new work!!!
Mother's Day Weekend - May 9, 10, and 11

dandelion bliss

can anyone really make these little flowers look better???
yep, that's what I thought too!

We BACK!

So we went on our first fam vaca last week... aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh. so lovely... words fall very short. nevertheless, i'll try to relate at least a little of our adventures.

we headed to the mountains of North Carolina to a sweet little cabin by a wooded stream where the Kirby clan eagerly awaited us. smile smile.

We had a week full of fly fishing, rock throwing, river watching, kite flying goodness sprinkled with moments of tenderness and good conversation. There was no computas, no cell phones (that worked - YAY) and a tv that very rarely produced the adventures of Dora and the Backyardigans.

I didn't realize how much I needed a techy detox. I just can't express how much more enjoyable life is when you spend your time actually talking and just being with one another. It made me realize how much I love my family and just how much fun it is to be reunited with our other half... the kirby crew. i just love ya'll...

It's amazing how fast and slow it all seemed to go. I feel like I was gone for a month, yet nothing much seems to reflect changes that I feel inside... thankfulness and a persistant awareness of the importance of treasuring all your tiny moments with your fam. I hope the "shoulds" of life stay in their proper place... closer to the bottom of the priority list. more words and pics lata... i'm gonna go read a story to the Laughfer now. we out

we out... for now

ok, blogger land...
just wanted to say I will be outta range for a tiny bit.
gots sooo much to do to prep for the upcoming Clothesline show... Save the Date kids - May 9-11th same times, same place... I'll give ya the low down on specs as the time draws nearer.

For now, I leave ya with one of my latest finished pieces (still needs a tiny few finishing touches) and us (love that expression on my tiny girls face!).
smooches...

Being a girl

The other day we spent some time just being girls.
Here is my sweet girl enjoying the wonders of "feesooo polish" (finger nail polish). This is an activity that is definitely new to the house, but is dearly loved by miss Laugher. She sat so still while I painted and repainted those tiny little nails and then turned to me and said "love feessoo polish!".... so cute, huh! She also showed the UPS man the beauty of these pink nails - I somehow think the wonder was lost on him, but he patiently listened... smile.

Thanks to Marmie for reminding us about all the lovely things we can do 'just being girls.'

btw - this crazy pic of Laughfer is the product of me saying "SMILE, Laughfer!" so funny...

sweet Autumn

Me and Autumn Marie! such a sweet place to be... i actually didn't mean to rhyme, it just happens all the time!!!! ah - yea, as you can probably tell, I didn't get much sleep last night. This sweet little girl decided she wanted to be awake and hang out at 3 am.
Boy, these little people have strange ideas of fun, eh!

Yesterday this tiny girl had quite a big day at ye ol' doc's office. We went for her 4 month check up and all is well... praise God!

I did get her stats...
11 lbs 7 oz.
24 inches long
25th percentile in weight
75th percentile in height

Just like big sis! Exactly...
Apparently we do have just one format for babies! but, what a good format it is!!!!!!!!

will my wish be granted???

so on monday i scurried around town in a bit of a flurry to get my grant proposal turned in for the Createhere Make Work grants. I have been in a bit of a blur ever since I decided to jump on this train. I was so hesitant to embark on such a journey that may or may not produce any fruit whatsoever.... somehow it felt like critique time back in ye ol' art department days where you labor and labor over a project till the wee hours of the morning only to find out the next day that your work was dreadfully lacking in compositional integrity or somethin... erg. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate those hard times of learning the fundamentals, but let's be honest... that is hard stuff... not the funest fo sho....

anyways... all this to say, I got up the gumption to submit a proposal for a project that has been incubating in my brain for many many years and I'm so glad I did... even if I don't make the cut. If you're wondering what this elusive proposal is about, I will fill ya'll in if I pass the test.

and one last thing... I wanted to give a shout out to Lauren & Cannon for the awesome words of recommendation... thanks more than you know. and I also wanted to just say to my mom and my sweet little fam... thank you for putting up with zombie jen while I have been so consumed. I promise that you will no longer have to put matchbox cars in my coffee cup or say my name 12xs to get my attention. love yous

sometimes at church...

sometimes at church when things get a little long or slightly blurry I find myself in the oddest of places...
i think about what i would do if i were stuck clinging to the long dangly light fixture or the steeple maybe... then I think it would probably be ok if i had some mad indiana jones skills or maybe those peewee herman suction shoes.

then i find myself thinking about my little family and how wonderful they are and what a lucky girl i am. and i wonder about what kind of women my girls will come to be.

and sometimes i think of all the tiny things that are amazing that we overlook all the time.... like how an orange is made up of a bazillion itsy bitsy little juice pockets that hold such lovely nectar inside. and i wonder if i could ever guess just how many there are in one orange...

inevitably i reach the conclusion that 'really seriuos chistians' never find themselves in these wierd mental spaces and am pretty sure that this kind of pondering is supposed to end somewhere around 12.... hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Eggies

Who knew how fun hunting down plastic eggs could be??? Here are a few charming little shots of Lavender and her best bu, Matthew. I know, I know... it is kinda late for Easter pics, but hey, late is how I roll these days... eh eh






It was so incredibly fun to watch these tiny ones running around with baskets that were just as big as their little bodies! So funny and cute too.









These two were hilarious... Matthew was just tring to find as many eggies as possible while Lavender was waaay more interested in shaking the eggs. Come to find out... Matthew only had eyes for eggs filled with little cookies, while Lavender was in hot pursuit of ones with change klinking around inside.

Anyways... this was such a fun day and it was all possible because of our sweet friends... thanks T crew.... you made our Easter so lovely!!!

Check out this big girl!!!

Yep, that's right this big 2 year old is a fully potty trained kiddo!!! I know, I know... posting about potty training - soo not the funest thing in the world, but hey, this is my world and let me tell ya, saving 20 bucks a week on diapers was well worth the 5 intensive days of potty potty potty time.

Lavender is pretty proud of herself, rightly so... so if ya see her be sure to tell her how proud you are too!!

hope all is well out in blogger land... it will be nice to start adventuring out like we normally do now that we have gotten associated with "public potties"

Rollin' rollin' rollin'

Miss Autumn has officially learned to roll over!

Yes, it's true... this tiny girl can go from laying on her back to face down on the bed... who woulda thought it! I must say it is rather funny to watch. She is so intent on going somewhere and then that somewhere ends up being face down in the blankets... eh eh... I somehow don't think the destination is quite what she thought it would be.

I love this pic... such sweetness. What beauties!

3 Little Pirates

Today Mimi was good enough to bring my sweet niece and nephew over to play with the girls... such a treat for us since we have been absorbed in the land of potty training since Saturday.

We all (and I do mean ALL of us) played many rounds of piratey adventures... hiding a special "treasure chest" (a pier one catch all sitting on my bookshelf) and searching the "high seas" (our neighbors yards out my window) for any islands or traitors. And of course, we simply had to "make the scurvy pirate walk the plank!"

so much fun to be had with some simple napkins tape and brown paper! Remember when that is all it really took to have fun??!!


Oh, and these are their best "AAARGGGH faces"......eh eh eh

A faceplant & a Revelation

Yesterday at the Nature Center Lavender was running and KAsPLAT! did a faceplant right in the middle of the path. She's ok, but ended up with one of the worst busted lips I have seen in awhile... Poor kiddo.
At the time, I seemed to manage to stop the bleeding and handle it ok, thanks to my good friend Erin (you're a life saver, by the way!)... but hours later... after all the cold packs and ice, my Sweet husband returned home from work.... thank goodness. I was so relieved just to have him there - such a constant support and encouragement.
The poor guy was rewarded with his wife turning into a weepy mess over dinner... geez... Every time I looked at little Laufher's fat lip I just felt so bad, so guilty... like I should have been able to catch her or should have watched her more closely. I'm sure all you moms out there know what this is like, right...

Anyway, I just have become so aware of how precious and fragile these little people are and how many times they fly around and could probably knock themselves into a blivion. I am amazed at how much you can love someone and feel so strongly the tremendous weight of being entrusted with such a special job of caring for them.

All this to say, I have been overwhelmed by the force of love in our little family and find myself wondering about the awesome ways in which God loves each of us.

So thankful for every person in this little family and for a heavenly father who has limitless grace.

Phase #????

I couldn't begin to guess just what phase this piece is in now... there have been soo many layers. smile

I am pretty pleased with the progress so far, but seem to have forgotten how labor and time intensive designing and cutting out all those tiny little bird wings and things are. But, if you know me, you know how often I fall prey to "rosy colored remembering"!!! I guess that's an ok problem to have, right.... i hope.

I will post the final product very soon... i gotsta.... deadlines, dealines... erh!!! so fun though. nice to be working hard again.