dear blog

i'm so sorry i have neglected you. my plate is full and somehow you've gotten shoved off of it. part of the reason is that my laptop died. and it took lots of pictures and all my "favorites" with it... i just don't feel like myself much without it. my blog-reading and blog-writing has come to a crashing halt. sad i know. anyway, hopefully i'll have another laptop up and running sometime in the near future and i'll have lots to blog about.

in the meantime, please accept this apology. sometimes absence makes the heart grow fonder. i hope you understand.

sincerely,
evan

projects!

here's a peek at a series of pieces i've been working on for a friend

melanie... i'm so excited for you to see everything!! i've had a lot of fun with this project :)

... and i pulled this down from the attic (well, michael did... thanks, honey!) and have spent a little time getting re-aquainted with it. i kind of feel like i'm in girl scouts again working on a merit badge. ha!

this is sarah's cat... her name is lobby. and sarah loves playing with her little wand. she calls it a "gleen"... 

and her little twinkle toes! here she is showing "pizza feet". she learned how to do that at "dancing school". yesterday before class she said "mommy... i love dancing". someday maybe i'll get a good picture of her in her ballet shoes or tap shoes, but we were in a hurry when i took this picture.

and i just noticed this... see it? right there at the bottom. have you ever noticed it? took me by surprise.

a day for love

it's one of my most favorite days of the year. i've spent the morning re-organizing my art supplies and i had intended on sharing some photos with you along with some valentine flair. 

however, i came across something today that i feel the need to share instead. notice the little pink button over to the right? clicking on it will take you to a page on etsy.com where sellers have listed items that they are selling to raise funds for the cora paige project. 

i had learned about cora through an amazingly creative and fun blog i've been reading for a while. the mcclenahan's story has struck me in a big way. my heart hurts for this sweet family. i'm amazed at the way God is moving through their lives and into many others.

take the time to read if you feel compelled. happy valentine's day. i hope it's full of love.

finally... a little time to breathe

and share the cards i've made! 

i've become a little obsessed with making cards lately... i made them so i'd have something to sell at the art trail last night. well i did sell a few but there are some left over. take a lookie:

(i carved my own little heart stamp for the one above)

(sorry this one is blurry!)

(again, the hand-carved stamp)

this one's a set of 8 cards... same design, different colors

if you're interested in getting a hand-made card to give to your valentine, let me know... they're for sale! i can also customize a card or set of cards for you... just leave your name/email in the comments. (if you don't live in Lubbock, i'm thinking it will be tricky to get the card to you in time for Valentine's Day. but please keep me in mind for other special occasions!)

did you know you can buy a whole bag of green m&m's?? michael and i saw this at walmart the other day. it made us laugh. notice the text in the lower right corner: "sweetie... it's all true". so funny!! 

valentine's day is my favorite holiday. ever. the pink and red hearts hanging from the ceilings at target, the gorgeous flower arrangements in the floral section of the grocery store... completely irresistable. i just love the idea of celebrating love. giving little gifts. m&m's. valentine cards. [sigh] 

here's to a great week... lovelovelove, e

Isaiah can ski!

There he is in the red coat... he's following his teacher, "Coach Al". We spotted him while we were on the lift. I was so excited to see him skiing... it was about 20 minutes into the lesson!

We had an amazing time this weekend in Ruidoso, NM... we took Michael's parents with us for some much needed R&R. AND... we took the kids skiing - they loved it!

We also went on a 2 mile hike... 

and threw rocks into the river...

and climbed a big rock...

Part of the hike included crossing the river... on a log. It was a bit scary for some of us, but we all made it across! (somehow we didn't get any pictures of that log) 

What an amazing time we had. I was so proud of Isaiah for being such a good sport. I can't believe how fast he learned how to ski. We stayed on one run the whole day, but Isaiah never got tired. Riding the lift, we watched skiers below and played a game called "Who's gonna fall next?" And one time as we approached the top of the lift, Isaiah said "Alright, this is where the fun begins!!" I loved seeing him so happy and confident. 

note: I do have video of Isaiah skiing... and I tried to include it in this post, but I'm having technical difficulties. 

meow

a dancer? a kitty cat? or maybe just Sarah...

sarah took her very first dance class today. she was all decked out in a pink leotard, black skirt and striped legwarmers. we get there and as soon as we walk in the door she said "i have to get my tap shoes on". she was ready and willing. i think she was even excited about it. (and maybe a little anxious too) they lined up all the girls, marched them into the studio and shut the door. i didn't even get a peek inside. 

45 minutes later they open the door and she comes out, her teacher behind her... who makes a b-line towards me. the first thing out of my mouth was "did she do good?" expecting to hear "yes, sarah is so cute... she did such a great job. your daughter is beautiful and graceful and is destined to be a dancer!!" 

instead, her teacher said "she pretended to be a cat the entire class... crawling on the floor. rolling on the floor. licking her paws and meowing. i'm going to hold off on ordering her costume for the recital in june. she needs to be able to get through a class without pretending to be a cat." lovely. i mean... the girl is 3, right? 3 year olds are all about pretending, right?

needless to say, we'll just have to give her a little time to adjust to this new class... all the while teaching her a little lesson: "when you're at dancing school, you need to be a little girl. you can be a cat at home, but when you go to dance class you need to be Sarah." 

she does make a beautiful cat, though. maybe she needs to be in theater. we'll see.

God's doing something big...

here. check it out. sign up for if you're interested. hope to see you there!!!

oh, happy new year:)