Color Splash

Downloaded a new app on my iPhone called "Color Splash." Been having some fun "doctoring" up all my picts!!!

♩♫♪ These are a Few of My Favorite Things ♬♪♩

My daughter Landyn's room. She is 9 and wanted something more "grown up". So...we ditched the pastels and went for bold purples and vibrant lime! I painted the pink petals on her chandelier red to coordinate!

Wall tapestry depicting the Garden of Eden.

My favorite candle holders inside of my other favorite candle holders! They give a warm amber glow!

These are shells and driftwood from our last trip to Siesta Key. I was carrying pieces of the wood along the beach and my husband told me I looked like a nut and should put some down! I told him if they knew what I was going to do with them, they would think I was a genius! I did drop some, but kept my favs!

Antique movie projector (compliments of Ebay) along with two amber glass lanterns.

The Creeping Fig Wall is one of favorite places in my yard. It is a challenge to keep it cut back, but I love how it frames the windows.

This one pillow was the inspiration piece for the design of my entire home. Love it against brown leather.

I love these old glass bottles and wanted a way to draw attention to them. So, I made "cherry blossom branches" by attaching artificial flowers to real cut branches.

Adore the turquoise. Adore the cracks. Adore the 3 contrasting shapes. Need I say more?

This is the all-time best reed diffuser I've ever found. The scent is "Spiced Pepper". You have to smell to fully understand!

Love these bottles in my bathroom. Amber glass. Bottle of Victoria's Secret "Rapture" fits in perfectly.

This is a shelf above my garden tub. In love with Indian chests and boxes! So ornate and beautiful.

This is actually an Indian jewelry box. Love the simple grass on top.

Since I have a passion for video, my husband started buying antique film projectors and cameras to display. This is one of my favorites.

Turtle nightlight keeping a miniature Indian chest company.

I love the vase filled with pussy willow. I tucked a treasured photo of my children into it. The small, smooth stones in the compact glass jar were collected on Siesta Key beach. The photos of the piano were taken by my husband in a church in Jamaica. A hasty, metal clock attempts to keep me on schedule everyday!

The 7 clocks above my bed represent all the members of our family. The largest is my husband. The smallest is our youngest daughter. Each clock is set to the exact time that person was born. (Yes, the batteries were taken out!)

I am smitten with this photo of my husband and I. Love the red, jeweled frame against the black wood. The silver mirror in the background adds a nice shimmer. Drama!

Bought this cabinet at a used furniture store. My husband refinished it. Holds his collection of autographed, first-edition books. The plaque needed a home. Fit quite nicely.

Moroccan lanterns are another passion of mine. I can't seem to say no to any I find! These sit on the island of my kitchen. Makes the whole space glow with warmth. (Also safe with kids and cats...)

Piero Fornasetti was an eclectic Italian designer. He specialized in designing plates with images of his beautiful daughter "Julia." I love the different themes he portrays.

And then there is Shawn. Shawn Mullins is my favorite musician. My husband called his record label the day before my birthday and he autographed this picture and overnighted it to me! Do you see the ♥ beside his name? That means he loves me!!! ♥ ♥ ♥

Flowers in the Sun

You Do The Math...

I ❤ Tucker!!

My Girl Landyn

Looks just like daddy! I've been asked before if she was adopted.

Landyn and Coco. I've had Coco since she was 6 weeks old. She is 21 in this photo. She died weeks after this was taken, which was May 09. I still look for her outside the front window everyday as I pass by.

My beautiful beach baby!

Photo "doctored" up by an iPhone app. I think it makes her look glam!

Cartoon Kidlets

LOVE...LOVE...LOVE iPhone apps!!!

Landyn

Tucker

Tucker's Baptism

So, giggling he stepped into the water. Nerves do that to him. There were 30+ people at our house watching. He solves most things with giggling... (Not to mention the water was COLD!!!)

Johnny Snellgrove explaining to everyone why he thinks Tucker is ready to "die to himself"

The watery grave....

Up with more giggling!!!

Love this shot.

How I'm feeling right now!!!

Tucker's Journey Truly Begins...

This is a picture of my son Tucker on the the day he was born. The first thing I noticed about him when they handed him to me was his eyes. They were deep. They looked right at me and they locked into mine. I will NEVER forget that exact moment. Ever. It was the moment that I knew he was mine. His eyes confirmed it. He didn't cry or fuss. Just stared at me. This is a picture of that moment. He has grown  and changed much. But, not his eyes. They are still the same as that day. He did not know it then, but he terrified me. I now had to take this baby home and keep him alive! I felt sorry for him and thought, "Poor kid doesn't know that he has a rookie for a mom! Don't let me take him! I don't know what I am doing and need to stay in the hospital for a month or two to figure it all out!"  But he trusted me. And that was enough for me on June 23, 1998.

But, this week I gave my son away. He asked me to do it. And it brought me such joy. I turned him back to Yahweh (God), and now he belongs fully to him. Oh, I am still his mommy and Johnny is still his daddy. But, Tucker got saved on July 25, 2009 late at night and today will be baptized. Now his true journey begins. He is so full of emotion that my heart can barely stand it. Over that past 8 days we have prayed with him, read to him, talked with him and now he wants out of this world and to step onto the path that leads to "life." I now understand that you never parent your child so completely as when you give them back to God. If you think about it, they never really belonged to us in the first place. In my head I know this, but in my heart he will always be mine.

Some Favorite Picts

One of my favorite picts of my kids!

We did this for Father's Day.

Taken by Leslie Stepinsky. Check her

out at www.stepinskyphotography.com.

Landyn catching a rainbow!

30 Things About Me

1) I am extremely competitive.
2) I have never missed one American Idol episode EVER! (I DVR on Wednesdays when I go to church.)
3) My iPod/iPhone is NEVER not in my pocket. Even at home.
4) I know every word to every song ever written. (Almost...!)
5) I think Ceasar Milan may be the smartest man alive today. (The Dog Whisperer)
6) If I were on a deserted island and could only have one musician on my iPod, it would be Shawn Mullins. Yes, it would be with me on a deserted island. I would plan ahead.
7) I had a cat that lived to be 21. I had her since she was 6 weeks old. She died 2 months ago. :(
8) My husband is Cherokee Indian. My kids never need sunscreen.
9) I strive daily to know God more intimately.
10) I am a technology nut. I can send messages to people in 6 different ways.
11) I love wedding videography! There is nothing more beautiful than a woman in a white dress who thinks she is beautiful.
12) I do not like puppies or kittens. Love dogs and cats...hate puppies and kittens.
13) I twirl my hair incessantly.
14) I LOVE God's word. It is the most romantic, beautiful, poetic language in the world.
15) I sleep with my iPod/iPhone. (See #3)
16) My eyes change color according to the sunshine. Sometimes they're green, sometimes they're blue.
17) I love home decor. I have a collection of Moroccan lanterns.
18) I am addicted to meditation music and candles.
19) Both of my babies were born to the Titanic soundtrack playing in the delivery room. That music makes my heart soar!
20) I spend most of my Saturday nights at wedding receptions.
21) I know just about everything there is to know about Scrubs TV show.
22) Johnny and I were married on Valentine's Day.
23) I am extremely strong-willed. Don't believe me? Ask Johnny.
24) I wear Love Spell every single day.
25) I have 7 clocks hanging over my bed that are set to the time each member of our family was born. Yes, I took the batteries out of them.
26) The taste of cilantro instantly puts me in good mood.
27) You have probably never met anyone who multi-tasks like I do. (Not always a good thing!)
28) I am a chronic headache sufferer (see #27, #18, and #9)
29) I love tattoos.
30) I love being at church.

Siesta Key