For the grandparents especially...

Here are some sweet "Hannah-isms" recently heard in the Williams' household:

I was telling Hannah about a conversation I had with another mother, in which the mother confided that she knew her daughter (a rather bossy little thing) needed to learn that the world did not revolve around her. Hannah looked at me and asked, "Well, then, why didn't she raise her that way? Why is she just now telling her that??"

Out of the mouths of babes! ha!

~~~

Today on the way home from school, Hannah really had to go to the bathroom and kept telling me to hurry. Apparently, she doesn't like going to the girls' bathroom (in junior high building) after school because all the girl athletes are changing into their sports clothes. So anyway, on the way home Hannah suddenly said, "We better bring lots of toilet paper when we have to run to the hills! [in the end time, we believe we will have to flee due to religious persecution.]

"Well, that's a good idea," I told her. "But in the Bible Jesus tells us not to run back even for a coat." I mischievously added, "We'll probably have to use leaves or something, if we're in the woods."

Not to be outdone, she shot back, "Well God can do anything and I believe He CAN provide toilet paper in the end times! None of this leaf business!"

From her mouth to God's ears...:)

~~~

Lately Hannah has wanted to be by herself at bedtime. After 11 years of our nighttime routine, she doesn't seem to need as much of mommy/daddy time anymore. (Sniff-sniff) But I am so glad she is continuing to have her devotions at night by herself. One day last week she confided to me, "Last night I talked to God a long time. I told Him I was sorry for my sins. And you know what, mommy? I realized I had tears in my eyes as I listed them. I really was sorry. And I'm glad about that."

My precious, precious girl! She is growing up and is such a lovely young woman!

~~~

Last story: Hannah is growing more confident in herself and less shy around others. She came home from school Friday with a grin from ear to ear. "It's a good thing you're sitting down, Mama!" she exclaimed.

She then proceeded to tell me that she was the first 6th grader (grades 6-8) to make the DRAMA team! She was so excited! Apparently, her drama teacher asked her to sing Amazing Grace at the front of the classroom, and she just walked up there and BELTED it out! I think most of the kids had their mouths open, asking themselves, "who is this girl?"

So because she didn't hesitate, the drama coach knew she would be a good match for the group and told her she was in, just like that! We were ALL jumping up and down, I tell you! It was a good day!

The drama teacher (also 7th grade teacher at the small academy) said they will most likely perform about 5-10 times for various churches and venues this year. So that's pretty neat. I like thinking of Hannah involved in some sort of ministry that utilizes her talents. I mean, really, this kid has loved to play "Charades" and "pretend" since she was a wee thing!

All for now,
Tricia

Wishing on a Star

This kitty is thinking profound thoughts as he looks up at the heavens at twilight. He's thinking about scratching his claws on yonder tree as well. The rolling hills contain some tangles/patterns. The words in the fields say the magical words many of us learned as children: "Star light, Star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, get the wish I wish tonight."

Watercolor pencil, markers, black pen, silver pen.

Wishing you pleasant dreams,
Tricia

Parlez-vous francais?

Still having fun with my zentangles--this time just a wee bit (oui?) in the letters! ;) I'm coming along with my shading, slowly but surely. Still find it quite challenging, and my blender pen didn't work so great this time around, but it still turned out okay. I created these french vignettes from a stencil.

Hang in there!

I made this for a girlfriend going through a rough time. Haven't sent it to her house yet, but hoping she won't read my blog until she receives it! (She's not a regular reader to my blog that I know of.) Anyway, this is one of my favorite pieces I've created so far. The pink-y red looks really great with the black and white, on all the clothes on the clothesline. After I scanned this image, I went back and delineated the words Hang In There even more dramatically, so the end result was really good. I love the skirt on the right the best. I've been trying to practice doing neat lettering and like the way this turned out too.

TW

This one is just a silly one I did for fun. It's not fancy or anything, but thought I'd post it. I didn't love the way the sidewalk to the door turned out, but I liked everything else. I esp. liked the chimney. It reminded me how much I liked to draw chimneys when I was little. Not sure why. I like the brick pattern I suppose.

Mostly, I'm glad I'm just having fun. As a perfectionist, I can focus too much on the end product and not enough on the process, thereby missing out on all the artistic journey has to offer!

TW

Wheelworks

This is something I drew pretty soon after I learned at Zentangles in early July. I like the way it turned out. I like the pops of red. I think it'll be fun to see how I progress with this artwork. I call this one Wheelworks, although I think it looks like either cogs or also CDs too.

All for now,
Tricia

Pool time

Hadn't done a photo collage in a while... thought it was time to share some pretty pix. And yes, I took them while in the pool myself. I held verrrrry steady, you can imagine! Our camera is not waterproof. Also, tried not to notice John's look of consternation at me having the camera in the pool--I'm not sure I could have kept quiet and not said "be careful" a thousand times if he did it instead of me! ha!

School starts a week from now. Poor Hannah, I think this is the first year she's not as thrilled to start as in times past. She feels torn, because she's excited to see her friends again, but doesn't want to start up with schoolwork (she's a normal, red-blooded American tween, for sure!) ha! But also, she wishes she had some girlfriends who weren't so much into the "clique" thing, or drama queens. They're definitely not as bad as so many out there, but Hannah recently said that all she wants in life is " a true friend." She's absolutely fine with her friends all playing with each other. What she doesn't like is when her current friends are nice some days, but then not-so-nice, or even snide, other days. So that's on our prayer list. I believe God hears even the smallest prayers.

All for now,
Tricia

Anniversary (and Hannah) fun!

Yesterday, John and I decided to celebrate our (today's) wedding anniversary by taking our 11-year-old along for the date--at the waterpark! We went to an inexpensive waterpark across town and had an absolute blast! Of course, when I woke up this morning, my legs were complaining at the numerous trips up the waterslide, not to mention my lower back a little achey due to the not-so-sensational front flip I made off the diving board. What in the world?? You'd think I wasn't 14 years old anymore! ha!

Anyway, John and I took turns watching Hannah or playing with her while the other one went solo for a bit. During one of the times when Hannah and I were in a very crowded shallow pool, we good-naturedly grumbled about how much we were getting jostled around by other swimmers. "Hey Mommie," H said. "It's like the Bible story where the woman touched Jesus so she could be healed." I nodded. She continued, "All those people were jostling Jesus and touching Him every second, and yet He knew when that woman in particular touched Him. Can you imagine that?" We both marveled at the memory of the story, and of a God who knows us all by one simple touch. Or one simple prayer, for that matter.

~~~

Other Hannah conversations:

While quizzing Hannah on her personality, I had to explain what aimless meant for one of the questions. This in the resulting convo: T: Aimless means you don't have goals. But you have goals, right? H: Of course I have goals, Mommy! T: Great! What are they? H, with a puzzled look on her face: Um, I'm not sure... So there ya have it. Life and times with a energetic, if slightly-unfocused 11-year-old girl! ha!

[Note: Hannah, upon hearing the above story, said in a mild, huffy voice, "Well, I sure don't like how you ended THAT story!"] ha ha!

~~~

Hannah, upon discovering the the water in her water bottle had turned quite tepid after only a little time in the hot sun: "Ugh, I will spew this lukewarm water out of my mouth--that's what Jesus did, you know!" She then proceeded to give her girlfriend riding along with us an infomercial on what "lukewarm" meant, and why Jesus would rather us be hot or cold. Nice little sermon on the way home. Thanks, H!
 
I LOVE how often Hannah applies spiritual meaning to something that's happened during her day. God is good.
 
All for now,
Tricia

Quite a Pear--Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to my sweetie! 13 years, woo-hoo! Here's the card I created earlier today for John. This year I was kinda lazy in the card department when it came to John. I got him Father's Day and Birthday gifts, but no cards (sorry, sweetie! blame it on the economy!!??) ha! So I knew I had to do SOMETHING for our wedding anniversary today.

Anyway, I like the subtle baby blue and dark brown colors of this Zentangle. And I think I'm starting to get the hang of shading.

All for now,
Tricia