simple wisdom...

...from The Iron Giant.  love that movie.

on earth day...

and the sun came out.  

and it shined so brightly 

that even the trees

wept for joy.

his 65th birthday...

this is my favorite little corgi, dexter.  dexter is a silly little guy.  his legs are really short and his body is kind of long.  but that only adds to his cuteness.   he likes to bark.  and howl.  his howling is like a song.  kind of like the Cow Cow Boogie.  today is dexters' birthday.  although he is 11 in people years, he seems a lot older.  and wiser.  i googled "dog years" and i guess he would be about 65 if he were a human (thank goodness he's not).  when the kids were little we always had a birthday party for him.  but the kids are off doing their own thing today because it's spring break, so i'm not sure if the party is going to happen.  but i know i can come up with some extra special treats for him.  treats are his favorite thing.  and a snuggle on the couch later.  he loves to snuggle.  maybe a bath first though...  

a little instruction manual for growing wings...

the teen years are challenging.  especially for girls.  sometimes they need guidance.  from someone who has been through it.  like their mom.  but spoken advice often sounds preachy.  and it's quickly forgotten.

so i made a a little book.  an instruction manual of sorts.  for growing her wings.

the first page.  an envelope with a letter from mom.  and the pages that follow.  are filled with...

inspiring messages.  to remind her how very, very special she is.  this one was printed from a Brave Girls email.  

and bits of lovely poetry.

reminders of love.  we all need those.

quotes for difficult days.

a permission slip.  this one has nothing to do with school.

a reminder for when things pile up.

drippy paint.  cause i like drippy paint.  and so does she.

and flowers.

wings.  of course.

more notes from the Brave Girls.

and hope.  there can never be too much of that.

i made sure to leave room.  so that i can add on as i find things.  that i know will help.  with the completion of her wings.

23 years...

23 years...of marriage.  we're pretty simple.  fancy gifts aren't necessary.  besides, we have college and broken legs to pay for.  i usually make him a card or something.  on a whim, i googled 23rd anniversary and since there is no traditional gift, the suggestion was silver plated anything.  and since i have always admired those cute stamped spoons i've seen on etsy.  and since i just happened to have a metal stamping kit that i haven't gotten around to playing with yet.  and since i have piles of silverware that i have picked up over the years at antique shops.  i created a simple "i love you".
cute.  functional.  and just right.

a young romantic...

this was just so cute.  my daughters often babysit two adorable little boys.  last week they came over to our house for a change of pace and my younger daughter took them for a trek in our forest.  they came back with a handful of daffodils.  the little one (he's just 4) then did the sweetest thing ever.  he broke one of the flowers off of the stem and called my daughter over.  bend down, he said.  and he put the flower in her hair.  and then he turned around and handed me two flowers...one for me, he said and one for my older daughter who's away at college.  he asked me sweetly if i would mail it to her.  cuz i miss her, he said.  so, i pressed it in my ikea catalog for a few days and then taped it to this little card to send to her.  a mail surprise.  a little love letter...of sorts...from a young romantic.

beautiful...

she said she usually cried at least once each day, not because she was sad, but because the world was so beautiful and life was so short.

-brian andreas-