Happy New Year!

Last year Jamie Riddler came out with Soul Reflections.  I bought the down loadable version and the week between Christmas and New Years I went through it.  It only took about three hours to complete the process but then taking what I gleaned from that and creating my yearly goals took a few days of praying and listening and searching.  It was amazing to me how it all came together and really helped me this year to focus on what I wanted to accomplish. 

In the past I have written down goals on January 1st and then never looked at them again.  This year I pulled them out repeatedly and looked at the collage I had made.  I also painted a picture with my goals on it and hung it in my livingroom.

 All of these things were helpful and so I decided to do that again this year.  I wondered if the whole process was a one time thing.  I wondered if it would happen again like it did last year.  I loved my last year's goals so much I really thought about extending them for another year and skipping the process but I knew that I was heading into a different stage of my journey and needed my goals to be fresh. 

I took a few hours this past week to go through Soul Reflections again and the praying, listening and searching process and I was not disappointed.  I was surprised by the outcome just like last year and I am anticipating what it all means.

I don't have the specific goals completed yet, I will work on that this coming week but I do have what my focus will be and some verses to guide me in creating those goals.

My word for 2011

JOY

additional words: health - replenish - celebrate - thanks - love

Verses for 2011

Psalm 19:7-8

The law of the LORD is perfect,

reviving the soul.

The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy

making wise the simple.

the commandments of the LORD are right,

bringing joy to the heart

Colossians 2:6-7

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your LORD,

you must continue to  live in obedience to Him.

Let your roots grow down into Him

and draw up nourishment from Him,

so you will grow in faith,

strong and vigorous

in the truth you were taught.

Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving

for all He has done.

Ephesians 5: 1-2

Follow God's example in everything you do,

because you are His dear children.

Live a life filled with love for others

following the example of Christ,

who loved you and gave Himself as a sacrifice to take away your sins.

And God was pleased,

because that sacrifice was like sweet perfume to Him.

Excerpt from Jesus Calling

Rejoice as we journey together in intimate communion.

Enjoy the adventure of finding yourself through loosing yourself in Me.

I wish you all a Happy New Year!

May you find love and joy and peace in all you do and experience in the coming days and year.

Love to you all,

Teri Leigh

Merry Christmas

 Merry Christmas

from my house to yours. 

I know it is a few days late but I was so busy enjoying family and celebrating, cooking, cleaning and cooking some more and cleaning some more etc.that I didn't even get on-line at all.

It was a blessed time.

My grandson is crazy about trains.

His mom and I took him on the Polar Express train two days before Christmas and he was so excited. 

Then for Christmas he got this hat, scarf and train whistle.  

We definitely have a conductor in the making.

I hope you all made some precious memories this Christmas

that you can cherish in your hearts for years to come. 

One of the best moments for me was giving my kids and grandson the Shutterfly books I made for each of them with pictures from birth to now.  I didn't do well with photo albums or scrapbooks as they were growing up so these were special books all about them, for them.

The other special moment for me was before everyone woke up on Christmas morning;  I had gotten my coffee and turned on the Christmas music station and sat down to take a moment in front of the nativity.  The song, O Little Town of Bethlehem came on and I sat there and pondered the birth of Jesus so long ago. 

It was one of those precious, rare moments of peace during a busy holiday.

The Markets in San Antonio

We went to two markets while we were visiting.  The first one was Market Square.  It is the largest Mexican market in the US with lots of little shops that have an assortment of things you would find in Mexico. 
The outdoor walkways are lined with bright flags hung from the ceiling.

 Mi Tierra is a restaurant and bakery with the yummiest goodies to eat.  Apparently, they have the best Margaritas in San Antonio but I don't know that for sure. 

We bought three different baked goods and my favorite was the sugar crusted croissant. I had to throw it away because I would have eaten the entire thing and it was huge which wouldn't have been a good idea. The few bites I had just melted in my mouth and tasted like heaven.

Everything was colorful here.

While waiting for our trolley to arrive we sat on a bench while a local man painted a fresh coat of paint on this statue. We had a very nice conversation with him while we waited.

The other market we went to was called La Villita.

It is a marketplace for local artists and San Antonil's oldest surviving neighborhood dating from the 1750's.  There were quite a few shops all full of handmade items.

One of the shops had these metal chickens.  I wish I could have taken it home with me because they were so cute.  There was also a life size donkey that could hold your firewood on his back that I thought was cool.

From there we walked down a flight of stairs to the Riverwalk.

This little guy was up in a tree above my head and just sat there eating his nut and watching me.

The animals seem to be very used to people and allowed us to get pretty close for pictures.

The ducks at the Riverwalk got up close and personal.
A little too close for my taste since I didn't know if they would bite or not.

I will post more about the Riverwalk later.

San Antonio - The Missions

We stayed in New Braunfels, Texas and this was one of the houses all decked out for Christmas.

One of the tourist sites we visited was the Towers of America. 

It was created for the 1968 World's Fair that took place in San Antonio.

We got a 360 degree look at San Antonio from the top of the tower. 

This is one of the views. 

The round building with the flower painted on the top is a shopping area that we also visited.

San Antonio has 5 missions that were built along the San Antonio river. 

We got to see 3 of them. 

This is the Mission San Jose.

It is the largest and most restored of the five.

It is amazing to me to think that all this stonework has stood for all these years.

They really did not have much but what they had was so beautiful.

I think we don't see the artistry in everyday items that we used to.

The cactus growing on the roof cracks me up.

Mission Concepcion

Original artwork on the walls

The chapel is still holding services every Sunday.

Wouldn't it be so amazing to worship in such a historic place?

More of the outside walls.

The last Mission we visited was the Alamo

Before we went to Texas, I had very little knowledge as to their history but I learned a little bit while I was there.  It really is fascinating with all they went through between Span, Mexico, Native Americans and Texans before and after they were Texans. Even the German influence that you still see today there.  I think I would really enjoy reading a book about it.  Anyone read a good one?



Another less famous view of the Alamo.

I have more to show on San Antonio but I think 3 posts in one day is my limit. 

I will post more later. Thanks for stopping by.

Austin

We took a tour of the State Capital and it was so pretty.  I wish my pictures on the inside would have come out better because it was spectacular.  The woodwork was ornate and all the inlaid marble was stunning.

 I just love iron fences.  This one has stars on top because Texas is the Lone Star State.  In fact, everywhere we went there where stars on everything and I mean everything.  Don't question this because we also saw signs up everywhere that said, "Don't mess with Texas".  So funny.

At the top of each of the staircases in the Capital is a marble heart in pink.

We also went to a very unique toy store, Toy Joy.

If you want old toys that you haven't seen in years like, Gumby & Pokey, this is the place to go.  How about Star Wars Christmas decorations or buckets of plastic babies in every size.

I went to some vintage stores too but forgot to take pictures. OOPS!

Corpus Christi

One of the days we were in Texas we drove south down to Corpus Cristi.  We got to see the Gulf Coast and this was a lighthouse in the area that had been moved in shore.

We had traveled across to Mustang Island and had to take the  the smallest ferry back to Corpus Christi.

These seagulls looked so perfect on the ferry post.

One of our stops was at the Arnsas Wildlife Reserve.  Both my husband and I like to take pictures of wildlife and we saw a few animals this trip. The most exciting was this croc that was just laying along the bank with his mouth wide open.

Across the dock from the crocodile was a beautiful shimmering algae bank.  You can't tell in the picture but the edge of the water glittered like gold, it truly was beautiful.

We saw quite a few of these white heron. This particular one was swaying back and forth and moving it's neck like it was listening to dance tune. I could have sat there and watched it for a long time. 

On our way to the Wildlife Reserve we had to drive through a huge fire alongside the road.  It was kind of scary because you couldn't see very well but there were firemen there watching over it so we figured we were going to be ok.

They must have it happen recently in the Wildlife Reserve because we saw evidence of a burn inside the park. I loved the contrast of the black trees against the blue sky and tan grass.

It was a very enjoyable day.

Traveling in Texas

I am traveling in Texas for a few days. I have always wanted to see San Antonio and so here I am. I will post more later but it is sunny and 75 which is so great since it is gray and rainy at home.

Happy Thanksgiving

Colossians 3:15 & 17

And let the peace that comes from Christ

rule in your hearts.

For as members of one body

you are all called to live in peace.

And always be thankful

And whatever you do or say,

let it be as representative of the Lord Jesus,

all the while giving thanks

through him

to God the father.

I read these verses yesterday in my devotions and thought I would share them with you today.  It is always a good reminder to me to be peaceful and thankful as I head into family gatherings and holiday happenings.  Some of you may know what I am talking about. 

I wish you the best of the best today and over the next few weeks. 

Now I am off to make a thankfulness list in my journal.  I like to do that every year on Thanksgiving.  You will be on that list because I am so thankful for each of you and how you bless me with your comments and your individual blogs and some of you who I see in person. You are a blessing, remember that!

Happy Thanksgiving

Flora Bowley and Bloom True

This past weekend I took a painting class from Flora Bowley.  She is such an amazing artist.  When she was demonstrating her techniques, she made it look so easy and then I would go and stand in front of my canvas and wonder what I just witnessed.  I had a blast though.  It was two full days of loveliness.  The ladies in the class were so nice and encouraging.   I wish I could show you what their paintings looked like because each one of them was totally different from the rest.  I think that is what was so amazing to me.  Each of us was able to take what Flora was teaching and make it our own.  Two of the ladies in the class had never painted before and you would never have known.   Fun relaxing music was played throughout the two days.  There was even a live cello artist who played for us the last day.  Flora made this experience special and I would recommend taking a class from her the very next chance you get. 

          

The food was incredible! 

Pixie Retreat catered our lunches and they almost convinced me to become a vegan it was so good and it was packages so adorably too.

 I stuck with similar palettes for both paintings, mostly because I loved the colors.  My camera did not do these paintings justice.  The depth and rich colors are pure yumminess.  One of the problems I had was when we had to cover up huge parts of the painting.  As you can see, I didn't follow instructions very well.  I liked too much of what was going on to cover it up.  I will have to work on that apparently.

 I was amazed that I walked away with two 30 X 30 inch canvases pretty much finished.  When I heard we were going to be painting on such large canvases, I didn't think I would finish even one.  I did discover though, that you really do have to use high quality paints to get the right effect.  I tried some things when I got home and the cheaper paint just does not work the same.  We used Golden paints in the class and I am going to invest in the colors I really liked. 

I was so jazzed by the weekend that on Monday I painted this pretty goldfish on one of my 24 X 24 canvases.  For some reason, that size doesn't seem so big anymore.

 

New color palette

I bought some canvases on sale the other day and now I see them sitting in my studio and have to paint on them.  It is like they just sit there challenging me.  I am enjoying this new color palette.  That is one thing Jesse Reno said in the class I took from him, paint in the colors you love.  Well, Red, teal and yellow make me smile so I am going to go with it. 

I just upgraded to Photoshop Elements 9.  I had version 6 and said I would never upgrade because I use the organizer and the last time I upgraded, all the tags on my photos did not transfer.  All that work was just gone.  I wanted to cry.  This time they fixed that problem and all my tags showed up.  I didn't know for sure until I actually installed it.  With a big gulp I took the plunge and when I saw them sitting in my organizer I took a big sigh of relief.  So if any of you were wondering, you can upgrade now.

I am going to be taking a painting class from Flora Bowley this weekend.  I am so excited, I can hardly stand it.  It is a full two day class so hopefully I will come back on Monday with something to share.  We will be painting on two 30 X 30 inch canvases.  That is a little bit intimidating because the largest I have painted on is 24 X 24 inches.  Only 6 more inches so I should be OK.  Have a great weekend and I will be back next week with an update.

Spring Rain painting

It was a dark day so I decided to paint some color into my life.  I accomplished my task because it makes me smile to see this sitting in my studio. Hope you all have something colorful in your life that makes you smile

Give-a-way

Look at this luscious little journal that Janne is giving away to some lucky winner.  Check out her blog and enter to win.  If you end up winning it, don't tell me, I might be really jealous. 

Beautiful Morning

I am sitting here on my front porch swing enjoying this beautiful morning. The chimes are twinkling as the wind blows and the trees that surround our property are swaying. At one point the sun appears and makes a starburst through those trees and shines on my face. In this moment, life feels pretty good.

A few years ago I asked the Lord why I wasn't enjoying my life and He said it was because I wasn't enjoying the moments of my life. Since then, I have tried to enjoy the moments. Sometimes I have to remind myself because I try to rush through them but moments like this one I am in don't need reminding. This is a pretty good moment. Thank you Lord!

2010 Journal - volume 2

Was working on my 2010 journal today. 

Because I am an avid art journaler I have to have two volumes each year. 

Jan - June in volume 1 and July - December in volume 2.

I finished making the cover for volume 2 today and sewed four of the signatures into the cover.

I think they look so wonderful sitting on my shelf. 

Every time I look through one of them it just brings back memories of making each page

and all the feelings and thoughts I had when I made them. 

Pure loveliness.