Clearing Webs

Pathetic

We're leaving early tomorrow morning for Chattavegas. The boys and I will be there for over ten days. I just got back home from dropping Arlo off at a friends house. I cried. Yup. That's right. Don't worry, though. I went straight to Starbucks and got an apple pocket and a chai. It didn't fill the hole but it sure tasted good.

So while my heart's rotting away within me you folks in Chattanooga can get together with us. Drop me a comment and we'll get together and play at the St. Elmo park, eh? How's Thursday morning at eleven sound? Christina, I totally want you and your horde of girls there. Um, please. And the rest of you know who you are.

Not giving in to fear

In college at dear old Covenant I minored in art. Well, as closely as was possible. At that time it wasn't too much of a program to begin with and b/c Art History II & one of the classes for my major were at the same time I couldn't even finish the minor (and you're not allowed to take classes while student teaching). Anyway. For the last eight years I haven't done anything except the occasional sketch and never allowed myself to do even a complete composition. I lack confidence and want to either do things perfectly or not at all. It's tugged at me over the years but I've allowed myself to be paralyzed by fear. "I'm not as good as. . . I'll never be as good as. . ." And it's a shame cause I have some pretty kickin' talented artist friends and could've been learning so much in the past almost decade. Over the past few months I've gotten some words from some gals at church and been challenged to make myself vulnerable in this and do. In my heart I dream of being an Artist. You know, someone who does stuff and sells it? "What do you do?" "I'm an artist." But who isn't sick of those punk kids on the street corner who give themselves license to put anything out there, place a big price tag on it and call it "art"? Anyway. Our church has a "vine arts" exhibit every few months and I thought I should take the small step of entering a painting in it. But I talked myself out of it until Andy just quietly brought home an entry packet for me. So thanks to my dear husband I took that small step of faith. Little steps, little steps. Sunday our sermon was about those servants who were faithful with a little and given more and the servant who buried what he was given and had even that taken away. At one point our pastor said that when we take a step of faithfulness with our gifts God gives us more and asks us to step further out in faith, in that way stretching us further and further each time we're faithful. The timing of the sermon was neat for me. So Sunday I heard that, Monday I finished up my painting I've been working on and Tuesday I submitted it to the exhibit. Wednesday I got an email from the manager of the book store at the church. He wants to buy the painting to hang in the church book store! I have friends who are pretty good at promoting their work and getting it out there but I didn't have the confidence to do work, much less promote it. So God threw me a bone. I submitted the work and He acknowledged my desire to do work by having someone actually seek me out and ask for the work! Of course friends and family tell you you've got talent but having someone you've never met want your work is nice. I met with some professional artists and got some feedback and input on pricing which was really good. I talked w/the guy and once the exhibit's over in January I'll sell my first painting! It's great to be confirmed. I'm pumped.

I ended up calling it "Be Transformed". Here's a pretty bad picture of the final product. But, hey, it's hard to take a good picture while holding a toddler in one arm and balancing on one leg while fending off the dog w/the other..


A few details.










Since I finished on Monday my boys have been asking me to paint. Gid requested a robin even before I finished the first painting so here's the an initial sketch for my next one. It's a little over a foot tall.

My New Niece

Check out this gorgeous girl. And the baby too.



My sister in law Cheryl delivered her fourth girl in a row today. At nine pounds four ounces Janneke (yahn-eh-kuh) Ruth Perkins is their smallest yet. Cheryl and Andy's older brother, Matt, have all girls and we have all boys. Until today it's been three girls and three boys. Matt and Cheryl don't tell the gender of their babies until they're born so we've been all breathless waiting to see if they're gonna mix things up or not. Now that the scales are tipped to the female side I guess Andy and I are gonna have to work on balancing things back out (that comment placed simply to get my mom excited - everyone else take no heed).

Sparkled: the short of it

The short story is this: tracking Ike's symptoms, they've followed the measles like textbook. Sound familiar? He now has the rash which he calls being "sparkled". It looks nasty and I can't stop itching just being around him though it seems minimally uncomfortable to him. I've taken some pictures but none capture how nasty he looks. We went to the hospital yesterday and got some blood work done. We're still waiting to hear from the doctor on the results. Pray for all of us please. We can't get out seeing as how if it is the measles we've already spread it throughout the church and half of the greater Boise area. We're all going stir crazy and I haven't slept well in two weeks now.









Andy's been reading Robinson Crusoe to the boys at night.

And So

Ike's been running b/twn 101 and 103.5 (under arm) since Friday. The doctor this morning said his ear's for sure still infected and upped him to a stronger antibiotic. He thinks there's a possibility we may be dealing with mono or pneumonia but we're gonna give the strong meds a try before doing x-rays and running blood tests. Ike's glands are so swollen he hasn't had a jaw line and it ends up his tonsils are covered in streaks of puss. Doc says it's not strep, though. Again, if this round of medicine doesn't fix Ike strep will be among the tests we run. Pray for the little guy. He's absolutely miserable.

My Friend Mouse

This pic's from a ride this spring. This is Mouse, the horse I usually ride. He's my friend Cindy's horse and almost as colorful a character as she is. I've felt incredibly blessed to be able to ride often this year with Cindy and my aunt Donna. Here he's drinking some of Cindy's tea from a sports bottle.

Sickos

Ike has a major ear infection, one we're gonna get antibiotics for, and Gid's got a minor ear infection, one we're gonna wait and see if it heals up on it's own. Phin's cutting molars. Andy's leaving town for a couple days tomorrow. Whoo-hoo at the Perkins house.

Oh, and a story before I forget. I got a package from Amazon today. Gid was pretty excited. "Mom, the UPS truck is here!" Then half to himself, "I bet that truck said, 'Hey, let's take one to that blue house, the one next to Mr.Mark's. How did it know I wanted one of it's boxes?'"

Made some time to sketch

Remember this? Andy took the boys to the park last night and I made about an hour and a half to re-peruse a figure drawing book and do a quick study. It's one I did before. Felt good once again to do something. I'd like to find/make more time for figure studies to work on getting those crazy proportions down.

Here's the one from a couple years ago (on the left) next to the quick one from last night (on the right).


I think I got the motion of the figure better the first time but the proportions better this time. I like the contrast better in the first. It's obviously more finished than last nights. The point is to get better but I'm more and more frustrated by the lack of time. Do I study and pray or bathe the boys? Do I draw or teach Gideon? Do I clean the house or take Gid to art class? Do I nap or blog? Do I shower or eat? Eh, such is the stage of life we're in and it forces me more and more to think of discipline, that virtue I so lack and that God's convicting me of more and more lately. There's not much power or freedom w/out discipline.

On another note, Andy & the boys and I went to a hot springs on a river about an hour away this last Saturday. Here are some pics.

My sweet, sweet family. Can't get enough of those guys.


How can you beat sitting in hot spring water surrounded by mountain views, listening to the flow of a nearby river?


Does anybody else want to just bite that boy's cheeks?


And on yet another note, this is what happens when one pauses in making pancakes to use the restroom and leave three little Perkins boys alone together in the kitchen. Don't worry, they were wholly obedient in not touching any of the stuff I'd been using to cook. They got out completely new cooking materials for their endeavor. If only they'd thought of a bowl.




Oh, and I gave feverish (and now bazooka-free) Ike ibuprofen and put him down for a nap. We'll see how he's doing when he wakes.

104.2

That's Ike's temperature right now.

Thinking about president '08?

This is interesting and perhaps helpful.

Little Pieces

Bazooka Arm