Kids

You know kids have a way of bringing out truth in most situations, I'm not talking about "Did you take a cookie?" kinda truth but the black and white truth we loose as adults. The truth that after living a while in this world seems to fade.. It's no secret that this year has been hard on the kiddos, big change for the Strehle's, but God has had his hand on us the whole time and it's very cool when your kids can experience this. Shad has really had a difficult school year, half he brings on himself, the other half is circumstances. Yesterday he was doing laps in gym class, there were two boys behind him and they started to talk loudly about Shad, in a not nice manner. Shad turns around and said, "Just so you know, I'm a child of God and nothing you can say about me matters." Seriously? My 10 year old did this?? If I as an adult was in this situation would I have enough faith to say the same thing?? I'm not so sure. I cried..alot when this story was retold by his brother (who of course witnessed the whole thing). I can totally learn a lesson in faith, boldness, and courage from this 10 year old boy, who just happens to be my very own son. So here's to Shadrach, who arrived in this world almost 11 years ago, thanks for being my hero of the day.

SCORE!

A trip to the goodwill yielded AWESOME results Tuesday. I walked away with a very nice large roll of vintage wallpaper, for just one buck! I have a few journals that are just screaming for the pink goodness to be applied. The wallpaper matches my ribbon from SAS just perfect! How could a girl be so lucky? Then just when I thought it could not get any better, I stumbled onto these!Perfect condition, wonderful color, seriously I would have paid hundreds for these lovelies framed up, I'm sooo stoked!

Also here is a little glimpse of my next collage project, the recipient visits the blog on occasion so I'm not going to show the whole project, it's almost done and I'm pretty happy with the results. Happy Thursday!

Beauty in the desert

We moved in late June last year. By the time we were here the temperatures were in the low 100's and everything that was not watered was dead. Every time one of you from home would call me I would lament about the deadness..the desert, the heat. The lack of beauty compared to home was frankly a little overwhelming. After spending almost a year here, I can say I'm starting to adjust..and luckily have found beauty. Enjoy.

Healthy Self- Esteem

The Dish just posted on waiting to craft. Waiting for the house to be clean, waiting for "down time", waiting for a chance to justify time spent being creative.
I tell you she will be still waiting 10 years from now!!:) The house is never clean enough, the kids are never well behaved enough and the husband will NEVER understand our art!
Today I'm totally swamped, dentist appointments (si had 8 cavities!!) 2 birthday parties, child hair appointment and a football game. My house is trashed (see pic!) and all that I can think about is the collage project that I am trying to finish up.
Here's my post to not always doing what is expected of us, of not always appearing perfect, of for just one afternoon doing want we WANT to do instead of doing what we SHOULD be doing!! I feel soo liberated!

Arizona Over Stimulation

BIG day today..WOW! First off I have to give a shout out to Anna! I finally found a kindred spirit here in AZ! A sweet gal who crafts, cooks, sews and blogs! How cool is that?!? We started early this morning after I dropped the kiddos off at school with some garage sales..then the thrift store..then the mother of all fabric/notions/buttons/patches/ribbon.. everything under the stinking sun kinda store. CRAZY OVER STIMULATION!! And everything was super cheap..I must go back..I feel it calling me even now. This may not look like much to the untrained eye..but oohh have I got some crafting to do!

I got it!!

This past month I have had the pleasure of being a part of the awesome, first ever "Swappy Ladies" swap!! What a joy it has been. My sis said to me "it was so much fun to make stuff for this, then the bonus is you actually get something in return!" My thoughts exactly!! Today the mail-lady brought me a very happy Monday indeed!!







Cute pictures!! How very fun, the perfect way to usher in spring! (bad glare)


Cute hand crafted jewelry! What more can a girl ask for...a purse!!

The picture does not do the bag proper justice, vintage buttons, hand-crafted beading..so fun, so Amber! Yippee!! What a great swap, thanks ladies for being part of this very "swappy" swap;)

Favorite smell

We all have one, maybe even two. It's been a long time coming, mine...

I have never really been able to put my finger on it. I guess that is what happens when you live in a state that rains for about 10 months of the year.

I could say it is the smell of freshly mowed lawn, or the first rain of fall, my hands dirty from work in the soil, even the smell of freshly cut wood and two stroke oil makes me smile.

No, my favorite smell is coconut suntan oil. The stuff that smells really cheesy, really NOT at all like a coconut. I love that smell more than anyother smell in the whole wide world:) This smell reminds me of the lazy afternoons of my youth when aging skin was not a worry. It reminds me of lazy afternoons of my not so youth in the back yard kiddie pool hanging with gf's and kids. It reminds me salt water, wind, sand and too much sun (if thats ever possible).

I already have a killer tan going on this season and I might be running out of the above pictured bottle soon.. not to worry, Wal-Mart is right up the road:)

So whats yours??;)