Postcard Penpals

When I was in elementary school, my father worked with a man from Australia.  He also had a daughter about my age named Kathy.  I was always an avid writer, whether in my diary or letters to friends, so my dad thought it would be great if I started corresponding with Kathy.  He was right!  It was so cool writing to a girl in Australia.  She would tell me about Sydney and when she said Mum instead of Mom, I thought that was so cool!  We even sent each other gifts.  She sent me a Koala Bear pin and Kangaroo keychain.  I sent her a large armadillo stuffed animal.

These days people don't really use snail mail that much and pen pals are almost extinct.  At least that is what I thought until I saw my friend's blog about Postcrossing.  It is the coolest thing ever!  You can check out the link at http://www.postcrossing.com/

I signed us up and Addison, my ten year old, was very excited.  We got our first few names and went to Walmart to get some Texas postcards.  So far we have sent 3.  1 to Poland, 1 to Russia, and 1 to China.  We have also received our first postcard from Toronto, Canada.

How cool is that!?  Addison was so excited about getting mail, especially from another country!  We put her first postcard on her bulletin board and are eagerly awaiting the next one.  I am excited to see her collection grow.  We also checked out the city on the internet to learn more about where the postcard came from.  This postcard traveled 2095 km and took 12 days to reach us!

Let me know if you start postcrossing!  I would love to here about it!

Make something pretty

With working all summer and trying to get in some fun family time, I have not had a chance to art journal in awhile.  I am the type of person that has to be doing something all of the time and it is during the Spring and Summer that I am constantly going.  When the dust settles and the kids get back into the routine of school I tend to get down.  I go from 60 to 0 and it leaves me feeling a little empty.  A wise friend once told me that Fall and Winter was God's way of telling his children to rest and I have to agree.  Rest to me doesn't necessarily mean not doing anything.  It just means don't do as much and do things that feed your soul.  So, I sat down at my craft table Saturday and decided to journal.  I grabbed my water soluble crayons and some magazines.  I turned my thinking brain off and just started putting down color.  I then took some of my magazines and cut out images that drew my attention.  I didn't think about where things should go or what I wanted the page to look like.  I just slapped stuff on that made me feel happy inside.  About an hour and a half later I had this:

I actually like it a lot.  I mean it's not the best thing I have ever done, but it makes me smile and that is why I love to art journal.  It doesn't matter if others like it or if it even makes sense.  It feeds that creative side of me.
So, if you are feeling worn down or just blah, grab some crayons, paper, and glue and go make something pretty.  I promise you will feel so much better!

Impromptu Photoshoot

The other night Addison and I were in the play room watching television.  It was the weekend so we didn't have to go to bed early.  Avery walked in and asked if Addison wanted to take some pictures.  Addison jumped at the chance, since she adores her sister and will do just about anything to spend time with her.  They quickly ran off to Avery's room and shut the door.  I went back to my t.v. show.

Probably 48 hours or dateline.  (I can't get enough of those true life mystery shows!)

About 45 minutes later they emerged from her room and fell right back into being couch potatoes with their mom.  I was so into my show, I didn't even stop to ask to see what they had done.
 (Photo shoots with Avery are the norm around our household.)
It wasn't until later, when Avery showed me the pictures from that quick, impromptu photo shoot, that I realized what a magical connection my girls have with each other.  The way that Avery was able to catch the spirit of her sister with just a camera, low lighting, and a teddy bear literally took my breath away.

Maybe I'm just another mother sporting a large pair of "Mommy Goggles", but I really think believe she has a gift.  She has a way of capturing not only a nice portrait of someone, but the very essence of who they are.

This one brought tears to my eyes.  Addison is almost eleven and this year she has really sprouted her wings.  She is becoming such a confident young lady, but yet she still clings to the safety of childhood.
I don't think this could have been captured any better!