Oh Annie!

Another Annie update...sorry for all the gushing but oh my goodness, this dog has stolen my heart! Now, I'm not saying this has not been a stressful and challenging 4 days thus far but every baby step she takes is like gold! The first photo is of her relaxing by the front door...one of her favorite safe spots. She wasn't this relaxed until today. She is still VERY timid and the leash training is going extremely slow but we are gonna get here...eventually. The second photo is another safe spot, her crate where she went after the teapot began to whistle and scared her away from the front door. Crate training is going well! We need to give her a bath again after the past 4 days of rain...but that will have to wait until she is a little more settled so in the meantime my house smells like a stinky wet dog. Oh, how I've missed that smell.  :o)

NOTE: I just noticed after posting this that I've been actually drawing Annie for the past year and a half, ever since I lost my precious Brandy in Oct. of 2008. Just look at the slide show to the right of this post to see what I'm talking about.

Update on Annie.

It's only been a little over 18 hours so I know things will get better eventually. As of now she is at least eating and drinking but she is the most timid dog I have ever seen. Not one sound has come from her. Not a whine or a bark. I know I'll just have to build the trust between us and give her time and love.

Thanks all for the sweet words of encouragement!

Ok, back to babysitiing...

Adopting Annie

We are finally doing it!! We found our new family member at the local animal shelter and this is the picture that made me realize I had to bring her home. Hopefully the next pictures you see will be a much more happy and content dog. I realize this will not be an easy task but I am up for the challenge! I know she will be worth it!

Sketching

It's almost time the frogs to begin singing in the pond next door. I love that sound in the Spring! It used to put me to sleep as a child and still does.

I sketched this as I was reminiscing about how our daughter used to love to catch frogs when she was little.

Welcome March!

It's still cold here in Missouri but I am still thrilled to welcome the month of March! We are just that much closer to Spring! Woohoo! I'm ready!!!!!!

I'm back!

 

I'm back after a much needed time of renewal and rest after a very tough year. What better place to go than Hawaii?! To be specific, Princeville, Kauai! My husband's and my very favorite place on earth. This is the view we had from our Lanai. Pure heaven...

This particular photo is a bit blurry but you get the idea. I'll share more later after the jet lag wears off. :o)

and then a few hours later...

Wow! It's really coming down here! My daughter called it "chunky' snow! :o)

What I woke up to...

Snow again...

We got more snow last week so I thought I'd go ahead and post one last winter scene...
This was an experiment with anthropomorphic characters.

one-eyed kitty

The reason for so many kitty illos lately? I had a sweet kitty who showed up on my doorstep about a week ago. Since my hubby is allergic, I couldn't keep the sweet one-eyed kitty. (See picture below.) But by posting photos and sending emails there is a happy ending to this story! We have a wonderful neighborhood watch email list and when I was about to give up hope, I had not one but two offers to take the kitty in! Yay! Just another big reason to get a rescue animal for a pet! They all need homes so badly!

Looking forward to Spring when we can rescue a dog! :o) Check back then to see who will join our family!

another kitty

Beauty will rise out of the ashes...

As I go through some very difficult times with my family right now I have been listening to one of my favorite artists, Steven Curtis Chapman. While walking on my treadmill and listening to my iPod  I was listening to Beauty Will Rise, which is from Steven's CD of the same name and while  it has given me such peace personally, I also realized what a perfect song it is for those who have been through the earthquake in Haiti. As time passes we hear of more and more wonderful stories out of Haiti of survival and hope. I love and respect this particular artist's vision because he truly knows what it is to be in a very dark place through his and his family's own trials.

For those who are struggling to understand "why" and "where to go from here", no matter what the difficult circumstances in your lives, the message of this song and CD gives such hope and peace. This entire CD is amazing! Every song!

Spread your wings and fly

Our daughter graduated from college in December so this art reminds me of the fact that it's a scary time for her to take that first flight into her new life. For her, it's both exciting and scary. This illustration is from another set of stamp designs.

As we jump into 2010, here's hoping we take flight and soar!

in hopes of Spring

Call me fickle but I'm all done with winter and the white stuff and already looking towards Spring. This image was recently done for a rubber stamping company as one of a set of designs. I'll let you all know more details when I can.

These kitties are definitely thinking...SPRING!

Snow, snow, snow

Well, the ground is still white after 2 weeks and that's rare for Missouri. I guess that's what I get for wishing for a white Christmas. Please don't hold that against me, friends...I sure didn't wish for negative digit temperatures! It's gonna get down to -10 degrees tonight...and that's actual temperature, not wind chill! Yikes!! BUT, the weather forecast next week is calling for some low 40's...I'll take it!

The book I'm working on at the moment is about the holidays and has a lot of snow in it so I'm actually able to get some good references right now. But unfortunately, I can't post any because of it not coming out until Fall 2010. So here is a picture out my studio window today. The shadows that look like waves are actually from the drifting snow and there is a lake behind the fence even though you can't see it because it's frozen and covered with snow as well.

New magazine work

I really love working for children's magazines! Here are a couple pieces I recently illustrated for Highlight's and Humpty Dumpty magazine. The spread for Humpty Dumpty was in the Nov/Dec 2009 issue and the single page for Highlight's is in the Jan. 2010 issue.

A White Christmas

Although I feel sad for the families that didn't get to spend Christmas together because of flight delays or cancellations I still enjoyed our white Christmas.(Sorry Dickersons!) My 4 door Jeep Wrangler really gets around in the snow great, thankfully.

Here is a shot of our house just a couple hours ago as it began to turn dark and the snow keeps falling. It looks like we didn't get much snow but they say we got 7 inches. I think it's because the winds were so high (40 mph gusts) that the snow has just blown around and drifted instead of accumulating.

May your day be merry and bright...

Some of my snowmen collection...

Merry Christmas!!

Wishing all my blogging friends a very Merry Christmas!

I have been working on a new book and can't post anything from it but here's a sketch I did very quickly last week. Can you guess what's been on my mind lately?! We are going to get a dog in the Spring if I can wait that long! Can't wait!!

40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 Minutes

A fellow artist shared this youtube for all of us who have had a tough year! Hope it inspires you to keep up the good fight! :o)