Where did I leave off on my adventures of the past year.....OH yes, accomplishments....my mom had a huge accomplishment this year - I was a very proud daughter seeing my mom be inducted into the Quilter's Hall of Fame. Tears filled my eyes as she spoke of her lifetime of quilting, realizing that I have been apart of it for so many years.
she just glowed that night, it was great to see her so happy.
I have learned that I have to be happy with me and quit trying to please everyone else or I will never full fill my dreams or destiny that it is time to lead my life to the fullest.
Talk about an AHA moment! To quote Oprah...
The year had some normality's....Quilt Show to be exact....it came and went perfectly....
The kids enjoyed it to the fullest...
We had birthday milestones.....
we planted our garden and watched it grow....I loved the excitement from the kids to go out and see what had grown over night.....every evening we would spend hours outside in the garden - eating most of our produce raw and playing in the flowers and sand.....I enjoyed every second and found such peace in the laughter and silliness of my family.
I got more ink this summer for my Violette Grace...
and realized that I have to really control myself not to pick!!! very bad habit....
We played in the ocean and sand.....the energy and excitement of the kids oozed over to us adults and we all got a little wet.
Sunbathing and cuddling became a norm in our house....
especially as we brought new family members home....
to my amazement it isn't too hard to have three cats, three kids and a puppy.....instead of being totally overwhelmed I am learning to embrace the chaos and laugh at it all......HUGE for me!
There were so many firsts this year......
the first guitar lesson...
the first soccer game.....I am officially a soccer mom, and a dance mom, and a Tae Kwon do mom and, and, and, and.....
The first day of school....for my baby.....
This winter I had an awesome opportunity to do something special for my girlfriends....two women that I have know since we were kids but it is only now that we have become such great friends. We were having a Christmas dinner at my house when Sondy pulled me aside and told me that she pulled Trea's name for their family secret santa and she really wanted one of my little bird paintings....How could I ever say no, I was honored! Well, funny thing is towards the end of the evening Trea pulls me aside and tells me how she got Sondy's name for secret santa and wanted one of my birdy paintings....I was so excited to get to do the paintings for them....and oh so wished I could be a fly on the wall when they opened gifts.
Luckily I had Julie (another girlfriend of ours) at the studio when I was painting and she mentioned it to Sondy's husband so he got a photo for me....kind of like being a fly on the wall.....
Sondy's bird....so perfect for her...
Trea's bird.....she loves green...
And the girls....
I loved being able to something that was so special to them, it filled me with joy and satisfaction.
So my friends this is it.....part of my year in photos......there are times I wish I could express more in words and find more time to share where I am and what I'm doing with you. For me this year has been filled with tremendous growth....I am proud of myself and who I am and who I am becoming as I believe that life is ever changing and so am I....thank you for all of your kind words over the past year and I hope to hear from you more.
find your beauty this year and push yourself in some way or another......
to a great 2011!!!
my love and gratitude!
XOXO
Valori