Our newest grandbaby's pics.. in the womb.

*Proud Gramma* Our son Kaine and his girlfriend Erin are having a baby. They went for an ultrasound today and we finally have grandbaby pics to show off! Here is our 4th grandbaby... we don't know yet if it's a girl or a boy, but it's exciting to finally see this cherished grandchild that will be coming out into the world around May 7th, 2008. *S*

School Daze Assemblage

Here is my finished project, (well almost). It too has changed some since I posted the ideas of it a while ago. The old school bus frame has photos in it of boys and girls in war torn countries in ages from approx. kindergarten up through 12th grade. Also on the piece are pictures that children have drawn of their lives where they are ...they depict war scenes, something our own kids don't have to experience in the ways these kids do. There is an army tank with a child's hand with a stone, often kids are caught up in the war as well, using weapons they have at hand. There is a picture of a school zone showing barbed wire surrounding the bricked school yard and there is a NO WAR sign drawn by one child.

The pictures of the children are meant to show the effects of war on youth, school days that are definitely much different than here in the States.

To quote an old song lyric..."WAR...ugghh, What is it good for? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!"

9/11 - As we forgive those who trespass against us...

I'm up late, the best time for creativeness lately. Must have been because of the several naps I had on Friday, eh? *L*

Anyway... I finished my assemblage, I was thinking of calling it "9/11 Forgiveness"...but then thought maybe "As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us", I'll sleep on those titles and then see. I had posted some of the elements for this one last month, I've changed it a bit since then, adding different things (like the Empire State Building and Statute of Liberty, and the Lord's Prayer, with a magnifying lens over "..forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us"), changing out some of the letters, and put it all into a shadow box, adding some metal drawer pulls on the top for something different too.

So, now I'm done for the night... well, maybe I'll work on another one I have half finished before sleeping.... *yaaawn*.. or maybe not. *L*

School Daze Assemblage - a work in progress

This is the start of what I am thinking of calling "School Daze". In a political chat room I visit, someone had posted a picture of a school child who was hurt in the war going on in Iraq. It made me sad to think of how different life and school days are for kids in war-torn countries.

A few days later, as I was making my rounds in the GoodWill store, I came across a frame in the shape of a school bus, one that you put your child's school pictures each year into.

So, this idea was born... to put in pictures that I found off the Internet, of kids of various ages - Kindergarten thru 12th grade ages - in their environment,... the innocent victims of war.

I beat up the school bus a lot, and also found pictures on the Internet that school age kids had drawn of what their everyday life was like... war pictures from a child's perspective.

I'm still playing around with how and on what I'll mount these things, and looking thru my stash of treasures and junk to see what else I can add.

Anyway... here it is so far... more to come...

I Spy With My Little EYE...

Okay... this is just goofy stuff... the daughter was home tonite and we were playing around with her camera and a magnifying glass prop..*L*

Soooo... I see how it is... *G*

Here are some eye opening photos...heh heh

Sunday Saints ...or are we Sinners? *G*

" I sing a song of the saints of God, patient and brave and true, who toiled and fought and lived and died for the Lord they loved and knew. And one was a doctor, and one was a queen, and one was a shepherdess on the green; they were all of them saints of God, and I mean, God helping, to be one too."

check out the tune & more verses http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh712.sht

So yesterday was All Saint's Sunday, a celebration of those people who we consider saints. We were asked to come dressed as a saint of our own choosing...either a modern day one or one from long ago. We are part of the processional coming into church as the above song is song, and then at the sermon time we each have to tell a little about the saint we were representing.

As of Saturday morning, I still didn't know what Saint I'd come as, but then I received a necklace I had ordered in the mail from a wonderful artist.. Jane Wynn http://idolatrieartist.typepad.com/

It's called the Eye of Protection... and I LOVE IT!!

I wanted to wear it and show it off immediately, so I decided to try to use it in my costume of a saint for Sunday. At first I was thinking I'd come as Saint Michael the Archangel...who is said to be an angel of protection against the malice and snare of the evil one and evil forces. That was my plan and I was happy with it....BUT, then I decided to just google "saints and eyes" and lo and behold I came up with St. Lucy .... she is often used as the patron saint for the blind. There is a legend claiming that in response to a suitor who admired her beautiful eyes, "she cut them out and sent them to him, asking to be left in peace thereafter." Lucy was represented in Gothic art holding a dish with two eyes on it. The legend concludes with God restoring Lucy's eyes. Kinda gruesome eh? But, I decided to use that and my eye necklace would fit right in... I also had a bowl of eyeballs (chocolate ones) to pass out to the kids... heh heh.

Anyway... I had fun with it and had rave reviews on my new necklace...Thanks to Jane for the wonderful jewelry and the inspiration for the Saint. *S*