One of the Greatest Gifts I've Ever Received

I was playing around on facebook several months ago when I noticed that Rachael Rossman, an incredibly gifted artist, had a giveaway on someones blog called The Modchick. I have been a fan of Rachael's work the moment I saw it floating around on the Internet! When we lost our beloved cat, Pepper, there was a part of me that hoped we would someday be able to get a portrait of her. Never, in my wildest dreams, did I ever expect that I'd actually WIN a Rachael Rossman portrait of my choice!!!

When I saw the contest at Modchick, I thought "It won't hurt to at least try." So, I entered the contest. Lindsey's question to answer for the contest:

"What do you love most about your pet?"

Since we no longer own a pet, this was my response:

"We had a beautiful cat that passed away last year. Pepper was my best friend, always by my side for fifteen years. Her loss is still incredibly hard at times. I’m just now able to consider adopting another cat into the family. Still, I miss my furry, grey, hemingway feline!"

Ever since I found out that I actually won this giveaway, I have been in a state of shock. Tears of joy have flowed from my eyes numerous times today. This is a dream come true. I immediately got in touch with Rachael. She asked me to send her two to three of my favorite photos of Pepper. The one Rachael chose was my absolute favorite. It is a picture I was fortunate enough to take when Violet pulled Pepper up into her lap. Violet called out to me, "Mommy, look! Pepper's sitting in my lap!!!" It was obvious that Pepper didn't just jump into my precious little girl's lap. There was a great deal of maneuvering to get her there. And I'm pretty sure it was against Pepper's wishes. But that cat was amazingly sweet and let Violet have her moment of joy. Here is the original photo...

Rachael did an amazing job. Right?

This painting means the world to me and I will cherish it forever! Thank you Modchick for hosting this giveaway. And thank you Rachael for providing the artwork. Words cannot adequately express how much I love my painting. Thank you, thank you from the depths of my heart.

A Beautiful Day

Several years ago we discovered a wonderful little family festival that is held one day each year in our area. We froze our tails off that year but the fun surpassed any discomfort we felt. Unfortunately, we couldn't go to the festival last year. I forget why. But we made it this year!

The day started off a little rough. Parking took a little effort on our part. The little festival we discovered two years ago is not so little anymore now that everyone has heard about it. Once we found a good spot, we parked and made our way to the festival. And then, I fell. Hard. As in, painful boo-boos and owies. Yes, I'm a baby. No news there. At least I'm adult enough to admit that I'm a baby. Right?

I'm still not sure exactly how I fell. I thought I was sure where I was stepping. Heck, I was on solid ground on a concrete sidewalk. I just miss judged a curve/curb/slope somehow and the ground came up to meet me. What's really sad in all of this, I was holding Violet's hand and ended up taking the kid down with me. In the confusion of the moment, I thought she was falling! So, imagine my confusion when I realized at the last second that it was actually ME who was falling. After making sure Violet was okay (which she was) it was then that I noticed I wasn't. I had scraped a knee and palm but my wrist and shoulder really hurt.

My sweetheart of husband suggested we go home. And as much as I loved him for that, there was no way we could disappoint our precious little girl. She has been looking forward to this day for several weeks. So, with a limp in my step, we went to the festival. And we were rewarded with countless smiles and giggles throughout the afternoon.

Violet made several crafts throughout the festival (it was an ART festival after all). Our first stop of the day, a little sketch art...


We got up close and personal with some critters at an animal rescue center's booth...


Which, let me share a little known fact about me here... I HATE snakes!!! So, that photo is a testament of how much I LOVE my daughter!!! I got close enough to take a picture. Just. For. Her!

The fantastic clown who did balloon figures was there again...


The highlight of the day though was the opportunity to meet several Princesses! First, we listened to them as they performed the theme songs to their movies. Then Violet got to do an art page while Belle held her paper for her!


The smile on her face shows how much Violet enjoyed her day...