today is YOUR gift....embrace it!

isn.t it interesting how life unexpectedly hands us lessons.

or I should probably say in "my" case....God.

this handsome young man is my first born.

he is 18 years young.  he is funny.  artistic.  musical.  athletic.
did i mention funny?

and oh so sweet to his mom.  

a week ago last friday i was called to the school because he wasn.t feeling well.

i was met by the school nurse who said they had called 911 and the ambulance and paramedics were on their way.  "what in the world?"  i was not prepared for what i saw when i came around the corner.  my sweet boy was convulsing on the nurses bed.  when his eyes met mine there was sheer fear in those sweet browns...a look like "mom...what is happening to me?" "mom...help me!"

i lost it.  i wanted to be the calm mom that didn.t freak out but i wasn.t.  

in front of dillon i kept it together, but as soon as i stepped around the corner i was gone. my son does MMA {mixed martial arts}.  5 days before this he had been kicked in the head at practice and had gotten a concussion that we didn.t know about.  the problem there was that he went back and fought the next night and got hit in the head AGAIN.  the second and third hits to a concussion can be some of the most dangerous and the following days his swelling just progressed.  they were concerned about brain bleeding and severe swelling.  after arriving at the hospital, they were like busy bees coming and going..attending to his needs and attaching every tube and needle they could find to his shaking body.  i can.t tell you how grateful i was when two men from my church..{one was one of dillon.s best friends} showed up to give him a blessing of healing.  they honestly looked like angels walking in the room. dillon looked so relieved to see them there as well.  i have to say that i have an incredibly strong testimony in the power of prayer and this experience just solidified it.  no sooner did we say "amen" then dillon.s vital signs began to slowly drop.  his convulsions decreased and his eyes began to open and follow my fingers.  all the tests they took up to this point came back normal and i KNOW it was nothing short of a miracle of God.s hand.

 i had this precious soul home and safe in bed by night fall.

the following days all he did was sleep.  and sleep.  and sleep some more.

his 4 younger brothers and sisters watched him like hawks.  the little ones drew him pictures and make sure he had lots of dr. pepper to drink...his 13 yr. old brother  brought him ice cream and video games and movies and told him funny stories.  my 15 yr. old daughter has slept by his side since it all happened.  she did all his laundry and cleaned his room { NOT an easy task} she has really been there for me as well and i can truly say she is one of my best friends!  the kindness and the sweet spirit that has permeated our home since that friday is heavenly.  i want to just gather my chicks under my wing and hold them there forever.  i want to bottle this "LOVE" we all have for one another and seal the lid real tight.  i know it will not last.  life is like that.  we forget.  we become complacent and forget the events that shape us and the people who mean the world to us.  we forget that each day is a gift.

dillon's prognosis is good.  we are waiting for the results of an MRI.
but he is out of his wheelchair and back on his feet.  a blessing that came much faster than any of us had anticipated.  i know there have been so many of you who have kept my family in your prayers and for that i am extremely grateful.  

do me a favor and take a moment to tell those around you how much you love them.  how much they mean to you.  be more patient.  be present for your loved ones today.  leave a note.  send a text.  bake a cake.  listen more.  talk less.
JUST LOVE!!!

today is YOUR gift....embrace it!

{i love you dillon...all the way to the moon and back a zillion times!}



cultivate a reverence for the "gift of today"!!!!

"heart" and seek - day 14

its the 14th friends.

             happy heart day to all of you!

i hope someone you love gives you some random LOVE today!

i hope you are able to find LOVE in unexpected places!

i hope you will be able to sit and find some rest in all the LOVE along your way!

i hope every step you take today {and every day} is filled with LOVE!

i hope you.ll remember to look up for LOVE!

{photo of a sycamore leaf found on a LOVE anniversary 

by christine at silver linings 4 me.  perfect!}

i hope you won.t forget that sometimes the LOVE comes 

"after" the really long drink!

i hope that LOVE will always be right beneath your feet!

{wonderful photo of the GREEN HEARTattack of LOVE....

by the amazing tara at aquamarine art.  please DO pay her a visit and wish her a most happy valentines day....this was one of my favorite HEART photos}

i hope that the LOVE in your life will always be sweet!

i hope that LOVE will blow right into your life...often.

so be on the lookout to enjoy the surprise...

before the wind picks it up and carries it away again to bless someone else!

i hope the LOVE that surrounds you, will always keep you "happy"!

{my 15 yr. old daughter tess sent me this one day from her room.

she said..."mom, this is the HEART that makes me the "happiest" today.

i love you!}  and i HEART you soooooo much, miss tessa!

i hope you will always keep your peepers open.

sometimes LOVE will surprise us so much we won.t believe our eyes.

that.s why it is so important that we always keep our gaze open to it...

it can move in and out of our lives as quickly as the clouds above!

{this seriously once in a lifetime photo was share with me by my unearth sister, lisa towery.  it earned it.s way to the famed "shutter sisters" blog as it should.

thank you ever so much lisa for keeping your eyes open and for sharing this LOVE gift with me!  i love you!}

i hope that as "we"continue down our own paths that "we" will recognize...especially...when GOD shows us HIS HEART.  HIS is the biggest of all, in my opinion.  His HEART is all around us.  always.  HE is so creative!  sometimes HE might be right there as we walk out our front door as my sweetest creative friend from "an artful journey"

...peggy krantz of passions of an odd chick...knows all too well.

"One day the sky opened up and showed me God's heart."

{peggy is a beautiful artist and an even more beautiful person.  she has a HEART full of gold.  the love she has for her children and her sweetHEART and God is so inspiring.  visit her and fill your HEART.}

i just want to tell you all how much fun this adventure of "HEART and seek" has been for me this year.  i LOVE that we have an army of friends out in the world keeping our eyes focused on LOVE and the good things in life that surround us.  you guys are thee best teammates i could ask for.

{start collecting for next year!!!}

cultivate your own HEART so that others will "see" it!!!

xoxo

"heart" and seek - day 13

starting todays post out with some lightHEARTED surprises.

my sweet friend katherine quinn from sleep and her sisters sent me this fragile find she found in a particularly lucky bag of chips.  please please visit katherine.  her art and the girls she paints are so HEARTwarming.  

you will want one for your wall...i promise.

my children were stoked to find this fried piece of HEART love 

in their recent lunch bag adventures.

i hate to even admit this but i simply can.t remember who sent me this most wonderful HEARTsomely ruffled potato.  please please tell me if this is yours and totally accept my sincere apology.  it is truly a most awesome discovery.

my children discovered that pepperoni pizza is NOT exempt 

from a little love every now and then.

they also learned that sometimes there can be HEART attacks

 even when they are doing the chores that they hate.

 yesterday we went out to breakfast at a little bread company in paradise valley that we HEART.  i thought it was particularly appropriate that after i had taken a bite of my watermelon and was putting it back down...this was the view i saw!!!   awhhhh!

and on one of my last bites of my scrambled eggs, avocado and tomato...

this discovery was simply some bigHEARTed love to my mouth!!!

such fun!

jen at sadie inspired  is another oh so talented artist.

she is so sweet too.  i really love visiting her blog.  i love how openHEARTed this find became once jen started to really open her eyes to love.  it is a wonderful little HEART that has been hiding on her favorite "benefit" makeup that she uses all the time...what a perfect month for it.s coming out party!  thanks jen!

a fun little find on my "gates of newport beach" adventure last summer

getting clever with some fallen petals

one of my very first blog friends...jenny wentworth 

found these yummy HEART pillows

and this wonderful creative HEART recently...i really love jenny.  she is one of those spirits that i just won.t be fully happy until i meet her in person.  {hear that jenny?} i just love her that much!

cold HEARTed....maybe, but not if you are really hot and live in phoenix.

 my dear dear friend patrice from tending to my nest must be on the same icy HEART wave length as me too....

but honestly...patrice is sooooo NOT cold at all.  she is the warmest, most wise and tenderHEARTED woman!  she is one of my brave girls and i love her dearly.  she is a wizard with a needle and thread and this is just one very very minor example of the magic she creates with her hands...i might even feel a tad bit bad sticking my needles in this awesome HEART pin cushion she made.

shopping at target is always a HEART {and cart} FULL experience for me.

this sweet little love popped out at me just as i was going to drive all my newly bought goods right over it.   awhhhhh!

i hope you take the time to see what you are rolling over or pulling out of a {chip?} bag or walking by or putting on your face or about to put in your mouth...what.s at the bottom of your cup?

you never know...it might be a surprise HEART attack

 and you wouldn.t want to miss it now would you!

cultivate a new perspective with which to see the LOVE around you!

"heart" and seek - day 12

have i told you all how much i HEART you?

well i.m...

this is one of my most favorite little gifts.  i keep it where i can look at the love it represents...any time i need it.  which is usually "all" the time.  who doesn.t need  a "great big hug" every day right?  it was given to me my one of my best friends ever...kolleen harrison from HEART wing sisters.  {the first official "unearth" sister i was blessed to meet." absolutely adore her.

ok

on to the HEART adventure.  we are getting down to the wire here friends... i am going to bust out some serious HEART eye candy today...hang on!

my sweet scarf sister valerie tookes was on the platform waiting for the train to take her to work and when she looked down this sneaky, albeit wonderful HEART was right under her toes.  {valerie is also guest posting on our dear friend vivienne mcmasters blog this week...check it out}

another "unearth scarf sister" of mine is dear patty waite from nomadic notebook .  patty must have been born with a camera in her hands.  this amazing woman has traveled all over the place and seriously has the most wonderful eye.  her photos always bring me joy.  the photo above is actually called "HEART ROCK" and has an entire hike in it.s honor in crestline, CA.  this is the closest you can get to it.  at some point, someone threw that stick at it and it landed in the perfect cupid arrow.s spot.

 valley of fire state park, nevada

 patty playing around with her zoom lens and got a wonderfully HEART warming surprise.

a collaboration of patty and our sweetest friend marilyn on the oregon coast...

{LOVE you marilyn!}

here patty was just taking a photo of a juicy watermelon...

it wasn.t until after, that she discovered the HEART.

you will want to pop over to patty.s blog.  she is wonderful!

it must be that i am getting a lot of love from my "unearth sisters" this week.

this wonderful crayon love is from jennifer at giggling in the rain.  i have mentioned her here before.  she is really one of the kindest spirits i have ever come across.  our friend mindy of tims sally just wrote of the influence jennifer has had on her art.  it is in the present issue of ARTFUL BLOGGING.

 jennifer shared this photo with me today.  her words are so much more poetic than mine so i.ll just let her explain this photo...

"You my dear, have opened me up to this whole new world of HEARTS. And when it was spring time and the world was not blanketed in this white coating I was able to see brilliant colors and beautiful flowers.  One of my favorite things to do is to grab my camera and photograph what I see.  I remember this day so clearly.  It was a tough one for me.  Something HEARTbreaking had happened and I was torn to pieces.  But on my walk I found these and in the past I may have walked right by.  But they looked like HEARTS to me.  I thought of you immediately and my HEART began to heal.  

Thank you my dear for opening me up to so much love that surrounds me."

i HEART you SOOO much miss jennifer.  PERIOD!!!!

i have shared the amazing art of my unearth sis...kelly barton with you before.

you will never be sorry for visiting her blog.  ever.

my own HEART was especially touched when she sent me this photo of a HEART she had made just for me.  seriously...my " HEART IS full"  kelly....and you filled it up!

thank you so much my dear.

gloria king of creating free spirit

is one of the kindest, most gentle, wickedly creative, super mamas of the world.  and she also happens to be another one of my dearly beloved unearth scarf sisters.  miss G shared this photo with me and i.ll tell you one reason why i love it so much...sweet gloria pointed out that "I love that {this HEART} is broken but since it is the trunk of the tree it will hold itself together and stay strong."  isn.t that a beautiful vision?  how true is that of us in life.  our HEARTS are going to break occasionally, but if we make sure our roots are nourished and strong...we WILL survive!

one of the best things in the world is when you meet a dear soul who becomes a creative sister, a scarf sister, an unearth sister and then this amazingly, sweet, talented woman meets you in idaho and becomes your "brave girl" sister too.  i am speaking of serena berry of the bumpy life.  she shares her latest HEART find with us..right above...but honestly...her real HEART is like a bagillion sizes bigger.  love you serena girl.


thank you again for all the HEART shares that keep coming my way.
this is honestly such an honor to feel as much love as i have the past two weeks.

smoooooches to yooooouches!
{especially my unearth sisters today!}


cultivate some time to send some unexpected LOVE to someone in your life today!