Christmas

Well we are back from West Palm Beach. We had a great Christmas. It was 80 degrees and sunny and I loved it. It was 40 degrees, rainy, and everything was dead when we left and it was just as ugly when we got back. Sigh, I had started thinking about my garden and painting the railing on my porch. I got to see an old friend and was so happy to see her(psst, Lauren that's you!). We got all kinds of great loot. I think our toy bin doubled, groan. Does anyone actually keep there kid's toys organized? We will probably never try to do an all night drive again. We thought the kids would sleep through the whole trip . That was until we stopped for gas and turned around. Three pairs of wide grumpy eyes greeted us and two thumbs were being vigorously sucked on to no avail. They stayed awake till 4am before nodding off! Not happy campers. The 12 hours on the way back in daylight went much better. I am a loser because I didn't take pictures but I'll get some from my Mom and post them soon.

So yesterday we had our women's Christmas brunch and my kids went over to the Sumpter's to play while I went to the brunch. Pastor Sumpter watched the kids while his wife, Jenny and I went to the brunch. On the way to the Sumpter's house I did the usual prep with the kids: obey pastor Sumpter and say "Yes, sir.", no whining, etc. After I'm done there is a moments silence then Renata pipes up, "Mom, does Pastor Sumpter have a job?"

I about died laughing and immediately told all the company I saw that day. It is especially funny because Toby not only pastors us but also teaches kids online and is getting his doctorate.

We have been sick all week and it has been lousy! I found this illustator, Mike Dutton on his Etsy site and it cheered me up. This is one of his prints. Here are a few other fun things I've been checking out.

Embroidered hair asscesories.

Lauren's Flannery O'Conner buttons that we will soon be selling in our bookstore. Yea!

English Yew coasters. I love wood.

I couldn't resist this "wee folk" door for your tree. How fun is that.

Things I Love

Trains. I love how powerful trains sound and thinking of their history and the graffiti on them.

Fantasia. Man that is a fun and beautiful film to watch. I have just rediscovered it.

Red. I look really good in Red.

Christmas Cacti. I got two today because they were buy one get one free at Publix (the best grocery store in the world.)

Cuban crackers with cream cheese on them. Yum.

Botticelli. Another rediscovery lately. He made the most beautiful hair in his paintings.

Sangria. Makin' it this Sunday.

We had a nice Thanksgiving weekend. I even did my Sat. ritual of garage saleing which any good garage saler knows is dumb because nobody has garage sales on holiday weekends, but I did find some and got this fun vase with raised dots on it.
We decorated the store and our house including our Christmas tree. Renata was so excited about decorating the tree she literally was jumping up and down. When we finished she asked if tomorrow was going to be Christmas.
I also have been meaning to post a picture of a present from my father-in-law. It is a picture of his I wanted blown up and framed. Lovely isn't it?I did decide it would look better in our living room if the walls were painted another color. A good reason, I thought, but Joffre did not look enthusiastic.

I finally got around to finishing Rapunzel and I'll be putting her up on my Etsy shop. I also got my first set of finished Christmas cards. Which will also be up on Etsy and in the bookstore after the envelops arrive (and a better picture.) Joffre is going to train me soon and I'll be able to work at the store and paint during down time. I'm really looking forward to it. I asked Joffre if I could do a big portrait of him soon. He was amendable as long as he could be clothed.

Projects

I've been working on a few projects and thought I'd share. First I've been painting my door . I couldn't decide on a color. I wanted blue, red, or yellow. I finally decided on red. I'll show another picture when I finish. Now I want to get some shutters. Of course I want the expensive real wood natural finished shutters or black ones. It will probably be a long time before that happens. Not on the top of the priority list.

I've also been planning Christmas gifts and making seed packets to give to people. Really fun. I loved seeding the garden. I even considered putting them on my Etsy store but I can't guarantee they'll grow.

I also am making a set of Christmas cards to sell on my Etsy shop and in the bookstore. Here is a peek at one of the designs.

Rats

So I just finished watching The Incredibles which always puts me in a good mood. I also just recently saw Ratatouille. That movie was made for Joffre. He is watching it for the first time tonight and I'm excited for him. It was a fun movie and coolly enough it talks about creation and recreation . So fun to hear from a secular mouth. It did gross me out to see all those rats moving in a kitchen and hard to sympathize with them. I'm super tired but I really want to watch Joffre watch this movie.

On an unrelated note, I got a job! I'm working at this fabulous used book store/ coffee place called The Silver Chair. My boss is a dream. A total hunk and tall, oh so tall. I go for the tall ones. I hope he won't be a pain about training but hey, I get to go work at the store all day without kids and when it is slow I can work on my mural and my kids get to hang out with their Dad. Fun times.

Speaking of fun times, check out my friend, Lauren's new blog www.mlsinmemphis.blogspot.com
She is hilarious.

Visitors

Well my mom and brother just left after a visit and boy, was it nice. We ate good food, played and I got a lot of help. The kids all got sick and as much of a bummer that was for my mom and brother it was great timing for me to get help. It was fun.( hopefully for them too.)

Etsy

I opened an Etsy shop. Check it out. I'm still figuring out a few things but it is up and running. Yeah! I can sell my work.

Still Gardening

So how cool is this. My tomatoes flowered a second time and produced an entire 2nd crop because our fall has been so warm. My sweet peas just flowered so I'll be looking for pods soon and my spinach is growing but pretty wimpy looking. I'm also excited because the bookstore has a pecan tree behind it and I've been collecting them. I just have to decide what to make with them.

I had a miscarriage last night. Please pray for our family.

Sellin' my work

I listed three of my works on ebay today and I'm planning an Etsy shop to sell more. I will be selling mostly reproductions and some originals. I'm also going to start selling at The Silver Chair. These are all originals.

Number Four

Yep, we're expecting Swait baby number four. Whew! We're very excited. My due date is some time around June 23rd.

The Silver Chair

Enter The Silver Chair Tour. (Sorry about the underlined words and the links in this post are not really links. I have no idea what I pushed but didn't bother fixing it.)

The front of the store.
The front porch


The front door
The children's room with a lovely mural you can read more about in my previous post.



The main living room area with lovely flowers sent by our lovely relatives.

The counter
The Theology room

One book roomDining area


Dining area

The back porch.


The parking lot.You have finished the tour and should now comment or better yet visit.=)

The Mural at THe Silver Chair

Here is the mural still in progress. Some close ups and a full picture. I get snatches of time to work on it and spend half the time trying to keep George from eating books but little by little it is coming along. I couldn't get rid of the glare on most of these. Sorry.

Rapunzel, Rapunzel Let Down Your Hair

Here's an illustration of Rapunzel I'm working on. Does anyone remember off the top of their head if what color her hair was in the story. I made it blond/gold in the mural but I like this brunette better. I had a terrible/ unsuccessful time finding the story at the library. I probably was just too distracted by the kids. I don't really care, artistic license and all that but was curious if I was getting it mixed up with Rumpelstilskin. This is oil pastel on craft paper about 12"x24". (I have a really bad habit of just drawing on this paper in odd sizes and not squared edges. Not smart when you are thinking about reproducing).

Guess who modeled for the knight? I had to trim the shoulders and scale him down so it didn't look like he was a giant dragging her out of the window instead of climbing. He hasn't started up the hair so I could do that romantic hair blowing in the wind thingy.
Trina Schart Hyman is so awesome at this sort of illustration. Her Snow White is my favorite.

Mornings

These are my children in the morning:

Renata Joffre

and George.

Joffre is going to a book sale this weekend and he decided to take Renata. He told her yesterday. So this morning she woke up and told me she wanted to go back to bed and sleep so the next time she woke up it would be time for her to go on her trip with Daddy and see Aunt Jen and uncle Tony. So sweet.
This evening to finish the day I took Joffre jr. to the potty and as I'm wiping his bottom he looks at me and says, "Mom, I so proud of you. Good job."(An echo of his Mom after he successfully goes to the potty.) After snorting I managed a, "Thanks, son."

I keep forgetting to take pictures of the store and mural in progress. I'll try to remember tomorrow and post them.

The Swait Family Band