If you don't have a smile....I'll give you one of mine!

I blogged last November about the start of my first round robin. Five of my artsy friends were each sent an eight inch paper mache "body-quin".



We were to add a splash or dash of art to it and send it on its way.



Every couple of weeks I would send one off and receive a new one to add my splash to. Of course, this all fit in perfectly with my love to receive mail.


Each one ended up so amazingly whimsical . . .





. . . with a definite personality all their own!






And when I got my body-quin back, enclosed was a little wooden card that my favorite art sista Lynda had started for me, as mine was being arted up.



And she will! If she's your friend, you know it. She's always the first to raise her hand to try a new art adventure with me.



Her dad has just finished making my about to be arted up pieces for my next round robin. I got the idea from Dayna Collins ~ I'm giddy with excitement for it to begin.

The 3 Wise Men

Busy with school and it's homework, I decided last weekend that I need to start writing again (a gentle nudge from Robert Kincaid) and going on an Artist's Way date once a week to try to achieve some sort of balance.

I plug in my camera and see some pictures from Christmas. Not one to go all out for the hype, I do have to say that I loved this Christmas.

It started with the mystery notes from Kristi and then in the mail one afternoon I received a card and a poem from my cousin Jason. The paper with the poem on it was folded with "For my beloved cousin" on the front. How wonderfully cool is that?



Inside Jason wrote:



BLACKHAWK

For all the warriors
fighting the good fight
(often in vain)
My heart breaks in sorrow
and my soul burns with shame

If only heroism was contagious!
and courage as common as a cold
Then no enemy of freedom
could find an ally
and no friend of peace
could find a foe

I was speechless when I read it. What a truly great and giving gift ~ there are no adequate words to say how much his gift means to me. When I hung out with him this summer at the family reunion I told him about my personal journey with the Artist's Way. He promised me that he would pick up his talent of writing and sketching once he returned home; and with that promise was another promise to send me one of his first newly created written works in 2009 (and he always meets his deadlines!). Such a very wise and gifted man.

During the month of December, as a family we decided to "adopt" four brothers for Christmas. It was a joyous month filled with trips to Toys R Us and various sporting and clothing stores. They got their wishes. After I delivered their gifts, Steven the oldest boy handed me a wrapped bag. Inside was a wooden box that he had crafted in his shop class.




Every corner was perfect, it was a true piece of fine craftsmanship. I love rubbing my hand over its smooth surface. I don't know if I could have parted with something as wonderful if I had made it. Such a very wise and talented man.

And then we went to Scappoose to visit with the Estes' family on Christmas Day. As I was sitting at their dining room table, my nephew-in-law (the Rock of our family) comes in and says that he has found something for me. He unfolds his hand and I see something blue. Two weeks prior on one of his artifact missions, he had found a blue bead.



He ties it around my neck and I can't help but rub and touch it the rest of the day. Such a sacred piece that has me wondering what other woman wore it and who gave it to her. Such a wise and giving man.

Three wise men bearing gifts - how great is that? I have the perfect home for my poem and bead. And those 3 wise men will forever have a perfect home in my heart.