Mark & Christina

Right now I am packing up for the beach.

I am SO excited. I can't wait to get away from the city... for a WHOLE WEEK. Not to mention the fact that I get to see my family. My mom & dad, sister & brother-in-law are all coming! It would have been an amazing trip with just my hubby and I... but this is just icing on the cake.

The beach house, sadly, does not have internet. So I am leaving you for a week as well. So, I thought I would leave you with a blog about the last Father's Day plaque, because I sent it off, and it was beautiful.

Christina, my cousin, finally got her marine husband, Mark back. He had been over seas for several months. While Mark was gone Christina continued in her pregnancy with their second son, Gavin (LOVE love that name). Gavin was born in April. Mark came home in June. ....Get it? I can not imagine going through my pregnancy without my husband. Even more than that, I can not imagine going through labor alone. ... I am not half the woman that Christina is. I wasn't even there, and as unfortunate & sad as it is, i haven't even met Mark yet... but I would go as far as to say that time stood still for that moment when this precious family got their Daddy back. I am quite sure it did... how could it not?

So, for this beautiful family. I had the privilege of painting a FATHER'S day gift. Are you kidding?! Painting for a Father who sacrificed so much to defend our freedom... my freedom....It was such an honor. In a way i felt like i was saying, "thank you''


but somehow, there's no words for that. but these are the words Christina chose for the plaque...

walnut plaque. Acrylic paints. Sold.

it still brings tears to my eyes. That is the sweetest.. most honoring thing for a man... ANY man to hear. But for a marine... i can not fathom how those words will weigh on his heart.

Thank you for reading. i hope you all have a wonderful weekend & week. Talk with you soon.

Sifting

Have I ever told you about my amazing husband? Well, he is mine... and he is amazing. Not only does he spoil me with trips to the hardware store, but he is my own personal carpenter. Last night he helped me out with Marge's kitchen sign for hours. Yes, plural. He used a hand planer to put a chamfer edge around it. Then, as if that was not enough, he sanded the whole thing for me. Oh, dear ...he is so like-able. Even if I wasn't madly in love with him, I'd still like him. All I can say is, "Marge, this is going to be boss".

Today I started priming so that tomorrow -hopefully- I can use my AWESOME pumpernickel paint & begin! Here is a look "behind the scenes" so far... which, I warn you... is not much. But if nothing else, LOOK AT HOW BIG IT IS... it's amazing.

Mainly, I have been spending all my spare time on the other Father's Day plaque. I felt I needed to ask for permission before I used names... so in my last post I referred to a "woman" who wanted a plaque for her husband, the "marine". Which is still true, her husband is a marine, & his name is Mark. And, the woman, Christina... is my cousin. Yep, this story just gets better & better. I haven't met Mark yet, but from what I hear I am missing out because he is truly one amazing man. After all, he is a marine. To add on to that feeling of "missing out", I don't think I have seen Christina since I was a teeny-bopper. I hate that. This will in no way make up for that lost time... but we don't live TERRIBLY far from each other. I am crossing my fingers to meet her beautiful family & see her again sometime in the near future.

But for now, I am using what I do know of Mark & Christina to paint my heart out.

I will admit, I've gotten choked up a few times. Its hard to create something so sentimental, something that reads "Our Father, Our Hero". All the while knowing this family's father & hero have been gone for so long... knowing when he comes home he will be meeting yet another son for the first time ...all because he was doing his duty to fight for our country. For our freedom.

How would you handle that?

I've been thinking about it non-stop ...and I can tell you straight up, I would NOT be handling it with courage, strength & honor. I'd be angry. So angry. & who knows, maybe Mark is angry... I wouldn't know because I'm not him... nor Christina. But, if he is angry, he's still being a man of his word and thats something I am not sure I could do. How pathetic of me.

So, as I have been painting, I've been trying to sift through all these thoughts & emotions. ...& I need some tissues. I thank God for giving me this opportunity. & I hope that as you read this, you take a minute & thank God for what you have & WHO you have in your life.

That's an order, Soldier

Excitement is flowing from my fingertips.... quite literally. I finished the Father's Day plaque for Destiny & blogged it Friday. I was kind of bummed that I still had one plaque, all paint-less & lonely. I don't like painting just to paint. I have to know who I am painting for... why they want that particular thing painted... SOMETHING personal. Otherwise, it just doesnt matter to me... does that make sense? Its like the difference between baking cookies because you have what you need in the pantry and baking cookies for someone sick. Love is the secret ingredient. And I had no love for the second plaque yet. More like resentment towards its wasted potential. Then, thanks to Facebook, a woman contacted me & asked for a plaque for her husband.

I can not really tell you how special this project is going to be. Her husband is a marine. He is currently deployed & when we gets home, he will be meeting his newborn for the first time. Can you take a moment to wrap your head around that for a second?

Now take another moment to wrap your heart around it.

Yeah. Exactly. & I get to have the honor of painting something as special as a FATHER'S DAY gift for this family. Honestly, I am humbled by this opportunity. The best part is she wants it to read: "Our Father, Our Hero". Is this gonna be a tear jerker or what?!

The rest of the day continued to be good to me. It totally makes up for all the lost sleep lately. I continued to make-wait for it-FIVE ORDERS. ...Holy Moses.

I have 3 Father's Day orders, two for $10 and one for $25-30. Destiny's are the $10 orders for her grandfather & great-grandfather. One loves to fish, the other loves to garden. So, the first will say, "What a catch!" with a fishing pole and the other, "You're someone I look up to no matter how tall I grow" with a corn stalk. Super cute... I think. I am still waiting for details on the last order for a gal named Connie. She's finding a good quote & I'm waiting to get my hands on the perfect size wood. Then I have to finish with Marge's yellow pine kitchen painting.... can you feel this whelming me over?! Then, someone snatched up the Mahogany jewelry set (sorry folks, its all gone). Aye-yi-yi. Not to mention, two people contacted me about possible orders. Don't get me wrong, I am so thankful for the business. But, I am a little stressed. Excited to be included on SO many special opportunities, but nervous... for my hands may fall off.

Keep an eye out. Sneak peaks will be coming soon-ish. & thanks for reading.