Pure Patriotic "Cuteness"

This defines pure, patriotic cuteness! But don't take my word for it...I'm a little biased.

Thank you, Lori!

Lori, an old friend from Jr. High did a little detective work for us and found that our butterfly is really a Polyphemus moth! It was just too pretty for us to even consider that it was a lowly moth! Thanks, Lori for setting us straight!

HELP!

Help! We need someone to tell us what type of butterfly is pictured. Isn't it beautiful?!
The wings have the gorgeous spot pattern to scare away predators and a soft pink color that stripes up the back of the wings. So pretty.
The body on this particular butterfly is really big. I don't know if it is supposed to be that way or if the butterfly is bloated (too many leaves - I don't know) :).
Actually, we're wondering if it is sick or what. It is just hanging out in the street in front of our house. We moved it with a leaf as far as we could. We tried to get it to the grass, but the farthest we could move it was the curb - just beyond the grass.
At first we thought the butterfly was dead, but then when we tried to move her, she opened her wings. Most of the time she sits with her wings pulled closed above her fat little body.
So, please. Help us ID this beautiful butterfly. We're so curious. We looked on-line, but couldn't find anything to match.
Help!

Back To (Home)School

Well, we started "back to school" last week!! We've been doing homeschool pre-school for about a year and a half, so we decided to continue this year. Although Marissa is only four-and-a-half, she is ready to start the Kindergarten curriculum, so we chose My Father's World (with several supplements) and began! I love it!! I know my little social butterfly would be happy in a public school, but she is also happy at home. Many people ask if Marissa has extra-curricular activities to develop social skills and the answer is a huge YES! She does Kids Choir, dance, did T-Ball, gymnastics, Chinese, Awana Sparks, and other activities, so I think we've got the social bases covered!
I remember Jaime's first day of Kindergarten so clearly. She was dressed in a purple flowered pinafore dress and lacy socks and black buckle shoes. Her little hair barrettes matched her dress and had thin, purple ribbons streaming down. Her hair was curled and she looked adorable. I remember holding her little hand as we walked up the sidewalk to her classroom. In contrast, Marissa's first day of Kindergarten - well, just look at the photos and you'll see that she was dressed in very comfortable "stay-home" clothes and her hair, although it was brushed, was not fixed. I laughed as I took her pictures that morning and I thought of the differences between my kid's big days. Even Brandon looked better than Marissa did when he started school. Oh well, the clothes don't make the student, do they?

Special Print

I've loved Sarah of Sarah Jane Studios artistic style for a while, and had already purchased a couple of her prints, but after we lost Jaime I wanted something unique that conveyed an aspect of the special relationship Marissa and Jaime shared. I think Sarah's custom print does it. She captured Jaime's beautiful, million-dollar smile. She perfectly shows the love Jaime had for Marissa; making it so evident in her eyes, just as it was each time I saw Jaime watch her little sister. Jaime was a performer and loved attention, yet when Marissa was around, Jaime was content to step aside and let her little sister shine.
Sarah also captured Marissa's grace and style, as well as her genuine love for dance. I love this print.
Sarah, thank you so much for this gift. For anyone who wants to check out Sarah's blog or studio, I'll post the web addresses. She's decided to make time to work on a couple of custom prints a month for people who want to order them. In the meantime I need to find out exactly how I want to frame my print and just where I want to hang it...
www.sarahjanestudios.com/blog
www.sarahjanestudios.com/shop

Church Block Party

Wow!! What fun Marissa had at the block party our church held Sunday!!! There was face-painting, cotton candy, popcorn, hamburgers and hotdogs, and GAMES galore!! One of Marissa's highlights was running smack into a butterfly...not really, but the huge butterfly painted on the front of her face was a huge hit!