Family Fun

Lily's Birthday card...one of my watercolor prints with a few additions!

Our family has been with us in Florida for almost a week now!  We have had so much fun.  Four extra adults and five extra kids, including nine-month-old Baby Layla.  Lily turned eleven on Tuesday.  We have had great meals, fun at the beach, and trips to the park.  The weather was rainy only one day...the rest of the time we have dodged the showers and even seen rainbows.

Our family...fighting cancer together!

Before they arrived, I ordered bracelets from a company called MudLove.com, with the word Together on each one.  I had bought one at the Mast Store in Boone that said Hope.  When I went to the MudLove website to order more, I found out that you could have the bracelets customized with the word of your choice.  Together has been our family codeword for fighting cancer for the last two years.  

Baby Layla has been delightful.  Baby Kasey is a little jealous.  She thought she was the baby.

Well, it is hard to blog when you have four extra adults, five kids and a dog in the house.  They have all gone back home today.  This house is very, very quiet.  

Early Spring

February brought some extremely warm temperatures this year.  Raleigh is in full bloom.  I was inspired to paint some bunnies.

The first one I call "I'm not fat, I'm fluffy!"

And for one slightly less whimsical but still colorful, how about a rainbow rabbit?  I was inspired by one I saw on Pinterest.

After several days of wearing shorts and sandals, we came up to the mountains yesterday and this morning it snowed!  Bummer!  We went to town this morning and picked out flooring and carpet for the new basement studio.  We chose a wood-look tile for the floors and a thick carpet for the stairwell.  And tomorrow our nephew is going to help us finish the basement ceiling.

This afternoon I started a new painting.  I worked from a photo of our woods, and added a nice buck. Needs some work before it"s done.

Our little granddaughter Layla turned six months old this week.  She is getting to be full of personality and LOVES attention.

On Monday we will be heading back to warm weather when we go back to Florida for my husband's one-year check-up at the cancer center.  We are planning to meet up with a friend from Raleigh who is  currently being treated at Dattoli Cancer Center, and also my husband's business partner who is vacationing in Florida next week.  Then back for a long weekend with my brother Jeff and wife Anna, who graciously hosted us during Charlie's months of radiation.  We are looking forward to a good report from the doctor, and then some good times in the sun.

Great News, a Fun Week, and More Great News!

We have just returned from a week on the Gulf Coast of Florida.  The purpose of the trip was to revisit the Dattoli Cancer Center in Sarasota for my husband's six-month check-up.  If you have experienced cancer in your family, you know there is always a bit of anxiety when you go back for tests or exams.  Fortunately, Charlie got the all-clear:  he is still in remission.  Yippee!  Charlie had Stage 4 prostate cancer that had spread throughout his skeletal system and lymph nodes.  We are still numb with shock that he is in remission.  Thank you, Dr. Dattoli and your staff!

On to a week of fun in Florida!


We stayed in Sarasota for two nights and enjoyed great dining, the pool, and some sunsets.  Then we spent one night in St. Petersburg on the beach.  Great sunsets!

On Thursday we drove south to Fort Myers to visit my brother Jeff and his wife Anna.  We had some great meals, a beach day, and a boat ride.  

We left on Monday, and got home before Hurricane Hermine would have affected our flight.  

After that we planned to go to our mountain place for Labor Day weekend.  Instead...my daughter-in-law went into labor!  She was about a week early.  Maybe the change in barometric pressure from Hermine had something to do with it.  

Now I am proud to present my newest granddaughter, Layla Grace McBrayer!

We kept big sister Charlotte all weekend, and then had a family day on Sunday.

Of course I have not finished Layla's baby quilt, but I have at least started it.  Here are some patchwork strips and pieced butterflies.