Empty Nesters...again...

...*sigh*...

I am sitting here catching up on some blog reading...the sigh isn't about that! Blog reading is fun.

The *sigh* is cuz...

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...our daughter Girly Twirly (aka theLuckiestMrs) and her hubby have already left by plane to get back to KY.

         

           

... our daughter Girly Whirly (aka Little Miss) today, is with their dog Malone driving back up to KY.

...our son Heartbreaker also left today too with Girly Whirly.  He'll be near Atlanta to meet up with his buddies to go camping in northern Georgia.

...and my hubby is at work...

while I am here at home...*sigh*

Massachusetts Christmas (1966 or 1967)

...It seems that when I have been the one to leave after a visit, it's hard...but I think that being the ones left to stay when family or friends leave...is harder.  It takes a bit of time to get back into the "regular, pre-visit" routine.

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..for the next few days, I still do not go to work...so, I hope to keep busy. ...put away decorations. ...take a nap. ...do a few more drawings. ...relax. ...organize some things. catch a few winks. ...catch up on some more blog reading. ...sleep.

Sleep sounds like a re-occuring theme here! lol

But first, here's a little clip of what I have to put away! A bit of Christmas cheer...that I'd love to leave up all year round!

...but before I do any of that napping & snoozing...I thought I would finally post an award (aka blog hug) given to me & that I would like to pass on (sorry that it has taken so long!):

This lovely "Splash Award" was given to me by the lovely and talented Mary Anne Gruen at Starlight Blog.  Stop by and say hello! She is an artisan with jewelry, theater actress, and much more!

The Splash Award is given to alluring, amusing, impressive, inspiring blogs. Thank you Mary Anne for including me in your picks.  Now is the hard part...picking only 9 to pass it on to! 


1. The Southern Housewife @ Her Southern Charm...her posts are full of creativity! Lots of variety! In fact, her latest post encourages and inspires one to think of what word that can foster a positive change in our own lives.


2. Angie & Gina @ The Shabby Chic Cottage... simply oozes with ideas! Very impressive! Also a fellow-Etsy-er... so much to see on their blog and they are fully willing to share their ideas.


3. Ave @ MadeinCanarias...ok..I dont know how she managed to do this, (she is amazing!) Ave only started blogging in June 2009 and already she has 299 posts! Wowzer! I am excited if I can get one post a week...and lately, its been one every 2 weeks.  (But while I'm off, I hope to get a couple other posts up...)


4. LV @ Thoughts from Meme's Corner...Love this blogger :o) So sweet! and as her profile says..."I am a young 80 who is enjoying life to the fullest...." I dont know how she keeps up with all the posts that she does!  It's fun to read her posts and see her photos.


5. Teresa @ Teresa's Treasures...very talented and busy blogger! Her adorable grandbabies grace her blog with their sweet little faces. She also has a holiday decorating blog with wonderful ideas.


6. Lynette @ Dancing Barefoot...she is all about family (Her family's adventures are full of fun!)...and her blog is also all about connecting others.  She has a wonderful idea on how to connect other bloggers...with her "Getting to Know YOU!" posts.  


7. Mama M @ My Little Life... oh. my. goodness! I love her sense of humor! I would love to meet her in person.  Her posts are truly delightful! Hilarious! and fun, fun, fun to read!


8. Chari @ Happy to Design...I marvel at her beautiful tablescapes! I do well to get our table set, now that it is just my hubby and me. (usually, I will go ahead and dish up our plates and bring it to the table or the living room, with a fork and a drink.  At Christmas, I did bring out my parent's china).  And she has other awesome design ideas to share.


9. Nan @ MomstheWord...oh my! oh my! You will love following and reading her posts...if you dont already! I love how she looks at things and shares her fun and hilarious moments...of which seems to be a constant affair.  She is encouraging and has many ways and ideas about "Making Your Home Sing".

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Oh...also here are some of the requests from this post: Ask a Blog Hop Question
(You can click on any image to bring it up a bit larger for viewing).

1. Kathie @ my net finds asked about a fleur de lis... or a cat (I'll show some cats in a future post)...

 

2. Ave & Heather asked about beach inspired drawings...

Please go to  "P.S. HI & FL Beaches"
and also  "P.S. GA & HI Beaches! Part 2" to see some already posted beach ones.

3. Alicia asked about crosses...

4. Bearly Sane asked about the rooster in color...

5. Becka asked about trees (these are a few) or "fall-related" drawings (I've done some others, but will also show those on another post)...

This was a lo-o-o-ong post... but it has been way past due in getting those requested drawings shown. Thank you for asking about these and for your patience!

HAU'OLI MAKAHIKI HOU!

Happy New Year!

...A blessed New Year's greeting from all of us to all of you!

Blessings & Aloha!

Let's Celebrate!

Hope everyone has had a blessed Christmas full of family, friends, food, and fun!  From our  Georgia home to yours!

                

(Hawaiian...google images)

(Tagalog...graphic by PinoyXpression)

(Portuguese...google image)

(Chinese...google image)

(Feliz Navidad...Spanish...google image)

(German...image by VintagePostcards)

("Merii Kurisumasu"...Katakana...Japanese

...image by PeachyPaperCrafts)


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Our family celebrates the wonderful birth of Jesus!

...and our family also celebrates...

Mr. B's birthday :o)

48 years ago... the Botelho's Hawaiian Home was blessed with a big (10 lbs. 4.5 oz), beautiful, bouncing baby boy!

Hope you all have a blessed, blessed time with those you love!

Blessings & Aloha!

Happy, Happy Birthday to our "Girly Whirly"! aka "Little Miss"

Once upon a time... 
there were 5 lovely princesses...

...and of these lovely princesses...

was our very own darling daughter...

...Girly Whirly...

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once again...as I looked for past birthday photos, I say to myself: "I really need to organize the bazillion photos that we have "safely" stored in the many Rubbermaid boxes, and albums, and envelopes, and shoeboxes, etc...

..but thankfully, I found these that I was able to put on a little clip.

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Without further ado...

I am so thankful that we have the wonderful photos, videos (and even some old cassette recordings)  of our three children and of our family and friends... photos, videos, recordings...all help to bring back memories of those days gone by! Sweet memories...

Blessings & Aloha!

(Also...stop by our other daughter Girly Twirly, aka theLuckiestMrs, for her first giveaway that ends at midnight tonight).  And I really will post some most recent drawings, awards, and requests in my next post). Thank you for stopping by and commenting!

*****Added Note*****
(on Dec 12, 2009)

Thank you for the well wishes for our daughter's birthday :o) I call our daughters similar sounding names on this blog (older daughter (www.theluckiestmrs.blogspot.com), I call Girly Twirly) and our younger daughter (Little Miss, I call Girly Whirly), so I thought I would mention it here :o) They are 3 and a half years apart, but get asked often if they are twins :o) And when I call them and they are together, I even have to ask who I am speaking to...cuz they sound alike! haha

...so, it is our younger daughter that celebrated her birthday on Weds ...and our older daughter, who is married and has a blog (www.theluckiestmrs.blogspot.com)

Just a quick hello!

Hello! A belated Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

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This post is written to let you know that I am thinking of all of you and can't wait to catch up on reading your blogs...can we establish a "National Catch Up on Blogs Day"? ...um...actually for me it would have to be "National Catch Up on Blogs MONTH"...before I get caught up!

(google search image)

(Thank goodness, I don't have to operate one of these vintage computers (1944 Colussus Mark II) when it comes to blog posting and blog reading!)

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Here's a bit of an update around here... My hubby and I had a wonderful, wonderful time during our visit to Kentucky for about 4 days (more like 3 if you take away our driving time).  We left after I got off of work on Wednesday.   Ah! It was a great time at our son-in-law's parent's home for a Thanksgiving feast and fellowship... awesome food and fun! And then we had fun at our kid's place, relaxing and putting up some Christmas decorations.

We planned on leaving early-ish Sunday morning...but was a wee bit late on our start ...and whew! the "weekend-after-Thanksgiving-traffic" was un.be.lieve.able!  (I tried to take a photo of the steady stream of white lights heading northbound and the steady stream of red tail lights heading southbound...but the glare was too bright... It really was pretty and looked like a string of Christmas lights on the long stretch of highway.)

It was so so so good to be with our "young-uns" :o)  Already looking forward for when they come down for Christmas break!

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(OK...so this is NOT me... and I have definitely not done leisure reading in a lovely tub full of bubbles, but I thought it was a pretty print and it would be great for a relaxing moment to soak in some suds!)

But...I have been drawing up a storm! ...there are quite a number, so...
#1.   I will post them over a course of several upcoming posts.
#2    I also want to post the requested drawings that you so kindly requested to see :o)
#3.   I do still have some awards (blog hugs) to pass on... Thank you to those who have so sweetly passed them on to me!

But for now.....I do want to let you all know that our daughter (theluckiestmrs.) has posted her monogram giveaway... do go by and say hello and if you would like a chance at winning, please check out her blog to get the info on how to enter.

So happy to have those that currently follow here and thank you to those that have recently started to follow! I look forward to stopping by and saying hello!  Come by any time and do leave a comment so that I know you were here. :o)

Blessings & Aloha!

Happy 101 Award (Blog Hug)

...Another sweet, sweet Blog Hug!

Thank you to our sweet, sweet daughter, aka TheLuckiestMrs. for creating such a cute award and I love that with it... is a list... I always enjoy reading and learning more about another through these type of lists.  Her Cookbook inspired Blog Hug has the perfect recipe for sweet days filled with happiness... What makes you happy?  She inspires me... and she (as well as our other two kiddos and our son-in-law) makes our little corner of the world happy and sweet!

And what a perfect theme to talk about...What makes you happy?...

Here are the rules:

List 10 things that make you happy.

(try to do one of those things TODAY!)

Tag 10 bloggers that brighten your day.

Make sure to link back to the person that tagged you!

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My 10 things that make me happy:

1. Being with my family!

2. Sweet little babies (I love their snuggly, chubby little sweetness!)

3. Drawing, Sewing, Quilting, Creating, crocheting, etc...

4. Hearing back from satisfied customers!

I love to hear their reactions & the reactions of those that the drawings are given to.

5. Traveling & Vacations

6. Playing games, visiting or eating with friends

7. Watching a Happy ending movie!

8. Having all our family in good health!

9. Making someone else happy :o)

10. Looking at old photos or home videos (whew! I did this today! I dug around a LOT of old photos and found some for the little video clip I put together here... Seeing some photos that I forgot we had! ...& it did make me happy :o)

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TEN ladies that brighten my day:

1.  Nan at Mom's the Word... I love your sense of humor! I find myself cracking up remembering things you have written, even after I have left the computer and your fun posts!
2. Debbie at Heart Choices...Your blog is full of encouraging words and you are an inspiring example of a heart ready to give.

3. Kathie at My Net Finds...You're such a creative blogger! I love your amazing, awesome awards that you've created and passed on to me...and so I am looking forward to passing this one to you!
4. Nina at Portugal Bound...Your sense of humor makes me smile and I would so love to travel to Portugal!  So, I do appreciate your posts and that in some small way...through your Portugal adventures, I can imagine :o) Thank you for surprising us with the little Portuguese galo!
5. Jane at Artfully Graced... I enjoy checking into your place and seeing the many beautiful Florida photos you share and your artwork as well.   Thank you for your kind comments!
6. Christine at Christine's Home & Travel Adventures...You simply amaze me with your many world travels! I love your photos that make far places seem so much closer!  Oh! I'd love to be able to go on one of your adventures :o)
7. Marie at The French Factrice...I think that you are an award free blog, but I have to include you! I love all your lovely postcards and vintage photos, ads, etc and your facts that you include with each are like candy... Love to read what you have to share.
8. Valerie at Composition Life...Your photography is amazing (I especially like your point of view through the macro lens...)  and your posts are filled with encouragement too.

9.  Rose at A Santamaker's Journey...I have to say...your creativity abounds!  Such gorgeous settings around your beautiful home!  And I can't help to feel a kindred tie...considering we both have 2 daughters in dental school! That is pretty amazing to me :o)
10. Jamie at Beach Family Updates...Your posts as a military wife with two little ones, brings back many wonderful memories of when my hubby was active duty and our children were little.  I love that you have a positive outlook as a military wife and enjoy your posts of your little ones.

...it is always so difficult to just list a certain number! I do so enjoy so many more bloggers and they certainly do brighten my day!

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I meant for this post to put up some of the requests from my last post in answer to my question: Which drawings would you like to see a sample of?  I will definitely post my next one with those that were so kindly mentioned...beach themed drawings, crosses, and also some of the most recent drawings that I have completed.  And I received some other wonderful awards (blog hugs) that I will write about next time.

Blessings & aloha!

I have to add another thing that makes me happy... blog friends that I have met and those that I hope to meet! Thank you for stopping by and leaving your sweet comments!

Be sure to stop by TheLuckiestMrs.' blog and please say hello! She will be hosting a giveaway too!

Ask a Question Blog Hop

This week's Blog Hop theme is "ASK A QUESTION".  I have had a number of new orders and the question that comes when an order request is given is often "Are you able to draw...?"  It is truly fun to see what people have for me to draw.  As long as the image is a clear in detail and not too dark or too light, I have been able to do them.


Many who first see the samples I have, will ask "What image can my name be used for a Personalized Sketch?"  Truly, ANY image... and with ANY name :o)

Over the many years of doing these drawings, it has been a lot of fun drawing such a variety of subjects. I usually am good about making a copy of the ones that I have drawn. The samples have been a great way to keep record of the drawings that I have done, as well as, a way for others to get ideas from or even decide on doing the same exact subject, but with a different name. 

My question for this link is... "What would you like to see a drawing of?" (Please let me know...I may have already done something that someone has ordered in the past).  In my next post, I will be sure to look through my samples and post images of ones I have done, that are requested in the comments.

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Here are a few of the drawing orders that I have done recently. Please click on each image if you would like to see a closer view.


Thank you, Wanda, mom of Nina in Portugal Bound :o), for ordering your "Galo". Wanda's final drawing was in color, but I only have the black and white copy to show here.

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These dolphins were done for the dear sister of a dear friend of one of my amazing and :o) dear dental hygiene instructors! Thank you for passing my information along to others :o) I dont think that Alice blogs, so I am posting this now... usually, I like to wait til the order has been received, and this one was ordered for a gift.

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This building is the Smith Trahern Mansion in Clarksville, TN. This was ordered for a thank you gift to a volunteer at this historical site. ...by a repeat customer, who has been a wonderful friend for many, many years through our first meeting through the military. My husband was an Army pilot stationed in Alabama and her husband was an Army dentist that was stationed at the same duty station... I think we first met at a Holiday show where I participated at. Nancye, I cannot even begin to count how many drawings that you have ordered throughout the years!

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Finally, here are a series of a few photos...

1. This huge shipping PVC tube... My wonderful, creative hubby figured out the perfect way to transport the drawings that had to make the journey to Alaska...

2. Inside, the PVC, he put a large, heavy duty cardboard shipping tube.

3. And what went inside the inner tube was... 15 military drawings that will be farewell gifts to the soldiers that are leaving this unit. The 716th Ord Co (EOD) unit has been one of quite a number of units that I have been blessed to have the opportunity to do these drawings. Thank you so much for your dedication and military service!

(Thank you to my hubby for figuring how to safely package these drawings!)

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...I look forward to your answers to my question:

"What would you like to see a drawing of?"

Blessings & Aloha!

Fantastic Friends and Memorable Moments

Over the years throughout our military moves, our family has been blessed with awesome friendships.  Growing up as an Air Force dependent daughter, I moved with my family about every 2 years.  And with my hubby in the military, we moved about every 3 years.  Because I have not done better with corresponding, sadly, I have lost track of some very dear friends.

Thankfully, not every friendship has been lost.  No matter how many miles away or how long it has been...when we are given the opportunity to get together, it is like no time has passed!  Of course, when we talk about times where we first met and where our kids are now, it is amazing to realize just how time has flown!

This past Friday and Saturday, Mr. B and I were very, very blessed to have our dear friends T and K fly down to spend some time with us!  T and Mr. B flew helicopters in Hawaii together and we lived across the street from each other on Schoffield Barracks, Hawaii. They took care of our girls when I went to the hospital to have our son. And we took care of their two girls when K had their 3rd daughter.

Oh, how wonderful the fellowship was! Laughter over memories, current moments, and future plans :o) (Our heartbreaker and their beauty that were born in Hawaii, can't get away from the parents' dreams and schemes of an arranged marriage haha... the workings of getting the stallions and dowery, etc are brought up during phone convos or whenever we get the chance to be together :o)  Of course, we don't talk exclusively about the combining of our families, but the two young 'uns know that at some point this is enthusiastically discussed amongst the parents :o)

The time was short, but so sweet and greatly appreciated!  Here is a video clip of some photos with these dear friends...

And this one is of some more special times shared over the years with the L family...

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And here are some photos of some completed orders that I have meaning to post.

This Personalized Sketches artwork was ordered for a wedding gift.  It was a monogram that was from the wedding announcement of Erin & Keith Nacis.  A happy celebration to a new life together as one.

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The next one was given in memorial of a little one that went on to be with the Lord.  A sweet little one,  dearly loved and in her short time on earth became such a big part of her family's heart.

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The couple was done for Nancy from BacardiMama as a Christmas gift for her in-laws. Sh-h-h...it's a surprise ;o)

These cute dachshunds belong to Suzanne from Coloradolady. You can see some photos of her precious pups on her blog.

Thank you all for your orders! I have enjoyed drawing them and appreciate your interest!  I do have quite a number of others that are completed and I will be posting them the next time.

I do appreciate each and everyone of you that come by and also thank you for your comments.

Blessings & Aloha!