Marvelous weekend Moments!

Hope everyone had a sweet Valentine's day!
Joining in with Ms. Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday 's "M" posts...

Like I mentioned in my last post, this past Sunday, Feb 12th, was our 30th Anniversary.  With all the upcoming and exciting family celebrations we have (Girly~Twirly's baby's (aka our grandbaby;'s) due date is March 13th...Girly-Whirly's graduation from dental school in May and then her wedding two weeks later, my hubby and I didnt go on a trip to celebrate this anniversary.

But we did have a Marvelous weekend when our dear friends from Virginia drove down to visit with us.  So much fun...love the time spent laughing and catching up with each other!

We've been family friends since 1989, when the guys flew helicopters out of Hawaii.

Saturday, we all went to a Matinee and stopped by my hubby's office... and then, they treated us to eat out in Savannah. This was at the Crystal Beer Garden...operated since 1933...love all the old photos on the wall, the Big Band era music playing, and the good food and awesome fellowship.

I took a very quick picture of my selection of a Greek "taco" (Gyro style meat with Tzakziki sauce, feta cheese, tomatoes, lettuce) and sweet potato fries...

They had to leave the next morning...their visit seemed to pass too quickly, but we were so happy that they were able to drive down our way.

But the Marvelous Moments didn't end...

My handsome hubby surprised me when we got home with an unexpected surprise! He had a gift for me... (My eyes are closed in the first photo, cuz I didnt like the photo with my eyes open! haha ...Oh, and don't mind all my white hair...I have never colored my hair and want to see what I look like "au naturale" :o)

My gift to him was a card with some money to go towards passports for the two us, so I felt a little bad that my gift to him was not an exclusively "his" gift.  

They are sooo beautiful! The diamond earrings are set in a "Martini setting".  I have always admired diamond studs, but never expected these.  (usually, I have some clue, but nope, not even a hint!)

*****

Here are some other orders completed, sent and received. (I try to wait until I am sure that they have been given, before posting).

This Monogram celebrates a Marriage ~

This email was sent: ...I am in need of sketch for my best friend.  We will be heading back home to Alabama after Christmas and was hoping to give here this sketch as a present.  Please let me know if there is enough time!!!

I would like to have their wedding information sketched.  I just love the one you did for my cousin Kara in Texas.  

Thank you Clare for yet another order!

*****

This celebrates a Military service.

Thank you Jenn for your order and your comments:
"This was just amazing! I had seen a fellow milspouse order one for her husband's retirement ceremony and knew I wanted one for my husband. He loved it and it was such an easy process to get the image I wanted. Thank you!!"

*****

This one celebrates a Marriage and a Military commitment.

 Thank you Melanie for your request:
"Hi Maria. I've purchased several wonderful artworks from you and I have another request. I would like a Basic EOD badge with the name LAWTON, A Panther with the name ERIN and a heart in the middle with the name DRAKE. On the bottom Id like is to read September 24, 2011."

Disney Days

Disney days of the past for my hubby were those fun adventures with his family, when he went with his family from Hawaii to visit some family in California.

He also performed with his middle school Ukelele Band in Disneyland.

Also Disney Days for my first time was when we went as newlyweds to Disneyland before continuing over to Hawaii.  (That trip to Hawaii would also be the first time I would meet his family and friends....but that is for another post.)

I can't find any of those photos from those past Disney adventures....but was able to find the following:

Disney 1988

1. Our daughter Girly~Twirly, my little sister M, and I with Goofy.
2. Girly~Twirly and M reassuring our daughter Girly~Whirly that Minnie Mouse is ok :o)
3. Another photo of us by Goofy.

1. In front of the well known entrance: me, Girly~Whirly, my little brother L, Girly~Twirly, my little sister M, and mom
2. My dad, little sister M, little brother L, and mom with one of the Robin Hood characters. (Does anyone recognize this character?)

 

1. My handsome hubby, our girls and I with Sleeping Beauty's castle in the background.

2. My parents, little brother, little sister take a pose in almost the same spot. I had sewn all the girls dresses out of tube tops and two ruffled layers of fabric.

Our children had asked as they were growing up when we would go again... Their dad would say "some day..."  For various reasons, there wasn't the opportunity to go until...

DISNEY 2005

Our son was completing chemo tx for the lymphoma. And my hubby's older brother and his family and also one of his sisters and her two boys flew from Hawaii to visit.

 

 1. In the hotel room the night before checking out Disney.

2. The girls and I at the hotel.

3. Our nephew B, me, my hubby's brother and his wife in the tram going to one of the parks.

4. My bald hubby (he shaved his hair off while our son was going through chemo and lost his hair), daughter Girly~Whirly, niece K, son Heartbreaker, abd daughter Girly~Twirly on the opposite side of the tram.

 

1. Cousins at the entrance...

2. family foto

3. Heartbreaker is so awesome on the guitar, I wouldnt be surprised if he figured out how to play this huge one! lol

 1. cousins and Minnie

2. big bro, hubby, Minnie, and younger sister...one more sister in Hawaii who was not able to come.

DISNEY 2007

 

1. Heartbreaker, the year he was Georgia's Ambassador for Children's Miracle Network (CMN).

(This time with a little more hair...he was growing it out to donate to Locks of Love).

2. Hubby, Heartbreaker and I with CMN's co-founders Marie Osmond and John Schneider.

They were so awesome to meet.

 

1. Heartbreaker performing before 2000+ at the telethon.

2. Heartbreaker, his "backup band" and Richie MacDonald (from Lonestar).

 1. Heartbreaker was able to meet so many wonderful people, like Miss America, shown here in a magazine article about his time with CMN.  (This photo was actually taken in D.C. during the days prior to flying down to Orlando).

2. oops! Already posted this one of the three of us and Marie Osmond and John Schneider.

3. Heartbreaker and Mary Lou Rhetton- she was so sweet! She looks as amazing as when she was a teen gymnast!

4. Heartbreaker and the Jonas Brothers - great boys....they had fun hanging out at the Disney hotel and pool.

*****

Joining

...with Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday's "D"

 *****

I have more Disney characters, but will share these ones of Mickey and Minnie.

(some of these are not as dark as the originals due to lighting).

 Here are a few Disney Mickey Mouse Personalized Sketches...

 

 

 

 

& Disney Minnie Personalized Sketches...

 

 

 Thank you for stopping by and for your comments :o)

Celebrate

...& sharing more wonderful family news...

Our younger daughter, Girly~Whirly...

 a sweet princess...

Top photo: 2007 University of Lousiville Homecoming Queen

Bottom Left photo: 2008 Kentucky Derby Princess

Bottom Right photo: taken this spring 2011 @ the Kentucky Derby tea party for "those future princesses" :o)

*****

...had met her Prince Charming...

A sweet couple

  ...in every season...

Clockwise: Gatlinburg, Gatlinburg snow!

Keeneland Races, Keeneland again

...in sunshiny days...

...in stunning sunsets...

...while out and about...

...while in Savannah...

Clockwise: after church, lunch at an old Savannah restaurant, at Forsythe Park

...visiting at our other daughter (Girly~Twirly) 

& son-in-law (Dr. Awesome)'s beautiful new home...

...at numerous weddings of friends...

...at a special occasion...

Dr Amazing's dental school graduation

*****

This sweet couple

on 11/11/11

 ...at a surprise beach picnic planned by Dr. Amazing...

 

...at the Outerbanks...

& after a ride on the beach...

 ...the proposal!

...engaged!

From when our three were very little, we have always prayed for their future spouses...My husband would pray for them to have Chrisitan spouses, whose whole heart is given to Jesus Christ, strong in their faith and walk, who would love, honor, cherish, support, care for them...

When our girls were older, they interjected one night with..."Dad, don't forget "good-looking" too :o)

We look forward to the many blessings ahead as our family grows!

Happy to be joining in again...

...with Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday's "C"

 

*****

Here are a few art orders completed:

I have more, but will wait until I know that they were already given.

 Thank you Linda, for sending this photo of one of your Eiffel Towers. I love the matting and framing that you chose!

 

Thank you also for your feedback at my Etsy shop:

"We asked Maria to sketch the Eiffel Tower with our son, Zachary's name. He will be serving a mission for our church for the next two years and we wanted something in our home (and in his one day) to remind us of the selfless work he will be doing and how proud we are of our son, Zach. Maria captured our idea perfectly and made this beautiful sketch for us. We couldn't be happier with her artwork or her customer service. Thank you, Maria! "

Here are two orders from Tracie. I'll post her other order later, since it has not been given yet.

She chose this sweet pose from her sweet pup's photo. ...who had passed away not too long ago.

 & this one is of Lady Justice, as a gift for her boss, who is a lawyer.

Thank you very much for your email:

"...The package arrived yesterday (safe and sound!).  I knew the sketches would be amazing, but they are AAAMMMAAAZZZIIINNNGGG!!!!  You are so talented!  I can't wait to pick out frames for them, and I will send you pictures once they're framed and ready.  I will definitely pass along your information to all my friends and family!

And I'm sure I will be ordering again -- I'm already thinking of more things for you to sketch :)"

 *****

Thank you all for your lovely visits and comments! I still need to catch up with last week's post!

Yipee! Yay! Yahoo! Yesiree!

...the comment drawn for the $50 NOVICA gift certificate...

"I've been following your FB page for awhile! I've always admired your work!"

Thank you Jennifer for participating!

Please contact me in the next 48 hours, so that I can give you the special code.

I finally decided on what I would like to purchase with my $50 NOVICA certificate.

They truly have so many unique and beautiful items, from jewelry to home decor to clothing, etc...so I did take longer than I planned in placing my order.

I have a fine silver filigree necklace, (with *I think* Black Mother of Pearl insets), that belonged to my mom back in the 1960's...it was handcrafted and purchased in Bagiuo City, Philippines. 

It is beautiful; however, I have not worn it as often as I would have, since I didnt have any earrings that would go with it. 

So, I took it out of my jewelry box and looked at NOVICA's site to see if there might be something that would work well with it. 

The photo is of my mom's necklace. 

The inset on the bottom right shows a set of earrings that has the filligree and tiny silver ball details that are like those on the necklace. 

The name of the artisan that handcrafted these earrings is Giuliana Valz-Gen from the Andes. 

There was another pair that she created that was so identical with the details on the necklace! (But since I decided to share the gift certificate with one of my readers, I am very happy with this pair that was at a lower price.)

I also learned the difference between "fine silver" and "sterling silver".

"...Fine silver is 99.9% pure or more, but it is very soft..." So much more malleable with work like filigree details.

"Sterling silver is 92.5% to under 99.9%. The remaining 5 to 7.5% is usually copper, because this has been found to be the best metal to alloy with silver and not discolor it, while making it hard."  (source: Ted Mooney on google search)

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Today, was my day off from work, so I wasn't polishing any pearly whites :o) 

Instead, I went to a retirement ceremony and lunch at my husband's work.

(Usually, I share our past family photos on my post, but I thought I would share these ones that show a bit of what we were doing today.) 

My handsome hubby has a wonderful speaking voice. (side note: I love to have him do his "radio announcer type voice for me! haha    ...& I tell him all the time that he should do voice overs or something with radio/tv, etc...)  Today, he was narrating the awards of appreciation given to three of their hard working men. Between the three of them, they have about 87 years of combined Department of the Army Civilian service! Thank you, to these men for that service!

& Thank you to all those that participated! As I have done in the past, I would like to extend to those for commenting to this giveaway, 10% off of one Personalized Sketches artwork.  (I do this because when I do have a giveaway, I wish that I was able to give each commenter the winning piece!  So, please feel free to contact me, if you are interested  

in ordering any image with the name of your choice with 10% off.)

*******

The following two drawings were drawn for the University of Kentucky's 5th Annual Smile for Life event. Both our daughters, with other dental students, have and are very involved with making this event a success.

Our daughter chose a beautiful frame and mat for this one.

(sorry that this image came through the email a little fuzzy)

& this one also for the silent auction

I love this one that she picked out for the horse head too.

(Girly~Twirly has participated by modeling, organizing, and designing tshirts for this event... And Girly~Whirly also modeled, organized and actually is working tonight on more of the details for tomorrow's event).

"Smiles for Life event was begun by Dr. Erin Langfels in order to create a fund for victims of domestic violence so that they would be able to receive dental care for no cost to them at the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry. In order to raise  money for this fund, she began Smiles for Life; a Fall Fashion Show, Brunch, and Silent Auction. 100% of the proceeds from this event go directly to the Bluegrass Domestic  Violence Center where the money is earmarked for individuals and families entering the center to be able to receive much needed dental care. Their needs stem from injury and neglect, as oral health often is not a priority when one is trying to survive in a violent situation.

As women in dentistry, the UK chapter of the American Association of Women Dentists has continued this event and is proud to say that over the past 4 years over $40,000 has been placed in this fund and we have helped many victims of domestic violence across the bluegrass.

Joining in
...with Semper Wifey & Life with My Littles for Military Monday Blog Hop

...with Jenny's  Alphabe-Thursday's "Y" 

...with Mel for Fancy Friday Blog hop.

So glad our daughter invited me to join in the fun with Pinterest!
Would love to invite you to follow me on Pinterest.

V is for VERY....

...very excited that after....

Our beautiful first born daughter, Girly~Twirly,...

(2008 - engagement photos taken by photographer Ben Keeling)

"Fall~n~Love" 

 ...and her handsome honey met in college...

(2008 - engagement photos taken by photographer Ben Keeling)

"Autumn Kiss"

 

...fell in love...

(2008 - engagement photos taken by photographer Ben Keeling)

"Old School"

...were engaged while in medical and dental school...

 (2008 - engagement photos taken by photographer Ben Keeling)

"A City Walk...together" 

 ...And after 2 and a half years of marriage...

  

...and a year of a very intense schedule as a dentist (she's the dentist) & one year of a very crazy medical residency (he's the dermatologist...with 3 more years of residency to go)...

 Spring 2011...at the horse races...

 ...& a move to a new city and state and the purchase of their first home...

 (two of many photos I took when we were able to visit in July)

...we are so VERY excited to share the news of & first photo of...

*SWEET BABY B*

 (taken on August 12, 2011).

...our first grandbaby!

Last Friday was her doctor's appt, and they were able to hear Baby B's heartbeat :o)

*******

....Sharing only one drawing today (running behind on getting the artwork posted!) &  still working on more orders to be shipped.

This was sent to me by a very sweet friend, whom I met through this wonderful world of blogging...and has ordered many other drawings of the art I do for her family members.

Thank you LV for sending these photos of it matted/framed and displayed!

LV sent a sweet email with these photos:  
"...They really were proud of it.  Said several of their friends had commented as to where they got it.  They were impressed...."

This is a collage of her piece drawn entirely with the last name MORGAN and the family members throughout the tree in their own leaf. Thanks LV for your neat idea for a family tree. I had shared this on an earlier post, but thought to show it again with the photos that LV sent.

 ...VERY excited to the upcoming addition to our family tree!

 Joining in

...with Jenny's  Alphabe-Thursday's "V" 

...and with Alicia for Friday Photo Flashback. 

..with Mel for Fancy Friday Blog hop.

...with Maria and Nicole for http://www.mariashandmadelove.com/2011/09/circle-of-friends-weekend-blog-hop-5.html

I also was invited by our daughter to join in the fun with Pinterest!
Oh my! Learning more about that now too!

*one last thing...don't forget to enter if you are interested in the $50 NOVICA gift certificate Giveaway mentioned on my previous post. This ends Sept 29th*