Eat Cake!

Once again, almost a month has passed since a post on my blog. But in my defense, I do have a pretty decent excuse this time . . .on March 9, 2010 at 2:56 my oldest daughter gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. What a miracle that was.

I was blessed and honored to be able to be present through the entire experience. To watch her labor and turn herself over to the miracle of the human body and to allow it to do exactly what it was meant to do. To bring life into this world.

The experience was one of the most emotional things I have ever experienced. I have four children and was certainly present for their births. But I was a little preoccupied and had a slightly different vantage point. This experience was life changing. That may seem a bit dramatic, but it truly was. I have never felt such a spiritual experience and I am grateful for that opportunity.

I think the most miraculous part of the experience was witnessing the moment, during labor, when my daughter transitioned from young woman to "mother". It was a visable change - and she has accepted the new role with grace and integrity.

So I would like to formally introduce you to Cameron Davis . . . the newest man to steal my heart!

Besides not attending to my blogging, I have not spent much time attending to my art as of late. I have doodled and dabbled - but not enough to make my happy. Over the last 2 evenings; however, I have worked on changing that.

I spent a few evenings in the studio painting. Not working on inventory for a show, or a special order . . .but just painting for the pleasure. WOW! It felt really, really good!

The little mermaid girl is a reflection of the way I have been feeling lately - somewhat overwhelmed and beaten down. This was a reminder to myself to quit sweating the small stuff, don't get discouraged and to just "Dive In!".

This painting was in honor of my father. On March 20th he celebrated his 78th birthday. There comes a point in your parents life where you just can't buy them any more "stuff", but you still want to honor them on their special days. Instead of gifts that he doesn't need or have a place to keep, I like to make my parents a wonderful meal and give them the gift of family time. I love to cook dinners for special occasions and I love to bake - especially cakes. I pride myself on making cake from scratch and feel that it tells the person that I love them enough to go the extra mile. Silly maybe - but its the way my brain works. And there is nothing my father likes better than devils food chocolate cake. So that is what I made him - a moist, dense cake from scratch with a delicious fluffy chocolate cream cheese frosting. So these are my new words to live by . . . "Sometimes, the only answer is to MAKE CAKE!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/lauriemillerdesigns - PS - check out the new Etsy shop. I still have a lot to learn, but it's a start!