Water Babies

I had a great opportunity for a custom drawing this month. Heather's sister Hilary and her husband Jesse have a sweet little girl named Cori. Her first birthday was this week. Hilary and Jesse have been living in South Korea for 2 years, as Jesse was stationed there with the U.S. Army. They got a new assignment and are now living in Louisiana... and luckily, we got to see them as they passed through town.

Hilary contacted us about 2 weeks before they flew back to the States with an awesome idea for Cori's birthday present. She wanted an 11x14" drawing of the four cousins in the family: Lakin (9 years old), Addah (7½ years old), Cori (1 year old) and little Abby (3 months old), as mermaids in the deep blue sea. I loved it... and had a blast working on it!

I used the older girls' favorite colors: purple and blue for Lakin and pink and orange for Addah. For the little ones, I has noticed that Abby's hair and features really stood out in the pink coral romper she had on, and likewise, Cori was beautiful in her little green dress. I was really able to capture the four girls' personalities in this drawing and I am very happy with it. Hilary and Jesse were ecstatic and couldn't wait to frame the piece for Cori's new bedroom!

For King and Country!

My brother-in-law Zeb leaves for Basic Training in the morning. He'll be gone until mid-December and then will continue his training to be a Combat Medic in the Army.

Zeb has volunteered to be deployed "as soon as possible". He's not interested in things like the GI Bill or the income or bonuses or medical care that come with being in the Army... he wants to make a difference in the world. Heather has often said that he was born in the wrong century -- Zeb has the honor and valor of a 15th century knight fighting warlords (and dragons) for the hand of a fair maiden. He's brave, honest, intelligent and a truly good person.

Heather is pretty upset tonight. She's very proud of her brother, but they're close and she already misses him. She's liberal... quite liberal... and wasn't thrilled to hear that he was joining the Army in the first place. She's gotten past that, but still she worries... we all do, and this is just Basic. I imagine the worry will increase quite a bit when it comes time for deployment.

In addition to being a brave knight in the wrong century, Zeb is also an amazing photographer. He has an eye for taking the most incredible pictures... he can really capture a moment. He is responsible for the majority of my "Wordless Wednesday" photographs.

We'll miss you Zeb. Be safe and hurry home to your family.