My girl is far away and I miss her.  That pretty much sums it up.  LOL.  This month I've chosen to share with you a couple of paintings of my daughter.  The first one is of her at about the age of seven.  She's just going to her first ballet class.  We had just changed her into her outfit for class.  She was feeling quite tentative.

I share this painting with you because it is the first painting I had ever done of Madeline.  The title painting is the last painting I just did of Madeline.

This photo is precious because it was taken by her grandma at grandma's house with their dog Tuk.  It is astonishing how fast time flies.  Grandma and Tuk are both gone now.  It's so important to treasure the moment you are in.

This, too, is a precious photo of Madeline.  It's the last photo of my grandfather.  Madeline is about one year old here.  Of course she doesn't remember this moment, but I do.  I really miss my grandfather.

Here we are at Grandma 'Zell's house reading a goodnight story.  How time flies.  Wouldn't it be fun to relive some of these precious moments?

She's all grown up now.  What a joy and delight she has been.  As many of you know, we didn't have a 9/11; we had a 9/12.  In September of 2012, we could have lost our precious girl.   She was in a terrible accident and ended up hospitalized for over two months.  There were many moments, hours really, that I spent praying by her bedside.  We were at times terrified that we would lose her, that she would never walk, that she might be paralyzed, that she had been affected cognitively, that she was emotionally damaged beyond repair.

But time has shown that our prayers have been answered.  Though we had to suffer all of those dark moments and thoughts, none of our fears were realized.  The scars remain, certainly, in all the imagined ways, but Madeline has shown great strength of character and body.  She has risen up above her challenges and become a beautiful human being with a spirit and character to take on the world and to challenge it and to bless it.

The above photo is a draft of my painting this month while still on the easel.  I thought I would share it with you so that you could see at least one stage of the painting.

This painting was inspired by a moment we shared in Mendocino.  We knew then that she would be leaving us for Ethiopia.  We were optimizing each moment left, enjoying each other and the joys that surround us here on the coast.

This painting was created from a photo I took of that moment.  We were at the MacCallum House Inn for brunch in beautiful Mendocino.  It was taken in the beautiful, sunny breakfast room.  I've chosen to darken the background to accentuate her lovely features.

This is a photo Madeline sent to us from Ethiopia.  We were so very relieved that she arrived safely.  She has gone to volunteer at a hospital there.  Interestingly enough, this is the same hospital compound that her grandparents worked at.  Her father spent several years of his childhood here.

I have no doubt that Madeline's time in Ethiopia will bless her in many ways.  They are very lucky to have her, and she is going to grow in abundance from her experience there with the wonderful people she meets.  

Thanks for indulging a mother's heart this month.  The point, though, is that watercolor is a wonderful venue for memorializing precious times in your own life.  I would really encourage you to pick up some brushes and give it a try.  If you have any questions that I could answer for you to help you discover watercolor, please don't hesitate to leave a comment or contact me privately.  I would be delighted to answer any questions.