The World In Which We Live....

People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle. ~Thich Nhat Hanh

It is no secret that Sugar Bear and I love to go on nature walks. We often set out along our road to burn off some energy, and see what is new. There are mud puddles, animals, hills, and lots and lots and lots of fun. Even though we have walked this journey time and time again.....no two are ever alike. Somehow we always seem to have an unique experience.



I am always prepared to take lots of photographs of my Sugar enjoying the outdoors. These types of photos will never bore me. I find them so incredibly meaningful. There is NOTHING like capturing that moment of discovery.



There is just something about being out of doors, that fosters a real sense of freedom.



In the last month, I have tried to really take these moments a step further. I have made a conscience effort to open MY eyes even further. To do this, I ask Sugar as we go along, "Honey, what do you see?" or "Tell me something you see that makes you happy!" It is so fascinating to hear her describe things that I have taken for granted for such a long time. In fact, the experience has opened my heart right along with my eyes. It has been an unexpected, yet completely cherished outcome.

There are clouds that remind us of big fluffy balls of cotton highlighted against a sky that is our favorite shades of blue.





Puddles of water have been nothing but a nuisance in my life for as long as I can remember. Through my daughter, I have rediscovered their enticing qualities. If given a proper chance, they reflect all things beautiful.



The unending lure of animals and insects, never ceases to amaze me. Despite our BAD EXPERIENCE with tufted Caterpillars, I could not resist letting Sugar Bear enjoy a little one-on-one exploration with this cute little guy. From my extensive reading on the subject, I was fairly certain he would be safe....and he was.







There is an unending source of varied textures in nature. Each has a beauty of it's own. An old wooden power pole left to rot, finds itself breaking apart in cubic chunks.



The soft, green moss growing along the base of a tree, allows long, thin shoots of grass to penetrate it's turf. The seeds of the pinecone scatter promises of forests to come.



I've been led to notice the patterned lines of a tire track in the warm brown mud. To a young child, obsessed with shapes, this is a true treasure to behold.



Taken a step further, I am reminded of a journey. The tracks seem to add a sense of movement on an ever static road.



Adding a Sugar Bear leads my heart to beat faster imagining the long journey ahead of her. She walks with determination....and I'll know she'll get there.



The possibilities are endless. Each and every step along the way leads us to another moment of beauty. We never tired of it's offerings. Sharing it with each other is a true blessing.

Sugar Bear is my ray of light...



and I am hers!



It just doens't get any better than this! LIFE IS GOOD!



If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in. ~Rachel Carson

PICK ME, SUGAR BEAR! PICK ME!

Introducing.....Sugar Bear Snaps

I have been holding back.....squashing creativity......keeping greatness from the world....and all for a VERY selfish reason. Yes.....Yes, it's true. I have been selfish....only thinking of myself, and it is high time that I fess up.



There is a certain someone named Sugar Bear, who has followed me around from time to time with her VERY fake camera taking photo after photo in true "mama's girl" fashion. She has studied my technique, and perfected my stance. She notices fabulous photo opportunities, and points them out to me often. She has hauled my tripod around the house "pretending" to take endless portraits of everything she sees. There is a seriousness to her play.



Around Christmas, I toyed with the idea of getting her one of those Fisher Price indestructible digital cameras, but my cheapitus acted up, and I came up with at least 356 reasons NOT to buy it. It is spendy....it takes low quality photos...etc. However, the most compelling reason holding me back from giving my daughter something that would make her heart sing.......is my own desire to have photos of HER.....not photos of her taking photos of ME. I had great fear that as soon as my precious girl got a hold of a camera, I would no longer have the opportunity to take photos of her doing countless cute things, as she would immediately want to be just like me, and go running for her own camera. Sigh.....can you imagine the HORROR?



Recently, not ONE, but TWO of my favorite bloggers put a digital camera in the hand of their preschoolers, and posted the results. Being the "over thinker" that I am, I took this as a sign. I should release my fear, and just do it already. So, this week I took the plunge and handed my old 4 Mega Pixel Fugi Finepix A340 over to Miss Sugar Bear. She was ECSTATIC, to say the least. There was a small learning curve, but she is getting it. Her biggest challenge is remembering to hold it steady and wait for the REAL flash to go off. She is often fooled by the red-eye mini flash.



I am honored to share with you, in her blogging debut, Sugar Bear Snaps!!! These are just a few of her fabulous photos. I really think she has an eye for it, don't you?

"My Dog's Bottom"




"My New Bunny" (don't ask....mama doesn't want to talk about it)



This is me taking a picture of our truck.



"My Ride"



"Heavenly Hanging Basket"



"Twisted" (to see mama's version go here)



"Bath Time"



"An Extension of Green"



"Mama In The Window"



"Rocks, sand, and Plastic Goodies"


"Fuzzy Blue Mama"



Stay tuned for MORE to come. I have a feeling....I've started something. LIFE IS GOOD!

Photo Hunters~ Twist(ed)

In a twisted little way this week proved to be a challenge. For once I had plenty of time and opportunity to capture some photos especially for the theme, but I had trouble finding anything that spoke to me. I looked and searched, and hmmmmm'd and Haaaaaa'd, and nothing said, "pick me....pick me!"

Finally last night, as I was playing outside with Sugar Bear, I spied a lovely white rope that Hubby had used as a make shift fence to keep Tiny in our yard. I admired the lovely braiding, and the twists and turns and tucks the knots possessed. I bustled back to the house for my camera to capture some photos to share.









Thank you for coming by my blog this week. I appreciate the time you take to look, read, and comment. Have a great weekend.

*** oh and don't forget I'm on Top Momma! CLICK HERE!!!!! I know.....It's getting a bit old, but I am so thrilled to have lasted 4 months on there. What a blessing. Thank you all who have clicked on the link and helped me achieve this accomplishment.***

P is for.........Painting!

"Good art is not what it looks like, but what it does to us." ~ Roy Adzak

Nearly a year ago, I wrote a little about my process of finger painting with my Sugar. Since that day, we have been blissfully happy art partners. In fact, Hubby built us an Easel last summer, and ever since, the art has been flowing in the house of Living and Loving. I fully intended on share more of the 3000 photos I took of her painting at her easel, but I have neglected to get them all edited. Yes....I know! Shame on ME!



Over our Spring Break, I tried to have a few activities planned to keep us from killing each other being bored on a daily basis. I find it helps when WE have something to look forward to, and it seems to break up the day a bit. I try to have no preconceived ideas of how it will go, or ultimately turn out. I just give us the opportunity to experience something different.

"We work not only to produce but to give value to time." ~ Eugene Delacroix



It is always a treat for me to see the excitement in Sugar Bear's eyes when I say, "Hey Sugar, you wanna try something new?" She lights up, and immediately starts asking all sorts of questions, trying to guess what it might be. I have yet to disappoint her. That is a beautiful thing. Even the most simple little things are amazing to a child. Practically EVERYTHING is new. Until that day, she had never seen Marble Painting, so to her....it was a thrill.


There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million. ~Walt Streightiff



"We are in the business of making the kids feel good about themselves and reinforcing self-confidence. Sometimes that little positive reinforcement is enough to change a kid, or at least guide them in a direction towards creating more and more art." ~ Susan on Long Island

Sugar Bear loves to create new things, and proudly shares her ART with anyone she can find. I love to hear her explain the process she took to make her masterpiece. Hearing her interpretation of the event can be a learning experience for me. Sometimes, I walk away thinking, "Well, that wasn't all that great.", only to hear her telling Hubby about it later, and realize how much she appreciated it.



In this particular case, she found it a little frustrating to get the paint on her hands while retrieving the marble from the paint. I personally found that interesting, because she loves to finger paint. However, I find that my girl, can be somewhat anal about things, and since we were not using our hands as the tool in which to put the paint on the paper, the paint ought not be on our hands. To remedy her concern, I just brought a wet washcloth over for her to wipe her hands on after retrieving the marble. This worked for her.



There were many lessons to be learned in this form of art. Coordinating her muscles in her hands and arms to rock, roll, shake, and tilt the box without losing control and flinging the marbles across the room.



She spent a great deal of time trying to master keeping the marbles from simply rolling down the edge of the box without crossing the paper. It was intriguing watching her learn from the experience, and applying her newly found knowledge.



"Fill a space in a beautiful way" ~ Georgia O'Keeffe



To keep it simple I only set out Yellow, Fushia, and Blue paint. On her first painting, she proclaimed it complete as you see it above. She has yet to master the tilting, so the colors hadn't crossed each other too many times. They basically remained un-mixed.



Her next few paintings were much more actively "shaken", so we got the opportunity to discuss what happens when you mix colors. We got some Green, Orange, and Purple effects. It was delightful.



“The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things.” ~ Plato



Towards the end, it began to matter less that she got paint on her hands. I find that once she is fully engaged in the process, the little details seem not bother her as much.

"It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a
child." ~ Pablo Picasso



Of course the wash cloth was never far, so she took full use of it from time to time.



Sometimes the project veers off in a different direction, and I strive to remain open to this. Sugar Bear began to get intrigued by the process of coating the marbles with paint, and then washing them off with the wash cloth. I had to literally sit on the "cheap and thrifty" part of my being that wanted to stop my girl from WASTING the paint. Over and over in my head, I was repeating, "It's the Process.....not the product.....It's the process...not the product!" The paint was NOT wasted....it was just used in a different way.



In case you are wondering, yes, I did take like 1000 photos of her throughout this activity, and yet, I was completely there and in the moment with her. Our conversation was lighthearted, yet purposeful. At one point, I asked if I could give it a try, but she was reluctant to share her painting box. Next time, I'll make sure I have one for me as well. She let me play for about 2.5 seconds, but couldn't get past the thought that I was painting her picture for her. If I had my own box and marbles, I feel she would have been excited to see what Mama's painting would look like.



In the end, we both declared it to be the "bestest thing we did all day!", and we look forward to trying it again soon!



"A painting is never finished-it simply stops in interesting places." ~Paul Gardner