Sweet Thursday

Maddie and I got 2.75 hours together today. Alone. Without Jackson. Which is just what we needed. I was able to spoil her. To give her my undivided attention. She soaked it up.

One of our favorite times EVER was a couple of years ago when we took our canvases and tools and went to the Botanic Gardens and just drew/painted. We loved it; so relaxing, so creative, so enjoyable. Truly one of my very favorite memories with Maddie. Ever.

And so today, we did it again. Because we've been saying we were going to all summer long. Our goal will be to do it once per week until she goes back to school.

So here we were today. Isn't she adorable?


Handed her the camera - she was delighted. {I was terrified that a drop would occur. But it didn't so it's all good.}
All of a sudden she got inspired by a different site and off she went. Plopped herself down and began to draw.
I love when she concentrates.
This is what she saw -
And below is what she drew.

I love it. It's a mix of pencil crayons, crayons, markers and water paints. {Oh, and being the perfectionist that she is, she was NOT happy that the green color was actually blue green. She felt like it ruined her picture. I assured her it did NOT and some of the best paintings ever are ones that aren't perfect.}

Side note: The hair. My life-long friend Nicole did this for Maddie while we were at Rock Lake, Canada last week. Maddie has gotten a ba-zillion compliments on it, from random strangers to church friends and everyone in between. She has secretly loved the attention and I have loved that people have just showered her with compliments. I think that's been a good thing for her little self-esteem.

And below is my lame attempt at drawing. While I do consider myself creative, I really don't have the drawing gene. And I'm so okay with that because while the end product was merely okay, the process was amazing and relaxing. Sitting in the shade, under a tree, taking in the beauty of plants and trees and nature, with my daughter, who comes just as alive in that setting as I do. Ahhh, that was amazing.

And so, Maddie would like to go twice per week, because we only have 2 weeks left before she has to go back to school. And so, if you want to join us at the Botanic Gardens over the next couple of weeks, let us know and we'll meet and draw together.