Tanga las eye

Sitting in the comfort of the old booth in the town cafe,
and the empty booths around me, the cook joined me
on the other side and began talking with me. Quickly
the conversation turned from idol conversation to story
telling.

"Hey have you ever heard of the herb ,tanga las eye?" I thought a
moment and with puzzlement she quickly new I had
never heard of it. "Let me tell you a story about tanga las eye."

The air moved around us from the fan above as the story quickly
began its capture of my attention.

When I was a young girl, She began, My mother would give my sisters and I
a note to take over to grandmas, telling her that our momma needed some
tanga las eye. Excitedly we would walk to Grandmas and hand her the
note.

"Awe yes, tanga las eye, come with me to the attic, I believe I have some
in the old trunk."

Anxiously we would all run up the stairs to the attic where
we beheld the trunk. It was a huge trunk, or at least that is how I remember it,
I was just little ya know so it might not have been as big as I remember.
We spent a good long time with Grammy as she pulled Aunty's wedding dress from the trunk. She began laughing and telling us all about the wedding and gazing at the ceiling as if she was there again. We found all sorts of neat stuff and some of the treasures we found had a story that we got to listen to. Finally we reached the bottom of the trunk. " Oh dear I must be all out of Tanga las eye today. I will have to go buy some more." She would tell us after each visit.
Being young we never caught on to the mystery of tang las eye. When we got older we discovered that tanga las eye means, "Keep them for a while."
The special herb is a secret recipe, Time out for momma. What a creative way to show support, what a loving and understanding family. Sometimes moms just need a little time out and what better way then with creativity and fun.

"How adorabley cute is that?" I said to Fana. I love this story. She smiled
at me and said that she loves to share that story because it meant so much to her.

Now I shared it too. Touching, sweet, and fun knowing that my time out for the
day going to the cafe and relaxing for a minute was time well spent with a very
precious friend. I am really blessed that her business was slow that morning.

Sometimes there is a sad story behind the smiles.

When my old friend, Carolyn, put this photo of myself and my adorable daughters, along with Carolyn's son and husband at that time, on face book, I was filled with a mix of emotions both sad and happy. I was happy to see a photo of my girls and I - when they were young. Their dad and step mother destroyed pictures of me with my daughters after the divorce. So you can imagine the joy I felt when I saw this. The story behind this picture was also heart breaking for me, yet here in Carolyn's home I felt safe for a while. Her generosity and support got me through a very difficult time. My girls and I lived with this special family for about a month or so after their dad had beaten me up quite severely. I had to do my best to heal from the injuries and yet remain positive and joyful for the sake of my girls. I have done that over and over and over, tried to hide the fact that I was scared to death of their dad, hide that I was hurting, hide, hide, hide to keep my girls world feeling as safe as I possibly could. It's not an easy thing to do because for anyone who has been beaten up you know the tole it takes on you emotionally. My girls were my world, and I still adore and love them. But life has a way of twisting things. I will not continue here but the story lies in my journals. I pray that all things will turn to glorify our God. This picture was taken about 23 years ago, but the memories haunt me and the future of what lied ahead after this photo has been heart breaking for me. But my love for my daughters remains and I stand firm on the words of Julian of Norwich, "All is well, All shall be well, All manner of things shall be well."

Little Angel

I will try to paint with words the image that keeps coming to my mind of a little Angel I beheld
just the other day. Angels come to us in many forms but this one was so precious that tears fill my eyes with joy to recall those eyes. A little child with a giving heart, not just a giving heart but a heart of joyful giving. Her eyes lit the room like the noon day sun and the sparkle in them
glittered like the twinkling stars at night. Her smile so precious and warm touched my soul as I watched her hand a bag of gifts to my sweet granddaughters. She was thrilled with excitement as she watched them excitedly open their gifts with her hands folded in her lap watching with intent. And again, the sparkle in her eyes said it all, she was happy to make someone else happy. It may be hard to visualize but to me that little girl is an angel sent to earth to light
the way for all. What a wonderful world this would be if more people were like that. A Shining example of Jesus in her precious young heart. I tried to find a picture of a little angel to put with this but I seriously could not find One that the eyes could even come close to hers. Sweet little Phoenix.

Kissed by God

Hafiz said that when he woke, he woke up to God's kiss

what a wonderful way to wake up knowing God was there

watching over him through the night keeping watch.

When I wake up and the light shines in my third eye

like the oceans of Northern lights I realized that

God is kissing me on the forehead too, and I know

he was with me, watching over me while I slept.

When you wake and you feel that sense of peace

remember it was, yes, God's morning kiss and his

protective love watched you through the night.

The sweet scent of God is healing,

He is always there keeping you, so

when the sun sines on you

in the early morning hours,
with a sweet melody

sing to the beloved,

Good Morning

God, I know

You're here.

Swami from India in Charcoal

This is my rendition of Sri Kaleshwar from India. I have learned of him through

a woman in Moab who has been to India and has worked with him. He is an awesome healer and very spiritual man. She has told me some awesome stories about him and so I decided to do an art piece of him. I love doing art work of good people.

I want to be a Nun

So, when I was just a littl girl, like about six years old, I used to sit on the front porch of a three story home in the Avenues of Salt Lake City. The basement section of this home was where I lived with my parents of course. Anyway, I would sit on the front porch for a very special purpose which was to await the arrival of the nuns who lived on the top story of this home. I loved hearing the stories they would tell me about Jesus and how they served Him everyday. My love for Jesus was so great, to the point that my best friend, Linda, and I would go sit in the
Catholic graveyard, which was only about a half block away from where I lived, and sit at the foot of the cross - a headstone - and pray. I LOVED primary and my favorite song was, Jesus once was a little child. One day no one took me to primary so I took it upon myself to walk the streets of Salt Lake so I wouldn't miss it. When I got there I was so happy, even though I didn't know anyone there. I got to pick a song which was, This little light of mine. I looked out the window and I could litterally feel Jesus. I was happy as could be, that is, until my mom showed up to get me. The Wards had changed times and I was in the wrong ward so mom came to take me home. It took them quite a bit to convince me to go home and I could come back on my own Primary day. Sadly I gave in.
One very special day after talking to the nuns, the spirit had filled me from my head to my toes.
I felt so close to Jesus and I loved the nuns. It was then a sudden inspiration filled my soul. I wanted to be a nun and serve Jesus. I ran as fast as I could to talk to mom and let her know of my plans. Mom was not happy with those words at all. Being LDS, of course that was just not the news she would want to hear. Quickly she put me in my place and explained to me the importance of multiplying the earth, to become a mommy and get married. Guilt struck me as I she spoke and I quickly got that notion out of my head.
Life went on and 11 years later I was married and starting my family. I was a pretty straight laced person, not perfect but pretty straight laced. I had people tell me I was as straight as they came. All was well for a while, but something kept nagging at me. I didn't ever feel complete being LDS. I started going wayward and became a pretty lost soul for about 8 years. I did things I wish I had never done, and did things I never came close to thinking I would ever do. But it was then that my journey began. God took hold of me and over the course of about 8 more years, God gently guided me up and through and around the Mountain. I met many people of different faiths, and was influenced by many good people. I found my way back to God and learned many great things.
God is my all in all and I have to say I am a seeker - a God chaser. I know I am far from perfect
but my deepest love is God, and to dance with Him is the greatest thing on earth. God is my Love and He is the air I breath. For many years now, I have been more like that little girl I was in Salt Lake. Being Catholic now, it is too late to be a Nun but I can serve Jesus and I do my best to do just that. The void is finally gone.

My Grandson in charcoal and graphite