Fat Froggie

My college friend, Amy, asked me to share my mother's Big Mouth frog joke.

Click here to go to THE BIG MOUTH FROG

Most of you know why I paint so many frogs, but maybe a few of you still wonder.

I have been taking a blog break.
I do that with stuff to refresh.

It has been a hot summer, and we still have August to go! Yikes...🤤

Time is going so quickly.

I have stayed busy.

Charcoal doesn't like this hot weather, either.  I almost have to push him out the door to go potty--he must have an iron bladder.

Just like many of you, life has been challenging for me, but everything will somehow work out.

At the same time, some areas of my life have been going really well, and I pray they just keep getting better.

That is life.

I just pray that God's Will be done in my life, and that I will Keep listening for His still small voice.

Here is a little something for you.
He can be drawn on cards, embroidered,  inked, watercolored, painted...use your imagination...

Link to free Fat Froggie

I hope you are happy.

I hope you love yourself.

I hope you feel loved.

I hope you know that YOU MATTER
And you are needed.

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the world and for your love, support and encouragement of me.

I am simply blessed to create~charlotte♡

Getting old...

Getting old ain't for sissies. 

We have all heard this and have watched our parents and older friends sometimes struggling, all the time, thinking it will NEVER be us--nope, ne-va!

BUT, over the past few years, I find myself repeating: "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, I'm like my Mother afterall!"

Heavy sigh...

Ok, stop laughing! 

STOP IT NOW!

Oh, it has probably been true the whole time, but we refused to admit it.

As the body begins to fade, the moments become more Lucy-esque. 

We tell ourselves, "NO, I don't need to write that down" when the truth is, we probably won't be able to FIND the note, anyway.

My greatest lie to myself is, "I don't need to go get my glasses" as I go to the cupboard to prepare a can of Chicken Noodle soup to warm me, while the young one pants from heat (yes--story of my life with Charcoal).

So, I fumble and find that all too familiar can that has been a staple my entire life.

I go to the stove to prepare it...NOBODY has to read the instructions, for we all know that you add one can of water to the soup. I certainly did NOT need my glasses for THAT!

BUT, as I was pouring it out of the can, I noticed the noodles looked weird, and, my goodness, for a soup that has quadrupled in price, they sure have gotten cheap and stopped putting in enough noodles! WOW! 

To the microwave, I went...Pushed the 2 (whew...I am glad it automatically starts, or I might really have to go the extra steps to get those glasses!)...

Ah, the sweet music of the ding! 

I go to the stove, pull up the stool and take that first anticipated spoonful of yummy....


Aaaaahhhhhhhyuuuuuuuucck! 

That is the nastiest thing EVER!!

I Grab the can and look....

Yep...chicken Noodle soup....

Buuuuut...wait, it says something else!

So, I quickly go to retrieve the glasses, only to read, LOW SODIUM READY TO EAT.

Oh, no, excuse me--this stuff is NEVER going to be ready to eat...ick...ick...ick...ick!!

I wondered what would happen if I put SALT in it...I didn't think that would help...whew...nasty! 

I picked up the can to see if I could read what went so wrong ...

I wondered HOW it got in the cabinet, when I remembered having fun at the grocery store, and, yes, I picked up the can WITHOUT my glasses...sigh

As I read the can, the words, "ready to eat" came into sight, again.

I finally turned the can around to see the instructions, "Do not add water."

What the...

There was going to be no way to make this right, so Charcoal got a treat, and, luckily, I had another can of the GOOD stuff! 

So, as the body creeks and cracks and I groan, I smile at my silliness and give THANKS to God for the gift of laughter.

The seasons march onward, and my body begins to crave "summer food" and I giggle like a child, only appropriate as I must be getting closer to my second childhood, although, I am not certain I really ever left the first childhood. 

I LOVE that the Vidalia onions are in the stores, and the tomatoes are tasting like REAL tomatoes, so I grab a can of Garbanzo beans, drain them, and chop the onions, tomatoes and parsley together for one of my favorite treats (sometimes I add ham)...

Aaaaahhhhhhhhhh...

Life is GREAT! 

I offer PRAISE for being fearfully and wonderfully made and that I was so blessed to have had such a great life growing up on the farm.

Make some memories with your family and friends, because, some day, that might be all that is left.

I am simply blessed to create ~charlotte ♡

The BIG MOUTH FROG

In honor of what would be My Mother's 85th birthday, I want to share her favorite joke she told many times.

Boy, do we need to laugh!

It won't be the same as her telling it, because her facial expressions and voice fluctuations made it funnier.

Daddy couldn't tell a joke to save his life, but Momma could...

The BIG MOUTH FROG

One day Miss Frog had a baby. Being a new mother, she had no idea what to feed her baby. She decided that she would hop around the zoo and ask the mothers what they fed their babies.

Miss Frog hopped up to the monkey, and in a loud voice, with her mouth opened wide, she said:

Mother Monkey, what do ya feed your babies.

Miss Monkey said: bananas.

Miss Frog, said: oh, thank ya very much...

She hopped on to see Miss Robin Red Breast and asked in the same loud, Southern voice:

Mother Robin, what do ya feed your babies?

Miss Robin replied: big fat juicy worms!

Miss Frog said: oh, thank you very much.

Next Miss Frog hopped to Miss Sheep and asked:

Mother Sheep, what do ya feed your babies?

Mother Sheep replied: grass

Miss Frog said with her loud voice : oh, thank ya very much

This went on for most of the day--mothers sharing, as only mothers do, when Miss Frog hopped to the other end of the lake and saw Mother Alligator sunning herself.

HAPPILY, and loudly, Miss Frog asked:

Mother Alligator, what do you feed your babies?

Mother Alligator, with eyes fixed, and in a cold, Harsh voice replied emphatically: BIG MOUTH FROGS...

Miss Frog in shock and through tightly pursed lips, very quietly replied: Oh, thank you very much!

This is why I paint so many frogs. It is a way to share a memory.

Mother and Daddy were my biggest fans. With every stroke of my brush, the love of my parents flows onto the surface.

I have no clue why I won the lottery when it came to parents, but I cherish the memories and am thankful beyond words for the Godly example they were to us and to our community.

I joked at the funeral home, as I proudly stood by Mother's casket, that she LOVED everybody. Yes, she really did. She loved people who treated her harshly, but she prayed for them and always offered a smile, even though I know how tough it was. You see, I was one of those awful people. While I knew how loved I was, I was often unkind and ugly, yet, she loved me unconditionally and replied to my ugliness with a heartbroken smile and "I LOVE YOU."

I share this today with you in hopes YOU will see your own ugliness and repent, because once you say words of hate, they never can be taken back. One day, you will regret them.

The Great news is that YOU ARE LOVED by a Father who loves you unconditionally and who sent His only Son to save You--not to condemn you. He can change YOU. He will forgive you and make your life whole, beautiful and new.

This is what I know Mother would say to all of us. She would also say, in her lovely southern accent: I love you.

She shared John 3:16 and always shared verse 17, because she said it was important to KNOW that there is no condemnation given by God, through Christ Jesus. She shared this message with thousands of people and always ended with: if you haven't been told today, then know that I love you and God loves you.

Accept the love shown you, and return no man, evil for evil.

I am simply blessed to create ~charlotte ♡


Most of these patterns can be found at  THE DECORATIVE PAINTING STORE (CLICK HERE)

OR in my etsy shop By clicking here

Serendipity Sunday

I’m not going to lie…

There are days that I wish away…

Days I don’t want to remember…

Day I wish didn’t exist…

BUT then, I think that sometimes, no matter how painful it may seem, we NEED to experience these days.  That is how we grow.

Days that are meant to be Celebrations with family, well, I dread them.  I dread the well wishes from those who mean only joy, who say, “have fun with your family.”  It cuts to the core, because being an orphan, even at 53, isn’t fun…HOW DARE we have days that are not FUN…sigh…

Yes, I laugh at me…I laugh at my ignorance…I laugh at how silly I am to wish away ANY day of my life, because we all know, that something good can be found in EVERY situation, IF we are looking for it.

As I sat on the back porch waiting for Charcoal to decide if he wanted to bring back the stick, or if he was content to sniff where HE had just peed (ok, sometimes, I do wonder how bright he is…), a beautiful yellow and black butterfly flew by…flying up and down, round and round on the wind…

Those who have paid any attention to my writings, know, that the butterfly was special to my Mother, and she never (on purpose) left the house without a butterfly pinned to her left shoulder.  People who knew my mother, knew this about her.

In just a few moments more, a black butterfly flew by and danced for a moment as I watched, and again, thought of my Mother…and it was dressed in black.  Mother’s favorite clothes were most always black and white.

 

When I came in the house, I pulled out a new roll of paper towels. I always buy the select-a-size in white, BUT as I pulled out the roll, plastered all over the paper towel were butterflies!!

NOW, this is where the discussion of coincidence comes into play.

Again, those who KNOW me and have read my words, KNOW that I was raised by a Mother who did not believe in coincidence.  She and I had many conversations about this, and I would look at her when a football player, who happened to just be standing on the field in a bizarre location, caught a ball that was knocked from the hands of the intended receiver~~how can that NOT be coincidence?  She and I would laugh as I said, “well, sometimes, I would rather be lucky than good!”  We understood each other about this and embraced the fact that we could have such a conversation.

Let me be clear.  I am pretty sure that those butterflies would have floated by, had I been paying attention or not, AND the reason I got home with butterfly covered paper towels happened because I was not paying attention at the store…BUT this is where I think that the events become part of a bigger plan, and you are more than welcome to disagree with me…

Mother also taught me that in life, I will always find what I am looking to find.

This has been an incredibly sad day for me.  It is a day that guilt overcomes my soul.  I wish I could have been a better daughter…no, I wish I had made more of an effort to be a better daughter.  I had moments of brilliance, she says, patting herself on the back, but when I needed to be compassionate, and loving, all I could see was the path my life had taken that I DID NOT choose.  What I failed to realize, is that Mother did not choose that path, either.  She did not want to be a burden to anyone.  She raised us to be strong, and all I could muster, was weakness and selfishness…so, try as I may, I can’t forgive myself…it is a daily struggle, again, that you each are probably getting sick of hearing about, but there is a part of me that KNOWS that I went through this to help someone else…maybe just one person, so I continue to write about it…

ANYWAY, pity party over for the moment…

The butterflies were a symbol very special to Mother.  I never see one that I don’t think of her and smile.  I recount how she loved without fault.  She was not ashamed of telling people, even complete strangers, that she loved them.  She had felt a calling as a young child to be a missionary.  A missionary she was~~right in her own little corner of the world.  Her mission was love and she lived her life as a reflection of God’s love…she smiled on days when all she wanted to do was to cry.  She was LOVE.

On this day where tears are flowing way more than they should, I was “visited” by butterflies.

On a day that I was searching to find some type of assurance that God understood my heartbreak and guilt, butterflies visited.

So, this is why I think me NOTICING the butterflies was no coincidence~~Because I was LOOKING for them.  I wanted a sign that somehow, Mother knew I did the best I could at the moment. 

We go through life, sometimes stubbing our toe on every rock, and blaming the stones for being in our way.  The same rocks have been in the same place all along, but when we happen to upturn one, we cry FOUL…

Things in our world may seem to never change, because, after a while, we stop noticing our surroundings.  For instance, when you plant flowers, you can’t wait to see them bloom, but often, once they bloom, we fail to stop and notice them after awhile, because we get used to them…we don’t look for the beauty, even though they are right there, right in front of us in all of their glory…we stop noticing…we even start to dread having planted them because we must water and weed...

ONLY when we decide to LOOK for the beauty, do we again, see it…

I bought the paper towels over a week ago, but how FUNNY that today, on Mother’s Day, I opened the package, without looking at them, and the one roll out of the 8 rolls that I pull out is covered in butterflies! 

How FUNNY that today, I saw 2 butterflies in the span of only moments, when I have seen only one butterfly this spring and it was weeks ago!

COINCIDENCE?  I think not! 

I found a symbol of something that was very special to me that specifically reminded me of Mother…I believe it was placed on this earth by a God who thinks of EVERYTHING for us…but we MUST do our part and look for it.

Miracles still happen.

God hasn’t changed…he still is I AM!

I am the one who must change…I must continue to look for what I wish to find…I am slowly learning that I am not such a bad person.  I have bad days, but I am doing my best to NOT be defined by them.  I am learning that I AM the one who must forgive myself.  God has already granted me forgiveness, so I MUST let it go and accept…let go of the guilt and move forward.  I have a mission…I have a path…each day is a new adventure and I WILL embrace the beautiful miracles that God has placed in this world…I WILL find what I seek…I will BLOOM, dadgummit! =)

I am so glad that Mother taught me about serendipity, because the 3 butterflies made Serendipity Sunday possible, and let me tell you, it hasn't been the best week of my life!  Thanks, God.  Thanks, Mother…Thank BOTH of you for always loving me JUST AS I AM, but who love me way too much to leave me that way.

I wish you a week filled with FINDING the good you seek~~Blessings to YOU…~charlotte

Excuses for NOT Blogging...Sunday, June 28, 2015

I read this week that bloggers SHOULD blog at least twice a week...I agree...

I have had a HARD time getting motivated to do this because it FRUSTRATES me to no end at how long it takes me to do a post because of my SLOW dial-up internet...I find myself SCREAMING at God, BEGGING HIM to SOMEHOW make a way for me to find an AFFORDABLE solution...

Then I feel guilty for getting mad at GOD because it 

CERTAINLY is not HIS FAULT!!!

Designed by Sharon Bond, painted by me...

 I have found myself AFRAID to post because of the fear of SAYING my OPINION on recent events...

I believe that as a Christian, it is my responsibility to spread LOVE and not to incite people into expressing opinions that are FILLED with negativity and hatred.  I have no problem with people who disagree with me, but I DO have a problem with HOW belittled that many people make others feel for DARING to step out and to state their beliefs.

I also believe that we should NOT be posting in Anger...

I have learned on FB, that if you want to get people going, THEN simply post a NEGATIVE comment and watch the comments add up...I have fallen for this too many times to count...

I MAY/May NOT agree with laws that have been passed this week, it really doesn't matter that YOU know how I feel, but I DO CLAIM God's warning that we are to Give unto Caesar what is due him and unto God what is due HIM...

I am PROUD to be an AMERICAN...I do my best to live my life THANKFULLY for every person who has made a sacrifice for MY FREEDOM and I will live my life to TREAT others with the HONOR of these men and women who stand BEHIND the AMERICAN FLAG, along with other countries, doing their BEST to make sure that ALL people, throughout the world, have BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS!!  

I MAY hate a sin, but I MUST love a sinner...

I will do my best to LOVE all people and

 treat them with RESPECT

 and I EXPECT the same.

A painting with Friends Pattern by Sharon Bond adjusted to fit the surface I have...I LOVED painting this!

 I ALSO thought I would post a warm and fuzzy post about my Daddy on Father's Day, but after reading all the posts, all I could do was to CRY, so I simply went and laid down and composed myself and then, I painted the "SWEET LAND OF LIBERTY" piece pictured above, designed by Sharon Bond/PWF,  to send to my friend in Germany, who has asked to buy one...I painted it in Memory of my SILLY, SWEET DADDY, who was so loved...

This is my FIRST design that was published...HAPPY DANCE

I thought I would SHARE how Daddy pronounced the words "FROG" and "LOG" and how many times Mother and I had laughed at him~~these two words rhymed when he said them, and he said them so that they rhymed with BLOG...He would just stick his little tongue out, ever so slightly at me...

Strangely enough, Daddy did NOT say WARSH, but he did "RENCH" out things and it would go down the "DREEN"....oh my sweet Daddy...

Sticking out his tongue was ALSO what Daddy would do when he would collect the Tithes and Offerings at our home church...When he would bring the offering plates forward, during the prayer, I would look at him from the choir, and he at me, and we would stick our tongues out at each other and GRIN...I couldn't sing in the choir for the LONGEST TIME after he died, but I kept playing the piano...

THEN there was the Sunday several months after Daddy died, that I stuck my tongue out at my friend in the congregation, and she returned the gesture ONLY to be caught by the PASTOR...you gotta be CAREFUL when you do this stuff, folks!!  It takes SKILLS...

My Second design that was published...so blessed...

Another blog thought I had was to share ONE of the reasons I paint so many frogs...

Mother LOVED to tell the joke of the BIG MOUTH FROG who went throughout the zoo after she had her first little babies...She would hop up to each animal and ask loudly and with her mouth opening VERY WIDE, "WHAT DO YOU FEED YOUR BABIES"....She asked the monkey, the snake, the cockatoo, and would end the conversation with "THANK YOU VERY MUCH."   THEN she asked the alligator: "Mother Alligator, WHAT do YOU FEED your babies"...The grumpy old alligator said, "BIG MOUTH FROGS"... Mrs. Frog said, very quietly, and through her teeth, "THANK YOU VERY MUCH"

Mother started getting FROGS as gifts, especially from her sweet Roberta, whose Parents were missionaries to Japan...

That is ONE of the reasons that I paint so many frogs, and it goes without saying, it is also a reminder to Fully Rely On God...

I NEVER want to forget all that my parents did for me and I want to remind people that the LOVE and SUPPORT of my Parents runs through EVERY stroke of my paintbrush...

I am GRATEFUL for the GIFT of Painting!!

HONOR your FATHER and your MOTHER...even their memories!

I am doing my best to make them PROUD!  We had the best family...we were taught GOD, FAMILY and COUNTRY...I will continue to do my best to LIVE what they taught me and to REMEMBER WHO I AM and WHOSE I am...I will ALSO try to do better about Blogging....Blessings to YOU...~charlotte

Oh, I DID start adding my Painting Patterns to the 

TOP of my blog and linking them to my etsy shop!!  

SO I HAVE gotten something done!  ROFL...

AND

IF you have NOT ordered you Subscription to

PAINTING EZINE (CLICK HERE)

The NEXT issue comes out on July 1st...

It is called: Come Sail Away

I have a PROJECT in there!  =)

Happy Birthday, Mother...Sunday, January 25, 2015

Today would have been my Mother’s 83^rd Birthday.  

Mother was ALWAYS ready to go!

She was my greatest cheerleader and I would often bring WHAT I had painted out in my craft house into the house just to show her so she would go on about how creative I was…sigh…The last years of her life were tough for BOTH of us…while I did the best I could at the time, I STILL struggle to forgive myself for not having been a better daughter to her…I was a DADDY’s girl, through and through, but she was an excellent Mother who LOVED beyond belief…she really did LOVE her enemies and would pray for them… 

As I was thinking about Mother’s birthday, I started recalling her friends that had joined her in Heaven during this past year…Margie and Hoyte Bundy were special friends of ours and we spent many meals together after they moved to our town from North Carolina…They had belonged to the church where the Chrismon Tree was started and were instrumental in helping my church get one started…IF you don’t know about the Chrismon Tree, google it…it is an AWESOME concept of a Christmas tree that is adorned only in gold and white with the various Christian symbols…

Dixie Counts was a special friend of Mother’s and the husband of one of her classmates…he started a GOSPEL night at the Downtown Baptist church in our town and I KNOW there is BEAUTIFUL music being sung by all of them!

 Uncle Johnny Harris, as I called him was Daddy’s childhood buddy.  One of the LAST times that I remember him just STOPPING by to say HI was when I was about 6 and my brother was about 8.  Our 100 year old house was built with a fireplace in every room, but we got to where only 1 fireplace was used, so Daddy would gather starter wood whenever it was offered to him.  This one batch came from a local manufacturer of shoes in our town and they were GREAT pieces of round wood about 2 feet long…my brother thought they would make GREAT Bats…So, he and I were PLAYING, while Mother, Daddy and Uncle Johnny were talking behind us…Brian through the ball in the air and swatted it with the “bat” and then I heard a commotion and I turned to see Mother sitting on the ground…Brian had lost the grip and had cracked mother’s head!  We went to the ER and took care of it…BUT it all turned out REALLY well because we got to stop at the Dairy Queen to get a Dilly Bar on the way HOME!  Mother always said that Brian was the child who always seemed to have “things” that just happened to him…YEP…he is the middle child…LOL…

 Bill Woodard was a dear family friend that I KNOW is having the best time with Mother and Daddy…And with his parents, Jay and Woody…Oh man…what a vision!

I KNOW that my sweet Roamie is there with Mother and Daddy and Mother is STILL feeding him his daily pimento cheese sandwiches…HE was the reason that Mother got out of bed many days toward the end of her life…SOMETIMES he did NOT want to eat the sandwiches, but he was always a trooper and obliged…he was the BEST dog that I EVER had and I miss him, too!!  NEVER did I think this house would hold an INSIDE dog, but Roamie changed that…He would have NOTHING to do with Mother while Daddy was alive because he seemed to FEAR that White headed, red coat wearing woman, BUT when Daddy died, it was as if he KNEW that it was NOW his responsibility to take care of Momma.

All four of Mother’s brothers, her 3 sisters and her Mother have CELERATED today…Mother was a twin and was the BABY of the family…

When my Daddy died in 2003, I decided that I could NOT let every special day be a day of depression because I wanted to HONOR him for his life.  I then tried to start doing SOMETHING for someone else on those special days, even if it was just to tell someone that Daddy loved them…

Today, as I was struggling to go back to sleep after Charcoal’s potty break, I tried to THINK of what I wanted to do TODAY, since I hadn’t yet planned anything special…THIS magnet came to mind since I had painted several the last few days.  NOTHING could honor Mother more than to spread LOVE in her name…SO I wish to offer this pattern to you for the next week (until 2-3-15).  in the HOPE that you WILL paint one and pass it ON to someone…I can’t think of anything better to HONOR the memory of Martha Fletcher…Thank you for being my NEW cheeerleaders…

I envision this pattern used with SEVERAL mediums…it can be stitched…written on paper with colored pencils or markers…made using scrapbook paper…mixed media…SO simple yet the message is the MOST important message in the world!

Either comment below with your email address, or send me an email at:  romaland2.1@juno.com with the message:  LOVE and I will email you the pdf file of the pattern…

Thank you Mother for loving me EVEN when I was a selfish, spoiled BRAT…I miss you and I love you…Blessings to YOU…~charlotte