MY MOM WAS AN ARTIST

When I was a child it was not uncommon to see bottles of India Ink and special pens in our home. My mother was an artist. She could draw anything, and her lettering was beautiful. We accepted her gift as a matter of course because we saw it expressed all around us. She took art classes in high school, and that was it as far as training. Later in life she took oil and china painting classes, which only complimented her natural ability. Some people are just like that. The above photo was taken at Chris and Gina's house when we were there recently. You can see a framed sketch that Mother did of Joseph Smith when she was 16 years old. It is amazing! I was pleased to see that Chris and Gina had framed it so beautifully, and displayed it so prominently. I think Mom would be delighted as well.
Above is a sample of her watercolor ability at the same age. She used to frequently draw Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The original Disney movie was released in 1937, when Mom was about 14 years old. We have all seen samples of her Disney drawings through the years.
This is a picture of Mom, Louise Mae Chambers, at 16. She is so cute! Read all the cute things she wrote on it before she gave it to my dad, Jimmie Winspear. They met in high school, or just after. Dad wrote a cute story on his old blog a while ago that you should read regarding this. He calls it The Girl Next Door.  (Click it!)

Before she passed away I asked Mom why she never pursued a career in art. "I had a family to raise", she said simply.  I think in today's world she might have found more commercial opportunities to use her artistic abilities while raising a family. But she never complained. She raised her family and used her talents in Church work, PTA, Girl Scouts, etc. She did it all! 

Did her wonderful talent get diluted when it passed down to the rest of us? I don't have talent like Mother, but you all know that I love to design and make quilts. That is where my artistic ability finds an outlet.  How about the rest of you? I would love to have you share what talents you possess with us. E-mail me with pictures or whatever and I will post them here for our family to enjoy! 

Love to all!

P.S. I just noticed that Mom signed the Grumpy painting as Louise Winspear, 1945! Whoops!

BE OF GOOD CHEER

Happy Easter everyone! A month has quickly passed since Renn and Keira's wedding.  Mike got sick right after the wedding and is still coughing. I got sick a week after him, and I am pretty much back to normal. But it sure knocks the socks off you to be so wiped out. I hope everyone else is doing well. 

This week's big news is that our darling first granddaughter Becky has turned 20 years old! April 11 was the big day. Above she is pictured with Travis, her boyfriend and all-round nice guy! He drove with her to Las Vegas for the wedding festivities, so we all got to meet him. Becky and her friend, Lauren, are coming to spend the summer with us in Virginia Beach. Hopefully they will make some money and contribute to their educational goals. I expect they will find time to spend at the beach as well.  We love you Becky!

I think this is a nice picture of Grampa Jim, Renn and Mike. 
And these beautiful kids had such a good time together! Chris and Gina's two kids, Tatum and Ethan, and then Kathryn, Jack and Mary. Ethan isn't really that small, he is getting squished!

Now for anyone who is unaware, Jack got quite a nasty burn last week. His pants caught on fire while he was scratching at a fire in his neighbors backyard. It was such a freaky thing. A spark jumped up his pant leg and his pants flared right up. The neighbor is a doctor and she jumped to the rescue, fortunately. He is home from school, possibly for the rest of the year, all bandaged up and resting. Tomorrow he sees a burn specialist to determine if he will need a skin graft. Everyone please pray for Jack! You can read more about this on the Froelich Family blog - there is a linked on the side.

I am still waiting for photos or other news to publish here... 

Love to you all,   ~Marcie

Las Vegas Sun

We had fun in Las Vegas.  This was the day before the Froelich's headed for home.  We needed to soak up all the sun we could before we went back to winter, snow and ice.  There is not a lot of sun in Missoula in the winter, lots of overcast, grey days.  Uncle Chris has a hot tub he fired up for the kids and they had a blast.  I would've preferred it if Kathryn hadn't gone in the water since she was sick, but there was no stopping her when the pool was cold so we were happy to have it warm...

Cute picture of Aunt Jennie and Mary!
   Grandpa Patch slept in the sun.
Kathryn danced in the sun!
Great Grandpa Jim read in the sun.
Jack dried off in the sun.

posted by Polly