This is a long time coming! My apologies for not "blogging" earlier. Obviously I've been a little productive!

These are sketches, about 20 or so minutes each, of Hannah, who willingly modeled for me a few evenings ago. Each is done on hot press printmaking paper with charcoal, if anyone cares. I think the paper's around 300lb. Pretty heavy-duty stuff left over from school (graduated in '01). They're in chronological order.

Anyway, I am trying (as soon as I buy more paper!) to do a sketch nearly every day, to get into practice. I gave up painting in order to polish my drawing skills, which (duh) must precede painting skills. It's the reason I've never finished any of the portraits I started painting...if I can't draw their faces, I certainly cannot paint them.

I don't think any of these really resembles Hannah, except the "attitude" of some of them. She hates #3 which is probably my favorite one ("I look fat!"). She's 12. Enough said.

In other non-art news, Valentine's Day was certainly a forgettable experience. Why? Well I celebrated the weekend before, VD being on a Wednesday (no I'm not a Valentine humbug) so when the actual holiday arrived, I'd actually forgotten it WAS Valentine's, and was just struggling to get out of bed and go to work. I'd come down with a wicked cold so after I presented Hannah with her box of chocolates and sung a cheesy "Happy Valentine's to You" and got her off to school, I went home and crawled into bed with a box of Kleenex. Que romantico, no?

Work is good. It's been pretty solid with Things To Do for WIM and our missionaries. New brochures, presentations for m's, insurmountable internet/email problems that have everyone on staff in a state of nervous breakdown, it's great fun. Plus all the health problems and stuff hitting our staff, our families and our m's on the field. Anything from colds to diabetes to broken bones and stage 3 bone cancer. If you're a praying person, pray for WIM!!

But it's not all gloom and doom, for goodness' sake. "We are pressed, but not crushed; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed," glory! There is good news, too! We have to be careful to keep it all in perspective and not let one outweigh the other.

My cold is gone and I'm back to 100%. Our finances are solid, money is slowly but surely coming in for my trip to Turkey in June, and I'm looking at possible photo opportunities (eg., weddings) coming up this spring. Our International Conference is in August, in Kerrville, Texas, and that is definitely an event to anticipate! ALL of our m's from around the globe should be there. What a great assembly that is! It only happens every three years, so it is a big deal.

Oh also we're flying home for a quick visit in April. Easter weekend, to be exact. It's my BigMama's 90th birthday and since she refused to get sick from the third attack of cancer and certainly didn't die, we decided to throw her another huge bash. Mom did one last year with the slight thought of "is this the last one?" and then cheerfully decided this is an annual event until her chariot of fire comes to collect her. Our entire family will be there. So if you attend New Covenant Church, I'll see you Easter Sunday!

Love to you, dear Reader, and I hope you have a great week.

--Rachael