Carolina Dreamin'

Ania has said that once her cancer is gone, she really wants to go camping. We have never been camping before but somehow she knows all about it. She already has her list of packing supplies ready in her mind- ask her what to bring and she says need a tent, sleeping bags, flashlights, & binoculars! So, the first thing we are planning on doing once her chemotherapy treatments are finished, is take a family vacation to South Carolina. Her GiGi & Godparents live in near the Blue Ridge Mountains in South Carolina and that is where we will go camping early this fall. She of course will also enjoy seeing her dear GiGi, whom she has not seen in over a year! 

A few weeks ago, Ania told me she wanted to paint mountains. The inspiration came totally out of the blue so when she asks me to draw something without me offering the suggestion, I typically drop whatever I'm doing and try to draw up what she is yearning to paint. 

Following her lead, I drew up a mountain range with a field of flowers and of course a butterfly had to sneak into those flowers! 

She has been working on this one slowly over the last few weeks with chemo and birthday celebrations keeping us busy. It's given us much time to discuss colors and even talk about color layering and dimention (really! She talks like a art student who's been studying for years I swear!)

Over the weeks she would do a little at a time, layering colors as she went. 

Working alongside her little brother ( his attention span is much shorter but still he enjoys it haha!)

Layer by Layer... 

The trees and greens...

To the shades of blue of the Blue Ridge Mountains.....

While she was painting the mountains we talked about depth and how things that are further away have different colors because light shines differently on different parts of the mountains. At one point while she was painting, she asked me how she learned to paint so well. I laughed and said, "Well you have practiced a lot but you have also been given a special gift! It is a natural talent! 

She laughed and said simply, "Yep! I paint very well!" Confidence in her skills! 

The flowers were a fun color mixture she made up of pink, purple and periwinkle. She really enjoyed the color she created for them! 

And then the lovely butterfly-

When this cancer journey is done, this is where we will go. A journey to the Carolina mountains for a little camping and reconnection to family and nature. She knows there is more to her life than cancer. There is a vast world that she knows is out there and will get to explore. Yes she has been given a gift of artistic ability, but I know she's also been given the gift of appreciating life a little more because of the challenges she has already faced. She has given me the gift of that too! 

Soon, Dainty Warrior, we will start a new journey, outside of this cancer and onto healing. We will start by camping on a mountain, and only go higher from there!

Gigi's Mountains :) 

God Bless,

Erica