everyday moments

week 3...

2012-01-23T09:54:00.003-07:00

Last week was all about the sickies around this house and the photos of laundry associated with that along with naps and resting on the couch and watching movies, etc.
THIS WEEK:
Sunday the 22nd was what our usual Sunday looks like...
Church and then home to eat leftovers, watch football and in general just relax with our immediate family. Caleb played with Legos all afternoon, Sunday took a short nap and Halle worked on some school work. She is "weekly wonder" this week and had to write about herself and bring in 5 items that tell about her. {Pictures to come}. The kids and I went for a walk in the afternoon and it was cold!

Monday the 23rd: In progress--- naptime for Sunday, Caleb playing Angry Birds on the iPad, Laundry this morning and dishes mixed with a bit of work on my computer, returning emails and general admin stuff. Seems as if this week we will all be back to our normal routine with school, etc. Looking forward to it!

I put together week one of Project Life on Saturday--just have to put finishing touches on it-pretty simple but it feels good to have some pictures developed and in their album with something documented. And because I cannot post without some photos...here are some of my favorites from the past months or two:)

Project Life week 2...

2012-01-17T10:34:00.008-07:00

Hello Monday Jan 16th....today the kids have no school so we are off to the movies over lunch to see the Muppets-good times! Halle gets a stomach ache (we think from the pop corn she ate at the movie) and starts throwing up around dinner time and doesn't stop until 2 am Tuesday morning-now I am more convinced now it is a bug. We had dinner at mom and dad's for roast beef and a game of UNO-Caleb as you know is IN LOVE with games of any kind.

Tuesday Jan 17th...home with one sick little girl. She is never sick so it is more difficult to see her so puny. Caleb is off to school, Sunday is napping and the house is sooooo quiet. Laundry is in abundance so I better sign off! Plus I am trying to get some work done in the quiet and sterilize everything from the germs!

I am keeping up with the picture a day thing and already sent my first batch of photos off for developing---cannot wait to put it together soon!

Last week recap---Monday the 9th-Sunday is eating more and more-there is nothing she doesn't like that I have given her thus far. She has always been a great eater since day 1 of her little 8 month old life. Sleeping has been less than desireable with her, but that has begun to change. I read some things on the internet about sleep and decided it was past time to train her to sleep! I started 3 weeks ago to get her used to all of her naps and nights in her crib and self-soothing, etc. Last week on Wednesday she finally slept through the night. Now we are on our 6th night of full sleep for the little pumpkin. She is doing great and sleeping like a champ! She and mommy and daddy seem to be happier with the change.

Tuesday the 10th---We closed on another investment property. This time we intend to do another fix and flip. We have not done anymore investments here locally for over a year so this is exciting! This one is in the North Park Hill neighborhood and it has so much potential. Easiest closing ever! The whole family is in tow :)

Wednesday the 11th---We tried for the 1st time to have Nana come over to babysit the little kids so I could get some work done. She brought a new playmobil toy that was full of pirates that she had found at the thrift store. Caleb was instantly in love! We got snow overnight and it was a beautiful morning full of white in our backyard and some quiet for me finally-I was super productive in the 3 short hours, but that was exactly what I needed. Nana to the rescue and the kids did wonderfully without me!

Thursday the 12th---another normal day of work/kids/and juggling it all and wearing many hats. Playtime is always in abundance. Sunday is getting sooo close to crawling and loves to hang out on the floor now and again to explore and watch what her big brother is doing.

Friday the 13th---Caleb tries to go outside first thing in the morning since the weather is warming up for a couple of days. He mentions to me "is that a fox mom?" I look out and see a coyote just behind our fence in the open space!! Eeeek!

Saturday the 14th...big GAME DAY as the Broncos (we are huge fans of theirs and Tim Tebow's) are playing in their second playoff game today! We are outside because it is beautiful weather and we are getting things done around the house including working on cleaning mud out of the gutters. The kids are hard at play! Sunday rides in the jeep with her big sister for the first time!

Sunday the 17th---Church in the morning and then ice skating downtown for fun! I still need to upload pics from this day.

2 posts in 2 days....

2012-01-10T22:32:00.006-07:00

Say what??

I am having some computer issues so I may not be able to update the old blog the rest of the week-we shall see?? But so far, I have been taking my POTD and here is what we have captured on film: I lied, now my camera is having issues so here are some other fun pictures from very recent days and of course they are of our sweet little Sunday. Hope to get the newest ones to upload and share soon!

A New Year and a Fresh Start....

2012-01-09T13:32:00.003-07:00

I have not been blogging for the past 8 months or so since having the baby but it is a new year and a fresh start for many things including trying to use this blog again to record some things around here. I also wanted to try my hand at the Project Life book for 2012. I am starting it this week since last week was so crazy! I am determined to print my photos at home or away on a weekly or biweekly basis and commit to documenting pieces of our everday lives! Here's to a new year!

Oh so revealing....

2011-06-02T18:19:00.004-06:00

Here are the projects that I made using the wonderful June kit from Freehand Scraps called Air Mail. Another fun kit that Elaine put together with all of the latest products from your favorite manufacturers. I made these four projects and have lots leftover!! Please jump on over to the site to check out what the designers did in the gallery and get your hands on one of these kits.
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This little journal was only $1.99 at Michaels and I simply painted it and altered it using the borders, papers and fun embellishments in the kit. So easy and fun to put together!

What have you been creating lately??
We are in week 1 of summer break from school and it is hectic around here with 3 kids in the house and lots of visitors, summer activities, work, laundry and the schedule that a newborn brings to the family. Hoping for more sleep in my future!! Baby Sunday is 6 weeks old today...I will devote a post to her growth and development soon I hope--before I forget about all of the changes in her recently.

Off to make dinner for a hungry family of mine.....

sneak peeks....

2011-05-24T22:34:00.002-06:00

I have been taking a maternity break from the fun of Freehand Scraps for a couple of months but I am back and have a few sneaks to share with you...the full kit will be available on June 1st...that is just around the corner.

I might have another sneak or two to post tomorrow-be sure and check back!
Oh and here is the newest addition to our family that has been a welcome distraction from life and the number one reason for my absence around here...isn't she sweet!

National Scrapbook Day!!

2011-05-07T11:38:00.004-06:00

Are you getting crafty today??
Make sure to include in your holiday activities a stopover at the Freehand Scraps website today to check out their HUGE SALE and other fun challenges, tutorials and lots of ideas and inspiration. You will not want to miss it!!

I wish I had something crafty to share with you today...I might have a few mother's day cards later on in the day. (That is my intention) and I also intended to say few words about my mom....I appreciate her more now than ever after having my own kids. She is a beautiful person inside and out. She is loving, gracious, compassionate, creative, crazy talented, inspiring and thoughtful. She loves the Lord with all of her mind, and soul...and spurs me onto greatness in the Lord and as a wife and mother. She is my most trusted friend who knows all my faults and still takes the time to love me and encourage me and build me up. Just the other day, on the phone, while I sat crying with her (I was the only one crying) she proceeded to tell me what I good mother I am and gave me a bit of a pep talk. I felt much better and moved on. Oh, I hope to be 1/10th of the mother to my children that you have
been to me, Mom. If the words here don't make sense, I am blaming it on the lack of sleep that has been happening at this house for quite some time. Below is the reason...our newest addition is only 2 weeks old!?
Shown here with my dear Mom.

I love you Mom-Happy Mother's Day!

Here's wishing you all a wonderful NSD and Mother's Day weekend!!

What's up....

2011-03-08T11:06:00.011-07:00

Here is a little bit about what we have been up to during the last few months...

working hard to get ready for the arrival of our little one---this includes moving 3rooms around and losing some of my personal space-it is worth it! :)We are not near ready yet-but at least we have something started!

Sorted through all of the baby clothes from my niece and my daughter with the help of a good friend and marveled at how tiny they were and was thankful that we had saved so many of the clothes and blankets-and yes,we are having a girl!

Had a long weekend trip to the ocean in Carlsbad, CA-we visited Lego land for the first time and had some family fun! Caleb fell into the ocean on accident and got a face full of saltwater and sand:)

Halle played on the rec center basketball team for the first time and loved it! So proud of our play maker! She finished the season with the game winning shot in the final game of the season.

We finally got our first illness of the winter-but we are through it now and looking forward to Spring:)

Preparing for a little baby shower that my mom is throwing for me. I had gotten rid of all my stuff-never actually anticipating that we would once again be adding to our family.

Growing bigger and bigger each day....

Painting walls a light shade of pink for Halle's new room and planning to make new bedding for the new little one. It is still in the works;)

Purging, organizing, nesting

Planning a birthday bash for Halle at the end of the month-it is all about Olivia the pig this year and I cannot believe that my sweet little girl will be 8!

What are you up to??

You know when you shout BINGO!

2011-03-02T12:18:00.005-07:00

it is a good feeling because you are going to win a game!! (I love it but then again I am very competitive and love to win) Well, that is exactly how this March Kit BINGO feels-when you open it, and see it all with your own eyes it is a BINGO moment because it is full-FULL of fun things and you feel like you have won in some way. It has some of my favorite manufacturers in this kit along with some special exclusives you cannot find anywhere else. You can find a complete list here detailing what is included in this kit-this month and she is even offering a mini album!!
Here are the three projects I was able to put together...and I had so much fun! A 2 page spread is always difficult for me but these photos and papers seemed to make it fall easily into place. I loved all the fun things-zippers, buttons, brads, game cards, and little wood game pieces as well as all the fun borders....I love embellishments!! Please do check this kit out and grab one while you can!

Have a beautiful day! I am home with two sick kids which does not happen very often in this house so noone is throwing a pity party around here. Thank the Lord that I am not sick and that everyone is on the mend and still snuggled on the couch in their jammies. I am very thankful that I can stay home with these two and tend to their needs and nurse them back to health :)

Today I don't want to forget.....

2011-02-23T07:17:00.005-07:00

.How beautiful this day was
.How blessed I am with the sweetest kids who bring me joy everyday in some small or big way!
.How excited I am to become a new mom "again" in just a few weeks
.How fun it was to shop with my mom-we found the most adorable little retro rocking chair for the nursery- and planned a darling quilt (my mom is the BEST and we are making the new baby's bedding together)
.watching my sweet Halle playing her heart out in her final basketball game-she scored a basket(her first in a game)in the final two minutes and the look on her face was priceless! (proud mommy moment)
.tucking my little boy into bed and wondering how he can manage to sleep with all the "stuffies" he must have surrounding him each night. Rex (pictured above)is his all-time favorite and goes to bed with him every night without exception. He usually sneaks out of bed to gather even more items to come to bed with him after I leave his room. He actually fell out of his bed the other night and I wondered if it was from the lack of room for him in his bed!
.feeling this little one moving and kicking around inside and realizing what a miracle I am carrying...and what a blessing it is to be able to experience this for a third time.
.How much I enjoy listening to Caleb singing around the house I've got the joy, joy joy, joy, down in my heart
.Hearing Halle sneak out of bed around 6:30am to finish up her Chapter Book(she is a complete book worm and I love that she enjoys reading so much!

I hope to have many more days ahead like this one!

Sneak Peeks......

2011-02-15T22:02:00.005-07:00

I cannot beleive that half of the month of February is over and we are about to enter March! The time always seems to fly but more so in these short months. I must admit that after the cold and snowy weeks we have had this month--I am looking forward to Spring and it doesn't hurt that today it was near 65 degrees and beautiful! As evidenced by the pictures below...the kids were in short sleeves eating popsicles one day and making snowmen the next, now we are back to short sleeves! :)

I have some sneaks of the newest Freehand Scraps Kit to share with you....and let me say that this kit is my favorite so far!! It is full of fun items that you won't find anywhere as well as some of the newest trends from the greatest manufacturers. I can't say or share more just yet so without further ado....

Sweetie Pie....

2011-02-02T11:12:00.006-07:00

I know that I am day late posting about the newest kit "Sweetie Pie" from Freehand Scraps, but the weather here has been strange to say the least and school has been cancelled for the past 2 days-which is really throwing off my schedule. :)in a good way. We have spent the past day building blanket forts in the basment, reading lots of good books, singing, talking, sipping hot cocoa...you get the idea. Anyway, without further ado, I will share my projects from the Gallery and please head over there to check out the rest of the amazing projects by the design team and Guest Designer Emily Spahn! This kit truly is brimming with products and is very versatile...I made 3 layouts and 2 cards and could have kept going.......
This first layout was a fun one using the old book pages as a matte for my focal point picture. I cut up the crate paper doily paper for some embellishments-LOVE that paper!!!! and sprinkled on some sequins and those darling paper flowers as well as the velvet flower and beautiful stick pin. I love how this layout turned out!

This next layout was one that I loved putting together. I used my slice to cut the word love two times to use with the title and sprayed the doily with glitter mist to give it a hint of color and sheen and layered on the Fancy pants journaling spots and acrylic embellishement to frame in my two photos. Last I embellished the fancy pants paper at the bottom with the tiny heart brads found in this kit. Super easy layout!

These two cards were put together in less than an hour while my daughter was at basketball practice...I punched the hearts out of the various papers and stitched them onto the card-embellished the card with the adorable tiny chipboard bird after covering him with paper and the lace trim from the kit and used the slice again to cut out a title for my card....

This forever card was using some border punches to layer the papers the velvet ribbon trim and lovely silk flower that comes in the kit. The forever definition was on a complete page of stickers found in this kit---I am telling you it was packed with fun stuff!

This last layout and detail shot was just done using the fancy pants paper and layering on some of the other fun things in the kit one of which was the pearl trim that I twisted around for an accent at the bottom of layout and another chipboard shape covered with paper.I used the rubons-you get an entire sheet! and more of the rhinestones. This kit was so much fun so please check it out today!!

Fun times....

2011-01-28T10:04:00.005-07:00

We recently were able to go to the National Western Stock Show and have some good old western fun! The kids loved to feed the animals in the petting zoo and there were two very pregnant and very hungry goats that nearly knocked us down for our goods. I tried to capture some pictures of it all.....ENJOY!

We witnessed a prize black angus getting a haircut....

Have a great weekend!

A few sneaky peeks...

2011-01-20T21:16:00.005-07:00

Here we are in the midst of late January-where has this month gone?? The good news is that the month coming to an end means the beginning of a new one and a brand new kit from Freehand Scraps! This kit was FULL of stuff and so much fun to play with. Check out a few of my sneaks for the latest kit....there are more sneaks over on the Freehand Scraps blog as well.

Favorites of Christmas Part 1....

2011-01-11T10:52:00.015-07:00

These were some of my favorite shots from the holidays this year....I still cannot believe how quickly Christmas came and went. I love this time of the year and am always a bit saddened to pack away the lights, paper, holiday trimmings, and wreaths for another celebration next year. We spent alot of time with family and with each other trying to keep up a few of our traditions and make some new ones. We always ice skate over the holidays and this year our 4 year old was up for some skating fun-he loved it! I couldn't skate this year because of my pregnant state but was happy to shoot photos in the bad light of the indoor rink with my new camera-which was an early Christmas gift seen below in my self-portrait.
My sister and kids came to visit for the holidays and joined us for some skating fun! We loved having them home!! My kids cried big buckets of tears after saying goodbye. They love their cousins!!

Halle joined the Grace Notes choir at school and we attended 5 performances over the course of a couple of weeks and loved every minute of it. I also helped with her Christmas Party for her class and took the photos below during the festivities.

My new Pentax DSLR camera---it has made taking pictures twice the fun and even my husband has gotten into it-which means I might actually show up in a photo or two from now on. ;)

The two cousins and best of friends!

I think I will share a few more tomorrow as it is taking entirely too long to upload all the favorite photos. Happy Tuesday!

2011-01-10T12:05:00.004-07:00

We have a snow day from school today and so I have a loud crazy house this morning full of giggling, snuggling, and kisses. (maybe a bit of sibling fighting going on too) I had a full day of laundry, work at my desk and resolve to clean out more of my office planned, and so far much of that is not getting done quite as quickly, even though I was up before 6am-guess who was up at 6am as well!? We have decided to move my office to another area of our home and give the biggest bedroom to Halle to make way for the newest member of our family. Everyone is excited and eager to move RIGHT NOW, and I know that this will be more of a process than their little minds can fathom. Caleb is set upon helping to paint Halle's new room a soft petal pink-we will see about that, as for me, I am just trying to remain calm and orderly to make this transition happen as smoothly as possible. Wish us Luck today!
I tried to post a picture or two with this but it would not let me!

Freehand Scraps projects...

2011-01-03T22:49:00.005-07:00

I am back today to share with you a bit more about my projects using the Freehand Scraps January Kit-Festive Peacock.
The first one below uses a couple of the papers and the chipboard snowflakes which I painted lightly and then sprayed with glitter mist-it is hard to see in the photo the effect but up close it looks pretty! I interspersed a few of the snowflake brads (this kit is full of brads) which had glitter on them already and used the fun Pink Paislee alpha for my title. I also punched some circles and stitched them for some added texture. The whole layout was outlined with stitching and then the journaling strips added last from some of the light purple paper in the kit. The colors work very well with snowy pictures or black and white photos like I used.

This card is pretty self-explanatory: I cut down the thick pleated turquoise ribbon from the kit to make a banner showcasing some of the bright fun papers found in the kit and used the turquoise sticker letters for my sentiment. So FUN!

This next layout uses some of the various papers from the kit...I punched the scallop circles and scattered them and added the bloom, brad and glitter leaves above the tag and used it as a journaling spot. I also added the fortune cookie strip to the lower left corner-what a fun idea to have in a kit!

Last the holiday tea layout uses 3 of the featured papers in the kit (I love the black and white houndstooth) along with the file tabs, more of the blooms with their centers taken from the extra pieces from the Pink Paislee alpha and journaling strips to document a holiday tea outing and play we saw with our family over the holidays---it was a fancy tea (my daughters first)and I thought the webster pages paper went well with the theme. I also inked the edges all around with some red staz on ink to finish it off!

If you are still reading then have a beautiful Friday! I have been cleaning out and purging for the new year and getting motivated to finish up some of those projects that have been sitting around gathering dust...check back for more of those completed projects over the weekend.

Freehand Scraps...

2010-12-19T17:06:00.007-07:00

Yes, it is that time again. Freehand Scraps is up and running again and kicking off the new year with the brand new kit "Festive Peacock"! This kit comes with two awesome alphabets (one of my favorite supplies for scrapbooking) and comes filled with lots of blossoms and chipboard snowflakes---i love chipboard! Not to mention it is packed with lots of paper! A perfect way to start the new year by getting your scrapbook projects started and FINISHED! -That is one of my goals- so hope over to the site and check out the gallery and the kit to purchase to help you with your scrapbooking goals! I will be back this week to show off some of my layouts made with the kit. Happy New Year!

Thankfulness....

2010-11-24T09:49:00.005-07:00

I have been pondering this one alot this week with the Thanksgiving holiday fast approaching. My sweet daughter made a thankful list after school the other day...just because. I thought it was fun to see the things on her list:

My thankful list 2010
I am thankful for...
1.Friends
2.a nice warm bed to sleep in every night
3.family
4.toys
5.calendars
6.magnets
7.food
8.books
9.balls
10.a nice brother
11.I'm thankful for Jesus

I couldn't believe she listed calendars and magnets but oh well! For these we are thankful. I am thankful for so many things and have been blessed in so many ways that I think my list would be too long!
One of the things in 2010 that we are thankful for is that God's plans are not our own....and we have to learn to trust that he ultimately knows what is best for us in our lives and wants the best for each of us. I have recently learned this lesson or maybe have had to relearn it as we found out we are expecting BABY #3 in the Spring! I am thankful for a healthy body to carry this child and the love and promise of a new life that will be joining us! Our family is getting excited to see what God's plan is through this journey. And becuase it just isn't right to post without a picture or two...for me at least. Wishing you all the happiest of Thanksgivings!

been way too long...

2010-11-03T08:41:00.010-06:00

It has been too long since I have written a blog post. I know hardly anyone stops by here to check on us, except my family and a few friends but I thought I should do another post since it had been since September -nearly 2 months ago- that I logged in and did any writing. We have had a busy month and it probably won't slow down any because November is here and the holidays are sure to follow soon after. We did take some time to celebrate a birthday and to enjoy the gorgeous weather we have had and crunch in the leaves. Halle had fall break from school and we took the opportunity to head north to a pumpkin patch where we got to cut our choice pumpkin right off the vine and do pumpking patch related activities(jumping castles, hay bale mazes, visiting the farm animals). We also carved pumpkins-Halle actually carved her own this year and Caleb was into it for the 1st time that I can remember. Lastly, we dressed up our cuties and took them out on a beautiful night to collect treats from our neighbors. I have more pictures of the festivities but you get the point. It keeps messing up when I try to upload photos! ARGH! I can't forget our trip to Illinoise to visit my sister and kids and see them off on their new adventure. It was like a party for two days for the kids and they are already asking to go back??!! I am not ready to drive 17 hours in a car again anytime soon. (but it was worth every minute of that drive to see them.) I will post again soon as we have been up to lots more and another thing....I got a new camera as an early Christmas gift and have been snapping away!!

Birthday Boy...

2010-09-12T21:44:00.009-06:00

To my sweet and spunky 4 year old...
I cannot believe that 4 years ago today I held you in my arms for the first time and you became a part of our family. Today you are the joy in in my days, the laughter in my afternoons, the sweet kiss just when I need it, and the soft "love you Mama" for no apparent reason at all. It melts my heart. I need it, and I needed you and the Lord knew.

You are growing into such a sweet little boy, and you are curious, inquisitive, adventurous, and tough! You love to tell jokes that you make up and we always laugh because you are sooooo cute! You love to read books and especially love Bible Stories and you hang on every word of each story. You still love to dress up and pretend to be someone or something else-I love it and love your BIG imagination. You are content to play alone and do a great job of making up games, but you and your sister have a ball playing together and when she is gone to school you ask me when we are leaving to pick her up many times throughout the day. You are into sports! Do you have a choice? You love to play with balls-footballs, basketballs, baseballs and golfballs, and you enjoy riding your tricycle in circles chasing your sister. You are left-handed but use both hands when playing sports-just like your mama. You know your alphabet and can count to 20. You are learning to write your name. You love to play on my computer and try to play games on my phone as well. I am always surprised at how well you do with both of these activities. We have started Preschool at home two mornings a week and you seem to love it! You asked me last week if you could just call me mom and not teacher-too cute! I love it too and cannot wait to spend more time with you playing, creating and watching you learn all kinds of new things. Love you sweet Caleb! Happy Birthday!

Love,

Momma
Did I mention that you insist on wearing your hat backwards whenever you have one on-funny kid!

3 and 7....

2010-08-18T22:46:00.005-06:00

Apparently when you are 3 you like to dress up in any available costume and run around for hours pretending to be something else. Everyday is like that around here.

Also, did you know that at 7 you know just about everything there is to know...like 100 + 100 = 200 and how to spell independent and so many other useful things. I apparently did not know but was informed today. You almost know enough that you really don't have to go to school but maybe you want more for your life and you decide that making friends, learning new things, and even doing the dreaded mad minutes in Math can be fun! Cannot believe that school is officially underway and I have a second grader in the house, which reminds me that I have a lunch to pack and some laundry to fold before tomorrow...Oh the un-scheduled days of summer are over! BOO!

The good news is that the first words at lunch that came from the aforementioned 7 year old were "Mom, I can't wait for tomorrow because I get to go to school again!"

This week....

2010-08-05T11:46:00.006-06:00

--I am swamped with lots of catching up due to travelling last week to Chicago to attend CHA with my little sis...it was great fun and I enjoyed every minute I was able to spend with her and my new friend Lexi, both very talented girls.

--We attended the last T-ball game of the season...what a great time we have had all summer watching our little slugger! Today she had the machine pitching to her for the first time and got a base hit on her second swing. GO Halle!

--We are trying to wrap up items on two houses that we are selling and hopefully closing on by the end of this month. Moving out staging furniture, replacing screens, doing some minor repairs, mowing lawns, pulling weeds, watering grass. Our kids actually cried the other day because I told them we were not going to own those houses any longer. They have grown attached.:) Halle drew a picture of one of the homes last night and all of us over there working at the house together...so cute!

--We are savoring the last moments of summer!

--Enjoying the gorgeous weather that God is blessing us with each day...the intense heat seems to have dissapeared and has been replaced with the usual afternoon thunderstorms. Love it!

--Trying to come to grips with the fact that school actually starts on the 18th of this month....how can the summer be nearly over?

I'm back.....

2010-07-08T17:56:00.006-06:00

and I have to share the newest Freehand Scraps Kit "Hula Hoop" that is now up for sale and can be found right HERE so please check it out because it is going FAAAAAST!

Here are the projects that I made using "Hula Hoop"
This first layout I tried to use the bits of paper to make a good old American flag....to highlight one of our favorite holidays and the fun tradition where we march around singing "you're a grand old flag" I actually put the lyrics in the journaling. I used the buttons for dimension tied with bits of baker's twine. Loved that polka dot paper!

This next layout was one that fell together easily with the enlarged photo of my little guy after just learning to ride his tricycle. He can finally reach the pedals! I loved using the tape to mat my title and have stitching through the letters. The Pink Paislee letters were perfect with this page. Loved that timecard included was such a perfect spot for some journaling.

Used bits of everything including those wonderful scrabble letters to title this one. Loved all of these papers. Cut out some of the circles and stitched them across the bottom of the layout then used a pop dot to adhere the die cut compass to the row. This picture is one from our trip to Scotland. My husband is standing in one of the oldest castles we went through while visiting. Such a beautiful place and a Good Journey.

This one is one of my families favorite for the gallery because of the fun memories we made trying on stuff at the store in the Mountains. I have alot of these photos and so I tucked the extra photos in one of the sweet little envelopes. I also did a matching 6x12 page for the journaling and the extra embellishments and envelope to rest.

This one didn't make the gallery because I was completing it the day before it went live. Pretty simple but loved that sweet swimsuit paper and had fun making it the border of the page of my kids swimming pictures from last summer.

In other news....we have been enjoying every bit of our summer. Bike rides-Halle is officially on 2 wheels not 4 and starting and stopping all on her own, tennis night, Toy Story 3-Caleb is in love with Rex the dinosaur-(calls him dinosaurio Spanish for dinosaur, he found that in a book I bought him which teaches spanish and english words for the Toy Story characters), potty training success-I haven't bought diapers in MONTHS-yay!, dance class, T-ball, Popsicles, ice cream, swimming, cooking on the grill and hanging out in our backyard, gardening, Camp Hallelujah -our version of VBS and a bit of work thrown in here and there.

What are you doing this summer? I hope you check out the new kit and the rest of the amazing design team gallery today!

It's that time again.....

2010-06-29T14:54:00.004-06:00

I am still having blogging issues and I think they are internet related so please excuse my absence from this spot...however if I can make it work, I have some sneaks to share and let me just tell you that this upcoming kit is so wonderful!! My sister is Brilliant (with a capital B) and this kit is no exception! She has so many goodies packed into this one. I made 5 layouts and probably will complete another one at the very least with what is left. As usual, you will be impressed with the colors, and the uniqueness of all the elements included. I loved the scrabble letters (they are vintage) and the many alphabets, as well as the papers!! So here you go....peek away!

Don't forget to check out the kit when it goes live in 2 days! Have a beautiful summer day!

The gallery from Parasol...

2010-06-03T15:40:00.003-06:00

I am happy to report that summer is here and there is a brand new beautiful kit from Freehand Scraps for sale HERE....it is filled-I mean filled with lots of brand-new goodies from the Girls Paperie, Cosmo Cricket, and Pebbles. I have so much left from this kit that I cannot wait to use on some other projects. Here is project #1 from my gallery-a super easy card I made for my parents 40th anniversary. I just folded some of the paper and stitched on it. I used the packaging from the girls paperie line to make a base for my flower and layered some more of the fabulous papers to complete it with some sparkle and some buttons. Sorry the pictures were not so great of this one. The design team did an amazing job so be sure to check out the other projects there.

I am having more trouble with blogger and the photo upload so I will share more of my gallery here this week. Happy Monday!

Some sneaks to share....

2010-05-30T22:24:00.007-06:00

It is that time again to post my sneaks of yet another beautiful kit {Parasol} from Freehand Scraps. I had a lot of fun making things and have so much left over I will probably be able to make many more projects using this fun kit! Please don't miss and exciting reveal of the entire kit on June 1st at 8am CST. You just might have to kick off the summer by ordering this one! I have been running around these last few weeks doing end of the year school activities, lots of stuff going on with work, potty training our youngest, mountains of laundry, celebrations for graduates and my parents 4oth wedding anniversary! It is a very busy time of the year but I love it---now that school has let out for the summer we are already looking forward to lots of non-school activities and fun with friends and family.

Cherry Blossom Beauty......

2010-04-23T14:38:00.007-06:00

This is a post I wrote last week...my blog has not been cooperating and posting any pictures until now! I thought I would share a few thoughts on the newest kit Cherry Blossom and then include the ramblings that were unpublished from the other day. Sorry if this is very confusing. The cards that I made with the kit were easy to make and turned out so cute--I can't wait to give this one to my mom! I stitched through the word Mom several times and stitched on the tiny banner paper after cutting it out. I think I used that AC Dear Lizzy banner on every page!!?? On the rabbit card, I cut a strip from the fabric in the kit and made it into grass and then stitched it at the bottom of the page and zigzag stiched the white dot onto the AC Dear Lizzy paper. Easy but fun! Well, it seems that I am still having trouble with the picture upload so I will share the rest of my gallery tomorrow when I have more patience. Be sure to check out the rest of the gallery and order this kit before it is gone. It is great!

Thoughts from the other day:
We have had rain for the the past day and a half and it has been beautiful. Since we hardly ever get rain, I love to see it come and freshen up the Spring that is already beginning to bloom around here. It is also a good excuse to dig out the rain coats, cute umbrellas, and rain boots for some splashing fun! It turned to snow this afternoon and got windy and cold and then is starting to stop, but even so I am cold and I had to turn up the heat and run our cozy little fireplace.
some things that made me smile today....
1. The afore mentioned rain/snow and donning all available rain gear to venture outside this morning
2. Caleb's lunchtime prayer for God to bless the food to our bodies, be with Halle at school, and please take care of Slinky dog and Hobie (our dog). He also saved out a chip for each person in our family including the 2 dogs-one real and one made of plastic-and wrapped them up in a napking to give to them later. so sweet.
3. sitting by the fireplace praying and praising the Lord for his goodness. There are so many things that are taken for granted daily.
4. digging through some older pictures and loving all the cherished memories that I have been a part of.
5. Catching up on the laundry after a crazy week with family and work!
6. finding time to scrapbook this week with the new Freehand Scraps kit-you will love it!
7. Another finish to a full and productive week. Looking forward to some family time tonight-we are planning something fun for this evening.

Spring Break and some sneak peeks...

2010-03-30T23:48:00.000-06:00

I cannot believe tomorrow is the final day in the month of March! This month has been a busy one and is ending with a bang. Currently, I am sitting on my sisters couch blogging as we are here visiting for Spring Break and my nephews birthday party. We have been talking, laughing, playing, reading, and in general enjoying being together. My little boy keeps asking me everyday if we get to stay and play again...he seems worried that we are heading home and he won't get to play with his cousins. We have celebrated 3 birthdays over the past 4 days. My birthday was spent getting ready for the trip and driving here but then my sister surprised me with a fun concert on Saturday night after she threw a HUGE birthday party for my nephew. She has a lot of energy...obviously I am the older sister. My husband and I had stayed up all night and drove straight through with the kids so I had no sleep for over 33 hours?? Not entirely sure but I was up too long and will have to settle on being sleep deprived because my sister is a NIGHT OWL and I am staying here all week. She is giving me an education on T.V. show series, Midwest rituals, lady bug anatomy and patterns, Pilate stretches, etc. On Monday, my darling daughter turned
7!! How can it be that I actually have a 7 year old. I will devote a post later to that very topic. We celebrated with dinner out, carousel rides, yummy ice cream and a beautiful drive home with a view of a pink sunset and a full moon shortly after. A near perfect day.

Onto the sneaks of my Freehand gallery...

Hope you have a fabulous week and please check out the kit on the 1st of April! It is an amazing kit with the best mix of new products from CHAW and lots of fun embellishments-including one made by my very own talented mom. It is soooo cute!

Oh No...the BIG 4-0!

2010-03-19T14:16:00.004-06:00

Today is my husbands birthday and so far the day is not going completely as planned...dead battery in his car this morning, a furnace that is going haywire in one of our rental properties. On the bright side...we woke up to a beautiful dusting of snow and it is a glorious day because he was born today and we choose to celebrate! 40 years of life and 40 years of God's blessings! I love you!!x0x0 Heres to 40 more exciting years......

I wrote him a list of 40 blessings and plan to give it to him later today. I have no recent pictures because I still do not have a camera but I have to post something in honor of his big day. {All photos on our trip to CA in August 2009-Santa Barbara}

Let me....

2010-03-10T18:23:00.003-07:00

Try this again

Look here for the whole cartoon with the punchline....

I am feeling perfectly

2010-03-10T17:50:00.005-07:00

miserable these days as I have been recovering from some virus. It has been 5 days and it is still lingering. This cartoon (borrowed from Cosmo Crickets blog) pretty much sums up how I am feeling.

Heres to feeling better tomorrow! I am on Tissue box #3 and counting.....

Wishin', Hopin', Dreamin'.....

2010-03-09T19:02:00.005-07:00

Maybe I am just wishing, hoping or dreaming for some warmer weather but I was browsing back through some older pictures and came across these and then all of the fun memories run back through my mind. I can't believe how beautiful it was there and how little both of the kids were. I am in awe of how time keeps moving on and we just cannot stop it. I do wish we were able to freeze frame some moments in time for just a little longer. I am just now realizing why my dad still looks at me a certain way and talks about how his little kids grew up and how it all went so fast and how hard it was to adjust from the parent/child relationship to the parent/adult relationship. So for now I am just trying to cherish and be present in the moments that God has given me today.

Right now....

2010-03-05T12:11:00.008-07:00

thinking about....

planning all the birthdays and fitting in lots of March activities-we call it March Madness around here...Any good ideas for a 7 year old girls party??

How is it that my little girl turns 7 this month??

How is it that my little boy will be 3 and a half in a few weeks?

planning a trip to see my sister and niece and nephew during Spring Break

warmer weather and the loveliness it brings-cannot wait for things to be planted and to watch them bloom

the current remodel in our Master Bathroom due to a plumbing leak that has been ignored far too long

The Lord's goodness and blessings in my life

the future God has for each of us--"it is never too late to be what you might have been" He is still writing my story!

Plans for the weekend to include teaching an awesome Sunday School class-can't wait! Singing....playing....cooking....baking for fun with the kids and spending time as a family

figuring out my camera woes

Hope you have a wonderful Friday.....

pictures in this post are fairly common occurrences. About once a week we have an elephant in our home and most of the time Hannah Montana or a princess can be seen walking around this place.

Clothespin......

2010-03-04T09:24:00.001-07:00

I had so much fun with this recent kit from Freehand Scraps and the gallery was a complete inspiration heaven, so please check it out today HERE

I was without my camera and borrowed one to take the pictures of my projects and was unhappy with how they turned out (it is hard to get used to a new camera in less than a day that you have never used) but I really loved my projects so I will share them here. I also made one additional page using glimmer mist and had a great time getting messy...my first time using that.

This first page was fun to use the canvas banners on and I just stitched a piece of ribbon accross the tops of each pennant and decorated with all of the cute things in this kit....I hung the banner from the tiny clothespins included in this kit. so fun! I loved the music note paper from Sassafrass.

This next page was important to me to document all of the things my daughter says about when....
Of course this was in her own words...the GCD paper was perfect for this and I think it will be fun to look back on the things she always tells me.

This next page was so fun to make using bits and pieces of all of the kit. I loved these pictures of my kids being silly at the park...neither of them lack personality-they are both dramatic!! I made that little bud flower from the Jenni Bowlin paper using a 3" circle punch and some scissors and a button. EASY! I loved the fun buttons in this kit-probably my favorite element-I can't seem to get enought of them on every project.

Last but not least a fun page of our photobooth pictures on New Years Day at the movie theater-I love that we all fit in the booth and we were all happy that day and enjoying time as a family. The flowers needed to stand out a bit more so I stitched them to some felt and used that to make them pop. I cut out the flocked leaves from the GCD paper and layered it with the chipboard leaves. Cut strips from the sassafrass paper and then used the journaling strips sticker to document. They worked perfectly.

Very fun kit.....check it out and get your hands on it while they last!

A little sneak...

2010-02-27T17:39:00.004-07:00

It is almost time for the month of March and the full reveal of the very lovely March kit-"Clothespin"-isn't that a cute name?? This kit is wonderful and it is packed with so many fun things. Around here we are still having internet issues but they might finally be fixed, my camera is still not working and so I had to borrow my sister-in-laws to take photos of my projects, and we are fighting some illnesses(I was up all night with a sick little boy-a first for him), daddy left today for a 6day trip amidst it all leaving me in charge of our 2 kids, and our 2 businesses. It should be an exciting week! Don't forget to start the week and the month off by checking out the new kit in all of it's glory on March 1st right HERE! You won't be disappointed.

So here are the sneaks without further ado....

Bad at this blogging thing

2010-02-17T11:30:00.005-07:00

I have been really bad at this blogging thing, however,it has not helped that we switched all of our phones, cable, Internet to a different carrier two weeks ago and it really has made getting on line more difficult as well as other things. I am still trying to get used to it all and have been away from my computer alot over the past 2 weeks. I have only done what is necessary for work and then have just shut it down. It has freed up alot of my time and I have realized how much time I really do spend perched in front of the this little box. I have been spending more time with my kids in the evenings and days, more time reading-just finished the shack a week ago-what a great book!, more time talking with my husband and sitting beside him watching T.V. (still not crazy about T.V., but have watched a few movies and I love the Olympics!), more time sleeping (going to bed a little earlier helps) I am hopefully back online and back to recording my thoughts on this little old blog but hoping I can balance my time a little better and spend a little more time doing the other things that I love. On another note, I just received my Freehand Scraps kit yesterday in the mail and have already gotten it out to create some fun things with it.
I also could not post my gallery last month because of the mentioned Internet issues so I thought I would leave you with February's projects. I think there are still kits left from this month and she is also having a 40% off sale on ALL past kits so hurry over to secure your favorites.

Freehand Scraps Sneaks....

2010-01-30T15:31:00.004-07:00

I had alot of fun playing with this pretty kit....I love the colors, the rubons, and just all of it!! Here are some sneaks of my projects and you have to check out the full reveal of the kit and design team gallery on Monday, February 1st at 8am CST.

The best purchase you can make this month-apart from the Freehand Scraps February kit would have to be these kid size sleeping bags we bought for him and her.....so much fun! They loved setting them up in Caleb's room and reading books together in anticipation of our trip to the mountains a few weekends ago...definitely one purely delightful purchase!

Now, I must go because I just heard my daughter telling my little guy to be careful and relax and as I look out the window behind me she is pulling him around in the back yard on a sled (on a 50 degree day-no snow) wearing high heel shoes and a blonde wig. They look like they are having so much fun...I better grab my camera!
Have a wonderful weekend!

gaining a little insight....

2010-01-15T22:17:00.003-07:00

since the news of the earthquake this week in Haiti, I have been wondering what besides constant prayer, donations to various organizations, etc. should be done?? I then was reading Rebecca Sower's blog (I am a big fan of Rebecca's) and she had just recently visited Haiti (she came home just prior to the earthquake)

There are several stories and unusual ways you can give to the people of Haiti (an etsy shop!)....if you are interested check out Rebecca's blog

Have a wonderful holiday weekend! We have lots of things to celebrate (Halle's first spelling test and her perfect score) and so much to be thankful for!

These things make me happy...

2010-01-12T22:25:00.001-07:00

I have not shared any pictures on here in quite some time and these just bring me happiness to look at them. They are some taken in December on our vacation and it was an afternoon where we played, swam, danced, sang, and ran around at a play area/pool and had a BALL! These pictures and memories just make me happy and put a smile on my face.

Some things I don't want to forget about this day:

-Halle dancing to "I like to move it, move it" and loving every second of it!
-The best swimming pool day on our entire trip and we took full advantage of the nice weather.
-Caleb and I braving it to go down the water slide, only to find out he had to go by himself behind me. He did it and had a huge smile on his face when I caught him at the bottom.
-Playing tug boat with both kids in the water
-meeting 2 families and listening to them tell me how cute the kids were and how fast theirs had grown up and to enjoy these days and moments like these ones.
-lots of laughter and dancing to the music the DJ was playing all afternoon
-an empty playground
-root beer floats by poolside
-the best pizza for dinner from Flippers Pizzeria
-watching Caleb and Daddy hang their feet in the hot tub and chat
-Caleb loving his feet in the hot tub and not wanting to leave the pool
-skipping Caleb's nap and then watching him fall right to sleep the moment we got into our car

Hope your week is a happy one!

Old Aquaintance...

2010-01-03T22:50:00.005-07:00

What a beautiful kit to start the new year out with....it was full of color, great products from some of my favorite manufacturers and lots of potential.....check out the gallery and website to reserve your kit...HERE

Here are the projects I made in no particular order....

This one was some cute pictures I had from one of our many park days. Very simple and just added a few buttons from my stash and did my own hand journaling on the lined paper and freehand drew the little bracket. My son was completely hooked on playing games with the "noculars"

This page came together very quickly just layering on some of the October Afternoon journaling spots and cutting out some of the shapes from the American Crafts paper to embellish them a bit. These are some of my favorite photos of my 2 kids together from the past year....love that they are already in the scrapbook to gaze at!

This page was probably my favorite one of the 4 I made. It was such a fun picture taken at Disneyland where my kids were headed off to play in Chip and Dale's treehouse....soon deemed one of their favorite spots in the entire park. My daughter is leading him to it (she had been there before) I cut the Mickey head shape out of the black polka dot paper in the kit---using a small bowl and tracing it to get the exact size I needed. I loved layering the sassafras flowers and the little bear or could be a mouse on the OA journaling spot. I cut a heart from the fabric in the kit in place of the "O" in love.

Last but not least, the CAUTION boy at work page was fun with the Bella Blvd paper...layering circles and making it dimensional with pop-dots. I loved tucking the robots around on the page. The journaling was printed on vellum to match the look of the robots and cut in strips and adered to the layout. The clip felt "constructiony" -I know this is not a word- to me so I had to use it on this page. The story is pretty self explanatory and one I am so glad I documented to look back on some day.

I really hope you check this kit out and get one for yourself or a friend!! Happy Monday!

Freehand Scraps Sneaks....

2009-12-28T15:59:00.005-07:00

I have some January sneaks to share with you today of the super, fantastic, colorful January kit from Freehand Scraps!! I loved this kit!! I still have a project in the works using this kit but I thought I would share some sneaks to entice you into buying this one for yourself or a friend! Check it out! The kit will be available on Friday the 1st at 8am CST!

one thing to share....

2009-12-22T11:21:00.003-07:00

Here are some quick cards that I made over the weekend using scraps from my September kit from Freehand Scraps and some Little Yellow Bicycle tags. The were so easy and then I inked the edges mixing black and red to give them some dimension. These were so easy and so much more fun and cute than a boxed card. Hope you are having a great week and the countdown is on....I will try to be back to share some cute pictures from our recent December adventures.

Oh where has the time gone...

2009-12-18T22:25:00.006-07:00

I have had BLOG on the list all week but I just finally have a moment to get to it. Kids are snuggled in their warmest jammies and tucked in bed, my husband is quietly watching the news downstairs on the couch and the dog is eating his evening snack in the kitchen...the house is nice and quiet after a pretty crazy week and a busy day! Our Christmas tree is aglow and has a few presents nestled below its branches, there is some remaining snow in our front yard and a slight chill in the air..these two combined make it seem possible that perhaps Christmas is around the corner. YAY! The anticipation is building for the first of the Christmas festivities that begin this weekend. Our little ones are on their best behavior in hopes that they will not ruin the chances of the big guy in the red suit stopping by our home for an important delivery. This year will be ending soon but as it comes to a close there are always so many fresh ideas, dreams and new opportunities that lie in the days of the new year! I do love this time of year!

I realized that I forgot to share my gallery on the BLOG at the beginning of the month so if you are interested I can share it now...We were out of town on vacation at the beginning of this month and thus the reason for the neglect.

This little jar was altered using the darling December kit to make a festive jar that would remind us to GIVE this time of year. It was used as an object lesson for my daughter and it has been filling up with ideas, coins, and other items that we will then take next week and put these things into action and actually give something away instead of focusing on getting what we want! This is such an important lesson to learn at any age and I hope to continue this tradition with the jar. It was very easy to put together using all of the papers, stickers, fabric, ribbon, rubons, tickets,etc. So many cute things in this kit!!

Secondly, I made a 2 page spread of the pictures I had of our first trip to the tubing hill in the mountains with our daughter. I was just barely pregnant with our son and we had so much fun. I hand-stitched snowflakes as an accent on each page and used scraps of paper to embellish a few of the photos. Click on the page to see it more in detail and read the journaling.

I was looking for some older photos to use with this kit and found some old Christmas pictures of my husband! He was so cute and looks a little bit like my son does..I kept this page pretty simple and did a bit of stitching on it.
Lastly, I made this card for my Mom's birthday and used the Sassafras sticker on cardstock and cut it out and put it on pop dots. I also adhered one of the Melissa Frances frames to the card and clustered some fun things inside. Well, that is it, now I am looking forward to working with the January kit! It has been in my hands for a week now and I have not stopped to work with it yet. I am looking forward to it, it is full of lots of goodies and such fun Colors...watch for it soon! Check out the rest of the Freehand Scraps gallery for more inspiration and I will be back soon, I promise!

December Sneaks....

2009-11-30T16:12:00.006-07:00

Well I thought I would share a few sneeks from the December kit over at Freehand Scraps since tomorrow is December 1st and the kit goes live and will be up for sale. It is such a fun kit and lots of new products in this one....can be used for winter, christmas or just about any pictures you can find. Take a look.....

Don't forget to check out the kit in the morning!

no time...

2009-11-11T23:16:00.003-07:00

no time for blogging-that's for sure.

We are too busy having fun and enjoying the beautiful autumn days. We are definitely trying to get more leaves in the bag then in our hair and mashed in the bottom of shoes. We are also coordinating our outfits to match so mom can attempt to snap a few pictures...if we would just sit still long enough.

funny conversation

2009-11-08T21:10:00.003-07:00

Our conversation at dinner went something like this:

3 year old boy currently obsessed with animals and all of their behaviors:
(shaking his head while saying this)
"Mom, dinasaurs don't drive (pause)
they don't wear socks (pause)
they don't wear shoes either (pause)
Mom, they don't have tires"

6 year old sister who knows much more than her younger brother(at least in her eyes:
"They are also extinct!"

Daddy: "Do you know what extinct means?"

Sister: "Yes, of course, it means they are no longer living on the earth"

Daddy: "Okay that is right"

Brother: "Mom, Elephants don't wear socks, and they don't wear shoes.

Mom: "you're right, do elephants drive?"

Brother: "Mom, elephants don't have tires!"

Gather....

2009-11-03T12:54:00.006-07:00

Here are the layouts that I made using the amazing kit "Gather" from Freehand Scraps. This one is a must have if you are on the fence about subscribing or trying out kits. It is full of product and lots of items that are hard to find at stores. You have to play with the Buzz and Bloom clouds in chipboard and denim and corduroy. They are so fun! The stitched shapes from Prima are ready to use and so cute on lots of pages. The photo booth page was fun to put together and came together so quickly...the photos were taken at my cousins wedding. They had a fun photo booth at their reception and masquerade accessories to make your pictures even more interesting. I cut a strip from the Sassafrass paper and crumpled it a bit to give the page some texture.

This grateful for family page was fairly easy to put together and I loved the big thick ribbon in this kit-it had the best colors in it and I used the stick pin to accessorize the knot. I have never used one of those stick pins as I don't have a LSS here. I layered the papers and crate paper border stips to give the page some color. EASY....

This page was random but I had to scrapbook pictures from Thanksgiving a few years back because the fun tights on my daughter were perfect with the rainbow paper. I included a fun quote about rainbows that I printed on my computer and chalked to match the layout. The quote says..."Let no one who loves be unhappy, even love unreturned has its rainbow" The flowers were from a previous kit and the buttons were from my stash. I cut small pieces from the papers and just clustered all the embellishments.

This page was really busy but I loved the paper SO much so I had to make it work. I had no room for journaling left so I used some of the lined Sassafrass paper to document the highlights of our day in London on our 2 week journey of Europe and I folded it and tucked it behind the picture. We spent a few more days there at the end of our trip, but this was so classic of London and what I expected it to be.
I used pop dots under the cloud journaling spot and cut apart one of the Sassafrass
playing cards for the word one.

Last,this page was just cardstock with some cutouts from the Sassafras papers in the kit. I crunched up the paper to make lines for my title. I stamped the numbers and made a list of my son right now(in the picture that is) That picture is him reading a book he had just opened at his 1st birthday. He really did choose books over balls back then. I think he still might lean towards reading especially since his sister is crazy about it right now.

Check out the rest of the gallery soon and get in line for this kit!

one more sneak...

2009-10-29T17:23:00.003-06:00

Just to tease you a little here is one more sneak of my projects for the November kit at Freehand Scraps....this is definitely a kit you will want to get in line for...it will be going fast. I am in the middle of an October blizzard right now. School was cancelled for the past 2 days and we are digging out but the sun is coming. Hope you are staying warm!

Sneak Peeks......

2009-10-26T17:46:00.004-06:00

I have been busy working with the Cutest {with a capital "C"} kit from Freehand Scraps set to be released later this week on Nov. 1st. You will not want to miss this one...talk amongst the designers is that this is their favorite kit of ALL TIME-some even wanting to marry it?! Anyway, how is it possible that we are sneaking up on November. This month has flown by. I have already begun the thoughts and plans for the holiday in December-I don't actually want to mention it yet because for goodness sake it is still only October. I received a planner last year for that holiday and I already broke it out to start making some headway using it. Hopefully it will help me to be more organized during this busy season. I have already bought and wrapped a couple of gifts that were such good buys -75% off-that I just couldn't resist. Enought rambling and to the sneaks....

You at 3.....

2009-10-08T16:51:00.008-06:00

interested in tools and building projects. Carefully studies the directions on putting things together and says "Step 1 build a car, step 1 build a choo choo train, step 1 build a hawicopter" Watches the men closely that have done work on the homes we are fixing.

in love with your big sister...just prayed today at lunch for Jesus to bring home "his Halle" soon so they could play. They really do play together and most of the time are best of friends. You really are missing her now that she is in school 5full days a week.

loves cars and all that goes along with them...especially Lightning McQueen and Mater.

loves to read books and some of his favorites right now are Daniel and the Lion's Den, Lift the Flap Bible-especially the stories that include animals. Brown bear, Brown Bear what do you see? and Polar bear, Polar Bear what do you hear? Watch out for Mater, Pajama Time.

Is "ALL BOY" and full speed ahead at all times.

Is inconsistent lately with his afternoon napping. Some days he will still take a 3 hour nap and others he just talks and lays in his crib for 2 hours. Will be moving to a toddler bed soon! (I am in the process of painting it)

Seems to always have a terrific smile on his face...but does not hide his emotions and if he is upset he will definitely let you know. You have a great disposition!

Still enamored with trains and we have been doing lots of setting up and taking down of your train tracks lately.

Favorite animal is the elephant and you have been playing with any toy related to that for months. You and Halle and I always play like we are elephants around the house and march to the Jungle Book elephant song.

Loves to pray anytime of the day and always starts with Thank You Lord Jesus for....and then you list all that you are concerned about or thankful for. PRECIOUS!

Mommy is still your favorite person and that is just fine with me!

You are quite tall and thin now....with size 8ish feet EXTRA WIDE and wearing 3T clothes for about the last 6 months. You are very healthy and have not had one trip to the doctor or hospital in your little life other than for your well-child checkups.

Caleb, you are a wonderful blessing and the sweetest little person! It is fun watching you change and grow and develop into a little boy....although I wish it could slow up just a bit...it is happening so fast.

Arbor Drive....

2009-10-03T16:41:00.007-06:00

As promised here is a closer look at my October gallery....
This layout was to document my little boys use of his left hand. I had some cute pictures of him from one of the many days he sits at the table and colors or scribbles. I am left handed so it is fun to see your kids figure out which hand they will use and discovering how best to do things. The journaling reads: You have always been able to do many things with both of your hands, however, everything seems to be done more naturally with your left. It makes perfect sense to me since I am left handed, but either way, we are so proud of you! I used the packaging from the Prima "be" letters and backed his photo with it and tied some of the ribbon through for some texture and interest. The chipboard houses were inked on the edges but I like the look of them raw without paint or paper covering on this layout.

This layout is pretty self explanatory as it is one for my daughters baby book. I cut leaves out of the cosmo cricket paper for the tulle flower which, my daughter was thrilled that it found a place on a layout for her book. I also used the packaging from the lily bee flower on the left of the photo, and I think I used the tree ribbon on each and every layout-so versatile.

This layout was actually inspired by the Darling "be" letters from prima...I heard the words to this song on the radio and knew they would be fun on a layout for my kids. I like to scrapbook advice to my kids from time to time or encouragement....I cut the heart from some of the pink felt and attached it onto one of the tree toppers from American Crafts and then it was all mounted on a Cosmo Cricket journaling block. The "strong" letters were hand cut from the Cosmo Cricket paper, and a button stitched on top of the "o".

I have had these pictures from the pumpkin patch for 5 years...it was time to get them into our albums. The tree was embellished with a some of the printed papers behind them cut in circles to make the tree a bit bulkier. I had to use more buttons on this one as well. Can't get enough of them! The journaling was printed on vellum and attached to the Cosmo Cricket chipboard journaling block.

This last layout was the first one I laid out because of the great fabric included in this kit and it was the last one completed. I simply adhered the fabric as my background and the rest came together easily with paper strips, more buttons, and a few staples. Another reason this kit was very easy to work with--lots of fun embellishments....buttons....PAPER....great for fall pages, baby pages, and any other reason or celebration to scrapbook.

Check out the rest of the DT Gallery now and be inspired! As for the other project that I thought I might finish and share...that will have to wait as I am still putting on the finishing touches. I will hope to share it next week! Have a wonderful weekend!

Take a look....

2009-10-02T18:00:00.002-06:00

at the new kit from Freehand Scraps....it is a wonderful mix of things that were so meticulously put together(I helped a little bit) and was there more for the fun of touching and looking at all of the great products. I am pressed for time now but will share my gallery tomorrow and hopefully another project I have been working on and hope to finish by then!
Check out the new kit and get your hands on it now as I have a feeling this one will go very quickly.....

been gone too long...

2009-09-28T17:01:00.007-06:00

I am back to the blog after a long absence. I have had a very full plate all of this summer and the craziness is still continuing this fall---I cannot beleive that September is nearly over and October is just around the corner. Not to mention, Christmas, but we will just quit talking about that one and enjoy this day. Acts 17:27-28 He is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being....doing alot of living and moving in Jesus today! Maybe I wish there was a little less moving involved but, alas, there is lots of laundry to be done and that means 2 flights of stairs all day.
Over the last month we have been busy finishing up our first fix and flip property that closed last week and was lots of work but a success! I wish I had taken some before pictures.....but here are some of the highlights.

We have been working on our second simultaneously and it should be finished in 1 or 2weeks. Caleb turned 3 and we had to have a party to celebrate. It was oh so much fun and the weather cooperated giving us an outdoor park picnic which he really loved! He is still telling people about it-that is certainly a success in my opinion.

Which reminds me that I need to post about what he is like at 3 years old...I will work on that one. We had a visit from some dear friends from Missouri--Yeah! It was great to see them and their growing family.

I have been busy srapping with the Brand New October Kit from Freehand Scraps It is so cute! I wish I had some more time with it....but I have 4 completed layouts and one more that might come together tonight-we shall see. Here are some sneaks...It will be available on October 1st!! Don't miss out!

Last week, Halle had to dress up as a scarecrow or farmer for their seed time and harvest unit they are studying...she of course insisted on being a scarecrow, which is a much more involved and difficult costume to make. With help from my talented mother, we pulled it off and barely in time for her to showcase her cuteness. She was darling in her thrift store denim jumper complete with patches and hankerchief pinned in her back pocket, and rafia wrist and ankle bracelets along with hat and rafia hair....thanks Mom! You came through to make one 1st Grader very happy. She is missing the hat...I will have to have her dress up again and take some more pictures.

2009-09-04T16:13:00.002-06:00

WatCH THIS and feel inspired to break out in song and dance!! Love The Sound of Music and this video is pretty fantastic!

Tired...

2009-09-03T22:35:00.008-06:00

I have really been exhausted over the last few days and seemed to be lacking my usual level of energy. I went to bed extremely early yesterday and already am headed that way tonight. I hope to refuel and recharge over the holiday weekend. We are full force in the school routine with our bedtime set earlier than it was all summer. Caleb seems to be the only one fighting the earlier time. Last night, we went to close his door after he had been in his room in the dark for nearly an hour and we heard a little voice say "don't close the door, I am sleeping in here" Too cute! I love to hear some of the things that are coming from his mouth these days. He speaks very clearly and is using full and very complete sentences. I just have to cherish every cute little thought and word that comes from him. I love how when Halle gets in the car after school he says "so, how was your day, Halle?" or "what did you do today, Halle?" Halle is loving school and really taking first grade seriously. Her best friend has gone to a different school this year, but other than that she seems to be loving and looking forward to each new day and what it holds.
She comes home each afternoon and goes straight to her room to grab a stack of books and then heads to the back yard to read books in the grass or sit on her tire swing and read for quite some time. She is reading fairly well. She struggles with some of the harder words but is making progress and enjoying the journey, and hey, isn't that what it is about in 1st grade?-making progress and enjoying small everyday successes.

Tomorrow is her first field trip of the year with a picnic lunch at the park near the school and an afternoon of playing with both first grade classes. She is really looking forward to it and the best part-we get to participate, and even her brother gets to tag along! Things have been extremely busy on the home and work front, not to mention the real estate investment we made in the early spring (and all the time devoted to that project), needless to say I am looking forward to an afternoon or at least an few hours free of the cell phone, email, and cleaning rags. My fingernails are currently worn down from all of the scraping of grout, caulk, and paint from surfaces lately. Well enough rambling....I will post a few quick pictures from our weekend trip to Tiny Town-it was so much fun-as usual. The kids were the perfect size and age to enjoy every part of the experience this time around. I loved watching them ride the train in the caboose together while we rode in the car in front of them admiring their bravery and watching their reaction. Caleb was afraid of the train at first but came off smiling.

I am holding onto the last few days of summer before fall comes lurking around the corner. My verse for the day...Psalm 147:3-5 "He heals the heartbroken and bandages their wounds. He counts the stars and assigns each a name. Our Lord is great, with limitless strength; we'll never comprehend what he knows and does." He is sovereign and nothing is too difficult for Him!

This first picture was in the tiny church and I told the kids to praise the Lord and this was their response...love the enthusiasm if only we would praise Him like that all the time.

Gallery reveal!

2009-09-01T09:00:00.000-06:00

Today is the day that they reveal the kit and design team gallery over at Freehand Scraps and I thought that I would share some pictures of my gallery on the blog so you can see more than just a sneak. I had time to make 4 layouts and a card, but I have a lot of stuff leftover to play with-this kit is packed with lots of new product and some vintage stuff as well. Make sure you get in line to snatch this one up!

Sneak Peeks......

2009-08-30T21:00:00.000-06:00

That is right...it is almost that time again for the BIG FREEHAND SCRAPS reveal to happen September 1st and let me just tell you that this is such a cute kit! It is packed with all kinds of BRAND NEW Product from Cosmo Cricket, Maya Road, Jenni Bowlin Studios, American Crafts, Fancy Pants Designs, Basic Grey and much more. I had loads of fun working with it and here are a few sneaks of what I created with my kit. Be sure to check out the rest of the gallery on the first of September right HERE.

I was able to make 4 layouts and a card and still had plenty of stuff leftover to create with or combine with other things to make even more. HAPPY CREATING!

The Freehand Scraps Gallery is up....

2009-08-03T17:48:00.000-06:00

and it is really cute! All of it! I had so much fun creating with this kit and have plenty leftover to make more layouts and cards. Someone said that Heidi at Freehand Scraps is a genius and I would have to agree. She truly has a knack for putting together paper, and other fun elements to create something fabulous and unique to work with. You are going to love this months kit. Check out the rest of the gallery here.

This fancy pants paper was fun to work with...I cut with my Xacto knife around the leaves to tuck my picture under the cute design and then mixed up the letters with some MM noteworthy chipboard to make the title. I punched the butterfly out of the Prima page pebbles packaging. Pretty simple but cute!

Happy Spot is a story of a girl (mine) who went from hating to swing to a love for it that I just had to document. I loved pleating the ribbon with a thread and needle and using my scallop punch and stitching a few elements on this happy layout.

This was a fun layout using a little computer journaling and some dark brown ink on all the journaling strip edges and the entire outline of the page. I loved both of the glittery KI Memories paper included in this kit!

This page was the 1st one that I put together and I love how it showcases the relationship of my 2 kids. They really are the best of friends. I loved working with the invisibles in this kit and used green chalk to color the bird. I put my new Fiskars scallop punch to work on this page and my must have tool-my office stapler.

I had alot of fun working with the fun things in this kit-check it out! There are still some available for purchase.

some pictures from Orlando.....

2009-07-28T22:53:00.001-06:00

Here are pictures from the first couple of days of our trip to Orlando and the Craft and Hobby Show here. Some shots of some of the projects....You can check out more at my sister Heidi's blog.

Here are some pictures that I had to post to show my kids the fun I had on Monday at Downtown Disney. I had to take soem pictures of the all the fun things they have to do here for kids and adults too! What an amazing place! Enjoy the pictures Halle and Caleb and just know that I will not forget to bring you back a surprise, as soon as I have a little time to shop. Auntie Heidi has been keeping me very busy. We are also having alot of fun being together and laughing, talking, dreaming, and looking at lots of pretty paper.

This is the salon where they fix your hair like a princess complete with Tiara!

I am pretty tired so it's off to bed and preparing for tomorrow's BIG DAY! Love and miss you all back home! XOXO

Patriotic Piggy Toes...

2009-07-09T22:42:00.000-06:00

Per Halle's request and my feelings of how quickly she is growing up and probably won't love hanging out with me as much someday, we have decided that once a week Halle and I will have our "Girl Time". We chatted about all the things we could do and would enjoy doing with just the two of us. We usually spend time together during Caleb's naps in the afternoons, or before bed we have fun giggling, talking, dreaming, praying, and sharing some moments together before she falls off to sleep. Our first official "Girl Time" happened last week when we decided after seeing some really cute patriotic piggy toes that Halle should have them too. When she told me she would only charge me $5.00 to paint them on Halle I was sold. We took her right back and went ahead and had her fingernails done as well. She was thrilled with having such a dark color on her fingers and toes as I have only allowed her to have pinks or soft purples up until this point. We talked and smiled, shared a fun hour together and drove home all the while Halle was happily admiring her hands. She even asked me to buckle her seat belt for her so she would not mess up her nails. If we would have had a little more time, I would have had mine done for the occasion, but I enjoyed even more seeing her light up with excitement and beam with pride when showing all the women in the nail salon her extremities. This was the perfect start to our first of many special "Girl Times" to come.

Tagged...

2009-07-06T22:28:00.000-06:00

Today I was tagged by Heidi and thought I would be a good sport and play along.

All about ME...........
A – Age: 34
B – Bed size: Queen
C – Chore you hate: Scrubbing Floors-I have miles of floors!
D – Dog’s name: Hobie
E – Essential start your day item: Prayer!
F – Favorite color: green or red
G – Gold or Silver: Silver
H – Height: 5'6"
I – Instruments you play(ed): piano
J – Job title: currently work-at-home Mom, Wife, and Business Owner
K – Kid(s): Halle Lu and Caleb Jack
L – Living arrangements: 1960's 2 story house in the city
M – Mom’s name: Lynn-also my middle name
N – Nicknames: Holly Dolly, Hollywood (I guess that I am dramatic)or just plain Holl
O – Overnight hospital stay other than your birth: 2 C-sections in the last 6 years
P – Pet Peeve: toilets seat that are left up
Q – Quote from a movie: "These potatoes are sooo creamy-very mashed" while trying to change the subject "While You Were Sleeping" my brother used that line on the 4th of July during a similiar scenario...I still laugh....
R – Right or left handed: Left
S – Siblings: Jacob and Heidi
T – Time you wake up: My internal alarm clock wakes me up around 5:30 or 6:00-if I sleep in, the dog comes to get me by 6:30am to let him out.
U- Underwear: I am too modest for this question to even discuss it.
V-Vegetable you dislike: I love them all-really and truly I do!
W – Ways you drink your coffee: 1 cup in the morning with cream
X-rays you’ve had: I thought I broke my arm when I was a kid, and hurt my ankle badly playing V-ball in high school-both films were negative for fractures
Y – Yummy food you make: slow cooked pot-roast or fajita's with homemade guacomole are the crowd favorites around my house
Z – Zoo favorite : Giraffe's

For Today.....

2009-06-24T18:03:00.000-06:00

outside my window....it is a gloriously beautiful day, the sun is shining and my roses are in full bloom. The garden is beginning to sprout.

I am thinking...about the calligraphy project I am doing and coordinating all the other things I have to do.

I am thankful for...a home full of love, laughter, learning, and dancing and the wonderful privilege to stay home with H & C.

From the kitchen...warm cinnamon rolls and hot coffee this morning, pancakes for the kids and planning to make tacos for dinner.

I am wearing...jean Capri's with flip-flops and my favorite green tee.

I am creating...scrapbook pages for Halle's baby book-6 pages over the last week!

I am going...to pick up my car today after it is fixed(my parents neighbor backed into my parked car), run errands/work/play with the kids

I am reading....the book of Esther and doing the bible study along with it.

I am hoping...to plan something fabulous for our anniversary next week.

I am hearing...my kids playing so sweetly together with elephants and other animals. They sound so cute playing as if one is the mother and the other two elephants are the children.

Around the house...there is laundry coming out of the dryer, dishes in the sink from breakfast, toys everywhere, a scrapbook mess in the dining room, piles of work on my desk-I better get with it!

One of my favorite things...sleeping in a bit with cool air blowing in from the swamp cooler vent, long hot shower, time spent with the Lord

A few plans for the rest of the week...swimming for Halle, volunteer at Garage sale for Myanmar tomorrow, finish cleaning up the office for Brent, my usual juggling act with Genesis Group and home, wrap up some loose ends with home/work/and the house we are fixing/flipping this summer, Tennis night with the kids, golf practice, Church in the mountains on Sunday.

Journaled this morning....idea from Ali Edwards blog.

Bubbles are so fun....

2009-06-20T10:16:00.000-06:00

We had so much fun with the bubble shooters that I bought for the kids the other night. They did very well until the end. I had bought two so they would not fight and then realized after opening them that I only had enough batteries for 1 and a half.....OH no....they shared and took turns and then at the very end the fighting began. They are siblings but we are still trying to teach them to share and that can be very hard to do at times. Needless to say, I am headed out today to buy some more batteries, bubbles, check Father's Day off the list, and some Sunday School craft items for my lesson tomorrow.

Here is a quick scrapbook page I made from the June Freehand Scraps kit....it is a favorite picture of mine from Halle's one year shoot and it is for the baby book that is slowly taking shape and the end is in sight!! Hurray!

I plan to stitch my journaling onto the page with the sun and cloud....should be finished soon, I hope.

Halle sabotaged my camera this week and took some of the funniest photos....this one is Caleb's current obsession with "wittle Tato head" as he calls him. He has been playing and playing with this and the big Tato head and now Halle is asking for a Mrs. Potato Head.

Have a great weekend!

Favorite shots of summer.....thus far

2009-06-16T22:25:00.000-06:00

Here it is June 16th already and the summer is blowing by....I had alot of plans and dreams of all the things we would do and experience this summer. We have been practicing our golf in the backyard and at the driving range. We had alot of fun playing putt-putt the other night and this year Caleb didn't even fall in the water-but I did pack some extra clothes-just in case. Each time that Caleb would knock his ball in the hole he would exclaim "Awesome" this is a new word for him and is funny to hear him say it about his accomplishments.

We have made many trips to the park just down the street from our house-and have gone through almost an entire box of bandaids from small scrapes occurring from falls on the sidewalks and the back patio.

Summer field trip #1-Brent by the olympic torch at the Olympic training center....so interesting and we had so much fun!

Guess we had double gold medalists on the podium today.

Colorado has had some crazy weather lately with consecutive days of afternoon showers, hail storms, tornadoes. Halle is holding a bowl of hail stones from a recent storm at our house. The kids were enamored with the large marble sized stones.

we have consumed lots of ice cream and popsicles....

we made a trip to the Southern colorado mountains to enjoy some peace and quiet from the hustle and bustle of the city....Brent and Paul Bunyan or maybe a lumberjack, I am not sure what he was but we found him in the little town of Westcliffe and thought he was worthy of a photo.

Relaxing at the cabin on the swing....

Hiking in the mountains-one of our summer favorites!

Pretend playing video games while waiting for our dinner at Pizza Madness

the plastic pigs from the "All the Way Home" game. This is the first thing that the kids break into at our Cabin when we visit.

Catching the view off the porch at the cabin....

Caleb has mastered the hose and the sprayer- the boy loves water!

The new and ever popular tire swing that is hanging in one of our big Maple trees. I have to admit that even I have sat in it a time or two to enjoy a swing in the summer sun. It is soooo much fun! It is a frequent summer spot. These pictures were taken the day it was hung!

I have been very busy since school got out and have not had much time for this little blog. Brent looked it up tonight and went back through some old posts and told me that he was enjoying reading all the thoughts and things I had recorded and that he loved the idea of this blog. I guess it motivated me once again to keep recording our stories and memories and the everyday moments that I might otherwise forget. I hope to update more often as time marches on.

Conversations

2009-05-18T17:56:00.000-06:00

I have to jot these down so I can remember them....While driving down the road the other day...
Daddy: Halle, do you want to stop at Lamar's and get a doughnut?
Mommy: Does a bear live in the woods?
Halle: Yes of course bears live in the woods and this bear wants a doughnut!!

While doing the bible story in Caleb's nursery class with Nana at church:
Caleb: HAPPY BIRTHDAY you you! (translation-to you) while looking at the picture of the men at Pentecost with the tongues of fire on their heads. (We have celebrated too many birthdays over the last 3 months)

This afternoon, while I was working at my desk and Halle was coloring...
Halle: Mom, I think I need to have a bath again tonight.
Mom: Why?
Halle: My hair just fell into my hot chocolate while I was coloring.
I look over to see one ponytail drenched in hot chocolate and a very apologetic face on Halle. I had to laugh!

more fun pages....

2009-05-02T18:02:00.001-06:00

I had a great time making some pages with the adorable Freehands Scraps May Kit. I have so much leftover after making a couple of pages-it is chock full of goodies! I am still working on Halle's baby book with a goal to finish it this year! I have so many pictures and thoughts to put into this book for her that it is taking awhile....Happy National Scrapbooking Day and take some time to create something wonderful this weekend!

last of Spring Break trip and Easter

2009-05-01T22:54:00.000-06:00

These are the last few pictures from our trip to California on Spring Break. Fun with friends on the beach. Caleb could hardly be pulled away from his shovel and pail. He really enjoyed digging in the sand while Halle ran around with her friends collecting seashells.

Easter this year was so wonderful...we had the 1st celebration with our friends at their country club where we visited the Easter Bunny and had brunch with crafts, a show and an egg hunt. We were in the bathroom when they started the egg hunt so we missed out! My kids only got 3 eggs between the 2 of them and those were given to them by other kids who had a basket full. Caleb loved the Easter Bunny and Halle flat out refused to meet him. Caleb kept asking me "Mom, where the Eater bunnee?" Then when he had the chance to get a photo with him Caleb would become shy and scared. I finally jumped in there with him and got the photo. Caleb carried that Polaroid shot of him and I with the "Eater Bunnee" for a couple of days. I will definitely be adding that picture to his scrapbook.....
Caleb peering out to see the Easter Bunny but not get too close to him...

The next morning on Resurrection Sunday we went to Church at Sandy's house for the service and lunch with an egg hunt. It was a wonderful message, I sang "The Glory", and it was just a powerful service. The food was delicious, the fellowship sweet and the egg hunt was memorable. The weather outside was misting a bit of rain here and there so it was quite muddy and humid. Caleb would hunt the eggs then shake each of them after finding them, then throw them in the sack-he had a great time! He had Nana to hold his bag while mommy ran around taking pictures and giggling like a child. It was quite the scene. Needless to say, all of the kids did quite well and we had so many prizes and candy that we could hardly count them all.

Halle loved opening them all and finding money, toys, candy. Caleb just loved the hunt and shaking them. After opening them, he really enjoyed the toys inside but I don't think he ate one piece of candy. It was a beautiful day and even more so because we serve a savior that LIVES! He gave his all that we might live eternally and Hallelujah He is Risen!

It's getting late and I haven't been to bed before midnight in about a week-it is killing me and I have some baggy dark circles under my eyes! Good Night!

taking time to make a few....

2009-04-24T11:36:00.000-06:00

PAGES! I just started diving into these old pictures last weekend of Halle because I love them and just wanted to finally scrapbook them. It was fun to relive the stories and that time in our lives. One child, fun times with Nana, living in our condo, discovering life through the eyes of a child. I still have a messy area in the dining room and I just might do some scrapbooking this weekend as well. I am also doing a wonderful bible study on the book of Esther, doing some book work for Genesis Group, finishing up the mounds of laundry, helping to read through all of our children books from the recent trip to the library, teaching Halle how to tell time, starting to talk to Caleb about the big boy Potty that I just bought him and why and when we use it, cooking some delicious food, and spending some time with my brother and sister-in-law.

I forgot to charge up the camera battery for Disney...

2009-04-22T10:39:00.000-06:00

however, I was able to snap a few photos from the day. We drove from the San Diego area up to Disney for the day. The kids were sooooo excited. Caleb is smitten with Mickey Mouse and most of the disney characters so he kept talking about who he saw on the banners on the way into the park. The moment we stepped through the gate we happened to stop at the castle and saw a line of characters including Mickey!! They were lining up for a small parade and show in front of the castle. Caleb kept pointing and asking "Want to see Mickey Mouse!"

We rode several rides but Caleb would not stop requesting to see Mickey so we headed for Mickey's house and finally were able to see him up close and personal. Caleb was intimidated by him up close but blew him kisses on the way out. Halle told me she had prayed while standing in line that she would not be afraid of any of the characters-she has the "I'm being brave look on her face"

Halle playing the piano in Mickey's house

Here are the two adventurers strolling through Toon Town....

Fun time exploring Goofy's house...."boofy" as Caleb calls him.

Last thing that happened before my camera died for the remainder of the day was we were able to meet Tigger and Pooh. Caleb was very excited for this but when we got really close he was scared. I waited in line for awhile so I made him take a picture right next to each of them!

It was another memorable day for us....lots of fun, great memories...just wish I had a few more photos. Halle's favorite ride of the day were the teacups and we had to sit in the one that was pink with a heart on it if at all possible. Caleb loved Toon town and the Jungle Cruise with all of the animals to look at, not to mention he loves the water. I had fun doing it all but especially enjoyed Peter Pan's flight with Halle. I don't remember riding that as a little girl and loved experiencing it for the 1st time together. Well, all for now as I have to get these kids to the Library as promised today and home for lunch and naptime!

This man.....

2009-04-17T06:00:00.000-06:00

This man is incredible...
wiser than all,
more fun than most,
intelligent and witty,
preacher extraordinaire,
hero of mine,
listens when no one else will,
friend to the friendless,
a heart after God,
harder working than any,
a picture of strength, truth, and honesty,
always making people laugh,
a born leader,
the LIFE of the party,
the one that everyone just wants to be around....

That is my dad!

Dad,

I am so blessed to call you my dad....The Lord could not have given me a better friend and example throughout my life to guide and lead the way. You are a wonderful man and one that so many look up to-including me! I thank the Lord for the heart that you have, and that my children have a PaPa that makes them laugh weekly, prays for them daily, and loves them every second. You are loved right back and we honor and cherish you and celebrate you TODAY and everyday!!
Happy Birthday!!

We loved SeaWorld!!

2009-04-13T21:38:00.000-06:00

The pictures and there are alot of them really say it all...We did have a great day at Sea World. We made sure to catch the Shamu show called Believe-excellent show and Halle's favorite event of the entire day! I would have to agree with Halle that is was unreal and my favorite part, but we just loved it all....amazing things happen at that park everyday. It was hard to capture very many photos without missing the show entirely. I tried to capture the awe and amazement we all felt during the show.

Daddy bought Halle a shamu cup filled with lemonade after much pleading and begging. They came back to our seats and she was beaming-you would have thought he bought her the moon. The cup cost *choke*gasp*choke $11.50 choke*gasp*!

If you click on this picture than you will see that there is a girl who came bursting out of the water on Shamu's nose....and she looked graceful.

This was the dolphin show and I loved it as well. They are very smart animals and they can jump!

The kids loved looking into the various exhibits to see the marine life- and alot of my pictures consist of the back of their heads talking about what they are discovering inside the tanks.

We ended up buying both of the kids one item because Halle had some birthday money to spend and they bought a stuffed Shamu and had a ball swimming them around the park and pretending that Halle's Shamu since it was slightly bigger was Caleb's whales mommy. So much fun!

The story of the day was after buying the whales from the gift shop we ran into a man who worked there and he told us that if you go to the Killer Whale underwater viewing area and hold up the stuffed whale then the whale might stop and look at it or come over to see it because they recognize that it has markings and they will often come to see what it is. Halle immediately had to try this...Here she is holding her newly purchased treasure against the glass. The whale was swimming circles and scratching her back on the rock at the bottom of the tank. In just a few minutes the whale did exactly as he had said and came right next to the stuffed whale and stopped there at eye level with Halle and her pet whale and stared at it for 60 seconds-a long time! Halle and all of us were soooo excited to get that close to a Killer Whale. I tried to snap a few photos. If you look close you can see the whales eye. WOW! Another girl said that the reason the whale had done this was because they have maternal instincts and come to see if the stuffed whale is a baby who may need some help and is swimming alone. Who knows for sure-but it certainly was fun to see it happen right before our eyes!

A cute shot of Caleb while Halle is watching the dolphins....

Halle was dying to see the flamingo simply because they are pink-her favorite color. They are that color because they eat so many shrimp. I learned something new...:)

The only picture that had me in it- but the lady who took it cut off the manatees heads on the statues behind us. Heidi-I said hello to your favorites for you...

The shark tank exhibit was a little terrifying as you literally go through a tunnel with hundreds of sharks above your head and on the sides of the tunnel behind a glass tank!

Caleb fell asleep immediately upon getting into the car grasping his stuffed whale. We had stayed at the park until they closed at 6pm-that was about 4 hours after his naptime and 4 hours longer than we had thought we would leave but it was worth it and a great time!

Oh Happy Days....

2009-04-09T22:25:00.000-06:00

Well the birthdays and craziness of March have come and gone and I cannot believe that it is already April. We were so blessed to have lots to thank the Lord for this birthday...our life, our health, our salvation through Jesus, a wonderful family that made our day so special. My parents planned a surprise party for the night of my b-day to celebrate Halle and my birthdays, however, a blizzard blew in that morning and noone was able to make the drive. I thought it was wierd that noone really called me that afternoon to wish me a happy day and so Brent asked if I had talked with my parents and I said "no" so I decided to call them and then they spilled news that they had planned it all but it was going to happen the following night just so I would not feel unloved and forgotten. Well, it was a great night the following day! Dad cooked-love it when he makes time for that-he is the best cook! Jamaican Jerk Chicken with Salad, cornbread and a wonderful cake for me with fresh fruit, and Halle's favorite-Cheesecake! The little table was set for the kids to have their own spot and they thought that was extra special. Mom had the place decorated with much thoughtfulness and care. It was very memorable, and everyone told funny or mean stories about ME! Just ask Jake about his bout with Gas-X and Nurse Holly, or Grandma and her late night phone calls to check up on her 17 year old granddaughter, or Dad which of our discussions about "my future" he loved to participate in, or Sandy if she will ever wear a red mop again to wish me a happy birthday, or Ruby if she liked playing tricks on me or being my nursing instructor and telling me to Shutup! and do my work.....anyway you get the idea.

The morning of Halle's birthday I made her pancakes and cut them into hearts and number six's as that is her very favorite breakfast and then we opened presents and went to church. In this package is the movie High School Musical and we have watched it at least 6 times since the 29th of March! Oh My! Just ask me to sing a song or share a dance move from it-no really do not! Caleb can even sing the words...

Then I had to share pictures from our trip last week to California. I have more that I need to upload but thought I would share from our first days in San Diego. The kids had a great time watching the seals sunning on the beach, wearing sandals, shorts, sunglasses and running around with the ocean behind them. It was beautiful as always and amazing to see the ocean. I never grow tired of watching its beauty and rhythm as it rolls in and hits the rocks and the sand.

More to share and more pictures to come-but I must get some sleep tonight....

Birthday Girl.....

2009-03-29T22:12:00.000-06:00

We are preparing to leave tomorrow on a road trip to California(I will try to update the blog on our trip and share some photos), but I had to write down a few thoughts today to celebrate Halle and her birthday and the blessing that she is to our family and everyone who knows her.

Halle at 6: She is such a blessing to all!! She loves to sing and dance, loves music and if we are not playing any at the moment in the car then she will ask politely to "turn a song on please". She is 100% girlie girl and in love with anything that sparkles, shimmers, twinkles and, of course, anything that is pink! She has an incredible imagination and can make a game from a stick or really even a piece of trash. At recess you may find her swinging on the swings, or playing with her best friends at school Abigail, Abby, or Remi and their game usually involves building pretend campfires from wood chips and pine needles, or on a treasure hunt for something edible to feed their imaginary puppy. She is currently intent on perfecting her cartwheel, and loves to hit golf balls in the backyard or driving range with daddy, or even smack around a tennis ball. She really isn't half bad at it either. She recently read her first book completely for her entire class and is working on reading skills at school and at home where her favorite books are those that surround bible stories and God's little girl. She loves playing with her brother and he adores his big sister. Outside of her brother, her favorite people are still her cousins Tanner and Chloe. She adores them both and talks of them incessantly. She is always setting up little play areas around our home (house type setups) and dreaming up imaginative ways to work her story into those areas. Again, I told you she is very creative and has a huge imagination. Her favorite movie currently is High School Musical, because of all the singing and dancing I presume. I cannot believe that this little girl can be 6, but that she is, and we love her to pieces....Happy Birthday Halle! (I have already told her that she cannot turn 7) So sadly, this will be her last birthday. ;)

I just love that smile....

Here she is one year ago on the big day....She is so much wiser and older and changing everyday......

Speaking of Halle's love for life and her cousins...this series of photos were too cute not too share.

Today I am thankful for....

2009-03-20T16:55:00.000-06:00

I love this wonderful family that the Lord has so abundantly blessed me with-you are all cherished and treasured....and I am thankful for the word of God in my life that is powerful. The scripture for today: The world of the generous gets larger and larger...the one who blesses other is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped. Proverbs 11:24-25 Well, I have lots left to do yet today...off to make dinner, and then go back to school for Halle's spring musical "The Dogwood Story" it is musical about Easter and the blood of Jesus and his resurrection and the new life that we have in him. Praise the Lord! I promise to take lots of pictures of the cutest butterfly on stage! What are you thankful for today?

2 posts in 2 days....

2009-03-14T09:28:00.000-06:00

I have worked on some crafting projects over the last 3 weekends using my kit from Freehand Scraps. I scrapbooked Halle's first day of school in 2007 for Preschool-finally.
(See Below)
I also threw together a layout from our Christmas photo shoot with our neighbor Jack who took all the pictures in the this layout in December of 2008. It is definitely not my favorite layout but that was a difficult evening to get pictures taken. Caleb was sleepy from getting up 2 minutes prior from a deep slumber, and we were not really coordinated on our clothing choices but it captured us-our real selves-in the moment.
(See Below)
These were some re purposed frames that I took the prints out of because they were from Halle's old nursery, and used some vinyl letters from Uppercase Living to do Caleb's name. I backed them with paper from my kit and cut out a couple leaves and attached them to the outside of the glass with a glue dot. Easy, now I just need to get them hung up.

This boy is a delight....

2009-03-13T08:38:00.000-06:00

Caleb turned two and a half yesterday-I cannot hardly believe it. He is truly a delight in our lives and everyone just loves his happy, outgoing personality. At two and a half he loves to play with his tools, and sleeps with his hammer most of the time. He loves to line up all his tools according to what they are. He is 100% boy. For Valentine's day we got him a set of race cars from the CARS movie and he could not be happier with "nigthning mapeen" as he calls him. He loves talking to his cars and playing with them on every surface. He loves the color green and it is the first color or marker he chooses. He completely enjoys coloring especially if Halle is doing her homework, he will ask "Mom, color too?" He is using 4-5 words to make a complete thought.
some of Caleb's most used phrases include....
other bed too= that means he wants to sleep in our bed
I want to=if he agrees
I don't want to=if he doesn't agree
where'd Hayee go?
where is Hayee going?
sorry mom=he is very apologetic
Mom, watch a hatoon?=this means cartoon watching and he loves Mickey Mouse and the Little Einstiens.
Where'd haci go? That is his word for Pacifier and he still uses it....
You ring mom?=means can you give me your hand so I can stroke your ring

Caleb loves to talk about his tools-let me rephrase that He just loves to talk and does so all that time. He can say without hesitation wrench, hammer, nail, screwdriver and tool box. I do not think anyone taught him how to use these things but he seemed to have it completely figured out from the moment he opened his toolbox on Christmas Eve. He certainly could have learned it from watching his PaPa.
The best things about our little "C" as we like to call him is his overall patient, happy, and loving attitude. He is animated and loves to dance at worship time, sing at the top of his lungs, giggle with his sister and love on her even more. Generally, Caleb dives into life with all that he has and has no fear or hesitation. He has taught his sister to be a little less cautious. When he hugs you, he squeezes hard...when he kisses you, it is several times...when he laughs it is a full belly giggle....when he has his mind set to do something...he does it! He is such a blessing to everyone around him and very loved. Last night when I was laying him down for bed, I told him that I loved him and for the very first time he said I love you Mama.....

Here he is with his rain boots...he puts these on just for fun each day and walks around....

We are here....

2009-03-05T14:42:00.000-07:00

and we are all healthy. No sickness, praise the Lord, and we are eating healthier and everyone seems to be happy. I am missing a little sweet fix here and there but nothing I cannot deal with. The kids don't seem to be missing chips, caprisuns, and Caleb hasn't asked for Ramen in nearly a month. We are replacing those things with the healthier choices that we all love anyway. I had not uploaded any pictures for at least a month and had not really taken too many shots of our everyday happenings. I am having some trouble uploading the ones that I do have so maybe I will try later.
This month always seems to be a busy one for our family.
Many, many birthdays are coming starting tomorrow
helping in Halle's class
Mothers appreciation tea at Halle's school
Dance class comes to a short break in one week
(complete with mini performance for anyone interested)
taxes
spring cleaning-I completely have the itch to really purge
Spring Break-thinking about where to take some time away
Field Trip to the Library
End of the 1st Quarter work for me
Planning a party for Halle-I haven't even given it too much thought
working on a birthday surprise for Brent-feeling overwhelmed with plans for that

I will share more pictures and thoughts later.....

Sick of being sick....

2009-02-18T10:25:00.000-07:00

I have been very sick over the last few days but am slowly regaining my strength back and should be back to normal by tomorrow or Friday! Thanks for all of your prayers! I felt the Lord touch me on Monday...and he also inoculated the kids and Brent from getting any part of this junk. Sometime over the weekend we decided to crack down on our nutrition and the kids and to start forcing a more balanced and healthier diet for all of us. I think to date I really try to do a good job of fixing meals that are healthy(we rarely eat out for lunch unless it is after church). I have noticed that I have fallen into a rut and had seen Caleb's appetite decrease and he has been teething off and on which definitely affects his palette. Brent was concerned about how much he was eating....you know then I started examining things and here we are day one of REALLY HEALTHY EATING....We have put the kids both on some organic vitamins a few months ago, now we are incorporating a smoothie with whey protein and immunity booster once a day to their diet filled of course with fruit and yogurt or juice, and offering them more healthy snacks. I feel they aren't the pickiest of eaters and they do love alot of healthy things but I just would like to try a little harder as I feel this area is so important for theirs and our health overall. Day 1: Breakfast- cereal with milk for both kids. Halle had hers with OJ and grapes, Caleb a banana and Apple Juice. I ate Raisin bran. Around 11:20am they both come in hungry for something so I start fixing some lunch. Caleb eats 3 more bananas while waiting for 4 strips of bacon, and a huge bowl of Chicken and Stars soup. Then he downs an entire adult sized yogurt and tops it off with a 10oz. smoothie with fresh fruit, whey protein, and immunity boost! Halle eats a plateful of raw carrots with ranch(her favorite), a huge bowl of the soup as well, 2 strips of bacon and a 12oz smoothie, I ate half a grapefruit, 5 bites of the soup, and a 12oz. smoothie. Now I am wondering what to make for dinner?? Any suggestions for healthy snacks or meals your family loves to get me out of my cooking rut-I would love to hear them. Here's to a healthier tomorrow!

25 Random things about ME???

2009-02-07T16:33:00.000-07:00

I had been tagged many times on facebook to make this list that I finally had some time last night and sat down to write it out. I thought maybe this would make a neat scrapbook page about me. I have never made one about me. Maybe these are things that my kids might want to read someday about their mom. Anyway here is the list that I made.....

25 random things about me.

1. I am a lefty and proud to be in my right mind.
2. I was a complete tomboy growing up and most of my grade school friends were boys.
3. I placed second in the state of Montana for the all around Gymnastics competition in the 4th grade.
4. I won the all school spelling bee in the 5th grade, but then missed my first word in the county bee.
5. I love to sing....and have even recorded an album for my parents as a Christmas gift 6 years ago.
6. I have never broken a bone, but I do have a nice scar on my right upper lip from an accident involving a tractor when I was 5.
7. I am very competitive and hate to lose at anything.
8. I lived with my family in a one room cabin on a farm in Montana for nearly 2 years-did I mention there were five people in my family?
9. I love all types of food and have tried eating almost anything. (including rattlesnake) My favorites are Mexican and Thai.
10. I have played or tried to play almost every sport and enjoy most of them!
11. I once bumped into Michael W. Smith while shopping-love his music.
12. I accepted Jesus into my heart when I was 5 years old and gave Him my life when I was 16.
13. A large portion of my family live halfway around the globe in Myanmar and I try to visit Southeast Asia as much as I am able.
14. I talk to my mom and my sister almost every day on the phone.
15. My husband drove a Porsche Boxster S when we were dating and he once took me driving up to speeds of 130/140+...(I got to borrow it once as well- how I miss that car!)
16.Two of the all time best things to happen to me were the birth of my children.
17. I was bitten by a German shepherd on my face as a baby and was afraid of dogs for most of my childhood.
18. My parents are two of the most amazing, inspiring people that I know and I love them dearly.
19. My husband is my best friend-we love experiencing life together and have been married nearly 8 years.
20. Are you getting sick of reading these??
21. Poppies and daisies are my favorite flowers.
22. My favorite colors are red and green.
23. I have really neat handwriting and have made money over the years writing things for people. Wedding invites anyone?
24. I am a procrastinator and very indecisive-these are just two of the things I would really like to change about myself.
25. I love working for myself and being able to stay home with my kids and if I ever have to have a boss again I would not know what to do.

I am terrible with dates so correct me if any of these are wrong Mom, Dad, or Heidi since you might be the only ones that ever care to read these. I would love it if any of you reading this would share 25 random things about yourselves.

Our inspiring PLAY place....

2009-02-04T14:43:00.000-07:00

Over the course of time living in our home the kids and their toys have taken over our basement which has worked out well, however we had the carpet replaced when we first moved in and the bathroom remodeled in 07' and early 08' and now the painting and some woodwork problems fixed in preparation for a family room someday.....BTW, Kingdom Builders does the best work EVER and they are doing it for Jesus so you can imagine the end results!! We have been able to do so many great things to our house with all of their help. They are a wonderful blessing!
I would like to have a family room started at some point this year and with that in mind I had decided to make an area of the unfinished part of the basement that did not really have a purpose (mainly collecting junk)into a place where the kids could play and store the toys in between playtime. The only challenge was not to spend alot of money and use what we already have in the way of furniture, paint, etc. My great neighbors (Thanks Marilyn!) gave us an old preschool cubby piece that we are using on one side of the space and my brother donated a nice cubby holder with tons of storage and it is on casters so it move easily. Thanks Jake! I had bought the double desk at a flea market and I bought a train table from my aunt who had gotten a new coffee table for her basement and was looking to get rid of it. I also purchased a new rug for the floor that is comfy for the kids to play on, not to mention walk on. I sprung for some containers to hold toys in both pieces of furniture, made tags to label what goes in them and added a few accessories for fun and of course we had the Christmas gift of painting the wood paneling with some of our leftover paint from Jake and Ruth. It would have never been completed without that large detail! I think it turned out better than I had anticipated-what do you think? Now if I could just get around to working on an idea for our family room to be.....I will share a picture of the world's most beautiful bathroom if I could only find where I filed it!

A snapshot of the before painting. This is all the wonderful wood paneling lining the walls throughout the unfinished part of our basement. Not completely but a good portion.

Here is the fresh coat of blue paint we used to cover it up-and one wall is cinder block and looks much cleaner and better with the paint to cover it!

Overheard

2009-01-29T16:09:00.001-07:00

This was too cute...
I overheard this conversation and had to jot it down so I can remember these times.
Daddy: What did you earn by reading all those books?
Halle: I got an award and a free Pizza!
Daddy: Do you know what Free means, Halle?
Halle: It means when the bad guys takes the good guy and locks him up as his prisoner and then he eventually lets him go-He would then be Free!
Daddy: Yes, that would be correct. However, it could also mean you do not have to pay for something-it costs you no money!
-then some laughing especially on my part

I have had so much fun having my sister home as it allows me lots of chatting, scrapbooking, time away from all the busyness of everyday life and time spent with the people who matter the most to me. My wonderful family. I love you Heidi, Tanner and Chloe! This past weekend we attended an evening of cropping and I accomplished these layouts. Had so much fun freezing, chatting and jotting down the story and using my Freehand scraps kits. Also, I painted on a layout for the very first time-I know that I am way behind-but give me a break I have just picked back up this Hobby over the past 9 months or so! Since Heidi has come home in December I have completed 7 pages for the scrapbooks-for me that is an accomplishment as my new goal had been to make a page a week or so....Hope it continues-Heidi you better just stay here a little longer! LOL!

Howdy Partner....

2009-01-16T17:52:00.000-07:00

I just had to share our very first Field Trip experience with Halle and her Kindergarten class at the National Western Stock Show yesterday. It was truly memorable and very fragrant! Not in a good way....that was the very first comment by any of the kids-"Oh it really stinks and it smells a little bit like Poop". I got to accompany her on her very first bus ride, and we all said that the kids would have been very happy to have just ridden 4 times around the block in the bus and come back to school-they were all so excited to be on the school bus! They were all giggles and grins throughout the ride. We enjoyed our time meeting the rodeo queen, learning about Western gear for riding horses-including the difference between a western and english saddle. We got to visit a very large petting zoo area, and see lots of goats, sheep shearing, cows being bathed and blown dry-that was pretty amazing. They were washing them down with Joy liquid dish detergent and blowing them dry with a giant vacuum like hair dryer. There was still an odor in the air but we survived. We also got to try out the John Deere booth with lots of brand new tractors, bobcats, and work vehicles. We were paired up with Remi, one of Halle's classmates and ended up hanging out with Davis and Griffin as well and Davis's mom Jessica. The boys were definitely more antsy and the girls (that were in my care and overseeing) held tightly to my hands and were very cautious and calculated. Overall, it was great fun and very memorable. We also had to dress Western for the day and had a real square dancing party in the gym upon arriving back at school. Yeehaw y'all......

One very large horse as you can see...

She is very cautious still in the petting zoo and has the Halle look of caution and soberness.....:)

Our very first bus trip-getting on at the end and having so much fun!!! Picture with Abigail and Remi and me of course.....

More of Christmas (I know that I am behind)

2009-01-05T21:39:00.000-07:00

We are waiting in line for Santa.....

The kids loved the little ski chalet village and its many animals and little pond!

The only non-blurry shot of the 4 kids with Santa. Caleb is actually sitting on my leg and he was scared of Santa this year and last of course. All of the other kids actually talked with him and seemed excited to be there. Halle asked for an American Girl Doll and a Pink Sparkly Hula Hoop and if Caleb could have asked for something it would have been related to Trains-he is still in love with those things. Tanner asked for some new birds and Chloe wanted the Cinderella pumpkin carriage. I believe everyone got what they were hoping for :)

We started off the Christmas celebrations with one night at Sandy's. Halle is showing off her adorable brown boots compliments of Great Grandma Suz. She is into clothes and fashion-what happened to this girl because all that I know is her mother was the biggest Tomboy ever and hated dresses and trends?! You will be happy to know that I do still own a few dresses and actually like to dress up occassionally. That is progress!

Fancy Nancy....we know own 3 Fancy Nancy books and have collected quite the dressup wardrobe to go along with it. Halle still very much loves to dressup and spends lots of time twirling and singing in front of our full length mirror.

Caleb clutching his Choo Choo Train and saying cheese

I will stop for now and post more tomorrow.......Happy New Year to all! I know it is already the 5th but better late than never.