It's RAK time!! Woohoo!! Here's a gift, a challenge and a contest!

OMGosh! I just spent the last hour typing this up and getting it ready and it all just blew away. I am absolutely furious!! I have no way of recovering this huge post I worked so hard to create. Oh well, here we go again.

Here are the Stamps. You get to pick one.

You'll be playing for a Heidi Swapp album kit, see photo above.

Let's play!

• Pick a kit that speaks to you.
• Leave a comment telling me which kit you want. I'll make up to four more similar kits if more people are interested in the challenge. So let me know if you want one even though it appears they are all taken.
• Create a one or two page layout.
• Pick a stamp from the above photo of stamps.
• Each kit contains a blank greeting card. Create a card from the scraps left over after creating your layout. Use your stamp(s) on your card. If you can somehow incorporate your stamp in your layout, you'll get extra credit.
• Each kit contains 2 sheets of 12x12 cardstock and 3 sheets of double sided patterned paper except the WRMK's kit which has only two patterned papers but has a bottle of Making Memories paint and foam brush instead.
• Each kit contains an embellishment baggy. Each baggy contains different embellys. Some baggies have buttons, boshers, Maya Road chipboard swirls, ribbons, Prima flowers, etc. You may use anything from your stash, but the majority of your project must contain items from your kit.
• Email me your creation (layout and card) when you're done. I will post them in two separate categories. I will open an anonymous voting to my email.
• You can't vote for your own stuff, so give some love to someone else.
• Whoever gets the most votes for the layout contest will win the Heidi Swapp album kit.
• Whoever gets the most votes for the card will win a prize too. I just don't know what it is yet.
• I will set a due date once everyone's kits have been mailed out.
• Have fun. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Click on the photo to get a better view. Each Kit has double sided patterned paper so I photographed both sides of the paper so you could see how both sides look.

Rusty Pickle Big Top Kit

Chatterbox Nook Kit

We Are Memory Keepers Kit

We Are Memory Keepers Floral Kit

Resolution Update

How are your 2007 resolutions going so far? I made this resolution project to remind myself of the goals I've set for myself for 2007. I just realized something. Goal #4 says, "Submit at least one item per month for publication". Notice it doesn't say, "Get published this year". I guess subconsciously I didn't think that it was possible for me to get published, BUT I was going to make a goal to submit something once per month. As it turns out, I've realized this goal and I'm getting published twice! Goal #7 is to enter the SOY contest. So I won't be submitting for pub until after the SOY contest is over. I guess this kinda goes hand in hand with my submitting goal even though I won't be submitting for about two months.

Goal #5 is to make 5 Christmas cards/month. Well, I haven't kept this goal until this weekend. I made 8 cards. I have 12 more to go to get caught up to April. I've cut out the circles and stamped the crowns. I need to get more twill though. So I'm good on that goal. I just have to stamp the twill and assemble. I think I cut out enough circles for 24 more cards.

I won't even talk about Goal #2- spend only $20/week on supplies. HA! What a joke! I'd have to sit out 6 months to catch up to that goal!

Goal #6 is to RAK something each month. I promise I'm going to take pictures of my page kits and get them posted by the end of this week. This will be my big RAK to catch me up for the year. Actually, I RAK all the time on swap boards, but that doesn't count.

Stay tuned!

Prayer Works!! My sister is pregnant!! Woohoo!!

My sister finally got pregnant for the first time at the age of 37! We were worried that it wasn't going to ever happen for her and my brother in law, Jeremy. It's good to know that God is still in the prayer answering business!! I told her, she better have me a girl OR ELSE!! HA HA HA!! This is a picture of my sis and mom taken last summer when we went to visit Daddy's grave. It's hard to believe that Mom had a massive heart attack the day after this photo was taken. That was another prayer answered. Mom is just fine and better than ever. I'm glad she will be here to see her next grandchild.

Yes, it's true!! I'M GETTING PUBLISHED!!!

Since Debbie mentioned it in her comments...
I'm getting published! Twice!!!

My goal this year was to submit at least one layout per month for publication. I found out within the last two weeks that two of my layouts have been picked up for publication. One layout is of a tribute that I did about the 4th anniversary of my dad's passing. This one is going into a book by Pinecone Press. The second layout was picked up by Memory Makers and will be in their "601 Great Scrapbooking Ideas" book slated to come out in August. I just mailed off this layout this morning. I wish I could post it here, but the rules state that it can't be posted anywhere online, so you'll just have to wait until the books come out! Hee hee!!

Thanks to all of those who've prayed for me. Now I feel validated.

Let me know!

If you're coming to the crop on Friday, and you want me to save you one of my RAK page kits for the contest, please leave a comment telling me so. I'm going to post the kits, along with the prize hopefully tomorrow! I'd like my online friends to play along as well, but need to know how many kits to for sure have ready.

It's official. Connor has graduated to cursing...sigh

Connor's favorite show is called "Dirty Jobs" hosted by Mike Rowe. This show appears on the Discovery channel. Connor loves it SO much that he'd beg to watch it when it wasn't airing on tv, so we had to resort to taping for him so he could watch it whenever. The show is about the host, Mike Rowe, visiting different job locations to help people do the dirtiest jobs in America, e.g. cleaning septic tanks, making charcoal, insect exterminating, alligator farms just to name a few. As you can imagine, Mike finds himself in all sorts of disgusting situations. How does this fit in to my post, you ask? Well, the other day, Eric took the baby out to our property to fire off some firecrackers (fire pops, as Connor calls them). Before he could come home and tell me all about it, he fell asleep in the car on the way home. The next morning as we were driving home from dropping Ryan off school, Connor starts telling me all about setting off the fire pops. With the same excitement, I asked him if they were loud and scary. He said no, they weren't too loud, but one of the firepops, "scared the HELL out of me". Shocked and tickled at the same time (all moms have had this moment) and trying not to let Connor see me stifle back a laugh, I looked in the rear view mirror at him. He was sitting there with a coy little smile on his face, knowing what he had done, waiting for my reaction. I said, "Connor! You don't say words like that! Where'd you learn that word?" He replies, you guessed it- Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs. Sooooo, add Dirty Jobs to the list of censored tv watching! I found out from Eric that while out on the firecracker excursion, he also let the word "damn" slip out too. I think he was trying to hit something with a stick or something and muttered, "I missed the damned thing". Ha ha ha. Well, it's really not funny.

Describe me in one word

ETA:
Maria (friend in Texas)- Creative
Laurie (friend from Church)- gifted
Chris (aunt)- loving

There's an email going around. How it works is you send this to your friends:

Describe me in one word.... just one single word. Send it to me and to me only. Then send this original message to all your friends and see how many strange and interesting things they say about you. This is really fun!!

Here's how:

1. Hit the reply key and send me my one word.

2. Then return to this message, and forward it to your friends (including me) and see what people say
about you when limited to one word.

The Game is On! I want to tag everyone who reads this.

I have friends whom I've never met in the flesh, yet are very dear to me. I sent this out to friends/family who know me personally to see what their one word would be. I didn't send this to my cyber friends yet. I wonder how different the replies would be from my cyber friends who haven't met me in the flesh. Here are some replies from my family and friends:
Oops! I forgot Kim is the only cyber friend I sent this to.

Debbie (friend)- Zany
Kim (cyber friend)- Spiritual
Norma (surrogate mom)- Creative
Rita (work friend)- Different
Kara (friend)- Genuine
David (brother-in-law, the email was meant for my sister in law but David hijacked it)- Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious (yup, he's a dork)
Leyanna (my sister)- Beautiful (this made me cry. I hope she means beautiful on the inside)
Gracie (friend in Texas) - Unforgettable (this one made me cry too!)
Dani (sister in law)- Passionate
Eric (husband)- Passionate
Ryan (son)- Weirdo (he's a teenager, all teenagers thing their parents are weird, plus I make up silly songs to sing to my kids so he thinks I'm weird and a loser because I cry about things he thinks are silly)

I just got to thinking. There is nothing that can make me cry faster or grieve more deeply than when I hear of harm done to a child or an animal. It's a good thing I'm not God because I'd wipe out anyone who ever hurt a child or an animal.

Have fun playing!

New RAK and challenge almost done!!

I promise you, I'm really not teasing. Connor came downstairs with me last night and helped me put together like 7 page kits for the upcoming challenge. He was such a good little man last night helping me. He acted so mature in his little superman cape pajamas. I should've got a photo of him. He is a pure delight. Anyway, I still need to add more embellshment stuff to the kits and then photo them and post them on the old blog for you guys to pick which ones you want.

I've got to finish the title and journaling on a layout that's due today for pubbing. I'm making myself submit at least one thing per month for pub as part of my New Year's Resolution. Speaking of resolutions, how are your coming along? I have already abandoned the $20/week spending thing. I'd have to sit out the next 6 months to catch up!! LOL! Not really but I'm sure it's bad. Actually, I've lost track. And the 5 Christmas cards a month thing hasn't happened yet. I hope to get those done at our next crop.

Hope everyone is having a blessed week so far. I think there's still time to sign up for this contest: http://www.scrapbooks.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=119248#119248
Come play with me over there!

XOX

New Avatar

I've been fooling around with different filters of pics Deb took of me today. These filters are so cool. Should I change my avatar to this?

Good news/Bad news

Wow! What a week this has been. I'm disappointed not to be a finalist in the Making Memories contest, but after seeing all the incredible entries to the contest, I can see how tough the competition was! I mostly feel left out of not being able to play with the other finalists. I love contests and challenges. It's ok. I'll just be more driven now to find my own style, which I think is still emerging with each new layout I create.
On an up note, 2 years of waiting has come to an end for my oldest son, Josh. He has been facing charges for something stupid that he did 2 years ago. Serious charges that I will not go into detail here. Thanks to everyone's prayers, the final outcome of the charges today are 3 years probation with charges being dropped after those three years of probation with a clean record. So it's been a rather eventful week so far and it's only Wednesday!! I'm looking forward to spending time with my oldest baby and getting some hopefully great photos of my three boys together before Josh goes back to Texas.
Thanks for everyone's prayers!!

Quick post- Bazzill 16 cents a sheet

Just a quick enabler post if you need any Bazzill, you can get a grab bag of them here at 16 cents a sheet:

http://www.happynscrappin.com/prpaprch.html

Photo shoot yesterday and a tag from Liz!

Hi loved ones!

I took some photos of my two boys, Ryan and Connor yesterday. I really love my new lens. I'm not that good yet, but practice makes perfect!!

Liz tagged me for this: List five quirky things about yourself on your blog and then chose two more CKMB friends to post quirky things about themselves on their blog. Some of you already know this, but here goes:
1. I am PETRIFIED of those big hairy flying roaches that grow to epidemic proportions in Texas and Florida. So glad to leave those demon spawns behind in Texas.
2. I do not wear deodorant. Never have. Never will. Me and Matthew McConoughay (sp?) would make a great pair.
3. My ears don't make ear wax. Yup. Quirky.
4. I only have to shave my legs once or twice a week. My mom and sister don't even have to shave their legs, so I got the raw end of the deal here. Something about being Asian and not having much body hair might have something to do with it. Hee hee.
5. I sing goofy, silly songs to my kids all the time. Each boy has their own special song I've made up just for them and they are equally silly, well, Ryan calls them embarrassing. Connor doesn't know any better yet.
I'm off to the CKMB to tag 2 friends.
Here are some photos from yesterday of Connor and Ryan. I had Connor sitting on a stool for the photo shoot, but he wanted to lay on the velvet because, "It's so soft Mommy" so he crawled under the stool and I snapped this photo. LOL! Naughty toddler never wants to cooperate! XOXOX

What Scrapbook Paper Are you??

Go to this website and take the quiz:

http://www.quizilla.com/users/savvyshare/quizzes/Which%20Scrapbooking%20Paper%20Collection%20Are%20You?/

Then come back here and tell us what you are!


Here's mine:
You are 7 GYPSIES paper!Oh la la...you are sophisticated and enjoy fine wine and a candlelight dinner. You envision travelling the world someday. Your scrapbook pages are elegant and well thought out.2709 other people got this result!This quiz has been taken 20472 times.29% of people had this result.

What is a RAK?

For those who don't know, RAK, stands for Random Act of Kindness. It's something you do cuz it make ya feel good! I will be having one really soon as I said in my previous post where I will give away page kits. I would like to take pictures of the kits I'm making up so that you can choose what you'd like to work with for the contest.

But for now, more Connor stuff-

His grandma, Norma Jean, always tells him, "I love you so much, I can't stand your guts!" I know it sounds funny when you first hear it. But it means her love for him is so strong she can't stand it. LOL! I know. We're weird. Anyway, so from there I'm always telling him silly things like, "I love your stinkin' guts" or "I love you from head to toe and even your guts". So yesteday, he finally had enough of it and said, "Always. Guts." Is that not hysterical?? Ok, maybe I'm the only one who thinks so. Ha ha ha!!

I could fill my blog up with funny things Connor does AND my mother in law, Shirley. She is so hilarious and she doesn't even try to be. She just is. I have to tell you the story of something that happened the other day. The other day my mil was watching my son and neice. She popped a bag of popcorn and the 3 of them were eating it. A little later that afternoon, instead of dragging out her vacuum to get the bits of popcorn off the floor, she started picking up the little pieces out of her carpet, along with bits of fuzz, paper and even a piece of leftover easter grass from last year! LOL! Well, being the ding dong that she is (and I say that lovingly. I am in the same ding dong league as her, so I can say that) from the living room to the kitchen she forgot what she was doing, thought the wad of crap in her hand was popcorn from when she was eating it earlier, and popped the whole wad of carpet trash in her mouth. She knew something was wrong when she felt the easter grass crinkling in her mouth. HA HA HA!!

More Connor stuff and a RAK coming soon!!

Today Connor told me for the very first time about his dream: "Mommy, I dreamed that I got some bubble gum". So my baby now can remember dreams and tell me about them. I get more out of my toddler about his school day than I do out of my teenager. When I picked him up from pre-school he was eager to tell me what he learned that day: "We mixed muffins and baked them and ate them, then we learned about bones inside our body". Then this morning after he told me about his dream, he remember that he learned about the brain that is inside his head yesterday at school. It's so awesome watching my little man bloom. Yesterday on the way to pre-school, he had his 10th anniversary Toy Story DVD box in his lap looking at it. He was tracing the 10 with his fingers. He looked up and said, "Hey mom, this is a 'One' and this is 'zero'. I couldn't believe he knew that!! He said all this while his pacifier was in his mouth!!! LOL!! Yeah, I know. I'm not ready to let my baby go yet. So suck on, Connor, suck on! Ha ha!

We had a crop at the house this past Friday. I'd like to Welcome newcomer Colleen to our group!! She is my neighbor. All this time there was another maniac scrapper living just feet away and I didn't even know it! She's already settled into our group as one of us!
While at the crop Kara told me something that Connor did a couple crops ago that I didn't know about. Kara had brought her daughter, Emily, to the crop. Well, Em was bored and was talking up a storm and wouldn't shut up. Finally, Connor had enough (he doesn't like alot of talking. Just ask my mother in law), whips out his little sherriff badge, slams it on the table in front of Em, and says, "See that. That means BE QUIET!!" Kara and Emily nearly fell over! LOL!! As I was saying about Connor not liking alot of talking, when Connor was really little, before he could even talk, I was taking my mother in law, Shirley, to the doctor, which is an hour trip one way. If any of you know Shirley, she is a non-stop talker. She talked all the way up there and all the way back, only pausing to breathe. Anyway, poor little tortured baby in his car seat had enough. I looked back there and he had his hands up to his ears trying to block out the noise. LOL!! He is too much! HA HA!

Get ready for a RAK and a challenge. I'm going to make up some page kits. You can sign up to win the page kit RAK. Then from these page kits, we'll have a contest from your creations. You can email me your creation. When I get everyone's creation, I'll post them on my blog and we'll vote on a winner. The prize will be an awesome Heidi Swapp album set. Sound fun?

I will get pictures of the kits up soon. Probably by the weekend. I've got some deadlines I'm working on for the 15th so won't get to them until then.

Woohoo!! I'm on board!

Ok, I'm going to tell you all before the finalists are announced that I signed up for the Making Memories Idol contest!! I challenge all my friends to enter it with me. You have until the 15th of February to sign up so HURRY!!! You can sign up here:

http://www.makingmemories.typepad.com/mmidol/

I've been talking to Wilna Furstenberg, last year's winner of the MM Idol contest! She is an absolute genuine sweetie!! I have her blog linked to mine. Please take time to visit her and see her unique work.

I'm so excited, my stomach hurts!! LOL!!

New Connorisms

The title of the Santa hat photo and of the page I will scrap for it will be, "Dear Santa, Define Naughty". Doesn't that sound like a fitting title for this photo? By the way, this photo was taken with my new lens that I bought with my Piggy Tales winnings. I love how the background is blurred. I mean, you know there's Christmas tree back there, but it's not dominating the photo.

Well, where do I start? Connor had a Holiday program with his school last month. Much to our surprise, he gave an impromptu performance at the program singing, "Santa Claus is Coming To Town". Yup, he is his mother's son for sure. I think it helps him seeing me get up in front of people not to be bashful. Anyway, it was totally unplanned. He wanted to sing, so the director let him get up there and take over the mic. This little three-year-old got up in front of about 250 people and sang his song without a hitch. Eric and I looked at each other in disbelief and asked, "Is this OUR son?" It's so unbelievable, but I have the pictures to prove it.
On another "performing" note. I got up to sign language a song in church last month for Christmas. As he's done in the past, Connor went up on stage with me. He likes to hang out with me while I do my thing. Well, this time, it did not go as well. While up there signing away, Connor proceeds to try hiding under my dress. He even lifted my dress way over his head exposing things that should not be seen in church, all the while, cackling like a little heathen. Eric and Roger are sitting there frozen in shock. Finally, my Pastor came to my rescue and escorted the errant toddler off the stage. Yup, everyone had a good laugh at my expense.
Let's see. There's more. Never shower with a toddler without expecting some brutally honest comments. Such as, "Mom, why is your belly so big?" (Should I laugh or cry?) He caught Eric getting out of the shower the other day and goes, "Eeeww! Gross! I didn't want to see that!"
The other day Eric and I were arguing. Eric picks the fights and it makes me so mad that Connor always sides with him. So in the middle of our argument, Connor is telling me to be quiet, I turn to him and said, "Connor, you don't understand. Daddy is picking a fight with ME". He says, "Yes I do understand!" He turns to Eric and says, "Daddy, you need a new attitude!". LOL!
The other day, I picked him up from my mother-in-law's. I asked him, "Connor, did you eat anything?" Yes. "What'd you eat?" He replies, "A cockroach". LOL! I nearly fell over. Then the next day, out of the blue he goes, "Roaches are good." I said, "Eeww, no they're not". He goes, "Yes they are. They're good if you cook 'em". Where does he get this stuff about roaches?

He's getting really ornery lately. It's so darned cute, though, I hate to spank him. But if I don't correct him, he'll turn into Ryan. Ha ha!

PRAISE GOD! Ben is back home and so is Shawn!!

God does still answer prayers and sends out MIRACLES!!

UPDATE:Ben Ownby, the 13-year-old Franklin County boy missing since Monday, has been found alive in Kirkwood -- as well as Shawn Hornbeck, a boy from Washington County who has been missing since 2002.Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke said officers located both boys today in an apartment in Kirkwood. He said the case broke when two Kirkwood police officers went to serve a warrant last night and noticed the white pickup truck that had been the object of an intense search in the Ownby case. Officers went to the apartment today and found both boys inside.Hornbeck identified himself as the boy who has been missing since October 2002. Both boys appeared to be in good health, Toelke said.One person has been charged in the case, identified as Michael Devlin, 41,Toelke said. He was being held in lieu of $1 million bond and being questioned as the news of the boys' recovery was announced. Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney Robert Parks told reporters that Devlin had confessed in the case.

Let you light shine in this New Year.

What Difference can One Mom Make?
Elisabeth Corcoran
"I look at the enormity of the problem and I can’t help but think, ‘what can one person do?’" It’s occurred to me that I used to think that way but that I don’t anymore.
One person can do much.
One person can pray with all she’s got, begging God to intervene in any situation, to pour out his power, to give her wisdom to know what she can and should do.
One person can give of her time in a way that will be a sacrifice to her and of great benefit to others.
One person can give money…even a little bit of money…and that can be added to what others have given and then multiplied when God steps in.
One person can call attention to an issue that is usually talked about in hushed tones…making people aware of something they may have had no idea about.
One person can enter into the darkness, carrying her little bit of light, and shed great illumination where only dim shadows used to dwell.
One person can touch another person’s life in small ways – with a kind word, a gentle touch, a moment of time to listen and hold and cry with.
One person can take her gifts and pour them out into someone else’s life, knowing that freely has she received and freely should she give.
One person can take her hurt and ask Christ to turn it into a blessing as she connects with the pain of another hurting heart.
One person can move into another person’s life in large ways – with a shout against injustice, a rallying of a group to do something of meaning, a hand reaching out to draw someone out of their circumstances permanently.
Moms, we’re told time and again that we as women have the ability to set the tone of our home. That our daughters will learn how to be women and mothers by watching and modeling after us, and that our sons will grow up to look for wives that mirror their mothers.
We have been given not just the ability, but the responsibility, to do great good.
One life at a time. In our home. And in our world.
This year…2007…can be the year that we allow our one life to do a world of good for someone else’s life.
What can one person do in comparison to the vastness of our world’s problems?
Each one of us can do much. We each have so much to give. And we are called to do just that.
Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for those in their distress. -James 1:27-My challenge to myself and to each one of you is this: go be a light in the dark in this New Year, ladies.

Please Pray for William "Ben" Ownby

We are all sickened by the most recent abduction of a young boy from Beaufort, MO just a little ways from here. He was last seen getting off the school bus and forced into a white Nissan truck with a camper on top. PLEASE, pray for God's divine intervention in bringing the boy home safely. Please remember his parents and family. I can't even imagine what they are going through at this time. This is a parent's worst nightmare. It just makes me want to hold my children a little tighter, and not let them out of my sight. I'm terrified of the world that we live in. How can anyone harm an innocent child? Please pray.

OMGoodness! I can't believe I won FIRST place!!

I entered this layout in a contest and won! I had my two winners picked, and believe me, I was NOT one of them! There were 80 entries to this contest so I thought there was NO WAY I would win. I'm still in shock. I'm so glad that Jamie Cottrell captured this special moment between me and my son. It really is an awesome photo and am sure this photo is what pushed me to the top.








The Christmas layout of Connor and Santa won third place in a different contest.
Ok. I'm done bragging. Ha ha!
Thanks, friends and family for letting me share my excitement!!

First Annual Christmas Cookie and Recipe Swap!!

Here's some photos of our very first annual Christmas cookie/Recipe swap. We're off to a good start with 9 cookie recipes for our cookbook. Every year I will host this party so we can build a nice cookie cookbook as well as have a nice assortment of cookies for the holidays! This year we had Snickerdoodles, Oreo Bon Bons, Gooey Butter Cookies, Chocolate covered raisin oatmeal cookies, Chocolate Oatmeal no bake cookies, Neiman Marcus cookies, Chewy Chocolate Cookies, and Dani's famous pop and bake Pillsbury Gingerbread cookies complete with onion embellishment!! ROFLMBO!! This one is truly a collector's item! Ha ha ha!! Love you, Dani. My favorite photo is the picture of all the cookies next to the DIET Mountain Dew. Did you know that one Diet Mountain Dew cancels out all the calories in one dozen cookies?? Ha ha. Muuuaaaahhh!! Can't wait until next year girls! At next month's crop, I think we'd like to continue the recipe card thing with Soup Recipes. So dig out your favorite soup recipes and get to work!

Merry CHRISTmas to all!!

Whew! The holidays are blowing by so fast!! I need to get some pics up. I was really spoiled for Christmas this year. Eric got me a new lens for my Nikon D70 digital SLR camera. I bought a new flash with my Piggy Tales winnings. I haven't yet received my stuff from PT in the mail, so stay tuned for the RAK. I'll see what I get and maybe send a little to everyone who posted.
Anyway, Eric also got me an Applebee's Gift Card, but that shouldn't count since we're using it on him to eat too, right? Ha ha! Normie got me a nice GC to her fav LSS, For Keeps Sake, in STL. Also, for the first time ever, Eric and Ryan ran to WM at the last minute and actually filled my Christmas stocking. Every year I stuff everyone else's but mine is always empty. I guess they felt sorry for me so they stuffed it this year.
Connor got toys that interested him for about 5 minutes. Ha ha. What a waste of money. He did love his piano from his Nana and Papa, though. He put on quite a show on Christmas Eve. It was hilarious. I'll try to post some photos of his antics.
Eric got a GC to Sears and Roger got him one to Lowe's. Ryan and Josh both got money so they can get what they want.
I hope your Christmas was wonderfully blessed. But always remember the best and most precious gift was given to us over 2,000 years ago. The gift of salvation given to us by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He IS the reason for the season!

I'm in the Christmas spirit. I feel like a RAK!!

Since I won some Piggy Tales stuff, I think I'd like to RAK some of it and share the love. Does anyone have any Piggy Tales stuff? Do you like it? Would anyone like to have some of it?? I don't know what my RAK will be b/c I haven't yet received my winnings, but when I do, I will post a photo of what I will RAK.

I WON!! I WON!!!! WOOOHOOOO!!!

OMG! I'm still shaking with excitement!! I won second place on the Piggy Tales contest. For the contest, we had to create an "All About Me" album using primarily Piggy Tales products. I chose the "Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs" collection because it is done primarily in Purples, and purple is my favorite color. I think Piggy Tales is a fairly new paper line, so there aren't a whole lot of embellishments to go with it, so I had to create my own embellishments out of paper. You'll see stamped and hancut flowers, as well as hearts. (Thanks, Kelly Goree, for the string of hearts idea!!)

So I told a brief story about myself with chapters separated into decades, 1960's, 1970's and so on. I can't believe I was picked as a winner!! They must've only had 3 entries!! LOL! Anyway, I created a separate slide show above showcasing my album. Thanks for letting me share my excitement with y'all!!

The notification email from Trina at Piggy Tales appears below:

Hi Theresa,CONGRATULATIONS! You've been chosen as the 1st runner up for the PiggyTales Tell Your Tale Contest. Your $300 cash award and $75 Piggy Talesproduct will arrive soon! Thank you for your entry. Will you please letme know where you bought your Piggy Tales product. Also, we'd likepermission from you to showcase your entry on our website.Happy Holidays,Trina LinfordDirector of PromotionsPiggy Tales

Thoughts for the day

Deep Thoughts for Those Who Take Life Way Too Seriously:
1. Save the whales. Collect the whole set.
2. A day without sunshine is like...night.
3. On the other hand, you have different fingers.
4. 42.7 % of all statistics are made up on the spot.
5. 99 % of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
6. Remember, half the people you know are below average.
7. He who laughs last thinks slowest.
8. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
9. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap.
10. Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have.
11. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
12. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.
13. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.
14. How many of you believe in psychokinesis? Raise my hand.
15. OK, so what's the speed of dark?
16. When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
17. Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.
18. Every one has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film.
19. How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?
20 Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
21. What happens if you get scared half to death twice?
22. I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder.
23. Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?
24 Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened.
25. Just remember -- if the world didn't suck, we would all fall off.
26. Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
27. Life isn't like a box of chocolates . . . it's like a jar of jalapenos. What you do today, might burn your butt tomorrow.

Kids say the darnest things!

Every single day Connor (3 1/2) says something amusing. I'm going to try to journal his little sayings here so I won't forget them.

The other day he says, "Daddy, I thought you were a girl because your legs are pink". LOL! Eric has a red-head's fair complexion, and yes, there is a pink tint to them.

Yesterday Eric was trying to give him kisses and Connor says, "Daddy, I don't like your kisses. Your bref (breath) is stinky. Get some gum from Mommy".

Eric is going to kill me if he knows I posted this on the blog! LOL!!!

So beautiful out here in Missouri

We literally got dumped on! Take a look. We never see this in Texas! The first thing that Connor wanted to do when he got outside was make a "bible" (he really means snow angel) in the snow.

Wanna laugh??

I'm doing this All About Me album (almost done with it!) and came across these high school photos of me. I was on the dance team in high school. I was a Clear Creek Cavalier! Ha ha. I still love dance, but don't do it much anymore. Wish I had a little girl to pass my passion on to! (I wish I still only had one chin.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Latest Layout

I finished this layout last week but haven't had a chance to post it until now. It's a Thanksgiving layout, but done in non-traditional colors. I wanted to give a feeling of bright, happy joy to the layout, because that's what it's all about. Journaling reads, "On a perfect Autumn day, while maples were in Golden Glory, during this season of Thanksgiving, I saw the joy on your face. It made me THANKFUL to be alive. Love, Mom"

Hope everyone has the best Thanksgiving holiday this week!!

What a month this has been!!

First, on the 8th, Debbie turned 55! I've been teasing her about being an official senior citizen. Ha ha! She's such a good sport about it. Sorry, Deb. Love ya and hope to celebrate many more birthdays with you!!

The next day, on the 9th, Eric and I celebrated four years of marital bliss. One of these days, maybe on my next post, I'll tell you how miraculous it is that we're together. I love telling the story of "us". It puts me in a happy place and it deepens my love for my hubby. So, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, HONEY!!!

The day after that, on the 10th, my eldest child, Joshua, turned 19!! Boy, am I getting old or what?? He's engaged to a wonderful girl, Rachel, whom I love and adore. They were going to get married on the 11th but I talked them into waiting a while. So I almost had another thing to celebrate in November!!

Whew! What a month!

Sorry I haven't been updating my blog lately. I'm contemplating entering a contest and part of the criteria is that any photos used in it can't be posted anywhere online, so I'm saving up for now.

I won first place!!!!

I won $150 for this layout, take a look!!

Who had fun at the crop?

I had so much fun at the crop hosted at my house last Friday night. We had a full house!! Here's what I did for their challenge: I took plastic baggies and filled them with little embellishments (silk flowers, brads, buttons, ribbons). Then I told them they had to use something from my paper scraps and one die cut item. I was hoping to spur people into thinking of using up their scraps and also to get them to learn how to use die cut machines. They could make anything- an altered item, layout or card- whatever their creativity led them to make. At the end of the evening, we took a vote. What do you think of their projects? Kara was the big winner (of course, how could she not be since she scraplifted my layout? hee hee!) In case you're wondering, no, I did not vote. The girls did and I made a stipulation that they couldn't vote for themselves. Yeah, Norma, that means YOU! Ha ha! Dani, I didn't get a pic of your card. Email me a photo and I'll post it here. Okay, Debbie. No excuses next time! Quit gabbin' and get to work!

The barn is DONE!!

Eric made shutters for the barn window. It is officially done. I guess if worse came to worse, we could always move into it since it's plumbed for a toilet, sink and shower!
Doesn't this look like a nice big place to have a crop???

Here we are in the Newspaper

Finally, I scanned in the newspaper clipping of the big grand re-opening of Scrapper's Alley in Washington, MO.

Happy Birthday Honey!!

My honey bunny turned 34 on Thursday. Here's the birthday card I gave him. You'd think I'd hand make him a card. I usually do, but this year I found a card I couldn't resist. The inside says, "Another year lost". Ha ha. Ok, now everyone knows I have a twisted sense of humor.

Another Weird Thing

Yup. You guessed it. I remember another weird thing about me. I am PETRIFIED, TERRIFIED of those big, black, hairy, disgusting, flying, straight from the pits of Hell- ROACHES!! You know, the ones that grow to monstrous proportions that live in Florida and Texas. I've seen them up to 3 inches long and they have these long hairy antennae and legs and they have wings so the actually fly! YUCK!! I will kill somebody to get away from one. LOL! One time when I was prego with Ryan, I got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom (as most pregnant women do). I didn't want to wake anyone so I kept the lights off. While I was sitting on the pot, I felt something bite me on the booty. Half-asleep, I brushed it off thinking I was just hallucinating. Curiousity got the best of me, so I flipped on the light and lo and behold sitting on the toilet seat was one of those big disgusting roaches. It actually took a nibble of my booty!! Needless to say, EVERYONE in the house was woke up after that!

The weirdest thing about me

I can't believe I forgot what the weirdest thing is about me! The weirdest thing about me is that I don't wear deodorant! LOLOL!! I never have worn it. I think I'm ok b/c nobody's ever told me I stink. If I did stink, my mom would be the first to tell me (she doesn't mind telling me I'm fat all the time). Ha ha! I've borrowed shirts from friends before where their pit smell transfered to my underarms, and boy! I couldn't stand it. It made me sick to my stomach. So I think if I smelled, I would know it. Ha ha. I just thought of something. Just the mere fact that I'm talking about this makes me weird. So I guess that's another weird thing about me.

5 Weird things about me

My friend, Kim has tagged me.

The life and times of Kimberly

The rules:List 5 weird things about yourself or your pets. Tag 5 friends and list them. Then, those people need to write on their blogs about 5 weird things, and state the rules, and tag 5 more people.

I make up silly songs for each of my kids and I sing the songs to them all the time.

I have a fetish for baby clothes. I could outfit a small country of toddlers with all of Connor's clothes.

I have frightening thoughts and worries about my kids' safety that have actually brought me to tears.

I think my feet are ugly and for the longest time wouldn't wear open toed shoes.

I talk to myself, all the time. Ha ha!

Now I am tagging:
Norma http://retired2scrap.blogspot.com
Kristi http://kristiscott.blogspot.com/
Dani http://danityree.blogspot.com//
Debbie http://debbiesbitsandpieces.blogspot.com/
Jude http://pjsareclothes.blogspot.com/
Cheryl: http://lifewithcherylwray.blogspot.com/

OMG!!! Debbie won a CRICUT!!!

I can NOT believe Debbie won a Cricut machine! Michelle, owner of Scrapper's Alley in Washington personally invited us to her weekend long grand re-opening event. So we went on Friday to the big gala and Michelle even insisted we be included in her photo for the newspaper! While we were there, Michelle entered our names in a drawing to win a Cricut machine. Debbie got the call last night that she was the big winner!! It's so ironic that Scrapper's Alley was the birthplace of Me and Debbie's friendship. Way to go, Deb! I'm so happy for you!!!

Things you may not know about me

Ok. Dani sent me this questionnaire and I'm supposed to fill it out. So here goes:

A) Four places I have worked:
1. Rhone-Poulenc
2. Roche Vitamins Inc.
3. Dow Chemical Company
4. Dental Assistant

B) Four movies I could watch over and over:
1. The Notebook
2. Pirates of the Carribean movies (both)
3. Rat Race
4. Cinderella Man

C) Four places I have lived:
1. Angeles City, Philippines
2. Selfridge Air Force Base, Michigan
3. Santa Maria, California
4. League City, Texas

D) Four TV shows/channels I love to watch:
1. American Idol
2. HGTV
3. Paula Dean
4. Storm Stories

E) Four places I have been on vacation:
1. Disney World, Florida
2. NYC, NY
3. Cayman Islands
4. Cancun, Mexico

F) Four of my favorite foods:
1. Mexican
2. Japanese
3. Cheeseburger
4. Chinese

G) Four places I would like to be right now:
1. Hawaii
2. scrapbooking..lol
3. in the past with my Daddy and grandparents
4. school

H) Four goals I'd like to achieve:
1. finish degree
2. raising self-sufficient, Christian children
3. published
4. read my bible more

Which photo do you prefer?

I'm trying to become a better photographer. The photo on the top shows a photo of Connor's toys taken with the flash on. Notice the dark shadow. I don't know why I get that shadow alot but I think it has something to do with not having one of those field flashes on my camera. I just have the little pop up flash that comes with the camera. The photo on the bottom is taken with the flash off with an f/stop as big as I could go which is f/3.5, if I remember correctly. I like the photo on the bottom but it looks like it has a yellow tint to it. What do you think?

You're Invited!!

Hi friends and family!
I'd like to invite y'all to a crop at my house on Saturday, October 21st from5-9:00 p.m. (give or take an hour or so!).
We'll have so much fun visiting and learning from each other. I have 3 diecut systems: Cricut, Sizzix and Quickutz. I'll teach you how to use these great tools to enhance your layouts. I can also teach newbies techniques such as stamping, embossing, hand stitching, card making or anything else you want to know.

What to bring:
Pictures (of course)
Adhesive
Personal Trimmers
Anything else your little heart desires
A finger food/snack

We'll have challenges and contests!
I have seating for 14 people in my dining room, sun room and bar.
So let meknow if you'd like to come.Also, let me know what you'd like me teach.
As Kristi suggested, we can take turns at each other's homes and each month I can teach y'all a new technique.
So let me know if you'd like to join in the fun or need directions to my house!

Photos

Here's a picture of Drew at Connor's birthday party. Isn't he a dolly?

Connor

Here's a photo I took of Connor at the Bank of Sullivan Picnic last Saturday.