Jarvis...est.1999

It is official...

2009-07-18T08:48:00.001-04:00

We now officially have a new blog. Run, don't walk your mouse right over to check it out... JillJarvis.com.

This blog, the old one, will no longer be updated. Be sure to change your reader so you can stay connected to our family. You can subscribe to follow the new blog using the RSS button on the main page.

Leave me a comment once you find the new blog and let me know what you think!

Numbers!

2009-07-07T13:08:00.001-04:00

How many of you realized that on Wednesday there is a cool number thing going on? Well i hadn't realized it either until i was catching up on blogs and found this post from a fellow scrapbooker (Dear Lizzy). Document what you're doing at this time (either the am or pm option). Write it down, take a picture, tweet it or whatever, just be sure to leave a reminder so in 20 years when someone asks you, you'll remember!

DIY Dad

2009-07-07T08:09:00.000-04:00

Beware this is a bit of an all open post...remember i warned you. Here goes, rarely do i talk about my parents but for a moment i need to brag about my dear dad. He is by far the most unbelievable person that i know, yes he does have his faults but that makes us love him even more. He makes me want to be a better person and make him proud. And the best part of all is how much he loves God and wants to learn more about Him. His walk with the Lord is inspiring.

He is an artist, an awesome woodcrafter. A few years ago he was on a show on the DIY network. Just this week i realized that his episodes are now online! When they were first airing we would watch them just to hear him speak. It used to drive Deacon crazy because it was when we had just moved south. Deacon missed his papa. So whether you want to hear him speak or you want to learn some mad woodturning skills...click HERE.

Just last week he mailed me a handwritten letter in the mail to tell me how he was feeling about me. When i called to thank him, he said he knew that he just had to tell me. Jump back a few years, when i first went away to college my Debbie would mail me a card once a week so that i would have mail frequently. Well at the beginning she would just sign the cards for both of them. i asked why dad never signed for himself. So every since he has signed his name, himself. It means so much to me. i'm into the little things in life.

Our Independence Day...

2009-07-05T19:03:00.007-04:00

We had an awesome Independence Day! It basically started on Wednesday evening when Kelley & her family arrived for a visit. This was the first time that her husband Scott and son, Austin had been to our house {also the first time that James & Scott had ever met!}. We had planned to spend time at the pool and a little time at the lake. Well there was a situation at the pool on Wednesday night which lead to the pool being closed the entire time the Anderson's were visiting {actually the pool isn't scheduled to open back up until Thursday :( }. On top of the pool issues, the Ratliff's boat a had a glitch which meant that we basically spent time at the beach and on the dock. So Thursday Jameson & i hung out at the dock with the Andersons and Ratliffs. After we swam and played for most of the day we headed home for dinner with James. Following dinner i headed out with the Andersons to take some family pictures. It is always fun to photograph friends, especially ones that are willing to experiment with me. i'll be posted some sneak peaks soon! Friday we basically repeated the above except that the Ratliff's boat was fixed and James was off work!! Double bonus! Early in the day James & Scott put sod out onto the side yard...can you believe James would make his guest work?! {That was what all of the neighbors were saying as they drove by, Scott says he enjoyed it! Either way, thanks for helping out Scott!} Friday evening we had crab boil with a few of the neighborhood families. i personally think it was even better then T-60 {less spice!}

Saturday morning Kelley & i got up at 4 am to hit the Jockey Lot. i think she may have planned her trip around being here for a Saturday morning?! Either way it was fun to get some one on one time to catch up with each other. Friday evening it actually had struck me that as much as i love seeing her entire family and having them around my whole family, it limited the amount of time we got to catch up with each other. Which is what most of our past visits have been, mainly all of the retreats where we roomed together! So Saturday morning it was nice to get a chance to talk, even though it meant getting up SO very early! Once we got back from our shopping their family headed onto their next stop...Jekyll Island.

The rest of our 4th was spent at the Ratliff dock. By the middle of the afternoon it was obvious that Jameson was going to need a nap but he didn't want to leave the excitement. So Carrie & i headed out on the boat to nap the boy! The best part is that it worked! After returning to the dock we flooded around in our life jacket diapers for a few more hours. When the sun started to set there were 3 boats that tied up together and we watched the fireworks. Seeing fireworks over a body of water is the absolute best. And this year it was even better because Jameson wanted to snuggle in my lap (which is why there are zero pictures of fireworks from this year!). This little boy is going through a major snuggling phase and i LOVE it!

Onto other news, i've been keeping busy editing pictures from various sessions from the past couple of weeks. Be on the lookout for some exciting specials that will be offered for Jill Jarvis Photography!

Explanation of the crazy one leg in the air photo...the lining in his swim trunks is solid (not mesh like most). Whenever he gets out of the water there is usually some remaining water in them. He will sometimes do a little wiggle to make some music (it is hilarious). And other times he raises his leg high in the air (like the picture) to release the water. He is so cute!

Alive!

2009-07-04T09:40:00.002-04:00

"Are you feeling overwhelmed with problems, projects or decisions today? Are you feeling mentally drained, physically spent, or spiritually numb? Take a dip with me into the river of God, the river of healing, and be awakened to life in God. Let this living water flow over, into, and through you today – for wherever this water flows, everything will live!" Rachel Olson

Seriously the blog is taking a major backseat to other things summer and i'm resolving to not feel overwhelmed by it. Reading one of the Proverbs 31 devotions from this week reminded me that God wants me to stay focused on living life. So i appologize if this is the only post you see on here for quite some time...we're enjoying time away from the computer. Which i might add has been having ISSUES this week...the router was replaced while i was in Florida, each time i try to view a page i constantly have to refresh it and then to add fuel to the fire i left my laptop on the dining room table and Deacon ran into the cord. We found it crashed out on the floor. So with all of that and the visiting friends and full lake...the blog has and will be suffering.

Happy 4th to everyone! A huge thank you to all of the many men and women out there that are protecting our great nation...YOU and your families are appreciated!

Air!

2009-06-22T23:23:00.004-04:00

As i'm preparing to head out of town to ADPi-land, i was moving pictures off of my camera. This picture pretty much sums up life for this little boy right now...look at the air he got!

While i was packing he was being so adorable. He would go into his room and come out with a treasure that he wanted me to take with me. He finally decided on his sheriff badge, a santa pez and a sheet of paper that HE wrote my name on. They are all safely tucked into random places so that i will constantly be reminded of him {as if i need a physical reminder :)}. He also told me that he was sure that many of the other adpi friend would want to see these things - i am sure little man!

i should head to bed soon because the alarm is set for 4:45 (yes that is in the morning!). James has been getting up at this crazy hour to walk each morning. Since Nana Susan and Joe-Joe are here, i can go with him tomorrow. i'm excited to start my day with this awesome guy. Good thing for all of us, i'll get to go back to sleep for a little bit before the day will continue for me!

Moments to remember...

2009-06-22T09:05:00.006-04:00

There have been a few moments in the last few weeks that i need to write down before i forget them. And i thought you all would enjoy reading about them too!

While riding on the golf cart with Jameson & Cade we were discussing who was the biggest. They of course both said me. I then said who is the smallest. They looked at each other and thought for a minute. Cade, who will be 5 in August, said i'm 4 and a half so i'm bigger then Jameson. Then Jameson said well i'm 4 and a second so i'm smallest. The 4 and a second has stuck! He has started asking if so & so is 8 and a quarter, etc. So cute!
Last week Jameson & i were out shopping. We stopped in to the Maxx and as soon as we walked in Jameson spotted the jewelry/watch section. He said "Daddy needs a new watch lets get him one!" He didn't realize that Father's Day was coming soon so it was a perfect gift from the little boy for his daddy!
While tubing the boys likes to go fast but as soon as the driver starts to make lots of turns, he is done!
The singing that comes out of this little boy is so darling. He will make up words to things or ask to sing nursery rhymes (his favorite right now is 1-2 buckle my shoe).
He discovered masking tape and tied up both James & i around our ankles. It was so funny watching him have so much fun wrapping it around!
He loves to do cannonballs in the pool, just yesterday he finally grabbed hold of his legs and actually made a big splash. Before that he was basically jumping in with his legs swinging all over because he couldn't get his arm around them fast enough!
The amount of attention is pays to Deacon has increased. He loves to walk him around the house pulling on his collar. Deacon is usually pretty good about playing along but when he is done he just stopped walking and then Jameson cries for help. We try to explain to him that Deacon doesn't have the ability to 'say' he wants to stop so this is his way of communicating. Jameson doesn't like that so much.

That is all i can think of right now, but i'm sure there are lots that i'm missing. Hope you have a wonderful day!

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T07:38:00.000-04:00

We wanted to wish all of our many father's a wonderful day. We are so blessed to have each and everyone of you in our lives.

And to the father of my child, you amaze me every.single.day. Just last week while we were at the pool every child was playing with James. It was so sweet to see, tiring for him but awesome to see how much he enjoys being around kids! James we love you and don't tell you enough how much we respect and appreciate YOU!

Time!

2009-06-19T10:22:00.002-04:00

Wow really where does the time go? I didn't intend to be away from the blog for quite this long. But guess what, this isn't even going to be a real detailed post either...ha. Too many other things keep pulling me away from here, mainly the pool & the lake. And guess what that really is more important to us right now (don't take it personally)! Yesterday Jameson & i actually didn't have very much time to spare but we were in the pool for 15 minutes and it felt great! The pictures to the right are from earlier this week. The Stacy triplets were down visiting from Ohio and we invited them and the Coulter boys to the pool. We lined them up in age/height order and then they jumped in - i was surprised to see that Jameson was the first to hit the water! The pictures from the boat were from last weekend. i was on the Leon's boat so i could capture Carrie's whole boat and tube in the shot - this is summer to us!!

Next week i'm heading off to Florida for the ADPi convention. i'm planning to keep the tweets coming with updates, especially with exciting pictures of the awesome desserts. There are usually some amazingly creative desserts at convention. And my personal goal is always to leave the last bite (that is my diet for the week - ha). You can also follow along through the blog that was created - here.

Have you checked out the Jill Jarvis Photography site lately? If not, click HERE now! There is a sample gallery posted (click play in the lower right corner). There are some of my favorite images and it also shows what the gallery looks like that is sent to a client following a session.

One more thing before i go, we wanted to congratulate Brandt on his high school graduation. We are so excited to see what God has intended for you!

Thought this quote by Steve Jobs (which i found on from Ali's blog) was inspiring:

Your time is limited, don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinion drowned out your own inner voice. Most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

And after an hour of working on this post, a few interruptions, many upload issues and a bit of frustration...Jameson & i are heading out for a scavenger hunt. With the high projected for 100 we may end up back inside very quickly, either way we'll be together!

AU Coaches on the Today's show!

2009-06-10T14:02:00.000-04:00

I'll be back soon with a recap of our trip but for now I wanted to share this...

Ashland University Vote for Nick & Leigh!Cross Country Coaches 'in the running' for Today Show wedding!

Cross country coaches Nick Cordes '03 and Leigh Daniel are among four couples competing for a nationally televised wedding through NBC's "The Today Show." Voting will take place each Wednesday for the next three weeks. Each Friday, the couple with the least amount of votes is eliminated from the competition. Help Nick and Leigh win their dream wedding!

CLICK HERE TO VOTE ONLINE TODAY ! Or you can text your vote to 46833 (this week send 4 in the text message).

Cuddly & Trendy!

2009-06-03T08:07:00.000-04:00

Couple quick shares for today! The first is that Trendy Straps (the company that i previously won two contests!!). They are having some awesome giveaways over the next week. Check it out here!

The second is to let you all know about this really cool thing my friend Sarah Hayes is making. They are towels that help you while you're bathing babies. Not only is it a really cool concept but they are adorable too! Check it out on etsy here!

Unplugged recap...

2009-06-01T00:33:00.003-04:00

i've been meaning to come and post about the day that i totally unplugged. But guess what...the challenge helped me so much that i haven't been online as much overall! In case you forgot what i'm referring to, Jodified mentioned something on her blog about unplugging from the computer, internet, phone & television for 24 hours. i decided to do it on Mother's Day so i could spend the day with my boys...totally and fully connected to THEM. And guess what it was AWESOME. Not that i was surprised by that part of it. What i have been surprised by is that over the last few weeks i've been finding myself connecting more on a face to face way. Which over the last few years has seemed to have become lost a bit. For me it hasn't been so much with my guys, more with others. We can stay connected through other avenues...facebook, email, cell phones, etc. Not that i'm going to completely unplug from those places entirely, just making an effort to stay fully IN life, not just wired to life.

One more thing, this weekend at RiverTree, Greg Nettle spoke about how our DNA has wired each of us to connect with God in a different way. Such as serving others, through nature, contemplation, etc. He had 5 other people speak about how they are wired to connect to Him. It was a cool message. One exciting things about the advancements in technology, it allows me (or you) to hear the rest of this series, even once we're back home and unable to attend RiverTree. Click here for audios of their messages.

As you've probably noticed i haven't been blogging or posting much lately. This week, Jameson & i are away visiting family and friends. Lots of fun times that i'll be sharing bits and pieces of but not now. For now i'll be making memories and if the stories float around and makes it from my brain to the computer, you'll be hearing about them at that point! So what pieces of technology have you taken to but may find you have to readjust a bit?

Photography!

2009-05-25T11:11:00.005-04:00

I am so excited to share with you that I am officially opening a photography business...Jill Jarvis Photography! Soon you can check out the official JJP blog for info about this new adventure. For anyone that books a session within 2009, there will be a variety of extra specials bonuses. For starters anyone that books will receive a custom card/invitation - get a head start on preparing for Christmas cards! Be sure to mention the blog when you book!

Join the Jill Jarvis Photography fan page on Facebook! Check out some recent shots taken for friends/customers! For anyone in Ohio, if you're interested in booking a session between May 28 - June 6...let me know! (jill [at] jilljarvis.com)

Most importantly thank you to everyone for your support and encouragement in this newest venture!

“I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-2

Where does the time go???

2009-05-22T08:52:00.007-04:00

Have you been wondering where we've been lately??? We've been actively living life and i just haven't gotten to the blog to post any updates. All good things, just not enough time in the day to blog! Here are a few of the things we've been up to...Jameson's last days of school (Miss Frances loved the bird feeder he picked out for her!), graduation program at school, i attending the student ministry event to take pictures, James has had a few important client meetings, preparing for our trip to Ohio, 4 year check up for Jameson (included 4 shots - yuck), a birthday party for our friend Aubrey, a photo session to capture this sweet boy at 5, i snapped the picture of myself in the mirror of an old truck (the angle of the mirror worked to help hind some curves!), add in that my laptop was gone for some upgrades and you get...less blogging! Here are some pictures from some of the above mentioned activities! We hope you are doing well and enjoying life!

Revelations 3:8

2009-05-18T17:12:00.001-04:00

One Door Closes...Another opens

"I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name." Revelations 3:8

When God leads you to the edge of the cliff, trust Him fully and let go, only 1 of 2 things will happen, either He will catch you when you fall, or He will teach you how to fly!

Our day...

2009-05-12T21:42:00.009-04:00

Such an amazing, adorable video:

Today was a bit of a crazy day for us. We woke up, after sleeping in just a bit (till 8 - yippe the boy is getting it)! Then we decided to head to Anderson to get a few things, including a gift for Jameson's teacher. Well we got ourselves all set and ready to go, drove the 30 minutes it takes to get there. Then as we were pulling into Sams i reached for my purse to get the membership card out. My wallet wasn't in my purse. Then i remembered that i'd taken it out shortly before we left to pay a bill. So we went into Sams so i could submit a photo order. On the way there Jameson asked for a pretzel and luckily we had a few dollars in the truck so we shared a pretzel. The next step turned out okay because i had gift cards for Home Depot. So we decided to get his teacher's gift from there. (She is getting a nice bird feeder and some food, i think i'm also going to make something too.) From there we headed home since we only had about .95 cents left. We did head back out once we got home but we went the other direction to finish our errands. While we were in town Jeannie called to ask if we could get together so i could help her with some scrapbooking. It turned out good that we were still in town and James wasn't going to be home until late tonight. Jameson had a blast with their itty bitty puppy, Daisy. Overall as crazy as the day seemed it was pretty good!

One more thing...read this from Pioneer Woman Photography regarding getting yourself into the pictures!

Shine 09

2009-05-09T14:02:00.000-04:00

Today was the annual Shine project for FCC. For 3 hours on a Saturday in May we serve the community. James & i were leaders for the group that was painting the park near our house. It is amazing what 3 hours of manual labor can do to a faded park. i am so grateful for the members of our team...the park looks great now! The photos above show the before and after. It looks so much better now. Even the little ones got involved. Jameson was so excited to help out. He was actually painting quite a bit. Look at the paint splatter all over his face & clothes. Luckily I got his new shoes off before they got paint all over them too. Never too young to serve!

Online reading...

2009-05-08T21:08:00.000-04:00

i'm not sure if it is a good thing or not but i have been getting lots of reading done online lately. i don't seen to ever read from an actually book or magazine in my hand anymore. As the summer is approaching i'm sure this will change slightly but for now, i'm online charging my brain. One article i read was here. It is mainly about photography but there are so many other pieces to it that it applies to artist in general, actually anyone really. There were two main points that i gained from this piece.

Being creative and being inspired are two totally separate things. i know i've always thought that but this article really put the words behind the thoughts i'd had about it.
"Success is continuing to try in the midst of repeated failures because we believe that there is a solution to the problem we are working on and that it is only a matter of time until we find this solution. In this respect failures are nothing else but valid attempts that did not materialize into the outcome we expected."

Another piece that i read was all about the benefits of using gmail and other google gadgets. Read about it here.

In other news i found out this week that i won't be presenting a session at the ADPi convention this summer. This is a relief for me. Since i've switched positions the session i was going to lead was in the old area (alumnae). It will be good to be on the recruitment side of things instead of feeling like a cross-over. i'm sure there will be times that i'll be pulled in both directions but i at least won't have to be nervous about presenting (because as many of you know speaking in front of a group is not my true cup of tea).

Tomorrow a group of us from FCC are going to be working on an outdoor painting project for Shine '09. i'd like to ask that you pray for us that the rain will hold out long enough for us to work on dry equipment and that all of the other volunteers out there will be able to shower our county with these 3 hours of service.

Mother's Day gifts!

2009-05-07T08:29:00.001-04:00

This year I challenged myself to make all of the gifts that we gave for Mother's Day. I did it! The cards I created were fun because I decided on a color and found coordinating papers in my stash (just went to the green folder - love having my PP organized by color!). I used the cricut to cut out the butterflies. The piece that I made was creating hybrid bracelets (8 total - yes we are blessed!). I used photos of the boy and digital bits from various Songbird A venue kits. In addition to the bracelet the mothers each received a really fun fabric wrapped decorative photo thing (that is the true technical term for it). More pictures are on facebook if you want to see some up close shots as well as the second version I made for Nana Susan with pictures of Addy. Full credits for this piece can be found at The DigiChick (hybrid pieces from Sugarplum Paperie & Ali Edwards).

Now we're off to help with Abby & Caroline's babies. They have something at school with the big kids so Jameson & I are going to watch the littles. I told Jameson about it and he said but mom I'm not a girl so I can't help babysit. Such a funny boy.

Unplugging!

2009-05-06T15:33:00.000-04:00

Okay so i know most of you that know me realize that i can be a bit obsessive. Well the focus lately has been on twitter. On Tuesday i think i updated about 2 dozen times...too much for a normal day but there was a reason for that day. One it was Jameson's birthday and it was a quick easy way for me to update our activities. The other reason was that it was Jesus Loves You day and i was spreading the truth that He loves us. So now i'm going to go the other direction. i just read about this idea on Stacy Julian's blog & Jodified's blog about unplugging for an entire day. No internet. No TV. No Phone. No Computer...for 24 hours. i'm choosing this Sunday as my day. i will be at church in the morning and with my two guys the rest of the day (so no need for a phone to be contacted in case of emergency). i'm actually excited about it. Last summer every weekend i would walk away from the computer. i need to remember to do that throughout the year, not just when the weather pulls me away. How about you, do you realize you have an obsessive personality and do you know how to counteract it?

Did you notice the lowercase i's throughout this post? Yesterday the Proverbs 31 devotional was written by Marybeth Whalen. The verse was "He must become greater; i must become less." John 3:30 Notice the lowercase i..."we don't need to be capitalized. We need to be small, insignificant".

Happy birthday Jameson!!

2009-05-05T11:11:00.004-04:00

It is simply amazing to think that God has blessed our family with this little boy that is FOUR today! We are blessed to have this happy little boy is in our lives. I thought I would post some photos to document Jameson's birthdays since 2005. Enjoy...

Hybrid!

2009-05-04T15:58:00.001-04:00

Check this out...DST Insider May edition! I have a project featured! I honestly meant to post this over the weekend as it was {inter}National Scrapbook Day. However with our schedule it didn't happen. For anyone interested in any digital items there were lots of freebies out there. I know that The Hybrid Chick still has some challenges going on throughout this next week. Be sure to check it out!

Fun-filled weekend!

2009-05-03T20:47:00.010-04:00

Wow have we had a fun-filled weekend! It basically started Friday, with Western Day at school! They had a horse drawn wagon, a goat named Ding-Dong, hamburgers on an open flame, stick horse races, horseshoes and best of all...cowboy hats for everyone. Look at how cute this little guys looks! Then later that afternoon James' mom (aka MC/Nana Susan) and Joe-Joe arrived. James even came home a bit early from work! We had a nice relaxing evening here at the house.

Then on Saturday we had Jameson's birthday party...at Home Depot. Oh boy was he excited! So our plan for the day was for Susan & me to get dropped off at Home Depot while the guys went to do something else. Well Jameson wanted to help set up for his party, and he actually did help! His party was all about what he is into these days...The Home Depot and Chick-fil-A. Add in a mix of friends and family and you've got his utopia. The entertainment was that the kids each got to made a wooden wheelbarrow planters. Jameson got done with his before most of his friends arrived so he was entertaining himself with a tape measure. He thought it was the best when it would fly off the end of the boards...simple joys! After everyone was done with the project we enjoyed chicken and cake. The cake was adorable and not only did it look great, it tasted even better! Jameson even wanted to cut it himself, luckily the cutting tool was just a putty knife! Overall the party was a great success and Jameson is starting to look forward to being 4. He keeps asking if he is already 4 or if he has to wait until his official birthday (Tuesday). So funny the different ways he always looks at things. And now I'll answer the question that you're probably thinking, yes we had his party at Home Depot. No they don't typically do parties there but I asked and the manager said yes. We did find out that they aren't really supposed to do it but since they had told us already they went ahead with ours. So if you have a little boy that is also obsessed with HD, you most likely won't be able to have a party there.

After the party we headed up to Split Creek Farm to check out the baby goats. Caroline & Lily were also going so Jameson had someone else his same size (a common question when we're going somewhere). Jameson thought it was hilarious that the goats would try to eat his clothes. He and Nana Susan each had little nibbles from the little goats! This photo of Jameson & Lily was right before Jameson gave Lily a kiss. They are so funny together!

The next activity for the weekend came today. The Fanello girls were all receiving their First Communion. It was nice to get to spend this special time with them and lots of extended family from Ohio. After mass we all headed back to their house to spend some time together. During mass the Priest mentioned something that I thought was very interesting. He said that in Eastern cultures women with small children will bring them to the altar for communion; and it is given to both mother and child. However in Western culture they must wait until the age of reason. The part that has stuck with me throughout the day was that this church has given the age of reason a specific age. Is it possible to set a specific age on when a child is old enough to reason? In my mind, welcoming Jesus into your heart to choose to follow him on a daily basis varies person to person.

More updates will be coming in the next few days. Jameson has his birthday celebration at school tomorrow and then we had the official birthday on Tuesday. For anyone that are on twitter, Tuesday is going to be Jesus Loves You day...join in on the challenge!

Winner!

2009-04-30T23:16:00.004-04:00

We have a winner...Sphinx63 (I sent you an email so hopefully we can get the kit to you today)! Jameson & I were dressed as firemen. He had fun pretending to spray off things and best of all we took pictures!

The last 24 - 48 hours have been almost a blur for our family. Mostly good but just overall fast paced. This morning Jameson & I left the house at 8:30 we were on the run until about 4:30 and then after a quick change over at the house we left again and didn't get back until almost 10. In the mix we go to strawberry picking with Sarah and her kiddos. The berries are so perfectly ripe now! This evening James helped out the Carr's with their new yard. A few other friends from church stopped by and it was a nice evening with friends. The real downer the last couple of days has been that Deacon has been sick. That means lots of messed for James & me to clean up around the house. Jameson & I took him to the vet today and they gave him a shot and we're changing his food so hopefully that will fix things.

This weekend Mother Crill & Joe are coming in along with lots of other Luers family. It will be a good weekend! I'll be posting pictures sometime next week. To stay more current, feel free to follow me through the twitter box on the sidebar of the blog.

Congrats again to sphinx63, I apologize for not finalizing the giveaway until now.

Online reading...

2009-04-28T22:06:00.002-04:00

Over the last few months I've switched around a few of the blogs that I follow through google reader. I thought I would share a few of the new ones that I'm enjoying:

Simple mom
Waterworks (they just launched this new blog about Healing Waters)
Vintage Plum
The Hybrid Chick
Toccoa location for FCC
Angie Lucas
Pop Photo
MCP Actions (BTW I was not selected as one of the top 10 images - I am amazed at the top of the world shot!)
Scott Kelby
The Daily Digi
Bakerella
Her Cup Overfloweth (love the muffin tin ideas!)
Jennifer McGuire

Such a wide variety here but a sampling of the 87 blogs (cut back from over 100) that I'm now following. How about you? What new blogs have you recently started reading?

Silly things...

2009-04-28T08:04:00.000-04:00

This boy seems to have recently become quite a little funny guy. Here are a few things he has said recently:

While singing a song from Backyardigans that should say "To make the world nice, fill it up with ice." Well he sings it while changing the word ice to many different things...rice, mice and a few other funny rhyming words.
While reading stories before bed I asked him how he had gotten a chip in the wall next to his bed. His response "Jeannie must have missed a spot". Well since Jeannie the painter didn't even paint that room...hmmmm. James & I both just started laughing at him that time.
Yesterday he asked to go to Uncle Greg's house. I knew he only wanted to go over there because he wanted to get a car (Greg has a stash of Hot Wheels and Jameson always seems to get a new one before we leave). I told him we weren't going over there just to get a car. Then he remembered that he had gotten a small allowance for helping with the mulch this weekend. We had plans to head out to walmart in the morning so I told him he could buy is own car with his money. So this morning at 6:55 he tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if it was time to go to walmart to get his car. So we're up and heading out the door now to get some groceries and a new hot wheel.
This morning I was getting ready and heard him jump into our closet. I asked him what he was doing and he said "I'm the super spy and I'm spying on Deacon." And right now he said "Time to go check on that dog, I've got to put him in jail." Oh the imagination on this boy!

In case you didn't see it, I'm doing a little giveaway for a digital kit. I forgot to add in that if there are multiple correct answers I will be doing a random drawing from those guesses.

Giveaway!

2009-04-27T13:47:00.004-04:00

I'm feeling like a giveaway today! What am I giving away? Since I already purchased the songbird avenue kit this month I'd like to give it to someone else to play with and enjoy! Here is the catch, we're not going to just leave your name you have to play a game. The game is to guess what dress up item Jameson & I were playing with today. To give you a little hint it is something that would be worn by someone in a specific career (i.e. not spiderman). Get your guess in by Wednesday at midnight. You can guess one time each day (so if you are reading this on Monday you have the opportunity to guess 3 times total). If no one gets the right answer I will do a random drawing from all participants. So what do you think we dressed up as today??

Giving...

2009-04-26T22:14:00.000-04:00

In the digital scrapbooking world something wonderful is going on today through the end of the month. An additional $4 will be donated to the Autism Speaks fun through the purchase of the current Songbird Avenue kit. I actually picked up the kit earlier this month and have so enjoyed playing with it. Some of the Mother's Day gifts I've been created include pieces from this great kit.

"An Overwhelming Need: Today, nearly 27,000 children age 5 and younger will die of preventable causes. That's about 18 children every minute. Compassion's ministry focuses on preventing these deaths and releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name. But we can't do it without you." As quoted from the Compassion International website.

In world news...have you heard about World Malaria Day? Through Compassion International you can help out by donating just $10 which will purchase a mosquito net to help prevent the spread of this awful disease. Click here to help. And if you're interested in giving more to Compassion through sponsoring a child to release them from hunger...let me know. I signed up to share the information with our small group (aka Life Group) and compassion sent me packets for some children. I will be sharing the information with our LG but also thought I would put it on the blog so that if anyone else is interested, the files for 4 children are at my house.

'For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Matthew 25:35-36

Featured!

2009-04-24T15:29:00.001-04:00

Oh my goodness I'm so excited. Sarah just called to asked me if I'd seen that I was selected as the Well I'm Amazed layout for today at Vintage Plum. I don't scrapbook for the praise but it sure it nice to know others like some of what I create. The best part about this feature, for me anyway, is that this is a fully digital page featured on a paper site! Here are the details on the page. Now I'm off to play a bit with the little boy that just got up from nap...he is the real reason I scrapbook!

The little things!

2009-04-24T14:40:00.005-04:00

This phase of my life seems to be centered around the little things...and I love it! Here are some recent things that have happened that I don't want to forget.

Today Jameson was going on a field trip during school time. We were talking about it as we were getting ready this morning. He looked at me and asked "well which field are we going to go visit". He is so literal at times! I told him no you aren't going to visit a field, you're going to the elementary school for story time and then to a local dairy farm. He proceeded to ask if I thought the bus could handle the field that they would be driving through. So he was still stuck on the idea of field.
Earlier this week we met up with my friend Sarah at a local park for music in the park. It was fun to meet up with her. I am amazed at how much Layla has grown already! Sarah does an amazing job with her kiddos. At the park there were so many people that we decided to just walk around outside of the actual playground portion. I was on total sensory overload with the noise and not being able to see the kids at every moment. It was nice to be able to just chat with her and enjoy the awesome weather that is settling in these days!
For nap time today he shared a few things that he wanted to pray about (I usually ask him what things he wants to add to the prayers before nap then I say the prayer). Well today I asked him and then when we were praying I said "Lord hear our prayers", instead of actually repeating everything. Jameson did not like that so he said okay God I'll tell you. Like everyday we pray that daddy will come home safely to us after work and that Jose (our compassion child) will feel God's love surrounding him. Jameson's other prayers today were that he could drive better at Monster Truck Camp (the latest make believe location) and that he could learn to play golf as good as his dad. So sweet.
Yesterday we all had a wonderful day. Started out doing a little shopping at the outlets. Jameson really needs new shoes but we can't seem to find his size crocs. I did find a few fun dresses for the summer and I found a new pair of white shoes. I needed a pair to wear at the ADPi convention and the ones I found will be good for other things this year too. After doing a little shopping on our own we met up with Sarah & her kiddos. (The picture here is from my iPhone while we were taking a break and letting the kids play before heading to Chick-fil-A for lunch. We ended up being there for 2 hours. The kids were all playing so well together! Straight from there Jameson & I headed to a park new our house. The Crooks were meeting us there for me to take some pictures to celebrate Caleb's first birthday. We had such a great time. I shot 359 pictures and from what I could tell on the screen on the camera there are some really cute ones. I'll post a few here once I get them processed. Oh that little guy loves me...which makes me love him even more!
I just took a quiz about colors. I'm all over the board but slightly lean toward red (which isn't necessarily my favorite color but the description matches). It says "Red Scrapbooker: You have a real passion for this hobby. Your pages are colorful, bold, lively and full of adventure. You may enjoy travel and have many vacation photos. You like your albums to reflect your zest for life and the varied experiences you enjoy." I was close to green, blue & white as well which all blended together does pretty much describe my scrapbooking style. Take the quiz and let me know what it says about YOU!
Our weekend activities...see the pile of mulch? Need I say more except that my AWESOME husband will be spreading about 95% of it. Okay maybe more like 85% with Jameson picking up that other 10%. I don't really help, unless you count supplying food and drink. I've helped in the past but I don't seem to do it the way James prefers and because I tend to get blisters. I'll post some pictures of the updated yard once it is all spread. He does such a great job keeping our home looking beautiful!

Gallery Wrap!

2009-04-22T22:10:00.000-04:00

I am entering this photo in the MCP Actions/Color Inc. Win a Gallery Wrap Canvas Photo Contest on the MCP blog. I certify that I took this photo and give both parties permission to use this photograph on their blogs/sites. How cool would it be to be able to hang this beauty in our home? The top 10 entries are going to be posted on their blog and then the public will vote on the winner. I'll keep you posted if I make it to the top 10!

I captured this picture tonight. This afternoon I was in a bit of a saucy mood and by the time this evening came I didn't even want to be around myself so what did I do...escape to my own world with the camera in front of my face. I asked Jameson if I offered him a new hot wheel would he pose for some pictures, with his shirt off (this once naked boy doesn't like to be without clothes on these days). He agreed to go with my plan and about 8 minutes into it I snapped this picture. I was jumping up and down with excitement because I knew I had gotten THE shot that I wanted. I love having picture of him with his hands stretched out showing how old he is/or going to be soon. (Can you believe he is going to be FOUR in less then 2 weeks!?!) So I'm going to take a chance and enter this picture into the gallery wrapped contest on the MCP blog.

Earth Day!

2009-04-21T22:21:00.000-04:00

I am excited for Earth Day tomorrow! Now exactly sure why but it could just be that it is something fun to rally around this week. On the simple mom blog she had a list of 40 tips to go more green in our own homes. Our household is doing quite a few of these things but I'm sure there are more we could be doing. I would love to find a good farmers market to buy local, fresh produce. For anyone local to me, do you know of a good one? How about you, does the mention of Earth Day make you want to reduce or reuse a bit more? The Disney channel has been mentioning it quite a bit this week too. Jameson has been talking green!

Today our plans changed halfway through the day. Since Jameson had thought we were going to have a visitor he was disappointed when that didn't happen. So I wanted to come up with something super fun for us...the solution was a color scavenger hunt through the neighborhood. It was fun to look at things that we don't typically see or notice the various colors of things. It seemed that blue was the most frequent color today (with the exception of green, we talked about how many shades of green we saw). I slipped the Trendy neck strap around his neck (with a knot to keep it from hanging at his knees). He is so my child because he was getting down and moving himself to zoom in on things. So cute! He took 48 pictures is about 45 minutes. Now the downfall with this adventure was that for some reason Jameson (remember he is my son) kept tripping. He first fell when he spotted a very pretty pink bush and he went down on the side of his thigh. After a few tears he was back up and did not want to go home. So we moved onto find something else that was cool. He found a blue birdhouse. We got all the way around the point and were coming up on the pool when he fell again. Now this time it wasn't totally his fault because the sidewalk isn't level with the ground (about a 2 inch difference). He hit the edge of the concrete and scrapped his shin and had red dirt all the way in his shoe. Now this fall did produce a request to go home. He wasn't happy once we got home though because I told him the spots had to be cleaned. Wiping them off wasn't the worst part though, he cried when he realized that he couldn't do criss.cross.applesauce. Once he got settled down he took a little nap and hasn't mentioned the wounds since. I haven't decided yet what I'm going to do with the pictures from today but I can imagine that they would make an adorable mini-album. I noticed that scrapbook pictures had a sale but it ends today. I might keep my opens open for another sale on smaller square pictures. Overall I think the adventure was a good one because all through dinner Jameson kept asking if we could go back out to take color pictures!

Okay I know the placement is messed on this post but it just shut down and I had to redo half of it. I hope you enjoy it for the meat of it not the look of it!

Us!

2009-04-18T15:28:00.009-04:00

Things have been good lately. Nothing major going on, which has been really nice. Jameson has been on a mega hot wheels kick. The other day he decided to line them all up and look at them all at once. So I of course had to pull out the camera and document it. Oh boy there are lots of them...in total 80 right now (good thing they only run about $.97 each). The really cute part is that this smarty pants can tell you where almost all of them came from...this one came from Uncle Greg's house, this one came from that girl (aka Nana), I got this one with my own money at wal-mart, etc. And for the first time this week he got two duplicates. They are the same cars except different colors. These two pairs at this moment are napping with him, he loves the idea of matching, kinda like rhymes!

As many of you know our family loves Tervis tumblers. This week I found out that the sparkly ones can't go in the microwave. It didn't even dawn on me that they were metal. No one was harmed in this error except the cup.

This other pictures is a silly one I captured of him the other night playing with his new glow stick. He was having a blast with it while watching a little tv.

Yesterday Jameson went to hang out with Jenna for a little while. My friend Sabrina came over to scrapbook. It is always nice to connect with friends through this awesome hobby. I created this page about James' great-grandma E. The day before I had started working on the mother's day gifts. Jameson was having so much fun helping me measure the fabric. Oh he is such a cutie! I did do another page but I created it for a design team call for Vintage Plum. I can't post it elsewhere until after they make the decision. I used the song lyrics from this video on you tube! I love being challenged to create things I don't know that I would have thought of before. I knew I wanted to document Jameson's obsession with Chick-fil-A but I don't think I would have thought to include the lyrics from this silly song on you tube. How about you, what has inspired you lately to create something that you wouldn't have originally done?

We're having friends over for dinner so I'm heading now to get some veggies cut up!

Integrity

2009-04-18T12:55:00.002-04:00

Wow...today I was catching up on my blog reading and was reading the Compassion blog. They were talking about living with integrity and what it means to them.

To live with integrity:

means we don’t compromise our faith in Christ.
means the small things matter.
means life can feel lonely.
reflects the character of God who dwells within us.
requires intention.

This is some list and I personally strive to fulfill a similar list with intention.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24

Making a difference...

2009-04-15T20:07:00.002-04:00

Choosing to make a difference is something that is near and dear to my heart. Last night James & I had the opportunity to attend a dinner with our friends L.C. & Sarah. Sarah's friend Martha Marie recently joined a group called Caroline's Promise. They are bringing their ministry to South Carolina. Their mission is to spread the word about adoption.

“Your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.” Matthew 18:14

The keynote was given from Robby Mitchell. He was abandoned at the age of 3 and lived in an orphanage for the remainder of his childhood. It was interesting to hear his story as someone who was not adopted and has succeeded in life. He started following Christ shortly after leaving the orphanage. If you'd like to help share the vision of Caroline's Promise they do have a group on Facebook or you could sign up to brown bag it ones a week to help fund this ministry.

Something else I wanted to bring to your attention. Have you heard of TOMS shoes? This is a company that for every pair of shoes that are purchased a pair of shoes is given to a child in need. So tomorrow (4/16) they are asking everyone to go without shoes in an attempt to bring more attention to their company. I'm going to go without shoes but I don't run into too many people since we don't typically leave the development. I can however spread the word through the blog. So check out their site and if you're in a position to go without shoes, do it and help spread the word about One for One.

Our Easter!

2009-04-13T23:23:00.000-04:00

Wow we had a great Easter weekend! Lots of together time, attending church together, with Greg and then heading to brunch with the Fanello family. Here is a picture of Jameson almost wearing the cute little tie we had for him. He decided at the last minute not to wear it out of the truck. I also posted some other pictures from our day (see the post below). Aunt Tam had an egg hunt for the kids. Boy did Jameson have fun with that, he couldn't decide if he was more excited about the candy or the quarters. Notice in the picture below that the pups even wanted in on the egg opening process!

I love the feeling of new-ness that comes with spring. Celebrating the resurrection of Jesus yesterday seems to fit so well with all the blooms that are on the trees (I'm sure He planned it that way). Sometime last week, after it has rained, there were blossoms all over the road from one of the trees. Jameson likes to call them spring trees - love it!

Friday with James off of work we spent a great day hanging out at home. Some of our part-time neighbors invited us over for dinner. Just as we were heading to their house, the rain that had been coming down on and off all all day seemed to pick up. Quickly we realized that there was a tornado watch. And in about 20 minutes the power was out, lucky for all of us the meal was already done. So we enjoyed a great meal, with friends...in the dark with the winds blowing outside. As the evening moved along we found out that there a tree had fallen on the power lines just up the road. We headed back to our house to go to sleep for the night. On a typical night Jameson watched a tv show before he goes to bed. He did not understand why we wouldn't turn on the tv for him. We tried a few times to explain to him that it was electric and since the power was OUT we couldn't turn it on. Then James realized that we could let him watch a dvd program on one of the laptops. So the boy got to watch a little kid tv before drifting off to dream land. (I posted a picture but for some reason it moved to a new post and I'm not willing to take the time to reload it here - look below).

One more picture, lately this boy has become almost obsessed with golf. Here he is actually hitting off the greens on one of the holes closest to our house. He played two holes...hit a little, run to where the ball landed...hit again, run again...you get the picture. We did have to have a little chat with him about the attire he was wearing for golf - this boy loves his white shirts and comfy shorts, so silly!

Easter pictures...

2009-04-13T23:22:00.001-04:00

Here are the pictures that moved from the other post...does this 'little' boy look old or what? It is amazing to think he is going to be 4 in less then a month.

The picture of our family in the bed was taken during the power outage with the boy watching a dvd on the laptop.

The Cross!

2009-04-11T11:38:00.001-04:00

"God put on him the wrong who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God" (2 Cor. 5:21 MSG)

It is truly amazing to think of what Jesus went through for each and every one of us. It putting me in a state of awe to truly think about it. I am so grateful that He died for our sins, because each and every one of us are sinners yet he forgives us and loves us all. I pray that I am able to keep the true meaning of Easter present not only this weekend but always. God sacrificed so much for me and you.

Photo taken in 2003 at the Disciples of Christ church in Medina, Ohio. This picture speaks to me not only because it is a cross on a hill but because of the way the trees are bending in the background, it reminds me of the thorns that are protrayed in many images of Jesus.

Video!

2009-04-09T17:15:00.005-04:00

We've been enjoying some good family time today since James is off of work with a long weekend!

I thought I would share this great inspirational video on how to cut fabric using the cricut! Check it out here. The last few baby gifts I've made have been iron-on transfer using digital elements, next I'm going to be trying this fun option with fabric!

I'm recovering from a short bought of major allergy suffering. I went to the doctor yesterday and am on an antibiotic and allergy meds. I suppose I need to face the fact that I now have seasonal allergies and must take the medication this time of year and in the fall if I don't want to get sick!

Recording the everday moments...

2009-04-07T23:31:00.005-04:00

Today it seemed like there were a ton of simple everyday things going on all around us. The odd part was that I had the urge to freeze time. I don't typically have that feeling as I'm excited to live in the moment with the thought that the future holds so much to be excited about. So today some of the moments I wanted to freeze:

While we were working on Jameson's hat for crazy hat day tomorrow we were painting. We had the hat done and he wanted to continue painting. So I turned around to the scrapbook table and started working on my own project. He ran to the bathroom and when he returned he held his hands in the air and said "Ummm, now where was I?" It was so funny and dramatic. The page here is the project I was working on while the little artist was at play!

After the painting adventures this morning we had delayed our showering until this afternoon. I was straightening up downstairs and Jameson had gone up without me. When I got up to our bathroom, the boy was laying on the rug, snuggling under a towel. He said "you know it is cooooold up here without clothes on" (with the lowered temps today we didn't turn on the heat upstairs since it is going to warm up soon)

After we were all cleaned up we were walking down the steps to come back downstairs. Suddenly Jameson tripped (another proven point that he is my son) and stumbled a bit. I was holding a cup and as I reached to stop him from falling even more I spilt a bit of the coffee on him. He was so upset that his clean shirt had gotten messed up. He is so funny about his shirts and white tees while at home (this new shirt would have been his third for the day since he got paint on the first one). So the real reason I'm telling you my son has trouble with steps was what he said once we were sitting down on the couch. He was telling me that Jesus doesn't always walk down the steps either. He likes to slide down on his belly. It is so neat that this boy has daily conversations that involve God and Jesus. It so warms my heart.

Week prior to Easter...

2009-04-06T16:37:00.000-04:00

Here we are the week prior to Easter. This time of year the excitement is in the air, especially at FCC. They are anticipating nearly double the normal attendance. We're doing our part by going to the early service and we're taking Greg along! I can't wait to hear the message. If you're in the area and want to join us, let me know!

In preparation for Easter I just read that Rachel Olsen is exploring the readings that Jesus did the week prior to the cross. Sounds like a very interesting study of the bible. Want to join me in this reading?

I also thought I would share another CT project that I did a few weeks ago. The kit hadn't been released yet so I couldn't post it earlier. It is such a simple little thing that I just printed out on the printer here at home and slipped into a plastic frame (the kind with the magnet on the back). It is fun to have fresh pictures on the lockers while I create in the office.

Later this week we will officially be in on spring break at our house. Jameson has one more day of school, which will consist of crazy hat day and an egg hunt. We're excited to have some extra time together. I'm planning to come up with some special activities here at the house and possibly some day trips. Does anyone have any suggestions for fun things to do with a wild almost 4 year old boy that loves car. The only thought I've come up with is to create a cool road one night after he goes to bed so he wakes up to it. If the weather cooperate we may do some day trips or something. Tomorrow it is supposed to possibly snow here. Is it really April? Okay I'm off to have dinner with some friends!

ABCs...

2009-04-03T23:07:00.008-04:00

Okay I thought I would post over here instead of just on Facebook...

1. A is for age: 33
2. B is for butter of choice: country crock
3. C is for career right now: SAHM!
4. D is for your dog's name: Deacon
5. E is for essential item you use everyday: toothpaste and powder
6. F is for favorite TV show at the moment: Grey's is back at the top
7. G is for favorite game: Memory
8. H is for Home town: Akron, Ohio
9. I is for instruments you play: Piano & flute
10. J is for favorite juice: orange
11. K is for whose butt you'd like to kick: none
12. L is for last place you ate: home
13. M is for marriage: 10 years this September
14. N is for your full name: Jill Lynn Jarvis
15. O is for overnight hospital stays: nearly 4 years ago...Jameson's birth
16. P is for people you were with today: Jameson, James & Cade Ratliff
17. Q is for quote: I'm going to go with a recent verse that is sticking with me..."If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross each day and follow me" Luke 9:23
18. R is for Biggest Regret: no regrets
19. S is for status: relaxed
20. T is for time you woke up today: 6:54 a.m.
21. U is for underwear you have on now: black
22. V is for vegetable you love: all of them! (or at least that I've tried and aren't mixed with too many other things)
23. W is for worst habit: spending too much time online, even though I bump back and forth between doing productive things
24. X is for x-rays you've had: hands (I've broken almost all of my fingers at one point in my life)
25. Y is for yummy food you ate today: I should say the stuffed pizza I made for dinner but it honestly wasn't that great so I'll go with the salad I had for lunch!
26. Z is for zodiac sign: Scorpio

And what would a post be without a picture or two. I've added the most recent digital layout that I finished (mix of pictures from the past week), a shot of James & Jameson blowing out candles last weekend and the picture of me with Maria & Jenna...the boy took that one. He was laughing at himself and having such a good time! We've had lots of yummy treats around these parts! I have lots of other pictures to share, eventually!

Coach's Low Country!!

2009-03-31T21:18:00.000-04:00

We have a local celebrity! Our very own Coach aka Joe Crosby is going to be on QVC! Anyone that has come to visit us in the warmer months has had the pleasure of enjoying some boil from T-60...this is that spice! Coach is going to be on this thursday (4/2) from 3-5 pm. Check it out!!!

Digiland...

2009-03-31T09:15:00.000-04:00

I recently made a big change with regards to my digiland commitments. Earlier this year I had been feeling like God wanted me to step away from this responsibility. I kept praying about it because after so many years of wanting to be on creative teams, surely He wouldn't want me to walk away. So I kept praying about it over the last month. I finally gave in and sent in my notice to the designers. I am sad but at the same time I'm excited to just be creative on my own terms (not that their terms were very strict, really). The reality of it is I have so many products already in my office and on my computer that there isn't a need to keep downloading kits to use only once or twice. My goal over the next few months will be to make things using things I already have on hand, either physically or on my hard drive. I will be sad to not to be quite as active in the forums but at the same time I'm excited to have a little more time away from the laptop (my boys are excited about that part too!)...especially with summer coming. We all know Jameson & I have a daily date with the pool around these parts!

And just as I am walking away I had the honor of having a layout showcased in the After5 ad last week...check it out here. Speaking of After5, check out this product spotlight for Cafe J. Janelle has offered up a 30% off coupon (good until 4/18) for anything in her shop at After5. Be sure to take a peek!

You will still be seeing me around The Hybrid Chick blog. I have a tutorial there in April. And in May I'll have a project featured in the DST Insider. So I won't totally be falling away from digiland!

Treasures!

2009-03-24T23:40:00.004-04:00

Lately I have been focused on the word treasures. The first treasure this week came on Sunday night when our life group went out for a fun evening. We went bowling...and even James had a good time! We all took pictures of the fun rental shoes!

Then on Monday morning while Jameson & I were driving the little man was jabbering away to me. What he said was so cute. (Lately he has been telling stories about things that he has basically has completely imagined up. I've heard it is a phase and I'm trying to capture as many of these stories as possible.) Okay back to the story that came out this week. He was telling me about how God was trying to turn him into a robot. Now that alone is pretty cool that he pulls God into a regular conversation. The really neat twist was that he said that he called for Jesus to help protect him so that God wouldn't turn him into a robot.

In the back of my head I've been looking for a vintage, velvet chair to use for photos. I didn't really think I would be able to find one, that was what I was looking for and in my budget. But oh boy did God have another plan in place for this fun treasure. So later in the day on Monday as we were heading to have dinner to celebrate Julia & Rocco's birthdays, I found a true treasure! There was a trailer in front of a furniture store with the exact chair that I had seen in my minds eye...and the best part it was only $15! It is so fun! I can't wait to place it in just the right spot. I did pull it out and got this shot with the 4 kiddos together!

Today we got to spend some treasured time with my dear friend Sarah and her kiddos. Oh that little Mallory loves ME! She can even say my name and reaches for me as soon as she sees me. It feels so good to feel that kind of unconditional love! We headed to a really fun park together.

And the treasures continued this evening, I was reminded what kind of toddler Jameson was about 2 years ago. He used to get up around 11-12 almost every single night. He would come out of his bed, walk to the top of the steps and cry. Not sure why but he was almost every.single.night. So in the last week he has done it again. Tonight I heard him get up and walk to the top of the steps...check. Crying...check. Then I heard something I'd never heard before...pee hitting the wall. Oh yes he had walked out to the top of the steps and thought it was the bathroom. I yelled stop, which he did, luckily! I ran up there and carried him to the bathroom, he finished going potty and then went back to bed. Oh boy, life is fun sometimes! I guess I know what I get to do first thing in the morning (I know I should have done it tonight but I just couldn't bring myself to turn on the lights and wake up James). I'm off to bed now!

"They will summon peoples to the mountain and there offer sacrifices of righteousness; they will feast on the abundance of the seas, on the treasures hidden in the sand." Deuteronomy 33:19

Local golf outing!

2009-03-21T16:08:00.003-04:00

For anyone that is looking for a way to golf and help out the community at the same time...please considered participating in this golf outing. Our neighbor, Jay Ratliff is organizing it to benefit the local youth center. Give Jay a call for details on how you can sponsor a hole (I think there are 2 left now) or golf.

New furniture!

2009-03-21T00:02:00.003-04:00

We did it!!! James & I have been on the hunt for new furniture for the living room but just hadn't found exactly what we wanted. He wanted a black couch, I wasn't so sure of how that dark. A few weeks ago we found ourselves in Ikea looking at what we thought was the perfect couch for us...right color (I'd come to agree with James in the last few months), great size, shape, etc. Pretty much everything except the price tag (isn't that always how it goes?). We walked away that snowy day with a pamphlet and that was it. We each checked it out a few times after online but nothing more. Fast forward to today...Jeannie (our friend from church - the awesome painter!), invited me & Jameson to go to Ikea with her to get a few things she needed for work. So the plan was that we really weren't buying anything. Well that was until we found out that the awesome couch we'd just seen 3 weeks ago had been discontinued and was on sale. This was at the beginning of our adventure through Ikea. The last section of the store (self-serve) was where the discounted furniture was located. I spotted it right away and was so excited to see that the one they had was black. I tried to calmly check it out (it was the floor model). There was a spot where the seem had come apart. I found a clerk and asked if they would mark it off any additional. She let me know that she wanted it gone so she would see what she could do to reduce the price. Then I also found out that they still had one of the awesome matching recliner. I called James again (he was in meetings). Okay what price can you do for the couch and the recliner. She got the couch down to a great price and they weren't moving much on the recliner. We started toward the registers with just the 3 pieces to the couch. As we moved up in line the clerk asked again if I didn't want the recliner. I said that we did want it but not at that price. She marked off an extra $200. So we this awesome, dreamy couch and recliner for well under 50% off. Now the real test came up...was it all really going to fit into Jeannie's avalanche (she had made quite a few purchases too)? I never seem to remember that the beds aren't like a 'typical' truck. Thanks to the two awesome helpers at Ikea...it all fit. Lucky for us Paul keep tethers in the truck or we never would have made it. It was a tense ride north as I kept checking the mirrors to be sure that nothing was tumbling off the back of the tale gate. We made it home and Jeannie & I got it all unloaded in the driveway and she headed home. James pulled in a few minutes later and met the new furniture...right in the middle of the driveway! James and our neighbor Ed moved the old furniture to the dining room and then moved the new set up the steps and into the house. Then James had to run back to work for a bit so I started moving things all around. I pretty much had figured out how I wanted it but it did take a bit longer to do it with only a 3 year old to help push, pull, etc. For the first time in a long time our living room all matches!!!! And an added bonus, the chairs James ordered earlier this year are in the dinette which we're calling the wii-room. It is now comfy to play the wii at our house!

After we had it all set I was cleaning the leather with polish. Jameson found that it was a great sliding zone. We had to have a discussion about indoor behavior!

The Hybrid Chick!

2009-03-20T22:10:00.005-04:00

There is an exciting new blog on the net! You MUST go check it out!

Hybrid layouts!

2009-03-18T10:17:00.008-04:00

My latest obsession...hybrid layouts! For anyone that isn't sure what that means, it is the combination of paper items with some digital pieces to it. I do a little creating on the computer, print it out and then assemble the page with at least one piece of 12x12 cardstock and sometimes some other IRL (in real life) elements. I'm having so much fun with it. I've challenged myself not to spend any money on the things I'm creating. What that means is that I'm only printing what I can do here at home, using pictures I already have printed and

not buying any more cardstock, embellishments or patterned paper...at least for a little while! I did tell James that I might need to buy some adhesive if I ran out because that is a necessity! So far I'm doing pretty good. I think I've created almost 8 pages with my new 'theory'! I also wanted to let you all know that I hosted the Sugarplum blog yesterday. Check out the fun Easter banner I made for Caroline! I hope you're having a wonderful week!

I almost forgot...here is a picture from our green dinner last night. Green jello, green pizza (Jameson was almost afraid to eat it) and lots of green veggies (cucs, green peppers & lettuce). We had a fun day being green!

St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T07:24:00.000-04:00

The shamrock is the traditional symbol because St. Patrick used it to explain the connection between the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit in the Christian religion. (source unknown)

We don't necessarily celebrate this holiday because we're Irish or that we believe in luck but because it is FUN!! I love an excuse to eat a certain color of food and to dress a certain way. So today we're having green jello and a few other fun things...like green peeps!

Here is a little story from my past regarding St. Patrick's day. When I was in the first grade our teacher told us that the leprechauns had visited our room the night before St. Patty's. My math book was missing when I got to school. She kept insisting that it was the leprechauns. To this day I don't remember ever getting that book back. Those little guys must have been strong, maybe they were hungry and at the paper?!

Do you have any fun St. Patty's Day stories?

Newborn!

2009-03-17T00:06:00.005-04:00

Today I had the pleasure of photographing a very new, newborn. Little Gavin was born on Saturday so he was just hours old in these pictures. It is so fun to record these early times, they don't stick around very long. Now the surprising thing, at least for me, was that he did not sleep for the 2 hours that I was there nor did he have any interest in curling up. I did get one shot with his eyes closed, only because he did think about sleeping for a moment and I had the camera aimed right at him. Here are some of my favorites...
Did anyone notice the new graphic at the top of the blog? Let me know what you think??

Praying...

2009-03-13T12:43:00.003-04:00

"Keep on praying." 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NLT)

I've recently been reading quite a few things regarding prayer. One spot was in a devotional from the Proverbs 31 author Rachel Olson (she is great!). She spoke about how busy our lives are and that many times we may tell someone that we are going to pray for them but in our busyness we forget. In the devotional she suggested that instead of saying you would pray for them to pause right then TO pray for them. I have been doing this every since I read the devotional and I can already see a change in my prayer life with our Lord.

The second thing that I read was also by Rachel. Her blog post from earlier this week offered some great suggestions for anyone that is nervous to pray out loud, which would include me. It talks about praying words from the bible. Some great things!

What suggestions do you have regarding prayer?

Time with Friends!

2009-03-11T23:48:00.006-04:00

Lately we've had some great times with various friends. This past weekend we had a typical neighborhood Saturday night...hanging out at the Ratliff's house (we missed you Carrie); eating dinner together and just plan relaxing (it was in the mid 80s without a cloud in the sky). Then on Sunday afternoon we went on a hike with a bunch of other friends from church. Abby put it together and let everyone know that it was about a mile hike. Lucky for us we didn't know how long it really was until we were well on our way. Turns out it was probably about 2 miles each way, and slopped. So the return to our vehicles was a bit tiring, especially on the 12 kiddos that were along for the fun! I had a great time chatting with little Olivia, she was my hiking partner on the return. Normally she is pretty quiet but she chatted almost the entire way back up from the falls. It was so sweet! Notice the new blog header picture? It is from this hiking trip!

Then yesterday, Sarah and the kids came to our house to hang out. We took the kids down to the beach and boy did they have a good time. Now if only we could have set up our scrapbook tables down there...we would all have been in our element! When we did finally get back home the kids were enjoying some popsicles. Jameson was so sweet sharing his with Mallory. He would hold the top of her head so he could get the popsicle up to her mouth. Cute!

Today we headed to visit our other Sarah H! She had her 3rd baby just 3 weeks ago so we headed out to get some pictures! Jameson had such a good time playing with Pheoby! Here are a few of my favorite shots, I couldn't resist including one of Trey...he is such a stinkin' sweet boy!

It is nearly 1 am and I'm still awake. I have been trying to force myself to go to bed by midnight, I guess I didn't make it tonight?! One goal I can say we accomplished in our house...going green with our laundry. We have a clothes line so we can reduce the use of our dryer!

Song Bird!

2009-03-10T20:43:00.002-04:00

There is a not for profit digital site called Song Bird. Each month there is a kit created and all of the proceeds go to benefit a different group. This month the kit is Easter themed and all proceeds go to The Make A Wish Foundation. If you are looking for an adorable digital kit for Easter (or really any theme), go grab this kit!

Okay now I'm heading back away from the computer. I've been reorganizing my scrapbook room this week, play outside (lots!) and basically just enjoying some face time with some friends and especially my boys!

Please vote!

2009-03-09T09:28:00.002-04:00

My sister has a friend that was selected for a room makeover through their local Fish radio station. Now the 5 finalists are eligible to win a trip to Hawaii. Please go HERE and select Cynthia Duckworth from the list (she is the last one). Thank you!

Donuts!

2009-03-08T22:06:00.003-04:00

Oh my goodness, James shared these video clips with me from last Monday at the shop...thought everyone else might get a kick out of them!

The driver is Vince, Bryan is taping and James is somewhere in the background moving my truck out of the way of the crazy snow covered car.

Spring has sprung!

2009-03-07T22:43:00.000-05:00

Wow have we had a real taste of spring here today! I'm almost in shock at how nice it was since we just has SNOW here this past weekend. Today it was 75 degree, sunny and just simply beautiful. Not only was the weather great, the activities for the day were dreamy too. For me it started out with not waking up to an alarm clock and then getting a few things done around the house (laundry, checked email, blogged, etc). Then I had the pleasure of taking pictures for some new friends from church. Amanda and Dave are expecting their second baby, SOON! She hasn't had maternity shots taken with this pregnancy or with Noah so I offered to take a few shots for her. They came out and we had fun (well at least I did!) taking some pictures. After getting a few with their whole family, James & Dave headed out for a round of golf. We stuck around the house to take a few more pictures and to let the little boys play together. Jameson was so stinkin' sweet to Noah (who is 20 months old). At one point Jameson had a picture from Disney and he was telling Noah all about what he was doing in the picture, who he was with and where it was from. This evening when we were doing prayers before bed Jameson told me that he wanted to pray that he could play with Noah again sometime soon. So sweet! My favorite shots are posted below!

Today I hosted the blog at A5D. There is a little tutorial on the rule of three and creating this hybrid scrapbook layout, take a look here. Another recent project included this birthday card (both projects are clickable for details).

While I was in Ohio I got to go see the movie He's just not that into you, with some friends from college. It is such a fun movie. I had actually purchased the sound track before I even saw the movie. Lots of variety...great fit for my ADHD mind! I can't wait for the dvd to come out, this might become my new Pretty Woman! (For anyone that doesn't know, in high school I used to watch this movie almost every single day while I would do my algebra or calculus homework.)

Speaking of movies, our house has been overtaken by HSM3 (High School Musical 3 for those that might have been under the same rock as I was before this week!). We borrowed the movie from the Ratliff family and every.single.day since Jameson has requested to watch it. I'm not sure if is the basketball that he enjoys or the singing and dancing. Either way he really likes it. These pictures were taken during one showing when he was 'dancing' along with Troy!

Today the post on the compassion international blog is great. Check it out here. I love the image of the father holding the child's hand with the verse "As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord" Joshua 24:15. This is one of my favorite verses. Paired with this picture...awesome!

What have you been doing this weekend with the warmer weather? Tomorrow our family is going hiking with some other families from church...awesome stuff!!

Book sale!

2009-03-07T15:33:00.001-05:00

Jameson's school is having a book sale. This isn't your traditional book sale either. They are selling personalized books! The book will incorporate the child's name, 3 of their friends, their hometown and a few other things. I have a book similar from my childhood and it is one of my most treasured. If you are interested in purchasing one from us, let me know by the 16th. They are each $19.95 (includes shipping, etc). They are guaranteeing delivery by Easter, which is what were planning to do for Jameson.

Don't forget his school is also doing a fundraiser this Tuesday at the local Zaxby's. What better reason to enjoy a chicken dinner?

Heat?!

2009-03-04T15:51:00.004-05:00

Will you believe me if I tell you there is still snow outside of our house? There is! Not much but there are spots that still have snow. Here is a picture I took last night and the snow is still there now.

This month I'm taking an online class from 2peas. It is called Sew Scrappy Happy. I've been sewing on my projects for sometime but I figured it was time to try out some new techniques and I've enjoyed the inspiration from Jennifer Johner, who is teaching this class. And it was only $5 so why not, right? Here is the layout I completed for week 1. Jameson even tried to help, which is really the reason I don't sew more because this boy wants to open up the machine and figure out exactly how it works. Oh the engineer brained little boy!

On the digital scrapbooking front, you have got to check out this contest. It is being organized by After5 & Shabby Pickle. I'm half thinking about stepping down from the CT at A5 just so I can participate...JK!

Now I'm heading to fix something for dinner. We've been avoiding the first floor today as we're having issues with the heater down there. It was only 57 while we were eating lunch. Not too bad but since nap time we're been hanging out upstairs where it is closer to 70. Oh how easy it is to take things for granted. When things like this happen I find myself pausing to pray for those that don't have half as much as we do.

More randomness...

2009-03-03T08:32:00.000-05:00

Okay I have some additional random info to share with you all!

While I was in Ohio I had the pleasure of taking pictures for Greg Nettle. He wanted to update the photo on his blog. Here are a few of my favorites.

Also on the photography front, do you remember me telling you that I won something from Trendy Straps? I'm still in shock over it. I WON A BACKDROP. Yes a real life backdrop. Watch out world Jill J and her camera are on there way to capturing more memories!

Something else for locals, Jameson's school is having a fundraiser at the local Zaxby's. For anyone that eats there on the 10th 10% will go to the school.

Also next week, if you are in the Seneca area and are interested in taking a fun scrapbook class...join me on the 12th at Southern Scrapbooks for a class on acrylic home displays. Here is the sample I'll be teaching from. I think this would make a great addition to any home, either use it for your own home or give it as a gift.

I'm sure there will be other random things to update everyone on but that is all for now. I hope you're having a great day and using your talents to praise God.

Snow day!

2009-03-02T17:49:00.009-05:00

We have snow at our house! It started to fall at some point mid-day Sunday. And even now, Monday evening, there is still unmelted snow in some spots. I don't ever remember snow sticking around this long in our neck of the woods.

So yesterday we started our day by leaving the house about 8:30. We went to church and then left from there to take my mom to the Atlanta airport. (She was nice enough to ride down from Ohio with me & Jameson...thanks Mom.) As we were just coming into the Atlanta area we realized that the rain was started to look a bit funny...it was snow! It steadily increased and soon we were surrounded by some pretty fluffy snow all over. Here is a shot from the ATL terminal. After dropping mom off we headed to Ikea. (What trip to Atlanta shouldn't include this fun store?!) We had a fun time wondering the aisles and then decided it was time to start heading back home. The entire time we were in the store the snow didn't slowed down. Everything was covered in white snow! We made our way about 1/3 of the way up the interstate and then met a standstill of traffic. So we decided to use the navigation system and see where it would take us if we avoided highways. It really didn't take us too much extra time to get home. As we headed a bit west the snow disappeared from the ground but then as we got closer to home, turning east again, the snow reappeared. We were amazed when we got home to see our entire house covered in snow and more was falling, which at that point was actually freezing rain. Today of course was a snow day for Jameson but the best part was James also had a half day at home too. He went into the plant as usual this morning but their power wasn't staying on so he came home. He did a little work throughout the afternoon. It is so awesome to have him around more then normal! Now tomorrow they are saying the roads might be even worse because the snow that is still on the roads will most likely freeze and become black ice. We might be blessed with another at home day for our family?!

I'd thought I'd share a picture of our freshly painted dining room. Jeannie does such a great job. I love the stripes. She did the same color just with different finishes so they are a great slight difference, the best part is that she also painted the ceiling, which I think really finishes the room. So if you're in our area and are looking for a painter, check out Paul Carr's wife Jeannie...she is the bomb!

In other news...while driving on the way to Ohio, which seems like ages ago now, we saw a double rainbow. The most amazing part was that I think we actually were at the bottom of the rainbow because the beams were coming from the water splashing from the truck in front of us.

When we're visiting my family we can almost always be found with my sister and her kiddos. These 4 have so much fun together. Deb was attempting to get a picture of all of them for her office. She wanted something realistic, I think she succeeded!

Okay I think this post is long enough, I still have more to say but I'll save it for later!

Travels!

2009-02-23T22:11:00.005-05:00

Wow have we been having a fun time on our travels! Jameson has had a great time eating the snow! Earlier today William & Mara were here playing with Jameson. They all wanted to go outside so we got all bundled up and headed out. William asked Jameson if he wanted to ride in the gator with him and they could both pretend to be the daddys. And then he said, "Mara you can be the honey (aka mommy/wife)." I was laughing so hard at them!

Over the weekend I was in Michigan for an ADPi conference. It went really well. Our district has a new colony at Drake University. We wanted them to know we were thinking about this so we took a group photo of everyone that was at the conference this weekend. Here is the photo we sent to them.

Then today we spent the morning relaxing. This afternoon we met up with my friend Simonette. We had a good time chatting and watching Jameson be himself. Then we headed to see my grandma. If I didn't know her true age, I would never believe that she is 88. She was trying to teach me how to knit and then Jameson wanted to get in on the action too. So cute!

Creating with friends!

2009-02-19T06:39:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week I was a very lucky girl to get some crafty time with some of my dearest college friends. Jaimie hosted and Julie, Jaime & Krista all came. It was amazing to catch up with each other. Here are a few of the digital pages that I did while we were together.

Using some fun kits from K Studios & Pink Ellie at AfterFiveDesigns.com. (The photo has a lightroom treatment which Kristen created - so makes me smile!)
Here is another one using a kit from AfterFiveDesigns.com but the best part about this one...you can get it for free from The Daily Scrapper.

This is another one using things from After5.

I've been enjoying some major quality time with my family...heavenly! This weekend I'm heading to Michigan for the District Leadership Conference for ADPi. I'm so excited to meet the new recruitment teams for our 21 chapters!

Addy!

2009-02-15T20:32:00.005-05:00

As promised here are some photos of baby Addy (and one with Jameson)!

Digital Community

2009-02-14T11:33:00.000-05:00

If you are a digital scrapbooker and aren't a part of the online community, you are missing out! The women that make up this community have such big hearts. Today I was surprised with a RAK (random act of kindness) from Tracy Rivera. She sent me a coupon for her adorable Valentine kit. I'm so excited! Another thing I love about this community is that when someone is in need they rally to help. Like the this grab bag for Mellisa. She was in an accident and the proceeds from the kit go to help her out. Another thing I like about this community...meeting friends in real life! Tomorrow I am meeting up with Nicole! After I meet up with Nicole I am then heading to meet up with some college friends. We're going to be together until sometime Monday. I am so over the top excited about the next few days. I love being surrounded by loved ones!

Now I'm off to prepare for a newborn photo session. Baby Addy is on her way here right now!! I'll post some pictures soon!

Be Mine...

2009-02-14T09:38:00.003-05:00

On this day of love I thought I would post this reminder of the ultimate love... "He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life" (John 3:16, The Message). Long after the gifts we might give or receive today God's love for us endures. Jesus showed His love for us and taught us how to live and love each other. He received criticism, testing and rejection -- and yet gathered strength from God to turn the other cheek. Jesus prayed for us, and His enemies. He even suffered crucifixion in order to save us from our sin. Jesus is God's perfect expression of love. His life and death are God saying to me and you, "Be Mine." (extracted from Proverbs 31 devotional)

Skiing!!

2009-02-13T14:58:00.005-05:00

The boy did it! We headed out to the slops this morning and Jameson actually did it! I honestly wasn't sure what he was going to do with the boots and coat, etc. Once he had it all on and was at the bottom of the hill with Papa Jim and Uncle Brandt he was all about it! He went up the special moving carpet about 6-7 times. Then he was all set to try out the chair lift. He was so cool to see him so excited and doing it! Here are some photos so daddy can see!

Tonight I'm heading to a dinner at AU. I am so excited to get to see some college friends and enjoy a yummy meal. I will be watching what I'm eating but tonight I might have a bit more then usual. I know I haven't updated the ticker on the blog to show my weight lose. To be honest I can't remember my password but I have lost about 15 pounds with 6-7 more to go to reach my official goal. We'll see that works out with so much travel going on the rest of this month?!

I also wanted to share with everyone that Cafe J has a freebie on her blog today. Also wanted to share with everyone that The DigiChick is having a party this weekend in celebration of Valentine's Day...check it out!

We're off...

2009-02-10T23:43:00.000-05:00

Has it really been over a week since I posted anything? I have had really good intentions but instead I took the weekend off from the computer! I'm actually think I'm going to be doing that more often. This past Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the District 1 conference for ADPi. It was filled with excitement, including a visit from the local fire station! Nothing was wrong but it did provide for a reason to get outside and enjoy the awesome heatwave we've been having since Friday. Then Sunday we went to church and then hung out as a family. Jameson had a blast playing with the sand down at the beach near our house (lake beach not the ocean beach). Yesterday and today have been filled with Chick-fil-a. My mom send Jameson a gift card to Chick-fil-a and he has been having a blast paying for his own food. The first clerk couldn't really understand him though so he didn't get exactly what he wanted but he was okay with it and politely told her thank you. Our local Chick-fil-a is the absolute best. Today they had a mommy & me time which include free coffee for the moms, story time, and many activity stations throughout (play dough, a Valentine Craft & coloring). We will definitely be back for this!

Remember the butterflies? Well this past Sunday we decided to let them go out in the wild. The instructions say they can be let go as long as the temperature is above 50, it was about 70 at the point that we decided to let them go. Personally it was a way for me to not have to explain death to Jameson. It was neat to see them flutter about and hopefully they were able to spend their last hours happy and free! As a side not, we do know that one of the butterflies didn't survive too long. One of our resident lizards ate it. I almost started crying right there but realized that Jameson didn't see it so I held back. It was so sad to witness but I know it is the circle of life, I'd just personally prefer not to have to witness it first hand.

Earlier today I found out that I won on the Trendy Straps blog. I can't tell you yet what exactly I won but let me just say that I am totally blown away and really excited. I got one of their straps a few months ago and it is so comfy and looks great. I've had different embellished straps but none as comfy as this one (it is made with neoprene). As good as the strap is I'm sure that this prize that I've won is going to be over the top exceptional. Stay tuned and I'll be sure to share the details! Their new catalog goes lives this coming Sunday.

Now onto a few of my latest creations... (for credits, click on the images)
If you're a local crafty friend...mark your calendar for March 12th. I'm teaching an acrylic home decor class at the Southern Scrapbook store. I'll be sure to post a picture later this month to give you an idea of what we'll be doing. What I can say is that it is something a beginner or advance crafter can do. Please join us!!

Beware the blog won't be being updated too much because the boy & I are off on a wild adventure north! I'll be back more frequently in March!

Exciting news!

2009-02-01T18:30:00.005-05:00

Yeah February is finally here! I've had some exciting news that I wasn't able to share until 2/1. The DigiChick is now under new management...Nicole Seitler aka Sugarplum Paperie. She is the first creative team that I was ever added to. Now that she is at TDC she asked me to help out with the Hybrid Creative Team there. We've added a few new artists and I'm excited to see what everyone creates. There will be some challenges in the coming weeks, so watch out for some links from the blog. Better yet, if you aren't already registered at TDC...go do it!

In other news, you all know I've been a subscriber at Scarlet Lime since Christy Tomlinson started this kit of the month. I just go the latest newsletter and was pleasantly surprised when one of my cards was featured! Such an honor! (And the best part is that I didn't even notice it, Sarah had to tell me!)

This weekend I've been doing lots of reading, which we all know isn't my favorite thing to do. I'm reading the entire 300+ page recruitment & marketing manual for ADPi. It is interesting but I can't just sit and read for too long at one time. Good thing I didn't save this task any longer since I have to have it done by the middle of February.

Around the house, we have 5 new pets! Jameson got one of those butterfly nets for Christmas. The baby caterpillars arrived a few weeks after Christmas and just this past week they emerged from their cocoons. Tomorrow they get to travel to school for show and tell!

Now I'm off to pretend that I'm watching the Superbowl, when really I'm just excited to see the new commercials! How about you, what have you been up to these days?!

Treasures...

2009-01-28T09:20:00.004-05:00

"Your word I have treasured in my heart…" Psalm 119:11a (NAS)

This verse reminds me of February for some reason. I love the month of February (I know it is still January but we're very close to Feb)! Not sure if it is because of Valentine's Day, more time to spend inside or that I know I always get to see adpi friends. Whatever the reason, I'm excited! And this year not only do I get to see adpi friends, I also get to visit with lots of other friends and family in Ohio.

Our week has been so much fun so far! On Monday Sarah called and asked what we had going on. We actually didn't have much going on so we agreed to come hang out with them for a bit. Then her husband called and said that his business trip would definteily require him to stay overnight. So Jameson & I had stayed with them. It was fun for the boys to have a little sleep over. Then Tuesday we got up and headed down to Buford to meet up with my friend Carol and her daughter. Carol & I advised together at Mount Union many years ago. She also attended Ashland but was ahead of me in school so we didn't actually know each other at AU. It was so much fun hanging out with two sisters earlier this week!

Lots going on!

2009-01-23T15:30:00.006-05:00

Wow has it really been almost a week since I posted? The time seems to be speeding by lately. I've gotten a few things cleared off my to-do list. Hopefully I can get back to regular posting, except that in a few weeks we'll be heading to Ohio so it will becoming scarce again soon! Never ending cycle of playing catch up and then a lull. So last weekend I headed to a scrapbook retreat and I got 15 cards done (including my swap cards!), 8 12x12 layout, finished a gift mini-album and put the finishing touches on the mini albums from July & December. It was a good fun creative time. Here are a few of the things that I finished up. The 4wheelin' fun layout includes some digital paper from Cafe J that I had printed off. It matched the other paper & the 4wheeler perfectly. In the July album I cut apart Jameson swim trunks and stuck them right in the book. He wore these things all summer and totally remind me of the summer of 2008. He wasn't too happy when he saw them in there though (because he thinks he can still fit in them now). Among the crafty things I've posted you'll notice the one of my iPhone. I have a sweet friend from digiland, Mel sent me these cute wallpapers. She is selling them on etsy, check it out!

In other news, it seems like Jameson has gotten even more independent lately. He is putting on his own shoes, getting dressed on his own (insists on changing into shorts the moment we get home and changes them frequently once we're home - I thought only girls did this?!), he is going potty facing forward (early potty training required us to start him out backwards, it was a hard thing to break but we're there now), he wants to get his own drinks (that doesn't work too well sometimes), he has learned how to unbuckle his car seat and the best one, he has started to wipe himself after booping. Some great things to celebrate at our house!

Last night we had life group at our house. Most of our group wasn't able to attend but we still had a great time and enjoyed a yummy hot cocoa bar! Also last night we were excited to get the call that aunt Caree & uncle Chris had welcomed their daughter, Adelaine. I don't have a picture yet that I can post but trust me, as soon as I have one it will be here (probably on a SB page if I can help it!). We're so excited to meet this sweet girl in a few weeks when we make it to Ohio.

Hybrid team call!

2009-01-23T15:27:00.002-05:00

The Digi Chick is having a call for Hybrid chicks! Check it out!

Daily routine challenge!

2009-01-18T19:28:00.005-05:00

I am hosting the blog challenge over at Sugarplum Paperie this week...Ch eck it out!

(credits here)

I'm just getting back to the house after a great weekend at a scrapbook retreat at the GA Baptist Center. It was great to spend creative time with my local friend. I did miss the fun of our past January LALR events. I will say though that this was the first weekend retreat that I've been to since LALR. It was awesome to focus on my own things and do my own thing (like sleep in this morning instead of getting up to get the coffee, etc ready for attendees - even though Kelley & I used to do a great things, trading off days to sleep in!). I was quite productive in getting things done this weekend. I'll be posting some pictures later in the week. Now I've got to get some things done for GroupLink at church tomorrow as well as a couple of adpi calls that are later this evening. Hope you all had a great weekend and if you're lucky to have tomorrow off of work, do something special!

Random!

2009-01-16T09:30:00.007-05:00

Okay so I'm warning you that this post is going to be rather random. Lots of various thing to write about so I'm going to go with the bullet point system!

I just read that my very favorite print magazine, Simple Scrapbooks is no longer going to be printed after the May/June issue. Sad I tell you, but I guess now I'll be able to stay current with the other mags that are delivered to my mailbox!

Jameson has been saying some really funny things lately. Like tonight he was watching one of his DVR programs and as soon a it ended he said "Oh I guess it is time to go to bed since the show it over" (I guess he hears us remind him that when the shows are over it is time to head upstairs for stories and bed...maybe he does hear us!)

Today I'm hosting a challenge on the Sugarplum Paperie blog...check it out!
Earlier this week I was able to do a little shopping with my sweet friend Sarah. We both made arrangements (thanks again Abby) for our kiddos so it was just us. We strolled through Archivers with new eyes since we didn't have to keep looking down at the kids, run to the bathroom, etc. While we were together Sarah gave me a belated Christmas present. She made me this little tag album with the top 5 reason she is glad we're friends. It is such an amazing reminder of what a great friend she is and how grateful I am everything single day for the way God has woven our lives together (if you don't know the store about how Sarah & I originally met...we were roommates at the adpi summer workshop in 1998 - yes 10 years ago, before kids, before we lived an hour from each other but instead were states apart and then 5 years ago God put our paths together again on a scrapbooking message board!)
I recently created a project for Jameson. It is a way for little ones to practice writing their letters. I only printed out the letters in his name, since that is what he is working on at school. He has enjoyed playing with it! You can get this kit at The Hybrid Kid.The kit contains all 26 letters in upper- and lower-case, 15 sight words, a cover, a blank cover, a blank lined sheet, and all five colored backgrounds, plus all the cards in pdf format for easy printing...an absolute steal at $4.00!
Another crafty project was completing the cover page for our 365 album (using this awesome kit from SPP). It feels so good to get these little random memories recorded quickly, every day! I'm thinking about moving the posts to another blog instead of facebook (leave me a comment if you have a preference).
Did you notice Sarah's blog header...she did that all on her own and I am so proud of her!
Also along the lines of creative things...this weekend I'm going to a weekend retreat with some local friends. This will be the first retreat I've gone on since LALR. I'm sure it will seem odd not to be running things but oh am I going to enjoy the idea that I can plug in my ipod and do my own thing, if I want to or go for a walk, and best of all hopefully get lots done!
Oh and I think I forgot to post some of the gifts that I made for people during the Christmas season. Everything I did has been updated to this gallery (let me know if you have trouble viewing anything).

Okay I think that is enough for random things for today. Hope you have a wonderful weekend! Stay warm if you're in an area that is also experiencing lower than normal temps this week!

My word for 2009!

2009-01-10T16:01:00.004-05:00

I'm not sure how many of you pick words to describe how you want to move into each new year. My word for this year is focus. I feel like I'm doing pretty good job, still getting things in order but really will it ever truly be organized, no & I'm rolling with it. Today I was catching up on some blog reading. This post by Melody Ross really pulled me in. In particular this "...I know for sure that life is meant to be enjoyed and not merely endured. God gives us our own lungs to breathe in and out of, He gives us everything we need…" Such a great reminder that everything that comes our way is what God had planned for us, good or bad.

I have a little share for you, a layout (credits here) I created last night with a picture of Jameson playing the wii yesterday. Also wanted to let everyone know that we appreciate the prayers while the little man was under the weather. He is back to his wild, active self!! Yeah for a growing, healthy boy!

Another parenting adventure!

2009-01-09T20:06:00.006-05:00

Well the last 24 hours have been an adventure in parenting for our family! Last night Jameson & I, along with the sitter Jenna ran to Walmart. As soon as we made a quick exchange we were heading to the first session for our new life group with friends from church. While we were walking through Walmart Jenna commented on the fact that Jameson wanted carried and that he just didn't look too good. I told her it was probably because he is transitioning out of a nap and hadn't taken on yet that day (it was about 5:30). Then we got almost back to the customer service counter with our exchange when Jameson told me he thought he was going to get sick. I grabbed a bag from a register and got turned around just in time to have Jameson fill it up. Yes he got sick right there at Walmart. I grabbed him and we headed to the restroom to get rid of the bag. And then he did it again. We got cleaned up in the restroom and met Jenna back at the exchange counter. After I politely asked the two people in front of us in line to ask us to go ahead of them so we could get the wii remote exchanged and get out of there. They were both very nice about letting us go ahead and the clerk was speedy with her duty. At this point I was praying thanks to God that given everything that had happened we had come in contact with some very nice people along the way. Then we got to the car and headed to life group. I had the dvd and the sitter. I dropped of Jenna and the two of us headed home. (Okay at this point I should also add that James was not with us because he had a business dinner.) While we were driving home I had to pull over to help Jameson while he was getting sick again, and again. He was very upset because he had gotten it on his shirt and car seat. We were about 8 minutes from home so I told him to just close his eye because we could be home faster than I could change him on the side of the road. This is the photo I captured of him, he not only closed his eyes but he fell completely asleep. We got home and this continued through most of the night and into the morning. So far, since mid-morning, all has been back to normal here at home. Except of course that it is a true battle to get this boy to sit still. We keep saying, come watch this movie instead of running throughout the house. Hopefully we will all get a good night of sleep tonight and tomorrow will be a new day!

In other news, I wanted to update everyone that I've done a bit of refocusing in a few areas of life. One is ADPi, for awhile I'd been feeling a bit of an itch to have a new challenge. Well it has come and I'm sure challenged! I'm no longer volunteering as an alumnae director, now I'm a recruitment director. I'm very excited to be working with the collegiate women again. Another area of adjustment came with regards to the creative teams that I'm on. I am no longer on the team at the digi chick but have added the hybrid kid team to my list. I'm excited to involve Jameson more in the things that I'm creating. I'm almost done with the first project for the hybrid kid and can't wait to show you all. Also along the lines of being creative, I have been searching for a list with the days numbered throughout the hear. Nicole's sweet husband, Travis totally came through. I thought I'd share it here in case anyone else doing Project 365 might want it. click here

We've heard all about the snow that is coming to our family & friends in Ohio. Stay safe and remember there are some people that would love to be there with you!

One more thing...congratulations to my Debbie. She is officially a college graduate as of today. I am so very proud of her and can't wait to see what God has in store for her.

Week 1 down!

2009-01-08T00:09:00.004-05:00

Okay so I never intended to be gone from the blog for this long but lucky for you all I can totally catch you up on what we've been doing. I previously mentioned that I was going to be doing the 365 challenge well week 1 is now officially behind us. I've really enjoyed the freeing feeling this has afforded me. I've always wanted to capture more of the daily happenings and this project seems to be doing it. If you'd like to stay up to date on a daily basis (okay I can't promise everyday will be on time but it will be better than on the blog). Check out my facebook pics. Here is the finish spread in my album (journaling spot created using a new kit from Sugarplum Paperie)

Lately it seems that Jameson is getting older, quicker. He does some really funny things and I just have to step back and remind myself that he really is only 3. This afternoon we were going for a walk and he started out in a jog and said "mom see you just have to do it like this". Okay thanks I'll take some jogging lessons from my 3 year old. We half walked/jogged all the way around the steep hilly road behind our house. He amazes me how much energy he has (even without a nap). Then tonight the 3 of us were preparing for a little wii fun and he said something (which oddly has totally escaped me at the moment). The funny part wasn't really so much what he said but the hand motions with it. He was pointing up at the ceiling shaking his hand. So grown up looking.

So is anyone else attempting to capture a picture a day for 2009?

Welcome to 2009!

2009-01-01T22:25:00.004-05:00

Welcome to 2009! I wanted to drop by wish you a Happy New Year! I also wanted to let you know that if you'd like to follow along with the pictures that I'm using for the 365 they will be...HERE.

We had a good time last night. We went to the neighbors house. Good food, great friends and a fierce round of pool. My mom & William were driving here from Ohio. They called around 11:30 and said they were just about here. We met up with them at our house and both boys were wide awake to watch the Time Square ball drop at midnight. It was a sweet way to ring in the new year.

Today is my mom's birthday and I wanted to wish her a happy birthday. The boys were so cute singing to her and helping her blow out the candles.

Another cute moment from today was William on skype with his family at home. Dana and the girls were having a good time chatting with him. He was so excited to show them the hat he has been wearing all day! These two boys are having a great time playing with each other. Of course there have been a few moments of crying, yelling, etc but for the most part they are doing great. They even slept in the same room last night and again tonight.

Guess what this is my 101th blog post!

New Year!

2008-12-31T14:20:00.008-05:00

I love this time of year. Coming off of spending lots of quality time with those that are important to me, getting to make things for others to enjoy and heading into some cooler weather (I secretly like the cooler weather so we're forced to be inside - I love hibernating! I guess it isn't much of a secret now that I'm writing it here but I'm keepin' it real!). Another great thing that happens this time of year is a reflect of how my time is being spent, the direction our money is going and what I'm eating. So as I'm taking a pulse of all of these things I'm realizing that in the last few years I've not really been treating my body the best that I can, so as of Christmas Day I'm attempting to make better choices for a healthier lifestyle. We got the wii fit for Christmas, so that is definitely helping me. I haven't missed a day yet of getting on to be measured and doing some sort of physical exercise. Yesterday I actually wanted to do something, not typical for me. Not that I'd necessarily say I'm lazy, more just having other things that I thought were more important. As I get older I'm realizing that in order for me to run and play with the boy, I need to exercise. I've actually even started running - I've never done that before. In addition to exercising I'm eating a more balance diet, with less calories. To the right you'll see a little ticker with my weight loss goal and how I'm doing. I'm not going to focus too much on this here but I thought I'd let you know where my head is at right now.

Switching gears, I'm thinking about doing one of the 356 photo challenges. Basically the theory is to take at least one picture everyday throughout the year. This past year I did this for two months out of the year (July & December). I love the real life journaling and pictures that were captured. I'm thinking about going a bit deeper for this year. However instead of doing every single day I've thought about doing one week out of each month. I'm still not sure exactly what the end scrapbook will look like but I'm going to start taking the pictures. Anyone with me? If you're thinking about it you might want to check out this amazing kit that Becky Higgins is offering through the KOTM. Click here! This would be the perfect way for someone that doesn't think they want to scrapbook to be able to record their happenings.

One more thing before I forget. Just a few minutes ago I was showing Jameson a scrapbook page I did yesterday. He said "wow mom did you do that all by yourself, it's cool". It so warms my heart that he takes an interest in what I'm creating. Especially since they really are for HIM. Okay I'm off to practice driving a Ferrari on the new wii game hubby just brought home!

Our Christmas!

2008-12-27T18:43:00.005-05:00

Here is a little update on how our family spent Christmas this year. Since we have made the decision to stay at home as a family (instead of traveling to visit our extended family), we had a pretty low-key time. On Christmas Eve we went to our neighbors house for light food and a play. Carrie & I decided that this would be a good way to keep the focus on celebrating Jesus' birthday. So we selected the parts but at the last minute certain kids didn't want to be what they had been assigned to. Jameson didn't want to be a wise man and Price didn't want to be Joseph. So the dads stepped up, and due to this I will not be sharing a picture of the cast. Just imagine lots of laughs with James as a wise man in a pink robe and Jay in a sheet with a rope wrapped around his waist. Here is a picture of Tegan, who played the part of Mary with baby Jesus. We video taped the whole thing so if you're ever at our house, let me know and I'll share it with you (lots of laughing). The inn keeper asked if Joseph had his american express to pay the bill and the wise men presented gifts that were important to them (two toys and a hands free ear piece). We put a modern day twist on it! Later that night we sang happy birthday to Jesus and enjoyed some cupcakes.

Then the 3 of us headed back to our house so Jameson could get to bed. Being the curious little boy that he is, he almost couldn't stand it to go to bed without waiting up to see when Santa would be here. Throughout the night he got up a few different times, James finally just stayed in Jameson's bed so that he could keep him upstairs. At 7:02 we headed downstairs to see what was waiting for us. Quite surprisingly Jameson reached for one of the smallest gifts, a lego 4-wheeler. We kept telling him to wait just a few minutes as Uncle Greg was coming over so he needed to wait. I think he ended up opening about 3 things before Greg made it over. Then he started to tearing through the gifts. Big difference to last year, it took him almost all day last year to get through his gifts (open, play, open another, play lots more, etc). Not this year, he was through opening in about 30 minutes because he couldn't wait to see what was inside the next package. He did a pretty good job of passing out gifts for other people. He picked out things for both me & James. And he was so excited about them. James got a massage pad for his chair and I got a pink roll-up keyboard. After all of the gifts were opened from under the tree, and a few were set up, he realized that there were gifts in the stockings. He was so excited to see that Santa brought him a stuffed Mickey Mouse. Overall his favorite gift was the Wii, especially Mario kart. This has been the scene around our house on and off since Christmas morning.

The weather was amazing, it was about 70 degrees so after we had dinner, with Greg & Vince. Jameson & I took a walk. We were gone for almost an hour exploring the neighborhood. We were down by the lake picking up some trash and throwing rocks into the water. The water level is so sad to even look at, we can't even skip rocks because it is down so far. When we got back to the house, James had the whole kitchen cleaned up and then he headed outside to wash my truck.

Yesterday I got up early to get some Christmas deals. I was at walmart at 6:10 am then headed to Target, Home Depot, Kohls, Kmart & Pier One - and I was home by 9:15. All and all I was happy with my finds. I like to get wrapping paper, gift bags and that type of stuff now so that I'm ready for Christmas next year. After I got home we went through all of the Christmas things that we hadn't put up this year and cleaned out. In years past we've changed the color of our main tree. This year we decided that we really like the gold and red so we're sticking to it. We took a load to goodwill today so now we're in a good spot to take down the Christmas decorations next weekend.

We hope that you also had a wonderful Christmas and had a chance to reflect on what really matters.

One more thing, Rhonna Farrer - an awesome designer is having a giveaway on her blog. Check it out!

Christmas cards!

2008-12-26T22:21:00.001-05:00

This year I really tried to make things for the people on our gift list. Most of November & December were filled with these gifts. Some of which included creating Christmas cards for some of my family & friends (one was even a paying customer - I might be advertising to do more of these next year). Now that these friends have sent out their cards I thought I would post them here for others to enjoy.

Credits here!

I did create other gifts, and over the next few days I'll be posted them as well. Send me a link to something you made this year!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T00:01:00.001-05:00

As we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ we wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas!Click on the image for credits.

Christmas preparations!

2008-12-21T19:16:00.005-05:00

Wow has Jameson been getting excited for Christmas. Lately we've been watching quite a few shows focused on Christmas, he is starting to 'get' it. Earlier today he and I were talking about Santa coming down the chimney. He looked at me and asked why would he try to squeeze down there instead of just using the front door. I told him that was a good point but that Santa is all about the magic so he likes to use his ability to squeeze down the chimney.

Then just a few minutes ago he was asking to play his computer game. This game was scratched a few weeks ago so it had to be thrown away. I reminded him that the game was gone and maybe he should email Santa to see if he could get a new one. He said how about if we ask him to bring a spiderman one instead of the rabbit one so I will like it even better. Picky little bugger?!

Last night we hosted a party for the office staff from the shop along with a few of our neighbors. It was a great time for all. The kids (all 9 of them - luckily not at one time but they did manage to get 3 on at a time) really got a kick out of the rope ladder on the porch. (Thanks again dad for hanging this for us!) It was raining through the entire party so it was great to have something for the kids to play with outside without getting wet. Once most everyone was gone we put on home alone for the kids to watch. They were laughing so hard, then the adults were laughing from watching them. It was a great way to end a good evening celebrating Christmas together with friends!

Now I'm off to spend some nice relaxing time with my boys! We're watching frosty the snowman (dreaming of a white Christmas - if only we were in Ohio instead of in SC with the 70 degree weather we had at here this weekend).

Christmas program!

2008-12-17T18:56:00.006-05:00

Oh man do we have a performer on our hands! Jameson's school program was earlier this week. The 3 & 4 year old class did 23 totally songs (not the whole songs) and this boy was full of animation the entire time! He did so well and has continued to sing is favorite line "Clip, clop goes the donkey, yes Ward (aka Lord)". Jameson's best buddy, Jeb came to the program. They are such a hoot to watch. On Sunday Jeb went to Home Depot with us after church. While we were driving there Jeb asked what we needed from HD. I told him really nothing, we just go there to walk around, play on the tractors and sometimes we buy things. This trip the only purchase was for large black trash bags. These were needed to put gifts in that are being given to needy children in our community. Our church took an offering and the money was used to buy gifts for children through the local United Way office. I offered to do some shopping. So this past Saturday I headed out to Kohl's. They were having some amazing deals for the early birds so I got there early (I think I was there around 6:30; I'd left the house at 5 and went to the jockey lot and then headed to Kohl's). I was able to shop for 5 kids, all before 9 am!. It truly is amazing what deals are out there if you're willing to search a bit.

In other news, this week we enjoyed spending time with my dad & deb. On Monday we got to go do a little sale shopping with my friend Sarah. Then yesterday we stuck around the house. I had quite a few gifts to finish making and put together. Thankfully they entertained Jameson so I could get these things done. I now only have 2 more gifts to make...unless of course I think of something else to make! Like last year when I decided to paint Jameson's car mat on Christmas Eve.

Last night Jameson watched the Charlie Brown Christmas show. So cute to watch him, knowing that this is one show that James & I both watched as children!

Verses!

2008-12-11T10:11:00.005-05:00

With Christmas literally right on our heels, I've had the urge to read through some verses that remind me of this awesome season.

Luke 2:15-16...When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.

Isaiah 9:6...For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Rachel Olsen is doing an advent countdown with short daily devotionals. Check it out!

On the home front we're back in order from out trip. The laundry is done and the kitchen is restocked ($250 at walmart, why is it that I let things get so low? And there wasn't any meat involved in this total. One of James' coworkers shot a deer and we purchased the meat from the butcher). I'm still suffering from my sinus infection, today is day one of the antibiotic so hopefully I'll be turning a corner soon. I have a few more Christmas gifts to make. I've been plugging away at it and did get 4 things done yesterday. Here is one gift that I can share because it has already been given! These coordinating shirts are for Jeb & his baby brother Caleb. I used this kit and this one.

Now Jameson and I are off to create some fun button, paper, pin tree to decorate the house. I got all of the supplies out and into bowls so the assembly should be fun for both of us! I'll post pictures! Hope you're having a wonderful December and enjoying all of the magic of this awesome season!

Disney!

2008-12-09T23:20:00.000-05:00

We are home from a magical trip to the happiest place on earth! I'm running out of steam (still have a bit of a sinus infection) so I'm going to make this as quick as possible.

We spent 1 day at the Magic Kingdom, then we took a day off from the parks. We hung out at the pool and then went to a character dinner with Pluto & Goofy. Then we headed to Disney Hollywood Studios (previously MGM).

Jameson was so excited to meet so many all of the characters. He was so proud of himself to take his signature card up to them asking for their autographs. The day we were at the Magic Kingdom they were taping the ABC Christmas parade. Kelly Ripa & Regis were there filming as well and Miley Cyrus too. Miley was the one 'character' that Tegan was hoping to see and we were all preparing her for the fact that Hannah Montana/Miley didn't actually live there like the other characters. Well weren't we all surprised when she actually was there. Here are some pictures to share with you all! The last one of the two dads totally cracks me up. Carrie & I didn't even carry purses so we were asking for money periodically so they guys were hamming it up for this pic. Now I'm off to finish up a few things before heading to bed. You might be seeing a few more pictures from our trip, there are over 1100 of them (that is after deleting). Carrie & I were both shooting so there are some duplicates but the best part, you can actually see everyone that was there. And we didn't have to bother our husbands with holding the cameras. My step-dad John was with us for most of our trip so he was the lucky one to take the picture of the rest of the group. Hope everyone has had a great weekend!

The Daily Scrapper!

2008-12-05T17:05:00.001-05:00

Check out the TDS 2008 catalog! And if you haven't already seen the Christmas edition it is available now too!

Early Christmas!

2008-12-03T14:01:00.003-05:00

Christmas came early for me this week! Someday I feel like I'm so overly blessed that it isn't even funny. This week has been one of those times (not that I'm not blessed every single day, just extra this week). So monday I received one of my Christmas presents...a new lens! Over Thanksgiving James told me I could go ahead and order it so that we would have it for out trip. Which leads me to the next blessing...we are going to Disney! I've been wanting to go since Jameson was at least a year and this week it is happening. This morning while driving the little man to school I got so excited thinking about showing him around the magic kingdom and all the magical things that we're going to see in a matter of days (really almost hours at this point!). So I got the lens so that I would have it to help capture our trip. We're traveling with our neighbor/friends the Ratliff family. Excited about that part of the trip too!

And now if all of that wasn't enough to make a girl feel loved yesterday James iced the cake, so to speak. Jameson & I were out running some errands (I actually finished Christmas shopping! Now I still do have to finish making a few things but the purchasing is done! James called and asked if I would mind running by the phone store to pick up something for a co-worker. I was literally right around the corner so I didn't mind at all. I went in a asked for Dorothy, she proceeded to ask me what accessories I wanted for my new phone. I said, this isn't for me I'm just picking it up for someone else. She said, oh no, it is for you what is your number. I told her and sure enough she was about to program this brand new IPHONE for my number. I called James from the store, while practically jumping up and down with excitement. This was such a surprise, because in all honesty I don't need a phone that can do all the things this one can (which I'm trying to learn - if anyone knows of a good tutorial/video, please link me up). So I have gotten what I assume is all of my Christmas presents, early this year. I feel so blessed to have such a thoughtful husband to share life!

Christmas Edition...

2008-12-01T08:47:00.003-05:00

The Christmas edition of the Daily Scrapper is up! Click here!

Christmas gifts!

2008-11-30T17:07:00.000-05:00

I have been making so many Christmas gifts this year and I'm loving every minute of it. In the past I didn't really think people enjoyed the things that I was making for them but in the last few months it seems that some have actually requested them. So this year I am attempting to make something for everyone on our gift list. The downfall is that I'm about to bust with excitement when I finish something. Typically I would post about it so I could share it with someone (yes I can show the boys in my household but they just don't get it all the time!). Two gifts however were already given so I can share the info with you all! Last year Ali Edwards shared what she did to record the Christmas season. So this year I decided to give it a go. But instead of just making 1 album I made 3 and gave two as gifts. This gift does come with work because the recipient has to add to it as the month of December goes on. Here is the album before the month begins. I had so much fun picking out random things to put in here and am getting so excited to start filling it with memories! I'll show you the completed album again in January.

Tomorrow also marks the start of Advent. Last year I started a tradition that each day we pull a slip of paper out of our advent box. The slips include various things like activities, treats or acts of service. I'll keep you posted on how this goes too. Jameson didn't get into it too much last year but this year I believe it will be enjoyed!

So are you making any gifts this Christmas season? Share yours with me!

Thanksful for...

2008-11-27T12:31:00.005-05:00

“Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.” Psalm 118:19 (NIV)

Here is a limited list of the things I'm thankful for right now:

Family to share a wonderful Thanksgiving feast (pictured here are the pies that dear hubby prepared).

A little boy that says he is thankful for: His 4-wheeler, motorcycle, our house and God (his words exactly). Isn't he the cutest, here he was praying while practicing for his upcoming school performance.

The bible to be able to read and learn from on a daily basis.

A wonderful, providing husband that loves me for who I am, quirks and all!

The many friends that we have, both locally and from a distance.

I am thankful for so many others who are using their talents to help others in creative ways...

Each month Songbird Avenue has a new kit and the proceeds go to a different charity. This month they are supporting toys for tots. Get a digi kit for yourself while helping out at the same time.

By sponsoring a child through Compassion International we have the ability to share the love of Jesus with a child in a foreign land.

In other news, over the weekend we headed to Charlotte to stay with a friend of James'. We went downtown to go ice skating. It was so funny to watch the little ones on the ice. Jameson did go around about 10 times and seemed to enjoy it. Syd didn't like it so much. Here she is watching Jameson try to get his skates off. We're happy to be home again preparing for our upcoming trip to Disney. I am beyond excited to take this little boy (and big boy for that matter) to the happiest place on earth!!

Thankful!

2008-11-27T05:42:00.001-05:00

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

We are so thankful this year! Look at our cute little indian! We are thankful for you too! Hope you are having a yummy meal with those you love!

Christmas!

2008-11-18T22:39:00.000-05:00

Are you preparing for a holiday season focused on the true Christian meaning of Christmas? Check out this article that discusses the retailers that are proud to declare that it is the Christmas season. For our family we will be shopping at retailers on this list as much as possible. How about you?

Another option to help on a local level...buy homemade like at etsy.

Or a global option might be to help Samaritan's Purse, World Vision or Compassion International.

For us this Christmas season we're going to try to remember all the people that make a difference in our lives...like teachers, friends, sales/service clerks, family, neighbors and others. Not that we'll be buying something for all of these people, just doing something to help brighten a moment in their life. Now I'm off to finish designing our Christmas card for this year and hopefully update the header on the blog.

Our weekend!

2008-11-17T22:43:00.007-05:00

Jameson's favorite part was probably the hot bath (aka hot tub). He had so much fun swimming around, jumping around, overall just having fun in the water. We all enjoyed the awesome homemade goodies from Mother Crill, a mini hike in the woods with Joe-Joe & playing a bit of pool. I had fun taking some pictures of James' sister Caree. Caree & Chris are expecting their first baby in 2009. The rest of the time at the camp was a great relaxing time (no cell phone service or wifi so it was a true get away!).

The real adventure for the weekend begin on Sunday as we were leaving the cabin. We started out down the road and when we got to the bottom of the Blue Ridge Mountains we found that the road was closed (it has snowed on the mountain overnight). So we followed the rest of the traffic and about 90 minutes later we found ourselves in Cades Cove. Now if we had only known this at the beginning we probably would not have gotten to drive through a creek in the road - which surprisingly did not make hubby come unglued, while driving my new truck. Nor would I have gotten the chance to capture the image below with the fawn in the foreground and the snow caped mountains the background. We found a ranger and found out that the main road over the mountain was now open, so we headed back in that direction. We got to the point we had been at earlier in the day and started up the mountain. Things were going good, Jameson was taking a nap and James & I were chatting. I was also able to take a few more pictures of the awesome snow and ice that had covered all of nature. Then we got to the top and found traffic completely stopped. And right there just 6 vehicles in front of us 2 cars had collided and caught on fire. Praise God all of the people had gotten out without harm. Then for the next 2.5 hours we sat at the top of the mountain while we watched most of these vehicles burn away, with a few pops in there when the tires caught fire and then the gas tanks. Jameson got to play in the snow, I took a few more pictures, watched a movie, got to see a few different news helicopters right over us - overall we got to spend some safe time together as a family. Once they had gotten everything cleared away we were escorted down the mountain with a salt truck in front of us. Then we got a little dinner and drove the rest of the way home. What should have taken us 3 hours took us 10 but we were safe and together...thankful to God.

Here is our weekend recapped in photos...

Fun banner!

2008-11-16T23:31:00.000-05:00

Hello to everyone out there in cyberspace. Boy do I have a story to share with you all. We had a great time away this weekend. The real story happened yesterday on the way home. I'll come back later tonight to post the full story. Before I go into all of that, I wanted to share with you a couple of other things. First I want to share a charity kit with you. A member of the digital scrapbooking community, Danielle (Artemia) was recently in an automobile accident. 13 fabulous designers got together and created a kit to show support. You can read all about it here. And more about the kit here. I'm planning to work on something with this kit but wanted to spread the word now so you could show your support as well.

One more thing...I recently I had the pleasure of working with a digital leaf template from Cafe J. I sent Janelle the pieces that I used to create it and she added it as a free gift with purchase of the fall leaf stackable kit. Let me know if you get it and how it turns out. Here is a picture of a different version that I'd created using paper from Sugarplum Paperie. I hope you are all feeling thankful today!

Creating!

2008-11-13T21:52:00.000-05:00

Boy have I been on a creating binge lately. I love it but I can tell that I'm neglecting some other areas of life - mainly sleep! We're heading out of town this weekend so I'm excited to spend time with family and take a break from making things, I'll focus on making some memories!

Yesterday Jameson & I did some baking - one of our mommy & boy activities that we both enjoy! We made some cute little bear faced muffins. He doesn't like this picture, actually asked me to delete it and take it again - such a big personality for such a little boy!

I have a couple of fun things to share...I wrote up instructions on how to create a hybrid clipboard for the digichick blog. I also just found that I was selected to be a November guest for Plain Digital Wrapper. And I'm super excited to let you all know that I'm now on the CT for After Five Designs. I've also recently accepted the duty of hybrid project coordinator for The Daily Scrapper. This is an online publication - which I have a fun wreath spotlighted in for the issue that comes out this Friday. For future issues I'll be on the lookout for some other talented hybrid artists. If that is you, leave me a link so I can check out your gallery!

I had a friend call me earlier today to let me know about a great deal that Oprah is offering through snapfish - a free bound book, it is only good until midnight on Friday so go now! Click here!

Back to personal matters, when I was putting Jameson down for nap I was singing to him (he is the ONLY person that I have or will ever sing to). I have been singing the same songs since he was a witty bitty babe (Jesus Loves Me and Go Tell it on the Mountains). For the first time he actually sang along with me. So sweet. I love this boy so much it hurts my heart sometimes. Earlier this week we were watching tv and there was a section that was talking about Thanksgiving. The characters were talking about what they were thankful for so I asked Jameson what he was thankful for. He said, "my four-wheeler". Then I asked him who he was thankful for the four-wheeler. He looked right at me and said "God". I do hope he always remembers that everything that we have is because of our God.

Foreign Missions...

2008-11-11T20:41:00.005-05:00

Do you ever have those days that one topic is mentioned in various places? Yesterday it seemed that foreign missions was brought up quite a few conversations. Then today I received the Proverbs 31 devotional and it talked about building a home. In the devotional written by Marybeth she was talking more about the spiritual home that we as Christians create. It brought me right back to the conversation I had with my dad last night. He had just returned from a foreign mission trip to Mexico. He was telling me about how one family had been praying for over a year to that the roof of their home would be repaired. To this family this group that my dad was involved in was a direct answer to prayer. Now the connection between the devotional and what my dad had told me about his trip was that this family was happy to have their roof fixed. The part that they hadn't factored in was that to do this they would have complete strangers in their home. Dad said this was a very emotional thing for everyone involved because they were fixing parts of the roof right over the bed that these people sleep in at night. Directly above their personal belongings. It makes me think that sometimes God puts us in uncomfortable situations only to know that it will help us grow and become closer to Him. Thank you dad for using your talents in such awesome ways!

Now as I'm typing this the XM station I'm listening to just talked about the most recent compassion international trip to the Dominican Republic, see there is something that God wants me to hear or do. Is a mission trip in my future?

Great birthday!

2008-11-09T23:35:00.004-05:00

For anyone that might not know, I celebrated my birthday this weekend. I had a good time Friday night spending time with my local scrappy friends. They totally surprised me with a very touching box full of personal notes to me. I actually got teary eyed reading them. I love my friends! Then Saturday our family headed into Anderson to do a little shopping. It was around lunch time and Jameson was requesting shrimp (he really is my baby!). We ended up at Red Lobster, which totally reminded me of many previous birthdays. One of my all-time favorite foods is crab legs. Growing up the only time I really ate them was for my birthday dinners. So it was a great blast from the past to have crab legs on my birthday. Jameson actually shared them with me instead of having shrimp. And when this boys says "I do like shrimp" he means it. He would eat it every single day for every meal.

Since Friday I've been working on a fun Christmas album. I'm so excited about it. The inspiration came from Ali Edwards. I'll share the pre-December album in a few days (I made some for a couple of friends so I don't want to share pictures until they see them in person). I'm excited to record the season in a different way. I did one of these for the month of July and really like this approach to recording this. As I'm working on them I just think how cool it would be to have something like that from one of my parents or even grandparents. I love the ordinary things that make up days.

On another note...for anyone that has head about the Chatterbox Christmas kit, my mom was able to find a couple of them and has listed them on ebay. If you're interested here is the link.

One more thing, I'm thinking about creating a separate blog for the creative things that are on here. Would you prefer to have our family things mixed with the creative things? I've added a poll to the right...cast your vote!

Little bits...

2008-11-06T01:20:00.006-05:00

I'm not sure if you've heard but there is a group of bloggers traveling in the Dominican Republic. They are traveling on behalf of Compassion International. One of the travelers is the Pioneer Woman's husband, I've been following her blog since I started reading blogs. Here is the post I'd like to share.

In other news, I'm excited to share with you soon that I've been added to another creative team. I am so excited! I can't share which one just yet but I will as soon as I can. Today I finished up 13 projects, most of which will be Christmas gifts so I can't share them now. I can however show you this fun thing. For the past few years I've wanted Christmas pillows for the living room. I haven't been able to bring myself to spend the money on them. So I had this idea to grab some inexpensive pillows at walmart and add some digi love to them. Here is the result...

Jameson is feeling better. He didn't go to school today but really probably could have gone. We had a glorious day at home, just the two of us. Now I'm heading to bed as I am way past my bedtime.