Give-away!

There are so many things to celebrate (one of them being that I FINALLY figured out how to link my new Etsy shop...yay!!) so I've decided it's time for a quick qive-away.














Post a comment if you are interested in this RAK and I will pick a winner before we leave on our trip next Saturday. If you want to know when this blog is updated, you can sign up to be a 'reader' (side bar) or you can sign up to recieve emails.

We had a late ballet night and the kids got up early and having playing hard. It was off to the fishing derby and then to the game. Of course, the sun was beating down so they wanted to go back and to the derby to play more games and turn in their tickets for prizes. We are home resting for a quick bit before we are off to the Nutcracker again. Our little ballernia just lit up on the stage last night. She absolutely loved every minute of it and did such an incredible dance! I can't wait to post pictures...later.

I wanted to share this quick one of Kelsey trying to 'spend' her tickets that she earned at the fishing derby. Oh, decisions! LOL!






















I think she just wanted the cotton candy! LOL!


















And then there was face painting!





















The soccer players all got lightning bolts painted because they are the STRIKERS!! LOL!
















And now, the photo some of you have been waiting for. It's of our dear friend's, (Jodi and Arturo)new baby boy, Lucas.













Isn't he the sweetest thing ever?? What a blessing from God. My prayer is that he and his family will know and feel the love from all those friends and family who are surrounding them at this time.

Hope you have a fantastic weekend!!

Big Weekend

BIG NEWS!!! My very dear friend Jodi had her little boy last night! I got the call right before I went to bed. I'm so excited for her and we are off to the hospital to meet him in just a little bit.

My youngest sweet pea has her very first Nutcracker debut this weekend. She has been saying, 'I don't want to go on the stage, I don't want to go on the stage!!' And then finally, this week after their 'introduction' to the theatre, she came bursting through the door and she screamed, ' Mommy, I went on the stage!!!' She was so proud of herself. I'm so looking forward to the seeing the production. We also have soccer and a fising derby. Yup, another full weekend.

I wanted to share a bit of fun news is that CARDS Idea book picked up one of my Jilly Bean soup cards for their October issue....yay!! I was very pleased.

Here is a sneak peak on a little somethin' I'm working on. Most of the projects that I'm doing right now I can't share and that is soooo very hard!!















Early this week, I was teaching in a school that I hadn't been to for a while and I was in a 5th grade class. Part of my lesson was to read over the TIME for Kids magazines that were in the class. MUCH to my surprise, I opened it up and saw this!





















I bursted out with '...it's Stephanie's 'J!' All the kid's were like...huh??? I told them that this was my friend's hubby and gave them the whole story. It actually became quite emotional for me. Even though I haven't yet the opportunity to meet Stephanie in person, she was one of my very first sources of encouragement and inspiration when I joined my first message board. I have watched her soar to the top of the scrapbooking world, and begin raising her two sweet baby girls, as her heroic hubby has been overseas leading troops on the frontlines. They are both so very brave and I have so much respect for them. Having the opportunity to speak to the students a bit about what is going on in our world and to bring it to a personal level was really quite amazing. Quite often, we can get so busy and live in our little 'bubble' and forget about all the amazing things going on in our world. I thank God that he placed me in that class on this day. It was such a neat experience for me.

So, if you need a good dose of inspiration, spiritually, intellectually, or for your artwork, you need to check out Stephanie Howell's blog. BUT, you will want to grab a box of kleenex. LOL!! (no worries...good tears) To Jimmy and Stephanie both, thank you for your enormous sacrifice and all you do for our country.

Spellbinders

I can honestly say that I don't think I could possibly make another card without using at least one of my new Spellbinders dies. They just finish off the card with the touch in my opinion.





















Die – Spellbinders S4-189 Labels Three
Cardstock – Bazzill
Pattern Paper – Scenic Route
Emboss folder- Cuttlebug
Buttons – Fancy Pants
Waxy Flax – Close To my Heart
Ink – Versa Magic Chalk Ink
Stamp – Hero Arts
















Die – Spellbinders Paper Arts S4-123 Flying Beauties
Cardstock – Bazzill
Pattern paper – Scenic Route
Stamp – Hero Arts

This is the second Mother's Day card that I created this year. I love this new scalloped Edge Frame but it's not one of the dies that I recieved. I know that I'm going to want to order one. In the mean time, when I was at retreat, Jennifer was kind enough to let me borrow hers and I cut a bunch of them out!! LOL!























Die - Spellbinders S5-011 Scalloped Edge Frame
Cardstock - Bazzill
Pattern Paper - Pink Paislee
Flowers - Prima

I'm still trying to get all my stuff organized. I plan on having a RAK up later this week.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Happy Tuesday!

Happy Mother's Day!!

I am the luckiest Mum in the world. I have the three best children in the world AND I've been blessed with a wonderful Mum and best friend of my own. As if that wasn't enough, I've also been blessed with the an amazing Mother-in-law who is such an encouragement and support to me. I love you both and hope and pray that you have the best day ever!

Here is one of the cards that I made for one of these lovely ladies. I will post the other tomorrow. This is a card I made with my new Spellbinders S3 -190 Labels 4 die. I also used Spellbinders S4-072 Flower Creations.















If you want to see some more fabulous Mother's Day inspiration check out the Spellbinders blog. The gals have been busy creating some very beautiful projects!

Happy Mother's Day!

Double Digits

My first born turned 10 this weekend. I think I'm still in denial. But look at this photo? He looks like a mini 'man!' LOL Overby and he is so happy. That was one packed day. We participated in the 2 mile run and then watched the parade. After collecting a boat load of candy, we took some friends out to celebrate with his birthday.















What a memorable day. My sweet lil' 7 year old ran the 2 mile run as well. I could hardly keep up with her!

I can't believe how much has happened in the last few weeks. There has been a lot of activity around here!! These are the place cards that we made to go with our welcome kit at the ladies retreat last weekend.





















It was an amazing time and God really did some fantastic things in the lives of many of the women who came. I sure believe that He is up to something big, and I for one, want to be ready!

I also had the opportunity to have a lil' photo shoot of Lucy. Okay....it wasn't so little. You don't even want to know how many shots I took. I LOVE digital!! There were quite a few that turned out and here is just one!























We also put on a shower for Jodi. I giggled watching her surrounded with wrapping paper and adorable outfits. I'm sure she was blessed. Here is a diaper cake that I made for her. So fun. I absolutely love that there was no messy frosting to deal with! LOL!























I've been working a lot more than normal lately. And with a busy schedule, I've been trying to spend any free time with my family. I haven't been on the board much and I've been a bit of a bad blogger but something has to budge. I have a bazzillion more things to share but it will have to wait until another day. I need to hit the hay!

Thanks for stopping by!