Use it as a SKETCH!

So there are days when you feel you have it all together, you are on top of all the chores, the house looks great (well, not a disaster) and your children appear to be angels. Today, is NOT that day!!! Nor have the past few weeks - just when you think you have one area under control, another one goes swirling out of control. Praying this little "break" to Chicago will be just what we need - otherwise, it could get ugly:(

We made it through Father's Day and this was the card I made for Abbi to give to David. When I asked her what color she wanted it to be she quicly replied, "Pink, cause real mean wear pink!" I love it! I know it's too late for Father's Day cards but use this as a skectch, a jumping off point for another occasion but a basic place to start. I used all leftover papers here and alphas in varying styles. She and David had their pedi-date last night and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Unfortunately Daddy doesn't think too often to take a pic of these sorts of things.

Hope you are having a great Wednesday and thanks for checking in - not sure how much blogging I'll get to do until mid-week so don't think I've jumped off a bridge - just trying to spend some quality time with the hubby and the two bigs in the Windy City:)

It's Not too late for Father's Day!

So I'm totally hoping this works and makes things easier for you and also hoping if it does work I can remeber how to do it again in the future - HA!

I can safely post this today as my husband does not read my blog - sad, I know:(

This is his Father's Day Card from the boys. I got this word search idea from a blog - if you know which one please let m know and I'll give proper credit - sorry!

Not sure if you can see but the top portion has the words we, love, you and then the bottom has and think you are amazing! Hope he thinks ths is fun. He is an AWESOME daddy and deserves the fun that the kids have in store for him. Each of them have planned dates and mommy pre-paid so all he has to do is ENJOY some time with his kiddos! Thanks Martha for the idea (Stewart that is)

Now here is the "lets hope it works part" I tried to attach the word search that I did and saved so that all you have to do is print on your fav cardstock and be done. If you use this I would love to know how it worked - of course I'm gonna try it myself once this post is up. So I apologize in advance if it doesn't work the way I hope it will!

wordsearchfile

Thanks for looking and Happy Father's Day weekend!

Pros of Procrastination

There is one good thing about procrastination (trying to see the up side of things - ha ha!) Is that when you don't actually photograph your sisters birthday card until the day of her birthday, you don't have to wait for weeks to post it on the blog! Happy Birthday Teresa - hope it was a special one!
One would think the blog would get extra attention during the summer but we are busy crossing things off our "fun things to do during summer" list and hope to be posting a crafty project once I am finished with it maybe tomorrow - it's cool and my kids have finally quit asking me "that is an art project? are you sure? how is that an art project?" Like seriously, they have NO faith in their mother apparently:(

Here is a quick snapshot of multi-tasking: enjoying the outside while getting in your Bible reading for Doves and your 15 minute "required" reading for the day.

Oh, it's Friday - enjoy your weekend people!

A New Year - A Better Me!

As I grow older I want to reflect more...on where I've been but just as importantly...where I want to go. I do not believe my life just floats on a raft without any control from me. I do believe that as a Christian I must pray, seek guidance, and then act upon those instructions. I want to be better everyday and that only comes with a conscious desire to please the Lord. I got this idea from a great blogger: ThisGreatBlog

37 ......

(things to accomplish & words to live by)

* the only person I can control is: ME!

* make pillows for my swing & couches.

*use more coupons (minus the 3ring binder per Abbi)

* require my children to clean up after themselves - more personal responsibility is the goal.

* run a half marathon.

*"What you see is what you get" (courtesy of my FIL)

*decorate for the particular holiday season before said holiday is nearly over. experience talking

*take family canoeing.

*eat less processed foods and more "real" food - this will make my mother happy for sure!

*remember my 2011 Word of the Year - CHOICE.

*make curtains for the office.

* "It's not the load that breaks you down, it's how you carry it." Lena Horne

* bake more.

* submit something, anything for publishing. Just to get over the fear of it.

* Be a quality friend-the kind I'd like to have.

* buy a new camera.

* eat less.

* exercise consistently.

* teach my kids to have a more grateful heart.

*put more money in savings.

* eat at home more.

* quit looking and start doing. (i.e. - all those beautiful blog projects I admire - do them!)

*The two most imortant things she learned was there was no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one. (this hangs on my wall in my office to remind me.)

* find a good bread pudding recipe and spruce it up.

* don't speak ugly of my husband to others.

*get to where I am only one year behind in childrens scrapbooks.

* speak regularly to my children about God's provisions.

*lose the "last 10 pounds!" (A girl can always hope!)

* speak kindness to those who offend me

*waste less.

* study my Bible more. Not just read, really study.

* learn to say no more - not to be rude but in order to keep my priorites in order.

* read more books.

* "To live a creative life we must lose the fear of being wrong."

* survive the Sprint Triathlon swim portion - and try to look good doing it!

* "Judge not that ye be not judged" The Holy Bible

My intentions are to scrapbook this list real soon so it can be posted prominantly in my space. Maybe even where they can be checked off as we go. Look for that real soon.

Thank you to all my family & friends who love me despite the fact that all these things above are still on a to do list - I am grateful for you place in my life and am happy to have another year to spend with you all:)

Curiosity (a layout)

This one sat for a few days waiting to be "perfect" - well that ain't gonna happen! So I know there is something missing but can't really figure out what or exactly where it goes so we are moving on. I still loe the circles on the background which kind look like some of the science things we saw during this Spring Break trip two years ago to the Brogan Children's Museum in Tallahassee.

I'm trying to be eclectic (a little bit) and used several different brands: Scenic Route is the curiosity "badge", Jenni Bowlin is the journaling card and the bingo button. and Maya Road for the ticket. I got alot of this on our trip to San Diego so I'm trying to begin incorporating it into layouts. Thought the twine was a boyish option for ribbon!

Hope this will inspire you to step outside your comfort level a bit with whatever you do in your free time. Here's hoping this is a rainy Monday afternoon (and not just all noise!)

Birthday Boy Recap

So we had a birthday over the long weekend - this week boy is SEVEN! Where did all the time go? I used to be asked that when the twins were little and I knew exactly where it had gone - bottles, diapers, laundry, potty training and the list goes on. Don't get me wrong - these things still exist - but I'm learning to let them have the back seat.

This guy is SWEET! His eyes are truely the window to his soul. Whatever he is feeling, it shows. He doesn't mind cuddling an extra bit and cannot tell a lie to save his life (a good thing where I'm concerned). He thinks of others regularly. He wants to play nice but occasionally gets overwhelmed. He enjoys a few moments of silence amidst crowds and we will often find that he has disappeared from a "party" and find him in his room playing, etc. I love that he knows when to take a break, and actually listens to those feelings inside.

He love the Lord. Heard him belting out the other day "let the poor say I am rich, let the weak say I am strong!" and I just love that. He says the most genuine prayers at dinner. I love to hear him say the blessing and you always know what we did that day based on what he is thanking the Lord for i.e. "Dear Lord, we thank you for this day and for this food, and for letting Charlie come over, and help us to worship you good tomorrow at church, and please bless this food to our body, AMEN!" It often creates a bit of a giggle down inside because he's so genuine.

I just wish he could stay little like this forever!
He didn't have the grandest of parties (by previou standards) but he loved it just the same. He said when the water slide arrived "This is the BEST birthday ever!" and said Thank You to me multiple times throughout the day.

We may have started a new tradition. While worried about how and what kind of cake I was gonna get, Mason said "I'll bake his cake for $10" I thought, why not? He wanted a water themed cake so we set out to gather supplies. The twins worked together, using their watches to time the mixing.

And when you don't clearly communicate with self starters this is what happens: they baked both boxes of cake mix instead of saving one for back-up like I had planned in my mind. It's just cake!

Here is the finished product: not bad! We just gumballs for beachballs. Gel icing for the pool and grass. Abbi wrote the sentiment. We used Air Head Extreme candy cut into smaller pieces for beach towels. Easy enough.

This party didn't have even a single balloon - helium tank was empty - no one seemed to notice (or care) and fun was had by all. Happy Birthday Ray-Ray!

He wanted Bananas Foster French Toast on the morning of - just minus the bananas! That's the Mister-I-don't-like-anything-but-sugar boy that I have.

Saturday we played outside nearly all day long. Very Immediate family came over and we had a "bring your own steak" dinner! My dad wanted to give Braden cash and this went over well. He told Braden he could have one of any of the bills in his wallet. Braden quickly spread them all out and headed straight for the $20 - "cause that one is the most" he said - smart boy!

Happy Wednesday :P