Raise Your Glass

Happy New Year!! I can't believe it is almost 2012 - just a couple more hours left in 2011. What a year is was for us - wonderful in some ways and heart breaking in others. 

I found some printables online thanks to Money Saving Mom for the kids and we talked about them tonight at dinner...while sitting at our new dining table!!! (yay! More on that next week, including pictures)  I want to make these printables another tradition for us. I like getting the kids to think about the year just past and the year ahead.  Harrison was asleep during dinner so I wasn't able to get information from him but here's what I learned about the girls:

Elizabeth loves tacos (I'd have said Chinese food). Her favorite book this year was Charlotte's Web.  Annie loves pizza and her favorite book was "That little Winnie-the-Pooh thing" (seriously, I love how silly she is)  Nin loves ravioli and her favorite books were the Mr. Putter and Tabby series. For each of them, the hardest thing about this year was that their PawPaw died. For Elizabeth, another hard thing was her close friend moving to Florida in August. And for Katherine, another hard thing was one of her friends moving to Florida in September.  Elizabeth's favorite memory was spending lots of time with her Grammie in the summer and seeing Mr. Popper's Penguins. Nin's favorite memory was playing with her friends. Annie's was becoming friends with Jane. Elizabeth wants to learn more math, she wants to get better at making cards for her friends and she wants to go to American Girl store. Katherine wants to learn more math, get better at reading and she's not sure where she wants to go.  Annie wants to learn more math, get better at reading and she wants to go to Grammie's now that she's six years old.

Lalaloopsy dolls were a favorite toy this year AND a favorite Christmas gift, too.  They also remembered the tons of snow we got in February and the super hot summer we had (114° in Little Rock - hottest day EVER). And they think it's really bad to be bitten by one of your siblings. That made me laugh.

While we did have some sorrows this year, we also had some wonderful things happen as well. We saw relationships deepen, new friendships developed - great things!

And, of course, I got a photo of us sitting around the table "toasting" the new year (at about 8:00p.m.) with our sparkling apple cider (and apparently we need to start buying two bottles of that stuff - the kids love it).

Wishing you a year filled with blessings!

Project 52 v2011–weeks 45-52

I’m just going to do it to you…the last 8 weeks of the year in one post. Feel free to skip over! I’ve had my photos printed (thank you Walgreens for the 25 free prints – I got 28 and my mom got 25 for me…2011 is printed and will be in the photo sleeves this weekend!!!)

Week 45: Nov 6-12, 2011
Hit a big milestone in the van! I was on 430, headed home from church. We were just exiting the 430-630 construction so I pulled off on the Shackleford Exit and snapped this picture at the traffic light (while we were stopped, of course!)

Week 46: Nov 13-19, 2011

Nin was making me laugh. We were going to the preschool for pick-up on Monday afternoon and she was hanging out the window singing at the top of her lungs, so I snapped this picture – what I saw in my driver-side exterior mirror. Silly girl!

Week 47: Nov 20-26, 2011

Typical Thanksgiving at Mom’s – which I love. Brad in the kitchen finishing up lunch preparations, wearing his “King of the Kitchen” apron Mom and Dad put in his stocking last Christmas (he loves it), everyone else standing around chatting and eating appetizers. I love how it’s all about FAMILY when we are there. The entire extended family is with us – aunts, uncles, cousins and their spouses and kids. We love it that way.

Week 48: Nov 27-Dec 3, 2011

Elizabeth sang for the first time with Servants and Singers (3rd – 6th grade choir) in the 11/27 worship service. She is just to the right of Rita, on the front row in a burgundy velvet dress. She was actually much more excited than she appears in this photo!


Week 49: Dec 4-10, 2011

We put up the tree in the girls’ room, with all the new ornaments and tree skirt. It is so much fun! The ornaments are red, hot pink, turquoise blue, purple and lime green – such great, bright colors on that white tree. The skirt is a red velveteen with fun quilted detailing on it. Now to find the perfect tree topper! We haven’t had much luck at all. Maybe next year.

Week 50: Dec 11 – 17, 2011

This was Annie’s first year to sing in the Christmas Cantata. You can see her (just barely) on the front row, to Rita’s right. Elizabeth is on the right in a dark grey dress and black sweater. Nin is just above Rita’s head in a purple dress. The position that the girls were in made it almost impossible to get the three of them AND Brad in the picture…especially since Brad stands just to the right of center stage in the choir.

Week 51: Dec 18-24, 2011

Another choir first this year. It was Harrison’s first year to sing in the Bethlehem Choir (the new name for our 3&4 y/o choir). They traditionally sing the Sunday after cantata and this year the Pilgrim choir (Kindergarten through 2nd grade) helped. We were a little concerned about him doing it – because of issues we’ve had with him going to Sunday School and AWANA; however, he was so excited to do this!! I love how happy he looks in this picture as he is singing. I was so proud of him!!! You can see Nin on the top row in purple. Annie is cut out of the picture – again, the way they were standing made it impossible for me to get all three kids in ONE picture.

Week 52: Dec 25-31, 2011

Merry Christmas!! I don’t think this will be our last photo of the year since we’ll do the traditional “toast” on the 31st.  I love this shot of the kids. They were so happy and excited about Christmas – and so thankful for each and every thing they received, no matter how small. It’s been a joy to watch them grow this year!

Once again I have loved this project. One photo a week is a perfect “speed” for me at this point in my life. If I get more photos in a week, hooray. And if I don’t – that’s okay, too.  In 2012, I hope to do better at blogging the photos on a monthly basis.
Happy New Year, everyone!!

One Little Word: 2012

This marks the 5th year I've chosen a word for the year, a la Ali Edwards. I've tried each year to incorporate my word into my daily life. Some years it has gone great - and others, well - not so much. My hope to do a Joyful Journal last year...didn't materialize.

In 2008, my word was FOCUS. 
In 2009, my word was GENTLE.
In 2010, my word was KINDNESS.
In 2011, my word was JOYFUL.

In 2012, I have decided that my word will be LIGHT.  I chose this word because I've been feeling the need for light in many areas of my life.  Light in the spiritual sense, light in the emotional sense, and even light in the physical sense as I seek to be outdoors more (I am one of those who needs sunlight). I've shared with some of you before that when I've struggled with depression (which is a constant battle in my life) I feel very much like the little head in the Zoloft commercial...running around with a dark cloud hanging over me.

For the past few years, I've also tried to tie my word to a passage of Scripture. When I was searching for a verse, I came across this passage in Philippians 2:14-15

Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourself to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world...

I want to be a light and I want to do all things without grumbling or disputing...and trust me, I'm good at grumbling and complaining and disputing. What a great way to bring LIGHT to my life by not being a grumbler or disputer. And really, the more I grumble - the more discontentment darkens my world!

Wow, where did the year go?! Project 52 v2011

So, I haven’t shared weekly photos since September? Really? You’d think I was busy or something!  I won’t overload and share them all at once. And if you want to skip this, my feelings won’t be hurt. The details are blogged so I’ll know what to write when I toss it all in an album.  By the way, my Clementine version of Project Life (not an affiliate link) came a few weeks ago and I’m going to loooove this.  I think I’ll have Project 52 v2010 and v2011 photos printed and put them in an album using this core kit!

Anyway – the beginning of the end of V2011 (and yes, I’ll be doing it again in 2012)

Week 40: Oct 2 – 8, 2011

Nin and Elizabeth had a playdate with their Baby-Cousin. They went to her house to feed the animals and got to meet her pet bird, Andy. They had a great day with her, as they usually do!

Week 41: Oct 9-15, 2011

We went shopping for Halloween costumes with Boop. Harrison got this great little cowboy costume – which he loves. I hate how it makes him look so big, though!! Where’s my baby?!

Week 42: Oct 16-22, 2011

The Arkansas State Fair is in town! This year, we decided to buy all four kids wristbands so they could “ride” whatever they wanted, as much as they wanted. We figured we wouldn’t be able to get them off the carpet slide. Well, it was a “carpet slide” that they loved…but not the traditional one. It was this one (pictured above)  I stopped counting the 17th time they did it.  The other fun thing they did was a “Jungle Funhouse” that had bridges to cross, ramps to run up and more sliding to do.

Week 43: Oct 23-29, 2011

Harrison and I made treats for his preschool class and teachers. This is one of the bags for his classmates. And, of course, he had to sneak in the picture…sweet boy.

Week 44: Oct 30-Nov 5, 2011

As we usually do, we took the kids trick-or-treating on Halloween. We made our rounds out here. Then we went to Mimi & Uncle Chris’s for our traditional hot dogs & chili (and Frito-Chili pie) dinner before we went around their street. Elizabeth was a “groovy girl” (reminded me a bit of Daphne from Scooby Doo), Nin was a bumblebee, Annie was a “happy green witch” (she really wanted this costume because of all the green in the dress – so she made sure to tell everyone she was a ‘happy witch’), and Harrison was the adorable cowboy. We snapped this photo at the beginning of the evening on Bippie’s porch.

Birthday duo

Elizabeth and I have been crafting together again. Today we made a card and gift box for my mom’s birthday (which is today).  She asked for a gift card to Bed, Bath & Beyond – because she wants to buy new cookware.  After we fashioned the gift card holder, we made a card. We decided to do telescoping layers and we had some “assistance” when putting everything together (baby brother) so the middle layer doesn’t line up exactly. We ask you to not look too closely.{wink}  Since my Mom’s favorite color is red, we used Pure Poppy – the photo doesn’t do the color justice. It is simply the most beautiful, rich red. 

We embossed everything, including the layer stamped in Pure Poppy (newest formulation). The medallion was layered with Versamark and then Pure Poppy, stamped and embossed with clear embossing powder.

Ingredients:
Cardstock: Pure Poppy (PTI) White (Georgia Pacific)
Ink: Versamark (Tsukineko), Pure Poppy (PTI)
Stamps: Birthday Bash Sentiments, Mehndi Medallion (PTI)
Other: clear and white embossing powder; Cash or Charge Collection (My Timeless Templates, PTI); Large Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Thanksgiving Turkey for the Door

You know how I love to decorate our door for the holidays, right?  Well, that's not a "new" thing around here.  In November 2006, there was a craft in the now-defunct Nick Jr. Family magazine. It was a turkey made from acrylic paint, craft felt, craft feathers, chenille stems and a straw hat.  We made one that year and still have it.  He needs some feather replacement (feather "plugs"?) but he's still adorable.  Here is a photo of two very little, sweet girls showing him off:

There are directions all over the web for making a turkey from a straw hat. It was a breeze and my girls are still very proud of this gobbler when he hangs on our door from November 1 until Thanksgiving night. 

Treats for Preschool

Harrison’s Halloween party at preschool is on Monday. He only has to take a 64oz bottle of juice – but that will never do…his friends need a little treat. I had treat bags in the Halloween storage box, and just so happened to have eleven. Just what he needs for his class! We bought some cute temporary tattoos, and some of those sticky frogs (the kind that you can throw and they’ll stick to the ceiling – at one point I had two black, a purple, a green and an orange frog on my kitchen ceiling). We also put a couple of Hershey Nuggets in the bags, sealed them up and added a tag much like what we created for the girls’ Girl Scout party.  However, Harrison only wanted to use the “Scaredy Cat” stamps. Here is a close up of one of them (and yes, that is his head…he was trying to get into the picture):
 

For the teachers and office staff, we’re sending a little treat, too. I took this idea from Pinterest – Hershey Nuggets wrapped in designer paper and then put in a pretzel rod bag. This. Is. Faaaaabulous! {said in my best sing-songy voice}. I am so doing this again!!!

Oh, we were one circle tag short and so Harrison decided he wanted me to do one in black and use the spider stamp…cute. So, here are the deets on these puppies. There are five Hershey Nuggets in each bag. They are wrapped using the black and cream papers in the Midnight Magic (Recollections) paper pad. Cut strips 1” wide, 3” long to wrap the Nuggets. I used regular old tape – it worked best. Toppers use orange and black or orange and cream papers from the same pad. The cardstock used to make the trays in the bags…ugh, I cut it a little too short so I’ll give the measurements I *should* have used (hello, measure at least twice, cut once!!!)  The trays are 2.5” wide, scored at 1/2” and 2”.  They are {read “should be”} 6” long, scored at 1/2” and 5.5”. Trim the corners so you can make the tray.  I ran a strip of adhesive with my ATG to hold the Nuggets in place.  I mean, seriously, how cute are these?! They will be so cute for Thanksgiving. Or Christmas. Or Valentine’s Day. Or Easter. Or a birthday party favor. Or just because!  You can get 75 of those pretzel rod bags for $4 at Michael’s (use a 40% off coupon and get ‘em on the super cheap!)

Up close and personal with the Nuggets (cuuuuute!)

A couple of the treats:   

 

Close-ups of the tags:

Yep. Love these fun little treats. You’ll be seeing them again, but not in as much detail, I promise! 

Recipe: 
Designer paper: Midnight Magic (Recollections)
Cardstock: Black (from my stash), Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink)
Stamps: Tiny Treats: Halloween (Papertrey Ink)
Die: Mat Stack 4 (Papertrey Ink); Nestabilities Standard Circles, Large (Spellbinders)
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko); Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink)
Other: Pretzel Bags (Wilton); Hershey Nuggets; ATG; some super sticky glue dots from my stash; treat bags from my Halloween stash (seriously, I bought those at a Current, Inc. outlet in Manchester, NH when my parents lived up there…in the late 90s!)

Treats for Girl Scouts

The girls had a Juliette Low birthday party/Harvest party at Girl Scouts this week. They made treat bags so we had to take treats for those. Elizabeth has been dying to break out Tiny Treats: Halloween from Papertrey Ink so I decided we’d do something with it. I used the Mat Stack 4 die (shown on the TT: Halloween page linked above…scroll down a bit) to cut tags from  the Midnight Magic paper pad by Recollections (available at Michael’s). I used several different stamps on the circles – each girl chose a couple of designs from the stamp set for me to use. I also wrapped Hershey Nuggets in strips of the Midnight Magic paper and attached them to the back of the Mat Stack tag.


(I had some little ones helping attach the circles and candy to the tags…so, they aren’t perfect and that’s okay!)
Recipe:
Cardstock: Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink)
Designer Paper: Midnight Magic (Rrecollections)
Stamps: Tiny Treats: Halloween (Papertrey Ink)
Dies: Mat Stack 4 (Papertrey Ink); Nestabilities Standard Circles, Large (Spellbinders)
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)
Other: Hershey Nuggets, Scotch ATG, some super sticky glue dots that were in my stash.

Back-Up Winner

I did not hear from one of my winners by the deadline of Tuesday at 5:00p.m. Central time, and there is not any contact information on the profile of that winner -- so, I had Random.org generate a replacement.  The newest winner is:

Jennifer, drop me an email (link in the side bar) and I'll get your code for 25 free Shutterfly photo cards to you!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!! (times 3)

Love me some Random.org. How did people deal with this prior to random.org? Names in a hat?

So, here are the three winners of 25 photo cards from Shutterfly.  Winners, please contact me by 5p.m. Central time on Tuesday, October 25.  If I don't hear from you, I'll choose again.

#1:  "Unknown" 

#2: Michelle

#3:  Shutterfly Addict

Christmas Cards - and a giveaway at the end!

I've faced the reality. There's just no way I'm going to be able to make Christmas cards this year - I don't have the spare time...mainly because any spare time I have will be spent crafting holiday gifts. Enter the wonderful folks at Shutterfly.  I'm going to use them again this year to do photo cards.  Last year, they did a great offer with bloggers - and I have been offered an opportunity to participate again this year...and do a give-away, too!  Fun!

But first, you need to feel the angst of choosing along with me. ;) Last year, I chose the "Starlight Joy" card - which they have this year, too, and again, it works great with my photo.  Here's last year's card...in case you didn't see it (you obviously forgot to send me your address!!)...

You know that I'm using this photo for the 2011 cards, right?  Of course you do:

That Starlight Joy greeting would fit PERFECTLY over Nin's head.  And you know I love, love, love cards that say "Joy" or "Joy to the World" on them because that's one of my favorite Christmas carols. Shutterfly has tons of "joy" cards to choose from this year.

The layout doesn't work for this year but I'm going to try to set up next year's photo so it will (and hope they have this one next year, too)...I love this card. I also love that the main colors in the sentiment are red and blue -- not red and green. I love traditional Christmas colors, but I also love a little different twist, too.

(and can I just say...love the child in the middle...I think that's what really makes this card so much fun...I have a child or two like that...hahahahahahaha!)

However, there's another one that really catches my eye:

I love it. So simple. So perfect. "We Believe" This is the one I want! Well, until I put our photo in...the starbursts hit the kids in funny places:

(where it hits Harrison makes me laugh...kissy kissy!)

There are several other options among their Christmas cards that I really like, but I'm not going to show them here...so that when you get yours in the mail it'll be a surprise. Chances are high it'll say "joy" on it, though. ;)

Okay, so now...hie thee to a nunnery...oh, wait, we're not doing Hamlet we're talking holiday cards...hie thee over to Shutterfly's website and check out their holiday card selection! See any that you like? Are you a blogger? Want a chance at 25 free cards this holiday season? Register here: http://goo.gl/DDw7  (go! go! go! I'll wait!!).  Not a blogger? That's okay, too!  Shutterfly has kindly allowed me to do a giveaway!  I can give away 25 cards to THREE readers!  All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment (and let's be fair, please enter only once). And just for grins - tell me, do you prefer traditional reds and greens or do you like a little bit of a twist in your Christmas color palette? Comments must be received by 11:59p.m. Central Time, Friday, October 21, 2011.  Winners will be announced here on my blog on Saturday, October 22.

And if you're looking for a great holiday gift idea - check out Shutterfly's calendars. One of my friends gives these to her extended family every year (she takes tons of photos at their family reunion and uses those photos to create calendars for everyone)  

Disclaimer: I was not paid for this post; however, in exchange for this post and the links to Shutterfly, I received some free holiday cards. The opinions are my own. I really do love the Shutterfly products...and for the record, so does my mother-in-law. We give her Shutterfly photo books all the time.
  

Project 52 v2011: weeks 36 - 39

Week 36: Sept 4-10, 2011

Elizabeth is really getting into paper crafting. You’ve already seen this photo. She doing a great job and thrilled to share her handiwork with her friends. I love that she likes to bless others with her work.

Week 37: Sept 11 – 17, 2011

Harrison had to take a family photo to school for show-and-tell this week. So, this was the best of what we took.  I have to laugh – he looks terrified, but he was actually quite happy. I love these photos – I’m always reminded of the one like this that we took when Katherine was in Ms. Janet’s class…thought I’d share it, too…(it’s super blurry – the camera focused on the brick of the house leaving us a little fuzzy, but I still love it).

Look how tiny my girls were!!  And…barely visible is the “bump” that is Harrison. What’s funny is that Brad took this photo to work and had it on his desk for months before everyone up there knew I was pregnant. I love Nin’s little toes peeking up in this one. 

Week 38: Sept 18-24, 2011

Harrison got to bring Cubbie home this week! It is always a big deal to bring Cubbie home. Harrison was so very, very excited.

Week 39: Sept 25 – Oct 1, 2011

While we watched the Hogs play Texas A&M inside…Harrison and Elizabeth played football in the backyard. They had such a good time together (and don’t you love him in his PJs?? Some battles aren’t worth fighting!)

Project 52 v2011: Weeks 32 - 35

Week 32: August 7-13, 2011

It’s been so hot here, everything is getting dried on the line. And…mmm…nothing is better than sheets dried on the line!

Week 33: August 14-20, 2011

Elizabeth’s CASE of Audrey’s card for the PTI July Blog Hop.

Week 34: August 21-27, 2011

My baby boy started preschool this week! He goes on MWF and stays for extended care on Mondays. It’s working great and after initial hesitation (the second day was really bad) he loves school!

Week 35: August 28 – September 3, 2011

While Harrison was at preschool, Bippie and LG met us at the library. When we finished school, we went to the park for about fifteen minutes before we had to go get Harrison. The girls had such a fun time.

Shower Invites

My cousin is expecting her first baby, a girl, in December. My mom, sister and I are hosting her baby shower. We wanted to make a pretty invitation for her so I started looking around for inspiration.  I found this card by Debbie Olson and we used it as our “jumping off” point.  I wanted to order the Damask Designs stamps, but didn’t really have time to wait on them to get here. So, we searched for paper. 

All the damask papers I found were hot pink, black and orange. Fun, but not what I was looking for. I finally found some soft, creamy pink papers in several different patterns. I went with the polka-dot and herringbone (love the herringbone!).  I really love the die that Debbie used so I picked up that set, too. Making these was the first time I’ve used my Scotch ATG and I love it!!

Recipe:
Cardstock: Eggshell (Bazzill Basics, classic texture)
Patterned Paper: Sweetpea Pink Polka-Dot and Herringbone (The Paper Studio)
Die: Fancy Tags One (Spellbinders)
Ribbon: Fine Linen Twill (Papertrey Ink)
Font: Passions Conflict (Rob Leuschke)

Project 52 v2011: Weeks 27 - 31

Week 27: July 3-July 9, 2011

While flipping through Family Fun one evening, I saw this cute wreath inspired by patriotic bunting. The magazine had used solid colored card stock. I found this paper at Michael’s (Die Cuts with a View Nantucket stack) Once I got it all together, I decided it was too “white” – double-sided paper would’ve been better for this project. So, I grabbed the acrylics and mixed them together (had to add a little lavender to the blue) and painted the inside of the red and blue cones. It’s not perfect but I am pleased with how it turned out.  It’s a fun splash of red, white and blue on our front door for those patriotic holidays.

 

Week 28: July 10-16, 2011

Elizabeth went to Camp Grammie for two weeks from late June to early July. We went over to get her and spend a few days loving on Grammie. Of course we went to the park where the kids played Escargot and had a ton of fun.  Such a great park!! We love visiting over there!

 

Week 29: July 17-23, 2011

Harrison can write almost his whole name! He asked me to make the Rs and he wrote everything else.  I love it!!! Smart little guy.

 

Week 30: July 24-30, 2011

Look at how blurry Bitsy’s hand is…she’s furiously coloring her math!! I had my camera sitting on the table while we were doing school. Nin got up and walked around to help Bits by reading the problems on her work sheet to her. I didn’t want to make it obvious that I was taking a picture and disrupt this moment, so I didn’t pick-up the camera off the table – I ended up loving the angle of this shot. I love how close together they are, how I can tell by Bitsy’s mouth that she’s really concentrating (love that!), how I can see by the tilt of Nin’s head that she wants to make sure Annie is “getting it right” – but not in a bossy way. Lots that I love about this picture.

 

Week 31:  July 31 – August 6, 2011

On July 31, our Worship Pastor announced that he was leaving our church (you can read my post about that here). I told his wife, “I cannot let you leave without a significant ‘good-bye’. I just can’t. Your family is too important to mine.” So, we were able to spend a little bit of time with them one evening. This picture cracks me up…we now have more children at home than they do (their two oldest are married)…who’d have ever thought that?!  I’m not sure why Brad put all the kids on the sofa rather than adults on the sofa, kids on the floor…but, it’s one of those battles I really didn’t feel like fighting.