Look what just arrived on my doorstep!

Well actually it was folded in half and shoved in my mailbox, but you get the idea! Woohoo! It's my much anticipated Shop Crop Suey kit! I'm so excited, because 1. I was afraid it'd gotten lost in the mail. It seemed like everyone had theirs but me. And 2. it's packed to the brim with all sorts of fun, yummy papers and "extras" as Bree and Camille call them! This is Camille's kit and you can find it here. But Bree also has a kit (here) and you can choose from either one or just get both! I mean, how fun! I can't wait to dig in!

Woooooooohooooooooo!

Just a quick little post to announce that I'm not a one-hit-wonder in the world of publication! I was just contacted by Scrapbooks Etc. for a couple of cute altered items I made this past Winter (hint hint wink wink). I'm SOOO excited! YAY! :D

So where are you going to be Nov 7-8?

This is where I'll be!!!! Scrap Etc., a LSS in Birmingham, AL, is having their very first Christmas Event called Wrappers Delight. It's similiar to the Event they held at the Opryland Hotel this past April in Nashville, and this is their first time doing a Christmas-themed Event. I'm sooo excited! I can't wait! Crops, classes, make-n-takes, and so much more! Go check it out! We're going to have a blast!

We've been invaded...

by the Disney princess syndrome! LOL! A dear friend and her sweet daughters thought that it was time that my sweet Caroline be introduced in the cult known as Disney princess! They were so sweet to induct her into the fan club by purchasing 6 pairs of plastic high-heeled princess shoes, which now my dear darling innocent daughter canNOT get enough of!

Every single waking hour of the day I hear clomp-clomp-clomp all over my house. And sometimes I get to witness the re-enactment of Bambi's first attempt at skating on ice as Caroline's knees buckling into a sprawl on the kitchen floor! It's hilarious to watch her play in her new high-heels. They're only about 4 sizes too big for her, but she loves them so! They have their very own basket in her room, and she tucks them in bed each night by covering them with a baby blanket (probably so her little sister won't see them the next morning! LOL!). And every waking moment of the day they're on her feet--even while they dangle as we attempt to potty train, even as we cross the street in the middle of carpool line on the way to volleyball practice, and yes, this Sunday she insisted that she wear Snow White (of the bright red persuasion) with her pretty little teal hand-smocked dress to church. I won out on that one though! She wore Snow White in the car, changed into her Sunday shoes in the parking lot, and then as soon as church was over, "'No White pincess sues" were the first thing she asked for.

Despite my sarcasm, it really is endearing! I love it! I was never the girly-girl that apparently my little one is. And it's fun to see the joy on her face as she clomps through the house!

The day she got them.








Doesn't she look so happy???!!!

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On a completely different topic, you all probably know that the School of Scrap contest is going on over at Simply Obsessed. And I recently found this site, Yearbook Yourself, thanks to the Noel Mignon site. The whole point of it is to upload a picture of yourself, and then it'll show you what you may have looked like back in the day.

Here's me in 1960.


And in the early 90s:


Isn't that a riot!!!! I laughed hard when I saw that picture! And honestly, it looks a lot like one of my dad's old yearbook pictures! Too funny! Anyway, I thought I'd share. Go try it out! It's a ton of fun! :D

Hope you all have a great day!

Sept. Simply Obsessed LOs

I think I may have a new favorite manufacturer. Simply Obsessed's September kit is primarily made up of October Afternoon's new line, Hometown. It's also accented with both Fancy Pants and Jenni Bowlin goodies, which makes this kit ROCK! I loved using every bit of it! (and I DID use it up!) Here's what I did:

Lil Miss Sunshine


Bloom and Grow


Fab 5


Thank you card

What is it with these challenges?

Honestly! But I love them because they make me scrap things I would rather not do, or ones that I need to do but just haven't gotten around to doing. This one was an English assignment to write about school. There were several prompts and a free-write where you could write about just about anything school related. I went with the title "These are the days (I want to remember)" from the 10,000 Maniacs song. I went with that 1. because we listened to it all the time in high school and 2. because those really are the days I want to remember. The days when we were 4 young giddy school girls without a care in the world til life slapped us in the face.

"These are the days I want to remember"


In the picture are my 3 best friends since middle school, and the tallest one is Amelia. I have pictures of she and I when we were 4 and 5 years old. Anyway, just after my sophmore year, which was her junior year, she was tragically killed in a car/train accident. So when I look back on these pictures it TRULY IS the days and memories that I want to remember.

The journaling reads, "These are the days I want to remember... The days before June 26, 1995. The days when we were four giddy school girls who talked on the phone too much, used 3-way calling to call boys when we probably shouldn't have. The days when we went skinny-dipping in the pool while "pet-sitting" or the late nights singing every lyric and quoting every line from Grease. Those are the days I want to remember. Along with the mission trips, youth group fun, pep rallys, football games, 4-wheelin' in the mud, and riding horses. Those are the days I refuse to forget. The ones before we knew true pain, sadness, heartache, and loss. The ones where we lived, not knowing one of us would soon lose her life. Those were the days before we knew tragedy and those are the memories I cling to. We were young, and carefree. And we had no clue how it would all end. Those days are the memories I'll always cherish, because now that's all I've got to hold on to."

One of the hardest challenges

well, scrappy challenges that is, was one by Michelle for Simply Obsessed's School of Scrap month long contest. It was difficult because her challenge was the Science lesson that asked us to incorporate a MAMMAL into a layout. At first, I thought, "Oh great! I could do owls, or birdies, or some fish with my lake pictures..." Duh! I quickly realized that NONE of those were mammals. And the cute butterflies, chickies, or other "in" animals aren't either! I was stumped! Then I thought about doing a play on words with monkeys, only to realize I don't HAVE anything monkey-ish. So I finally decided to scrap a fave picture of Sarah Kate and use a lamb.

For those of you who don't know the whole story, Sarah Kate was a twin. Only her twin, Claire, survived until week 20 of the pregnancy then we lost her. Josh and I took multiple trips to Cincinnati to have a surgery performed to try to correct the problem but Claire didn't survive. Ironically it was the Twin-to-Twin that was keeping her alive while Sarah Kate was showing signs of congestive heart failure.

Anyway, as I lay in bed at the Ronald McDonald house in Cincinnati unable to sleep the night before the surgery, I decided to open my Bible. I fell upon this verse, Isaiah 40:11 and wept like I never have before. It read, "He tends his flock like a shepard, He gathers His lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads those who have young." Wow! I needed that like more than anything else at that moment. I was assured that the Lord was carrying my babies in His arms. Notice the verse says lambs--plural. Not only that but that He was gently leading me and Josh too. We'd left Caroline, only 11 months old at the time, home with my mom so that we could travel. Not only was I a ball of nerves, anxious about surgery, the pending survival of my unborn twins, but I dearly missed my little one at home too. So needless to say this verse brought me hope, courage, and comfort that night in Cincinnati. It still does. I'm confident in the fact that my Sweet Jesus is still holding my little Claire in His arms until I'm able to hold her again myself. I still refer to Sarah Kate as my little lamb, even though she's not really mine but His.

And all of this spurred on by a simple little challenge that had me baffled, but now I'm happy to share a little of the story with you, with Sarah Kate (to read later), and to confidently look forward to the day when I get to hold my other little lamb.

Oh and here's the layout: "Little lamb"