and they're done!

The company that Florian works for has been giving Thank You cards as recognition / incentive awards.

A long story... but I've been making these cards for them, along with cards that they can use when anyone leaves. A few weeks ago, I received a request for another 12 cards. I've been slowly working away at them and today finished the last two.

They're now packaged and ready for Florian to take into the office in the morning. It feels great to have them done!

Now I can focus on other fun projects like my Christmas Cards!! LOL

blog award

I have just been blessed ... a dear friend awarded me with this:



It lifted my spirits in ways that I can't begin to describe. Thanks so much Jen!!!

I need to pass it along to 5 others, whose blogs I enjoy reading. I have many many favourites - it's so hard to pick just 5...

Here they are:

Diane
Diane
Tricia
Lee
Suzanne



After you've checked out some of these favourite blogs that I have been enjoying, make sure you also check this out this one....

On her blog, Passion for Crafts, Debbie has an amazing & incredibly generous offer to win Copics & lots more. That would make my birthday the most stupendous day of this month!!!

two days in a row....

just because I've now posted twice in two days, please don't fall over in shock.... please don't.... LOL!!!

There's more to my summer than what I posted yesterday.... Each year my family spends a weekend camping together (as many as can make it). This past year was no different. Except... maybe some of my brothers didn't quite have their wits about them...

You can picture this: It's Saturday evening; everyone is sitting around the campfire... it's a beautiful evening.... conversations... catching up with each other... my sister asks about the next day's activities (it's our BBQ) and is inquiring about directions. I leave the campfire to go with her to her tent to take a look at her map...

While we are gone... it's a total of what? 5 minutes? insanity hits the group and they begin to discuss running... marathons... Italy... wait, we can do this!!!!

And the challenge is set before us. Next year. August. Edmonton. Who's in?

Since that crazy day we're running; we're logging our runs; we're out of breath; we're applauding each other's accomplishments...

... I'm convinced we're crazy!!! LOL

no, I haven't fallen....

off the face of the earth.... I can't believe that it's been so long since I've posted...

The last month of summer turned out to be ridiculously busy... but FUN!!

Here's a little taste of what we enjoyed:

Aug 3:
We partied!!! It's just no fun to celebrate alone, so we invited friends and family to a BBQ held in Fish Creek Park (a beautiful natural area in the south end of the city. The reason? We celebrated 25 years this year and we just wanted to take some time to praise God!! My whole family was there - it's been 7 years since that's happened - what fun to see everyone together!!!

Aug 5:

Two days later, we loaded up the van with our 4 kids (sorry... young adults & teenagers) and drove south to the Oregon Coast.
WOW! What an incredible time we had together. We drove 21 hours to get there... but was it ever worth it. The ocean is... breath-taking. We had great weather (sun, cloud, mist, light rain) but generally warm. The best part (besides the ocean view) was living without alarm clocks... without schedules... without the demands of life here at home. Driving back, we detoured through Seattle so DS could visit the "original" Starbucks. It made for a very long drive home, but his gratitude made it all worth while.

And now... we're back into the routine of college for the boys & high school for the girls, and part-time work for each of them. It keeps the wheels on the car going round and round!! LOL!!!

I think I've found...

my stampin' mojo! Or, it found me!!! LOL

I've had so much fun this week. The girls were busy helping with day camp at the church (they were running a Performing Arts camp this week) so that gave me lots of time to create & play!

The company that Florian works for has been asking me to create some cards for them - farewell cards for when employees resign and thank you cards given in recognition of work done well. I had to create 5 of each. My favourite of them all is this one!









or this one:



or maybe this one? LOL









When I got to having to choose just one favourite I just couldn't do it! So there you have it... my favourite three!!

life is back to normal....

for most of us. DD returned from her mission trip to Mexico on Sunday, full of stories... and full of bites...

Her ankles... well, we couldn't see them. We thought that perhaps it was just the flight, but no. They had started to swell 4 days earlier. So much so that her feet expanded to completely fill her crocs... shoes that were normally floppy on her feet. Now, three days later, the swelling is nearly gone and we can actually see the bones in her ankles & feet!! They are still somewhat sore, but not nearly as painful as they were. We are thankful!

Her stories are wonderful to hear... her tears for a people she learned to love flow freely... she is processing & re-entering and it will take time. God did some amazing work and it will take time for her to see that, but in the meantime we don't ever want life to be "normal" for her - at least not the "normal" she knew before she went. Of course, how could it ever be the same? She has lived for 10 days in a culture so vastly different... it is impossible to do that and not be changed.

For her, life will never be the same... and like ripples of water, our lives will be changed too.

one more day...

and DD will be home from her mission trip. It seems like yesterday that we took her to the airport. DD2, on the other hand, has missed her sister so much. Each day her Facebook status changed: "really missing...(sis) xx days!!" Tomorrow will be the longest day of her life as she will watch the hours tick by minute by minute, waiting ever so impatiently until it will be time for us to head up to the airport again.

This morning DH & I tried (again) to find a cache that has been eluding us. It's a 35mm film container that is "just another rock in the wall". Maybe we'll take an extra set of eyes to help us look for it next time. This "wall" is only about 2 feet high and about 18 inches across. An extra hint indicated the inside corner... now how difficult can that be? hmmm.... let's not answer that too quickly, ok? LOL

Being a little more contemplative this evening... one more day has passed. I have been reminded lately how quickly life can change. One day can make such a difference. How will we... or rather, How will I choose to live this day?

we're done...

for this year!!! It has been a long year for us & we're wiped. We are SO glad to have written the last exams this morning.... text books were returned to the office this afternoon.... and now the marks are trickling in... so far so good!!!!

Now we have exactly 6 days to get everything ready for DD. She leaves July 2 for Mexico on a 10-day missions trip. They will be visiting a little village 3 hours outside Puebla. While there, they will help mostly with construction (building the church) and then some children's ministry. Are they getting excited? Is the sky blue?!?!?!

But for tonight the house is quiet except for the giddy voices as my DD has her very best friend here for some WII time ;) It has been SO long since they've had opportunity to just be together... they are loving it and making the most of every second!! Gotta love teenage girls LOL!!!!

8 days....

and counting....

We have just begun the final leg of our homeschooling year... with final exams: 3 down... 5 more to go. Today I take my daughter to Okotoks to write her Biology diploma - a 2-part, 3 hour exam that counts for 50% of her final grade.

We are definitely ready to put this year behind us LOL

I had a quick note from a dear cyber friend yesterday ~ she had so graciously sent me some stamped Thomas Kincade images. My first card using her images went to her as a thank you :) Thanks Lee!!!

Who knew that I'd be playing with crayons & colouring "pages" at this age LOL

8 more days... I'm looking forward to pulling out my crayons again :)

housewife rating LOL

hmmm..... not sure I agree with this LOL and DH... well, although he's thrilled to have me as his wife, I'm not sure he'd agree that my housewife rating should be "perfect"...

reminds me of Mary Poppins.... "practically perfect in every way" and there is absolutely no way that I come close to her in comparison!?!?! LOL!!!

You scored as Perfect housewife!

You are (or will be) the perfect housewife. Congrats to the man who has (or will have) you!

Perfect housewife!		40%
Normal housewife		40%
Housewife disaster		0%

you too can find out how you score by taking this very very short housewife quiz

a startling realization...

hit me as I awoke this morning. Today is the funeral for my SIL's mother. I had hoped to get a couple of cards made before today so that I could send them with my sister, who was planning on driving to Drumheller. ooopppsss..... I forgot :(

I made up these two and will pop them into the mail this afternoon in hopes that they will get to their intended location before my brother & SIL leave the area. It's only 1 1/2 hours away - do you think Canada Post can get them there in a couple of days? We'll have to see...


This first card just uses a photo that I took on our way to Dauphin last fall. It's actually a sunrise, but I love the vibrant colours and thought they could work well for this. With Microsoft Office, I overlaid the sentiment; printed it and voila!!





I wanted to spend a bit more effort on the card for my SIL, so took some ideas from SCS to create this second card. Still very simple to create which works well for me!! LOL

a rainy Saturday...

and with 3 of my 4 children are out for the day, I've taken the opportunity to enjoy a quieter household.

This is another ThankYou card that I have made for one of those that helped with the anniversary dinner. I used my Geometric bg and nestibilities scalloped rectangles along with another bit of ribbon from a Pay It Forward swap as "shapes".

a thank you....

for one of our "kids" for their love, time & hard work as they prepared dinner the other night for our anniversary. It will double as a shapes set challenge by Renee on her blog, Stamping for Sanity.

I don't have a shapes set, so I improvised and used my Harlequin Diamonds stamp by Hero Arts. I had some ribbon & "diamond" brads from a Pay It Forward swap that I added as a finishing touch. I'm not totally happy with it... I think it needs a little more, but I've spent all evening on it getting it to this point so will leave it for now and maybe some further inspiration will come to me during the night! LOL

25 years...

it's been quite the journey, but God's grace is amazing and we respond with simply, God is so good.

Florian & I are celebrating our 25th anniversary today. . . it's hard to believe. We're not that old LOL!!!!

But God is good. He has been faithful; He has journeyed right alongside us through every sunny day as well as the stormy ones. The rainbow continues to come out after the rain and reminds us He is with us - His presence goes before us, no matter what lies ahead.

p.s. this is the cake top from our wedding day. I finally remembered to pull it out of the freezer. Whether it's edible or not... well, that's another a whole 'nother question LOL

it's already May...

and I seriously cannot believe that we've already turned another calendar page this year LOL

On the SCS Flybaby site, there was lots of playing yesterday in honour of National Scrapbooking Day. I didn't have time to play along, but read with interest the various challenges that were posted throughout the day. Obviously, my mind took some of them to heart because this afternoon I combined two of them (make a card for your mom or special friend for Mother's Day ~ since I already had my card for my mom made, I chose a special friend and made this for her ~ and then to use a tool that I had never used.... out came my nestabilites LOL) Thanks Diane for giving me just the incentive I needed to break open the package :)

This is a CASE from another card found in the Splitcoast Gallery by MilwaukeeMommy called "Better Late than never...."

My stamping area is now cleaned up and ready for me to tackle my next card - finishing up a birthday card for my Dad. It needs to go into the mail by Tuesday if I want him to get it in time. I'm hoping that between a postal deadline and a clean stamping area I should be able to find the motivation I need to finish it!!!

ahhh.... the sun is shining....

and it's a beautiful day. The snow has nearly disappeared ~ the grass is turning green ~ I'm seeing robins everywhere! It's a day that the Lord has made, indeed!!!

There is more snow in the forecast, but.... for today, I'm going to enjoy the sun!!!

I have come to realize that (1) I find it hard to create without a "reason" (2) I'm easily bored with "old" and (3) because of #2, I'm always trying something "new".

However, in doing that, it means that I need to block out way more time to play because trying "new" always takes me so much longer.

So there's a birthday coming up - a very close friend celebrates his birthday in a few days - it's a perfect reason to try something new!!

Yesterday I made my first criss cross card. I didn't use double-sided paper, but found, in my stash, some coordinating Basic Grey. (as an aside, I love Basic Grey!!! LOL ) I quite like how it turned out! Maybe, just maybe, I'll find another reason to go back downstairs today to create another "something new"!!!

somebody ordered some more snow...

but we're not quite sure who!! LOL

A week ago, the girls were in flip-flops as I took their picture with their "snow couple".

Today we've brought out the winter jackets because somebody somewhere placed an order for more winter weather!! and I know it wasn't me LOL

I took this picture last night as I was waiting for our guys to come home. They were out at a dinner theatre. When they left it was still melting as it came down, but by late evening the roads were an icy mess.

They did make it home safely... at which point it didn't take long for me to find the Land of Nod!!

SNOW DAY!!!

Except, how can you really have a snow day (in all aspects of the real thing) when you homeschool???

well, the girls worked away until i got home and then.... well, I talked them into going outside (hmm... so much for my self-discipline LOL) to build a snow family.... or rather a snow couple LOL


Many people didn't go anywhere in the morning ... but living only a few blocks from the church really didn't give me an excuse not to head down there. I trudged through wet snow & slushy slush, determined not to let the snow keep me house-bound. I spent the morning re-decorating the church sanctuary. I was merely supposed to help, but the decorating gal was one of those who couldn't get out of the garage... so I changed it over. I'm pleased with the results. (I'll have to remember to take a picture or two).

so.... I'm really s-l-o-w....

to respond to being tagged. I'm so sorry, Lee, that it has taken me absolutely forever to respond....

I've decided that late is better than never, so here goes:


1. If you could have $100.00 worth of scrapbook paper or assorted embellishments, which would you choose? oh.... I just spent $100 not that long ago. But if I had another $100, I'd choose double-sided designer paper, glitter, rub-ons, and brads - lots of brads :)

2. If you had to choose between using only stamps or ribbons, which would you choose? I don't think it would be possible to create anything with just one or the other... but if I absolutely "had" to choose one over the other... that it was a matter of life or death, I'd have to go with stamps.

3. If you knew how to do both awesome cards and layouts but could only do one for a whole year…which would you do? Cards wins hands-down.

4. Would you rather own a scrap book store or have your own scrapping room at home? I'd have a scrapping room at home that could double as my own personal scrap book store LOL!!!!

5. What is your CURRENT card making or scrapping style? simple. Maybe one day, I'll be able to create all those very lovely detailed creations that I see everywhere else :)

hmm... so now I get to the hard part.... tagging someone else.... here goes... I will tag:


Beth
Diane
Giovana
Jacki
Tricia

Here are the rules…………... Please answer the questions on your blog and tag 5 more people to answer the same questions………... make sure you list on your blog who you are tagging…

voice lessons & musical theatre

This morning the girls performed their 1st musical theatre pieces at a Master Class. I sat in and enjoyed their performances. They each sang one song this time: "My Favorite Things" from Sound of Music,and "Nothing" from A Chorus Line.


The class was small with only 6 students, but what a great way to encourage them and provide opportunities for them to build confidence!

As an added bonus, their voice teacher had invited a 3rd year college student to attend and provide feedback for each of them.