How times flies When...

You are having fun! We have been so busy since my last post. My daughters, grandchildren and I went to Great Wolf Lodge up near Dallas. We had a blast. This is one of my favorite pictures:

The 4 youngest got to play a fantasy game with a wand. They went all over the Lodge touching pictures, podiums, statues, etc. to get clues to find treasures. At one time 3 of them went off the find all of the clues and were gone for a couple of hours. I recommend anyone who goes there to purchase the wand for their children. At the end of the stay they got to go into a room to "fight the dragon" if they had enough points. I don't know who had more fun. My oldest grandson got a "tatoo" (washable) and said that was pretty cool. He met some other teenagers and had a great time hanging out with them.

Jameson thought he was "hot stuff" waving his wand at everything. Some of the pictures remember if your wand was used already at that site, so it gives you a sassy message like" Don't think just because you wave that wand, I'll give you more clues" haha! The first time Jamie heard that he put his head down, he realized she was "hollering" at him and his feelings were hurt! We are all hoping that we can go back next year.

I went to a scrappy hosted by my friend Linda and we had 20 women there laughing and creating all day. Can't wait for the next one. Unfortunately I was so busy "creating" and socializing that I didn't take any pictures!

A friend got married on July 4th and it was the nicest wedding. Some of the special things she did made a real impression on me. One of them was as she walked down the aisle, a group of her friends lined both sides and each handed her a long stemmed Red Rose. By the time she reached the front she had a complete bouquet. Precious. Another was having her readers prepare a bridge. The groom approached the bridge from one side and the bride approached from the other side. They met in the middle and recited their vows. Hopefully this picture will show up:

We decided to do a little remodeling in the LR/DR and these pictures give you a clue as to how the house looked for a couple of days. Well at least the before! LOL:

We are loving the new wood floors. We plan on remodeling our bedroom next and purchased the flooring at the same time. I can't wait. All I have to do is... scrape the popcorn off the ceiling, paint, remove the old carpeting.......

I'll be sure to post pictures when that room is done too!

I LOVE CARDS!

I love to make them, to send them, to receive them. I don't know what I enjoy more, making a card I've already mastered, or making a card I am just learning how to make.

I love to go on the different blogs, websites, etc. and find new cards to make. I just have to share with you the 2 newest I made today.

This one is a Shutter fold card. I found the directions on several sites, all you need to do is google "Shutter Fold Cards" and a bunch of samples and directions come up. So here is my first attempt. It is for a friend's grandsons 1st birthday.

I call this card my "Hair Gel fish Card" The hair gel is enclosed inside a baggie, between layers of the card. The gel looks like bubbles and is real squishy! This one was alot of fun. I can't wait to make more with different themes. I think it'll make a great Beach card!

Hope you enjoyed my newest cards!

Travels, birthdays, graduations, oh my!

I cannot believe it has been so long since I posted! So much has gone on, plus I really really hate to push Jamie's walking video down on the page! LOL!

Let's see. Where do I start? Probably with our trip to Haifa, Israel. WOW! What a trip. I have never gone anywhere for 9 days and felt like the time went faster than lightening! We got to see so many of the Bahai shrines and holy places, in Haifa starting with the Bahai Gardens. Interesting story here. The Israeli government worked with the Bahai's to literally move a street by 2 1/2 meters so the view would not be distracting! This photo is shot standing at the bottom of the gardens looking up . There were almost 600 stair up to the shrine and then another 600 or so steps up from the shrine to the top of the mountain. Each terrace was beautifully adorned with color coordinated flowers, shrubs, trees, fountains, etc.It was breath taking.

We took amost 700 pictures, so it is very hard to narrow down on which ones to publish here.

Upon our return home, we celebrated dear granddaughters 8th birthday. She picked dinner at a restaurant called Hao Hao's. Said that birthdays are special so you should eat at someplace more special than McDonald's or Gatti land! What a trip!

Dh's 1st daughters graduation from Sam Houson was the week after Mother's Day. She has a double major in Spanish and Criminology. It has been an interesting trek for her and I know she is going to do great things!

Dh's son came in from D.C. for a week to visit before he leaves the states. We celebrated his birthday and dh's birthday last week. He left this past Tuesday for DC and then on Wednesday, left for Warsaw, Poland. He will be on assignment there for the next 3 years! Told us to get something called Skype? We will be looking into it this weekend.

Today is Dh's official birthday. Happy Birthday honey! We went to IHOP for a brunch and laughed when we ordered off of the senior menu! LOL Went shopping for some new jeans, supplies from Sam's, a quick stop in Hobby Lobby and then home again. What a day.

Through all of this I found time to do a Baby word bloom for a shower I'm attending tomorrow. Just need a few finishing touches and then wrap it up.

My dear friend Pam made me a Bahai word bloom and is working on making a Haifa word bloom. I already picked out the paper today for the Haifa book it is My Minds' Eye Out & About series. Can't wait to start on that one. Will post pictures when it is done.

More later

Guess Who's Walking!

JAMIE................................

Lots going on

What a week it was. On the 10th was my dear grandson Jonathan's 13th birthday. He is so artistic. He plays guitar, piano and clarinet! A one man band! On the 12th was my bd, plus Easter.

We had huge plans to bbq in the backyard while the hubby and sons in laws worked on remodeling the tree house, which was originally built in 1999 by Brandon (15) and Jonie (13). At the time they were 5 and 3! I have wonderful pictures of them helping Papa build this tree house.

Well as luck would have it, we were forcasted with a 70% chance of rain, so we cancelled the bbq and tree house repair and went to dd#1's house for dinner. We all had alot of fun and are still looking forward to remodelling.

My dear grandaughter wanted a "neat" name for the treehouse so we came up with "4 Pirates and a Princess". We have 4 grandsons and only 1 grandaughter so she thought this was a great name! Dear sil#2 painted up a skull and crossbones to add to the decor! Now we need a princess crown or something to add to it. I can't wait until we are all done with it so I can post some layouts with the then and now pictures.

Papa is even talking about duplexing up to a higher level in the tree house. We'll see!

Can scrapbooking Hurt??

You betcha! If you are foolish enough to bend over the wrong way to pick up a ribbon box! That's what I did Sunday evening while scrapping with my dear friend Patti. Actually I was finishing making one Easter card and never did use the ribbon afterall!

I leaned over the side of my chair to pick up my ribbon box and felt a "pull" in my lower back. It went from a minor discomfort that night to being barely able to move this morning.

I have been trying to "self medicate" with tylenol (useless) anacin (not so much) motrin (works the best but not enough) to using a topical pain medication called "Blue Emu Oil" gives a nice fuzzy warm feeling but doesn't help for too long.

I broke down and talked to my doctor today and she is prescribing some muscle relaxants and pain pills ( I hate pain pills but will take them if I REALLY REALLY REALLY feel like I need them). She is concerned that if I don't take care of this now that it'll linger on until our trip at the end of this month. So that was the deciding factor to get help!

BUT... I will not let a little ribbon box stop me from scrapping... no siree....I still need to make Easter cards for the grand kiddos! Wish me luck! LOL

Here's Jamie

At the beginning of the year I posted that I wanted to show a layout a week for 2009. Well "It ain't gonna happen" haha but..


A couple of months ago my dear friend Pam (of Heart of Texas Studios) made me this pciture frame album called Jamie. Thanks Pam! I have been working on this book about Jamie and finally have it finished, so I'll post pictures of the pages.


I had alot of fun trying some different techniques. I quilled a butterfly, I used alchol inks on metal letters, I embossed a metal strip and covered a rocket ship, I painted, sanded and even got to use bling on a robot! I used a photo flip technique to show how he ate a cupcake and the mess he made. Priceless! I know there are sooooo many products and techniques out there to learn and work with. This time I decided to only use the things I had on hand and I think I did pretty good. So here's Jamie.............................

Zoo Fun

We ended spring break with a trip to the Waco Zoo. We had a blast. Took over 300 photos and I wanted to share some of my favorites with you. The first one is of all the kiddos before we entered the zoo. We couldn't believe the great shots we got of the giraffes (my personal favorites) These two were "best cuz's for the day! The tortoise fascinated the younger kids because of the size. And Jamie had a blast on the slide. We took a video but for some reason it did not turn out. So pictures will have to suffice until I do a layout. Which I've been requested to create a new Zoo paper for the event.

An amazing family

I want to thank all of you that have let me know you will say prayers for baby Jonah. I have to tell you that I have been keeping up with Patrice's (Jonah's mommy) blog. Her and her husband Matt have an AMAZING strength. I have never met either one of them but wanted to share with you their journey.

Matt and Patrice lost baby Gabe last year at birth. They now think he may have had EB also. Baby Jonah was born with EB. I'm not sure if they have totally identified which form of EB he has yet. As I've stated in an earlier post There is no cure for EB. It is NOT something "he will outgrow" It is NOT an "allergy" Which is what we have heard many times since Jameson was born. Anyway I want this post to be about Jonah and his family.

Patrice and Matt have shown a remarkable amount of strength throughout this process of finding out more about EB and how to take care of Jonah. Her and Matt have a DEEP DEEP inner strenght called FAITH. Faith can move mountains, and maybe with time EB.

I have been following Patrice's blog for updates on Jonah and wanted to give you the opportunity to witness the positive energy this family exudes to everyone, how much love, support and prayers are being offered for them.

I believe in the power of prayer and hope you will continue to pray for this sweet, loving family. Patrice, Matt, Jonah- here is a big hug. MY family is keeping you in our prayers! http://patriceandmattwilliams.blogspot.com/

Prayers needed

Most of you know that my youngest grandson Jameson has a rare skin disease called Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB). EB is a pretty rare disease that affects about 1 in 40,000 births. There is no cure at this time. Research is pretty scarce and more is needed. We were told when Jamie was born that most Doctors and nurses will NEVER see a case of EB in their entire CAREER! So anytime there is a case it is up to the family to EDUCATE all of the caregivers. Imagine being told that when you have a newborn. It has been true. We have had to "teach" (if you will) each one of Jamie's caregivers as to the correct way to treat him.

We just found out a friend of a friend had a baby boy named Jonah who has EB. Jonah is having a rough time and him and his family need some extra prayers. Please take time to say a prayer for this precious boy.

For those of you interested to learn more about this devastating disease you can go to the www.debra.org website.

What a week... so far

So far, this week, my sister and I have babysat my 2 youngest grandchildren while my daughter went to Vegas! This is the first time she has left her children ever! Now I remember why God gives children to young people! The boys were great, but I am exhausted. Just keeping up with their energy was a feat! haha

My "newest" son in law had a birthday yesterday. Chris married Karin in July and whisked her away to Houston. Haven't had too much of an opportunity to get to know him real well, but so far we love what we see! (I think he's a keeper!) We didn't get to see him yesterday but we did call and tell him Happy Birthday. Next time they come to town we'll celebrate! Happy Birthday Chris!!!

Today is my sister Vicky's birthday. She turned 50! She is the one sitting and the smaller one in the standing photo.We took her to dinner last night and I had breakfast with her this morning. Happy Birthday Sis!

Tonight we are having some friends over to discuss the Bahai Faith. That is my religion and I love to share information about it.

Tomorrow I get to have lunch with a couple of my friends from Scrapbook Fever. Can't wait to catch up with what is going on in their lives.

All in all it has been a great week. Jamie is pulling himself up against the sofa and walking around it holding on, EVEN with his casts on. What a trooper. Anyday I see him tackling what I consider major obstacles with such ease, is a good day for me! Keep up the great work Jamie!

The casts are on

Went to Simply Pediatrics (SP) for Jamie at 6:30 am. He has the casts on and after talking to the doctor found out that he will keep these on for 2 weeks, get new ones put on for another two weeks, and then one more round of casts for 2 weeks for a total of 6 weeks. After that they will put him into braces that can fit into his shoes. I just want this to be over for the poor little guy. I want him to be able to walk and run like any other little boy.

He handled it pretty well. Had a melt down when the nurse first took him into the OR and again when he came out of recovery. But if I had gone through what he has gone through so far in his life, I'd have a melt down too. Once mama had him he calmed down prettty quick. Kept saying "OK, go bye bye".

I do have to say the staff at SP is great. MOST of the nurses and anesthesologist already know him and know about his EB and they are SO careful with him. God bless them.

What a difference a couple of hours makes! Jen just sent me these pictures of Jamie. Already he is Standing on the casts and trying to climb up onto the sofa. Bless his heart, this baby is not letting ANYTHING keep him down. Now if only his mama and I could adapt to his way of thinking. We can learn so much from these children.

Have you ever felt...

Like saying something causes a jinx on the situation? That's what I'm feeling today. Yesterday was a really really bad day. The phone did not stop ringing and each call was bad news to some extent. I won't go into all the calls but the one that really hurt the most was about Jamie.

Jen took him to the orthopedic surgeon yesterday for a check up and they decided he needs to be re-casted. So tomorrow morning he goes in again to start the process all over. Once a week we will have to take him in to the hospital, put him under anesthesia, cut off the old cast and put on the new ones. We believe this will go on for at least 6 weeks. At which time he will then go back into the "boots and bars" which in itself has been a nightmare.

Jamie hates the boots and bars and has learned how to take them off all by himself. Each night Jen puts them on and each morning he has them off. We have consulted with the doctor and with the therapist who designs the boots on a system that works yet does not allow him to remove them. We figure at this point it will be up to us to design a system that will correct the club foot issue ourselves. I'm working on a design this week and then will try to have it made by the time the casts come off again. And get the approval and help of the doctor to implement it. Wish me luck.

Then and Now

My dearest baby grandson has come so far in his short 17 months. The old cliche " What a difference a day makes" is so true. Just 2 months or so ago he had aonther surgery and casts on his little legs. Today they are "all done" as Jamie says and he has shoes and is trying to walk. We always wondered if we would ever get to the point in time where we would see Jamie walk like any other 17 month old. Well I'm sharing pictures of him "then and now" Look out world here he comes!!!

Today is....

My youngest daughter's birthday. Happy Birthday Jenny! Each year I ask my kids what kind of birthday dinner they want as part of their special day and each year Jenny answers "Spaghetti of course". This year is no different.

I have to say that Jenny has come along way. When she was a teenager we had many a "disagreements", but as she has matured (or have I mellowed?) we seem to get along better. I think now that she is a mom, she understands more of the dillema's facing a parent and can identify more with the worries of a mom.

Jenny is mother to Jaxon and Jameson. As I've watched her grow into a remarkable young woman, wife and mother, I'm amazed at how good she is at it! She has way more patience than I did. She has grown to know that she is the only real advocate for her children , that nobody loves you like your mother (Because I always tell her so!) and that she is such an important part of our family. You will always be my baby girl, I love you Jen!

Card Creation

I love making cards. I have always wanted to learn more about quilling, so I bought a book, found a design, took it to a crop last summer and spent about 5-6 hours creating this card. I loved the look but because of how long it took me to make it, I will NEVER give it out! ha. I keep it tacked to my message board so I can see it every day and decide IF I will ever do another detailed quilled card. I'm sure if I did keep creating cards with this technique, I would be able to whip them out in way less time but haven't attempted it again. What technique did you try "once" and not again because of labor?

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Halfway through January

Can't believe we are already half way through January. Have you stuck with your resolutions? I'm already behind with posting a layout a week so I'll catch up by sharing some I did for a class I took called "My 100 Things". I took this class before the movie "Bucket List" came out but it has the same premise. So here are a couple of the layouts I did for my book. Since it is a 6x6 I like to keep the focus on the photos and not embellies. However, one of my goals for 2009 is to use more embellies on each page!

If you haven't created a "100 things" album or a "Bucket list" you should consider doing one. They are alot of fun and it is a way to list goals and show them when accomplished. Most of mine were travel so I still have alot of places to visit before I finish my 'Bucket List". You don't have to start with today, I listed things I had always wanted to do and added to the list. Some of mine were accomplished almost 20 years ago! So go ahead, give it a try!

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone has a healthy, happy, and prosperous 2009. I'm trying to get rid of the holiday "stuff" all over my scraproom. I'm losing the battle! LOL I'm also trying to get ready for a scrappy on Saturday, another battle I'm losing today. Hope this isn't a prelude to the rest of the year!

Looking forward to a better year of blog postings. I'm hoping to start posting layouts at least once a week. That is one of my goals. Have you made any resolutions, goals for this year?


So here is the first layout. I did this a while back but really liked the way it turned out.

Ok, so I still have to learn how to get 2 layouts side by side in my postings. I'll work on that this year too!