Just me My Soldier and our 4 little chicks

wednesday randoms

1.My sweet biggest is letting me take LOTS of pictures of her lately.

She's such an awesome juxtaposition of girly:

 

 

 

and not quite so girly. even though she did want to wear pearls and princess shoes to her team photos last night:

 

 

2. Notice the littlest is nowhere to be seen?

That's because she's a blur. Invisible to the naked eye.

Always going, running, doing. Never stopping.

I wish i had a tenth of her energy:

 

3. I'll be teaching a class at the Scrapbook Shoppe in Columbus on May 22. I'll be using Hello Sunshine products from Lily Bee. Also thickers, border punches, and some other fun products.

Please consider coming if you are in the Columbus/Atlanta/Alabama area! The shop phone is 706-321-0202 if you'd like to reserve a spot. I'm teaching two one page layouts and will have samples up soon!!!

class cost is 25 dollars and you must pay ahead. i SO hope so see some of you there!

4. Remember a few months ago I talked about doing a challenge a week? One that y'all came up with? Well, being Scatterbrain McGee over here, I completely forgot about it, but I decided last night that every now and then I'm going to pick a challenge from y'all's comments, and use it for Scrappy Sunday.

It can be a challenge for topic, supplies, design...anything. So if you'd like to share an idea for this sunday, leave a comment here.

You don't have to contribute, if you want to leave a  comment without a suggestion, that's totally cool.

I just know I have the best readers out there, and thought some of you might like this idea!!

5. Sic 'em Lady Bears!!!! FINAL FOUR!!!! still mourning over the men (but so proud).

so BEYOND proud of my alma mater this season.

 

that's about it. happy wednesday!

xoxo

s

12

dear 12.

i'm so glad i grew out of you.

and although i may still trip (lots), snort when i laugh, and be socially awkward at times (too much talking)...

thank the dear Lord i don't still have that hair.

or that um....awkward? smile.

thank goodness i grew into my feet.

still working on growing into the limbs.

and that dress? classic.

oh 12 i don't miss you so much.

all of that door slamming and eye-rolling.

not brushing my hair (????)

falling down over everything

crying at the drop of a hat...

oh wait. maybe 20 years haven't changed me as much as i thought. :)
thanks cathy, for inspiring this post.

hope your retinas aren't burned...

happy tuesday.

xoxo

s

p.s. is there anything better than being able to laugh at yourself?? ;)

march sponsor giveaway winners

creativity prompt workshop:

98

Kellie Dugan said...

I love the cover layouts in ST. The perfect little face to adorn it. I did purchase the march ST and saw your layouts in there. Great job as always. 

scrap for a cure kit:

110

Cassi said...

your giveaways never dissapoint!

December ST magazine #1:

4

Diana B. said...

Congrats on making the cover! What a cute page! :)

December ST Magazine #2:

9

MilliD said...

I've been working too much and need a creative kick in the butt! I think any one of these would do the trick!! :-D

December ST Magazine #3:

116

Dee Mc said...

Congrats on the cover. I linked to your blog from the forum of my lss. I love your work!!!

Way to go, ladies! email me your info ASAP at stephaniehowell8(at)gmail(dot)comand i'll pass it on!xos

seven

seven reasons he is the love of my life:

1. he can make me laugh like nobody else in this world. i have literally both: a. fallen down and b. peed my pants from laughing at him before. he seems so introverted and shy, and then when you really know him...really, like no one else knows him, he is witty and clever and so dang funny.

2. he loves with all of his heart. wholly and fully. our marriage is not always perfect. whose is? but he loves me so very much. even when we are frustrated, he never calls me hateful words or says anything spiteful. neither do i. we love each other too much. and you can't take words like that back. he loves me and respects me.

3. he makes me feel safe. every night when he is home, i can sleep without worry. when he is away, i worry...but he is there keeping me safe. keeping my children safe. he is strong and brave and he does what he does to keep us safe.

4. he gets me. he can tell how i'm feeling and what i'm thinking just by looking at me. we can pretty much have a whole conversation without saying a single word. he knows what i need. whether i need to be left alone or whether i just need to be held.he will just listen. or talk. and he's never afraid to say he's sorry. nor is he afraid to wait patiently for me to say i'm sorry.

5. he is the best father i've ever seen. i have fallen in love with him a little bit more with each child we have. he's loving, fun, protective, silly, wild, gentle, stern, a pushover, fierce, tender. he adores them.

6. he isn't afraid to admit he's not perfect. to admit he has things to work on, that we have things we could be better at. no facade of perfection. no expectations. just love.

7. he is my best friend. my secret-keeper, my cheerleader, my make-out buddy. :) the holder of my heart.

happy seventh anniversary, jimmy.

i love you!

scrappy sunday 3/28 edition- joyland layouts.

***march sponsor giveaway open through midnight tonight, see 3 posts below***

good morning, sunshines!

i hope you've had a beautiful, happy weekend. we have been enjoying ours, to be sure!

let's see...lots of playing outside, grilling hamburgers, seeing the new Hubble Telescope 3D Imax movie. and this morning we are off to church, and then joining new friends this evening for some indian food!

i love weekends...but why do they go so FAST?? goodness gracious!!

on to the "scrappy" part of this sunday! i want to share the layouts i did with studio calico's april kit, Joyland.

i chose to get all three add-ons, and i am so very glad that i did. this is just such a happy, pretty kit.

wish i would have had more creative time, i could have made double the amount of layouts i did!

created using: Joyland, Skycoaster, and Whacky Shack

i've been wanting to do a layout about harper's closet for a while now. so glad i finally got around to it.

this is also the first time i've joined the "banner craze". i wasn't sure what i thought about doing it, but peer pressure sucked me in. HA! just kidding...i truly do like the look it adds to this page.

i'm also loving the title across the centers of the two photos. if you know me, you know that i put titles right on my photos all the time. but i really like the way it looks when you put the title over both. i love the font and color of those jillibean alphas. i ended up ordering three more colors after using this kit. just a great font.

created using skycoaster (butterflies), tilt-a-whirl (sequins, leaves, ribbon), and whacky shack (home, die cut paper, border stickers).

i can't even tell you how happy this layout makes me. i mean, really...i love having fun and making things i love. these photos are so special to me...and i wanted to do something soft and sweet to them.

the white floral strip down the center is a strip of the basicgrey green die-cut paper in whacky shack. i simply flipped it and adhered it upside down.

the heart is punched from the jillibean bird house paper (it's the b-side). i used this punch.

 

created using main kit and all add-ons.

um, this one totally makes me laugh out loud. nothing to say about it really...it's kind of random and simple, but still makes me laugh. i used this punch.

 

made using joyland , whacky shack

ugh. sports themed layouts are HARD for me. i need to work on this b/c i have some soccer layouts to do.

anyway, pretty self explanatory. i did have to use the negative of some of the cosmo chipboard alpha, b/c i ran out. i just backed them with green PP to make them pop a bit.

i punched the SC exclusive star paper with a punch from hobby lobby (the paper studio brand). it fit perfectly.

 

made using main kit and all add-ons (minus tilt-a-whirl).

just a little love letter to J. love the way the borders and journaling pop on the dark background. i need to scrapbook about him more often, but it's hard to get a photo of him. :)

okay, that's it...if you have any questions, as always, ask in the comments and i'll answer them!

i hope you have a fabulous sunday. xoxo

a new idea (sorry about double post- read this one ;)

***March sponsor giveaway open below!!!***

So I think that weekly or every few weeks I am going to do a post where I share my favorite iPhone photos, and also facebook status updates.

I have GOT to start using my facebook updates for scrapbooking topics. Seriously. Usually I forget all about funny things that have happened and FB is the perfect way to remember them.

Before I share, I want to share this awesome Facebook app I found. It allows you to save all of your updates (all the way back for a few years) as a text document on your computer. Awesome, huh?? See it here.

I think scrapbooking these is a great idea, and yet I've never done it. Here are some of the gems as of late:

*Bad romance by lady gaga comes on. H is singing along and says "why doesn't she wanna be friends? I bet it's because she doesn't like sharing. That's tacky and rude. ". Haaaaaaaaa hahaha

*oh my. the girls and i are doing a little spring cleaning. sadie just came out of my room and said "MMMMM! COPPEEE!!!!" and had a coffee stain on the front of her shirt. and coffee breath. she drank the dregs of my coffee from this morning. seriously?

*whoever said "don't cry over spilled milk" is full of *&@#. sadie just spilled so much milk on the floor in the breakfast nook. it went everywhere. in every single nook. and cranny. there was no possible way to get it all.gross. smell of sour milk to come. she might not be crying, but i am.

*i never ever tire of harper telling me she has a "toe wedgie".

*clearly the first thing in store for me today was standing by the window in my pink robe drinking coffee. then hearing the cadence of what sounded like hundreds of soldiers running by my house in the dark. hope they enjoyed their peep show. gah.

*quote of the day...harper says to jimmy "I just found ANOTHER cork!!! i keep finding them EVERYWHERE! like sadie's binkies!!!". jimmy- "uhhh, you are going to have to talk to your mother about that one!".

*sadie now calls me "cookie".?????? "i love you sadie!" " i yaya, COOKIE!" "it's bedtime, sadie" "okay, COOKIE!!" what the heck is that all about?

* sadie just ran in here wearing a kate gosselin wig.i swear i almost peed my pants.i'm still laughing so hard...tears streaming down my face.

* I just told harper to make sure she quote: ""doesn't poke her eye out"". what has become of me??????? 

* Us: Harper what do you want to be when you grow up?? Harper: A clown. Oh, a doctor. Jimmy: A doctor that operates on clowns only? Me: or do you mean a doctor that dresses like a clown? Jimmy: oh, that's even better." 

HAAA! oh, i've got to record these for posterity.

and my favorite iPhone shots of the week:

holy heck, i LOVE the trees in georgia.

 

my girl is looking so grown up!

 

a typical "portrait" of the three of us

 

and don't forget!! tonight at midnight (or noon for subscribers) is the big Studio Calico Joyland Reveal!

 

check out the giveaway HERE!

have a beautiful day, i'll be back tomorrow with my SC layouts!

xoxo

march sponsor giveaways

ETA: lots of you are mentioning you are new to my blog and you've got me curious! i'm so happy to "meet" all of you...when you leave a comment, tell me how you found me! xoxo

First up is Capture your Dream.

A lucky reader will get a free spot in "Capture Your Dream" workshop  by Creativity Prompt .

The self-paced, six weeks long workshop, will walk you through a journey of capturing ,following and making your dream happen. In the process of making your dream come true - with a ton of inspiration and guided self-exploration, you will also create a mixed media mini album from scratch. You will learn loads of tips and techniques - including photography pointers that will add character to your photos and artistic ways to unleash your creativity on a layout.

The workshop includes 30 printable PDF lessons with step-by-step pictures and instructions as well as several printable templates you may use in other projects too.

Make your dream happen and enjoy every step of your way!

Next is Scrap for a Cure, with one chance to win as well.

Scrap for a Cure's not so mini, Beautiful Dreamer is full of yummy goodness from Basic Grey, Fancy Pants, Creative Charms, Collage Press, May Arts and more! And as always you are helping out a wonderful charity, Covenant House.

 

last, three winners will get one of these:

 

recognize that sweet face? ;)

i've got a whole stack to give away.

just leave a comment here by midnight EST sunday, and i'll draw a winner monday morning.

happy commenting!

xo

s

with a little bit of imagination

and a lot of heart...

life is oh so very fun.

something my mom taught in me at an early age, and now i'm teaching the girls the same.

you don't need a TV, gaming system, cell phone, computer, DVD player, GameBoy to cope.

to have a good time.

no being bored. moping. complaining. expecting to be entertained every single second of every single day.

what you do need is an imaginative, creative spirit. a happy heart.

oh, and crepe paper, twinkle lights,glitter, tutus, and feathers never hurt.

thanks, BB for teaching the girls what you taught me. and for instilling in me a creative spirit.

i look forward to strengthening these gifts in my sweet girls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

have a beautiful thursday!

xo

s

calendar by karla dudley at digichick

she

cardstock- JBS Core'dinations

patterned paper- basicgrey

fabric paper- dear lizzy

butterflies/label- JBS

rubons- american crafts

letter stickers- american crafts

doily die cuts- martha stewart

punch- EK success bubbles

she is finally learning that her makeup doesn't have to be flawless. her home doesn't have to be spotless.

her home is full of love. and that is what matters.

she's still learning that she may never be a good cook. but that's okay.

she's starting to realize that there is no way on God's green earth that she can always please everyone. and that's not a reflection on her, or her worth as a woman or mother.

she now knows that she doesn't have to finish every single book she starts. if she doesn't like it she can move on. it's okay.

she's fully comfortable with the fact that she's not hip to what's "in" or "cool" half of the time. and that that doesn't mean a dang thing.

she sees that she has no idea where she'll be a year from today, never mind five years. and this is okay with her. sometimes it takes her a bit to come to terms with change but she embraces it after a bit and sees the positive.

she wishes that there was no such thing as judgemental people.

she loves the Lord with all of her heart.

she is starting to love the things about herself that are imperfect.

she needs to create in order to feel like herself.

she doesn't feel like she needs to hide the fact that she's a scrapbooker. so what if people don't get it in real life. so what if people misguidedly think that it's dorky.

so what.

she is fully confident that although most days she feels like she's making up this mama thing as she goes along

although sometimes she's not patient or kind like she should be

she is sure that the beautiful children she has are proof that she is, indeed, doing something right.

she is who she is. and at 32.5 she is finally seeing that.

xo