Memory Clips

New Week, New Theme and a Winner!

2012-02-27T06:43:00.009-08:00

Are you excited about ScrapMatters' Queen of Scrap Challenge? It's going to be so much fun!

This week the theme is to scrap a layout of an event that happened this month that signifies love to you. It could be how you spent Valentine's Day or just an every day moment that made you feel or share love. Check out the inspiration from the team:

Using Warm Fuzzies by the Scrap Matters Design Team and a template from Love U Still Templates by Memory Clips.

Using the Love U Still kit and the Love U Still Templates by Memory Clips.

Once again we'll be giving out a coupon to a random person who submits a layout using this week's challenge theme by posting a link to their layout in this post's comment section! I look forward to seeing your entries!

It's a new week so it's also Manic Monday! Ramona is offering her Year in Review Clusters for just $2.00!

Linked Image

On Friday we offered a chance to win Ramona's newest release, the Love U Still Templates. Today I'm please to announce that the winner is:

Dolores! Congratulations!
Please send me an e-mail at ghislainedel@gmail.com to get your coupon code.

New Release, Inspiration, and Chance to Win!

2012-02-24T06:30:00.001-08:00

TGIF! There are many reasons I love Fridays, but two of the reasons this week is the new release by Memory Clips and a Chance to Win it! Hooray!
This weeks new release is a wonderful template pack called Love U Still Templates that would coordinate wonderfully with the Love U Still Kit or also go with any kit you have.

Love U Still Templates

I love the block template and the heart peeking out on the three photo template makes the page pop! These are some great templates and here are some inspiration from the Talented Creative Team:

Gorgeous layouts ladies!! Now, on to the chance to win this fabulous template kit! You can enter to win the template pack 3 ways...by commenting on this blog post, sharing the link on Facebook and then leave a comment with the link to the FB post, or Tweet and leave a comment with the link to your Tweet. That gives you three chances to win! We will choose a winner Sunday and let the winner know on Monday!

Check this out out ScrapMatters!

Good luck and have a fabulous weekend!
~Sharon :)

A video tutorial

2012-02-23T10:00:00.004-08:00

Hello there, Stefanie here again,
If you don't have access to photoshop or photoshop elements, Ramona has an awesome video tutorial showing you how to create a LO using her (wonderful/awesome/amazing/fabulous) templates with a photo editing program via your web browser and not software loaded on your computer.
Please follow this link to watch her video tutorial, created just for you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4REA-T7MTk
I love watching explanation videos, not only do I get to learn new things, I get to here what Ramona's voice sounds like. Total win-win.

For additional inspiration, here is the freebie template you would have received in last week's newsletter.
Have you signed up yet?

My take of it, showing that you can use this versatile kit to scrap an unconventional Valentine's Day kiss.

Love U still available only here, at ScrapMatters.

Freebie Wednesday and Sneak Peek

2012-02-22T06:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Wednesday everyone! Sharon, here, and I hope everyone's week is going well so far. Today, I get to show you a sneak peek of some templates that Ramona is releasing at ScrapMatters this Friday.

SNEAK PEEK!

These templates would compliment the Love U Still kit released last Friday, but are so versatile, they would go well with ANY kit! Make sure to stop by on Friday to see these amazing templates!
Today is also Freebie Wednesday, and I made a frame cluster using the Love U Still kit at ScrapMatters. I would love to hear your comments if you download the freebie!

Download Here

Also, don't forget about the weekly contest to win a coupon for Memory Clips products at ScrapMatters! Just leave a comment with a link to your layout using the weekly theme of "people you love" for a chance to win. Thanks and have a wonderful day!

Photo Studio, Part 2

2012-02-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

Stacy back again to share another Photo Tip. This week we’ll continue to explore ourhomemade photo studio.

Last week we talked about easy backdrops, you can find thatpost here. Today we’re going to talkabout lighting.

In my photo of “things I used” you might be surprised tolearn that I used my tripod to hold up two sheets of white tagboard to use asreflectors.

My light source was to my left so I placed the tripod andwhite reflectors to my right to bounce the light back onto their faces toreduce the shadows.

Here is a photo I took without the reflector, you can really see how half of his face is shadowed.

Here is one with the tagboard reflector.

The thing I like about using the tripod is that it gave methe ability to adjust the height and angle of the white tagboard without tying up myhands. So even when my kids were standing up, I was able to simply raise the tripod and continue shooting.

I looked at the round professional reflectors and whatpopped into my head was covering a hula hoop with white or silver fabric J. Or course it might be just as easy to buy areflector, some of them are pretty inexpensive.

What if you don’t have a natural light source near yourbackdrop? You could try bringing in a lampwithout it’s shade (the shade throws the light up and down rather than right atyour subject). Try a soft white lightbulb to give a nice soft light. If it istoo harsh move the lamp farther away and add more reflectors to bounce the light around.

Here's another layout I did with the photos from my homemade photo shoot. I used Ramona's Beautiful You kit which you can find here.

No matter how you do it, bottom line is that you need tohave good lighting to get good portraits. Have you done anything creative to get good lighting on your subject?

Scrap Your Story: The People You Love!

2012-02-20T06:30:00.000-08:00

Can you believe the gorgeousness that is the kit Ramona released on Friday! I just adore the colors she chose for Love U Still.

This week's challenge theme is to scrap a layout of the people in your life you love. This can be family, friends, etc. Of course you can do more than one to fit them all in!

Here's a couple of inspiring layouts for you:

Using Love U Much by Memory Clips and a template by Simple Scrapper

Using Love U Still by Memory Clips

Don't forget we'll be giving out a coupon to a random person who submits a layout using this week's challenge theme by posting a link to their layout in this post's comment section. I can't wait to see your entries!

Manic Monday is here again! This week Ramona is offering her Column Style Vol. 1 for only $2.00!

Image Linked

New Release and some inspiration

2012-02-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

Stacy here to show you Ramona's new kit that is releasing today. It's called Love U Still. Isn't it just gorgeous!?!

It's so soft and the colors lend themselves to so many different looks. Just take a peek at what the team came up with!

You can find Love U Still at ScrapMatters.

And be sure to stop back on Monday to see what the Scrap Your Story theme is - or better yet, follow this blog so you don't miss anything! Remember, if you submit a layout for the theme you could win a coupon to the Memory Clips by Ramona store!

Tutorial Thursday

2012-02-16T10:00:00.004-08:00

Hello there, it's Stefanie bringing you this week's tutorial.

Ramona sends out a weekly newsletter, which you can sign up using the convenient spot on the blog.
You get free templates, scrapping tips, sneak peaks and discount coupons.
Totally worth your while to get the inside scoop.

For this week's Scrapping Tip:
I'm going to teach you how to combine a pattern and plain paper, creating an overlay to get a unique, fun look!

First, start with a simple plain paper:

Pull in a patterned paper, just like this: (notice how it is layered above the grey in the layer palette section)

Now, choose a grungy eraser from your brush section and swipe it over the dotted paper. Take off as little or much as you like to get the look you want:

Super easy and how fun would it be to build off this for your layout!

Above is the template you would have got in last weeks newsletter.

What are you waiting for?

I also used Love U much, the newest MemoryClips release at ScrapMatters, here.

Sneak Peek and Freebie Wednesday

2012-02-15T08:05:00.000-08:00

Hi, Sharon here and I am super excited to share a sneak peek of Ramona's new kit that comes out on Friday at ScrapMatters. I love the blues, yellows and greens shown in this sneak peek!

Also, it's Wednesday, so that means it's time for a freebie! Who doesn't love a freebie?! I made a border cluster to coordinate with the beautiful Love U Much kit at ScrapMatters that was released last Friday. I love the heart stitching and the paint splats in the kit. This kit is perfect for your Valentine's pictures from yesterday or for the layout you are making to go along with this week's theme of "falling in love". There is still time to submit your layout for our weekly drawing for a coupon. Also, if you love freebies, make sure that you are signed up for the weekly newsletter to receive a freebie every week! Hope you enjoy this week's freebie and have a great day!

Download Here

Set Up Your Own Photo Studio

2012-02-13T09:05:00.000-08:00

Stacy here and I’m so excited to share some photo ideas with you today. Each Tuesday you’ll find some great hints, tips, and techniques to help you be intentional about capturing life as it happens.

Maybe this doesn't happen in your home, but after all the photos I take in the fall and early winter - leaves, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and if we're lucky some snow days- I forget about taking photos after the first of the year. I have years where I have absolutely nothing in my January folder!

So, for the next couple of weeks I’m going to show you how easy it is to set up your own little photo studio in your home to get some great shots of your kids or your pets even if you're stuck inside!

Here is what I used to do a photo shoot this past weekend with my two kids who are just about 10 and 13.

Eventually, we'll talk about all the things I used, but today we’re going to focus on the backdrop. I used a plain sheet taped to my wall. That’s it! That’s it?? Talk about a boring post, haha!

Really, though, a plain sheet in any color will work. I used a tan sheet for this shoot.

And also for a shoot I did a few years back while trying to get a good family Christmas photo.

When my kids were little I had dark green sheets and that gave a fun look, too. I draped the top sheet over my headboard (you could tape it up if you don’t have a headboard that lends itself to draping) and let them sit on the fitted sheet on the bed.

Of course a plain white or off-white sheet would give a classic look.

Don’t have a plain wall accessible? How about taping your sheet over a closet door? Or your front door? Or even your kitchen table if your subject will be sitting or laying in the shots. A sheet covering your baby’s car carrier would give them a nice plain background, too.

If you wanted to get really fancy you could build a stand to hold your sheet. I’m thinking you could do it pretty easily with PVC pipes-make a couple stands to hold up two uprights and another section across the top. But it doesn't have to be fancy to be effective. Really whatever is easiest for you so that it gets done!

I've already gotten one layout done with my photos from this weekend.

The kit is L8erSk8er from Digilicious Designs and I used the template Ramona gave away in her Feb 10th newsletter. Are you signed up for the newsletter? If not click on the newsletter button above so you don't miss any of her fabulous freebies!

Bottom line is...for a portrait have a plain background so that the focus is on your subject! So what are you going to use? Leave a comment and share your indoor background tips!

Scrap Your Story times two!

2012-02-13T06:30:00.000-08:00

Hi! Ghislaine here to introduce this week's Scrap Your Story theme: Scrap a layout about falling in love. Whether it was with your spouse, your children, etc. It can be a single event layout or what "falling in love" means to you.

Here's what the Blog CT team has come up with to inspire you:

Both using Love U Much by Memory Clips

Using Love U Clusters by Memory Clips, Holiday clusters vol. 1 by Memory clips, and For the Love by Steph.designs My daughter was only a day old in these pictures. It's hard to believe she'll be three years old in just a couple of weeks!

Because we missed last week we wanted to give you that theme too: Scrap a favorite date, your wedding date, or some other romantic event in your past.

I love the huge heart on Sharon's layout for last week's theme:
She also used Love U Much by Memory Clips

Next week we'll be giving out a coupon to a random person who submits a layout using this week's challenge theme by posting a link to their layout in this post's comment section. Since we didn't post last week's theme until now you may also choose to use that theme for your layout.

Don't forget that it's Manic Monday at ScrapMatters today! Ramona has a great double template set for just $2.00!

Image Linked

Back Online!!

2012-02-12T09:49:00.000-08:00

I apologize for such a long break from the blog. Life got really crazy and with my increased time spent designing, plus just normal mom stuff, the blog sort of fell by the way side!

The good news is that I have a brand new, spectacular team to help me with the blog! I have a bunch of talented ladies joining the already talented ladies on my creative team, but the four additional bloggers will be:

Stefanie
Ghislaine
Sharon
Stacy.

You will be hearing more from these ladies in the coming week! I will be here on the weekends to post and give updates to all the fun things going on in my life, and they will be here to share more about them-post our prompts-tutorials-freebies, etc.!

We have so many fun things planned for you all!

For a quick update on me: Things have been busy, but good. My three oldest kids are getting ready for their performance of The Music Man which has meant lots of sewing and prep work for me. I can't wait to show off pics of them! I've also been doing other sewing as well and really enjoying it. I made my 2 daughters valentine's dresses and I'll post pics of them next weekend. They turned out so cute! My 12 year old, Mitchell has been doing school online through Connections Academy. It is working out so well for him, but that has meant a decrease in work time during the day! I've also been enjoying some good television in the evenings! I love to watch Modern Family and Parenthood and The Biggest Loser. I recently heard great things about Downton Abbey and since I am obsessed with anything Old English, I can't wait to start watching Season 1 on Netflix.

That is about it for us, here! I'm excited to get the blog going again! Stay tuned tomorrow for more!

Scrapping New Years events

2012-01-09T10:47:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Week Two of our project! I was so happy to get two submissions for last week's contest to scrap a Year in Review layout and link it in the comment section by Thursday of last week! I used random.org to do a drawing and lawyerlyn is the winner of a $3.00 coupon to my store! Please email me at mcbyramona at yahoo dot com to claim your prize!!

Now, on to this week! I want you to pick any New Year's Eve or New Year's Day from your past and scrap a layout of it! I have a great example that Michelle, over at Scrap Matters did, using one of my template packs.

I love all her photos and her journaling! It's a great page! So, scrap up one of your New Year's celebrations and post a link in this thread, by Thursday night (11:59 pm pst) and I will do a drawing next weekend for another $3.00 coupon!

I also have a freebie template for you today!

Download HERE

Getting Started

2012-01-05T19:47:00.000-08:00

I am soooo excited to kick off my series of video tutorials!  This week is just one, but I will have 2 for you next week.

The one this week is geared towards anyone who has ever wanted to get started but didn't know where to start! This short and simple tutorial is a great introduction.

Next week, I will be posting two.  I will do one that will continue with the program I use today and they will be simple for beginners.  The second tutorial will be in photoshop and will be for those who have scrapped in either photoshop or elements and are wanting to expand their skills!  I had so much fun making this one that I have all kinds of ideas for the future!

I also thought I would mention a few different programs that are available for digital scrapping.

Gimp --Free download--download to your hard drive and is similar to photoshop
Pixlr --Free--not downloaded but used directly from your browser (today's tutorial is in this one)
Corel Paint Shop Pro --Can be downloaded as a trial, normally costs between $60-90-look for sales.
Adobe Photoshop Elements --downloaded or software purchased--normally costs about $100.
Adobe Photoshop --Full version, downloaded or software--normally priced at $649.

So, without further delay, I give you my first ever video tutorial:

1996 Year in Review

2012-01-04T19:57:00.000-08:00

How is everyone's week coming so far? How are the layouts coming! This has been a difficult challenge for me, especially knowing where to start. After a lot of thought and browsing through pictures and other memories, I decided to do 1996, the first year of my marriage. I could only find one picture of us, during that year, but it is better than nothing! It was fun to think back over each month of that year and see what I could remember! Here is my layout!

I am so happy to have this done! I found it very helpful to sit down first and make an outline of what I could remember. Then I went through my pictures to see what I could find and then put the layout together. It actually came together better than I thought-I'm so glad I took the time to do it! I hope you are having a similar experience as you take this journey down memory lane!

I am loving the comments, so please keep them coming! It is fun to meet so many new friends and find a few familiar faces too!

I have a sneak peek to show off of two products I am releasing on Friday. These two sets of products will be very helpful in your Year in Review scrapping and other documentation! I will show you three random layouts that were completed by my team! I will have more to share and all the info in my newsletter on friday. Have you subscribed? HERE is the link if you'd like to! I always give a freebie, a scrapping tip and all the run down of my new products. I also throw in a coupon-so it is totally worth your time!

And last, but certainly not least, I have a freebie for you! I was asked (in one of the comments a few weeks ago) to do a timeline for facebook template! So, that is exactly what I have for you!

Download HERE

Purposeful Photos

2012-01-03T05:19:00.000-08:00

As we begin 2012, one of my big goals is to get more photos that I can scrap with. I'm not always the best at grabbing the camera and snapping lots of photos. And if something cute happens, my kids have stopped by the time I do get the camera or the shot doesn't show the cuteness, at all!

So, I've decided that at least once a week, I'm going to do a bit of a photo shoot. Sometimes I may even set it up, as if I were a real photographer! The purpose is to get great shots of my kids so I can remember them at this time of life! Sometimes the photos will be spontaneous, but my goal will be to get purposeful photos. I'm going to make a date with my camera and focus on snapping photos of my kids.

Some tips to keep in mind:

1. Don't seek perfection! Just get the shot.

2. Never underestimate what a good action or photo treatment can do!

3. Finish off your photos with cropping, to truly show off the perspective.

4. Go through your photos and edit as soon as possible. Don't keep the ones that aren't worth keeping. Don't be afraid of your delete button.

Here are some shots I got of my kids yesterday. I kind of went for a technology theme! Our family loves everything about technology. Even my 2 year old can work the iphone better than I can.

Plan a photoshoot or at least a date with your camera today and link me to your photos! I'd love to see them! What do you want to remember about your family or your life today?

Scrap Your Story begins!

2012-01-02T05:14:00.000-08:00

Well, as you can tell, I am so excited about my plan for 2012, I even did a full blog makeover!! I can't wait! I'm sure you have also noticed all the different plans out there for 365 or 52 or project life or one little word, etc. I love all of these and they inspire me to scrap and set goals and record all the little things in life! But I'll be honest, as wonderful as these projects are, I have one very small-looming problem...I have about 37 years of my life with little to no scrapping done on it! I have done great for the past 3 years and captured most of the details of our family life. I have even printed these into books for my children to enjoy! I plan to continue moving forward, year by year, scrapping in the moment! But what to do with the 37 years that are missing?

And I'll be honest, for many of those years, I have limited photos or photos that are in boxes, needing to be scanned. In my basement, I have boxes of journals and pictures and special things I've collected. These are all gathering dust and if I died tomorrow, my children would have no idea what most of those things even meant!

Please tell me I'm not alone! Raise your virtual hand, if you find yourself in the same predicament! If you raised your hand, then this project is for you! I can't promise that all past years will be caught up, but we'll make a dent on it! We won't be scrapping in chronological order because my 37 years might be your 5 or 15 or 20 or 45! But if you follow along with the weekly prompts, you'll have quite a stockpile of layouts ready to print and be organized into albums!

Let's get started! Shall we? January is all about wrapping up the old and unwrapping the new! This week, we are going to focus on a year in review-but not 2011! That will come later! The last week of every month, will be focused on scrapping the current-but the other three will deal with the past! So, what I want you to do, is think of a year, any year in your past and scrap a Year in Review layout. Try to think of something from every month of that year (if you have a picture for each one-Great--if not, no worries!). We're not worrying about all the little details-just get the bullet points! If you have energy to do more than one-go for it!! This will not only be a great way to remember whatever year you choose, but it will serve as an outline when you get ready to scrap more about that year!

We're also going to have a weekly contest! Once you have scrapped your layout(s), post the link in the comments of this post by Thursday night of this week. I will do a drawing and the winner will receive a $3.00 coupon to my store! How fun is that? Scrap 1 layout and you have 1 chance! Scrap 10 YIR layouts and you have 10 chances!! I can't wait to see what you all do!

Also, every Monday, I will have a full template freebie for you! Here is this week's freebie:

Download HERE

I'm also beginning a blog schedule, so each day of the week will have a different theme! Check in tomorrow for photo tips and inspiration!!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T08:05:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited for the coming year and all I have planned for my blog! We are going on an amazing adventure-so I hope you're ready!!!

First thing, though I want to post my part of the LDS Blog Train I am participating in. I actually designed a little mini kit-my first in almost a year! I had quite a bit of fun doing it!

Download HERE

The theme is Choose the Right and here is a slideshow of the other goodies you can find on the train! They are all free!

And here is the blog roll:

One Scrap Happy Chic
Word Art World
Jensen Motley Crew Designs
Digital Designs by Jana
Kristal Kreations
Toddlers of Unusual Size
Little Bit Shoppe Designs
Memory Clips by Ramona >>You Are HERE!
Granny Enchanted
Psychozoe Designs
Cocoroos Scraps
My 4 Princesses Designs
Hot Pink Pansy
Krisi's Kreations
Just Me and My Scrapping Stuff
SAHM Scrapper (Becky)
Doras Digitals
Let Me Scrapbook Plum Dumpling Designs
FranB Designs
Design by Alvetina
Dancing Princess Designs
The Loco House
WinksArt Graphics
Lula LDS
Noisy Pancakes
Twiisters

An Apology

2011-12-29T16:46:00.000-08:00

Sorry that I've missed a few days. Photoshop decided to have issues on me, starting a few days ago. I've been trying to get it back up so I can finish packaging up your next freebie-but to no avail. I spent 2 hours on the phone with a tech from Adobe and even he couldn't fix it, so the issue has been sent to their technical team and will take a few days.

On this note, I am going to take a break until the new year! By then, I should be back up and running and I have some really fun things planned for you for 2012! I'm going to focus not only on giving you tools to scrap your pages but different types of inspiration to get them done and printed! I have a ton of scrapping to catch up on, so we can do it together!

Please check in on January 1st for the kick off of 2012! Also, in the meantime, pick up any of the old freebies you don't have or even just spend some time scrapping with the ones you have picked up!

Catching Up

2011-12-26T20:10:00.000-08:00

I really had intended to post first thing in the morning and the day just got away from me! I know I still have a week left of Christmas break and I'm very happy for it, but at the same time, I'm kind of ready to get back to our normal routine. Isn't that awful for me to admit? I just feel more behind than ever! LOL!!

Today was a bit of just relaxing all day. I did take the kids to Old Navy to spend their gift cards which they really enjoyed. I also made our Christmas dinner tonight because we didn't have it yesterday. My poor hubby spent Christmas Eve throwing up, so we were all a bit nervous yesterday and didn't eat much!

I have also found a new addiction! Words with Friends! Oh my, I have played that way too much today! Who would think that it could be so addicting! If any of you play and want to play with me, leave your WWF name in the comment section-or you can look me up! I'm Ramonab13. I'm not very good, but I love trying!

Hopefully tomorrow I can get photos posted and document some of the details of Christmas. We had such a good day. But for tonight, here is your freebie!

Download HERE

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T06:54:00.001-08:00

I don't have a freebie for you today, but check back tomorrow for more goodies!

Have a very Merry Christmas today!

My Meager Gift

2011-12-24T09:38:00.000-08:00

Christmas is all about giving and sharing and receiving gifts. Often, in the middle of the mall's Santa and the holiday songs and the food, we get caught up in buying just the right gift and in getting it wrapped and under the tree in time. We cram so much into the month of December that I think we all breathe a sigh of relief when it is over. It is just so intense and so busy and so full.

This Christmas, I learned that sometimes Christmas and gifts are about more than things we buy in Amazon or at Target. In the middle of all the craziness and fun, I had the opportunity to experience a different type of Christmas.

Several weeks ago, at church, I was asked to be the pianist for our choir. Now, let me explain, just a little. I am not a stellar pianist. I have played for a long time and have even taught lessons to beginner pianists. But playing in public, has always terrified me. It is one of the scariest things I can possibly think of doing. I said yes, because I believe in giving all I can when asked and I hoped that the songs wouldn't be very hard. I'll never forget the first time I tried to play through the music. I was completely overwhelmed and I wanted to cry. It just seemed more than I could pull together in a few weeks and the thought of messing up--in front of everyone--was enough to bring on a panic attack. I began to practice, every day. I hadn't practiced on a regular basis, in years, and it was kind of nice. But no matter how good the music sounded in my own living room, it all fell apart when I tried to play for the choir. I couldn't get the right beat. I couldn't hit the right notes. In fact, the practice we had just one week before our performance I was so bad that I began to cry and cried through the whole practice. I couldn't stop the tears and I felt nothing but utter humiliation. I came home and told my husband that they would just have to find someone else. There was no way I was going to put myself through that in front of everyone. I was so embarrassed, I didn't even want to see the other choir members again. If I could have hid away, for the rest of my life, I would have!

For a few days, I mulled around in my head every possible way out of it. Maybe I could tell them I just wasn't good enough and surely someone else would do a better job. I thought about faking sick or even praying that I would really get sick! I even half wondered if I could quickly put together a move before the week's end!

And then, in the midst of all my despair, I realized that my meager attempt-no matter how lame it was, was my gift to the Savior. I had been asked to do something and I had agreed. To give up or turn my back was not really an option for me. And so, in total humility, I knelt and prayed. I offered my meager talent as the only offering I had. I was desirous to do the right thing and I promised to do my best. I felt peace, but most of all, I felt a reliance upon Christ that He would help me through it. As the Bible says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." I clung to that hope. I depended upon that with what little faith I could muster. I believed in Him. But in myself, I had more doubt. Knowing that faith and doubt can not co-exist, I prayed and prayed for strength.

The morning of the program came and I felt a calm that I wasn't expecting to feel. Compared with the fear that had clutched me for weeks, I felt calm and peace. Again, I knelt and prayed and offered it into His hands. It was my gift-no matter how small and I was willing to do my best. I didn't play perfect and I'm pretty sure that I'm not in the running to accompany that great angelic choir on high! But I did survive. I didn't mess up so badly that the program was ruined and no one pointed and laughed. I think the message of that night so long ago was portrayed through music and words and all of us were enriched.

But even more important than the fact that I survived was the feelings that came afterwards. I felt confidence that I could do it again. I knew that I could play for the next time and do even better. I realized that the Savior had not only accepted my meager gift, but he blessed me and strengthened me through it. It was that feeling that no matter what I give and do, I will be the one to still receive more in the end. And through my silly trial of public humiliation, I learned a powerful lesson of His atonement. He only asks that we come and follow and in doing so, he blesses us and strengthens us and makes us better. He takes our meager efforts and turns it into so much more.

Perhaps what I am trying to explain is best told by C.S. Lewis:

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right, and stopping the leaks in the roof, and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably, and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to?
The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of– throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”

So, as I wrap up my blogging of this Christmas season, I am thankful for the journey I am on. I am thankful to know that Christ is more than a baby that was born in a manger so many years ago. He is more than someone who walked on earth and taught of Heavenly things. He is more than someone who gave His life for millions. He knows me. He cares about me. And in my weakest and darkest moments, He is there to strengthen me and help me to become the person He knows I can become. This isn't a message just for December. This is a truth I can feel and share all year long.

Thank you for letting me share my experience. I truly hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and that the real meaning of this beautiful day will radiate in your heart and into the coming year!

For the freebie for today, I have a card template.

Download HERE

December 2010

2011-12-23T05:12:00.000-08:00

And here we are, now to just last year's Christmas! And I'll be honest, these memories seem like just yesterday-not a full year ago!

Christmas 2010 was our third year in our house in Saratoga Springs. It snowed a ton on the last day of school, the weekend before Christmas! It was awesome! We picked up the kids and played all day in the snow! We built snowmen and went sledding. I LOVE snow-the more the better, especially when we are done with school and work and can just stay home and play in it!

On Christmas Eve, we finished up some shopping, stopped by my inlaws house to visit and then went home to do our routine. The kids got to open their Christmas pajamas and I took a pic of them by the tree:

We sent them to bed and I had a ton of wrapping to finish! I wrapped while my husband put things together. It was fun and lasted until well after midnight!

The kids got us up early the next morning-right around 6 am, as I recall. They were so excited, especially the little ones! Chipper got a guitar, which he really wanted and he has gone on to teach himself to play and does very well with it! Mitchell and Abby both got cameras and some other little gifts. Sam got a train set and Olivia got a table and chair set with a tea set. Noah got the fisherprice car thing:

He wasn't quite sure what to think of it, at first, but loved it once he figured it out! It is still a favorite toy! We played and relaxed all day! It was a wonderful Christmas!

I have a new release that hit my shop this morning! I'm really excited about this little set of templates. They have lots of white space and are great for simple and easy!

You can find them HERE

Here is some inspiration from my team:

And now for today's Freebie:

Download HERE

December 2009

2011-12-22T13:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas, 2 years ago, was a great one. Our little Noah had joined our family in April and was at such a fun age! We were still living in Saratoga Springs and loving it so much! 2 days before Christmas, we invited my inlaws over for dinner and I tried to make an English feast! I served roast beef, twice baked potatoes, jell-o and a trifle for dinner! It was so fun!

For Christmas, Chipper received an ipod touch, Mitchell got a camera, Abby got bendaroo's, which she wanted so bad! Sam got the Little People farm set, Olivia got another doll and stroller set and Noah received a little walker/ride on toy!

After opening gifts, we had a large breakfast and just spent the day in our pajamas and enjoying our new things. We learned later that day that John's grandfather was in the hospital and the day after Christmas, he suffered a stroke. This was a difficult thing to learn as we love him so much. He is still with us today, but the stroke that Christmas was the beginning of his debilitation. It took most of his speech and his ability to care for himself as much as he did before. It has been hard to watch him suffer.

I can't believe that now, we are just a few days away from Christmas. It is coming way too fast! My brother and his wife and their kids are stopping by for lunch today, and I'm very excited for that! Today, I'm going to try and finish up all the loose ends of a million projects so we can begin our celebration tomorrow! We like to kick things off with a game day before the actual Christmas eve and Christmas day. I can't wait to just spend time with the kids and with my hubby!

Here is today's freebie:

Download HERE

December 2008

2011-12-21T21:13:00.000-08:00

I am totally falling behind! So sorry! I am going to post TWO freebies tonight! This will put me back on track!! My hubby and I took a quick trip to Vegas last night and came back today. He had a hearing to attend, for a client, and I decided to go with him. Needless to say, it set me back a little on the blogging!!

Christmas 2008 was our first Christmas in Utah. We moved to Saratoga Springs in June of that year, hoping to find better services for Sam. By that point, he had been diagnosed with Apraxia of speech and soon after we moved, we learned that his genetic tests came back with xxyy syndrome. We were so excited to be in Utah and have loved every minute since we moved here. It is not an exaggeration to say, that for me, this is my dream place to live! I love everything about it and still have to pinch myself that I am still here!!!

Christmas that year was so much fun. The kids got out of school on the same day that a big storm moved in. It snowed and snowed and snowed! We built a snow fort in the back yard and shoveled our long driveway multiple times. I was so happy with all the snow! It was a nice change from our Nevada desert Christmases.

I was also expecting our sixth child and knew that it would be our 4th boy. I was a little overwhelmed by that pregnancy, because of everything we were going through with Sam, but it all worked out okay!

That year, Chipper got a sled, Mitchell got a Sim City game, Abby got arts and craft supplies, Sam received a wagon, mega blocks and some geo trax pieces. Olivia got a pink stroller and doll. Our big family gift was a new Cannon Rebel xsi camera that I still use and love! It was a wonderful year!

Here are your TWO freebies for today!

Download HERE

Christmas 2007

2011-12-20T06:27:00.000-08:00

I apologize for missing yesterday. It was one of those very busy, crazy days! To make up for it, I will post this morning and again tonight! That will get us back on track!

Christmas 2007 was a pretty good year. Things had mostly slowed down with life and I was getting back into my routines. The year 2007 was a good one. We continued to seek answers for Sam and worked on his speech. He turned 3 in September and started school. We actually rented a townhome in Las Vegas, so he could be closer to therapy and go to school there. I have great memories of our little townhome and the time we spent there!

We spent Christmas back up in Alamo, in our home. We had also undergone some remodeling that year, after some flooding of our basement made it necessary for us to make changes. That year, we surprised the kids with a Wii so that was a lot of fun! We also bought season passes to Disneyland that year and took a trip before Christmas to see all the decorations! The other thing I remember about that year was accidentally throwing away my camera! But fortunately we found it before it was too late. In Alamo, everyone hauls off their own trash to the landfill and we had taken a load of all the wrappings. After our frantic search for the camera, later in the day, we decided to drive back to the landfill and fortunately, most of our stuff was still on top. As we looked through the bags, we found the camera! Crazy!

I remember Abby got a pink kitchen and Olivia got a super cute wooden doll set with cradle and high chair. I don't remember what the others got, so I may need to ask them and add it later!

Here is the freebie for today (the 19th):

Upload HERE

Christmas 2006

2011-12-18T16:28:00.000-08:00

The year leading up to 2006 was another full and busy one. In May, we welcomed another daughter to our family, our very sweet Olivia Grace! Soon after she was born, as we were trying to track down what things were wrong with Sam, he had an MRI which showed he had abnormal white matter growth on his brain. At first, they told us that he most likely had Leukodystrophy, a terminal brain disease. We were devastated and didn't even know where to begin to handle that kind of grief. For 4 days, we believed that and it was some of the hardest days of my life. By the end of the week, the neurologist said that they may have been wrong, and it could have been caused from a bleed on the brain or something similar to a stroke, while in the womb. Fortunately for us, the latter is what it ended up being and as difficult as his life is sometimes, we are so thankful, every day to have him!

For Christmas that year, we spent a quiet one at home. I don't remember a whole lot, partly because I was dealing with a lot of depression. I think the combination of having a new baby and dealing with so many ups and downs with Sam, it left me emotionally feeling spent and empty. I remember not being able to feel very excited about anything. I forced myself, for the kids' sake to go through the motions of our traditions, but it was very, very difficult. It is really amazing how consuming it is when something is wrong with one of our children. It makes all the rest of life somewhat of a blur. I know I survived those days, but barely. And it makes me sad how many memories are just swirled together and difficult to pull forward. I remember that Chipper got a keyboard and Mitchell got a bike. In fact, on Christmas Eve, when we went to put the bike together, it was missing a few pieces and I had to drive 2 hours, to Las Vegas, to get it replaced! I don't remember what Abby got. Sam got a Little People ABC set with all the different animals and Olivia got a little monkey gym thing that she could crawl into and play with. I also remember that year that I bought my husband an ipod, which was the first of any of the iproducts we had ever purchased!

It really is amazing how easy it is to forget and reminds me of why I started this project in the first place! I'm so thankful for this opportunity, each day.

Today was our Christmas program at church and I played the piano for the choir. It was extremely difficult for me, as I am not an accomplished pianist-by any stretch of the imagination! But they were all patient with me, and I got through it, and I really think the program turned out very nice!

Today's freebie is another tag template. I'm hoping that these are coming in handy for a few of you!

Download HERE

Christmas 2005

2011-12-17T06:26:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2005 was kind of a hard year. We went through a lot during the previous year. In February, Sam was hospitalized for a week for RSV. In April, he was hospitalized again for a week because his white blood count was super high. It turned out to be a major sinus infection caused by silent reflux. He was relatively healthy over the summer which was such a relief. He turned 1 in September and soon after that, I learned I was expecting our 5th baby. This was a complete surprise! In October, Sam wouldn't wake up one morning and when I called the ambulance, they found that his blood sugar was at a 17. We really should have lost him that morning. It was a miracle that he came back from such a low number. What followed from that was a trip to the hospital for testing and a diagnosis that something metabolic was wrong with him. We were sent to Salt Lake City Utah to meet with specialists. We spent our 10th wedding anniversary (at the beginning of December) meeting with specialists and having more tests ran.

Also, that fall, my husband quit his job with the law firm he had clerked for and then worked as an attorney and opened his own practice. It was exciting and scary, all at once!

On the 21st of December, I was home alone with the younger kids and John had taken Chipper with him to Las Vegas to watch the BYU bowl game. Sam started running a fever and his breathing was very shallow. I was used to this routine by then, so I loaded up all the kids and drove to Vegas. It was a 2 hour drive and already dark when we left. I called John from the Emergency Room and he headed over. He picked up the other kids and headed back home while I stayed there with Sam, hoping for the best.

Around midnight, they admitted him to the hospital and I was hopeful that with some oxygen, he would make a quick come back and we could be home by Christmas Eve. They diagnosed him with RSV, so it was really a waiting game.

John and I stayed in contact over the phone, but because we had nowhere for our other kids to go, it was best for him to stay with them and for me to stay with Sam. It was exhausting. I was pregnant and worried and tired. The hospital room we were in only had a fold out cot which wasn't very comfortable. It did have our own bathroom, so that was nice.

The 23rd was spent hoping and hoping he would show signs of improvement. I missed my other kids. I longed to be home getting ready for Christmas and to finish up all those last minute things. During the night of the 23rd, he went downhill and they ended up transferring him to the ICU by the morning of the 24th. I was heartbroken. How was this possible? Didn't parents get a free pass for holidays? Did sickness really have to exist over Christmas? I finally accepted that there was no way he was coming home for Christmas, so we needed to adjust accordingly. The ICU is a difficult place for parents, not only because of all the worry you have for your child, but because they keep the room very simple. We didn't even have a cot to sleep on, just a chair and we lost the private bathroom we had had before.

My husband drove down the morning of the 24th and he stayed with Sam while I went home to be with the other kids. I remember crying all the way home. It didn't feel like Christmas. I didn't have a single part of me that felt happy or joyful. I hated every moment of this and just wanted to simply be at home altogether.

When I arrived home, my other kids seemed pretty oblivious to the depression I was feeling. They were just excited that Santa was coming that night. I finished up my wrapping and went through the motions of cooking food and making a little Christmas candy. I still look back on that Christmas and feel like that day was in a fog. I called John often and learned that Sam was continuing to get worse and if he didn't turn around soon, he would be placed on a ventilator. It was really a very, very difficult day.

By bedtime, I let the kids open their Christmas pajamas and get ready for bed. We called daddy and let him listen in while we read the Christmas story. He talked to each of the kids and I choked back the tears. I missed him and Sammy so much.

I sent them to bed and was lucky that my little brother came over to help me. I don't think I could have put things together and put them under the tree by myself. I was a total basket case! I held it together well, but on the inside, I was so, so sad.

I went to bed that night and prayed for strength. I just wanted to feel happy. I knew that Christmas was more than about Santa and gifts and all those commercial things. I had always known that. But I didn't know how to be happy when my husband and baby son were 2 hours away and that my little boy was struggling to breathe and live. I wanted to be in both places at once.

Somewhere in that dark night and in the early Christmas morning light, I came up with a plan. As soon as the kids woke up and after they saw the gifts that Santa brought, we all hurried and got dressed. I used some santa hats, elf hats and reindeer antlers I had, to dress us all up. We loaded a chunk of the gifts up and we drove the 2 hours to the hospital. We were going to take Christmas to daddy and Sam and they had no idea we were coming. We arrived, with smiles and holiday cheer to find Sam feeling much better and actually sitting up in his crib. The worst was over and he was going to be okay!

I will never forget that Christmas. I will never forget opening presents in a cold ICU that suddenly felt like home because we were there together. I will never forget how dark things seemed the night before and how bright the sun shone that winter morning. In some ways, it was the best Christmas ever because of what we learned and how hard it was to find that holiday joy.

Sam came home 3 days later and we still had presents under the tree, the turkey I had bought for Christmas dinner and Santa toys to play with. We decided to do a mock Christmas Day, just for fun! We didn't answer the phone that day, we didn't change out of our pajamas and we ate yummy food and played with toys all day long.

I'm sorry that this was so long. This was one of those Christmas memories I haven't looked forward to blogging about because of the emotions it still stirs up. But I want my children to always remember this day and to have it recorded before I forget even more! As it is, I don't really remember what everyone got that year. I guess it was because our greatest gift was just being together!

A week from today will be Christmas Eve. I can't believe how fast it has come! I'm mostly ready-well, in the physical sense! But emotionally, I just want to slow time!

For today's freebie, I made a little photo mask. This is one you actually put over your photo. You can leave it as it is or blend it or soften it-to create the look you want. It is in a 5x7 size!

Download HERE

Christmas 2004

2011-12-16T19:32:00.000-08:00

I have some fun new releases today, in my shop!

First of all, I opened up my grab bag! Check out the individual packs that were included in it!

Click HERE to see what goodies are in my shop!

Wow, today really got away from me too! I'm so glad that school is now out for Christmas break! I'm ready for a slower pace!

2004 was a really big year for our family and a lot happened that year, so that by Christmas, everything was quite different! In January, I learned that I was expecting our 4th child. In March of that year, we moved to the small town where I grew up (about 100 miles north of Las Vegas) and bought a home. In May, my husband graduated from law school and he began studying for the bar. In July, we spent a week in a hotel in Vegas while John took the Bar (it was a 4 day test). In September, we welcomed our little Sam into our family! In November, we learned that John had passed the Bar and was officially a lawyer!

So, Christmas of 2004 found us as a family of 6, living in a super small town in a house that had been built by my brother. It just so happened that our heater went out that night, so I remember Christmas morning being oh, so cold!!! We bundled up and did our best to stay warm, but I'll never forget unwrapping gifts and seeing our breath at the same time!

That year, we spent most of our Christmas money on turning a room in the basement into a play/reading room for the kids. We had simple decorations and shelves and lots of books. It was a fabulous room! We hung their artwork on the walls and everything!

I remember that we ate Christmas dinner at my parents house and for the most part, enjoyed a very quiet day at home. It was a very nice Christmas!

Today's freebie is a simple wordart:

Download HERE

Where did today go?

2011-12-15T20:51:00.000-08:00

I am so sorry! I usually blog first thing in the morning, before most of the kiddos get up and need me! But my oldest had a test to study for this morning and needed my computer to do so! By the time he was done and headed to school, well the craziness had begun!

I'll pick up my memory blogging tomorrow, but wanted to at least quickly post the freebie for today!

First, to give a little background, for friend/neighbor gifts this year, I wanted to make snowman kits! Of course, we have had little to no snow yet, so hopefully mother nature cooperates and gets us some snow soon!!!

Here is how my kits turned out:

I made the hat out of felt and bought some scraps of fleece at our local fabric store for the scarf! Here is the blog where I got the tutorial for the hat:

http://www.make-it-do.com/make-it/make-it-a-snowman-kit

And for today's freebie, I have a printable of the tag I used incase you want to make your own!

Download HERE

Christmas 2003

2011-12-14T05:00:00.000-08:00

As we get closer and closer to Christmas (Still in denial that it is just over a week away!), I am enjoying each of these years and reliving them in one way or another! I've found myself talking to my kids about them and remembering with them! It's so fun!

Christmas 2003 was our last Christmas with John in law school! Our last Christmas of him spending hours with finals and work and trying to make everything meet! We were still living in Henderson and enjoying it so much! Chipper had started first grade, Mitchell was 4 1/2 years old and Abby was 2 1/2. I was enjoying not having to worry about pregnancy or a new baby. This of course, was short lived, but I didn't know that, at the time! LOL!

My inlaws came and spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with us. It was so fun having them there! I made a big turkey dinner and they arrived in the evening of Christmas Eve. I remember cleaning the house from top to bottom and it literally shone! We ate dinner, cleaned up and watched a few cartoons with the kids. After putting them to bed, we watched Sea Biscuit while we waited for them to fall asleep.

Then we spent most the night putting things together! It's amazing how much more expensive and how much more work it becomes-the older the kids get!!! I remember that Chipper got this big castle thing that was about a billion little pieces (like lego's) and we followed the book to put most of it together. Abby got a doll with a stroller, high chair and other accessories. Mitchell got a new bike!

For today's freebie, I have:

Download HERE

This tag is totally customizable to match any kit you want! It is layered and easy to change, add to, or use just the way it is!

Have a great day!

Christmas 2002

2011-12-13T05:54:00.000-08:00

As I rush to finish up my sewing projects and get things wrapped and send my final items out for printing, I'm excited to spend another morning with a little walk down memory lane!

Christmas 2002 found us in a little rental home in Henderson. We were able to find something back in our old neighborhood and it was so nice to be back! It was a fun and quiet Christmas. Abby was just over a year and a half, so she got it a little more! I'm having a hard time remembering some of the gifts from that year, and I'm not sure why! I just asked Chipper what he remembered and he said that he got a playstation and games that year. Mitchell got a GeoTraxx train set, but we still can't remember what Abby got! I'm sure it was a doll or something of that sort! I also remember Chipper getting a little stuffed dog that he named Devil! He loved that puppy!!

Another thing I remember from that year was Advent Calendars. I started buying the Playmobile calendars and each day they would open a box and it would build a Christmas scene. It was so fun and cute! Every morning, we would gather together and read a little bit from the Christmas story in the Bible and open a gift. It was such a nice morning tradition!

For today's freebie, I have another siggy template:

Download HERE

Have a GREAT day!

Christmas 2001

2011-12-12T05:41:00.000-08:00

I know I have a lot of pictures of this Christmas, but for the life of me, I can't find them! I need to look harder and get them scanned in and scrapped!

This Christmas was a fun one! My baby girl had made her entrance in early April, right before Easter, so she was around 9 months for Christmas! She was so cute! In September, my hubby had started law school, so in October, we sold our home and moved into a tiny apartment to save money. It was hard and we missed our friends so much! But we made the most of it!

My kids were still to young to be the ones to wake up early and see what Santa brought them, so I would be the one (usually before 6) that would go wake them up, because I couldn't wait any longer!! It was fun getting to see their reaction, for the first time, as they came out of their room!

Chipper got a Harry Potter castle (that was the year the first movie had come out and we were all hooked!), Mitchell got a FisherPrice Little People city. He LOVED little people at that age! And Abby got the Little People doll house!

It's so fun to relive each of these years, one by one and remember how young they all were! Yesterday was a really fun and busy day. We had church in the morning and then our main dinner and rested for awhile. After that, we made our ugly Christmas sweaters (Which turned out awesome) and then went to a friend's house for dessert and games! We had a blast doing that! After we left there (about 9 pm) we drove around and looked at some pretty amazing Christmas lights and listened to music! It was the perfect end to the evening!

I also have another layout to share! This is one of my favorite pictures of Sam:

I used "Snowy Tales" by Down This Road Designs:

And I used a couple of pieces from my holiday bundle to create the layout! I love using this bundle because I can create so many different looks!

For today's freebie, I thought I would post another recipe card! One of these days, I'll actually use these and make the family recipe book I have planned out in my head! But for now, I'll just share them with all of you!

Download HERE

Quick Post

2011-12-11T06:29:00.000-08:00

I'm going to skip my trip down memory lane this morning! Sunday's are busy mornings for us and I don't want to put it off until later, either! So, I'm going to do a quick post and give you the freebie I made!!

I just hate how quickly Christmas is coming! Do you remember how it just dragged when we were kids? I want that back! I love this time of year, and it goes by way too quick! Yesterday, I did some Christmas shopping and we picked up the supplies to make our ugly Christmas sweaters today. I'll have to post pics!

Here is today's freebie:

These little borders are 12 inches long so you can use part or all of them on your layouts! Quick and easy way to add a little flare!

Download HERE

Christmas 2000

2011-12-10T07:11:00.000-08:00

This daily journaling project has been so fun! It has also helped me realize where I have holes in my photos and other things. This Christmas is one that I can't find any photos from. I know that my inlaws visited us and spent Christmas Eve with us and then later in the day, we drove up to my parents house to spend the evening and night with them. My brother and his wife had just given birth to a beautiful baby girl, Mykayla 2 days earlier. I'm guessing that because we were so busy with family and traveling, I just didn't get any pictures. I may check with other family members to see what they have!

That Christmas I was also pregnant with my 3rd baby, and we had just learned that it would be a girl! My husband was finishing up his last year of his bachelor program and had started the process of applying to law school. It was a busy time and it was also a very financially lean time of our lives! We were blessed with family who helped to make up the difference and my inlaws were great about spoiling us with so many gifts! I remember that year we didn't get anything for each other and put any extra money given to us towards bills. It was tough, but looking back, I think the difficult years helped us appreciate years when we had more! My husband was working as a waiter at Chevy's, a Mexican restaurant in the mall. I have such fond memories of those days! It meant long hours as he would go to school during the day and then start his shift from about 4 pm to 11 pm just about every night. We only had one car so most days I stayed at home alone with the boys while he went to work. But some days, when I was just so sick of being home, I would take him to work and keep the car! This, of course meant, that around 11 pm, I got to drag 2 sleeping babies out into the cold to go pick him up. Ah, the memories! My favorite memory of this time was the nightly Christmas movies ABC family would show. I would feed the boys early, around 5 and at 6, I would spread a large blanket out in front of the tv. We turned off all the lights except the tree and tv and we would lay on the floor and watch the cartoons together until bedtime! It was a lot of fun!

So, yesterday, I opened up my new shop! It was so fun! And I'm just buzzing with ideas for the coming year! Today, I have some layouts to share. Most are using my templates and kits that I receive from other designers, in exchange for scrapping with their products!

This first kit I have to share is one that excites me so much! The fabulous Yari of Jady Day Studios custom made this kit for me! I am making an album for the theatre teacher from my son's school of the recent Grease Production. Here is the darling kit she made!

Isn't that darling? And here is the layout I scrapped, so far! It's the cover page of the album:

I used one of my big photo templates for this page! It is in one of the new packs I just released. Because the quality of this picture didn't support being any bigger than it is, then I just used a background paper behind it and made a black mat for it! The tall boy in the middle (the one hugging the girl in pink) is my oldest son, Chipper. Can you believe how much he has grown from his earlier Christmas photos? He's over 6 foot tall!!

Here is today's freebie:

Download HERE

Christmas 1999

2011-12-09T07:01:00.000-08:00

This particular Christmas is one of my all-time favorite memories! I'm not sure why. I don't know if it is because we stayed home that year, just our own little family. I don't know if it is because it was the first year or really establishing our traditions or just the fun of having 2 little boys to enjoy it with. But, often as I look back at some of my most precious memories, this Christmas tops the list! Here are a few pictures from that day!

This final picture was actually taken a week or so before at the family Christmas party with my side of the family! Mitchell is being held here by my mom!

It was such a fun time and seems like only yesterday, rather than the 12 years it has actually been! Time really does move quick!

I remember that Christmas Eve, I made a big ham dinner and our favorite potato casserole and green beans and red jello! We had pie for dessert. After cleaning everything up, we got the boys in their pajamas and watched Christmas cartoons. I specifically remember watching Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer before putting the boys to bed!

The gift I remember receiving most that year was John knew that I wanted to sell Mary Kay products, so he bought me my start up kit and had it waiting for me on the couch that morning! It was so fun! I spent the day reading through and playing with makeup! What could be more fun than that!!

Today, I have some fun news to share about my templates! I have opened my shop-today, in fact-at ScrapMatters! I am so excited and have some fun goodies available there! I also sent out my newsletter this morning. If you aren't signed up and would like to read it, click HERE! I think you can subscribe from there too! You'll want to be sure and sign up as I will send it out weekly with coupons, new releases, inspiration, etc!

Now to show off what I have available:

I'm very excited about this opportunity!!

And now on to today's freebie:

It is a little late in the month, but here is a template for a december desktop! Download HERE

Christmas 1998

2011-12-08T07:17:00.000-08:00

Doing this is making me wish I had done professional photos every Christmas as my family grew! But sadly, we didn't! So, some years I might have photos of all of us together, but most often I will not! However, in 1998, I was still doing the photo thing!!

Weren't we so cute in our matching denim!!!

That Christmas was a lot of fun. I was actually about 5 months pregnant with #2 and we were excited that a little brother would be joining our Chipper! That Christmas, we traveled to my parents home (about 2 hours away from where we lived in Vegas) and it was a lot of fun. That was the last Christmas that we have traveled for and have spent all the rest in our own home! It was nice, though, for one last time to spend that with my family.

My sister had gotten married in August and joined us with her new husband. My younger brother was married in November and joined us with his new wife! It was fun to watch the family growing!

That year Santa brought Chipper a new puppy, who we named Noel! I will admit that it was a lot of work to keep that sweet puppy hidden until our Christmas morning surprise! Noel was a black lab and a very sweet puppy. I remember that we also got Chipper some Dr. Suess books and a little train set, but that is all I remember from that year!

I also remember that on Christmas Day, after gifts were exchanged and opened, we made peppermint ice cream with the new ice cream maker I had gotten! It was so fun and so yummy!

The last few days have been busy as I've been working to complete as many of my homemade projects as possible. I have completed our friend/neighbor gifts, gifts for all my kids teachers, sewed 2 skirts for my girls and am getting ready to work on pajamas for everyone! Although it has been busy, I'm having a blast! I love crafting and sewing and scrapping!!

Today's freebie is a label to print to match what I made up for our teacher gifts. I had to make 20 of them, so I wanted something simple and cute! Here is what we made:

It may be a little hard to see, but in the baggie, I have a packet of hot cocoa, 2 large marshmallows and a small peppermint stick. I found the cute baggies at the dollar store for $1 for 25. And the label I made myself. I printed 2 to a page of cardstock so that was probably my biggest expense! Even though that wasn't much either! Then I cut them out and folded them over the top and stapled!

Download HERE

Christmas 1997

2011-12-07T05:45:00.000-08:00

I'll never forget this first Christmas that we spent with our sweet Chipper! He was such a fun and sweet baby! Just like in the picture below, he always had a HUGE smile on his face!

This Christmas we traveled up to Utah to spend with my inlaws. Before we left, we had a family dinner at our home in Henderson with all of my family. We had just bought and moved into our first house, the week before Thanksgiving and I was excited to host a family event! Christmas was on a Thursday that year and I think we left on the afternoon of the 23rd. I remember being up there for the 24th, so I don't think we traveled that day!

Christmas morning was so fun! Not only did Santa bring lots of goodies for Chipper, but my inlaws also had plenty to spoil him with! Uncle Steven was on his mission in Japan, so we got to talk to him on the phone. Those are the highlights of the day that I remember!

I remember Chipper got a wagon with mega blocks in it and a baseball and T (we were just a little excited to get him started) and lots of little developmental toys. I remember how much we were able to get him for under a $100! I didn't know how much I should appreciate that then! LOL!

For John and I, that year, we each took a $100 and shopped for each other. I remember that John got me lots of things for our house. New sheets, Christmas dishes, picture frames, etc. It was such a fun time!

Freebie for today:

Download HERE

Last Christmas without children

2011-12-06T05:55:00.000-08:00

This was a significant year, as I look back at it now, because everything about everything changes once you have a child! It all changes for the good-mostly! But I think it was an important time to just enjoy life as the child! We were living in Las Vegas, at the time. We had moved there the past April, when John had finished his semester at BYU. We were living in a two bedroom condo and I was pregnant with our first child! I was very excited and of course, remember being so tired that whole holiday season!

We spent that Christmas with my family, who lived about an hour north of Vegas. The gift I remember most that year was a black maternity jumpsuit! It was way comfortable, but I think back now and cringe. I guess it was in style then! LOL! My mom had given it to me! I also remember that I got baby things that year, which was so fun! I think everything about my life, at that time, was focused on our growing family! I couldn't wait to be a mother.

The other stand out memory from that year was getting our Christmas tree! I decided that I wanted to go out in the mountains, just like I had as a child, to find a tree! My youngest brother was game to go with us (he was about 11 at the time), so we headed out! The only tool we took was a small hatchet. None of us had experience in judging how a tree would look on the mountain and then translate into a tree inside! The one we picked out and then made John and Kirk spend over an hour chopping down, was way too big to ever fit inside any home! We ended up needing to cut down a part from the top to work and it left quite the hole on the side. It really ended up being the ugliest tree ever, but we sure had fun finding it! We almost ran out of gas too, which just added to the fun!

Yesterday was a very full day and I am so exhausted now this morning. I kept 4 of my nephews yesterday. They range in ages of 5 to 10 months. It was quite busy, but fun! Olivia and Noah were in heaven!

After they left, we quickly ate dinner and then headed out to a live nativity. We met another family there, our neighbors from before we moved! It was so great to see them again! It was extremely cold outside-around 20 degrees. We had to wait in line for about 30 minutes to ride in a horse trailer to the spot where they do the live nativity. By that point, Noah had had enough and screamed to go back to the car. John took him back and I continued on with the kids. There was a long path, up a hill with animals and shepards along the way to talk about the story. Once at the top, we walked through a barn with more animals and different booths of games and weaving, etc. There were wise men there, telling their story and two darling camels! It was awesome! From there, we continued on our journey, into another barn where we found the baby Jesus. It was a lot of fun, even if we were so cold!!! Next year, I think we will plan better with what we wear and maybe a blanket or two!

After that, we followed our friends to her parents house (which was close by) and had cookies and hot cocoa and visited some more! It was a wonderful evening!

Here is the template for today. This is the last for the December album and I know the numbers are random, but I just put different numbers for examples. You can change the number to fit the day. They are done simply and in a way to just reuse over and over again-customizing with your digital kit and your photos and journaling! I need to get mine caught up!

Download HERE

Newlywed Christmas

2011-12-05T06:07:00.000-08:00

I know I talked a little about my first Christmas married to my sweetheart, the other day, but I wanted to talk a little more! I think that in many ways, Christmas changed that year as we created our own traditions and began spending this special day together!

I still laugh because our very first fight as a newly married couple, was a week after our wedding, when we were on our way to pick out our first tree! I don't even remember what we fought about. It wasn't anything major and our fight wasn't big, just enough to fit under that "first" category!

I also learned that when one gets married just before Christmas, you get a lot of decorations as Christmas gifts. For better or worse, we had lots of Christmas dish clothes and towels and other wedding stuff--just Christmas-y!

It was exciting, that first year, to talk about our plans for the future, what Christmas would be like with children and what traditions we would start. We both came from different backgrounds with different priorities and it was a work of combining and creating new ideas!

And here we are--16 years later!

We had a fun weekend away! We didn't travel far, just up to Salt Lake City (About 45 minutes away) and stayed in a hotel right next to their big outdoor mall. We were able to eat at a few fun restaurants and finish up our Christmas shopping. It was nice to shop for the kids without worrying about anyone overhearing or interupting us! We also watched quite a bit of football! I read and napped too, as the football was going on. I do like football, so I didn't mind, but I'm not quite as into it as my hubby is!

The kids had a lot of fun while we were gone! Anna, who came to stay with them, is a total sweetheart and the kids just loved her. After she left, yesterday, Sam sat at the window and cried for about 20 minutes. He loves Anna!

I need to catch up my December album. I have the pictures, I just need to scrap them and then I'll post them!

Here is our template for today.

Download HERE

Christmas in Japan

2011-12-04T06:33:00.000-08:00

In December of 1993, I was a new missionary serving in Hokkaido Japan. I was so many miles away from my family and friends and all that I knew. It was a difficult time. I had never been that far away and for that long, and I had never spent a holiday away from my family.

On Christmas Eve, I got to speak on the phone with my mom for a bit and she told me that she had mailed me a few things, but it was late so I probably wouldn't get it in time. I told her it was fine, it was the thought that counted, but I will admit, as I struggled being so far from home and missing it so much, I was more than disappointed. I had always loved Christmas and the magic of waking up and opening gifts. Even though I knew I was doing something far more important than thinking of myself, I guess I still wanted something to mark that date.

I went to bed that night, trying to just not think about it being Christmas Eve. I told myself that I was giving Jesus the best gift of all-sharing a message with many who didn't believe in him and that would make Christmas special all on its own! And don't get me wrong, it really did! It was definitely a different sort of experience!

Early the next morning, I woke up to my companion (another sister missionary) saying "ho, ho, ho". Now, something you need to know about my companion. She was a native Japanese girl so she didn't really grow up with all the Christmas traditions I was used to. Christmas in Japan isn't really the same as it is here in America. However, she wanted to make my first Christmas in Japan special, so the package of things her family had sent to her, she wrapped everything up and shared with me. There were little things like nail polish and a little notebook. I will never forget how fun that morning was! It was completely unexpected and totally from her heart!

That evening, as we returned from a long day of knocking on doors and trying to share our message, we returned to our little apartment to find a box of goodies left by the Elders (also serving in our area). They shared some of their Christmas goodies with us, things like kool-aid and ranch dressing mix and jello! They were heavenly gifts in a country where you can't buy those things and I already missed them! LOL!

I will always cherish that Christmas as one of the best ever!

Here is today's freebie:

Download HERE

A homemade Christmas

2011-12-03T04:25:00.000-08:00

My senior year of high school (Christmas 1989) was a year that I decided to not buy a single gift, but rather to either make or regift everything. It was a lot of fun and a great little experiment! I made cloth covered picture frames with lots of lace (yes, it was the end of the 80's after all) and a cloth covered photo album! I don't remember every gift I made and gave away, but a very distinct memory was the gifting of my childhood teddy bear. I had had that thing for many years and loved it! But I figured that at almost 18, it was time to pass him on. My youngest brother was only 4 years old and the sweetest little boy. I still remember sitting on the stairs with him, the only light came from the Christmas tree in the other room and I told him how much I loved him. I also told him how much I loved my teddy bear and that I wanted to give him to him. It's crazy how emotional I was. I'm sure it was more about that passage from childhood to adulthood that that moment represented than an actual emotional tie to a bear. But I will never forget that moment.

And all these years later, I have no idea whatever happened to that bear, but I still love that little brother! He is engaged and getting married this spring and although I don't get to see him often, I hope he knows how much I love him!

Here is the freebie for today:

Download HERE

16 years

2011-12-02T06:03:00.000-08:00

So, I won't be going completely in order with my walk down memory lane because today I want to skip ahead to a Christmas season 16 years ago. I was 23 years old and on December 2nd-16 years ago, I married the love of my life! Christmas time has never been the same since!

I will never forget that day and how incredibly happy I was! I had waited a long time to meet someone like John. He was everything I had been looking for and after 16 years, I can only say that it has been better than I could have ever imagined! Sure, we've had our fights and our challenges, but we have had far more wonderful times, good laughs and special moments over all these years! He is still my best friend and who I want to spend the rest of my life and eternity with!

That first Christmas together was nice. We lived in south Salt Lake City in a tiny one bedroom apartment. The first week we were married, we didn't even own a t.v. I remember reading books to one another as we spent quiet evenings together. John was in the middle of finals at BYU and I was working for a lawyer in downtown SLC. We had practically no money and I remember that our gifts for each other, for Christmas, was a pair of gloves for me and I bought John the movie "Field of Dreams". His parents, who just lived about 20 minutes away, spoiled us rotten! We spent Christmas with them and it was a lot of fun!

So, Happy Anniversary to my sweetheart! We are sneaking away for 2 days and leaving the kids with one of the paraeducators from Sam's school! I know that they will be in great hands, and I'm excited for some time away. It has been a very long time!

The next few days of blogging will be pre-published before I leave, so if they are fairly short, you'll know why!

I want to share my first page and cover page (Template from yesterday) of my December Daily album. This template will be a freebie soon, but I'm excited to show it off!

The kit that I'm using for my album this year, is this fun bundle by Etc. by Danyale:

Click Here for more details!

And here is today's freebie:

Download HERE

**Also, I got a few requests about templates that were missed from November. And I thought about it a little more and decided that I would reactivate the links for longer. I may leave them up for a month or maybe a week more or maybe forever! I'm not sure, but they should all work again now, if you want to grab any you missed!

Early Memories of Christmas

2011-12-01T05:15:00.000-08:00

Happy December 1st everyone! I really can't believe we are here, to the last month of 2011. The time goes way too quick!

One of my goals for December is to journal about different Christmas memories-one a day! My purpose for this is to create a record of these special holidays for many years to come.

I want to start with Christmas from my childhood. These memories won't be from a specific year, but rather a combination of years that I remember. I want my kids to have a glimpse of what Christmas was like for me!

I grew up in a small town in southern Nevada. We were a few hours north of Las Vegas and although we were in the desert, we were a bit higher than Vegas and did have a little bit of winter. It wasn't often that we would get snow during the Christmas season and even then usually more flurries than snow that really stuck! But it did happen and it always made things more magical! I am the oldest of 5 kids, so I remember a time when my parents were young and poor and worked so hard to make Christmas special for us!

Every year, early in the month of December, we would all load up in the truck and drive about an hour to Irish Mountain to pick out and cut down our own tree. I remember those times fondly. We would sing Christmas songs, as we drove and there was usually a little bit of snow up in the mountains! My dad would drive the truck, while my mom looked for the perfect tree. When it was found, we would stop and get out and play while my dad took his chainsaw and cut it down.

Once back home, my dad would set it up in the living room, in the tree stand he made himself with welded metal. I can still picture that simple stand like it were yesterday! We would wait until Sunday after church to decorate. The anticipation used to kill me! I couldn't wait to get the ornaments on the tree! Mom always insisted that the lights and the tinsle went on first. And while she worked, we would listen to our favorite Frosty record and sing along! When she pulled out the ornaments, we would look through the box for our individual ornaments. I had ones I made in school and ones that were bought with my name on them! We loved our little collection of individual ornaments. Our tree didn't have a "theme", it didn't coordinate and it certainly wouldn't have been showcased on any magazines, but I remember it as the most beautiful thing! It was us and full of love!

The month of December usually meant lots of Christmas baking. My mom has a talent for making the best homemade candy I have ever tasted. Her twice cooked divinity is not only the best thing I've ever tasted, but a recipe I have never been able to master! Even now, homemade Christmas candy is one of the highlights of the season! I remember that by Christmas Eve, she would have platters of goodies to deliver to neighbors and friends and plenty for us to enjoy!

Christmas Eve was usually spent with extended family. Sometimes it would be at my grandma's house and sometimes at my uncles. I remember how much I loved the lights that my grandma had on her tree. They were very old and beautiful. They are large lights, in bright colors and in beautiful shapes. I would give anything to find lights like she had to recreate a tree in my own house! I found them to be so magical and festive!

Almost every year, I got a new doll from Santa, including a Baby Alive doll, which was one of my favorites! Some of my favorite gifts, that I remember still today are: a new furry coat, books, homemade dress, homemade pillow case (I especially remember the one with Annie material!) and one that I will always remember was a little white table that my dad made for us. He painted one corner with my name and a little picture and the other corner for my sister. We loved that table and used it for years!

I know my parents didn't have much back in those early days, but I have fond memories of how hard they worked to make it special! My memories of Christmas as a child are some of my favorite childhood memories and I've worked hard to hopefully make it special for my own children!

Thank you for indulging me down memory lane! I would love to hear some of the things that made your childhood Christmas's special! What little things do you remember most?

For today's freebie, I have a template for an 8x8 december daily album! It's the cover and I hope you will use these in any way that fits! This will be a simple album and will really work for anything!

Download HERE

**Also, wanted to post that if you are wanting a FREE double pager that I created, I have been invited to host a template challenge at ScrapMatters! You can check out all their amazing challenges and find my template HERE

Be sure to check out their Bingo card-the new challenge tracking system! It's awesome! I can't wait to fill mine up and get some free products!

Sharing Gratitude

2011-11-30T07:15:00.000-08:00

Our month of gratitude ends today, but I hope it will only be a spring board into a life of gratitude! We really do appreciate more and feel more joy when we are thankful for the things we have rather than looking outside ourselves!

I've been busy getting as many things done for December before December actually gets here! Some goals I've accomplished (or will finish up today) and some I didn't. My 2011 album is almost done, but I still have about 10 more pages I want to scrap, so I will be waiting for a January print sale before getting it printed. Some of my projects I will be posting here, throughout December to share ideas and things that work for our family.

Remember, today is the last day to download any of the gratitude templates!

I also want to thank each of you who have left me comments! You have no idea how much I appreciate them and enjoy reading them each day. I read every one, even comments left on past posts! They are a highlight of my day!

One of the things I will be offering, the first few days of Decembers are simple templates for anyone doing a December Daily album. They are simple and straightforward, as I think these albums are designed to be! This is my first year doing one, so I'm going all digital, but maybe I'll branch out next year! But, as I created my templates for me, I thought I would share! It is an 8x8 size and tomorrow will be the cover page of the album.

Today's Template:

Download HERE

Today's Prompt: Think of at least one person you can share your experience with or your journal with and do it.

Gratitude in photos

2011-11-29T06:09:00.000-08:00

I can't believe we are wrapping up November and our gratitude project. I didn't get very many of my album pages scrapped, but hopefully my blogging will help me when the time comes to finish!

Our project for today is not really a prompt, like the others were. I want you to get your camera out and try and take as many pictures as you can (literal or symbolically) of all the things in your life you are grateful for. This will serve two purposes. First of all, it will help to create the cover page for your album, but it will also be one more way to think about the things we are thankful for and give us a visual way to remember them!

Yesterday went by way too quickly! My oldest is still sick and so part of the time was spent taking care of him and figuring out if we should take him to the doctor or not. It was also a monday and trying to get back into the swing of things from a long holiday was a bit difficult. I'm working really hard to finish up two albums by tomorrow night so I can order them and use a coupon to get a really good deal. I was able to scrap 4 layouts last night, but I really need to step it up today if I want to finish!

Here is the template for today:

Download HERE

**Added Reminder! Thursday is the last day to download the gratitude templates. All the links will be inactive come friday morning!

3 Grateful Items

2011-11-28T05:46:00.000-08:00

I mentioned in yesterday's post how much I have come to realize how much grateful I need to learn to be. This is going to be one of my main goals for 2012. In order to do this, my goal is to write down, each day, 3 things I am grateful for that day. I am excited to try this and see the changes it will bring. It will be nice to focus more on living in the moment and being grateful for each thing, rather than worrying about what I don't have or wish I had!

I hope you will all do this with me! I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences!

Yesterday was a pretty good day. I already mentioned how nice church was and how much I got out of it. After church, we had another turkey dinner. I just love buying cheap turkeys at this time of year! Chipper and Noah are sick again. They can't seem to knock this cold completely and for Chipper I'm afraid it has turned into a pretty nasty sinus infection. I hate that he is going to miss more school.

Template for today:

Download HERE

Today's Prompt: Set a goal to end each day with writing down 3 things from that day you
are thankful for and journal your goal. Try to do this for a year-until next November.

The Hiding Place

2011-11-27T22:36:00.000-08:00

First, I want to apologize for how late this post is. In only a few short hours, I will be posting again!

Today, at church, a gentleman shared a story of two sisters. They were arrested during the holocaust for helping Jews escape. One of the sisters is the author of "The Hiding Place". He talked about a time when they were together in a concentration camp and how they found ways to be grateful for even the fleas that lived with them in their small space. It was a moving story and was just what I needed to hear as this month draws to a close.

I have learned so much about myself, this month as I have worked hard to apply gratitude to my daily life. I thought that being thankful was something that just came natural and that this would be a fun and easy task. I was so wrong. I have learned that I have very far to go. I am far too selfish, far too self-absorbed and well, I know now what I need to change and improve.

At the first of the month, I posted a quote about how spending one month in focusing on gratitude could be life changing. I didn't really understand how, but I was willing to try. I can honestly say that my life has been changed by taking on this challenge. There is still so much I want to learn and improve on, but it has been a great starting point.

I would love to reach a point, where I could be as gracious as women like Corrie and Betsie where I could even be thankful for the fleas that infested my surroundings. I would love to be that type of person. I may never face the dark pit that they each did and the daily hell of a concentration camp, but I hope that I can follow their example.

As I did further research on them tonight, I was incredibly touched by a story that Corrie told. She was the only one to make it out of the camp. Her sister died there. She came face to face later, with one of the guards from that camp. He had since converted to Christianity and he came to ask her forgiveness. In her words, here is what she wrote:

And I stood there — I whose sins had every day to be forgiven — and could not. Betsie had died in that place — could he erase her slow terrible death simply for the asking?

It could not have been many seconds that he stood there, hand held out, but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do.

For I had to do it — I knew that. The message that God forgives has a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us. "If you do not forgive men their trespasses," Jesus says, "neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses." ...

And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion — I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. "Jesus, help me!" I prayed silently. "I can lift my hand, I can do that much. You supply the feeling."

And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.

"I forgive you, brother!" I cried. "With all my heart!"

For a long moment we grasped each other's hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God's love so intensely as I did then.

That type of faith and love does not come naturally. I believe that it was born in a heart that was filled with gratitude. It came from a life of being thankful for the smallest things.

Thank you for letting me share this today and thank you for letting me share this month with all of you! I have enjoyed blogging each day and I look forward to continuing. I hope I have not bored anyone too much!

Here is today's template:

Download HERE

And the prompt for today: Think of one way to go the extra mile in my life and write about how that affects me

I'll be back in a few hours with another template and another prompt! Also, I have some fabulous things planned for December. I will be giving away some tools for scrapping your December Daily albums, as well as tools for holiday gifts and things! As for my blogging, I will be sharing lots of Christmas memories, so get ready for some fun reading! I hope you will share with me, as well! I absolutely LOVE reading all of your comments!

Choosing Less

2011-11-26T07:28:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, today's prompt is very difficult for me. I think that we live in a world where so many things are at our fingertips! I have been very blessed with so many things, but often I find myself wanting more. Yesterday, I drove my oldest over to a friends house to work on a science project. She lives in a beautiful home in a very nice area of town. Easily, every home in the development is more than a million dollars. That isn't a world I will ever experience. Even if I had the money to buy a home like that, I hope I wouldn't. Not that there is anything wrong with those who do, there are just so many more practical things I would want to do with the money.

However, I will admit, as I drove through this tree lined neighborhood with Christmas decorations being put up and the Fall leaves on the ground, I couldn't help but picture myself living there. How fun it would be to have all my kids home and someday have grandkids in a big beautiful mansion. It is fun to think about. But, then I found myself a little dissatisfied when I returned home. My house looked so simple and plain. The decorations my husband was working so hard to hang, just didn't seem like enough and I felt a little cloud rest over me. Instantly, I knew what was wrong. I was looking for what I didn't have, rather than what I do have.

The thing is, when we "Choose" to have less, we really will appreciate more. The mere act of choosing puts the power in our hands, rather than in thinking we are picked on. Ultimately, the only things that really matter are the things that can't be bought anyway, so why not choose to enjoy those and stop focusing on what we don't have.

Here are a few layouts I've scrapped this past week:

Found HERE

I've still got about 20 more layouts to do before the 30th so I can get our 2011 album ordered! Wish me luck!

The template for today is:

Download HERE

Today's Prompt: think of 3 ways in your life that you can live with less, in order to appreciate what you have.

Paying it Forward

2011-11-25T07:33:00.000-08:00

For all who celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday, I hope you had a great day! I know that I sure did! I love getting together with family and I love eating yummy food. All my gluten free recipes turned out really well, so that made me very happy!

I also had another amazing moment yesterday. As most of you may know by now, my 7 year old is on the autism spectrum. He has several different issues, including a major speech delay. One thing he has never been good at is social interactions. He isn't shy and will walk up to complete strangers and just sit down or act like he totally knows them. But when it comes to appropriate social protocols, he doesn't do them. If someone tells him hello, he ignores them. He rarely makes eye contact and will seem that he is ignoring people. We work with him often, trying to get him to at least respond when someone greets him or says goodbye. And at school, they work on these important social skills on a regular basis.

So, last night, after dinner, as we were all visiting and trying to overcome the food coma we were all in, John's aunt and uncle stopped by to visit. Sam has met them a few times, but probably not enough to really know who they are.

As we're sitting there visiting, he walked up to Aunt Stephanie and held out his hand. "Hello," he said, "my name is Sam". He was making eye contact and everything. Everyone in the room thought it was adorable, but for me, knowing what this little breakthrough means, wanted to cry and laugh and shout for joy-all at once! I'm thankful for little steps that can be so big!

The prompt for today, is about paying it forward. I love this concept, but find it harder to put into practice than to think about. Most of this month, I have focused on prompts that make us think about all the areas in our life where we experience gratitude. The rest of the prompts are things to make us think about doing something with the gratitude we feel. I hope you will take a few minutes today to ponder the prompt and how it can affect your life. I know I will!

The template for today is:

Download HERE

Today's Prompt: List 3 people, in my life, I can pay it forward to.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T05:59:00.000-08:00

I will keep my post, today, short and sweet! For all of you who are in the US and celebrating Thanksgiving, I hope you have a wonderful day and eat lots and lots of yummy stuff! To everyone else, I apologize for letting this holiday dominate my blog!

I have most things ready. I still have 4 pies to finish making and the stuffing to finish, but then we'll be ready to head to grandma's house to eat! I can't wait! I love turkey day!

Here is today's template:

Download HERE

Today's Prompt: Think about 1 thing I can do to beautify the world around me as a way to give back.

Grateful Today

2011-11-23T06:04:00.000-08:00

My five things for today:

1. Family
2. Faith
3. Friends
4. Home
5. Music

I made my list simple, because sometimes that is the easiest way to say a lot! Most of my life is encompassed in those five simple words!

Yesterday was a fun day. I love getting ready for the holidays! We pulled out all of our Christmas stuff and have it ready to decorate on friday. Mitchell and hubby got on the roof and started hanging lights. The kids finished up school before break and I'm looking forward to having 5 days off! Abby learned how to make a pie at her Activity Days and she made a yummy looking Reeses one for tomorrow's dinner. I got the house cleaned, floors mopped, etc. and today I can start my pie preparation!

I hope you are all having a great week! If you are traveling today, be careful and safe!

Today's Template:

Download HERE

Today's Prompt: List the 5 things you are most grateful for today.

"Conscious of our Treasures"

2011-11-22T05:29:00.000-08:00

I really love today's quote that I found for the prompt. I think it has so much truth in it. Some of the darkest times of my life were when I was too self-involved, felt sorry for myself, etc. I think that gratitude truly helps us to live and be aware of the precious moments we have each day. If you are overwhelmed with life, feeling discouraged or sad, I encourage you to take a step back and just find the treasures in your life. Focus on what you are blessed with and let it take away the anxiety and worry and fear over things you can't control.

Yesterday was a pretty good day. I'm feeling a bit crazy over all I want to get done before Thursday (see, I need to read above and take my own advice!) I didn't have my nephews yesterday which was probably a good thing. Several of my family have been sick with colds and I have been fighting it, but it hasn't turned into one yet. Today is the best I've felt in two days, so hopefully it is going to pass me by with nothing more than some extreme tiredness! I'm going to start on the pie crusts today-the cookie ones, and I can't wait! I just love this time of year!

Here is the template for today! Just a few more left for the month! Remember on December 1st, all links from November will deactivated, so grab the templates you want now!

Download HERE

Today's Prompt: “We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are
conscious of our treasures.” — Thornton Wilder. Journal what this quote means to you

Gratitude for Health

2011-11-21T06:01:00.000-08:00

Health is such an important thing and something I don't take lightly. I don't have major health issues, but rather lots of little ones that can kind of pile up to be not fun! I'm thankful for natural healing. I am really into doing whatever I can to improve my health with diet and supplements. Its not that I don't believe in medication, because I do, I just like to keep it as a last option. I've been very blessed, so far! A year ago, I was dealing with a lot of panic attacks and other issues that have been completely resolved. I'm still dealing with an underactive thyroid, but things are moving in the right direction and hopefully into next year, I can start losing weight again.

Enough about that though! In one of the comments, over the weekend, I was asked how I do it. Do I scrap layouts and then create templates from those? I'm actually the opposite. I create the templates, then when I want to scrap a layout, I just pull out one of my templates to use. Here's the thing. I love, love, love planning out a layout, trying to think visually how photos should fit on a page-keeping a good balance of white space and always trying to think of the rules of thirds. When I am in this mode, I don't like needing to also focus on which photo to use, what I should journal, what title, etc. So, by making it a template, then I can focus on the composition of the layout and that only. When I get ready to scrap, I want to put my energy behind the photo/the story/etc. and I don't want to think about the composition of the layout. I don't know if that makes sense, but its what works for me!!

And I also had a request to share the info of one of my online friends who designs. Her name is Angie, and she is awesome! She sells her designs at ScrapMatters under the design name of Down This Road Designs.

Here are just a few of my favorites:

You can click HERE to browse through here store.

And HERE is her blog!

Are you ready for Today's template:

Download HERE

Today's Prompt: What about my health am I grateful for?

Ten Years Ago...

2011-11-20T15:12:00.000-08:00

Ten years ago, this week, we traveled from Las Vegas up to Provo Utah to spend Thanksgiving with my inlaws. I had a 4 1/2 year old boy, a 2 1/2 year old boy and a sweet 6 month old baby girl! My husband was in his first semester of law school, we had sold our home and moved into a small apartment so we could afford school. The day after Thanksgiving, my brother in law was married and we were all there to celebrate! It was a wonderful weekend!

As I look back at that day, I remember all the good things. I remember being together and cousins playing and lots and lots of love. I don't really remember all the little stressors of the day: family being late for dinner, bridesmaids dresses needing to be finished in the middle of the night, perhaps fighting between cousins! I wish, I would have known then that all the small petty things, that seemed big, really wouldn't have been big when looked back on-years later. My wonderful sister in law had traveled in from Florida to have dinner with us, and it was so great to see her! That was the last Thanksgiving we have spent with her-until this year! A few months ago, she and her husband and their two sweet boys moved from Florida to Utah and will be in attendance at our dinner this week! It's amazing how fast the time has gone and yet how long ago it seems--all at the same time! I can't wait for Thursday! My sweet six month old is now the sweet 10 year old cousin who loves holding the babies and helping out everyone. My 4 1/2 year old is now almost a foot taller than me, speaks with a deep voice and is so much fun to hang out with. My 2 1/2 year has grown into an amazing young man with a big heart! At 12, he's still trying to find himself, but he is so much fun to be around! I've doubled the brood-in 10 years, but don't plan on doing that in the next ten years (unless it is with a grandbaby or two!)

I guess what I wish I had known about gratitude 10 years ago, is just to have had more! If only I had known how precious each memory would be, maybe I would have cherished those moments! Either way, I hope to cherish today so that 10 years from now, I will have no regrets-just lots of happy memories!

Here is today's template:

Download HERE

Today's Prompt: what do I know today about gratitude that I wish I had known 10 years ago?

Grateful for Online Friends

2011-11-19T08:07:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed the ideas left in the comment section of yesterday! Thank you Lindsay and Natalee for sharing! I really love the idea of gratitude journals for the kids, and I agree that it would be amazing to continue them even past this month!

Yesterday was a lot of fun. During the day was mostly normal activities. I cleaned, I did some designing, I practiced the piano, I did grocery shopping, etc. In the late afternoon, I met with a very sweet lady who is a behavorial specialist working with kids on the spectrum. Sam will be participating in a pilot drum lesson class in the New Year, and she will be helping to facilitate that. We are also considering hiring her on a weekly basis to work with Sam, at home and in activities outside the home. It is an added expense, but I think it will be so good for him. She does a mix of ABA and Floortime methods, which really appeals to me.

After that, I drove up to Salt Lake City to meet with 3 friends-all of whom I have met through online connections. Eileen and I met almost 4 years ago on a digital scrapbooking board at ivillage. I lived in Nevada, she lived in New Jersey at the time. We now live about 20 minutes apart and get together once a month. She is one of my dearest friends! Angie and I met while we were both designing at BrownieScraps. She also lives about 20-30 minutes from me and we have become super good friends, as well. I work on her CT team because I absolutely adore her kits. She currently sells at ScrapMatters and has some amazing stuff there! Mari also came with us, and she is friends with Eileen, so we met her that way and she has become a good friend, as well! It is just a lot of fun to get together. We were missing Natalee from our group last night, but hopefully we'll get to see her at our next one! We watched the new Twilight movie, Breaking Dawn. We had a blast!

We came out from the movie at about 9:30 to find that it had been snowing while we were inside! I was quite nervous driving home, but I just took it slow and I made it home safe and sound!

Here is the free template for today:

Download HERE

Today's Prompt: What about my life today is different than a year ago-that I'm thankful for?

Teaching Gratitude

2011-11-18T05:46:00.000-08:00

How do you teach gratitude to your children? I would love ideas! I think one of the best ways is through example, but that isn't always an easy one to see! I've never been very good at making my kids write thank you cards (intent is always there, just don't get it done!) and I think this would be another great way.

Yesterday was a busy day! I had a doctor appointment in the morning and then dashed over to Abby's school to watch their Shakespeare play. It was so cute! In the afternoon, by the time I finished up carpool, it was time to take Chipper to voice lessons and then quickly feed the kids. It was respite night at Sam's school, which means that an amazing group of young people volunteered to come and watch all the kids and their siblings. I dropped off my four youngest and went out to dinner with my two older boys! John is out of town for work, so I just enjoyed the two hours with my 14 and 12 year old. It was a lot of fun! I'm so glad they still enjoy hanging out with me.

Also, I wanted to mention that the free templates this month will only be available for download through the 30th of this month. After that, I will be deactivating the links and retiring them. So, let your friends know to grab them now!! I have lots of fun things planned for December. The downloads from October will still be available, but just the full templates are only good for this month only!

Today's template is:

Download HERE

Today's Prompt: What do I want to teach my children/grandchildren about gratitude?

Grateful for weakness

2011-11-17T05:12:00.000-08:00

I think it is very difficult sometimes, to look within and not only discover, but share what insights we have about ourselves. One thing that I've learned about myself is that when something is a weakness for me, I feel this strong desire to fix it! I want to change it from a weakness to a strength. Now, I'm not always patient with myself in the process, but I'm still grateful for this process. I think it helps me to improve and become a better person-or at least that is my desire! When I learned that my son had some significant challenges, I felt overwhelmed and so unsure of many things. I began to read and research and pray and work. I wanted so badly to help him and change my own weakness into strength. I'm still working at this one, but when I look back over the past 7 years, I am amazed at how far I've come.

Yesterday was my quiet day! I can't even say how nice it is, once a week, to send the kids off to grandma's house and just enjoy a quiet house! It is so wonderful because first of all, I know they are loving it at her house. She watches 4 of my nephews on the same day so she has a house full of cousins who are all close in age and absolutely love to play together! Of the 6 kids, my Olivia is the only girl, but she is in heaven! She feels very doted on by all the little boys!

I spent the time cleaning, designing and went to a nice lunch with my hubby! And then, last night after dinner, Chipper watched the younger kids and hubby and I went to see the last Harry Potter movie. We are a little late in getting to see it, but oh how we enjoyed it! Crazy to think that when John took Chipper, to the very first one, he was only 4 1/2. It was 10 years ago. It feels like only yesterday.

I have some layouts to show off today! I love release days because then I get to share what I've been working on! Here are 3 layouts that are part of the new releases at The Digichick!

Click HERE to see credits and leave love!

Here is today's Template:

Download HERE

Today's Prompt: What insights in my life am I grateful for?

Showing Gratitude

2011-11-16T06:43:00.000-08:00

As important as it is to feel gratitude and even to express our gratitude, I think it is important to show our gratitude. This isn't always easy, and I know for me, becomes one of those things that I put off-thinking I will do it later. I always have good intentions that sometimes don't get followed through with! So, today, in honor of our prompt, I'm going to change that. I'm going to think today, about 3 ways I can show my gratitude and I'm going to do it. I'll report back once I've finished!

Yesterday was our Thanksgiving Dress Rehearsal. It was our first year doing it, but my hubby and kids were very quick to say they want it to become a tradition! The idea started with me wanting to try some recipes that are gluten free for next week. I've never made a good gluten free pie or stuffing. I had bought a turkey, on sale, last week, so I decided to make a whole meal-from scratch-to see how it would go. It turned out so yummy, but dang, it was a lot of work! Usually, I do some of the prep work for Thanksgiving dinner on the day before, but doing it all in the same day was exhausting! But I'm happy to report that the pie turned out perfect! We were all happy! I haven't eaten pie in almost 3 years, so it really tasted good!

Here is your template for today!

Download HERE

Today's Prompt: what are 3 ways I can better show my gratitude?

I also want to take a moment and thank you all for your comments! I have so much fun reading them every day! I'm so happy to know that you are enjoying these templates and that they are helping your scrapping skills! This is exactly what I was hoping for! I'm also in the planning stages of doing video tutorials so that anyone-even if they've never digitally scrapped before-can learn how to do so! I'm hoping to get the first one posted soon!

Have a great day!

Gratitude for Everything

2011-11-15T05:24:00.000-08:00

The longer I go in this month and focus on the things I am grateful for, I realize that I truly am grateful for everything in my life. The more I seek to be grateful, the more I find to focus on. And the greatest discovery of all has been focusing on the things I'm grateful for, in my relationships, rather than what I expect out of others or what I think they should be giving. By focusing on what I'm grateful for, I feel better about every relationship in my life.

Yesterday was a harder day, but I survived and I'm grateful for days like that, that help me better appreciate the quiet days! I watched my nephews again, which was a lot of fun. It really only got tiring during the last 2 hours when I had all 6 of my kids home, as well. I am not used to a fussy baby at dinner time! It was a good reminder of why I'm done having babies! It's just a lot of work to keep everything balanced!

Hubby came home from work, grabbed a bite to eat and immediately left with Chipper for a play in Salt Lake. They didn't get home until 11. I missed him! We usually love our evening time together, so it was harder to have him gone. But I'm so grateful that he was willing to go with Chipper and I think it was great time for them to spend together!

Here is today's template:

Download HERE

Today's Prompt: What does gratitude mean to me?

Grateful for my girls

2011-11-14T06:48:00.000-08:00

I am blessed with two little daughters! They are five years apart in age, so currently, they are 10 and 5. This can mean a lot of drama at times and yes, they love to fight with each other! However, they also adore each other and can be so cute together.

Abby (the 10 year old) has recently discovered how to use a curling iron! She would curl everyone's hair, if they let her! Olivia (the 5 year old) thinks that having her hair done by her big sister is the coolest thing ever! She has let me know, several times, that Abby does a much better job than I do! I don't take it personal, because I'll be honest, it is quite nice having someone else to help out on a Sunday morning in the hair department!

It is these little things, the ways she finds on her own, to help me out, that I'm so grateful for! Raising children can be tiresome and a lot of work, but these little moments, make it all worthwhile!

Yesterday was a good but busy day. I am the teacher of one of the little nursery classes at church. Today we had 13 children ranging from 1 1/2 to almost 3. It made for an exhausting 2 hours, but it was so worth it. I just love those kids! I am also the new piano player for our ward choir. The sad part is that I don't play very well, so I feel bad for all the choir members that have to listen to me stumble over the keys!

Here is your template for the day! I can't believe we are entering the 3rd week of November! I hope you all have a great week!

Download HERE

Today's Prompt: Who in my family am I grateful for today and why?

Gratitude for extended family

2011-11-13T06:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a good day. We spent most of the day at home, resting and getting things ready for next week. Chipper had a dance performance and then a Night on Broadway performance at the high school, so John took him to those. My aunt was celebrating her 60th birthday so I took the rest of the kids to that. My parents and two of my sisters were there, with their husbands and children. It was a lot of fun to see everyone! My parents have 20 grandchildren and 16 of them were altogether last night! It reminded me how thankful I am for all of them. I especially love all my nieces and nephews and wish I could see them more often!

After the party, I took the kids home, got them ready for bed and left them with Mitchell. I went and joined John at the high school, so I could watch Chipper's performance. We had a blast! He did such a great job and looked to be having so much fun! I'm grateful for all the wonderful friends he has made, in such a short time and thankful for these opportunities he has had!

Here is today's template:

Download HERE

Today's Prompt: What challenges from my childhood now make me grateful?

Grateful for my children

2011-11-12T08:48:00.000-08:00

I think that it can be so easy, in our busy daily lives, to take our families for granted. I often find it a bit crazy that I treat my kids as though they have to just put up with me, rather than the cherished people they are in my lives. When I spend large amounts of time nagging about this and that, it is hard to remember how beautiful they make my life and how lost I would be without them!

We had such a great day yesterday. Only Sam had it off school, so we spent the morning cleaning and baking. I made 2 loaves of gluten free bread, 20 gluten free cupcakes, 2 pans of pumpkin bars and 4 large gluten free pizza crusts. We took the kids out for lunch so they could play a bit and then we had a few errands to run with the older kids. Abby had a dentist appointment, Mitchell had voice lessons and then a birthday party and Chipper had a rehearsal for the Night on Broadway thing he is doing tonight at the highschool.

After all the craziness, we ended up back home and my sister, her husband and their six kids came to visit! They live in Henderson, NV and have come up for a family party tonight. They spent dinner with us, and we had such a great time! Four of her kids were recently diagnosed with Celiac Disease, so they are gluten free too! It was fun to share some of the recipes and things I've learned with her.

Here is your free template for today!

Download HERE

And today's prompt is: What am I taking for granted, that I really am thankful for?

Grateful for Service

2011-11-11T05:13:00.000-08:00

Today I am grateful for the service of others. In particular, I am grateful for the thousands of men and women who are serving and who have served our country. I feel so blessed with the freedoms I enjoy in this country, and I know that has come at the sacrifice of so many lives. Here in America, today is Veterans Day, an opportunity to celebrate and honor those who have served. I add my public thank you to everyone else who feels grateful for that service today.

Yesterday was a good day. Most of it was just the normal day-to-day stuff of grocery shopping, cleaning, baking, etc. Last night, we had a dinner for the women at church, and that was a lot of fun. After that, I drove about 30 minutes to my friend's Eileen house to watch Eclipse. I had never seen the Twilight movies, so she has been catching me up so we can go to the new movie next weekend! I'll admit that I only agreed because I thought it would be a fun girl activity! But I have enjoyed them more than I thought I would.

Here is today's template:

Download HERE

And the prompt for today: What service has someone given me that I'm thankful for?

Gratitude for Today!

2011-11-10T05:29:00.000-08:00

I'm posting this first thing this morning, especially the prompt for today, so you can be thinking of it all day! I think it is very easy to spend a good portion of our days thinking about the future. We may also spend a good amount remembering the past. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but we can't let it take away from today!

I had such an amazing experience yesterday. I have started swapping babysitting with my mother in law, who watches my nephews. On Mondays, I have my nephews and on wednesdays, she takes my two kids that are not in school yet. So from about 9:30 to 4:30, I have no children! It's a very unusual feeling for me! I had all kinds of plans for the day. I was going to do all the things I never can get to when I have little ones underfoot. Yesterday morning, my two oldest boys (ages 12 and 14) stayed home sick from school. Chipper had completely lost his voice after a week of doing Grease and truthfully, he was just plain exhausted. Mitchell was complaining of stomach cramps. He has been dealing with some social stress and bullying, as well as having celiac disease, so I kept him home just to be on the safe side. They both slept all morning and I got a few things done. When they got up, we decided to go out to lunch and then we drove around, looking at homes and just talking. After that, we went to the music store and to Sonic to get fun drinks. Although I didn't spend those afternoon hours as I had originally planned, and they weren't the most productive hours, it was amazing time spent with my boys who are growing way too fast! I'm sure I will look back and cherish our time yesterday, for many years to come!

Also, this morning, I have some layouts to show off! They are what I've been working on, in my free time this week!

You can find credits and leave love HERE

Now for today's Free Template!

Download HERE

And the prompt for today: What happened today that I'm grateful for?

Grateful for Fall

2011-11-09T07:22:00.000-08:00

I know that winter is coming, bringing snow and ice and dark days (which I love) but I also love the snippet of Fall that goes by way too quick! I love the crisp air and all the vibrant colors! I have always been fascinated by the beauty of Fall. In my opinion, it is the most beautiful time of the year. I love every season and enjoy many things about each time of the year, but Fall is so gorgeous! It literally takes my breath away.

Most of my life, I didn't get to fully enjoy this season. I grew up in southern Nevada where Fall meant a relief from the desert heat! Often the leaves went from green to dark brown and fell off, without much in between. And when I lived in Las Vegas, many trees didn't change at all! Palm trees don't lose their leaves each year.

This is my fourth Fall in Northern Utah, and I just can't get enough. I feel the same about snow, so you'll hear a lot about that as well! So, today, in honor of the daily prompt, I am grateful for the changing seasons and most particularly, autumn!

Download HERE

Today's Prompt: In my surroundings (physical), what am I most thankful for?

I also wanted to blog real quick about the events of yesterday. Overall, it was a good day, but I was a little tired, which always makes the day seem a little longer! Chipper's last performance was last night and I was able to go. I loved it! He did such a great job! Best of all, though, is all the friends he has made and how much fun he had. He loves the adults he worked with, especially his amazing theatre teacher. He was just beaming last night and a bit sad that it was all over. As a parent, I'm so grateful for teachers and adults who give so much of their time and energy to be a postive influence on these kids! It is a scary world, with all kinds of things that could draw him away. He could be experimenting with drugs or getting too serious with a girl. The fact that he spends all of his time and energy on something worthwhile and productive, is a great thing!

Gratitude for the little moments

2011-11-08T05:00:00.000-08:00

"Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you will look back and realize they were the big things."

I love this quote! I really do believe that it is the little moments of the every day that we will remember as the most significant moments! This is one of the reasons that I love to scrap about the every day! I hope that these templates are helping you to do the same!

Yesterday was a really good day. I took care of my two nephews, one is 3 and the other is 9 months old. It was the first time in a very long time that I've babysat for the whole day. I'll be perfectly honest in that this sort of thing has scared me to death! Eversince Sam was little between his constant illnesses that put us in and out of the hospital and then his various developmental delays, I had all I could handle. Taking on extra kids, for more than an hour or two, was way out of my comfort zone! Add to that a pregnancy, a new baby, post partum, as well as the health problems I've been dealing with over the past few years and well, it was all I could do to get through the day. I'll be honest, I wasn't enjoying too many of those little moments, back then!

But, with my improved health and things going so much better with Sam, I felt ready to take this on! I'm so glad I did! It was wonderful. Sure, it was a little extra work, but really not too bad! It helped that they are such sweet kids! And it was a blast watching my kids interact with their cousins. I loved every minute of it! I can't wait for next monday when I will have them again!

Today's template is a lot of fun because of the split photos in opposite corners! I hope you enjoy it!

Download HERE

Today's Prompt: What friend am I grateful for?

Bountiful Blessings

2011-11-07T05:10:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I find that going through life, with all its challenges and speed bumps, I find ways to just enjoy the journey the best I can. It may be tough to find the silver lining amongst all the dark clouds and then suddenly, completely out of the blue, something goes right. And I don't mean just a little right, but several big things just fall into place and I have almost forgotten what that feels like. This kind of sums up this past week, and while I know that next week things could just as quickly fall apart, I am thankful for all the blessings in my life-the good and the bad!

I'm really looking forward to my day. I am watching my 2 nephews and while it may make things just a little crazy, I think it will be a lot of fun. I have worked hard to get everything done ahead of time, so I can just enjoy the time with them! If it goes well, I'll have them every monday!

Download HERE

Today's prompt: What opportunities in my past am I most thankful for?

Continued Gratitude

2011-11-06T05:49:00.000-08:00

I think today I am most thankful for an extra hour of sleep! I sure love when the time changes in the Fall! I am also excited that it is Sunday. I love to go to church in the morning and then just relax and hang out with my family. Chipper has been so busy with his play, every night, that it will be really nice to just have him home! I can't wait!

Today's prompt is a little uncoventional. I think we often focus on our relationships and talents and other non-physical things, when we focus on gratitude. But I think it is also important to mention which possessions we own. Whether we are blessed with a lot or a little, its important to take the time and think about which material possessions we are grateful for:

What material possessions am I most grateful for?

And for today's template, we have:

Download HERE

Have a great Sunday!

Soooo late!

2011-11-05T21:46:00.000-07:00

Sorry that I didn't get this out, this morning. I totally spaced it! I think its because I have my little routine during the week. I usually post as my oldest boys are getting ready for school, before I need to make breakfast and lunches, etc. I get up at 6 am every week day, but today, I slept in until 8! It sort of threw everything off!

Here is the template for today:

Download HERE

For today's prompt:

In what ways am I blessed?

Simple Gratitude

2011-11-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

Good morning all! I hope that you are having a good month so far. I would love to hear if any of you are working on the gratitude journal, even if it is just in the thought process, at this point. For me, I have started it, but I will admit that some of the prompts are still in the thinking stage for me! I need the weekend to put the ideas in my head down on paper (or the computer, as it were!) I hope, that if nothing else, these daily thoughts get you thinking and make this month just a little more meaningful.

Most talk about Thanksgiving as a speed bump into Christmas, or a boring holiday that has nothing fun to do, all month long. I have to admit, for me, Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I love everything about it. I'm looking for ways to make the holiday last all month long so I can give my children an appreciation of this holiday. So, as I come up with ideas, I will be sharing them here!

Yesterday was such a busy day, but a fun one. I went to my son's performance of Grease last night and it was a blast! He did a great job. It is so much fun to watch him grow and progress, especially with his voice! He has come so far!

Thursdays are also my day to take Noah (my baby) to Kindermusic! He is so cute and I love watching him learn new things and interact with other children!

Yesterday, I mentioned that I had gotten some scrapping done, the day before and would share the layouts! Here they are, showing the kits I used and a link to each of them.

Kit I used:

Homespun

I love this one, of my hubby when he was a young boy!

This kit was perfect for scrapping this photo:

A Boy Thing

Lampposts in Winter

Each of these templates used one of the free templates, I will be giving out this month, so keep an eye out for them!

Here is today's freebie:

Download HERE

For today's prompt:

What Challenge in life am I grateful for?

One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful.
— Sigmund Freud

Grateful for Us

2011-11-03T06:23:00.000-07:00

Good morning, fabulous scrappers! I am really loving all your comments!! Thank you so much! I don't feel as much like I'm talking to myself! LOL!

I didn't get my layout scrapped yesterday, but I did finally get the idea of what to do so I'm hoping to work on it today. I found yesterday's prompt a difficult one. I think it is difficult to write about personal talents, because I never want to sound like I'm bragging. I really had to sit down and think and focus on it, which is always a good thing!

My son's play opened last night and he said it all went really well! I can't wait to see it. We're going tonight! He is playing Danny in the highschool broadway version of Grease. Hopefully, I'll have some pictures to post soon!

I have been working on my novel, but I only got 642 words written yesterday, so I need to really focus today and catch up! My goal is 3,000 words a day.

I did scrap a lot, though. With Digital Scrapbook Day starting this weekend, I had lots of fabulous products to work with and I wanted to get as many done as I could! I love the designers I work for and was just brought on as a CT member for The Digichick. I'm super excited about this gig! Later today, I'll post some of the layouts I've been working on. I used all of my own templates and some I haven't posted yet, so it will be a sneak peek!

Here is today's template:

Download HERE

The prompt for today is: What relationship am I most thankful for?

Here is my layout, with this prompt and using today's template:

credits: Grateful Heart by Lisa Sisneros and font is Hall Pass by Lisa Sisneros

Have a great day!

Be Grateful

2011-11-02T06:48:00.000-07:00

Good morning! Thank you for so many kind comments yesterday! It makes it so rewarding to give out freebies when people stop and say thank you! I greatly appreciate all those who have taken the time to express your thoughts!!

Today's template is here:

Download HERE

Gratitude prompt for today:

What talent are you most grateful for?

Inspire

2011-11-01T18:39:00.000-07:00

For anyone just joining us, if you are here for the blog train, check the post below for a link to the freebie! If you are here for the first time, you can read THIS post to find out the details of my November project.

I posted the free template and the prompt for today, this morning in the post below! I thought about the prompt all day as I tried to think of who inspires me. I feel like the criteria is for someone who not only does amazing things, but makes me want to be a better person. I also want this book to be completely current. While I have been inspired by many people throughout my life, the person who came to mind of recent is a woman by the name of Stephanie. She is the headmistress at Sam's school and has devoted her life to working with children with autism. I met her about 18 months ago and she continues to inspire me. I want to be more like her and have the same depth of love and compassion that I see her share every day with these children. I also am inspired by her constant smile and positive attitude.

So, I used today's free template to create a layout:

credits: kit is True Strength by Lisa Sisneros Designs Font is Mary Jane's Shoes also by Lisa Sisneros Designs

I am also very inspired by this song. Maybe it is because I have a child who is on the spectrum, but I have a great love for all of these children who battle so much more than I'll ever know. I hope someday, I can work in this field and share the inspiration I have felt!

What inspires you? I would love to hear your thoughts and to see your layouts!

Walk With Gratitude

2011-11-01T05:18:00.000-07:00

This month, I will be posting every morning. I may not get as much of my day to day life journaled this month, but along with my normal activities and posting here, I have set a goal to write a novel this month for NaNoWriMo! My goal is to write 2000 words a day, so I am going to be a little busy! I'm very excited!!!

Today, I have a special treat for you. I joined in with the LDS blog train this month and I am the first stop! So, welcome to anyone along the train who is stopping by! If this is your first visit here, please come in, take a look around and make yourself at home! I do daily template giveaways, so I'd love to see you back again!

The prompt for today is:

Who Inspire You?

Here is the freebie template for today:

Download HERE

If you like what you are seeing, please become a follower, subscribe, etc.! And definitely come back tomorrow!

For the blog train, here is the list of other sites:

Memory Clips by Ramona

Digital Designs by Jana

The Scrappy Pilgrim

My 4 Princesses Designs

Plum Dumpling Designs

Word Art World

Priceless Moments by Melia

Steadfast and Immovable

Cocoroos Scraps

Alevtina Scraps

Psychozoe Designs

Crafty Digital Designs

Fran B Designs

Let Me Scrapbook

Hot Pink Pansy

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T20:35:00.000-07:00

For anyone who celebrated Halloween today, I hope you had a safe and wonderful day. And for those who are buried in feet of snow in the northeast, I hope there was some semblance of Halloween and fun in your day!

Today was busy but good. I started out the day by taking Sam to the dentist to have 2 cavities filled. While he was doing that, I ran to Target to grab a few last minute items for Abby's party. On the way home, we stopped and picked up the labels I had had printed for the drinks. I took Sam and Olivia to school and John and I went to Sizzler for lunch. It is a simple lunch, but one of the few places I can eat out safely. I always get a steak with either cooked broccoli or mashed sweet potatoes.

After lunch, I finished the preparations and headed out for the school. Abby's class is wonderful. There were 30 5th graders and I was impressed with what great kids they all were! We had a fun party! Afterwards, we came home and got things ready for dinner. I made pizza, two different kinds. I did a gluten free one for the kids, but Mitchell did all the work on the crust and it turned out fabulous. For me, I made a cauliflower pizza crust which I have come to really love! It's simple, only three ingredients and carb free. It has grated cauliflower, grated mozzarella cheese and 1 egg. Crazy to think those three things can turn into a pizza crust!

Before I knew it, it was time to get costumes on and head out trick or treating. Abby was sweet enough to stay behind and hand out candy while John and I took the little ones out. They had a blast and were so cute, going from house to house!

It was a great evening! I even have a few pictures to share!

Here we are in our Angry Bird glory:

Sam loved wearing his costume all day! This whole costume thing was inspired by him and his love of angry birds, but I wasn't sure if he would really wear his costume or not. Oh, but he did! He wore it at the dentist office, he wore it all day at school and I'm surprised he didn't try to sleep in it!

For the freebie tonight, as promised, I have the template for November's desktop! I hope you enjoy it! Be sure to be here tomorrow night for our first template and journaling prompt! It's going to be awesome!

Download HERE

New Look

2011-10-30T20:39:00.000-07:00

I couldn't wait any longer and decided to unveil the new look tonight! I'm also going to tell you the details I have planned for November. I'm really excited about it!

First, just a quick run down of my day! We went to church this morning and worked in our nursery class. We had 12 kids today, so it was a little hectic, but fun! I sure love those kids!

After church, we came home and relaxed for awhile. Around 5, some friends of ours came over for dinner and we had such a great time hanging out and visiting. They have 6 kids too, many of whom match up with our kids, and it was a blast!

Now, for my November plan:

Many years ago, when my 2nd son (now 12) was 2 1/2, he was in and out of the hospital every six weeks with pneumonia. The doctors couldn't find the cause, but did discover that he had a collapsed lung during all of it. In between his times of being sick, the lung wasn't recovering and they were doing all sorts of invasive testing to discover the cause. It was a very difficult time. I had a brand new baby who was under 6 months old and my husband was in his first year of law school. We had sold our home and were living in a small apartment. I remember being reminded that I should remember to be grateful for everything. I was astounded. How could I be grateful for such a difficult time in my life? Why, with everything else I was dealing with, should I be expected to feel gratitude? This troubled me a lot and caused me to do some heavy thinking about what gratitude is and why can it change our lives? I couldn't see it at the time, but gratitude actually had the power to lift my burdens and make that difficult time much better.

"Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content." Helen Keller

"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others."Cicero

“No one is as capable of gratitude as one who has emerged from the kingdom of night.” Elie Wiesel

Perhaps a few who have suffered much more than I did and who lived long before me, figured out this great truth in life. There really is no way to elevate ourselves from whatever state we may be in without gratitude.

And with November being a month of Thanksgiving, for us here in the States, I figured it would be a great time to focus on gratitude and to complete a project! Each day, I will be giving out a free template to scrap with. But I will also be posting a prompt to get you thinking, writing and scrapping. If you complete each prompt, whether it be writing it in a journal or turning it into a scrapbook album, at the end of the month, you will have a gratitude journal. I plan to scrap mine and print it! I will be sharing much of my progress as I go along and hope that many of you will too! Feel free to email me links or post them in the comments and I will share them in my daily posts.

It has been said,

“You simply will not be the same person from now
after consciously giving thanks each day
for the abundance that exists in your life. And you
will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the
more you have and are grateful for, the more will be
given you.” — Sarah Ban Breathnach

I can't wait to begin this journey with all of you! Tomorrow I will have the November desktop template as your freebie and starting on Tuesday, I will have a template and a prompt! Spread the word! Let's make the November the most thankful one yet!

For tonight's freebie, I have another title. I thought this would look so cute on many Halloween pages!

Download HERE

Angry Birds Everywhere!

2011-10-29T20:10:00.000-07:00

I can't wait to post our picture, but we had so much fun tonight at our ward's halloween party! Sam was in heaven! He looked so great in his costume! They all did! Mitchell dressed up as a vampire, and my goodness, he looked just like a smaller version of Edward from twilight! I had to laugh! Abby was a genie and looked so cute! Chipper wasn't able to come until late because he had rehearsal from 9 am to 6:30! Crazy!

As for the rest of the day, Mitchell's party was a hit, John took the kids to see The Smurf movie and they loved it! We got all the things done that we needed to, including a fun little treat for our nursery class tomorrow. I'm excited to have our friends over for dinner and plan to spend lots of time visiting! Life is good!

I'm getting more and more excited to unveil my plans for November. I'll give you a hint though, it will invovle one FREE full template every single day! And I've gone all out for these! They are turning out so fun! I'm way excited!!

Anyway, just a few more days! For tonight's freebie, I have another card template! I even have an example for you! Crystal made this cute card, using the template!

Here is the preview:

Download HERE

Busy Friday

2011-10-28T21:58:00.000-07:00

Today was another pretty crazy day! I'm trying to get everything ready for the weekend. We have a party for Mitchell tomorrow afternoon, Chipper has his dress rehearsal from 10 am to 5 pm and at 6 pm we have a ward Halloween activity. We need to have our costumes done in time for this and I signed up to bring a beanless chili and gluten free cornbread. Sunday, I want to take a fun treat to my nursery kids and we are having a family over for dinner. Monday is Halloween, but I scheduled Sam for a dentist appointment that morning and I'm the room mother in charge of Abby's party that afternoon! Needless to say, things will be crazy for the next few days, but I'm hoping to minimize the craziness by getting as much prep work done today! I still need to finish the last touches on the costumes, but other than that, I think I have everything ready to go! Cross your fingers for me!

I also got to meet my good friend Angie for lunch! I just love visiting with her. She is one of my digi friends that lives close and we've become very good friends! I am also on her Creative Team and get to work with her designs, which are awesome! I will be showing some of them off in the coming weeks!

For tonight's freebie, I have another paper stacker for you!

Download HERE

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Consequences

2011-10-27T20:23:00.000-07:00

The hard part about deciding to lay down the law for kids is having to follow through with the consequences. It really stinks when you have to follow through! One of my children didn't take me serious and without my constant nagging, it was easy for him to put everything off until the last 20 minutes and then rush to get it done. Only problem was that this time, he didn't have enough time to finish, and I wasn't in the mood for second chances or extensions. I think it will be a very quiet and boring weekend for him, but maybe this will be the lesson he needs! Only time will tell!

Oh and I made the very most delicious gluten free brownies today! Yum! It was a simple recipe that I found on All Recipe. Here it is:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/ghirardelli-fudgy-gluten-free-brownies/detail.aspx?extkb=1

The kids loved them and they didn't stay long at our house!

For tonight's freebie, I have a cute little wordart. It's simple, but I can picture it on so many types of layouts! I hope you have some use for it!

Download HERE

Just a few more days until I unveil my new plans and my new look! I can't wait!!

Meltdown

2011-10-26T20:16:00.000-07:00

I will admit that today was a day of meltdowns and not just from my kids! I had a few of my own. Does anyone else ever have these days? It seemed like from the moment everyone woke up, everything seemed to set us all off! It must have been the weather or something! It was cold!

One of my big pet peeves lately has been my kids not doing their chores in a timely manner. I'm sure no one else has ever battled this one! Most days, my kids go through the motions, but the smallest things distract them and by bedtime, only half of their chores are done. I hate this! But, as soon as a friend calls or something fun comes along, then they hurry and finish that day and do a pretty good job. I have been struggling with how I can teach my kids to not procrastinate, but just get in and get their stuff done so they can do other fun things.

Today, after one of my meltdowns, when I was ready to hand over my mommy name badge and walk away, I came up with a plan! My kids were thrilled that I had yet another "brilliant" plan! But I think it will work! First of all, no t.v., computer, video games, etc. except on weekends. I didn't even turn the tv on today and man, it was nice! I love the quiet! This, of course, did bring on a few meltdowns from the toddler-but he'll get over it! Second, they have a list of chores each day to complete. If not completed and checked off by bedtime, they lose their points for the day which means no fun things on the weekends, i.e. no friends, no parties, no technology, etc. I told them that even missing one chore on one day, meant they could spend the weekend reading or helping out. We'll see how this works. I am desperate!!

I did get most of the costumes done for Halloween! Nothing like sewing 4 angry bird costumes in one day! But they turned out so cute! I just have a few final touches and they'll be done!

For tonight's freebie, in honor of the upcoming Halloween holiday, I made this fun little subway art. I did a google search for the top 15 halloween songs! They go in order from number 15 down to number 1! I hope you enjoy it!

Download HERE

Have a great evening!

Cornbelly's

2011-10-25T21:44:00.000-07:00

Today was a fun day! Sam had his annual field trip to Cornbelly's, a super fun pumpkin patch. At first, he told me he didn't want me to come because it was just for his teacher and friends. I have to admit, hearing this from my 7 year old son who has always needed me more than my other kids, kind of broke my heart! I was strong though-didn't shed any tears and let him have his independence. Lucky for me, his teacher texted me, an hour later, saying that he wanted me to come! Noah and I, after lunch, met the others at Sam's school to help drive. We had a great time. Sam still didn't want much to do with Noah or I, while we were there, but I think he was happy to have us with him.

As for this dreaded flu bug, my poor hubby woke up with it this morning and Chipper came home from play practice-just feeling awful. He thought he had it yesterday, but it wasn't as bad as today. I do think we are all done with it now though. Thank heavens!!

Tomorrow, I plan to spend the day sewing and cleaning. Halloween is coming up way too fast. I've got costumes to finish, Mitchell's party on Saturday to plan and the final details to put together for Abby's school party on Monday. I'm the room mother in her class, which I'm so excited about!

I am also spending a bit of time, each day, working on my plan for November. It is coming along so well! I can't wait to reveal it all!! I'm also trying to get a good head start on it all because I have decided to do NANOWRIMO this year! I plan to write an entire novel (approx. 90,000 words) during the month of November. I may be crazy, but I'm going to give it my all!! This is my chance to do something for me. Most of my time is spent doing for my family and others-which I love to do, but I'm excited to focus on me this next month!

My freebie for today is a photo cluster.

Download HERE

Enjoy and have a great evening!

Changes Coming

2011-10-24T18:57:00.000-07:00

I'm super excited about my plans for November. I have a whole new look for the blog planned and a really great project! I can't wait to unveil it all! Check in each day, as I might give clues as to what is coming and you definitely don't want to miss next Tuesday!!

Today was a rough day. I woke up in the middle of the night with the flu and spent most of the day on the couch feeling like crap! My three older kids were also sick, so it was a fun day! I am praying that tomorrow things are back to normal. I don't do sick well!

For the freebie tonight, I have two page edgers that are layered, so you can use paper to fancy them up a bit! Or leave the layer off for a more simple look.

Download HERE

Have a great night!

Okay, I'm done now!

2011-10-23T21:17:00.000-07:00

One sick kiddo turned into 3 today! I'm just praying my older 3 don't get it too. I'm so done with cleaning up messes and doing laundry! I'm glad that illness doesn't come along too often! I don't do well with it! I did get some scrapping done, though, in between the cleaning and the snuggles!

Here are a few layouts, I've completed over the weekend:

All three of the kits that I used for these layouts are by a new designer I just started CT'ing for! I LOVE her work! Her name is Lisa Sisneros and here is a link to her STORE:

I love finding new designers and getting to play with their awesome products! She also creates fonts and she has some amazing ones! I am a font freak! LOVE good fonts!!

For the freebie tonight, I have a photo cluster! This can be used at the size it is or even made smaller to give more white space in the layout.

Download HERE

Here are some layouts, using the photo cluster. Thanks Natalee and Amy!

Have a great evening!

Sick Kiddo

2011-10-22T22:41:00.000-07:00

Nothing like ending a great day with one of your children puking and puking! Poor Sam! He never gets the flu, so this has been new for him. I just feel so bad for him!

Other than him getting sick, today was a really good day. It was a nice catch up day-which I really needed! First, I went grocery shopping. After that, I made lunch and took a short nap, waiting for the BYU football game to start and then helped the kids clean out the van. For dinner, I made homemade pizza and a cauliflower pizza crust for me, so that there were no grains in it. It was actually really yummy! I'm excited to find a carb free-high protein way to eat pizza! We love pizza!

It was about that moment, that we realized something was a bit off with Sam. He wouldn't eat anything and was just extra cranky. Then he was mean to Noah, so we made him stay home with the older boys, while we took the younger kids to the park. We were finishing up at the park, when Mitchell called to say that he had thrown up.

Now, its almost midnight and I've been watching Modern Family re-runs and scrapping and helping him every so often. I think it may be a long night!

Today's freebie is another photo mask. I really like this one-its simple, but classy and can be used in so many ways! Look at the example that Amy made with it:

And here is the preview:

Download HERE

Family Photos

2011-10-21T21:53:00.000-07:00

Today we did family photos and I'm so happy with how they turned out! We had a blast. All of John's family who lives close met at the waterfall up the canyon and I took bunches of pictures of all of us! The kids had so much fun together! The only negative was that the sun went down way too quick!

Here are just a few of our pics of the day!

Today's freebie is another title. The font is by Darci Baldwin and it is layered so you can completely make it your own!

Download HERE

Lagoon

2011-10-21T06:29:00.000-07:00

Wow! Yesterday was so much fun! I wasn't expecting things to go so well, but they did. We spent 8 and 1/2 hours there and Sam did awesome. He didn't have a single meltdown the entire time. I'm thrilled that we can finally enjoy theme parks again, as a family. It used to be one of our favorite things to do and we've put it on hold for 3 long years.

Here are a few pictures of our fun day!

He loved every ride he went on! And the rides he rode varied from the little kiddie rides to the great big scary rides. Nothing scared him! I had no idea he was such a little dare devil! I can't wait to go again!

For today's freebie, I have a set of recipe cards. With the holidays coming, I am all about the baking! I layered everything so you don't have to use the lines or any part of it and can customize it to make it your own!

Download HERE

Enjoy!

Picnic at the Park

2011-10-20T06:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry that I didn't blog last night. It was after midnight before I got home and was just too tired to think straight! I'll post now and then again tonight!

The day was a busy one (I know, I know, I say that a lot!). The kids all had school and I spent the morning working on laundry and scrapping a few layouts. After we got my Kindergartener off to school (afternoon session), hubby took me out to lunch! I then did a little shopping for clothes for our pictures on friday.

After I picked everyone up from school, we took Abby to her vision therapy session. While she was there, we ran to the store and bought some picnic supplies. Because our family has to eat gluten free, picnics are a rather different looking for us! We usually get 2 of the rotessiere chickens, a bag of corn chips, fresh salsa and cheese. Yummy!

After picking up Abby, we went to a super cute park close by. It is all wooden and built like a big maze with tons of activities for the kids. The weather was perfect. A cool Fall evening, with all the changing leaves and as the sun went down-I swear it was complete perfection.

We got back home a little after 7 and I dropped everyone off, except Chipper. I took Chipper to his voice lesson and headed to Salt Lake City (about 40 minutes away) to meet with my dear friend, Eileen! She and I met through digiland almost 4 years ago and she moved to this area last year. We get together monthly for a girl's night out. We usually have a few more digifriends meet us, as well, but they both had sick families. So, it was just she and I, and we enjoyed the 2nd Twilight movie. It was my first time seeing it. I know-that makes me way in the minority. I've only read the first book, and I'll be honest in saying that I wasn't all that impressed. But I will admit that I quite enjoyed the movie!

Today, I'm headed off to Lagoon (an amusement park) with my son Mitchell and Sam. I'm taking Mitchell as his reward for going a year without soda. And I'm taking Sam because I don't want to leave him home with my oldest and the other kids for that long. He's a bit of a handful to babysit! All the kids are out on fall break, and Chipper is watching my other kids, but I figured it might be nice to just take Sam. Plus, the last time we went to Disneyland, he was barely 4 years old and it was a total nightmare. He had one meltdown after another and standing in line was complete chaos. I'm hoping to see some positive signs today and where I'll really only have to focus on him, it should be a good chance to see how he'll do. He's very excited. He calls it Disneyland and can't wait! Mitchell is excited too and loves all the big rides that I'm way too scared to go on! Another perk of having Sam with me, is that no one will look at me strange if I'm riding the kiddie rides!!

My freebie for today is a siggy template. I'm not sure if there is much demand for these, but I thought I would throw it out there, all the same! I know for me, I love using siggy's in the digiland forums, but I sometimes struggle with knowing where to start. A basic template gives me a good basis. Also, this is sized to fit the guidelines at most place or you can resize if needed!

Download HERE

Enjoy! And feel free to leave me a comment if you want to see more siggy templates! Have a great day!

Sensory Issues

2011-10-18T20:11:00.000-07:00

Every Tuesday, Sam and I go to a sensory class for a grant through Easter Seals. It is free, except for $15 for the supplies. It has been such a good experience and I'm learning so much. Sensory issues are tough and they are something I knew nothing about just a few years ago. I guess it is one more area of knowledge I'm getting the privilege of figuring out! Actually, though, I love it! I am so intrigued by all the different strategies that can be used to calm or alert a child. So many of Sam's "behavior" problems are actually linked to his sensory issues and that is so nice to know. It throws out all the strategies of discipline I may have used with my kids in the past, but those honestly don't work with a special needs child. It is making such a difference in our day to day family life to know the little things I can do to help him. For example, when he plays on the computer, he can sort of zone out and hates to be interrupted. By having him sit on an exercise ball, while he playes, he stays more focused and doesn't melt when his time is up. When he is crazy and silly and bouncing off the walls, I pull him into my lap and we rock back and forth. Then I massage his arms and do a little popping motion into all of his arm, hand and finger joints and he literally turns to jello in my arms. He calms right down. These little tricks are like gold to a mom! Believe me!

Other than that today, I did some coupon shopping (one of my favorite hobbies), scrapped 3 layouts, make 2 loaves of pumpkin bread and tried to enjoy my kids! The days go by so fast and I can hardly keep up, but I'm thankful for my journaling time-at the end of each day! It helps me account for what I've done and what I've wished I'd done!

Tonight's freebie is another card. I haven't had a chance to play with this one, so I hope it works okay!

Download HERE

I would love to see any projects you do with my templates! Feel free to leave a comment, link me up, etc.! I hope you are enjoying them!

Tired

2011-10-17T17:50:00.000-07:00

I think the busy and emotional weekend, caught up to me. On top of that, last night, Noah woke up about midnight in pain. We couldn't figure out if it was ears or his head. He hasn't been sick, but he did seem a little stuffy last night. He just cried and cried. He didn't calm down and go back to sleep until after 3 am. That can make for a very long night and next day! He was fine this morning when he woke up, so I don't really know what the deal was. We used essential oils on him and they would help him for short periods of time and then we'd need to reapply. I hope tonight is not a repeat!

Most of today was spent going through the motions of what needed to get done, but feeling more like a zombie-maybe a little too fitting for October! LOL! I just have one more child to take and pick up from voice and then I think it will be an early night for all us!

For my freebie tonight, I have a paper stack. I have a layout I made with it, but the kit won't be released until Friday, so I'll show it to you then!!

Download HERE

Sorry for such a short entry! I hope to be back to 100% by tomorrow!

Fix You

2011-10-16T19:34:00.000-07:00

I created this layout a few weeks ago. This is my son Sam who I talk about often in my posts! He is seven years old and was born with xxyy syndrome, apraxia of speech, hypotonia, Sensory Processing Disorder and is on the Autism Spectrum. That's quite the list for such a sweet boy! This song by Cold Play seems to express so many emotions that we have felt throughout the seven year ordeal. And not that I truly think that I can "fix him", I work hard every day to find the things that will give him the happiest life possible. I want him to experience a full life and be the best that he can be and for him to have joy.

I also found out tonight that this layout was chosen as the Layout of the month at ScrapMatters, which made my week! I don't always have a lot of confidence in my layouts, but I do my best to share my story and truly, scrapping has been an amazing outlet for me, over the years.

Today was also a very emotional day, in regards to this. For church today, we had the youth in our area that were special needs and all of their "buddies" come and sing for us and one of the families spoke. Their son is a beautiful 16 year old boy with autism. He spoke, as well, and I wept through every word. I was truly a mess, by the end of the meeting, because of all my tears, but I don't care.

The past 7 years have been extremely difficult ones. There have been days that were so hard I just wanted to quit and truly, those days outnumbered the good ones. But it was such a lonely road. I felt so utterly alone on so many days and judged every time we went out into public. It wasn't really what people said, but more the looks and the things unsaid. I know that no one meant any harm and most were just unsure of the situation. Sam doesn't look disabled and at times, it would be easy for people to think he just had bad parents who let him get away with everything.

But today, as I sat in this meeting with so many youth and adults with all different kinds of special needs, I felt okay that we were different. It was okay that my son seems really naughty some days and has meltdowns in public and has even peed on me at church once. It's okay because it is who he is and he is wonderful-just as he is! I don't understand all things. I don't know why so many beautiful children in this world live their whole lives struggling with disabilities. But I do know that they have far more to offer us, then we could ever give to them. The gift, in my life, has been this beautiful boy who has taught me more, made me feel more, made me cry more, made me laugh more and makes me rejoice every day for this experience!

And because this song has hit home so much this weekend, I thought I would share the youtube video of it. Enjoy!

For tonight's freebie, I have a wordart for you. I hope you enjoy it!

Download HERE

Check out this amazing layout by Amy!!

A little late

2011-10-16T05:40:00.000-07:00

I feel awful that I didn't post last night. It was such a busy day and I was exhausted by 10 pm and fell into bed! I found out, on friday night, that yesterday was the costume check off and photo shoot for Chipper and his play. We hadn't bought a single thing from a 3 page list of costume parts and supplies. So, he and I got up at 6 am and got started. We even had to dye his hair-and all this by 10 am! Insane! We got everything done in time and I ran him over to the school. We checked everything off and ran back home. I had to be out at the clubhouse of the golf course where we were doing the gala for Sam's school by 11. I was there until 2, helping to set up and get things ready. By the time I got home and grabbed a bite to eat, I was exhausted. I sat down with the family to watch the BYU game and dozed off a little! At 4, I picked Chipper up from his photoshoot and then started getting ready for the gala. We left at 5:30. Chipper performed during the silent auction and his number was fantastic! Dinner and the program was amazing and it was a great time! We got home a little after 9 and got kids to bed. By that point, I looked at the computer-knew I should quickly blog-but went to bed instead! It's probably good since Sam woke me up a little after 6!

Here are a couple of pictures of Chipper, all dolled up in his costume!

The play is just a few weeks away, and I'm getting very excited!!

The freebie for today (well yesterday actually) is another subway art! I'm so excited with how this turned out and can't wait to print one to hang on my wall!

Download HERE

I'll be back tonight with more!

Glorious Friday!

2011-10-14T14:57:00.000-07:00

I really, really, really love fridays! I am so ready, especially this week, to have a break from the endless driving! Plus, hubby and I are going out tonight for dinner and a movie! This is why I'm blogging early! We are going out with his sister and her husband, which will be very fun! We're going to watch "Captain America". I'll admit, I'm not the most excited to see this, so hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised. I'm just not all that into super hero movies and such! If we aren't too tired, afterwards, we're going to stay and watch "Crazy, Stupid, Love". Now that movie is right down my ally! I've already seen it, when it first came out, but I will happily watch it again! Love that movie!

Today, I got tons of cleaning and laundry done! I'm still a bit behind, but not near as bad as it was. Hubby helped me by doing some of the driving, so that helped a ton! I also made gluten free cookies for the kids and gluten free pizza crust. I didn't want the kids to have a boring evening, while we were out, so I figured homemade pizza and chocolate chip cookies would help!

The freebie for today is a little freebie cluster. Hope you enjoy it!

Download HERE

Have a great weekend!

I also want to give a shout out for an AWESOME sale going on! I LOVE JadyDay Studio products and lots of gorgeous products for 50% off!

Chinese Pigtails

2011-10-13T20:42:00.000-07:00

Today was so crazy busy that I am ready to drop! I swear something has to give, because I don't think I can keep up this pace! Before I get into the crazy stuff, though, I have a picture to share with you and a cute story from my 5 year old. Man, I love that girl!

It's kind of hard to tell from this photo, but I did her hair in pigtails, but I tucked the ends in-more like little buns on each side of her head. She kept calling them "Chinese Pigtails", saying that that is how all little Chinese girls wear their hair. I had no idea where she had come up with that and then I remembered one of her favorite cartoons:

So, from here on out, we will forever call that hair do, her Chinese pigtails! My Olivia is such a sweet girl and I love her so much. She is a ray of sunshine in our lives!

So, our schedule today consisted of Kindermusic with Noah from 10-11, visiting with grandma from 11-12, lunch and getting Olivia off to Kindergarten 12-1, slipped in a quick nap with Noah 1-2, made lasagna for dinner and got it put in the oven 2-3, picking up kids, dropping kids off, picking up more kids 3-4, take Abby to vision therapy and pick up cards for tonight, 4:30-5, quickly feed everyone dinner, grab 2 bites myself, pick up Abby from Vision therapy 5-6. Take Chipper to dance, take hubby to pick up computer, grab a treat for everyone 6-7. Somewhere in there I got Mitchell out the door for his scout activity and tried to squeeze in a few hugs and kisses! We're off to pick up Chipper from dance in a few minutes and then hopefully get everyone to bed! What didn't get done today was cleaning, yard work or laundry-hopefully tomorrow! I'm thinking I need to make the kids help more with those 3 activities-since I spend so much time driving them around and helping their activities to happen. Anyone have any good tips or ideas for doing this?

For tonight's freebie, I am in love with how this turned out! It's a photo mask, nothing fancy, but I think it is fun and makes a photo look so pretty and festive! I used a pic of my little one, last year at the pumpkin patch!

Download HERE

I also have some layouts to show off! These are both for kits that released today and I'm really happy with how they turned out.

The first layout was done with a template from Little Frog Designs. Even though I create a lot of my own templates, sometimes it is fun to use templates from other designers! I have always loved templates-making them and using them! The kit I used is a brand new release from Jady Day Studios. It is a darling kit and I'll show a linked picture of it below my layout!

And this next layout is of some pictures from 5 years ago! I had a lot of fun scrapping them, even though it made me so sad to realize that it feels like just yesterday and my kiddos are growing up way too fast!

and the kit I used for this one is:

Have a great evening and check back in tomorrow!!

Footnotes

2011-10-12T18:23:00.000-07:00

Today was another busy day! The highlight of the day, though was Chipper's choir concert. He is in Footnotes, the audition choir at his Jr. High. He did such a great job and looked awesome! It was nice of them to do two performances tonight so that I could go to the first and John could go to the second. This way we didn't have to take any children and wrestle them during the perfomance! It was a verynice treat!

Leading up to that was lots of craziness. I did some more baking while the kids were at school and made some grain free chocolate chip cookies for me. I used Stevia to sweeten it, but it didn't work quite like I planned! I think I'll need to do some more experiments! They were yummy anyway, so I don't mind that I need to keep tweaking the recipe! I made gluten free cinnamon pull aparts for the kids, but it turned out more like cinnamon bread. They loved it, so that is the most important thing!

After that it was time to pick up Mitchell from school. I had a few minutes before leaving to go get Abby and Sam and then John and I ran some errands and picked up Chipper from play practice. I knew we were severely limited on time, so we grabbed some In and Out Burgers (protein style) and it was a good thing as we got back home at 5:15 and Mitchell needed to be to Rock Band practice by 5:30. Chipper and I needed to be at the school by 5:45 and I needed to hem his pants before then! It is always nice when your teenager informs you of the need for his pants to be mended-the day of! Fortunately, I had some pins that will hold them together until I can sit down with a needle and thread!

Now, I am quickly blogging before getting the kids ready for bed! I'm looking forward to some fun t.v. tonight and plan to finish up a few of the costumes while we're watching!

Tonight's freebie is a title. I wanted to do something super versatile, so I chose the word family! I'm sure there are lots of layouts where this could come in handy! At least I hope so! It's saved with each individual letter as a layer, so you can dress it up however you want!!

Download HERE

If there are certain freebies you especially like or things you wish I would make more of or add to the rotation, please let me know! I do have some fun themed things planned for November and December, so be prepared for lots of downloading fun!!