Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

I would just like to take a moment and wish everyone a safe and happy holiday. I love this time of year, the joy, the wonder and the excitement. We are off to Gatlinburg to spend Christmas there with family. I hope everyone enjoys the day and remembers the reason for the season. Merry Christmas and God Bless you all!!! Enjoy your time with family and friends.

These are some more layouts I have done over the past few days. I have finally had a chance to scrap again and it feels so good. I have gotten 7 done in a couple of days and I have a few more that I will get loaded as soon as I finish them.
Peebles Inc pp. Making Memories rub on white letters, Heidi Swap rhinestone circle, doodlebug alphas. What am I? A Scary Dragon of course! Is

what Patrick would say anytime someone commented on his costume. He got so upset anytime someone thought he was a dinosaur. The second one is of a friend of mines little girl. From a photo shoot at Christmas last year. KI Memories lace cardstock...I LOVE this stuff!!!! Upsy Daisy pp from paperpospicles.com
I did this layout for the December Contest at Paper Popsicles. Everything is from Paper Popsicles.
This is from our trip to Day out with Thomas. Basic Grey pp, Heidi Swapp black alphas, Doodlebug sugar coated alphas, KI Memories stickers.
This one is from our trip to Destin. On the way home we came through PC so we could go to the aquarium. All papers and buttons are from a kit at Scrapdango.com

These are a few of the pages I have done with the wonderful box of goodies that Melissa at Paper Popsicles sent me for the Guest Designer spot for December...

If you have never checked out Paper Popsicles you should. Melissa has some great prices and such wonderful kits every month. http://www.paperpopsicles.com/

Everything was in this kit except for the buttons, brads, thickers, ribbon and the grungeboard swirl!!! I am having such a fun time playing with these goodies.
This is Patrick's first Easter portrait. It is still my favorite photo I think...I love his concentration.
This is my nephew, Carsyn. Can you tell he enjoyed his first birthday cake?
Patrick again! This was his second Easter.

First off I would like to put the word out there about a friend that I meet through Paper Popsicles, a wonderful kit club with a really great message board. I am proud to say that I knew her before she becomes famous.
Sheila has followed her dream and made it a reality. She designs and makes her own acrylic stamps. You should go check them out at Thats Jazzy Stamp Dreams.

Or you can find her designs at Paper Popsicles. They are so cute, I can't wait to get my hands on some of them.

Wow, I don't even know where to begin about how busy the last few weeks have been. The Sunday after thanksgiving (25th) Patrick and I flew to Knoxville to visit with my aunt who is not doing so well. We stayed for 5 days and it was so nice to be able to spend time with family that we haven't seen in awhile. Even if it was under sad circumstances.
Since we have been home we have finally gotten the house decorated for Christmas, and have made and painted ornaments twice, once with our cousins and the other time with playgroup. We have had our Christmas parade, Christmas photo shoot, and Victorian Christmas at Landmark Park. It is really cool like a step back in time. The kids made ornaments, a small broom of pinestraw and a stick (but it is so cute), a tin punched lid ( I actually held a nail and let Patrick hammer, I must be nuts...lol, but he never hit me so it was all good). It was a lot of fun we will do it again for sure.
I have also been trying to get things together for our trip to the mountains for Christmas. I can't wait for this trip, our family and my cousin, LaShelle and her family will be spending Dec. 22-26 in the mountains.
I have gotten some holiday decorations made and a couple of layouts. I hope to be able to post some soon. Since I haven't actually posted any scrappy stuff in awhile.
I hope everyone has a wonderful and magical Christmas!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I also hope everyone got to spend a lot of time with family and friends. We had thanksgiving at our house this year. I made the turkey...I am very glad to say that it turned out great. I don't do turkeys too often. Mostly it was just Nicks family, his sisters and their families and his mom. And my cousin and her family came. We had a great time and lots of great food. I hope to get some scrapping done tonight. Hopefully I will be able to post some layouts soon. My SIL will be hitting the sales tomorrow. Yes, I know I am crazy to go...but I only have a few things left to get and I love to watch all the people...lol.

Then on Saturday Patrick and I will be leaving for Knoxville to visit with my aunt. She was diagnosed with cancer a little over a year ago and it has gotten really bad, they only give her a week or so right now. So we are going up to see her.

So I decided to put myself out there and I applied for the Design Team at Moxxie. I am really excited and nervious. I love their products, I just wish our LSS carried more of their products. I guess I should talk to them about it. I know I could order them on line but I love to touch and feel the papers....lol. It is just one of my quirks I guess.
Now all I have to do is wait. But that will be a little bit easier since I am going out of town in the morning. Patrick and I are leaving for Mississippi to see my best friend and her family before the holidays. We will be home on Sunday and I think my nephew will be coming home with us for Thanksgiving. It is so hard to believe that Thanksgiving is only two weeks away. Wow time sure does fly by.
Have a great week everyone and I will update when I get home.

~~~Our busy Weekend~~~

We have had a really busy weekend. First off we went to the Peanut Festival on Saturday night. It is a yearly event around here. It lasted for 10 days this year. It is an annual event that started in 1938 and the carnival rides were added in 1953. There are rides, food and games. Local vendors all the tractor companies have huge displays. There is a pagent, parade, petting zoo and exotic animals. Here is a link you can check out the activities.. http://www.nationalpeanutfestival.com/
This year they had elephant rides, camels and monkeys. Here is a pic of Patrick and our niece with the monkey. I felt so sorry for the little guy, they had a collar around his neck. Normally I wouldn't have paid for a picture because of this act alone. It just seems so cruel. But the monkey and the picture had been talked up to Patrick so much by family that I couldn't get out of it.
I have to say that we get off really cheap going to these things because Patrick doesn't like the rides. I still think they mess with his ears. Patrick and I went with my MIL and niece this year. He did have fun with the games, I let him play a few of them. Of course the tractor displays were the best for him. We spent alot of time with them and the petting zoo. He even spent some of his bday money at the John Deere booth.


Then on Sunday, my cousin and I took our 2 boys to see The Wiggles in Atlanta. It was a really great show and we had AMAZING seats. From the floor we were 7 rows up, about even with the stage.
Of course Patrick was trying to act all serious to begin with. He has gotten to where he tries to act like he doesn't like them but he still will only wear Wiggles underwear and he watchs them and walks around singing their songs all the time. It did take Patrick awhile to understand who Sam was (he is the new yellow wiggle that took Gregs place, when he had to leave the group). This is the first time he has seen anything with Sam in it. He kept asking where Greg was, and then he would say there he is. He thought it was Greg until he started talking or singing.
Patrick and Jaise really enjoyed themselves, and so did we. They really do put on a great show. We saw them last year in Mobile too and it was just as good this year. If your kiddos love The Wiggles, then I would highly recommend you go and see them. It is so worth the money and the memories.






Afterward we went to eat at this little Mexican place, it was really yummy. We went to Bass Pro Shop so the boys could look around, they love this place. They had all of the Christmas displays up already, including a full size sleigh and reighdeer. And a huge rock formation with Moose, mountain lions and goats. Here are a few pics of the boys, they are kind of blurred. I hope that my cousin had some come out better, we were taking them with our cellphones.


Now that our busy weekend is over I hope I will be able to get some scrapping done.

Our Trip to the ER!

So on Wed. we had a bit of drama around here. We were getting ready to leave to go to playgroup. And on the way out Patrick ran ahead and being him, he reached to play with the fishing rods on the way off the porch. And of all the things to happen. He managed to get a fish hook in his ring finger. Of course he screamed and cried and tried to pull away causing it to go in farther. I ended up having to bite the line so he wouldn't keep pulling on it. It scared me to death and Patrick too. I had to call Nick to come home and help. I knew I couldn't pull it out by myself. Normally things don't bother me. But this, this was different. Not just because it was my child, but the thought of having to pull it out, just gave me the willies.

Nick was afraid to pull it out too, we weren't sure if it would mess something up in his finger. So we called the ambulance to see if they could take care of it. Patrick wouldn't even let them touch him. We really thought we would have to sedate him because he was screaming so hard. I did finally get to reason with him that I couldn't pull it out with phizers (scissors) and that we had to go to the doctor. Once we got in the truck, he stopped crying, and told me we needed to go see his friends so he could tell them about the hook. It was so sweet. He almost went to sleep on the way to the hospital.

Once we arrived at the hospital they got us back right away. Patrick was a real little trouper. He only cried while he was headed to the back, and that was because I was still at the front desk. He also cried while we wrapped him in a sheet, like a mummy (this is how he refers to it). The doctor gave him a shot(a hook as Patrick call shots) to numb his finger, and then he watched as they pulled it out. He then proceeded to tell the doctor Thank You...I was so impressed that he would do this at a time like this. My little boy is growing up.

Another heart touching moment was when Patrick started telling daddy that he needed to be careful with the "catcher pole" (aka fishing pole) because the hooks really hurt and he didn't want daddy to get hurt. How sweet is that? I love this boy!!!

This was our interesting day and this was all before 11am. I was impressed that we got in and out of the ER so fast. We were only there about 20 minutes total.

Happy 4th Birthday Patrick!!!!

It is so hard to believe that my baby is 4 years old! It seems like yesterday that he was just a tiny helpless baby and now he is a sassy 4 year old. Boy time sure does fly by. It seems that time just flys by but that is okay I will follow behind by just a few steps and take time to savor all the little moments.
Sweet boy of mine I am so blessed to be your mom. You have blessed my life abundantly and I couldn't imagine it without you in it. I love you my boy.

Here is a few pics of the birthday boy blowing out his candles and then plowing in his cake. He has been itching to plow in the field since he saw me making it yesterday so I promised him that he could do it after he blew out the candles. And that is exactly what he did. And then moved on to the presents, he didn't come back to the cake until after everyone left.


I was so excited that I got this shot, eventhough I almost missed it. This was from first thing this morning when Patrick came in and found the dining room decked out in John Deere stuff including large wall stickers.



Here he is at just 1 month old....Look how much he has changed.

Paper Popsicles Named its December Guest Designer

And guess what....its ME!!! I am so excited, it is a wonderful group of ladies over there. And Melissa has some amazing prices on products. The challenge was to create 2 layouts and 2 cards, with a thansgiving or christmas theme, using at least 80% of Paper Popsicles products. I used the Christmas theme pack, by Peebles Inc., that is available there in the store. If you haven't checked out the site you should.... http://www.paperpopsicles.com/

Here are the layouts that I entered.

We finally got around to carving Patrick's pumpkin on Friday night. He has been wanting to all week and we just haven't done it. He just wanted a basic pumpkin because he wanted one like Lucy's on Charlie Brown. If you can't tell we have been watching The Great Pumpkin wayyy too much...lol.
And of course once daddy started carving he got upset and cried some. But he was very intent on watching the entire process but he did not want in on the work, because he would get dirty.
The advantage of picking a small pumpkin is the fact that it only takes a few minutes to do. This was the shortest pumpkin carving I have ever seen...lol









Here is Patrick with his completed pumpkin. Once I got him to actually smile and look at the camera...But my favorite is the one of him peeking over the top of the pumpkin.






And of course it all aglow!!!!

On Thursday (25th) I found out at the last minute that it was time for the Homecoming Parade. So I hurry up and Patrick and I head down to see the parade. This parade lasted a total of 30 minutes. All it was was the homecoming court, the local band, which wasn't even in step. This fact alone drives me crazy. I have to say this was the worst excuse for a parade I have ever seen. Patrick was so disappointed because there wasn't even a firetruck.
But at least I got some cute pictures of Patrick.

I love fall. I never really have before but in the past few years I have realized I love it. Before it was always spring when all things were new. And my favorite holiday is still Christmas but I am not a fan of the cold.
But fall, it is still warm enough but with enough of a chill in the air that it isn't 100 degrees. And I love all the pumpkins. There is just something about a pile of pumpkins and gourds. I don't really know what it is. This year the pumpkins just seemed to be such a vibrant orange. These are some of the pictures of pumpkins and gourds that I took at the pumpkin patch on Monday.

The Pumpkin Patch

So Monday the 22nd we had a trip to the pumpkin patch planned for our playgroup. When we woke up that morning it was rainy and wet. We went anyway, I am always up for an adventure, it wasn't like it was cold or anything. I was surprised that 6 other moms came out despite the weather. I am glad they were up for it. I thought we might be the only ones there but Patrick already knew about it so there was no backing out of it. Of course John at the patch told us we could have rescheduled. But to tell you the truth it never crossed my mind that we could since they were almost completly booked when I called a month ago. But we had a great time anyway. We got a pretty good group shot, all but one mom was in this picture, and me of course since I was behind the camera...lol
We had a great time, this was the first trip I have been to the pumpkin patch at Aplin Farms. I didn't know that they did hayrides and all until this year. But I have to say that it will definitly be the spot on our list from now on. We have been driving over to Ga to go until now.

We did a hayride back to the field and the kids got to pet the animals in the barn area. They also got to milk a fake cow and collect fake eggs. I have to say that Patrick has watched way too many farm videos because he jumped in there and milked that cow like he had been doing it all his life...It was quite a site to see... We all got popcorn too. And we did a picnic and had lunch.



Patrick was checking out a rotten pumpkin here. He wasn't real sure what was going on with it since it was all squishy....

Of course we found the perfect pumpkin. Eventhough it is pretty small. But it is the perfect size for Patrick so that is all that matters.



















Patrick and Isabella had a good time playing in the mud. At least the picked a fairly hard spot to play and not the mud holes that were about 15ft away....lol.

The tractors were of course the best part for Patrick.

Day Out With Thomas!!

Okay so today we went to Cordele, Ga to do Day out with Thomas. I know this sounds crazy because Patrick doesn't even like Thomas, but he does love trains. Plus LaShelle wanted us to go because Jaise loves thomas and it was a good family outing. Of course we roped Nick and Mike into going too. Also a friend of Mikes from work and his family went.
This is a picture of all of us (except for Nick, who was behind the camera) with Thomas.
Considering how badly Patrick could have acted it turned out to be a really fun day. Patrick has been talking about it ever since we left. Patrick, Jaise and Carsyn all had a blast. Of course Carsyn isn't old enough to know what is really going on but he sure enjoyed getting to ride and see out at the same time.




They had a DNR booth set up with Ga reptiles and animals. The did a very informative program and had snakes, gators, hawks, turtles and a flying squirrel. Of course the best part for Patrick was the gators. He talked the one girl into pulling them back out for him after the show. I thought this was a cute picture of the actions.





Of course you and Jaise also got to touch one of the snakes...I am still now sure how I feel about it but you liked it. But you refussed to hold it...thank God...








I love this picture of Patrick and Carsyn on the bus heading back to the van.


















We also got to see all the old planes, tanks and cannons before we left the park. All in all this was a good day. We had lots of fun and made lots of new memories!!! And something else for me to scrap!!!

Easter 2005.

This was done with the Sugar kit from Scrapdango. Scrapworks Florabella kit.
I loved working with this paper...WOW
all paper and chipboard is Scrapworks, Autumn Leaves stamp, Colorbox ink (black)



This was with the Spice kit at Scrapdango. This was such a bright and vibrant kit. It was alot of fun too. Polar Bear Press kit.

This is a layout about my FIL that passed away in June.

Polar Bear Press pp, Bazzill CS, Heidi Swapp ghost star, peebles inc paint in barn red, brads and chipboard???, alpha stickers American Crafts, black sharpie







A layout about my sister. When she was a baby before the Rhett Syndrome showed up and after as a teenager.

This is with the sugar kit as well.
Scrapworks pp and chipboard, prima flower, bobunny "&" sticker, brad??

This is a layout of my niece. I did this one awhile back but had to get the picture scanned. I finally finished it last night.

Chatterbox pp. All the flowers were cut out of a sheet of pp. Stickles glitter, Peebles in stamps and olive green paint. Bazzill CS









This is my other niece Chasity. I completed this one awhile back also but just had to get the picture scanned. I finally completed it last night also.
I love this Junkitz paper. The flowers were cut from a sheet of pp also. Bazzil CS. Thickers alpha stickers, Stickles glitter, unknown ribbon and rhinestones.

Fall Fling projects

These are some of the layouts I did for the Fall Fling at Paper Popsicles this past weekend. I have to say that I had a blast. I got alot done and learned some new tricks too. I was started to feel I was in a slump but this was the boost that I needed. This was my first online crop but it will not be my last. It was great.





stamping challenge to use 5 different stamps.
















staple challenge could only use staple to adhere the project.

I laugh everytime I see this picture of the 3 of you. Carsyn looks bigger than both of you...















This was for a challenge to tell about a typical day/week.

Since my days are always crazy I wanted my layout to be crazy as well.












seasons tag challenge.