In His Hands

have you heard of In His Hands? She is having an awesome prize package to raise money for adopting a baby.
go check it out, it is a great cause....(over there on the side bar is a link)

congratulations

this week paige came home and handed us a note from her art teacher. it said her art work was chosen to be on display at the Art Center. she was thrilled. so were we. they picked students work from the whole city and she picked. we don't know how many kids were picked but she felt so special because she was the only one from her class. she doesn't even know what artwork will be there, but they are having a reception and she will be able to attend. you don't even know how this thrills my heart. paige draws or colors or creates something almost every day. she has since she was just little loved to paint. this picture was when she was one year old. still sitting in her highchair.
it feels so good to be recognized when you are doing something you are passionate about. way to go girl! and congratulations you so deserve it!

preschool is a little different these days...

Well aparently boyfriends and kissing is the thing to do now. Seriously Laine told me she likes her boyfriend "Ajuwan" because he likes to kiss, and it just would feel so good. WHERE DOES SHE GET THIS!!!!I questioned her more and she says that Ajuwan thinks she is funny. And laughs at her. Honey we all do (laugh at her) but that doesn't mean that you can kiss him. In preschool little girls don't have boyfriends, they only have friends both boys and girls. She just looked at me as if I was telling an 18 year old she couldn't date or something. Things have certainly changed in 4 years since paige was at preschool. So I told her she may not kiss at preschool it's just not appropriate. "what's that?" It means that you may not do this at school. Do you understand! I think she understands now.

valentine's day scrapbooking

favorite things

in these tough economic times it is easy to feel depressed and down. i like to visit places that inspire me. these are a few of my favorite sites to visit and i thought i would share them with you.

have you heard of etsy? i love going there and seeing all these wonderful handmade items some of my favorite people to visit there are... what about makin me crazy? cute paper scrapbook stuff. Adorable little baby blankets from little snuggle bunny, and sprout on line has awesome jewelry too.
for scrapbooking supplies i love ribbon and bows oh my and also two peas in a bucket, and also ali edwards is so inspiring too.

if you need for help with photoshop jessica spraque is the place to go.
if you want to see some neat pictures from 2 friends who live on opposite side of the country go on over to 3191. for one year back in 2007 they each posted a picture on the blog from their morning. last year was a year of evenings and they have continued blogging and have a book with another on it's way.
and this picture is from my little artist paige. she loves drawing and crafts and making things and is so creative. what makes you happy? what brings you calmness? what inspires you to create and love? tell me...

what i love about tuesdays

we have been taking tuesdays nights as our date night this winter. we never have had a standing date day, but this winter hubby and i decided to make it a priority to spend some one on one time together. we usually are only gone for an hour or two. we almost always go to Caribou coffee. we aren't gone long enough to feel guilty or pressured to get home. it has been a fun winter and something to look forward to on these blustery michigan winter evenings.

to get a prince

nap time

No day is so bad that it can't be fixed by a nap....Susan Branch

and if you like the little blankie you can find one like it at Little Snuggle Bunny. i have bought 2 blankets from here and laine loves them.

listen

wide awake

i have posted about my passion of scrapbooking a lot lately but have not posted much about my other passions and interests as much. i thought today would be a great day. one area that i am trying to work on is becoming the women that God would want me to be. i am reading an awesome book by Ermin Mcmannus called Wide Awake. it talks about the dreams of our life. it brings up the possibility that our dreams might not be even close to what God has for us.

"There are dreams we try to recruit God into, and frankly I think He looks at us and says not on your life...Jesus spent much of his influence trying to get those who would listen to change what they cared about. Because what you care about is what you dream about. Your passions fuel your dreams. If we want to live a wide awake life of our dreams, we must trust God to guide us on a journey we cannot take on our own. He sees the dream that could become your life. A life beyond your wildest dreams. Don't take you last breath without living it." {mcmannus}

isn't that just so well written! a few years ago i was heavy burden with being told "please come to my office now, i need to see laine" by her pediatrician. Our 6 day old had some lab work done and it wasn't normal. "just come now, i am keeping the office open for you" she said. i couldn't believe my ears. we went. we had more lab work. we had more appointments. we had more bad news. we were told she had a rare genetic disorder. i stopped dreaming. my thoughts were just getting through each day. i am really glad that God didn't stop dreaming for me. he has waited patiently until i have been ready to accept all he has for me, for laine and for my family. what are your dreams. do they line up with what God would want for you? do you trust God for what is best? i started the dream that laine could be healthy. today she is. and tomorrow i am hopeful too. i have learned a lot, but hope that i can be taught more. trust more. know Him more. and live the dream God has for me Wide Awake.

my sweeties on valentines day

happy valentines day

Last night Jeff and I got to have a date to Olive Garden and then shop around the mall for a little bit. In a bigger city and a better mall than our own town. It was sooooooo nice. I have to work nights tonight so we celebrated a day early. This is our morning breakfast. Yummy. Here is to you and your loved ones.

minibook # 2

this is the other minibook i made for laine for valentines day.

woodgrain

I am part of Sistv which is an awesome scrapbooking site. You can get there from my side bar. The picture shows a ATC project. Different members come up with an idea (this one is woodgrain) and up to 20 people make their own version and swap with everyone else. This was the first time I have done one. You can then use them to decorate pages or put them in an album. There is also a rolodex style holder that you can put the ATC in with your own pictures. My inspiration was cork. I have seen it used in flooring and wall decorations recently. It is more than just for a tackboard. I found these really fun to make. Looking forward to all that I get in return. Happy Scrappin!

flowers

Hi/Lo of the week

This post is part of "Hi/Lo Thursday" on the http://www.riggsfamilyblog.com">Riggs Family Blog. Check out http://www.riggsfamilyblog.com">their blog to read everyone else's "Hi/Lo" posts and for a chance to win $100.
Highs this week
1) Laine has stayed healthy this month and all winter for that matter. We have not had a hospital stay for a year now...for more info about Laine's VLCAD Dx. see here and here
2) Paige has not needed her breathing treatments or asthma medications for about 2 months now. Hopefully she is growing out out of the issues she had in the past.
3) Jeff and I traded our coffee night and stayed in to have popcorn and we watched the movie Fireproof. It was really good. It helped me to see ways I could be more of an encourager.

Lows
1) I have heard the Karg Family and their sweet girl here. The family is asking for a miracle.
2) The economy....being concerned....jobs,

Valentines day craft

This is a little chipboard book I made for Paige for Valentines Day.

1) I cut out 4 inch square paper and glued them to 10 pieces of chipboard of the same size.

2) Then I put the pieces under 2 heavy books to help them dry flat.

3) During this time I gathered all my supplies. I had stickers, brads, ribbons, paperclips all in my pink and green colors. These are all supplies I already had at home.

4) Then it was time to decorate. It was fun. I plan to make one for Laine tonight.

100 days

Yesterday was 100 day at school. The school celebrated with lots of 100's. The second graders had to decorate tshirts at home during the last week and then where them to school and have a fashion show complete with a walk down the runway. Paige said "when they called my name my stomach hurt and was in a ball...but then my friends all gave me high fives when I was walking down the runway." She was proud of her 100 bows on her shirts like a rainbow. She loved decorating it with me. Her cousin had lots of hearts on her shirt and was cute too. Yea for 100 days being completed!

wonder

year of the scarf

Have you heard about the Year of the Scarf Bloggy carnival on March 2? Well it is the year to go from ordinary to extraordinary with a simple scarf. Over at Unexpected Blessing she came up with the idea. Get yourself an amazing scarf and take and pic and upload to you blog or website on March 2. The details are at her website. Come on and join me it will be fun.

P.S. Walmart has really cute ones for 5 bucks. Just like the one I have on and it lots of cool colors.

could you help a girl out?

Hey all my readers, do you think you can help a girl out? I am a advid scrapbooker and entered 6 pictures in a Scrapbook contest. Could you go here and vote for me? If you can make a comment and rate it that would be awesome too. Thanks I appreciate it.....You can see my 6 pictures I sent in and comment and rate them. My favorite is Laine with the blue eyes. It is a contest for a cover of the magazine scrapbooksect.com. Thanks and happy Friday...

what i love about...

what i love about..rainbows by paige audrey age 7.

happy, color, joy, magic, sun

Hil/Lo of the week

This post is part of "Hi/Lo Thursday" on the http://www.riggsfamilyblog.com/">Riggs Family Blog. Check our http://www.riggsfamilyblog.com/">their blog to read everyone else's "Hi/Lo" posts.
Highs

1)Something has become a little tradition over the last few weeks on Tuesdays, coffee night with my husband. Yea for us.

2)Having time to scrapbook See here and here for my favorite pages recently.

3)I found 3 of my college roommates through Facebook that I had lost touch with for the last 12 years.

Lo's

1)Getting less hours at work and worried about possible layoffs if things don't improve. I never thought as a nurse this would happen anytime soon.

2)My car would not start on a very cold morning when I was going to take Paige to the bus. She had to walk to the bus stop and was scared she going to miss the bus. She made it. The neighbor gave me a jump...Then 5 minutes later after pumping gas, it quit at the gas station when it was about 5 degrees. I had my 3 year old with me and we where on our way to preschool. She missed school, I missed the gym and coffee time and it was cold but finally got it fixed. A bad cell in the battery was all.

Wordless Wednesday....

Paige age 7

you love spring

love letter

a love letter to laine...


When you were born we were told something was wrong...we were scared and we prayed as we asked God to heal you...He did...and we promised we would tell all who hear your story how good He is..shine your light little laine

i need a cape

The other day I needed to go grocery shopping. Paige was at school so it was just Laine and I. I haven't gone for long time and since I hate grocery shopping, I had been putting it off. We needed a lot of food, staple type for the pantry and I knew it was going to take a long time. I paid for the "watch a DVD shopping cart" so I could keep Laine entertained. This week she got to watch Bob the Builder. Seriously.....where were those carts when i was a kid?

Anyway, as I was walking the aisles she would {in the truest Dukes of Hazzard move slide over the hood of the car} and yell "hay mom we bananas", "hay mom we apples", and "mom we need chips". When we got to the check out lane she does the Dukes move again and says "Mom, I gotta tell you something, listen to me momma, we NEED chocolate. Please momma". It was before lunch and I wanted her to eat a healthy lunch so I told her I have a special treat at home if she has a good lunch. She was disappointed but agrees to the compromise. When we get home she eats lunch and asks for a treat. I have a small piece of dove Chocolate so I get it out and her eyes light up. This girl looooooves chocolate. In her sweetest voice she tells me... "Momma you are my SuperHero". Apparently when you are 3 all it takes to be a superhero is a Hershey Bar. At least in Laine's world....

P.S. If you like the little cape pictured you can go to Pleated Poppy to find it. She has the most awesome fabrics and make the most adorable things for children and grown ups too.