joy

These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.John 15:11 KJV

lightbulb

Last night Jeff and I were able to see Chris Tomlin and his Hello Love tour in concert. It was so good! There was one part in the concert when all the lights began to fade and there was a single light bulb left on. It was probably a 50 watt. It was amazing how that one tiny light bulb could bring light to such a huge arena. It hit me that as Christians we are that light. The light that spreads into the darkness. The light wasn't even noticeable with all the big lights on. It was evident, strong and powerful and brought light into the darkness. Who is in your life that you are bringing light too? Are you letting your light shine? Am I letting mine shine? We can make a difference in those around us. There was also the singer Christy Nockels from Watermark who has a new song called "Life Light up" You can go here for a free download. Some lyrics are...

"Let my life light up like up like city lights...Let it burn for you in the darkest night..
My light will shine on earth and My power will be praised."

Have you ever driven toward a city where even from far away there is a casting upward the lights of the city. Have you seen the images from space where they have taken pictures of the earth? You can see lights of city even from there. Wow. We can have that kind of impact for our world...

Hi/Lo of the week

This post is part of "Hi/Lo Thursday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check our their blog to read everyone else's "Hi/Lo" posts.
There is a precious blog I have been reading the last few weeks after seeing a badge on someone else's blog. Where Laughter Lives is a blog about a little girl Abby as she fights cancer and her family's story about it. The blog posts high and lows of the week. They have encouraged their readers to do the same. So here are mine....(it was really hard for me to think about the lows this week.) I guess because I can't imagine having a child fighting cancer ours seem a little silly to talk about. But anyway...

Highs

• 1) Jeff and I got a little date night..just coffee and talk and time!


• 2) We have tickets to a Chris Tomlin concert tonight with some friends Oh yea!


• 3) I have been able to do a little scrapbooking and joined an awesome scrapbooking group online called Scrap in Style (SIStv). I have gotten some great ideas!

Lows

• 1) We lost one of Paige's guppies this week. She could tell he looked sick one night and we prayed for him but the next morning he died. She was sad. In the life of a 7 year old her fish was important.


• 2) Having hours cut at work (every week getting 12 less hours) and concern for having a job in the future. Health care is affected by the economy and there are too many nurses right now where I work and not enough need for us.

We are blessed and pray for Abby and her family.

looking forward

Spring break we are taking the girls to Disney World and we can't wait! This will be Laine's first time there (the last time she was inside me so it really doesn't count). Paige is thrilled to show Laine all of what she remembers and now she will have someone to share it with her. I will take lots and lots of photos and videos. I am so looking forward to being in this magical place again. I plan to turn into a kid again. Only 2 more months!

6th folder and 6th picture fun

so another blogger friend was tagged to share her 6th folder and 6th picture and she encouraged all her readers to do the same....Here is mine. It was taken last year in a cute little town that has a tulip festival every year. The week before laine was getting out of the car and skinned her nose so she was a little banged up. Poor thing. Anyway we have an annual tradition of visiting this town every year for the last 12 years. Oh family fun. What is your picture?

snowday

One thing that is my passion or goal for this year is time. I want to use my time in a way that builds my family, encourages others and also allows me to have growth to explore an interest. One way that I used my time with my family is Paige and I played in the snow one afternoon. We went sledding down the hill by our house and giggled all the way down. We made a fort piling snow high and used our imagination....she is go good at that! It was fun and priceless. The picture here is her having fun. I used a filter to make it seem timeless. That could have been me 25 years ago. Black and white pictures help make a picture seem simple yet elegant and unique. Here is to enjoying the snow. If life gives you snow...make a snowman...

Mackinaw Bridge

winter tulip

paige at 3 months

oh goodness how time flies! oh how i wish i could remember how kissing those little checks and holding those precious little hands felt. my beautiful baby is now a mature almost 8 year old. i pray that when she is 12 i am not forgetting what she is like today. i want to remember all the special things about my children in the moment and in the future. what i do love about taking so many pictures is that the picture is a snapshot that reminds me of the memories. oh what awesome beautiful memories!

a camera contest

ok, how you you like to win this camera? and a really cool camera bag? and a really cool camera strap. Go to sister for bean blog for their adoption story and all the details! I just entered cuz its a good cause and i would loooove this camera.

my sweeties

summer memories # 2

a letter...

a letter to my girls...

Today is a day in history. Today Barack Obama became the first African American in history. 50 years ago, no one would have thought this could happen. Even in the country of a million dreams, less than a generation ago this would not have been possible. What does this mean for you Laine and for you Paige?...What it means is that it gives you hope. For you girls all things are possible. The world is open and waiting for all that you have to offer. You could be a doctor, lawyer, president, mother, nurse, scientist, artist, or any other occupation that you are called to. What ever it is do it with all your heart, with passion, and be guided by God to fulfill all that he has for you. You make me proud by your curiosity and adventure. You both are fun and a joy to raise as we work, play, love and learn together. I love you to the moon and back and pray today for your future, that Jesus will be center of your life. With Him in the center all is possible. Dream big little ones and your futures look bright.

lost...this week

ok besides having a huge love for scrapbooking and photography, my family,being a nurse, and Jesus (the most important one)...I also have a huge addiction to the TV show Lost. I am a big fan and follow all the story lines, and have the past episodes on DVDs, and read blogs about what hints are in the show. I am soooooo excited for Wednesday to get here. The new season is starting, oh yea! My husband is really into the show too so that is a bonus. 3 hours of Lost. If you call I probably won't be answering the phone "k".

summer memories and a reminder of the simple things...

Just scrapbooking a few summer pictures lately to help warm me up for the cold. This is my favorite town...Frankfort, Michigan. We have gone for at least 10 years and usually a couple times a summer. We are fortunate to have a special grammie who owns a vacation place there. We love all the simple things about this area. We enjoy coffee and breakfast from a cute little bakery, drive in movies, 4th of July parade, hiking in Sleeping Bear Dunes, cherries from Cherry Republic, walks on the beach to find Petoskey Stone and building sand castles. What I love most is the relaxed pace and being with family and friends.

a couple years ago...

A couple years ago paige welcomed her new baby sister to the world. She was so excited to meet her. Laine was tiny and Paige held her gently and kissed on her little head. It was precious...

Anyway if you are interested in the supplies i used i found a great site with free digital scrapbook supplies. The site summertime designs has free downloads. She has many different events that she has posted over the last year. The magic sprinkles were from another site called designer digitals which has pretty cool stuff too...although you have to pay for it, it is well worth it.

perfect day for a tea party...

I think a day that is -12 degrees and -24 degrees windchill is a great day for a tea party. Schools were cancelled and we stayed warm in our house and played tea party with the new set Laine got for Christmas. Isn't it a cute little set from Ikea? Looking forward to making some cute scrapbook pages using these pictures. It was so nice to have Paige home from school. We got to play and rearrange and organize her room, and snuggle and also a quick trip to target. It was fun. I think she loves the store as much as I do! Here is to fun winter memories!

i am so lucky...

my angels...sometimes

I found this great digital scrapbook kit at designer digitals.com. They have amazing kits. You would need Photoshop to use it. There are about 8 or 9 layers that are merged together to create this look. My girls are so special. Sometimes they fight, sometimes they talk back, but they are still my little angels. Sent from our God above and for that I'm thankful and blessed.

one passion...scrapbooking

I learned to make the flowers from this scrapbook pages at this site. They are 3 girls Leah, Donna and Johanna who are the ultimate scrapbook girls. They have a wealth of knowledge and cute ideas. Grab a cup of coffee and watch the videos they produce. So fun! I bought a old dictionary at a thrift store yesterday for 50 cents to use to make the flowers and punch outs. Paige exclaimed "mom why are you cutting your bible up?" I had to do some explaining that it was a dictionary and not the bible. Then she says "Mom why are you cutting a dictionary up?" I had more xplain'in to do. I don't just scrapbook for the hobby part of it. I scrapbook to record events, memories and day to day activities in our family's life. Both the girls have their own. I also have a family one too. I have been doing this for 10 years and love how paige is learning to make her own too. See this post for her little christmas book

contest for free camera strap

if you liked the slipcover camera straps (that I blogged about yesturday) from here then go on over to Jiggety Jigg for a contest (or see side button). They are so cute and easy to register for a free one!

photographers check it out.

First off...Have you seen this cute site on *Shey*[B] at etsy? She has the most cutest camera strap slip covers. I just bought a black and white one with minky fabric on one side. I can't wait to get it! See this site for picture of it
Also i have done a little more photoshop magic and am learning a lot! These are some pictures i have done recently...




In the next day i hope to write more about my goals for 2009....

passion scrapbook page

word of the year? passion...ˈpa-shən\ ...

Have you heard about "Word of the year?" I am not sure where it actually started, but many are scrap booking and blogging about it. To see other posts about word of the year go here and here. I think my word is passion. This year I want to be more passionate about Jesus, my family, my goals, my work, and interests. The biggest one is wanting to learn more and love Jesus more. For me passion involves being active not just an emotion. I need to study my Bible more to learn more about God and love Jesus passionately. Pick your word.
My three year old is passionate about Chocolate. She loves it. She will do most anything for chocolate including being potty trained. See my post here about that. This weekend she spent some time with her aunt and grandma. They all went out for breakfast and the waitress asked Laine if she would like chocolate milk. Her response was "I want the chocolate, but I don't really want the milk. For Laine milk just dilutes the chocolate. She doesn't need it. She doesn't want it.
I want to be that...passionate about what I am doing here on this earth. When I am with my family, I want to be passionately purposeful. I want to take the time to listen...really listen to their stories. To know them more. To love them more.
When I am at work I want to work in a way that makes a difference for those around me. That their day can be better because of being built up.
And lastly, the biggest passion I want to have to knowing, loving and serving Jesus more. In an upcoming post I will blog about my goals on how I plan to reach that one.
Ali Edwards wrote this...
"The idea behind the one little word concept is to give yourself something to focus on throughout the year. As I stated in my newsletter back in January 2007, "A single word can be a powerful thing. It can be the ripple in the pond that changes everything. It can sharp and biting or rich and soft and slow."

Also from that same newsletter:

Can you identify a single word that sums up what you want for yourself in 2009?

It can be something tangible or intangible. It could be a thought or a feeling or an emotion. It can be singular or plural. The key is to find something that has personal meaning for you. This is not your mother's word or your spouse's word or your child's word - this is YOUR word.

One little word can have big meaning in your life if you allow yourself to be open to the possibilities. And here's one thing that is totally interesting: sometimes a word will pop into your brain and it will not make any sense to you right now. Give it some time. Let it percolate a bit. I have often found that our hearts speak to us in very unique ways. Maybe this is a word you need to hear but just aren't ready for it yet. Again, be open to the possibilities."
So what is your word?

dreaming of summer

I was looking back at summer pictures and found these...maybe my favorite of Laine with with daisies. I used a little photoshop magic and liked how they turned out. I'm dreaming of a warm summer...only 6 more months.

photoshop....i'm learning

well i have had photoshop for about 10 days now and i can say i have learned a lot! i hope to post more scrapbook pages this winter of my style. i do like simple and easy. I have been known to premake books or pages for certain events i know will happen. i used a couple new skills like layers and using a selection tool and moving to a new picture to make this one of laine. i can't decide if it is so adorable, or a little scary? i think a word that comes to mind is striking. she has the bluest eyes and they are so beautiful. when she is happy they are sparkly and bright. when she is sad her emotions are shown for sure too!
ps.... best buy has photoshop elements for sale this week online for 99.00. at least this was earlier in the week.
have a great day....

scrapbooking

I made my first digital scrapbook! I was always so nervous about using my computer. I have been scrapbooking for 10 years and loved all the brads, papers, ribbons, tools, ect that I can see and put my hands onto. But I have learned that using my computer is alot of fun too. Go my He{art} for information about digital scrapbooks. This is where I got my templates and stuff. She is a blogger, scrapbooker and artist with an inspiring site. I moved things around and put my own pics using PhotoShop. Then I used Blurb to print the book. I love their quality! To see more pages from the actual book you can find it off to the right, just push on the book! Happy winter!

winter is here...

Happy New Year!