A layout...

I really like how this turned out...
Credits can be seen here.

OK, ta-da!

Can't believe we did this...truly. As crazy as this sounds, at the risk of sounding like a freak, I actually teared up when they started, when I saw the first strands on the floor! Matt is so not happy with me. I actually asked for shoulder length, this is ear lenght though! The important thing is that she really likes it. She came out of the bathroom spinning her head, hitting herself in the face with her hair and said "I can wack myself all the time now!". I guess if that's what makes her happy whatever! I want it to grow a little longer now, like 4 inches longer! But this is what we have for now...
And a layout I wanted to share too... I did this for Lifts with a Twist
Credits can be seen here.

Look what we did...

just a hint though, I'll be back later after I've calmed down to show you before and afters...
it's a cell phone pic so it's not that clear...sorry!

Busy Busy Busy...

No, not me, but the waterpark. Why didn't anyone tell me what a dumb idea going to a waterpark during spring break would be. Last time we went there it was just a random day, I think our schools were the only one out that day, so it wasn't busy at all! We could walk right up to a slide and go right down, absolutely NO waiting... there were plenty of towels and chairs to sit in, the kids could go down slides and play by themselves and I didn't worry all that much, because I could pretty much always see them...fast forward to today... Parking was minimal (first hint... go home), we waited in line to pay for 15 minutes at least, then I had to wait again for 15 minutes to get a locker (trying not to get crabby, I don't like crowds all that much). There were no tubes to be had anywhere, and the three slides that we knew about all required a slide to go down. Finally we found a four person tube, went down that slide w/o to much of a wait (the first time), then tried to get two double tubes so Matt and I could each take a child down one of the other slides, had to wait for quite a while and finally get a little more aggresive (don't worry, no fighting or anything like that, we just weren't going to stand around and wait for someone to drop one at our feet), we finally both got a tube, went down a slide adn then were going to go in the lazy/crazy river, well the lifeguard at the bottom of the one matt went down made him pass his tube on to someone waiting, didn't want to give it up, but great idea, that way everyone gets a turn. Anyway, long story shorter... slide lines were rediculous (considereing our lack of wait last time), lazy river was obnoxious, hot tub was to packed to even enter, no chairs to be found anywhere, table for lunch was hard to come by (we did find one though), they ran out of towels at one point (right when we were going to leave and needed them), the one slide that they had that you didn't need a tube for was SCARY, but I didn't know that til I was done going down it, it was completely dark (like can't see hand in front of face dark), I did not like it at all, which was fine as that was a LONG line too! Anyway, the kids had a great time, and I guess that is all that matters, I just need to get over it! (Sorry for blabbering on, i'm tired from such a long day)




So I have some pics to share, more later in layouts I'm sure!

OK, I just realized that when editing the pics I forgot to erase part of one, but I'm not feeling like fixing it right now, so just enjoy it the way it is and maybe later I will fix it, but really, do you really care... does anyone even read this... hmmmmmm?????

So, if anyone is reading this, wishing you all a great Easter, how wonderful is it to celebrate such a wonderful gift from our creator, can't imagine where we would be without the gift of eternal life and forgiveness! Praise the Lord!

I'll be back tomorow night...

So, three posts in one day... a little overkill I know, I just wanted to post a quick layout cuz tomorow morning we are taking the big kids to a waterpark for the day (indoor of course, as there is snow on the ground again, YUCK), so I won't be posting til at least night time!

Credits can be seen here.

And a few pics of my little guy, who is quite insistant that he doesn't want baby food, especially if we are eating "big people" food... so crackers it is, wonder how much of it actually goes in his mouth, he seems to wear a LOT of it!

Somthing I heard...

I was listening to Focus on the Family radio program while in the car this morning and heard the coolest analogy... I had to get it down somewhere so I wouldn't forget it!

If I have a $20 bill, how much is it worth? $20 right? Well if I stuck it in the gutter and poured alchol over it and let it stay there for a week/month/year, how much would it be worth? $20 right? What if I poured drugs over it, cocaine, meth, anything? How much would it be worth then? Still $20 right? Why? Because $20 is the value bestowed on it... just as God bestows our value on us, no matter what choices we make our value doesn't change.

Isn't that cool? I would like to think that I don't think this way, but I know that sometimes I will see a drug addict (mostly on tv) and think that they aren't as valuable as me, not that I'm something great or anything, but still not as valuable. Know what I mean? I thought that was a great reminder of how I SHOULD think!

So... yesterday was quite busy, but I truly think it's easier to have more kids here than just my own sometimes. There were 7 kids here for a few hours (3 were my own, but still), my house just isn't that big and in the morning it was raining... but they all found somthing to do, then in the afternoon it got nicer, the sun came out and it warmed up, so outside we all went! They took turns jumping on the trampoline (boys then girls) and we played hide and seek, all while Elliot slept. I can definately relax a little more when they all leave, but all in all it wasn't bad!

Here is a picture of the girls after doing thier makeover and fashion show...

Doesn't thier makeup look GREAT???!!!???

So, I have a layout to share too... a fun close up picture of Bailey and I... I love close ups, not exactly sure why, they don't always turn out that great, but I think they are still fun!

Credits can be found here.

On the agenda for today: I have to go to work for a while this morning, I'm hoping to find someone to watch the kids, specifically Elliot, it's so hard to work with him. Then home for the afternoon so Elliot can sleep, dinner is in the crockpot, roast, and then just a family night at home. I leave you with some goofy pictures of the kids... enjoy your Wednesday!

So yesterday was a kinda boring day, I had an appointment in the morning so the kids went to work for/with Matt, they made a little money doing random things around the office, which they actually liked. I took Elliot with me to my appt, never fun, but what else do you do when all of the family is gone or at work? Then we walked in the afternoon, it was windy, but once we were out of the wind and the sun came out it warmed up quick! I was hot by the time we got home! Elliot fought off sleep the rest of the afternoon so that was a ton of fun (read with lot's of sarcasm)! Then for dinner we had some friends over that we haven't seen in quite a while and we ordered my favorite pizza and salsa (gotta have the salsa, ON the pizza), soooo incredibly yummy! Today I am watching some friends of the kids, Landon has one friend over and Bailey will have three by the time the day is over! Busy busy busy! Oh well, sometimes having friends over makes the day go so much better!

I also have a layout to share! An old pic of myself...

Credits can be seen here

Enjoy your day!

I am SOOO a believer...

in this "Make me gorgeous" action! Look at this, I am AMAZED at the difference! I'll admit, when I first saw it I was interested, but could wait, not that big of a deal, would it REALLY make that much of a difference? Ummmm, YES! Why did I wait?

Check this out...

Look at this before and after... isn't that great. It's a little hard to see the dramatic results as it is on a child with absolutely perfect skin to begin with (and it's pretty small), I can't wait to play with it on my pictures (scary huh?)!

I did another one, I just wanted to see what it could REALLY do... this one hopefully will show up bigger:

I really want these actions, but that will take a lot of saving and persuading!

Off to walk now... trying to loose some weight before bathingsuit season!

A new layout...

Credits can be seen here

I've got a lot going on today, I will probably be back later with more...

I took the wrong child...

to the dr yesterday! After church this morning Bailey was complaining that her ear hurt. I kinda just brushed it off, but it didn't take long until she was crying about it. I know she can be a whiner sometimes, but I think you just know your child and know when something is really wrong, well I knew that something was really wrong, but didn't really want to take the trip to prime care. So I waited, tried distracting her with cartoons and games, but that didn't work, so off we went. I was pleasantly suprised at how quickly we were in and out of there, I think we were gone only about an hour total. We found out that she did indeed have an ear infection and the dr seemed to think that she had pink eye too, her eye was red at the time we were in there, but that may have been because she was crying. Oh well, the drops aren't going to hurt her and I would hate to have Elliot or Landon get it! We went to Meijers to get the Rx's, and wouldn't you know it, the pharmacy was closed. I wanted to get it at Meijers because a) they were close to where we were and b) antibiotics are free there. So, we are going to go first thing in the morning to get them. Right now she seems to be doing fine, I gave her Tylenol and she seemed to think that just the dr looking at it made it better because she hasn't complained since we got home!

I will be back tomorow with a layout to share! Sleep tight!

WooHoo!

I was asked to be a guest on a creative team for Amy Wolff from the LilyPad! I'm so excited to work with more of her stuff, I love what I already have! (See my "Dexter" layout below)

Just a quite sunday here, the weather is great so we will probably go for a walk and play a little t-ball with Bailey and Landon! Right now were trying to rest... we'll see how that goes!

Elliot was so good in church today, he actually slept through most of it whereas we normally have to take him out halfway through! What a joy to actually be able to sit and listen to the sermon for once without distractions! It was a good one on the five love languages, it was a good refresher for what I need to work on!

Anyway, have a great and relaxing Sunday, be back tomorow!

The end of a birthday...

A birthday layout...

Credits: Background paper by Melissa Bennet, Glitter negative strip by Gina Miller (see link on right), Frames by Nancy Comelab, Glitter Paint Strokes by Meredith Fenwick, Really Big Bow by Natalie Braxton (see link for The Lily Pad on right), arrow by Katie Hadfield (see link for The Lily Pad on right)

Ok, so we are already home from dinner... nothing all that special. Matt really wanted this, but we ended up going here instead because the line at the first place was out the door. I was pleased with the second choice, but it wasn't my birthday so I wasn't going to complain about his choices! I love thier chips and salsa, and thier chimi's are the best! (No lowfat here...). After dinner we made a quick trip to Gander Mountain to look for fishing supplies, wow, that stuff is expensive, I didn't realize how much it all cost, but it's his only hobby and he loves it, so what can I do? He only ended up getting his license, I think he has a hard time spending the money too, even with gift cards... Whatever, it was all about him tonight! We had to get back somewhat soon though, Elliot has been sooooo crabby! I took him to the doctor today to see if he had an ear infection, he didn't, so now I'm that silly mom that takes thier child to the doctor for a cold. But it's a bad cold, the doctor said his throat was irritated, and I can tell, all he does is drool, like he doesn't want to swallow because it hurts to bad! Poor little guy! He also doesn't sleep, naps or at night, poor me! (Just kidding). So anyway, Matt's mom was here with him and we didn't want to leave him to long if he was as crabby as he had been all day. So now Matt is at a friends house watching basketball and here I sit. The kiddo's are watching a movie, about to go to bed. They don't have sunday school in the morning, so we don't have to be ready until 10:45, woo hoo! I get to sleep in, Matt agreed to get up with Elliot in the morning, wish me luck on that one, I end up having to kick him out of bed, not because he doesn't want to get up, but because he NEVER hears the child!

I have one more picture to share of us singing to Matt again... Not the best picture, but I thought it was funny. Matt was making fun of me for making him sit for pictures again, he made a funny comment about having to stick his hands in the cake to eat it like a child, and the next thing you know, Elliot has both hands in it, I reacted to quickly with a gasp and scared the poor boy half to death, which gave us the reaction you see here! (Luckily the candles weren't lit yet when he stuck his hands in the cake)

I figured it out...

OK, so I decided to start a blog, possibly in place of my fotopic site, not sure yet, if I'll keep them both up, or just choose one, we'll see how this goes first! I am so proud of myself, I figured all this stuff out to set this up so nicely. It took me a few hours, but I figured out how to put the banner on the top even! Yay me!
So, today is Matt's 28th birthday. Nothing all that exciting going on today, we are going to go out for dinner tonight and then shopping for birthday presents (including a fishing license). He is so blah about birthdays, I want birthdays to be exciting. I got up with Elliot this morning and let him sleep in. We baked him a cake yesterday, so the kids decorated that this morning, and I made Cherry Swirl Coffee Cake (yummy!), then we woke Matt up with the cake, candles burning and all, and gave him his small presents... a baseball glove and a large jar of green olives. The olives are kind of a running thing that we do, we just know that he loves olives, and besides fishing stuff, that is normally one of the only things we can think of! (What a tradition, huh?)

I wanted to post a few recent layouts that I have done... the first isn't that exciting, it's just of Dexter! I really liked those splattered flowers by Amy Wolff at The-Lilypad.


Credits for "Dexter": Background paper and paper behind photo by Melissa Bennet, Riveting Ribbon by Natalie Braxton (See link to the Lily Pad on right), Paper strip from Amy Martin, Spattered Blooms by Amy Wolff (see link above)

This was a total scraplift of a layout by Janet Phillips... Everything is by Jen Wilson's L'Orange kit (See link on right)
Well, I guess that's enough for now, I'll be back soon though, with more pics and maybe even a new layout!