Make a Difference

Here is my baby, and I am vulnerable today. She has made that leap from the confines of our happy home where we can protect, nurture and guide her every move. Today, she went to kindergarten.

I was fine as this morning approached. Clothes were laid out, backpacks packed, lunch menu discussed and approved.  I had plans to breakfast and celebrate the beginning of Mom’s Winter Vacation with friends to preoccupy my mind. But, in that moment when I knelt in the classroom to take a picture of my baby girl with her teacher, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was in this same spot, same chalk board, same teacher, same grin exactly 2 years ago, and at that moment it was like yesterday. So fleeting…

Courtenay will only have one photo to mark the start of her school career, and  it isn’t because she’s the second-child…it’s because at that moment, I thought my heart would heave out of my chest, and I didn’t want her joy diminished by a sobbing mother.

She embraced the day with the same smile and laugh that she has always been known for…this page was done a while back, but today more than ever, may she always know that I … {heart} your smile, {heart} your laugh, {heart} your kisses…..{heart} you, baby girl!

All supplies Stampin’ Up! Happiness and Think Happy Thoughs stamp sets

Not a lot of stamping done this weekend, but it was a wonderful time.

Five years ago, I met Angel, a fellow demo through the Stampin’ UP! Demo Message board, Stampin’ Discuss. I was new to Wichita, KS and seeking a group to meet with. A mutual demonstrator invited me to her group meetings, the first one hosted by Angel. We became instant friends. Angel would meet me down at the school’s parent resource center, and we would stamp on swaps, stamp camp projects or whatever. 

Five years later, we have both moved away from Wichita but we still share ideas and chat a lot. Angel lives in Georgia, and she came to Missouri this week for an incredibly special event: the wedding of her oldest son. I was so fortunate to get to spend time with her and the family.

Keep your eyes to the right, Angel looked stunning! When I think about the things that stamping has brought to my life, Angel is one of the many blessings. It’s not all rubber and ink….

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run,  but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as  to get the prize.       I Corinthians 9:24

I’m going AWOL for a few days, a little family R&R, but wanted to leave you with a milestone of my summer. What’s a blog if  you can’t brag on your kids once in a while?  This is my oldest Ashley waiting to compete in the 25 meter breaststroke at her district competition this week. She competed in 4 events, medaled in the breaststroke and freestyle and took 4th in her team relay event.  Yep, I’m proud, and she’s all MINE!

I won’t be gone too long. Wednesday is the big kick off to the Dirty Dare (read about it here) over at SCS, and you won’t want to miss it. Guess you could say I am resting up for a mega-stamp fest like you have never seen.

See ya Wednesday!

Wes really wanted me to take green beans, fresh from our garden to the potluck last night. So, being the obedient, doting wife that I am, I did. This is about one peck of fresh, purple hulled green beans. After washing and snapping, I put them in a big stew pot with water, cooked them about 2 hours and added a half pound of fried bacon, diced onion and some good ole, heart healthy bacon drippin’s. Then I cooked ‘em another hour or so and served.

My mother has always canned green beans for our family to enjoy through out the winters, and my brother and I usually get several quarts in our stocking each Christmas, now that we are grown. Realizing how inexpensive canned green beans are at the grocery store and how time consuming the process is, I have a new-found appreciation for my mother. Home canned green beans is another labor of love that she painstakingly undertakes to bless my life.

It’s a good life!  

We are finally home from a long, wonderful vacation to Table Rock Lake, MO, and does it ever feel good! What was I thinking agreeing to a vacation the same week the SU! catalogs are delivered….we won’t be doing that again! I didn’t unpack a thing until I checked out the incredibly beautiful new Stampin’ UP! Fall 2007 Collection.

It’s late. I still have tons to put away. But, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share a few of my favorite vacation shots. I’ll be back tomorrow with a card or something and reflections on the new catalog. 

My husband loves amusement parks! While the main purpose of our vacation was to spend time boating and tubing on Table Rock Lake, we actually went to Silver Dollar City 4 days in a row. What a blast! The weather was perfect. We have reached the point where we can all 4 ride something with a little more umpha!  than the Merry-G0-Round as a family. I have been to SDC several times in my life, but I was impressed with the quality and quantity of rides they have added in recent years. (We love Branson for our family get-aways, but hadn’t been to Silver Dollar with the girls before - LOVED IT!) Here are the girls waiting for a ride that actually is too much for me, hot air balloons that do fast circles at varying heights…not good. But, they loved it!  

Ashley turned 7 on the 26th, and my mom made a special trip into Wal-Mart first thing that morning to get the *hot* new release “Meet Miley Cyrus”! If you have a 6-12 year old girl, chances are pretty good that you know what I am talkin’ bout!

I love it that she was thrilled, but am even happier that I can totally catch moments like this with my new camera. I am still having trouble getting consistently, crisp shots, but you can’t get a ‘do over’ on moments like this. I {heart} my Rebel.

Thanks for sticking with me!

Last Friday, my husband and I invited several friends over for Fajitas (probably my favorite meal). It was my birthday, but to be completely honest, birthday parties tend to embarrass me. I love to spend time with people I care about, but I don’t like the attention focused on me. So, it wasn’t really meant to be a birthday party, just a get together.

My girlfriend, Tracy, said she wanted to bring cake because she knew it was my birthday. As she was talking about cake decorating classes back in high school and piping icing, all I could invision in my mind was a big, bright cake with balloons and blazing candles (too many to count!) ~ total embarrassment! LOL! Of course, this is my mind playing tricks on me and not really thinking about how Tracy is really a classy chick. She wouldn’t do that to me, especially when I was so nice to her on her milestone birthday back in the fall.

WOWZA ~  when she took the dome off the cake, it was blissful! I can’t tell you what kind of cake it is because in our town those kinds of secrets go to the grave with you. But, you’ll have to trust me, it was the best thing I have tasted in a long, long time.

 I always wondered about decorating with the real flowers. I had seen it before, of course, but how do they do it. So, here is what I discovered: When I pulled the flowers off the cake to cut it, the stems had been completely removed and replaced with a toothpick. DUH! That allows you to stick the flowers in and position them any which way. Cool trick!

Tracy, thanks for making my day extra special. I appreciate the time and effort you put into this beautiful gift.

a thousand words.

But, I’ll try to limit mine as not to bore you. I have wanted a Canon EOS Rebel camera for over 3 years. Last week, I finally got it! So, in celebration, I wanted to share 2 quick photos with you.

Imagine my surprise and sheer delight when these ‘groovy guava’ birthday roses showed up on Friday! Truly beautiful, from a truly beautiful friend. Look at the color, the clarity of the roses and the softness of the background. I have lots to learn, but I am going to love getting to know this piece of equipment.

Any mother knows the anxiety that comes with photo sessions and young children. My previous camera took beautiful pictures, but many photos of my girls have fake, forced smiles from minute after minute of ‘one more time’ pose holding.

So excited when I snapped this last night while playing with my camera for the first time. The girls flashed their grins, I clicked and voila! Picture perfect. The hair is messy from a day on the slip ’n slide, the faces are covered with chocolate chip cookies, BUT the grins are 100% natural - my joy, my girls, my life…..

OH, I am going to LOVE this camera. I’ve got a stamping project ready to upload later tonight, and plenty of RAKS to show you over the course of this week. Thanks for stopping by.

So, sweet Christy tagged me this morning. Seems she wants to know 7 things about me and my life ….

1. My main mission in college was to find a college educated cowboy…I married him almost 11 years ago! <wink> By God’s grace, we share a love for life and 2 beautiful girls. 

2. I have moved almost every 3 years for my entire life - living in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Texas and Georgia - some states multiple times. The friendships that this has afforded me are of immeasurable worth.

3. I absolutely adore Beth Moore, popular Bible Study teacher. See her blog here: Living Proof. She is truly annointed by God, and her interpretations of His Word always strike a chord with me, in a good, good way. 

4. I left my first Stampin’ UP! workshop almost 8 years ago without a single purchase….it was totally not my bag. <yeah, right!> I have been a demo for 6 years.

5.  In my former life, BK (before kids), I was a manager and a compliance trainer for a major financial services company.

6. My favorite food is Mexican, and my favorite dessert is a moist Red Velvet Cake.

7. Another fondness of mine is Southern Living magazine and Southern Living at Home decor. I try to make one new recipe a month for my family from the magazine. Some of these have become family favorites. I have been a Southern Living at Home consultant for almost 2 years.

When I went to the YMCA yesterday to pick up my oldest daughter from swim team. One of the clerks said, “hey! have you seen this?” and held up the local paper.

 Walked over to check it out, and had to smile over the front page story. Here’s the link so you can see it for yourself. Click on ‘In the Swing’ and check out the 2nd photo down, these 3 are my world…totally scrap worthy for this proud momma:

 In the Swing

 I am prepping for a workshop tonight, and of course, I need to go buy one or two <wink-wink> copies of the paper before Friday’s edition comes out this afternoon. So, it’s a short post today. Maybe I’ll get a chance to scrap a little this weekend and have some more to share soon.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. ~ I Corinthians 8:2

Happy Valentine’s Day! Today we celebrate the love in our lives, whether it be a spouse, significant other, parent, child, friend or combination of the above. Hopefully, there aren’t many of you with a spouse and a significant other. <chuckle>

  I spent some time last night finishing up Valentine’s for my Valentines, and this morning when I went to the gym to walk the track, Wes finished up his! (When I got home from my walk, I did get chastised for leaving Chocolate Chip ink on the Happy Valentine’s Day stamp. It’s ok…I love chocolate!)  Neither one of us places material gifts highest on our love languages assessment, but we do exchange cards and simple somethings.

Yesterday, I commented here about the importance of  putting our thoughts of love into action and that it didn’t have to be elaborate to have special meaning. I thought I would share with you my favorite cards of all time, stamped by my husband several years ago.

 They look simple enough, don’t they. For you Stampin’ UP! lovers out there, it’s Whisper White Cardstock and some Real Red ink with a sentiment from the All Year Cheer collection. The special thing about these Valentine’s is the thought and planning that went into them.

The first card simply has “I Corinthians 7:2″ written inside.  I had to look it up, and was reminded that it is from Paul’s instruction to the church of Corinth to remain pure and devoted to your spouse, ’But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.’

 The second card was the show stopper! This was written inside:  “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up — I Corinthians 8:2. OH, how you’ve built me up!”  It’s 3 years later, and I am still riding high when I think about these 2 Valentine note cards. They are tucked away for safe keeping, and so I can gaze at them from time to time.

The cards came with a small bouquet of flowers or some chocolate or maybe a fishing lure (it’s happened!). I really can’t remember. The cards are attractive and clean, yet simple. No elaborate design. No fancy embellishments. It really doesn’t matter.  It was Wes’s effort to expess his feelings that meant and still mean the most to me.  Even if it’s a phone call with a heartfelt ”I Love You!”, make a difference in someone’s life today.