Best Friends~

....and so this is what makes it worth all the diapers, terrible twos and threes, the uncoordinated years, the backtalks, the teen years, the first time driver and dates...Best Friends... Preston-19 and Hunter-3!!!!

Be You~

I almost cried last night doing this layout of my oldest offspring. He is so darn handsome and innocent.. hahaa or at least I still feel he is. He is the best son-he is more than any one could ever ask for. Im sooo happy that I get to see him this weekend. My other two are so happy that their big brother is coming they can barely keep civil. They love their *best friend*. Makes a Momma pretty proud! The quote says "Where ever you go-go with all your heart"!

Hilariousness ensues~

This blog is the funniest blog I have ever found! I go there every day for a pick me up! You know.. for when the bitches try to get you down.. yeah its good for that too!
Im just being real here! ;)
{Thanks Dr.Ennis for the advise all those years ago!}
Please visit.. you wont be disappointed!!! Go now.. run.. be happy and laugh your buns off! :)

Little white spaces~

orrrrr is there??? ... hehee
Here is the first completed layout for the the Sketchfest this weekend. It was for the *white space* sketch challenge... I wanted to participate more, but my family is pretty much keeping me from accomplishing anything.. gah! I love them.. but hello- a girl needs her ME time too! Maybe later this evening.. who knows.
Anyway.. I hope you all are having a great weekend, getting things accomplished, being productive and creative! ;o)

I dare you~

to join the fun!!... Im playin' so why dont you?... its going to be awesome!

Turning the Corner~

I think my youngest punk Hunter is turning the corner from the *Terrible Twos and Threes*! Finally! And now, Im sad. hahaa. Weird how that goes. I wanted him out of that stage, but didnt want him to grow up! No darnit, dont grow up too fast! Lord knows the weeks and months and years are going by in flashes. I want to hold onto this for a long time. But thats just not the way it is. Im so proud of the lil fella... lately he has been honing in his manners and has discovered the sweetest disposition in regards to woo'ing his Momma. He knows that when he is in trouble that he can call me *Momma* and get me to smile everytime! And lately he has been calling me *Momma Mia* and giggles and begs me to take him to see the movie as we both love the music! Oh, he also knows how much I love Mexican so he calls me *Mammazita* when we go out to our favorite Mexican restaruant. So cute! Anyway.. today my lil punk told me after I got all fixed up for work .. *Mom, you look very nice!*.. very plain, very sweet and very innocent. He doesnt know how that made my day. I love him so much!... and so from the wild and into everything to the noticing, drinking up the learning and sharing his feelings and emotions... he is turning a corner!

Sunshines Sketch Challenge~

Sunshine-over at Crazy 8's posted this sketch challenge for a RAK.. wasnt that sweet??...hehee.. boy was I ever weary of it.. I was plum scared as at first glance it looks sooo difficult, but once I looked it over, sketched it out on paper, I knew exactly what Id do. And I loveee this pic of the boys.. It truely is a portrait of how they are in so many ways. Enjoy this touch of summer and challenge yourself to do the sketch too! If you post it over at Crazy 8's you are automatically going to get an incentive prize and the RAK goes to the winner Sunshines daughter picks! Good Luck!

Let the Sun Shine In~

What a week huh?...
I tell you if it werent for stress and drama Id have no life.. well...
Thankfully its changing... SWEET!!!! I left my 2nd job and am making some other changes as well in my daily schedule. Im going to spend more time with Hunter and more quality time with Justice and work on my hobbies in my free time and if there is no free time.. OH WELL. Working the 2nd job was like a wake up call. I didnt work it long, but long enough to find out that my family misses me and that Im a vital person within it. Especially me being Momma! Im glad to be back home in the evenings and have found that Im able to still get out amongst the public working at the hobbies I love, taking part in classes and sharing and hopefully in the future selling some of my art. That would be wicked awesome {as so eloquently stated by my husband}. haha It sure as heck would support my habit anyway!

What about CHA and all the sneak peeks this week? Wow.. I tell ya.. Bo Bunny and Melissa Frances are like my favs this year... oh and I cant forget about Pink Paislee!!! Im loving looking at all the pretty fall and winter stuff. And cant wait to purchase it!!! I wish we had a fall/winter convention here as well as the spring one.. that would rock!

Ok, so this isnt the best layout, but give me a break, I havent been scrapping in a while.. only a small card here and there! This was made for a RAK challenge I sponsored over at Crazy 8's this past week. I actually got to scrap a new card today for a card challenge for Creative Scrappers so that was good and have a couple ideas on my work table to tackle this weekend... I hope to take a pic and post later tonight.... but for now.. I leave you with a lil piece of sunshine and great weekend wishes!

To you~

Go ahead and....

What do you do when a girl breaks your heart?~

buy her a puppy...
or so this is what my son thought he'd do to win back the heart of his girlfriend who apparently lied to him. I dont know why he felt he should do this, but I know he was feeling way low and this purchase has made him feel much better. He and his girlfriend named the puppy Princess. Preston will be taking care of her and teaching her how to do the various things little puppies need to learn. hehee. Ive felt guilt ridden for years over not being there for Preston and right now especially Id love to go to him and let him know how much I love him and am here for him, but he is a man now.. he doesnt need cuddles..he just needs reassurance that things will get better.. and I hope that I have helped in some small way. He does in fact know the things I felt guilt about and forgives me luckily. I hope so much that he gets stronger and puts his foot down so that people dont take advantage of his kindness. He has lost 30 pounds in the past few months and Im worried, but I also know that he is a smart and blessed man and will find his way.

Lady Bug Lady Bug~

Fly away home... and in this case to the homes of the girls that were in on the Summer Card Swap over at Crazy 8's! I was laying in bed the other night after teaching my first card class at work about all the neat things you can do with just some brads, paper, ink and some bling.. hehee One of the cards for class was made to swivel using a brad-revealing the message underneath, it was pretty simple but got me to thinking of the things I could do... so I dreamt about this........amazingly they turned out real cute! I love the color combo of brown and pink and got to digging into my stash and decided ooo this would be a perfect color combo especially since I didnt really know what or how to do the eyes. The only thing I regret now NOT doing was adding some stickles to the wings, blinging them up a bit. I will be sure to do that next time though!
Note: Did you know that ladybugs symbolize Luck and Love? They sure do.. just another reason to love them and cherish them even more I think.

Hope your 4th of July weekend was safe and relaxing!!!

My Brother~

Thought Id write about my brother... Im starting to think that he is like my best friend in the world. I actually have 2 brothers.. and they are both pretty much close to me... but my baby brother Daniel just KNOWS me! The other day I called him and just confessed my soul and he listened, gave me the advice that of course I already knew... and loved me... loved me unconditionally the way brothers and best friends are supposed to. He hasnt had an easy life, but he knows about life and he knows the differences between right and wrong and how to get me to see the different sides of it even if I am a woman, one with a stubborn head at that. He made me feel better... he made me realize that all the years I spent wasted worrying over him being a danger to me were really unfounded worries that I regret now. He wouldnt hurt a fly.. and especially not me. He means well and works hard. He loves hard too. I just wanted to pay a little tribute to my brother... my best friend.... and even if he doesnt read this its my lil shout to him.. Love ya bro! ;)

Take me out to the ballgame~

So this past weekend we went to the Cards game against Philadelphia... we won! ... and we sweated and had 7ups and twizzlers and peanuts... and tons of fun! This was Hunters very first MLB game and he loved everything about it but being in the bleachers.. hahaa. It was sooo flippin' hot! The weather was actually nice, but we were just in the sun the entire time.. from batting practice til the 9th inning! Hunter and I got up one time and headed to the bathrooms and shade to cool off. I got him a squashed penny with the Cards logo on it, and its placed on a necklace like thing. He was and is so proud of it. I was so very happy to not only have Hunter there, but Justice and Preston came along and Todds sister, niece and brother-in-law came too. Great weekend.
Now onto other things.. a grueling schedule!!! I dont know about this 2 job thing.. but Im going to give it a 110% til I drop or something... hahaaa. Have a great summer everyone! :)

Who I am Makes a Difference~

Uncle Greg, who is actually Todds Uncle sent me this in an email... a very touching story. I decided to challenge the girls at Crazy 8's to make a card using this sketch by Valerie Stangle and make this card for a child or loved one that they wanted to tell that they indeed make a difference.
I made this card for Justice last night... and let me just say... it was tougher than I had imagined {the sketch that is}... but I think it looks pretty cool. I hope maybe you are inspired today to do something of the same magnitude for someone who makes a difference to you..... Im sure they'll appreciate it!!

Family and other items of importance~

This is the layout I did for the May contest. Im not real happy with it, as it didnt turn out near what I imagined. I challenged the girls to do their best interpretation of Valerie Salmons sketch as well as using the word Family and depicting a family vacation memory as inspiration, and they really rocked it! I then had Tammy Kay come in and be the guest judge. Ive always admired her work and was pleasantly surprised and overjoyed with her willingness to do a very difficult job judging and taking time out of her busy schedule to help out! Cat has posted the new challenge for the month and whoa is it ever a challenge, thankfully I have some cool ideas swirling around in my head!!!
Other items...
Today was procedure day. I had what they call a Her Option
My Doc was fantastic and had told me it would be a piece of cake, but believe you me I was scared as scared can be. As back in April I had a uterine biopsy and LORDAY did that ever hurt. Well, Doc was right, today was pretty much a piece of cake... although the recovery at home since has been anything but wonderful. Just really crampy and yucky feeling in general. Sitting up is the absolute worst. Todd went with me and we decided before the procedure that if it got too painful that I would hollar out *Sweet Jesus* and that was the code word for him to get his buns over to me and hold my hand. Luckily, I never had to utter those words! Hallaluha!!! Tonight he went and got me a wonderful iced coffee and I will take the day off tomorrow to finish hopefully being cranky and crampy. ehhee. The doc says a good 2 weeks and I should feel like a NEW woman. Go Ang!!!
Other EXCITING news...
Im the newest customer service/instructor employee for one of my all time favorite haunts EVER!!!! Im sooo flipping excited!!! I have so much to learn and so much admiration for the other girls and my Manager! As soon as Im healed up I will be on the schedule working part-time, probably a few nights a week and weekends. Until then I have a bunch of research to do about the company and different things. The other thing about this new lil job of mine is that it will afford me the opportunity to learn, make extra money and hopefully-eventually move into a position to where I could possibly leave my full time day job and move up in a premiere company doing what I LOVE!!!

You are Beautiful~

in every way... and yes she is!!! This is a layout I did of my neice Aimee. Isnt she gorgeous? I have to say Im sure she doesnt believe in herself much, but is getting better. She has a wonderful and supportive family that loves her more than she knows... and a daughter that adores her. Im so proud of Aimee as she has recently joined the ARMY... and how fitting that I tribute her on Memorial Day. I wish her all the best always in her life. I love you Aimee.. and you are beautiful in so many ways!!! ;)~

Just color me PROUD!!~

Sooo totally proud that my oldest son, Preston, graduated from high school this past Friday night. He has not always had such an easy road, but he did it and with his head held high. Im happy to say that he will be using some of the skills he learned while in Vo-Tech {Building Trades} at his new job working for a small construction company. He is also looking into Taxidermy school and trying to get on with Real Tree, traveling and hunting. I wish him all the success in the world. He deserves the best!!! Great job Preston!!!

Hey Momma... Happy Day!!!~

Happy Mothers Day to all you Mommas and striving Mommas and Grandmas too..

A little birdie told me~

Well... Todds sister is moving to LA. Ya the big city.. So this weekend we will be saying goodbye to her as she takes off for a new chapter to her life story... to chase her dream. Im so happy for her, but sad too that she will be so far away. I wish her the best and made this little booklet for her for her going away gift.
I also am participating in our week long crop over at Crazy 8's. {the book was part of the challenge too-to alter a book w/ a birdie featured}... then I did this layout too of Justice. I just dont scrap as many pics of him as I should. So its a new goal for me.

He is a fisherman!~

Yup... my son has become a fishin' fool!!! Last weekend Todd took Hunter and Justice down to Boonville, Missouri to camp with my brother Neal and turkey hunt. Justice got to turkey hunt and although he didnt have a good shot at anything, had a wonderful experience. The next day they all went fishing and caught a few small fish. Todd said that Hunter threw down when they told him it was time to leave the lake. Other than that the kid did real well all weekend ... imagine that.. away from Momma and all. I enjoy the fact that Hunter is going to be a fisherman... He is taking to the country like his brothers, Daddy and Uncles have. He will grow close with Todd in the future while doing their outdoor sporting. I hope that this summer they do more outings.. it means a lot to me to go with them too, but every now and then Momma needs a break and it eases my mind to know that they are actually enjoying the break from me too! ;) Yay Summer!!! Yay Hunter!!!!