Blast from the past

This used to be one of my very favorite dresses when I was little. I found it when we were cleaning out my parent's home. It looks WAY cooler on her than it did on me, but I loved this dress. I wish I could find a photo of me in it, because I would love to see them next to each other. It made me so happy to see her wear it. I cannot believe this used to be mine.

Christmas Card Photos....

It was pretty cold, but we took our Christmas Card Photos outside (and some inside, too). Kalli asked me if we could have Nana in the photos....  I asked her how she would like to do that, and she said they could hold up angles because Nana is an angel now. That kid ALWAYS knows how to make me cry. This is just one of the 90 I took.

Happy 7th Birthday EJ

A couple of weeks ago, we went to a ceramic place to have my Niece's 7th birthday party. The place was run like a boot camp, but the kids loved the projects they made, and the party only lasted 60 minutes....  the kids loved it. I loved taking the pictures of little things I knew my sister might have missed otherwise...  here are just a few. 

 

And, thanks to some posters at two peas....  I got a smoking deal at QVC on the Mia Doll that my niece really wanted (I picked it up for my dad for her). It came with lots of outfits AND the skates. She was so excited to see it. It was awesome.

Happy Thanksgiving

No matter where you are and what you are doing today, I hope you take 5 minutes to be thankful for the little things that surround you every day. I hope you are grateful for something simple in your life and that you take a minute to write it down so you never ever forget it. I am so grateful for every time I come into our living room and I see these two snuggled into each other. Kaya always covered in her baby blankies and Kalli snuggling in as close to her as she possibly can. I am grateful for every moment I get to life my life as their Mom. I wish my Mom was here to see them, and at times, I let the sadness overwhelm my happiness at the holidays.... but I am grateful I got to be her kid for 34 years. I had my husband's cousin tell me that he would always be jealous that I got to have her as my Mom. I hope I always remember to be grateful for what was instead of sad about what is missing now.

Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you travel safe and enjoy every moment.

Talking on a Corn Dog Phone

I have NO CLUE why this made them laugh so much, but last night, these two talked FOREVER on the corn dogs I made them for dinner. Kaya did not even want to eat it because they she could not talk on it anymore.

These are the simple little every day type things I love about my life and I pray I never forget them.

A Webkinz party...

 

The girls went to a Webkinz party, and MAN, the mom did a great job with it. If your kids play on webkinz (mine love it) you would have been impressed. She even built a wheel of WOW and had the kids spin it. She played all kinds of games the kids knew and loved.  It was very cool. I wish I could be that talented....  it was fun! 

  

I took the above photo of Ky as we were about to leave, and I love it. This kid just has a face I could kiss all day. 

Hope you are all having a wonderful TODAY! 

Curly Hair

Kalli always wishes for curly hair. She has the thinnest, straightest hair on the planet! We put it into 14 tight little braids the other night and left it for about 36 hours....  then, we took it out, and SHE LOVED IT! She was so excited to go to school, "With my new awesome hair, Mommy" Just had to show you my little curly haired girl.

This child is a complete nutball

AND I LOVE IT!
I was cooking the other day, and she came out dressed like this. I have no clue what possessed her to go put together this odd outfit! I thought she looked like a swimmer from the 1920's. It kept just cracking me up. She was doing this little boxing thing too. And then dancing while boxing.... She is a riot. I burned part of dinner because I was too busy chasing her around with my camera. She makes me laugh out loud every single day.

 

I hope always is just so funny and not self conscious at all. She is a hoot. I love being her Mom!  

A kiss from a little princess

I felt so lucky to have got this shot the other night. It just made me happy.
Busia loves little Kaya more than life (because she really reminds her of my Mom when my Mom was a little girl).  Usually, when Busia asks for a kiss from KyKy, Kaya says, "Tomorrow. I will give you one tomorrow Busia." And, as always, Busia never complains....  tonight, Kaya ran RIGHT UP TO HER and planted one on her, and I got it on film (well, not film, but you know what I mean...)

Dancing With Uncle Matt

Man my girls LOVE my brother. It makes me so happy to see them around him. Since I can remember with them, they have BOTH loved that boy.

Maybe it is because he dances with them like a ROCK STAR and he is a WAYYYY better dancer than I am???  I just love how much they love that boy.

Happy 85th Birthday Busia

We are so lucky to have you in our lives.

 

We are grateful Uncle Matt came in to celebrate with us

  

And I love that scrapbooking allows us to make a quick, simple, inexpensive, very meaningful gift. We made Busia a "10 things we love about Busia"" book with lots of memories and fun photos. She loved it. And the girls TOTALLY loved making it. I hope they never lose sight of the importance of being thoughtful. 

 

Katie just won the awesome purse!!

Thank you to everyone who commented. I was so glad it was not just one little person! I am grateful to have read your thoughts on kindness. It made my heart feel happy.

Speaking of a happy heart. Little Kaya just pulled the name - and the winner is KATIE. I went to her name in comments to find her email and I read about how she had her first birthday without her dad yesterday. It broke my heart and I felt SO HAPPY that Kaya pulled her name to get her a belated birthday gift. I get so sad on my birthday without my Mom. I am so happy she won this cool bag the day after that hard day! Way to go little Kaya! Great pull!

Hope you all are making something this Monday. I have not made anything yet, but I am going to sew bags with Kal when she gets home! Will post a photo of her tomorrow.

Three Simple Thanksgiving Albums for sale

If you are looking for a simple, ready to add photos 6 x 6 album....  look here

It is my etsy store. I just added three little Thanksgiving albums that could make a great gift for someone you love.

Making Gifts with Kalli

I had a rough day - there was very little foot traffic at the show I attended today. It always makes me sad when I spend an entire day to sell nothing when my family really is counting on me to bring in some extra money for the holidays. It just makes me sad - plus, I think I am getting a sinus infection which makes me want to go lie down....  well, with two little ones who missed me all day, that never happens!!  Neil's birthday is in a couple of weeks, and Kalli was all excited to make him a surprise today. He never reads my blog, so I can post it here and he will never see it.  She designed the project (album and journal from her and her sister, dug out and picked the paper and the ribbon, even picked the Cricut font and cut it all herself. I was sending an email, and she was behind me holding it just like this - she glued the letters on herself and even reached up and got my brayer to make sure they stuck.

They also picked out an awesome gift for him at Target - it made me smile when they both LOVED it and were dying to get it for him. I will post that once he opens in because if Kal sees a photo of it on here, she will be mad! :) 

We will pick a winner tonight and post it first thing tomorrow. So, if you have not commented to win the purse yet - do it soon!

Also thanks to sister who came in town this weekend and took my kids and our grandma to a special lunch (where you throw peanuts on the floor - Kaya's favorite place in town) and mini golfing at the mall. Everyone had a nice time, and it was great for Busia to love on the great grand babies for an afternoon. 

Zion show today and Thanksgiving albums

Had a busy day yesterday which included walking a craft show (it was nice because I usually work them) and going to Archivers (YEAH). I picked up some cute albums and worked hard to get them completed for my Zion show today.

Here is what they looked like. I hope I sell them, but I really hope I have one left to use for US! I loved how these came out. Shot photos quickly with flash (it was 2 AM and I was tired)....  but you can see them....

Hope you are having a great weekend. I will draw for the purse tonight - so comment HERE if you want a shot to win it. Or, some people have just sent me an email because they could not get their comment to post. That works, too!

New Class Kit & be KIND and WIN an original handmade bag!!

Two BIG things today.... make sure you go all the way to the bottom of this post to see how you can win this handmade bag:

Here is my new on-line kit -

I need to tell you that I love this project so much it makes my heart hurt a little bit when I look at it. I feel like I need to put it into a safety deposit box, just in case!!

I love this project. I love that no matter what ever happens, I made myself sit down and write these five letters. Those will never be taken away, and from this day forward, my family will always have them. I am so proud to have done this, and so happy that I have told both girls, Neil, and my Dad the little things I need them to always know.

I also included a letter to my Mom.

I believe in Heaven, so I guess I have to believe that she was reading it over my shoulder as I typed it, and I sort of just needed to write certain things to her. Plus, my girls will always have this special note I wrote to my Mom. It just all makes me feel proud to be a scrapbooker. Like doing this one project makes everything I have ever done with scrapbooking worthwhile. I just have wanted to make this for so long....

OK, here are the details.....

In this kit (sold at Just Need It) you get just about everything you need to make an envelope album.
Basically for $48 you receive:
*5 pre-cut (on the AccutCut) envelopes made from Lucky Creative Cafe Paper
*two pre-cut chipboard covers with corners already rounded (thanks Marty!)
*two O-rings to bind it together
*One 12 x 12 awesome printed transperancy to trim and use to accent your project
*Five sheets of 12 x 12 lined papers to use to write out your letters (after you trim them down a bit so they fit in the envelopes) to either 5 different people you love or 5 different letters to one person
*A complete set of Danelle's awesome Impress-On rub-ons that will warm your heart and complete your pages in a way that really makes you feel happy - I am done, and I have TONS left to use on other things
*Lots of ribbons and trims to use on your o-rings
*A complete set of 3 full 12 x 12 sheets of two sizes of chipboard letters - you have SO MANY of these!
*Tags in various sizes and colors
* another sheet of paper to use to cover your LETTERS title on the front cover
All you need on your own is Adhesive, Stamps (or you can just use the chipboard letters that are included), your thoughts, and a few photos. THAT IS IT! Complete list of what is in this kit can be found here.
You can do this - I know you can. And, I PROMISE you that you will always be glad you created this for your family.
Here are a few more photos...

You can pick up your kit and then I will email you full instructions. I will also help you in ANYWAY that I can do make sure you MAKE THIS for your family. I am so excited to share this kit with you!!

OK, now - PLEASE try to win this awesome bag!

It is a long story, but Andrea from the Nomi Collection, the lady who makes these bags is SO NICE and she made a bag just for one of you!! She was kind to me and completely made my day with a surprise in the mail!! It may have been small to her, but it meant the world to me! All you have to do is share one little thing you can do to simply be kind to another person. This bag can be yours if you comment on this post simply listing an act of kindness (one you did, one you will do, one you wish someone would do for you....) and PLEASE include your email. And this awesome bag can be yours. I will have the girls do a random draw on Sunday! Not many of you ever post, so if you post - your chances are GREAT to win this! :)

I hope you make this project - and I am so excited that one of you will soon have this HAPPY BAG to carry around with you! Enjoy your week!

Mom & Me class 10 Things I Love About You

I am teaching a class for the Town of Schererville (Indiana) on Monday, December 15th from 6 - 7 PM at the Town Hall.   I am really looking forward to helping families create a meaningful holiday gift for someone they love. I really enjoyed my last Mom and Me class, and cannot wait for this one.  I love watching Moms and Kids create something together.

Here are a few photos:

You can sign up at the Town Hall - email me if you would like more information.

I love this book and I am so happy that Kalli already made this for Kaya for Christmas! I cannot wait for her to give it to KyKy - and how cool will this be in 20 years???  (or when they are 13 and 16 and fighting over clothes...  I will take this out and yell "YOU LOVED EACH OTHER AT ONE TIME!"  Yeah, that is me, always planning to have proof that at one point they really really loved each other!!  :)

Hope you have had a great weekend. I am having Mac problems, so posting is a struggle right now. I love when computers work, want to cry when they do not!!  Happy Veteran's Day. I am so grateful for everyone who works to protect every one of our freedoms.

Sneak Peak of Letter from Me class...

I am one link away from sending out my next newsletter....  but I am so excited about my next kit, I wanted to post a sneak peak of one of the greatest projects I have ever created.  Just looking at it makes my heart happy. Kits to create this project are limited and will be availble as soon as we can get a link to the cart posted (hopefully tomorrow or Monday). More details on this project coming soon...  but the basic idea is that you use this kit to write out 5 letters that you will NEVER be sorry that you wrote.