Saturday, December 31, 2011

NEW Photos...

                                    ...from my favorite day in 2011.

Most years don't have ONE day that stands out.
We were blessed this year to have ONE day, and to have it be a perfectly JOYFUL day!
This day was the sum total of many, many precious moments. Moments spent falling in love. Moments shared growing close to new family. Moments of planning, dreaming and crafting. Prayers answered. Hopes realized.

So, when my daughter met Krista, she knew her day was in the best hands possible. She knew that Krista would capture the magic of all the added together moments, and give her the photos that would tell her love story. I'll share a handful of these magnificent photos with you.
You can find Krista Photography here.
And a link to the Facebook Album of her work from the day here.

Enjoy!













Friday, December 30, 2011

NEW Friends...

Before I look ahead to the new year, and share my thoughts about forging ahead, I wanted to say thank you to some of the women who have enriched my life this year through our blogging friendships. I have been spiritually and emotionally supported and encouraged. I have been inspired to create, write, dream and try new things. I have laughed and cried with these women...prayed for them and rejoiced with them. I'd like to share one or two things that I have learned from each of them.

Diana from These Days of Mine has taught me to look to the sky.
                                                           And to love family history enough to write it down.

Debbie from It's All About Purple reminds me to see beauty everywhere.
                                                                    And to embrace adventure.

Ayala from A Sun Kissed Life shows me how to tell my truth. Poetically.

Heidi from Me As A Mother tells it like it is, with a sense of humor and magical photos.

Melissa from Melissa Camara Wilkins says more with a few words than I ever will.
                                                                                  ...even if I write a whole book.
                                                                                  ...six words at a time ;-)  

Tabitha from Fresh Mommy lives fully, faithfully.
                                             She reminds me to see the rich blessings in my day to day.

Kristi from Breath...Shine...Love wrestles honestly, writes beautifully.
                                                       And loves Parenthood - the TV show and the role!

Nessa from Moments & Impressions is a gentle soul.
                                                        She helps me want to be true to me.

Deb from simplify.daily.life challenges my creativity.
                          And {without knowing it at the time} gave me a wonderful birthday present!

Barbara from Footprints in the Sand reminds me of a time in my life that I cherish.
                                                                                                            I love her stories!
                                                                           
Melanie from Whimsical Creations inspires me to invest in my craft, to develop it!
                                                                            And reminds me to be a fun, generous mom.

MJ at Emjayandthem's Blog wows me with her wisdom.
                                           And in her understanding I find courage.

Rachel and Grace from and then, she {snapped} and grace loves the beatles
                                                               have a love for photography that's contagious.
                                                                             And they're a mother and daughter who blog.
                                                                                                  That, in and of itself, is inspiring!

I feel very grateful to everyone who takes the time to make a pretty space in this blog world. To share their hearts, their thoughts, their kids cute faces and antics, and their creativity. I have learned so much from all of you!

Most of all, I'd like to thank Claire from Beaktweets ...without her I don't think I'd have ever had the courage to really go for it and develop this blog. Hers is still the first blog I hope to see each day. And it's not ONLY cause of the photos of her sweet girl...she's a young woman, wise beyond her years, who always lifts my spirits.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

NEW Interest!


I've discovered Pinterest!!
I've been excited to venture onto Pinterest for quite some time. But I waited until after my daughter's wedding. Until I had a bit more free time. Cause I knew once I started "pinning" I'd be hooked! And I am. I really love looking at all the creative ideas floating around the web! I've shared about some Christmas crafts {herehere and here} and a cute recipe idea I copied {here}. I have also tried out this easy recipe and I think it's well on its way to becoming part of our Christmas morning tradition.




It's so yummy ~ you get that great pancake taste without having to stand and make lots of individual pancakes. I've been asked to try adding blueberries or chocolate chips and see what happens! Here's our Christmas morning deliciousness!!




Wednesday, December 28, 2011

reNEWed space!


My scrapbooking room needed a face lift.

Which is a nice way to say that it had become 
cluttered 
and completely unorganized.

So, week before last, I got out my elbow grease and set to work.

I'm loving the cleaned up and sorted out space. 

Looking forward to a very crafty 2012!

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Ringing in the NEW!

New Look!

Thanks to some time with my daughter, I have reworked my blog a bit.
I hope you like the changes!
It was important to me to keep the photo...
it's a picture I took in Mexico last December.
{and my time in Mexico meant a lot to me}
Plus...
I have a tendency to start things
and not push myself to follow through unless some one's holding me accountable.
But I've written 185 posts since February of this year.
Because I've wanted to.
And I'm feeling pretty happy about that.
Therefore,
I wanted to save the photo and the colors...for the good mojo...
and make some changes for your viewing pleasure!
Would love your feedback!

New Toy!
I got a new toy for Christmas.
It's called Flip Pal.
Santa might have ordered it here.
I was afraid it might be too good to be true...but, no.
It's beyond good.
Take a 12x12 scrapbook page.
{or any magazine article, poster, photo etc.}
Let the little scanner take a bunch of small scans of the page that overlap.
Take the SD memory card out of the scanner, put it into your computer.
Touch a few keys.
And seconds later you get this:


or this:


Just some scrapbook pages that I can now fully
SCAN.
And save.
And share!!

New Year!
Ready or not, here it comes.
This year, I feel more ready than not.
Stay tuned.
You might be part of what's inspiring some of my 
new choices
for 2012.


Monday, December 26, 2011

These are a Few of my Favorite Things!


PLAYING GAMES WITH MY KIDS ~ WE LOVE BANANAGRAMS

MAKING A CHRISTMAS BANANAGRAM TOGETHER.
{and not giving up til we used all the letters!}

CHRISTMAS EVE PAT'S GAME 

CANDLE LIGHT...

LOTS AND LOTS OF CANDLE LIGHT!

CHEEEEZY CHRISTMAS MUSIC

 CHRISTMAS EVE FONDUE
{a tradition started many years ago when we lived in France}

LOTS OF TOO MANY PRESENTS

HAVING TO OPEN 'LITERALLY' ONE HUNDRED TEN BOXES TO GET TO A BRACELET
{thanks kids!}

TWIN PRESENTS

MORE TWIN PRESENTS

DOING A JIGSAW PUZZLE WITH MY DAUGHTER WHILE THE GUYS WATCH THE CELTICS PLAY

COZY SOCKS AND PJ'S


We've had a wonderful weekend ~ now topped off with another rest-filled day in the pj's.
I love Christmas.
And I really love this family!

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Christmas Morning Magic


"Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love
of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for
having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time."
~Laura Ingalls Wilder

At my house....all the twenty-somethings still believe.
Looks like their stockings were filled!
We are looking forward to another day of laughter.
Of love and family.

Merry, Merry Christmas Everyone!

Friday, December 23, 2011

Scrappy, Happy Holiday!

Some of you might have work Christmas parties.
I have workshop Christmas parties!
This Tuesday {with the regulars} we did a little celebrating. 

Which means:

Red and Green M & M's!

A few give aways and a raffle basket!

ADORABLE Santa Hat Brownies for dessert!


This idea was one of the first that I found and copied from 
Pinterest (my new found addiction)
I altered/dumbed down this recipe,
Note the pre-made brownie bites, and the frosting in a can.
These were easy and fun and just might reappear on Christmas day!
My only helpful hint is to take the white nozzle off the can and use the thin one underneath.

We got LOTS of scrapping done, in spite of all our celebrating!

I love my Tuesday group ~ they spoiled me with lovely gifts, we laughed and shared the latest of our Christmas preparation woes. Got some pages done. And had {as always} a jolly old time!



Thursday, December 22, 2011

Winter Sky





Tuesday afternoon.
Mundane work errands.
When I saw the sky, I was so happy that I was out of the office for a bit!
Really lifted my spirits.
So I thought I'd share them!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

High on a Hill...



...above the Christmas tree nursery down the street,
a 'neighbor' lights a big, beautiful tree for us all to enjoy.
I love seeing this tree on my way home every evening.
Thanks, neighbor.


Sunday, December 18, 2011

All Wrapped Up


"The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree
is the presence of a happy family
all wrapped up in each other."
Burton Hills

I got the best of all gifts on Friday night. My daughter, her husband and a family we love so much 
{so much we pretend they're actually family}
were all around my Christmas tree.
A few presents.
A little food.
A lot of laughter.
Just wonderful!