Storyside B & Nevertheless

I got a really neat surprise at church last week. Two of the bands from Air1 will be coming to give a youth concert at OUR church! I was so excited when I seen this in the bulletin. The concert will be the first day of our Easter Break on a Monday evening....April 2nd.

Storyside B

Nevertheless

I listen to Air1 online at work and in the car to/from work. The kids even sing along to the songs. It's so excited that our small church will be hosting these two bands in just 2 weeks! We attended the planning meeting after services today. Gene volunteered to do outdoor security and I'm going to be working in the kitchen. The bands have their own "demand list" that we need to get together and then we'll be handing out bottled water and popcorn free of charge for the kids who attend the concert. I also volunteered to make the labels we'll be putting on the water bottles.

Labels:

I used Sarah VanDyke's Frames Vol. 5 for around the verse.

"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:13-14 NIV

We've arranged for Joshua to do a sleepover with grammy that evening. This will be Kyle's first concert. We are planning on paying for a ticket for our sitter and asking her to come along to help keep an eye on Kyle. Our youth minister estimates 350-500 kids will be here for the concert. So that's alot of lives that can be reached for the Lord.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Nope no green beer here! Only some leprachaun pudding with gold dust sprinkled on top and the traditional corned beef and cabbage. When we went to put it in the crockpot this morning, there was NO seasoning packet inside the bag. Though it advertised there was one! Gene to the rescue again! Whatever he used to season it....turned out so delicious! I'm looking forward to some Rueban sandwiches for leftovers. The kids even ate the cabbage with totally shocked me!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was a little bit lazy today, but I did manage to get all the "junk drawers" in the kitchen sorted, cleaned and organized. I'm so proud of myself for that! You don't know how long we've stabbed ourselves with pushpins while rooting through the drawers looking for something. LOL!

Grammy-Gram's tulips have finally emerged! And then....the snow hit and BURIED them! I thought this layout was appropriate for today!

Hint 'O Spring

For full credits go HERE

I hope your weekend is a great one!

St. Pat's Day SNOW!!!

Yes...we got the traditional St. Patty's Day snowfall today. We now have about two inches on the ground now and it's still coming down. Quite a contrast...considering Tuesday it was 70 degrees and sunny....I think I need to move to a warmer climate. 'Cause just having the sun shining and being able to open up our sunroof was such a mood lifter!

I have a quick layout to share with you all. I shared pics of everyone with Duchess except for myself. I'll admit....that's 'cause I didn't have a good one I'd be willing to post on the web yet. LOL! But here we are....she's so tired of posing...so I just had to add that cute caption above her.

This was done using Merkee's "Colorful Silliness" Kit and it was so much fun working on this. It's so outside my box. I also used Merkee's Tape Fun, Frames & Alpha. Link to full credits HERE

Forget new furniture and carpeting....

She's here and she's SO adorable!!! Just don't let those eyes and cute face fool ya though....she packs ALOT of mischieve into one little furry body. She's ALL paws and legs....you should see her try to walk down the stairs....it's hilarious. She's a beauty though and we are so blessed to have her.

Within minutes of being home....she had found one loose edge on the berber carpeting in the livingroom and thought tug of war was in order. LOL! Let's see....she chewed the wing off of the cats toy, peed on the carpet 8 times and did #2 twice already in the house. She tried to play tug of war with Joshua's jeans that were left laying in the middle of the livingroom floor. She chewed a lego....which she dug out from UNDER the couch....and found the remote in the cushions of the couch(Gene loved that one! LOL!) She likes to jump up on you....and the kids like to fall to the ground and let her nibble on them! A habit we are trying to break ALL THREE of them on!!! LOL!

So, we took our first walk tonight and she sure does pull. I don't think she's been outside much, because everything seemed to catch her attention. She's definetly a "water dog" and a "garbage dog". She'll find a piece of rubbish in the oddest places and pick it up in her mouth, UGH!!!

She has a nose for a mile long....very good sign for hunting! So without further ado....I present to you........Duchess.

She seems to enjoy when Gene lays on the couch...she cuddles right up to him.

That's her favorite toy...a pink stuffed bow with a small squeaker inside.

The boys just love to play with her!

Here she is waiting outside the bathroom. She wanted to get into the tub with Joshua. He got out of the tub and shooed her out, then closed the door so she couldn't get back in to the bathroom. I snapped this picture just after I re-opened the door. She was so cute, just sitting right outside the door patiently waiting for him to be done.

I'll get some better pics tomorrow....hopefully outside with better lighting. Night!

PHEW!!!! Taxes are D-O-N-E!!!

As much as I didn't want my purty little pup pic pushed down...I just had to share the excitement and relief of my accomplishment today!!!

I'm DONE with our taxes! All we need to do is hit the SEND button. I'm waiting for Gene to come home and review them, plus we'll be using his card to pay for them...no way am I paying an extra $30 from our return just to have them deduct their fees from the auto return. I used Turbo Tax online for the past two years to do our taxes.

Since I had the candy wrapper business, I thought it was the best way to go and it sure did us good last year. Found all kinds of deductions that I wouldn't have known to take. I freaked out a few Sundays back....I think late Jan/early Feb. I thought I'd surprise Gene and quick finish/file the taxes before I went to church that morning. Gene came home from work and I was still in my PJ'S!!! Mind you....it was around 5 PM!!! I was in tears.

I had to tell him that we owed $2,000 + for our state taxes. For the life of me....I couldn't figure out why and I wasn't going to file until I could get it right. He laughed at me(Gee....thanks, all that stress and tears and you laugh at me????) He told me, "Honey, it's gotta just be a mistake somewhere, you'll figure it out." Yeah, ok....nevermind I spent the whole day lookin' for the "mistake" and even missed church because of it. LOL!

Well....he hinted today that the taxes really needed done. He's counting on the federal refund to get some things done. Yeah, ok, um-hummmm, I know! So, I came home from work and sat down with my nose to the grind stone.

HURRAY!!!! I finally found the mistake.....I didn't enter our State Tax withholding!!! Yeah, I know....silly me. The reason I didn't notice that before is because I didn't even make it to the end of the State Tax review....where it shows your "bottom line". LOL! I was watching that nifty little box they have in the top left corner that calculates your refund/tax amt owed as you work through your return. I guess I must have panicked....'cause that little box was in the red the whole time and wouldn't go below $2,000 that we would owe!

Now....when I look back at it...yeah I can laugh! Now please don't hold these blonde roots against me....ok???

Our NEW Weim Baby!!!

Ok...she isn't here yet....but I have these pics from her current owners and so excited, that I didn't want to wait to show her off. So here she is! They've been calling her Duchess and I kinda like that name...so we're gonna keep it!






Ain't she purty??? Gene will go take a ride to pick her up after Kyle gets on the bus for school this Wednsday.

I searched the net for two days looking for a female pup. She came at a reasonable price...$350!!! The owners bred to keep her and run her in field trial competition. But the guy who has her had a neck/back injury and isn't able to get the litter of pups in the field. They are 12 weeks old now and he wants them to get good homes.

We are SO excited!!!!

Weimeraner Puppy WANTED!!!

Oh, y'all...I'm so heartbroken.

We had to give up our five year weimeraner that we got just this past Thursday...a few hours after my FIL passed away. He was a great distraction and comfort to the boys for a few days, but the past two days he became WAY too aggressive with both the boys. Lashed out at both of them. Finally, after biting my oldest son's finger and drawing a bit of blood and knocking him to the floor...we had to send him back to his original owner.

My oldest was crying, balling that now he was afraid he'll forget about Papa, because the dog looked almost identical to my FIL's dog. Both the boys are taking it hard and we are on the search for a weimeraner pup.

We prefer a female, as they are less dominant and hyper as they grow out of the puppy stage.We've owned a weimeraner in the past, so we are very familiar with the breed. My husband was also raised with them and he would be interested in one for hunting purposes as well.

Due to the kids being so young, we have to get a pup, so they can grow up together.

Anyone know of some good resources?

I've tried searching online with limited results.

A new addition and a loved one gone...

We have a new addition to our family! His name is Expo and he is a five year old male weimeraner. We called a few days ago from an ad in our local newspaper.

He was free to a good home.

Here he is with Joshua holding the leash. We had arranged to pick him up Thursday evening. That was before we knew all the events that would happen that day.

He came into our lives just hours after Papa passed away and left our lives.

We got the results from Kyle's chest X-Ray....he has bronchitis. Nothing we can do, but let it run it's course. The fever did break finally Thursday afternoon! But he's been running a low grade temp since then. Funny thing is...I have a cough just like him and can't shake this YUCK feeling. Hmmmmmm.......

So, I left Kyle with daddy to take a nap...they'd both had a long night/day. I took Joshua to go pick up Kyle's schoolwork for the days he's missed, take back some movies, and to the local dollar store to pass some time. I forgot my cell phone in my car and we browsed through the store. I didn't even realize that Gene was desperately trying to get hold of me. As I pulled up in front of the video store the phone rang and he said didn't they give you the message at the video store? I asked, no why? Because I need you home now, dad's dying. OK....the only thoughts through my mind were....if he doesn't make it there in time....it's all my fault for not having the phone with me. So a carefree excursion with Joshua, instantly turned into a race against time to get home so Gene can get to his dad's bedside.

He made it and had time to tell Bud that he loved him and would take care of mom. That I loved him and said goodbye and that the kids said they loved him and goodbye. He nodded his head each time. He was coherent, since they hadn't given him any morphine since Gene had left that morning. He stopped swallowing and they were unable to give him anything by mouth. A morphine pump was on order, but not installed yet. Gene and my sister-in-law Regina, were holding his hands as he took his last breath. Gene's youngest sister, who is 5 months pregnant, did not make it in time to be there when he passed. She lives almost a 45 min drive away.

He called me at 6 PM to tell me that Bud had just passed away.

The boys are having a difficult time dealing with Papa being gone. Kyle is quiet and introverted. Very sad and doesn't want to talk about it at all. Joshua is angry, frustrated and acting out. Gene is being so strong for me. I'm just falling apart and he seems to know just what to do or say.

Last night, we all had just about had enough. The boys were fighting. Joshua just wanted to be with Kyle and he only wanted to be alone. So it ended up that Kyle yanked Joshua off his bed and he fell on the floor smack on his head. I was on the pbone with my mom and Gene had the do outside at the time. When I figured out what had happened...I put my arms around them both as Gene stood behind me and told them...I know this is hard on you....it's hard on all of us....and we need to pull together and think of each other's feelings.

Gene sensed I needed a break and called our sitter. He totally surprised me and we went to see the movie "Wild Hogs" last night. Very good timing for us. The movie was very funny and had us laughing most of the way through it. We both needed the comic relief and for a few hours it took our mind off things.

I'm SO not ready to say goodbye. We went to Kathy's for dinner tonight. After the kids left the table, Kathy asked me if I wanted to go and say goodbye to Bud before they close the casket tomorrow. It wasn't a total surprise to me. Gene told me when he got home Thursday I would have the opportunity to see him before they closed the casket if wanted. Being that we were all sick, I didn't have the opportunity to say goodbye before he passed and I needed to stay with Kyle when he was dying so that Gene could go and be with him. I really wanted to be there. It's Bud's wishes to have a closed casket so I wasn't going to go. But Kathy when Kathy asked, she said she was going tomorrow in the early afternoon. I felt like she wanted someone to be with her and told her I would go.

I broke down tonight and told Gene, I'm not ready to say goodbye. It's going to be so hard tomorrow. I'll be going right after church to the funeral home for a private viewing and then the calling hours are 7-9PM. We'll be there at 10AM for calling hours and the funeral at 11. Our minister will be doing the ceremony. Then there will be a full military burial immediately after. They will do a 21 gun salute and taps with a flag presentation.

I'm not sure I can handle that. I feel so bad that I can't seem to keep it together, especially for the boys. I told Gene tonight, How can I help them feel better if I don't feel any better?

Please pray as this will be a very difficult few days.

One Week....

I'll probably be adding some layouts that have taken me forever to get finished up later, but for now just a little update.

We are just now getting over the flu. It took it's toll on the whole family. I was the last to come down with it and let me tell you I fought it the whole way. Today is the best I've felt since Sunday night. I had to rush Kyle into the doctor's today. He'd been running a fever all night of 102 degrees, at least that's what OUR thermometer said. By the time I got him to the office, they told me his tem was 103.9 degrees. They tested him for strep, but it was negative and they took a chest X-Ray to be sure he doesn't have pneumonia. We're still waiting on the call from the office about the results for that.

Gene spent the night last night at his dad's. The first since he's been over the flu. It was a long night and late/early morning they had to call the hospice nurse to come out because Bud couldn't swallow. He's refusing to have an IV or to go back to the hospital at all. He can't talk or communicate very well, but he understands and can hear when you talk to him. There is a hospital bed in the livingroom now to help keep him comfortable.

Gene came home in tears....they said it will probably be only a week longer before he's gone. Without being able to swallow fluids, he'll dehydrate and he won't allow them to take him to the hospital for an IV therapy.

After Gene left the house last night the kids and I watched a movie and when it was over, Kyle had a tear in his eye. I asked him why he was crying and he said he was thinking about Papa. He didn't want to talk around his little brother, so I took him back to my room. He said, "I know Papa is very ill." Red faced and teary eyed, "And I'm just hoping he gets better." I couldn't help, the tears just came and I told him, "I can't promise you that papa's gonna get any better, honey. He's very sick and probably won't get any better."

I read him the story that a friend of ours in church mailed to us this week. "Waterbugs and Dragonflies" I would highly recommend this book. The story gave Kyle some comfort and he knows papa is going to a better place and won't be able to come back to tell us where he's gone, but we'll be able to be with him someday again.

I said, "See Kyle, we will miss Papa, but he'll be waiting for us and we'll see him again." Kyle said to me crying, "Yeah, but I'm only seven, so it will be a long time for me." How do you answer that? I just hugged him. He wants to see Papa to say goodbye. But that is against Papa's wishes. He didn't want the kids to see him this way. We are going to arrange for him to talk to Papa on the phone to say one last goodbye when Gene goes over tonight to be with Bud again. Hopefully this will give Kyle some peace with the whole thing.

One surprise....we're getting a puppy!!! Well, not really a puppy....he's five years old and he's a weimeraner. So for that breed...if you know that breed....it's a REALLY BIG PUPPY! He's housebroken and been to training school with pure breed papers. His previous owner had a male/female and is moving to a place where he can't have them. The female is spoken for, but the male they can't find a home for, so WE'RE IT!!! Gene spoke to the lady last night. Hopefully we can bring him home tonight. The kids know there is a big surprise, but not what it is. They keep guessing, Chuck E. Cheese, a new PS2 game, a kiss??? I just keep telling them....nope BIGGER than all of that!

So hopefully tomorrow, or late tonight, I'll have pics of our new "addition" and some layouts completed!

Bye for now!

Downhill Spiral...

It's been a really eventful week. Kyle had his Blue & Gold Banquet last night for his cub scouts and has earned his bobcat and tiger cub badges. I was presented with two "mom's pins" for Kyle to pin on me and Gene received a certificate of appreciation for support. They even gave Joshua a framed Certificate of participation, which was so cute, since as they were awarding the badges to the tiger cubs, Joshua was up front with us and he kept saying, "Don't forget about me!" The crowd giggled, it was too precious. I was completly unaware that they had a certificate for Joshua and he was so proud of it!

I'm so very proud of my little Tiger Cub!!!

Ok, can't resist....one more photo of Kyle!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now for the rest of the week....which isn't very good news at all. After returning home from the banquet, Joshua went to bed fully dressed and immediately fell asleep. He awoke at 11PM crying sitting up in his bed. Poor thing had vomitted all over his bed and he was trying to get his dress shirt off but couldn't get the buttons undone. Gene has a VERY weak stomache and could barely gag his way through the clean-up. We'd just gotten Joshua in clean sheets and jammies laying on the couch resting when my mother-in-law called.

I knew it was bad, because it was 12:30 AM. She asked to talk to Gene and needed him there immediately because Bud wouldn't settle down. He was agitated and pacing...or trying to anyway. By the time Gene got there the hospice nurse was there and they had doubled his morphine in an effort to try and calm him down and get him to rest. Gene spent the rest of the night with him, mostly up because Bud just didn't know where he was and was hallucinating. Gene called me from work this morning and told me that he had a rough night with dad. He's not used to seeing him that way and at one point the only thing he could do was to hold him and let him know someone was there that he knew and cared about him. I know this is so hard for him. I feel the end is nearing fast and I'm so unprepared for what will happen next.

I felt it necessary to sit Kyle down and tell him that Papa has cancer and that he is very sick and probably won't get any better. Kyle understood that Papa would go to heaven if he dies and didn't say much other than that. He tends to bottle things and keep them in when they bother him, so I pray that he will be at peace with all that is going on. Kyle has not had a chance to go over to show Papa his Pinewood Derby trophy and the video of his races yet, because he came down sick with the flu early Thursday morning and we wanted to be cautious and keep whatever it is going through the kids away from Bud. Now I'm afraid that Kyle won't get a chance to share that with Bud.

My mother-in-law told me this afternoon that it's too much for one person to care for him at this point and they are looking into getting a hospital bed for the living room to help keep him resting. So Gene, will probably be spending more nights over there and it will make it rough for him physically and emotionally.

Please keep us in your prayers. Pray for wisdom, strength, courage and peace during all of this.

We have a winner......

FINALLY!!! After two cancellations due to bad weather, Kyle's cub scout pack held their Pinewood Derby last night. Kyle was so nervous...in the car on the way to the meet, he was so quiet and withdrawn you woulda thought we were headed to a funeral.

Here's a pic of his car


He had so much fun racing! Here they are at the weigh in....a perfect 5 ounces!

Kyle's car won 10 out of 13 heats and most of the time his car was well ahead of the pack!

Censored Tools by Merkeley Designs
Gene brought his old "winner" from his racing glory days and the pack let them have a "Father/Son" race. Of course, Daddy's car won, though it was a VERY close....almost TOO close to call race!




Kyle took Third Place overall out of 31 cars!!! He was so funny, raising his trophy above his head like a nascar pose! So......that means he gets to advance and race at the BIG council race in March!

And here's the four trophy winners....look at Kyle enjoying the spotlight! LOL!

And finally the Winner's Circle!!! Complete with the parents....please forgive my poor pathetic pic...I'm in desperate need of a haircut/coloring and wasn't expecting to be having my picture taken by any means.


This Friday is the Blue & Gold Banquet....so Amy....we better get cracking on that kit! LOL!

My Heart is breaking....

I'm sitting here in tears as I type this. My father in law is not doing well at all. He is at home now. I took the boys to see him this past Saturday. At first, Joshua was a bit afraid and wouldn't even look at papa. But I told him to show papa the space star he made with the tinkertoys and he took it over. Bud(FIL) was able to open his eyes and admire it. He put his fist out for Joshua to "bump" it....their version of a high five. And Joshua did, then arm wrestled papa with his arm up to his chest. Bud pretended that it was stuck and he pretended to cry (his voice was so raspy that it seemed he really was crying.) I'm so thankful that the boys had this bit of time with their papa.

It was all I could do to keep from crying...I know if the boys weren't their I would have busted out in tears. Bud would have his eyes open...then he'd appear to just fall asleep and his eyes would roll and his toes twitch.

They put him on morphine yesterday for the pain and last Friday he signed a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) order. Hospice instructed Kathy(MIL) to call them if anything should happen and NOT to call 911 or an ambulance. He won't chew his mint anymore (he was trying to stop the tobacco chew) and he doesn't want coffee anymore.

I think the reality of it all is setting in with me now. Though I knew this day would come, it's still hard. This seems to be all happening way too fast. I'm trying to stay strong for Gene (DH), but it hurts so bad that he won't talk to me and I'm sad too.

We could really use all the prayers you have.

I have music in my heart and wanna share it with you!

This month's scripture was actually chosen two months ago. I used this month's Challenge Kit that you can receive by completing four seperate challenges this month at DigiScrapShak! This Scripture challenge counts towards one of those four required layouts.
You won't wanna miss this kit....it's FABulous!!!:clap

This month's scripture is:
Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord. Ephesians 5:19
Here is the beautiful word art that Carole Neale has prepared for you. Be sure to click the download link [URL="http://www.4shared.com/file/10052463/37e39bf0/CaroleNeale_FebScriptureChallengeWordArt.html"]HERE[/URL] (the picture below is only a preview web size only)
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v252/sondie/caroleneale_FebruaryScriptu.jpg[/IMG]

You may use the word art or choose to include the scripture in some form on your layout for the challenge.

And here is my example layout using the Challenge Kit and this month's Scripture Word Art
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v252/sondie/Heart-Sing_web.jpg[/IMG]
You can find complete credits [URL="http://www.digiscrapshak.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=14055&limit=recent"]HERE[/URL]....and leave me some Love if you wanna....I would really appreciate that! ;)

Happy Birthday MOM!!!!!!

A very special Happy Birthday for my MOM!!! I made this specially for you and I hope you like it!

Full Credits can be found HERE

I hope your day is a Blessed One!!! And many Healthy, Happy days to fill the year!

Looking forward to the New Year!

It's been a really crazy week here....with aLOT of behind the scenes work on various projects I'm doing for CT commitments. I've been organizing things on my computer and even started using a dayplanner to keep things on track.

But I wanted to check in and show you a few of the things I've been working on so far....scrapping wise!
Here's the first layout I've done since before Christmas! Can you believe that! Yeah....the holidays really kicked my butt! LOL!
I used some new things and an older kit by Merkeley Designs for this. At first glance it may appear to be a Valentine's layout, but this is a different kind of Love Affair! LOL!

Full credits can be found HERE

And here's what I'm working on now...I am absolutely, positively in LOVE with these new stitching thingies from Claudia Campbell!

Find this set HERE! There's four sets in all!

AND good news they are on sale.....as well as everything in the DSS store, but hurry today is the last day for this TWO day Blow Out!


Yup....you read that right! ALL PhotoBlast actions are on SALE! So stock up now!!!
Here's a preview of one of John's latest actions....
featuring my own 'lil Josh in the preview ad! These are new actions coming to the DSS store SOON!


So here's how I used those stitches in an uncompleted(as of yet!) layout. The picture used below is circa January 1956 and is one of the VERY few heritage photos that are in my possession! I got this from my MIL. I'm not quite sure who is pictured in the photo, but they are related to my FIL. Kyle had a project to do at school. They are doing a sock hop and learning about the 50's. They had a one page interview to complete by asking 5 questions from someone who was there in the 50's. My MIL sent home three vintage photos and I can't wait to get them scrapped! I chose to use Amy Cheeseman's latest paper pack, LuAnn's Space because of the rich textured colors and don't those stitches just ROCK that page???

Look for the completed layout in a gallery near YOU soon!

I'm gonna make this a short"er" post, but before I go, I wanted to give you an update on my FIL, Bud.

Thank you all for your thoughts of concern and care. DH, Gene went over to his parents after work last night and the oxycotin they have him on is making him loopy. He dozes in and out of sleep and sometimes doesn't speak coherently.

He can't talk for more than a few seconds without running out of oxygen. We are waiting for a second procedure to drain his lungs with the help of radiology this time to watch where the catheter is traveling. He will be admitted this time for the procedure. It's not scheduled until the 18th...which seems relatively soon, but we have our doubts that his body will keep up until then. My SIL had to go over and shave him yesterday because he couldn't do it himself and DH said that it might come down to him spending a few nights a week there to help out with his care.

Please please please pray for his soul....above and beyond his physical needs...it's his heart that I am concerned about.

Thanks again...It really helps to know there are so many praying for him and our family at this difficult time!

AND....one last thing....as soon as I get some of my CT commitments completed, I'm so excited to design another little freebie for y'all...including the lowercase alpha to match the blue glitter I gave away last week!

TTYL!

Just a quick note today...

I just wanted to say a quick thank you today to all of you who've left me such warm fuzzies here on my blog concerning the glitter alpha. I plan to make the "sequel" soon. I'll be busy working on the DSS newsletter as well so it may be a few days before I can get it done and uploaded but be on the lookout for it!

I'm a bit out of sorts today and I'm having a hard time trying to find the words to go along with what I feel. Gene and I found out today that my father-in-law(Bud) has lung cancer. He's in good spirits still with hope for a good outcome, but for us kids it's a bit devastating. With four grandchildren who adore him and a new grandchild on the way, please keep us in your prayers. I know this will be especially difficult for my husband, Gene. Neither of us has lost a parent yet. Bud's been ill for quite awhile now(heart, diabetes and COPD), but even now it's hard for reality to set in.

Here's a pic of Bud with Joshua a few years ago


Thanks in advance for your thoughts and your prayers!

Should I do it again???

Me thinks the alpha is a hit! Anyone interested in a matching lowercase, numerals and punctuation? Leave me a comment if you are interested. If there is enough response, I'll get started working on them.

A LightBulb Moment

During prayer time last night, I started thinking why am I so unhappy? God answered my question in this way. Sondie....it's not about you....it's about me. Well, to some who don't know the Lord that may sound selfish. But with all that I have been through, I know that he will never leave my side....even when I falter and lose faith. He's been there every step of the way with me. I just need to trust and OBEY....ok the first part I've "kind of" got the hang of....but I guess the second is sometimes so hard to do. I mean it's not that I don't WANT to obey....sometimes I just find myself doing things that I shouldn't and it makes me feel like I've failed. It's a vicious cycle really....try to be good...mess up...fail...and then the guilt sets in. Except...I know the guilt isn't from the Lord and that's where the cycle can be broken. I need to begin to see myself the way God sees me....with His love and mercy. I will continue to follow in faith and trust the Lord that he will guide me.

So with that I claim this verse and hold it in my heart:
for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again,
but the wicked are brought down by calamity.
Proverbs 24:16

Happy New Year!!!!

Hmmmm, I wonder how many blogs have that heading today???

Well, we had a very low key New Year here. Gene called me from his work at midnight to wish me a Happy New Year and I gave him an audible New Year Kiss. LOL! Then followed the kids lead and went to bed. They didn't make it to midnight. Nope no sipping champagne and eating pork for me last night. But that's ok, I'm gettin' pretty used to spending the New Year alone. That's the life of swing shifts I guess.

My mother-in-law's birthday is the 1st. So we always head over there and celebrate with a little cake and a gift picked out by the boys. Then we came home for a pork and sauerkraut dinner with Gene and now I blog.

It's been quite awhile. We had a good Christmas. The boys got pretty much what they wanted and it's kept them quite content this past week. My Holiday Blues/Stress.....still hasn't seemed to left yet and I wonder if it's turning into that seasonal depression.

But I just know that 2007 holds many blessings and good tidings so I'm holding onto that for now!

Part of my New Year's resolution (for the record don't like to make resolutions....they just don't seem to stick for me!) is to get organized both digitally AND at home. I've realized that me and the kids just can't cope without a good solid schedule and the way we do things now at our house is work around Gene's work schedule. Some days he works 1st, 2nd, or 3rd shift and some days he's home. I think that it would be good for me to set some certain things regardless of his work schedule and if he can join us that's great but if not at least the kids and I have some solid ground to stand on. Things like meal times, bed times, certain daily activities. I know this makes me sound like a horrible mom not having these things already done with a 7 and 4 year old. I feel like things have just gotten away from me and we pretty much do what we want, when we want. It will be quite the adjustment, but I think in the long run it will be much better for our body, healthwise and our mind and spirit to have a set schedule.

I have organized my CT requirements today, to get things ready for this new organization thing. I have a folder for all my CT layouts and assignments and inside is a monthly folder. Inside the monthly folder is an individual folder for each CT I participate in and I have the requirements and assignments in a book at my desk. This will help keep me on track and help me set some goals that I can actually achieve!

If you are thinking of scrapping goals be on the lookout for an article to be published in this month's DSS newsletter, written by Tina Busick! She did a wonderful job and I'm sure you all will be inspired by some of her thoughts and ideas.

Ohhh, and did I mention Kyle had a birthday Saturday??? Yup, he turned the big SEVEN!!! I can't believe that it was 7 years ago today that I held him in my arms at the hospital. Now he's so big and opinionated!!! We had a small party with just family to celebrate. The party for friends he decided would be a small sleepover with five chosen friends rather than a big Pizza Hut party for all his friends. We decided that it wasn't a good idea to try and do that on a weekend that Gene is working midnights.....so will be doing that sometime soon.

Gene's sister always does the kids birthday cakes and this year Kyle's theme didn't change any! LOL! He wanted an army camoflauge cake but he did have a very special request for barbed wire frosting. And she pulled it off! Look at that adorable barbed wire trim on the edges.


Here he is in all his glory with his new birthday gift!

That's Cabela's Dangerous Hunt II in his hand. Against my wishes for a seven year old, but apparently my vote isn't the only one that counts! LOL!

And here's Josh crashed in his new "big boy" bed complete with new SpongeBob Sheets and comforter. Finally, the first night he'd actually sleep in it!

Grammy got these for him for a Christmas Gift and delivered the new bed (passed down from Grammy-Gram...Gene's Grandma who's passed on) and new mattress and box spring the following day after Christmas. It took us two nights to finally get him to sleep in it. Apparently, it's a big step up from the little tikes toddler bed he'd been used to sleeping in every night.

And since I was told by my mom to upload more pics this morning....here's one just for you MOM! The scene early Christmas morning...approx. 2 AM. May not look like much under that tree, but there's tons there trust me! LOL!


I made y'all a freebie! I wanted something cheerful and fresh and have worked on this during this past week off and on. I wanted to add more but time just will not permit.

Download Here

And with that everyone....I'll sign off! I hope you enjoy the alpha and find it refreshing and inspiring for your scrap pages!

Brain Mush

Can someone tell me how to get rid of this brain mush I'm going through??? I want to be happy and joyful for Christmas for the kids and Gene, but I feel so icky! My scrapping inspiration has gone out the window this past week. Even though I have some really cute pictures to scrap....I just don't feel like doing it.

Our holiday shopping is done. All the stocking stuffers, gifts and food for Christmas dinner is purchased. I'll be wrapping the rest of the gifts tonight after I get done writing here. I just feel like something is missing. I'm so unmotivated and it's driving me NUTS!!!! I was hoping to finish up a paper pack and have it posted for Christmas, but even that isn't coming along like I wanted.

Anyone have a sure fire cure for the Holiday Blues???

OK.....enough yucky talk....I wanna share something that I think is pretty cool and I'm hoping you will think it is too!

I posted this thread at DST today. I seen a gift at a baby shower a few years ago and instead of purchased curled ribbon and a bow, the lady had made a matching curled ribbon bow from the leftover paper scraps! I know I have tons of little scraps of wrapping paper leftover when I'm wrapping that just isn't able to wrap another gift and I hate to waste and throw those scraps away. So of course, I posted a thread at DST and Amber (Amber1279) linked me up to these blog instructions!

You've just gotta see this tutorial! I hope it helps save some trees this Christmas AND your pocketbook on all those extra toppings for your gifts!

(Picture from Zoey, Perrenial Passion Blog. Click image to see the tutorial on her blog)

Thanks for reading and I hope you like that tip! Now it's off to wrap all those presents!

Merry Christmas!

Gift Cans

Remember awhile back I mentioned that LuAnn(wildblueeyez) had created a gallon paint can label set using Carole Neale's "A Doodly Christmas" page kit? Well, here are my finished pics FINALLY!

Unwrapped so you can see the detail

Both Teacher Cans Wrapped

Pssst....Carole's still got the labels up for grabs on her blog....so go get 'em while you can!

These made really nice gifts for the teachers because I was able to fill them with things they can use for the classroom as well as a little goodie for them to keep. Kyle's teacher got the red star beaded ornament....because she's our STAR TEACHER! I gave Joshua's teacher a bag of these really cool holiday messages M&M's.....something sweet for a sweet teacher.

Have you seen them?

They come prepackaged with the silver bow attached. Perfect small thing to have on hand this time of year. I'm also having Kyle give one of these Holiday M&M's to his bus driver.

I've been busy with last minute Christmas details. I started to panic today because I still hadn't gotten my boss his gift yet and tomorrow morning is my last day to work before Christmas. Yikes!!!! So thankfully, a store in a town near us carried what I wanted to get him and I was able to pick it up after Kyle got home from school today. Phew!!! He mentioned a few weeks back that he had lost his hat when he traded in his car for a new one....the hat went with the used car by mistake. But that he was too lazy to order a new one. He always chides me for not wearing my hat. So, I thought this would be a good gift idea for him! He seriously has not gotten a new hat, so I hope he likes this one.

Well, short and sweet again tonight! I'm off to wrap prezzies and do some Christmas goodies with the kids. Maybe I'll finish up a few of those CT layouts I've been procrastinating after the kids are tucked in bed tonight!

See ya!