I had lunch today with my church ladies.  They all have prayer concerns for family and loved ones!  The world is full of hurt and pain, and we praise the Lord for the strength He gives to each of us to handle the things He feels we are strong enough to handle.  These ladies are so special--every single one of them.  I love them so!  I pray for their hurts, their disappointments, and for their health.

This time of the year is SO busy for everybody!!  I just checked on a package I ordered on Cyber Monday and it's ON THE TRUCK for delivery today--woot!!  Somebody on my list might be happy about that!  It's been hard collecting all the gifts in one place.  One gift I ordered was delivered to new neighbors 3 doors away--another was found on the front porch at least a day after it was delivered, another one got lost for about a week in Phoenix "on the way" here, but was finally delivered yesterday!   I ordered some and had them delivered to where they are supposed to go--and a few of them are still not delivered.  I think it's funny how when you order from Amazon, and get free shipping--and then everything is sent separately!  You'd think since they are paying for shipping that they would combine some of them!

Well, enough of that!  On to things that are more fun--like sharing some scrapbook pages!  I do have lots to share, but again, not much time, so will probably only have time for a few!  I love this new kit by Dream Big Designs called My Kinda Christmas!  I've done several layouts with it already, but can't share them all here right now.  The one I can share, I love!  It's actually a lift from a lady emi at one of the forums I'm associated with! 

Isn't that just the saddest little face you ever did see?  Poor Jacob.  Most of the time he is such a sweet natured little guy!  I guess his mommy must have been where he couldn't see her!!  He DOES like her to be around.  I'm sure Santa won't take this momentary lapse of "goodness" to influence him at all!!  I'm positive Santa has him on the "good" list this year!!  Such a special little guy.

I used ScrapElfs new kit called Jolly Christmas for this layout!  I love Sarah's expression here.  She was showing us a beautiful rock she found in the yard!  And look how cute Abby and Micah are also.  Such sweeties!!  They are looking forward to Christmas I'm sure!!  Another layout I made with this kit is here:

These photos were taken at our house in 2008--just about this time of the month.  Chuck and Gina were out of town to make arrangements to adopt Andrew, and I was taking care of the other kids at Chuck's house.  Grandpa couldn't come and be with us because he was expecting some presents to be delivered!  So he stayed home with Molly, and had fun in the snow without me!  And I had fun in the snow with the kids:

For these layouts, I used a kit from Marshmella Designs called Holly Jolly.  It has a LOT of elements--my kinda kit!!  Isn't that snowman the cutest??  Another fun kit is the December Collab kit at Godigitalscrapbooking.com.  It's called White Christmas, and again, has oodles of great elements!!
I did these layouts with that great kit!

And another couple of kits I played with this week were a template set from PhotoCowGirl called Like em Big 2, and a wonderful Christmas kit and word art from Kathy Winters called Christmas Jingle, and Dear Santa word art kit!  I made this layout with that combination!  Sarah was such a beautiful little one!! 

That is all I have time to share right now!  I hope you enjoyed your visit!  And come on back sometime.  I love visitors.  Have a blessed day.

I had such a nice surprise yesterday.  I have a friend that deserted California many years ago, but was in my city briefly for a family affair, and she called me out of the blue!  She asked if I'd be home for awhile, and I of course said YES, definitely!  She came over and we had such a great visit.  It was like we've seen each other every day for the past 15 years!!  We picked up where we left off, and I remember why I love her so much. 

I've been busy working on fall and winter layouts lately.  They are always so much fun.  I have enough photos to last me a lifetime, but sometimes I use photos over again--and sometimes even AGAIN!  I have my favorites I guess.  My children are such great photographers that I hate to just use the photos once.  So it's THEIR fault!!

The first couple of layouts I have to share were made with new kits from Modern June (You can find them at Scrapable.co).  One kit is called Seaside Santa, and the other is called Hung with Care.  Both are really fun kits to use.  I used a Ramona the Pest template for the second layout, and an unknown template for the first one.

Another layout I have to share today was made with a kit called White Christmas which is the December collab kit available at GoDigitalScrapbooking.com.  (The fun part of this kit is, it's FREE with a 10.00 purchase!)  I love this series of photos that Becky took in 2007.  The kids were so much fun that day.  What a fun memory.  Besides the White Christmas kit, I also used a freebie Challenge template for this layout.

And the last layout I have for today, I made with the October Collab available at DigitalScrapCafe.com.  It is called Falling for You!  I also used a Tiffany Tillman template with this layout.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Don't be a stranger.

 I have several layouts to share today!  The pictures for the 2009 layout were taken at Amy and Scott's condo in Santa Clarita.  I love the photo of Noah looking in the fireplace waiting for Santa!  Isn't he so cute?
I used Jen C. Designs new kit It's Christmas Time that you can find at FunkyPlaygrounddesigns this month, as she is guesting there in December!!  The other layout I did with this kit is coming up--it is with Sarah sitting in the Christmas box!  Why do kids like boxes so much anyhow??  I used templates from Ramona the Pest for both the layouts.

 The photos for Another Christmas Story were taken in Denver a few years ago.  Look how small Micah is!  He's going to be seven very soon.  I can't believe how cute he is.  He was bundled up so tightly that he couldn't bend his arms--which is why I named it Another Christmas Story!  It so reminds me of that Christmas Movie!
I used the fun kit from Ruby Lane called Merry and Bright that is also found at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns!  I also used a template from Trixie Scraps for this layout.




There Amy is reading a note from Santa by the Christmas Tree.  Unfortunately, while she was reading the note, Molly almost ate the cookies on the plate!  If you can't trust your dog, who CAN you trust??
For this layout, I used a completely free kit from Simply Scrappy that can be found at twopeasinabucket!  It is called Jingle Jangle!  I also used a freebie blog template.

 Look at that little pouty face!!  Sarah could really pour it on couldn't she??  Every time I see this I think of the Christmas song lyrics "Better not Pout."  She didn't seem to know why at this age though!  :)  I used a new kit by Mandy King called Glad Tidings that is found at ScrappityDooDah, as Mandy is exclusive there!

This is the other layout I did with Jen C. Designs!  I love it when the kids like the boxes things come in!!  Just goes to show you that a lot of expensive toys and things aren't really needed!  Kids find joy in the simplest things. 

This is another layout that I used Ruby Lane's Merry and Bright kit.  I love the great colors and the nicely designed elements in the kit.  The little snowman is so much fun, and her snowflakes are really nice!!  I could scrap these photos of Abby again and again as I love them so much!!  She is such a sweetie!! 

The last layout I have to share today is one about our Christmas tree!
We love assembling our tree, but it's our special ornaments we've used over the years, and the special things we put under our tree that makes it almost magical in our living room. 

I always get the itch to put the tree up before Earl does.  I'd like it up before Thanksgiving, but he likes to wait until the day after Thanksgiving.  I give him grief about that every year, but he always wins.  I'd think it would be him that would want to get it up and cleaned up in here since he then gets to "play" with all of the trains he sets up under the tree. 

 I used a kit called Christmas in Blue that you can find at Digital Scrap Cafe!  I also used a template by Tiffany Tillman!  Have I told you lately how much I love templates?

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you come by again soon.  Merry Christmas!!

Thanksgiving weekend!  I can't believe it's almost December.  We spent Thanksgiving with good friends and neighbors.  She's a great cook, so we had PLENTY to eat!!  She even fixed us a plate of leftovers for the next day.
Last weekend (Saturday) we attended a train show in Pasadena--an annual event that Earl looks forward to each year.  We returned home around 5 pm, and Earl went to our neighbors house to get Molly.  On his way home with her, a dog from across the street attacked her and put three punctures in her back.  I called the vet, but of course, he was gone for the weekend!!  I cleaned up the bites as best as I could with antibacterial wash, then put some Neomiacin ointment on the three bites.  She seemed fine.
I figured by Monday when the vet opened, it was too late for stitches, so set out to watch for signs of infection.  On Wednesday she didn't want to eat--BING--take her to the vet!!  This dog ALWAYS wants to eat!  So we went in early.  The vet took one look at the bites and said they needed to be stitched up--even at this late date because they were still open, and oozing!!  So, Molly got to say there and take a little drug induced nap while the vet stitched up her bites.  We picked her up around 4:00 pm, and boy was she glad to get home.  She's now on antibiotics for a week!!  She HAS learned to milk the situation though.  She's got these sad looking little eyes.  This is Friday now, and this evening was the first time she's been excited about dinner time!!  So, I think she's on the mend now.

 These photos were taken the year grandpa and I were there for Christmas.  We so enjoyed our time with Abby, Micah and Sarah.  (And Becky and Brian of course!)  I loved the snow for Christmas.  It was like an extra little present!   And speaking of presents, there were at least a gazillion!!  It took almost a week of working on them to get them all opened. (not kidding!)
For this layout I used the new kit by Simply Scrappy called Tis the Season that you can find here:
http://www.elementalscraps.com/shoppe/Tis-The-Season-by-Simply-Scrappy.html and the matching templates here: http://www.elementalscraps.com/shoppe/Tis-The-Season-Template-Set.html

 These photos were taken on Sarah's very first Christmas.  She was such a happy little sweetie!
I used Ramona the Pest's new Volume 2 Template pack that you can find here:
http://www.polkadotplum.com/shoppe/product.php?productid=18542&amp%3Bcat=0&amp%3Bpage=1
and her beautiful Christmas Blessings that you can find here: http://www.polkadotplum.com/shoppe/product.php?productid=18472&amp%3Bcat=0&amp%3Bpage=1

 These photos were taken two years ago today!  Amy and Scott had been here for Thanksgiving, so they stayed to have the boys help grandpa and grandma assemble the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving (our tradition).  They had fun putting all the ornaments on the same branch, and making our tree so beautiful!  We really missed their help today!  Grandpa and Grandma didn't even FINISH the tree because we got too tired!  Oh well, there is always tomorrow huh??  :)
For this layout, I used the new kit by Simply Scrappy called This Christmas that you can find here:
http://www.elementalscraps.com/shoppe/This-Christmas.html and her wonderful matching templates that you can find here: http://www.elementalscraps.com/shoppe/This-Christmas-Template-Set.html

 Wasn't Micah just so cute here with his little pouty face?   He looked so much like his mom at this age!  What a beautiful boy he's growing into!!  These were taken back in 2005, so he's such a BIG boy now!!
I love the kit I used for this layout!  I used the template from the template challenge here: http://www.polkadotplum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4613
and the kit Sunny Winter Day from Sunflower Studio that you can find here:
http://www.polkadotplum.com/shoppe/product.php?productid=18466&cat=0&page=1

And here is Micah and Abby again--looking out for Santa!!  They try so hard!!
Graham Like the Cracker made a fun Grab Bag for Black Friday, and all this was in that grab bag!  Template and all!!  You can find it here: http://shop.scrapmatters.com/product.php?productid=7148&cat=0&page=1
I hope everybody is enjoying their Thanksgiving weekend with family and friends, and not forgetting to thank the Lord for his bountiful love and provisions!!  He is worthy of praise, and I'm so glad that we take this one day of the year to give Him the THANKS we should be giving him every day of the year!! 

Hi Dear Old Blog!  I've been Missing In Action for a bit!  We spent a month in Colorado visiting family, and since we've been home, I've been fighting a cold--and at times didn't think I'd ever shake it, but I think it is finally loosening it's grip on me!!  I have so many layouts in arrears I may never catch up!! 

First off, we had a great time in Colorado.  We spent it at my daughter Becky's home with her husband and three little ones that aren't quite as little as they used to be!!  Sarah turned 4 when we were there, so we celebrated that momentous occasion with her.  Besides her birthday celebration, we also celebrated Brian's birthday.  We sent Brian and Becky off for a couple of days and Grandpa and I held down the fort while they enjoyed a few nights on the town in Denver!  They saw some shows, ate out, and caught up on some rest while they were away.  Grandpa and I helped the kids with school, went on walks, and played games at home!   

When we were getting packed up to come home Sarah told us she was going to miss Molly when we left.  Molly made a hit with Sarah AND Micah.  (Abby was busy with school so didn't get to play as much!)  To tell you the truth, Molly misses them too.  She doesn't have three little ones to throw the ball for her all day!  They kept her busy, and tired out!!  Abby loved taking Molly for walks on the chain when she wasn't busy with school.  Molly has been resting now for the last two weeks.  When she hears us on Skype with the kids she gets all excited and goes and gets her ball, and barks, wanting to play with them.  She doesn't care that it's AMY's kids or Becky's kids we're chatting with!  Amy's boys always kept Molly busy with the ball when they were here too!  She really misses all of them!!

I'll just share a few layouts today and try to get back to blogging more regularly!
 

These to layouts were made with a luscious kit by Ruby Lane called Soft and Tweet that you can find here:
Soft and Tweet   I love the soft colors and the fun elements she included!!  A great kit for about any kind of layout.  The next two layouts were made with Ruby Lane's Bohemian Love that you can find here:
Bohemian Love.

Sarah was such a little love while we were in Colorado!!  Look at her cute little smiley face!!  Oh, and I didn't have time to tell you about the TRAIN SHOW we went to while we were there.  Well, maybe next time!

That is all I have time to share today!!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Mandy King is having a Wish List Give away!  Go to Scrappity-Doo Dah and make your wish list!  She'll choose a winner and they will receive whatever products of hers that you put on that list!!  Fun, easy, and here is the link!!  Mandy's Store   Do it soon!!  Not sure when she'll pick the winners!!

Good morning!  I have been having lots of fun with some of my grandchildren.  We've made lots of banana nut bread, and gone on many a walks looking for wonderful fall leaves, and played lots of new games!  I've read the same book over and over, put the same puzzle together over and over, and listened to the same hummed songs over and over!!  But, know what?  I'm so enjoying every second with the kids.  They are so special!! 

I have a couple of layouts to share today--
I made them both with the same kit.  It is a collab between Ruby Lane and Misty O'Brien called
Fall Festival and you can find it here: Funky Playground and I also used a template called Hodgity Podigity 3 on the Birthday Cake layout (from 2009), and a freebie blog template called Autumn Template on the Celebrate Fall layout. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!!  Come back soon ya hear?

Hi!  I've been out of action for a bit!  I have some layouts to catch up on, but only time for one before church this morning.  I had this cute photo of Sarah, and when I saw the sweet elements in this kit, I knew the mix was what I was looking for!  I love this layout, and of course Sarah too!!  :)  She has grown so much.  We just celebrated her 4th birthday about 2 weeks ago in fact.  She is still as precious as she was when this photo was taken, but oh so much her own little person. 

I used the kit called You Make Me So Happy by Aprilisa Designs that you can find here:
http://digitalscrapcafe.com/cafe/product.php?productid=18359&cat=0&page=1

And I have a few photos of some of my other grandchildren that were taken yesterday at Sea World!  It looks like they had a great time huh?  They haven't seen each other in quite a long time, so I'm thrilled they  had this chance to be together!

I'm not quite sure where the other two were, but they weren't in any of the photos shared!!  :)  Aren't they just the cutest??
Thanks for stopping by.  I'll be back posting a little more regularly very soon.

No layouts today!  Just some fun photos of Jacob on his first birthday.  We love this little guy!  :)  Happy Birthday little one!

Happy Birthday!  Happy Birthday!  Happy Birthday!  Happy Birthday!  Happy Birthday!  Happy Birthday!