Cole 1 yr. layout

I finally did a month by month layout of Cole's first year. And, it didn't take me long at all! For credits, click here.

Speaking of birthdays, yesterday was Mitch's 35th birthday! We celebrated with the big family on Easter Sunday, then went out to lunch yesterday with family and friends, and celebrated as a little family last night. I made Sherried Scallops and a homemade (totally from scratch) chocolate cake. It was the first time I have EVER made a chocolate cake that didn't come out of the box. It turned out great! I was quite proud. Once again, Grant helped with the sprinkles. We ran out of frosting, and I forgot to take the wax paper off the cake stand before we served it up, but try to ignore that. Anyway, Mitch really enjoyed it and we had a great time celebrating Daddy! (I'm sure I'll do a page about it, but here's a pic to hold you over.)

Katie Tree

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mini comp book

I wanted to use up some leftover paper from my mini-album project, so I decided to alter this little composition book!

Paper is from Jen Wilson's His Tuesday Attire paper pack. I also used her Worn Foam Stamps. Alphabet is Katie Pertiet. Font is CK Ali's Writing. All other embellishments are Close To My Heart.

Hybrid Mini Album for Mitch

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Egg Hunt

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Before I forget . . .

I thought I would tell you about what we did last weekend!

On Saturday, I went to my friend Carley's baby shower. I met Carley when she was a freshman in high school (maybe 9 years ago) and now she is all grown up, married with a baby on the way! It was fun to see Carley and her mom and be able to share the excitement of a baby shower with her.

That night we went to our friends' house for dinner. It was us, our hosts and one other family. Lots of fun with 6 adults and 6 kids running around. I don't know why we don't do that more often.

On Sunday, we went to church and Sunday school, then to the air museum in McMinnville. We have had the air museum on our list of things to do as a family, but it is SO expensive! Thankfully, my brother-in-law was given a bunch of free tickets through his work, so he took us along! It was great watching the boys get excited about seeing the big airplanes up close. Of course, when we found the interactive play area the boys were thrilled. I got some great pictures of Cole sitting in a cute little airplane, but my uncooperative 4-year-old didn't let me get a real good shot of him. Hopefully you'll get the idea:

My mother-in-law was there too, but I don't have any pictures!! (Note to self: Take more pictures of the GIRLS in the family!!)

I'll do a paper layout of this and post it when I'm done! It will be good to get my fingers sticky again!

After the air museum, we went over to the IMAX next door and watched a 3-D movie about prehistoric sea monsters. It was SO cool! It was a bit scary for Cole, and Grant had his hands over his ears most of the time (which is such a Kelleigh thing to do!!), but it was a hit with the boys. Dinosaurs and sharks all rolled into one larger than life 3-D movie.

By the way, I had to share this genius idea. We were NOT excited about holding a squirmy almost-2-year-old during the movie, so I brought Cole's car seat into the theater. He thought it was so cool to sit, buckled in, in his car seat. Of course, when the huge shark jumped out of the water and chomped down on the prehistoric sea monster - in 3-D - Cole ended up needing to sit on Daddy's lap anyway. However, we will remember this genius idea if we ever take a toddler to the movies again.

The day ended with a wonderful meal out at Ruby Tuesdays, then on home for ice cream and early to bed! What a great memory for our little family!

Brotherly Love

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Seriously Handsome

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Happy St. Patrick's Day! (belated . . .)

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Little Toot!

Tooting my own horn . . . not what you are thinking . . .

Anyway, I thought I would tell you what has been happening with me in my digital world!

I have had a most wonderful month!!

First, I won Jen Wilson's Laundry line (the WHOLE thing) at her unveiling chat.

Then, I was accepted on a few CTs for some great designers, so I get to play with their stuff for free.

THEN, I showed up in the Gallery Standouts (which was quite the shock and so cool!).

Then, I was honored to be asked to be a store CT member (which I eventually turned down, but it was still SUCH an honor!!).

And TODAY, I found out that JenW's random generator picked me again to win a $15 gift card!!

AND, I won the Prima Hybrid box challenge for the little box I made for Mitch, and the prize is a $20 gift certificate to their store!!

What a great month so far!

Twinkle

For credits, click here.

Changes around here

You may notice that I've been changing some things around here! I have a subscribe option in the upper right corner so you can get updates when I update my blog. You don't have to check in all the time! Yay! A friend of mine has one of these and I just love getting automatic notices in my inbox whenever she posts. Let me know if it works (or not).

Also, another friend talked about her cluster map today, and I just HAD to have one! Check it out in the margin. I can't wait to see where my reading audience comes from!

Cute little gift box

I made this little gift box for Mitch's birthday. Coincidentally (or maybe not), it was also for a digital hybrid challenge! Click here for credits.

PS - He loves you

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By the way, I'm now on the creative team for Grace Bennett! Pretty cool, huh!! Gotta get her blinkie over there--->

A tribute to Annie

I did this page today as a tribute to my friend Annie. The journaling is a song by Natalie Grant called In Better Hands. Click the layout to read the lyrics for yourself! It seems that every time I hear this song lately, I think of Annie. She shared her testimony at MOPS at the beginning of the year and it was so powerful. She had a difficult childhood, but instead of dwelling on the past, she allowed God to rewrite her story. She passed on a legacy of love to her children and her friends and brought hope to those who heard her testimony (which she willingly gave at every opportunity!).

Annie was missed today at MOPS. We are so used to hearing her distinct laugh and seeing her smiling eyes. It hurts to know that we won't benefit from her presence.

Smile

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Little Hands

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God's timing

Three layouts in one day! I'm going a little bit nuts, I know.

I did this for a challenge going on at Jen Wilson Designs called "Permanent Press". We were supposed to do a layout about something that changed us. This is Grant wearing the t-shirt we made for him to announce our pregnancy for the baby we miscarried almost 3 years ago. Basically, my journaling is about how God's timing is perfect and his plans are great, etc. All the stuff you hear, but don't want to hear, but finally "get" after a bit of time has passed. Anyway. Kind of personal, but I still wanted to remember it.

For credits, click here.

Best friends

This layout was created using elements and papers from Kathy Moore's Muddy Puddles kit which is absolutely fabulous! I have never come across a designer with a more complete kit! You want stitching? Got it. You want buttons? Yep. How about brads? Uh, huh. Lots of frames to choose from. Cute papers. AMAZINGLY realistic paper flowers. I just love it!!

Oh, and by the way, she asked me to be part of her creative team!! Woo Hoo! I'm in hog heaven!! ('Cause I get to play with her supplies for FREE!)

My Guy

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Dream

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My friend Annie

My very favorite coping mechanism is denial. It is how I get through a tough day without breaking down. It is how I am able to care for my kids without dwelling on the fact that there is another family out there today who is missing their mom.

My friend Annie died last night from pneumonia. I wish I knew all the details, but then that might snap me out of the safety of my denial. I received a short email yesterday morning to pray for Annie because she had been taken to the ER the night before and was in the ICU hooked up to a ventilator. I prayed hard. Then, I got another email telling me that things looked grim and the doctors were saying that she had a 5% chance of making it. Thus began my shock. All afternoon and evening long I felt like God was sitting on my chest as a reminder to pray with every breath. I was in panic mode prayer. Then, late last night, just before shutting down my computer, I received an email telling me that Annie didn't make it.

I met Annie about 3 years ago at MOPS. We sat at the same discussion group table for 2 years and she really impacted my life. She was an incredibly vibrant woman with absolutely NO fear of sharing about Jesus. She lived life to the fullest and was always the life of the party. Annie homeschooled her kids, was the puppet lady at Awana and was very involved in MOPS.

There is nothing like the death of a friend to make you evaluate your relationships. Whenever Annie and I saw each other at MOPS, we took the time to chat a bit, but it was rarely anything too deep. There just didn't seem to be the time. Now, we have no time at all.

I know that Annie is just partying her heart out in heaven right now. Please join me in prayer for her husband and 3 children, whom she adored.

Emmaleigh and Mandy Rose

I made these for my friend Alysun. They are 8x10, so she is going to print them out and hang them on the wall! How fun!




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Sleeping Angel

This is Grant a LONG time ago. I wanted to play with my new paper pack by Gretchen Tripp. I have recently become a member of her Creative Team (thus fulfilling another resolution!).

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Where?

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