Snow, snow and more snow!

Friday evening about 4:00 we saw the first couple of flakes begin to fall. It didn't really start coming down until later, about 6:00. Then it snowed until the wee hours of the morning. Then it began to sleet. But come Saturday morning, the boys were super excited. I was awakened about 7:30am to "MOM! Look outside!"

Here is Gabe on the back deck. Soon after the kids went outside, our neighbor brought over a sled. The kids from down the street came over with a sled as well.

Then I look out and see this....

This looks like a real "Hey ya'll! Watch this!" moment.



Jeff hooked the sleds up to the riding lawn mower and pulled the kids up and down the street.

Gabe was done with the cold by this time and was inside having hot chocolate but he did get the first ride on the sled. I got it on video but I'm having trouble getting it to load.

Here is Drew getting his turn. They all had so much fun.

Let it snow!

Friday evening about 4:00 we saw the first couple of flakes begin to fall. It didn't really start coming down until later, about 6:00. Then it snowed until the wee hours of the morning. Then it began to sleet. But come Saturday morning, the boys were super excited. I was awakened about 7:30am to "MOM! Look outside!"







Here is Gabe on the back deck. Soon after the kids went outside, our neighbor brought over a sled. The kids from down the street came over with a sled as well.



















































Then I look out and see this....









































This looks like a real "Hey ya'll! Watch this!" moment.





















Jeff hooked the sleds up to the riding lawn mower and pulled the kids up and down the street.













Gabe was done with the cold by this time and was inside having hot chocolate but he did get the first ride on the sled. Watch the video!

Oh, scrap....

But I mean that in a good way! I've been making cards for OWH again and also for a new card ministry for my church - all with scraps! It's almost become an obsession for me, to see how much of my huge pile of scraps I can use. I challenge you to use nothing but scraps in making you next cards!

First up is a card I made for a brand new OWH blog for crafters, OWH Stars and Stamps. They posted their very first sketch challenge Sunday. Now, I have never been a big fan of sketches. I just have a hard time using them for layouts. But this is the first time I have tried one for a card. And I really enjoyed it!  The cardstock and pp are scraps.

Next up is a couple of cards I made using a digi image I downloaded from Tales From Pollycraft. They have adorable images you can purchase and download, then print out and color with Copics or pencils. They have fun challenges and every Friday they have a Friday Freebie. This image was from a few weeks ago. I colored them with Copics (still trying to figure these out!), on PTI paper. All the cardstock and pp is scraps!

Next is a cute cute cute image from Great Impressions I picked up at Enchanted Cottage a while back. Total impulse buy but I just couldn't resist. I colored it using Copics and added a little bit of sparkle using a Gelly Roll pen. All the cardstock is scraps! This card will be going in my stash.

And last but not least, a few cards for OWH. I got the inspiration from a friend's blog, Addicted to Rubber Stamps. I just thought this layout was so cute and versatile. Also, I remembered that I had this wide lace ribbon that would work on this card. Thanks for the idea, Becky!

Well, that's all the cards I've made recently. In between making cards, I've been keeping up with CHA thru Facebook and Twitter. There are going to be some great new products coming out in a few months. Seeing all the beautiful papers and products makes me want to work on my scrapbook. I'm only 6 years behind! Maybe I'll take a break from cards to make a layout or two.

Hope you do something crafty today!

Happy 7th Birthday, Gabe!!

Monday was Gabe's 7th birthday. This birthday has been hard for me. My baby is growing up! For some reason, 7 years old just isn't a baby any more. I have thought a lot this past week about what was happening 7 years ago. I was having early labor so I was on bed rest at home for 2 weeks. Then I started bleeding so I was on bed rest in the hospital for 2 weeks before they induced me. Gabe was born 5 weeks early. He was so tiny and cute.

He's still so stinking cute but not so tiny. He's growing up. I don't want my baby to grow up!! I jokingly told him that this would be the last birthday where he could grow older - we could celebrate his 7th birthday every year but he just couldn't grow up. He wouldn't go for that. He said he didn't want to stay in the first grade forever!

Anyway, he had a great birthday. He had his best friend from school over and Gabe L. for a party on Saturday. He mostly got money so he could go to the Lego store. Unfortunately, they didn't have what he wanted so he saved his money (his Daddy was so proud!). Then his best buddy spent the night with us. It was the first sleep-over for the both of them. They slept in the playroom. It was almost 10:00pm before they got the sleep and they were up at 6:30am the next morning.

Sunday afternoon Gabe wanted to check the Lego store for something different but again, they didn't have what he wanted. I took him to Toy's R Us instead and they have everything he wanted. He picked out a Lego set and some Star Wars action figures. He's very happy with his purchases.

Unfortunately, he also got a cold so he was home from school Monday and Tuesday. He's feeling better and back at school today. Now the "holidays" are officially over at my house. I know that sounds weird but there is Thanksgiving in Nov, Drew's birthday Dec 8th, Christmas, then Gabe's birthday Jan 25. Whew! Now that all that is over I'm back on the low carb diet. (wink, wink!)

Here are a few pictures from our busy weekend. Enjoy!

Cards for OWH

Here is a sampling of cards I have made over the past few days to send to Operation Write Home. I used scraps and parts of cards that have been sitting on my desk for weeks. So nice to finish up some half made cards. So far, I have made 67 cards since the beginning of Jan! And most of them have been for OWH.
Enjoy!

You know it's a bad day when....

you forget to open the garage door before attempting to back out of the garage. The good part is no one was hurt. Both of my boys and one extra boy were safely buckled in their seats and promptly began screaming at me at the same time the crunching of wood and shattering of glass began.

Yikes! Looks painful, doesn't it?

I had to include this picture. Drew put the safety cones around the "crash site!"

The neighbor came over and I think he may have convinced Jeff that he can fix it himself. Mr. Fix-it Neighbor has "rebuilt mine twice in 30 years!" Of course, he's rebuild just about everything they own. But he did help Jeff fix the car after his wreck. That saved us quite a bit of money and hassle. So Jeff is out there as I'm typing this trying to "shore it up" so I can get my car back in the garage. (He and Mr. Fix It pulled the door back into line enough to get it up and get my van out.)

Anyway, everyone is safe and the damage to my van is mostly just scratches in the bumper. I can live with that. And while I was very upset at the time it happened, I know that in the grand scheme of things it's a minor accident that we will laugh at one day. (Truth be told, Jeff is already laughing. And so am I.)



Amy

This just makes me happy!

Wow! Two post in one day! What's gotten in to me? But I just couldn't help it. I had to share these 2 cards I made today (actually I made 6 of each for OWH!). I used craft paper, Archival inks, Memento inks and my new stamps from Unity designed by Donna Downey. Love these images and the simple clean lines. I have always longed to be like Tim Holtz with all the grunge and old antique-y looks. Or like the designers for Prima with all the big flowers and lots of bling and layers. Just beautiful - IMHO. But when I sit down to create something I seem to lean toward the simpler things, cleaner lines, less dimension. Maybe it's just a faze I'm going thru. Maybe it's because I have two very busy boys and don't have time to do lots of layers and embellishments. I dunno. But I am liking the results I'm getting right now. So I think I'll stick with a little longer.

Enjoy!