Today was another picture day....

so here they are...

Faith is the ability to believe unconditionally

Some have tried to discredit the validity of these photos. I am filled with faith that these photos are in fact God's work.

Pope Benedict XVI prays in front of the monument for the victims of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Oswiecim, Poland, Sunday, May 28, 2006. Pope Benedict XVI is in Poland on a four-day visit that took him to Warsaw, Krakow, Czestochowa, Wadowice, Pope John Paul II's birth town, and the Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps. The visit is fraught with significance for Catholic-Jewish relations, a favorite theme for Benedict and predecessor John Paul II. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Rainbow raises over Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp as people watch Pope Benedict XVI praying in front of the monument the camp's victims in Oswiecim, Poland, Sunday, May 28, 2006. Pope Benedict XVI is in Poland on a four-day visit that took him to Warsaw, Krakow, Czestochowa, Wadowice, Pope John Paul II's birth town, and the Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps. The visit is fraught with significance for Catholic-Jewish relations, a favorite theme for Benedict and predecessor John Paul II. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Without faith in my heart, then my existence is meaningless. I have faith in the fact that I am here for a purpose. There is a reasoning behind everything that has happened in my life, and a plan. I only see the plan as it lays out behind me. Like reading a book from the back cover forward, it doesn't make much sense right now, but at the end, it will all be clear.


Psalms
Chapter 27

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom do I fear? The LORD is my life's refuge; of whom am I afraid?

When evildoers come at me to devour my flesh, These my enemies and foes themselves stumble and fall.

Though an army encamp against me, my heart does not fear; Though war be waged against me, even then do I trust.

One thing I ask of the LORD; this I seek: To dwell in the LORD'S house all the days of my life, To gaze on the LORD'S beauty, to visit his temple.

For God will hide me in his shelter in time of trouble, Will conceal me in the cover of his tent; and set me high upon a rock.

Even now my head is held high above my enemies on every side! I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and chant praise to the LORD.

I Hear my voice, LORD, when I call; have mercy on me and answer me.

"Come," says my heart, "seek God's face"; your face, LORD, do I seek!

Do not hide your face from me; do not repel your servant in anger. You are my help; do not cast me off; do not forsake me, God my savior!

Even if my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will take me in.

LORD, show me your way; lead me on a level path because of my enemies.

Do not abandon me to the will of my foes; malicious and lying witnesses have risen against me.

But I believe I shall enjoy the LORD'S goodness in the land of the living.

Wait for the LORD, take courage; be stouthearted, wait for the LORD!

Another challenge completed...

Thanks to my Secret Sister. I was challenged to do a layout using black cardstock as the base. Since I am a big patterned paper user this was a huge challenge, but luckily I had a black and white wedding so the photos were easy.

These challenges have actually forced me to scrap even though I've been in a funk. And I've been really pleased with the results. So big thanks go to my Secret Sister for the challenges she's sent to me.

This layout features Bazzill Cardstock, Basic Grey Black Tie Papers and Alphabet Stickers, Fancy Pants Chipboard Frames, Heidi Swapp Chipboard Punctuation, and my trusty Sharpie White Paint Pen. I like how the doodling came out...I based it on the Basic Grey Wholly Cow rubons. Hope you like!!

Time for a {Funny}

We were talking over on SBO about the weather in New England...and I remembered this story...



When we lived in nebraska I was ordering something over the phone. The conversation went like this...

operator: What state do you live in?

me: Nebraska

operator: Is the abbreviation for that NB?

me: No. It's NE.

operator: No ma'am. NE is New England. What is the abbreviation for Nebraska?

me: New England is not a state.

operator: New England is so a state. They have a football team. Now what is the abbreviation for the state of Nebraska?

me {choking back tears of either laughter or fear - I'm still not sure} : Yep you're right, it's NB.

am I the only one who is afraid that these are the people will be taking care of me when I am old?

Why did we go out to eat at all *or* Longhorn Sucks

I can't decide which title is more appropriate right now. Now normally Tuesday nights are reserved for that ever present tradition of Kids Eat Free night at the local Chick Fil A. Well after the last fiasco of having to threaten TT1 to get him to leave the damn playhouse...we were not going there again this week unless I was staying home and BD was venturing out on his own with the boys. But BD took us to the local Longhorn up in town. We were optimistic...we've been there once before. The food was good, the service was decent, the only issue that time was that the prices to us seemed a little high for the area that we live in.

So we head into the Longhorn. We were seated right away, given children's menus and crayons, drinks ordered right away - a good start to the meal. After we order we sit with the boys and color...play games...keep them occupied so that they don't start getting unruly while we wait. We finally are able to get the waitresses attention and commented to her that she had never asked about the cheese for BD's buger. She replied that it was probably too late but she'd go check. We got no answer one way or the other about the cheese until she brings our meals out about 10 minutes later blaming the extraordinarily long serving time to the fact that they had to re-cook BD's buger to change the cheese. That of course was bull since we could see the cheddar cheese remnants on the burger itself and there was no swiss cheese on it at all which is what he had asked for. She never delivered my fries that I had ordered, and only came back to the table one time between serving the food and delivering the check. In my opinion the service was deplorable. By the time the bill had come we had been there for over and hour and a half and I was more than ready to leave. She dumped the bill on the table with no pen to sign the credit card slip, my kids were already in the car waiting for me, and I just went and signed the slip at the front desk and didn't leave her a cent for a tip.

I was prepared to leave it at that, but after coming home and talking with BD about it, I decided that I really needed to call and tell the manager about how horrible I thought the service was. I told him that the food was great - other than the forgotten fries and the no cheese on the burger - the kids loved the chicken finger basket and my steak salad was wonderful. My only complaint was in fact about the service. He apologized profusely and I accepted that apology acknowledging that he was going to work on the service issue. He also told me that the general manager was going to call me tomorrow to talk about the problems. We'll see what he has to say. I actually felt really good after getting off the phone with the manager. It was great customer service from his end...I just wish they'd train their wait staff to do it right in the first place and he never would have been put in that situation. Customer service is going downhill in so many ways...but this was one time that it was exceptional.

The best part.....

When I was waiting to pay the bill, the table behind me was getting ready to leave. A very nice looking older woman with beautiful white hair stopped next to me and told me that my boys were very well behaved and it was a joy to sit next to us!! I about fell off my seat. I thanked her and told her that it was very nice to hear that.

That about made my year. Especially since the boys were not having a very good week...but tonight....they were a joy to sit next to.

Thank you my sister!!

My secret sister that is. Today I was blessed with an envelope filled with a little somthin' somthin' to ease my embellishment deprived soul. Okay I'm not embellishment deprived, but it was so nice to get a little giftie from my secret sis today. She sent me some stuff to use after we get back from the beach (which means she's been doing her homework and listening to what I told her about my vacation), and some little envelopes that I can use for journaling on my pages...and some acrylic flowers...and some of the new EK/Rebecca Sowers Bookworks - loving those btw!! So thank you sis for your postal love today!!!

Another month...

almost over. I can't believe that summer is here already. TTs are out of school until August....VBS will be starting soon..but that's only for a week at a time. Vacation in Williamsburg is going to be fun though. Everytime the commercial for Busch Gardens comes on we tell TT#1 that's where we are going and he gets all excited. He's geared up for riding a roller coaster. We'll see if that happens.

MOMS is done for the year too...but we are going to do a book club over the summer just so we can keep intact without having the church meetings. We usually disband for the summer months...so we are kinda doing it as a test group...we'll see how that goes.

I have some bright things on the horizon it seems as far as my design work...but I don't want to jinx myself...so I won't spill it...but it's blinding me it's so bright :)

I wonder if my secret sister knows who I am yet....I don't know who mine is...and her clues haven't helped me at all....so I don't have any idea who she is...so if you are reading this my dear secret sister....give me some better clues!!!!!

Inspired by AmyAgain's Flower Of The Day

posts over on 2Peas...here's my flower of the day. This is the newest bloom in the front yard...






Have a happy Hump Day!!

So I was perusing the board over at SBO...

and Nikki had posted some journaling prompts...so I thought I'd cover them here...

Write about your mother's greatest influence on you.
My mom's greatest influence would have to be her attitude. Growing up with her no nonsense way of talking and doing things has really influenced how I am today. I like to think that it is her influence that has made me a strong person.

Who was like a mother to you?
My grandmother was like my second mom. Since my mother was only 16 when I was born I spent the first years of my life living with my grandparents and aunts and uncles. My grandmother would keep me during the day so my mom could go to school. After we moved out on our own I still spent weekends there and vacations.

What kind of mother do you want to be?
I want to be the kind of mother that my children look back upon with love and fondness. I want my children to have wonderful memories of growing up. I want to be the supportive and easygoing but stern and respected mother.

List ten traits of a wonderful mother.

1. Loving
2. Respectful
3. Honest
4. Supportive
5. Fun
6. Fair
7. Snuggleable
8. Funny
9. Spiritual
10. Easygoing
    

Write about the best mother's day ever.
This is a hard one. I don't know what makes the "best" of a day. Every Mother's day is special just because I am a mom.

Sometimes we don't like our mothers very much. Write about such a time... then let it go.
I don't like that my mom doesn't spend enough time with my kids. That makes me dislike her a little. I still love her, but it's not fair to my kids.

What are you going to do for your mother this year?
Well my mom lives basically across the country from us, so I made her a simple card and called her on Mother's day. That's enough to let her know that I love her and that she's special to me.

Two posts in one day...must be a record...

but I just have to post.

My secret sister on the Pub must be the sweetest Pea ever in the pod!!! On the questionaire I listed Kimber as a person who inspires me. I was Kimber's Secret Santa last year and since then we have been in a CJ together. She has only been scrapping a short time, but is a wonderful designer and has had some great oppurtunities come her way becuase of that. Her work and ability leave me in awe. So she goes on my "inspires me" list.

Well my uber-sweet SS contacted Kimber and asked her to do a special project for me...Kimber had emailed me the other day asking for a picture of my. I didn't think anything of it cause I know that sometimes scrappers will scrap pictures that aren't their own for a change of pace. So I sent Kimber a photo of me and TT2 when he was a newborn.

Well let me tell you...she has created the most AMAZING layout for me. Check it out over in the gallery at Two Peas.

Thanks so much to my SS and especially to Kimber. Thanks for making me cry...in a good way!!!

I am finally technologically savvy!!

or at least I can fake it well...

I finally figured out how to put a photo slide on my blog. How's it look??

My secret sister over at the Pub challenged me to complete a layout that featured 25 things that I love. You can see it in my slider. It's the one with the flowers coming out of the pot.

Oh...and if anyone in a publishing capacity or DT recruiter likes what you see...they are all available for publication.

Farewell Camden Clan....

I'm very disappointed..for the last 10 years I have watched this show....watched the kids grow up...get married...have kids of their own...then they give this wonderful show the suckiest ending I have ever seen!! No only predictable...but beyond the usual lameness of series finales. I really expected better for the end of this show. Of course now there really is no wholesome family viewing out there that my kids can watch with us...so we are resigned to Disney channel once again....the agony!!

We'll miss you 7th Heaven...there's no show that can replace you....monday's will be very lonely.....

Until football season starts..

Dear God make the pain go away...

That is what I was saying yesterday. For whatever reason as the day wore on it was almost impossible to move. By the time the TTs went to bed I had to take a painkiller - it was that bad. Of course as soon as that kicked in I felt like I could run a 4 minute mile. I don't know what is wrong with me but I wish that it would just go away. Whatever is causing me all this pain everyday ... and making me so damn tired .... and irritable ..... it just needs to go back where it came from. My kids are suffering ... my house is suffering ... everything that I am involved with is suffering ... including me.

Some people have suggested Fibromyalgia ... others have told me it's go to be Lupus ... both of which there is no test to determine if that is in fact what you have. Some people don't even believe that they are real diseases ... honestly I can't say for sure that I believe that they are real. Coming from a medical background generally I say if there isn't a test for it ... then it doesn't exist ... how could it? But then I feel the way I do ... and there's no explanation. Tests that they do ... come back inconclusive. I don't know what to think.

I just pray ... that the pain doesn't come back. I don't like feeling like I can't move ... that I can't play with my kids ... that I can't even get up to answer the phone.

I just pray ...............

The visit...the show...and other musings...

Well we survived the visit of 2006. We had a great time with my mom and godmom...the TTs loved having them here to play with and read to them. It was hard on them when they realized that they went home and weren't coming back anytime soon. My mom said something about the holidays..we'll see how that goes.

My mommy is the beauty in the Milwaukee shirt...my godmother (who has been my mom's best friend for 36 years} is the looker wearing the Jackie O shades.



We went last night to see Dora's Pirate Adventure. I was a bad scrap-mom and didn't bring my camera...but TT1 had a great time. We brought a friend with us rather than TT2 and BD...so TT1's friend and his mom (who happens to be one of my best friends) came with us for the show. We even ran into a couple of people from TT1's preschool class...it was a fun night. I of course got suckered into buying overpriced Dora propaganda on the way out. A t-shirt for $15...puzzles for $5 each...at $25 I told TT1 that the bank was broke. He really wanted the $12 light up stick...but I had to put my foot down...I was amazed at how many parent's had paid that amount for a stick with a lightbulb on the end. I told TT1 that I would put some cellophane on the end of his flashlight that he already had...that seemed to make him happy again. It did take a while to make him understand that the show was not like on tv where you could just rewind and play it again...he told me he wanted to watch another one before we left. Poor little guy.

The show itself was okay. Not too mind-numbing. Maybe we should have had a few shots before the show. We think that if they put a martini counter next to the dippin dots booth...they'd make a ton of money at these things!! I can't really complain though...at least it wasnt' Barney.

Our next thing is tomorrow at TT1's preschool they are having a Mother's Day program. Luckily my friend Jenn is taking TT2 for me so that I don't have to bring him. I can't believe that school is out next week. Then we can plan for our vacation in June. BD's dad will come to stay with us for the month of July. Then school starts again in August. Wow...there's our whole summer right there. That looks kinda fast and pitiful....

We are doing a secret sister over in the Pub at 2Peas. I'm so excited. I love who I got...and I really look forward to getting to know her. I'm also really hyped to get to know the person who has me...or at least to let them know me better. I've been a member over there for over 3 years and I really haven't made that many connections as I would have thought. I have been blessed with a few people that I met over there....but for the most part I go pretty much unnoticed since I dont' post all the time and I'm not as well known in the industry as some others. But doing things like this SS really makes me feel more in touch with the other designers on the board.

THANKS EMILY!!

I got your wonderful NSD box today!! We are going to have such fun when my girls get together to do these tag books....I can't wait!!

And since I'm talking to Emily...

You're right...I should have driven to TN last week and bought a lottery ticket. I won the Dora tickets...then I won your giveaway..then my husband tells me the next day that they were doing a giveaway at work for people who gave suggestions for Earth Day...he won $100 GC!!!

Last week must have been a lucky week for both of us...

T minus 2 days and counting...

Until the mothership arrives. My mom and godmom are coming for a short visit and they will be arriving sometime on Thursday. We are having a cleaning person come in tomorrow to do some deep cleaning...makes me feel better about only having to do basic cleaning. That I can accomplish by tomorrow.

Spring is here in full bloom...the dogwood at the gardens looks wonderful



well...have to go and get some cleaning done....so that the TTs can destroy it later...

Wow I should buy a lottery ticket!!

That's what the comment left by Emily Adams said....since I won her AWESOME national scrapbook day RAK that she hosted on her blog yesterday...

Here's what I won...


only enough for me and 6 of my gals!!!! how cool is Emily right???? You can still check out her blog and try and win another of her wonderful retired CKU Magic Scrap class kits!!! Check it out!! Or if you don't want to win a kit...just check it out cause she's got great photos and has a way with words....

You are lucky caller number 5!!!!

That's what I heard this afternoon when I called into the new radio station in town. It was on a whim and I never thought I'd win...but I did...

On May 3rd we are taking the TTs to see



Thank you 100.3 The River

So "MDay" is in a week and a half....my mother and godmother are coming to visit. It will only be for a few days...but I am sure that those few days will feel like a week. My mom is cut from a different cloth than my husband..she is very abrupt and usually makes comments before thinking through what she is saying...we love her...but unless you are used to her way you feel a bit put off when you are around her...

Tomorrow I am headed over to my friend Yoli's house...she just bought a coffee bean roaster...we are going to make fresh roasted coffee...yes that sounds insane...but we are both coffee freaks...and heck...it's a new appliance to play with!!!

The Bunny Came Momma!!

That is what we woke up to this morning at about 6:30....




we did the whole egg decorating thing last night...TT1 had a great time...TT2 on the other hand was passed out from the bliss of the all day egg-stgravaganza at the botanical gardens..










We watched the Veggie Tales Easter Story...those DVDs are wonderful for explaining Bible stories to the kids in terms they can understand....we love them....

and now things are winding down after dinner...plans are being made for when nana comes to visit in 2 weeks....another holiday down the drain....

Yes I am a Blog Slacker!!

I can't beleive that it's actually been almost a month since I updated....

So much has happened....

We bought the Dodge Grand Caravan with the Stow N Go seating...I LOVE IT!! I never thought that I'd be happy with a minivan....my friends pick on me cause they say that I have come to the dark side..but it is the best vehicle for our family. I feel comfortable driving it...the kids like it...TT#1 calls it the magic car....cause the doors are all automatic....and when the doors lock TT#s 1&2 both say "Thank You Car"..it's cute...I'll have to get photos of the van before it gets too dirty...

I also found out that I am sick...they aren't sure how all the problems that they found actually are connected becuase there isn't any consistency...but they do know that I am sick...I've started on some meds that will take care of a couple of the problems...I have to radically change my diet and lifestyle (which feels almost impossible at this point) and we'll do more tests to re-check everything. They are going with the "attack one thing at a time" strategy...we'll see how well that works.

We did a ton of stuff today with the TTs....but that will have to be another post....