Survived the Scrapbook Retreat

We had our annual April scrapbook retreat this past weekend. Loads of fun! Practical jokes was the theme of the weekend. When introduced to 16 year Jessica, her first remark was, "Oh,you're one of the big pranksters!" So, Here are the highlights.


This was a prank gone bad. It was meant for me. Unfortunately for the ladies, I caught on a little too early and no scream was heard from me! (It's stuffed! They got the owner, Larry, involved in this prank. It's one of his.)

This is the infamous 'bird'. I found out this weekend that is a roadrunner. Anyway, Jill pulled a good one and it was hiding for me under the lamp when I went to bed.

This is a pic of the group of ladies who went. Great group of women!

One of my layouts...to show we actually did work!

The bird again. This was actually the first joke pulled. After being asked to remind Jill to call someone the next morning, I decided to let the bird remind her when she got up to go to the restroom the next morning. It worked.

I'm sure the picture says enough.

Sharing in the joy!

We had a great time of prayer Saturday afternoon.
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Sneak peak at the some of the wildlife.

Havin a good time.

My sweet great friend and coordinator of the retreats.

Hmm, the mango is a long story. Your secret is safe with me, Sue!

Let's Catch Up!

Been too long. Everytime I go to sit at the computer, I decide I'm too brain dead to try to put things into words. Not to mention, that on an open blog, one can really only include so many words. Remember that "big brother watching" thing. One day, maybe I'll do an 'invitation only' blog. Doubt it. Here goes my life thus far. Luckily, can't complain. God is still not only good, but faithful in the busy and crazy times.

I went on my semi-annual scrapbook retreat a couple weekends ago. BTW, I'm proud that this is one of my hobbies and know my children will sooooo appreciate and enjoy it as well in the future. I can't imagine not leaving them with something so concrete. Beats all the money in the world or any computer/disk or other techno form...IMO - which I am well aware is not asked for. (unless of course, that's the way you enjoy doing it or if busy days, busy kids, busy lives don't allow for the concrete stuff....totally understandable, no offending intended - after all, I only have 1st year for each kid) Okay, done with the rant. Anymore, the time away is not soley about getting books done (although we do work LATE into the night/early morning). It's become so much more of a ladies' social, strengthening, encouragement, just plain fun time! And they let me act like a kook(?) as much as I want. What more could you ask for? Well, this time, they outdid me. I don't know if you remember 'the stuffed pheasant' from the last several stays there. It's part of the decor in one of the rooms. Why it's part of the decor, I'll never figure out. Anyhoo, the joke between my grand friend and me is to hide the ugly bird in the other one's belongings. It shows up in the darndest places. This time, a few of the ladies decided to go on a walk. I asked them to take my camera to take some pics of the wildflower fields and whatever. My mistake. They took the 'whatever' to the max. They took the pheasant along for the walk. I've only included a small number of the large number of pics they took of the bird's adventure. I was laughing so hard when I saw the pics, I had tears.





While I was gone, Jim texted me that Ian lost a top front tooth. You all know that when Ian 'loses' a tooth, he literally 'loses' it. About 20 minutes later he texted again with a picture, revealing that he had by that time lost both top teeth! Ian told our friend that he swallowed them. Hmmmmm????
Benjamin had his ARD meeting with the school last week. It went fine. He just had his last session with ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) and will start in his PPCD class on Monday...the day after he turns 3. OMG! I will cry. He's my baby.....and quite the mamma's boy at that. I've also included a pic of yet another black eye. Yes, right before his bday party. No one's sure what happened. Avery told us she accidently fell on him with the chair. All we know is there was bleeding and crying. But, he recovered, as you can tell by the adorable smile.

Last Friday I had a procedure done at my GYN's office called an endometrial ablation. Read about it if you'd like. I'm sure most have heard of it. I'm hoping I get the results I'd like. It was not a big deal to get done. My wonderful MIL took me. They put an IV in to knock me out. Next thing I knew, I was awake, groggy, being given instructions, and heading home. I slept most of the day and took one pain med and ibruprofen for cramping all day. By the next day, I felt fine. By yesterday, I was running (in great weather BTW).

These 3 pics are the reason I should get mom of the year. :) These are 3 reward/extrensic motivators we use. The pizza is to work on toilet training with Ian. You know, to bribe him to stay dry and to pee and poop ON THE TOILET. When he fills up the pizza pie, he gets to order a pizza. Now, if he poops on the potty, we skip straight to ordering a pizza. The two charts are for Ian and Avery. When they do something 'above and beyond' to make us proud, they get a smiley face. If they get 3 by the end of the day, they get a treat. The little board maker cards are 'treasure box' cards. If they have at least one card left by the end of the day, they get to choose something from their treasure box. With all these, we still also use spankings when needed and time out. Life seems like one big game of reward/discipline.


The sandbox is compliments of my wonderful FIL. He built it for the kids! He's so awesome!
This is a random pic from Easter, just cause I like it.

Last thing. I went out running last night on my usual route. I noticed a bunch of emergency vehicles ahead of me in the neighborhood. I knew whatever it was, they weren't going to let me pass, so I changed routes. We watched the news and found out that a gang related shooting death took place.....20 minutes before I went out to run! Just the fact it happened in our neighborhood (actually about 1 mile away) was enough to freak me out. But then when I think I could have been running by as it happened really freaked me out. Jim is definitely getting strict on not letting me run later in the evenings.

Well, I hope you made it all the way through this. I know it was long. Hopefully I won't wait so long next time!

New Attempt

Okay, I've been out of the loop for a long time now. Thanks to encouragement from my friend Kathie, I'm ready to start making time for this again. So much going on. Bummer is, with such an open blog, I don't feel safe to post some of it. So, those thoughts and feelings stay to myself...and privied friends.

So, I went scrapbooking this past weekend to the same place I blogged about back several months ago. My friend, Jill, did a wonderful job organizing it, as usual. This group of women was competely different from the usual twice a year crew. Both are unique and fun and great in their own ways. This happened to be a group of 10 others, most of whom I knew the names, but didn't know personally, or barely knew. They happened to be a group I've highly admired for their servant hearts and uncompromising godly characters. So, I felt a bit intimidated going in. Everyone, including myself, was so incredibly blessed by the time we spent with each other. Lots of fun, fellowship, meaningful conversation and just plain silliness. Did I get much done? Ummm, no, but that's okay. I'll be going again in April. Maybe I'll catch up then.

Next thing: My niece (the 20 year old that got married last year and was diagnosed as a carrier) just had her baby this morning at 12:20am. She had a baby girl and named her Adelin Sage (not sure how to spell either). I can't wait to see her.

Next: Ian's program coordinator asked Jim today if we thought we might want to keep Ian in kindergarten another year. AMEN! That's exactly what we were going to ask for.

Next: Our family is transitioning to a new church that has (so far from what we've seen) an incredible special needs program called Special by Design. Although we adore our previous church, we have noticed that we have been so 'overwhelmed' by life that other than attending church on Sundays, we have not sought out ways to serve or fellowship. Even with our homegroup, we started alternating each week between the 2 of us because it gets hard on the kids. So, we heard about the caring SN support at this church, decided to attend, and are now looking for ways to serve to see if the Lord leads us to stay.

I think if I don't end now, this might end up being way to long for my jump back in. So ta-ta for now.

Weekend Away

This is my very good and most funny friend. Yes, believe it or not, she is. Why does she have a pair of scissors clipped to her nose, you ask? Well, Jill is on a diet and we happened to be baking cookies. The aroma was too much for her self-control. Her solution? You got it! She's so smart! And no, she didn't have even one cookie. At least not that I know about. :)

This is the "Texas Cabin". This is the most popular of the cabins. Jill and I stayed in it this time.

This is in the crop room. This is Jill's and my collection of paper. She came up with this great idea last time. We each layed out all our paper so that it was within easy eye view when trying to come up with layout patterns for the pictures.

The bugs and spiders were outrageous this time! Especially the daddy long-legs and these annoying tiny flying things that kept getting in our faces and then falling to their doom in scrapping glue! This was one of those particularly beautiful spiders sitting in her web. Luckily, it was outside the crop room, not inside. It is a cotton spider. When we went to pack up to leave.....she was gone. Hmmmm. Hope she didn't come home with us!

These were just a few of the pictures. The only thing I didn't take a picture of that I wish I would have was this stuffed pheasant-like bird that was in our cabin. Jill and I are notorious for playing practical jokes - mainly on each other! She has the best sense of humor. Even better, she can dish it out as well as she can take it! Anyway, this bird kept 'disappearing' and 'reappearing' in strange places in the cabin.....my bag, the shower, the toilet paper basket, the bed. It traveled quite well.

I almost got Benjamin's book done. I decided to keep up with tradition and didn't do any journaling yet. I did manage to get embellishments on some of the pages during the trip. I only have March and April of '08 left to do. Then my goal is to add embellishments and journaling to all 3 books. Then what? Hopefully cards! I would like to scrapbook some trips, but who knows.

It was a great and relaxing trip. Jill and I left home Wednesday evening, a night before the others started arriving. We got back early yesterday evening.

I did get some running in, which felt great. Except for the tiny flying bugs threatening to enter my mouth and eyes, I adore running in the country. The air is so much cleaner! Those 2 lane roads are full of hills to add to the adventure!

Although we didn't get to bed until ridiculously late, I slept great, which is rare. I only got up once each night and got 8 hours of sleep each night. Woo-hoo!

We had great music. Everything from 80's to operetic to praise and worship. We had great conversation. Everything from trips to how the Lord is working in our lives. We even stayed away from politics.....way to go, Jill! And we had a couple of nice prayer moments for things that came up.

We watched our usual couple of movies. This time we watched Ever After, Day After Tomorrow, Big Fat Greek Wedding, and Return to Me. I don't think we actually sat to watch all of any of the movies. We'd watch for a while, then it became background while we scrapped.

Jim did great! The kids got fed, bathed, and made it to and home from school. I had left a card for him to find, which blessed him. Just wanted him to know how much I love him and was thankful for this time away. And to remind him what a great dad and husband he is.

Well, I think that catches you all up on the time away. We already have our next one booked in April. Now I'm looking forward to my time away with my husband for our 10 year anniversary next week!

Time for Fall, Time to Scrap!

I adore fall! It's my favorite season. We got married in the fall because we both like it so much. So I had to blog on this day, the 1st day of fall. There's just something refreshing about the season. I love being able to open the windows, which happens so little here because of heat, humidity or rain. Today I turned the A/C off and opened the windows. It's actually that cool outside, and it feels great.

Tomorrow I leave with some ladies to scrapbook. A good friend of mine puts this together and her goal is for us to do it twice a year to catch up on our books. Yeah, I say that as if I was a real scrapper! I really thought I was going to be, and maybe I still will be one day. That was before I had children. Now, I know a lot of people who have kids (and many who have more than me) who are still able to do all the mom/wife/family/etc. things AND still scrapbook. I am NOT one of those people. So, my goal is that each child will have a scrapbook from their first year of life...birth to 1st birthday. How far have I gotten? Well, I'm further than I was the last time we headed out to do this. I have Ian's pictures in his book. I still have embellishing and journaling to do (if I haven't forgotten everything already...it HAS been 5 years). I have Avery's pictures in her book and mostly embellished. I have journaling to do in hers. BTW, her book ended up being 1 1/2 times as thick as Ian's. Hmmmm, probably cause she's a girl. Or maybe because I somehow felt like I had to put every picture of the both of them in HER book? Regardless, it's thick! Tomorrow I'll be off to start (and hopefully complete) Benjamin's book. I would really like to have pictures, embellishings, and journaling done by the time we head home. Seriously, I'm there from Wednesday night to Sunday night. And we stay up nearly all night each night. So, that's my goal.

The big trick is going to be....can I totally enjoy myself without worrying how Jim is doing with the kids? I'm thinking I can once I get there. Right now, I panic. He's soooooo great to let me do things like this, and never complains about it, and is even taking off work 2 days. But he and I both know he gets a little more stressed having all the kids by himself for that long of time. Big bummer is that usually my in-laws are around to help out, but they're going to be out of town that weekend too. I'm sure he'll be fine. As he always says, "The kids will get fed and stay alive." He really does better than that, but it's a little joke we have.

So, I'm off to relish in the coolness of the air. Okay, I'm off to cook dinner. I'll catch up with everyone after I get back. Wish me luck! Ooooh, wish Jim luck!

The birthday party was great fun and the scrap retreat was great fun too! I somewhat finished Avery's book. I have embellishing and journaling and some pictures still to do. I think I got picture crazy with her book because it's at least twice as thick as Ian's. Luckily, girls care more anyway. She loves looking at it. How many times has Ian looked at his????? ZERO! But I look at it a lot.

We haven't had anything exciting going on lately. Guess that could be a good thing. Still waiting to hear when Ian's placement ARD will be. A bit nervous, but I do think we've got some good things in store with it. Ian's teacher got Teacher of the Year this year! She soooo deserves it.

I go this Friday...yes, Good Friday...for my pre-op appointment for the skin cancer on my forehead. I've got to hurry and schedule our family pics before the surgery. We've tried scheduling twice before, but have had to cancel. First time we had sick kids. Second time was right after our spring break trip and Benjamin came home looking like we beat him with a bat! Didn't think that would make for a good picture. So, since we have Benjamin's 2 year bday coming up, I figure we'll knock out two pics in one.

Well, wish I had more to tell. Just feelin' a bit quiet lately.

Scrappin' 40!!!

Today is the day. I'm the big 4 - 0. Wanna hear an added funny? My mother-in-law's birthday is the same day! We always joke that Jim married me so that he could remember his mom's birthday. Anyway, she's great, so I adore having the same b-day as her. Back on track...Fourty doesn't feel too bad so far. Jim and I always wonder that as we get older how are we going to maintain energy for the kids, since they're so young. Well, we've been working on taking better care of ourselves. We try to eat better....doesn't always work when we're feelin' lazy. We've started jogging again which has done 2 things - given me more energy (although I could always use more), and helped me sleep better at night (I've never been a good sleeper during the night). The trick for me is.....can I keep it up? I can find ANY excuse not to go jog....too windy, too cold, too hot, too tired, blah, blah, blah. I'm actually starting to enjoy the jogging again though, which helps out with the motivation. Shoot me a "you can do it, Donna" comment every once in a while!


What am I doing for the big birthday you ask? Well, first Jim got me this GREAT camera (well, I think it's great). Suzanne, you'd be proud to see what this one is compared to my old one. Thing is, I'm still trying to figure out how to use it. I can do the point and shoot thing, but I want to know ALL the cool things I can do with it. Unfortunately, the way I read instruction manuals - hmmmm, well it might take me a while. Anyhoo, I'm enjoying it so far.

Last weekend, we had a family birthday gathering at our house. My mother-in-law and I decided on pizza and wings to keep things easy. Plus, the kids love pizza - makes it double easy. We hung around, goofed off, told stories, etc. Then my niece (almost 13) decided we should play hide and seek. So, we did. It was soooooo much fun. What better time in life to remember that we can still be kids!!??

Next, my best friend is putting together a girl's night for me tonight. I'm looking forward to that. Basically all Iknow is we're going out to eat, then to a friend's house for girl stuff. I'm excited to spend time with friends I don't get to spend too much time with these days.

Then, the culmination of it all.......scrapbook weekend! 5 other girlsfriends and I are going away to a scrapbooking cottage. We leave tonight and don't come back until....ready for this....SUNDAY EVENING!!! Wee-hooo! Avery will be 4 this summer and I just MIGHT get her 1 year book done. I plan on getting a 1 year book done for all 3 kids, but I don't plan on being a scrapbook mom. Who knows, maybe that'll change....maybe not. I enjoy cardmaking more. It's less taxing on my brain.

So, here's the deal. I'm normally a bit of a jokester when it comes to overnighting with friends. There's one friend in particular on this trip that I would LOVE to come up with something to 'get her'. So, if you have any ideas on good pranks, please offer them up!

To sum up the entry, I just want to praise my Father above for the great life He's planned for me. It's not always easy...okay, it's pretty much never easy...but it's still wonderful. While I can only see the parts of my life He's shown me thus far, I know He has a beautiful plan for making it all for His glory. That knowledge and hope keeps me going everyday. Thank you, Jesus!!!!