stuff

First of all I want to say a big thank-you for all of the good book suggestions and conversation. I can't reply back to comments from this blog but please know that I really appreciate what you say and would respond if I could!

I think we will order a set of the Boxcar children books for Emy for Christmas. For now, Her and I just started Heidi . And her choice from the book order this month was Sarah Plain and Tall ... hopefully it is another good one. I am going to head over to the book exchange later this week and look for a few of the others you guys have suggested for us. THANK-YOU!

We had a great weekend. The time as a family is always precious. We went over to Cam's parents place for supper on Friday and the bigger two girls stayed for a sleepover and some time with Nanny and Gigi. Not for any reason other than that they love it and so do their grandparents :)

Saturday I picked up some goodies from Home Depot and the art store, I am excited to play with it all- some new big sheets of watercolor paper, a pack of cheese cloth, some fresh rolls of duck tape and a new tub of gesso. Also grabbed a can of chalk board paint to paint the back of this big dresser we use as a divider between the family room and playroom. The kids have all been so so much into art these days and chalking on lots of black construction paper so I thought this could be really fun for them. Tiara and I got into the new packs of watercolor paper and painted for awhile today it was so much fun just to create and play together for the fun of enjoying time in the afternoon. My card-a-day will have to wait tomorrow - I am heading out on a field trip with Tia to the Fire Hall. But I will put up another one on Wed.

We baked Cam his favorite apple pie on Friday. It even got a pumpkin face :)

Baking with the kids is THE best. They are so funny...each cup and tsp. is exciting to pour in and mix. I loved it so much as a little girl and I remember clearly how enjoyable those times were. My mom recently brought over my little aprons and I t was really fun to see how well worn they were. Lots of good memories. Now as I get to create those memories with my own girls I understand that it is just as much fun being the big person :)

And it was not only at the stores that I found some treasures check out this trash-to-treasure find!!! A super rad super solid wood desk we found with a Free sign on it at the end of a driveway in the country!!! the drawers are all big enough for 12x12 papers and even has one deep drawer with dividers. I think I Will paint it RED! The desk rawks, I can bang and paint and craft all over it and the price was right...I vote this my happy find of the month!

a card-a-day {#3}

I took a break to enjoy family time this weekend; that is what I love most about the end of a week... but the new week has begun and I am back at it :) Thanks so much for all of the nice comments on my cards so far, Becky's kit makes it easy to come up with cute stuff! I really ventured away from the original design on this card and did a little bit of dissecting LOL . Sometimes I just enjoy cutting stuff up and turning it around to make it into something new. For this one I cut out the word strips to make a "tree". I tore off the end piece for a bit of a layered torn textury end. Then crinkled/folded two of the enclosed blue strips over the one printed on the front of the card and coiled some wire around it. Simple but happy and fun :)

A card-a-day {#2}

here is my day #2 card, lots of fun to play with on here. I added brads to the cute strip of circles along the bottom, and silver glitter to the tiny dots on the background. I'm Loving all of the transparent pieces Becky has in this kit, so I painted a red stroke behind this one to make the words pop. And then made it literally "pop" by mounting the buttons holding the square onto some foam squares. A bit of cardboard paper and hand stitching and voila! done.

It is fun and refreshing to do a little something every day that requires less thought and much less time than a whole layout. I can't wait to make some hot chocolate, turn on my Amy Grant Christmas CD and make tomorrow's card :)

A card-a-day {#1}

Somehow it is already that time of year- There is a tell tale chill in the air, you can "smell" winter coming, the leaves have let go of their branches and that means it is time to start thinking about Christmas plans, wish lists and Christmas cards! ( already?! I know , I know, I am not quite ready either, but I guess I never really am)

Getting in the mood pretty quickly though thanks to good inspiration! I am really excited to have the chance to play with my friend Becky Higgins' CK Kit of the Month for November; it is an ultra cute Christmas card kit with plenty of extras. An amazing value! check out her details here.

Creating makes me happy and Christmas time makes me even happier so I thought it might be fun to make a card a day for a bit! Here is our Christmas card from last year, and the little ones the kids gave their friends as well as one I made for some good friends of ours. I think this year I will do cards from Becky's kit especially since they come with such adorable envelopes! ( I will show you those another day) I love the colors she chose; adding a touch of pink to Christmas is always a good thing IMO :) The designs are super fun too; finished enough to make these so quick and easy to do and yet plenty of room to have freedom to play. Of course if given the option I always chose to play hee hee- So for this first card I added some finds I had around the house- A torn cardboard paper circle, touches of black pen, stitching, floss knot tree ornaments with a bling star to top it off just right. Some jute twine, and a bit of puff paint and glitter glue.

Hope I've got your creative wheels turning!

See you tomorrow ;)

call me Strawberrry Mirage...

thanks to my friend The red cosmo AKA: rawkin-A.
This made me laugh so hard I had to take a break and play along

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)
-Shalom Van ( maybe more Jazz singer???)
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)
-Chocolate Sugar ( pronounced "sugah" ;)
3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) - C- Muc
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
-Red Cat ( totally)
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
-Theresa Winnipeg ( I don't think "winnipeg" belongs in any soap opera name LOL)
6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) -Mucch
7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)
-The Blue Smoothie ( oh yeeeah cuz I'm so smoooooth! ROFL)
8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)
-Renee Clarance
9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy)
-Strawberry Mirage (HA!)
10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names )
-Loretta Christopher
11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)
-Wallace Windsor
12. SPY NAME/BOND GIRL: (your favorite season/holiday, flower)
-Christmas Daisy
13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)
-Pineapple hoodie
14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)
-Oatmeal Oak ( ooohh totally organic sounding)
15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”)
-The painted rain Tour ( RAWK on!!!)

OK make me laugh ..... copy, paste, and join in the fun !!!! you've got to Throw me a link so that I can enjoy your alter egos :P

all kinds of book talk

I have totally loved the last three books that Emy and I have read together. She is in grade three but is reading at a grade 5-6 level at least; so she can read for hours on her own and do just fine. But still I really enjoy our time each night reading together. The time with her; the quiet cuddle time with no sisters in sight just us, and truth is I honestly really do enjoy these books myself! Reading out loud making all the different accents and voices, and together looking forward to what will unfold in our adventure tomorrow night. Deeelightful!

We are fairly picky with what goes in for our little people I have to say. You know the saying "garbage in garbage out" so we try to steer pretty clear of garbage and put in lots of good stuff for our girls. Now that her reading has moved beyond the younger stories it is a little bit harder to find good books that will challenge her reading and keep her mind occupied and entertained, while at the same time NOT being too old for her sweet 8 1/2 year old self, or containing "stuff" we wouldn't want her to read right now. Kind of like finding size 12 clothes that are still appropriate and "little girl" enough for an innocent little sweetheart in grade three, a challenge at times too I have to say.

Anyways , I am always up for book recommendations and so I thought some of you out here may be too. I am so so impressed with these three. they were each quite different but all good to the last page.

From the mixed up files of Mrs. Basil.E.Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

It is a great story of adventure and self discovery. And since the kids in the story are around her age Emy found it really fun to try and relate to them. As a bonus there is some cool learning about art history hidden in here as these two siblings hide out at the metropolitan museum of art in Manhattan in the 60s.

The tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

I never imagined a story about a mouse could be so entertaining ( but then again I was very skeptical of cartoons about Fish and cars LOL and they turned out to be great movies) This book made me excited to read more and want to keep reading even when it was well past bedtime and our time was up. Such adventure and a really cool perspective through the eyes of the different characters who make up the story. A Heartwarming tale about the strength of this little mouse who is too small and his ears are too big and in every way he doesn't fit in. It will give courage to any kid who has ever felt like that little mouse.

and Because of Winn-Dixie also by Kate.DiCamillo ( I really like her books!)

This book just comes alive with all of it's amusing characters. The story is made up of "outsiders" who all have wonderful stories to tell and lessons to teach....we really loved it.

note: I picked up the fairly recent movie because the book was so good, but it just doesn't compare, go for the book instead!

I was going to talk only about Emy's books but since I am talking books tonight, I have to say that the animal ark series has been really perfect for Tiara. We are on our third adventure with Mandy and James who are always saving an animal in trouble and Tiara who is a total animal lover, loves every minute of them. We are using our current "Beagle in a backpack" as a reward for getting dressed in the morning and getting to school smoothly because things were pretty rocky for awhile. She is such a determined little person that having something to work for is always good motivation to push past the troubles that may come for her. So she gets a whole chapter with me at night if all goes well and when things get tough we take away only one page at a time so she still has something to work for through the day. It is really helping. I had read "children are from heaven" by Dr John Grey when Emy was a toddler- and many times since. It is a wonderful book on positive parenting and I would highly recommend it to anyone with kids. He talks about rewarding them for what they do right instead of focusing on punishing what they do wrong, since kids really do want to please their parents. I love the idea of rewarding them with my time it is the most precious thing I can give them.

And since I have covered what the kids are reading I may as well share what I have been getting into lately. This past spring/summer I read The Alchemist three times ( yes liked it that much :) I got something different from it each time too just depending where I was at, The whole sisterhood of the travelling pants series- I had never read these when I was younger and always wanted to, it was fun and entertaining I listened to this one unabridged on audio book while I did the album track for CKU Nashville. It was nice to keep my mind busy for all of those hours, I do that often.

I read the time travellers wife- no comment really, it is what it is. well written and kept me reading but surprising at times and a bit too much for me. Not one I need to read again. I Finished Anne of Green Gables -I was such a fan growing up...still am, but it had been a long time and I wanted to read it again myself before reading it with Emy, just to be sure it was appropriate. mmmmmm that wonderfully imaginative Anne-girl inspires me LOL she reminds me of myself in many ways, needless to say I Loved it all over again! I jut finished a few books by Max Lucado He is such a wonderful writer and I always love his written perspective for both children and adults. It makes me think, makes me smile and makes me breathe a little bit deeper. And that brings us to right now; I have a few of Jeffrey Gittomer's books on the go in the van for school pick up days; He is great and the books are easy to read, I quite enjoy his writing, getting a lot from it. And Last but most definitely not least I am reading Ali's new Life artist book...so far I would say it is a must have for any scrapbooker at any level, her best book so far. She has written all good books but this one just has that extra heart and it strikes a chord with me, inspires me, beyond just scrapbooking.

So that is my book blabber for tonight, happy reading :)

Bonjour!

mmmmm, It is good to be back

I arrived home from France just in time for Turkey dinner with my sweet family.

Happy Thanksgiving to all you Canadians out there!

( and very early wishes to those who are not in Canada and will celebrate later)

I hope you feel that you have plenty to be Thankful for :)

We sure do, more Blessings than We can count.

Not because we never have troubles or challenges but because we choose to see the blessings and beauty that surround us.

I left home on September 27th to teach 4 new classes at the Paper and co show in Versailles France. 2 traditional books, one digi and one hybrid album.

I went armed with a few photos of the "fake" Eiffel tower that I took in Las Vegas and thought I would have the chance to blog on the go and let everyone know where I was off to. Well... Internet ended up being fairly hard to come by, even once my new friend Lydia from Luxembourg lent me her plug adapter. I had bought one that was supposed to be for Europe but it didn't fit the sockets there, and I couldn't even make my phone card work to call home and talk to my little angels LOL! So other than feeling a bit displaced or shall I say "disconnected"; the experience was amazing. My classes were incredible; all of these women in one room from all over ( France, Italy, Norway, Spain, Belgium, Australia, Scotland, Luxembourg, the UK and even more) and we were all connected by something that truly needed no translator. A real love for art and for our memories and our families. I really enjoyed the artsy-ness of this crowd they were not afraid for one second to just go for it and slap that paint on or try new things, and the digi and hybrid classes too were so bold and excited to really go for it and do something new with the computer.

Rawk on my new European friends!!!

I was so so lucky to be able to take this trip with my good friend Krista. She was a fabulous assistant helping me lug that heavy pink suitcase of class supplies along the cobblestone each day, helping IN my classes and packing kits with me behind the scenes. She also took some fun pictures of me like the one up above which was so nice since it is usually me behind the camera.

When the event was over we went on to tour Paris for a few days. It was cool but I enjoyed the colorful Old beauty of Versailles even more. I will get a photo album or a slide show loaded up pretty soon. It was a trip I will never forget. Thank-you PACS and thanks Krista for an amazing super fun adventure!

back to school

I can't believe how fast the summer has gone and here we are already at back to school week. ( well we were when I began writing this post anyways LOL!) Emilea started grade three this year. GRADE THREE!!!! that seems so big, I can't believe how these sweet girls of mine grow. Other than her first wasp sting just as we were going to take the annual backpack pic on the step in the morning, Emilea went back to school like a little pro. Her teacher seems amazing and I am excited to see how the year unfolds. Look at that little giggle of hers, she sure keeps us smiling and being thankful for every day. Seriously; lately I stand back and watch her, she laughs easily and sparkles with such an amazing inner beauty, Sometimes I can't believe that God chose me to have the great privilege of holding her little hand and guiding her as she grows. Being a mama is the most amazing gift I could have ever been given, and not something I take for granted for even one day. Y'know, each of our girls came to us in such different circumstances and each of them has changed our life so much.

girl #2:

Here is one of Tiara's "first day of Kindergarten" photos. She goes to school twice a week ALL day instead of every day-half days, so she has only had 4 classes. It has been.....well, interesting so far. Her first morning was less of a pro experience than Emy's I have to say. Our summer was feeling so good, without the worry of socks and long sleeves and pants to fight with on her little sensitive body, and without the pressure of places to be by 8:20 am, she settled into a very happy space. The whole experience with sensory integration disorder and all of the anxiety that has accompanied that for my little sweetie comes in waves and all we can do is ride it out. Thankful for the good times and ready with extra love for the hard times. I knew in my heart that all of her little issues may creep up in the face of a new school year but I think I was kind of refusing to really deal with that and was half hoping that it could possibly really be smooth sailing. The night before her big day I realized how much worry I actually do have deep down about handing her over. About trusting that these wonderful teachers really will see when she is overwhelmed and that they really will be able to help her cope with such a long day. As soon as those little newly socked feet went into her runners and the socks pulled up against her toes it all got thrown off and she declared that there was NO WAY she was going to school.

*sigh*

OK we can do this......

We worked together drawing a rainbow heart and talking about just going to see what the class was up to. Did this gently until we just had to "get Emy to school" and Tiara came along and ended up having a pretty good day! She was not on time and there was no first morning photo taken like all the other kids, I did not get to help her find her cubby and hover grinning at the door... but she made it. Sweet little jellybean toes bare in her runners and reluctantly ready to TRY.

Ah well, I just keep telling myself that without the struggle a caterpillar wouldn't become a beautiful butterfly. I am sure that all of Tiara's journey will help her grow into a strong, smart and amazing young lady, I just need to keep praying for the tools that I need in order to be there supporting that journey.

girl #3

and of course even though she did not start any kind of school this fall, the littlest sister did a bit of posing as well on that first day :) So proud to be newly three years old, she thinks she can take on the whole word. Power to ya my little Bella, go for it!!!

Happy week to you my friends, here's to the journey!

p.s. check out Tiara's gift for you this week on my CK blog and the new download page that Cam made for us :)

just a head's up

the challenges are going again on my CK blog, hope you will come over and play. This weekend we are being inspired by the freedom of kid art, and everyone who joins in is entered for a random draw to win a CK book of your choice. I posted a close-up of the journaling from this layout and there is also a little gift I have drawn for you available to download.

Enjoy!!!

a new view

This red fountain at the Opryland hotel reminded me that sometimes we need to remember to change our view. I walked by it from the ground quite few times ( see below) and even almost sat on the edge...until noticing how wet it was! But it wasn't until I saw it from above that I found it to be incredibly beautiful with it's rich red and all of that great texture! This photo has got to be one of my favorites that I captured on my trip to Nashville.
I think this applies not only to photography, but even more to life. It is like this often; we don't always see how incredible things are in our world until we change our view.

Y'know I always say that different is not bad it is just different. There is most often good to be found in any situation, no matter how frustrating it may seem, if we take the time to look at it from a new angle and find that goodness. It makes me smile when this happens, like a treasure was just waiting there for me.
So here's to changing our view and looking at life with fresh eyes!!!

online

just a quick note with a few online surprises to share! My CK September column is online HERE talking about sharing life lessons. I really enjoyed the journey of writing that one, so it is super nice to see it shared there on the CK site. Also some of my fonts have been put up on scrap'n'fonts as the CK August bundle you can see those HERE A big thank-you to Denise for recognizing Tiara's name in there and pointing them out to me :)

happy Thursday!

well helooooo!!!!!

This is a double post....same thing over at my CK blog today, but It sure has been awhile since I blogged! I miss it, and am going to make up for it with daily posts on at least one of my blogs for the next bit I think. I have been saving up so much I want to say!

August has been good, really good. And also flown by entirely too fast. Why is it that good always seems to go hand in hand with flying by too fast? I have noticed around here that fall is on it's way; just all of a sudden. The air is cooler and gets downright chilly at night and I can smell that delicious crispness that comes with the fall. I love breathing in the smell of a new season filled with the possibility of new adventures just waiting for me to find them! The birds are beginning to fly south overhead in their pretty formations. And I am here feeling like the month has just begun, like I am still supposed to have half of the summer left, LOL!

We spent the first week of August away camping together as a family and with our super good friends from Saskatchewan; Krista, Braden and little Jake. It was perfect! No computers, no phones, most of the time not even a clock around to remind us what time of day it was. The kids rode bikes and caught frogs, we ate lots of watermelon, built sand castles and just had an amazing time! just a few pics for now...

and Here are some family photos taken by My friend Krista Domres I am so so glad she was willing to do a few for us because it really has been far to long since we had a good photo of the 5 of us all together

We returned home feeling so refreshed and I spent the next week and a half totally immersed in my work for my CKU album track Here is a visual for you of my crazy dining room take over!

I tidied my "creative mess" in between projects so that everything was back in it's buckets but when I got going it was good to just be in a groove and have everything right on hand. This moment is obviously right in the middle of "going!"

I turned off the Internet completely and got really focused, I had to, and it was so very worth it!

You see, I took over Tracy White's Fondest Memories album track for CKU Nashville last week, and decided to make it my own and give it my "C.D. spin". So I did 20 brand new layouts and wrote a new handout to go with them. My wall got plastered with layout after layout until it was covered like wall paper, and I have to say when the last layout was finished and up on the wall that was some pretty rewarding wall paper!

Last week in Nashville and I had the most amazing time teaching. Something I definitely want to do a lot more of ( I will post more photos and stuff from CKU soon)

So now I am peeking up out of my scrap world! And emerging back to real life :) This must be how a bear feels when it comes out of hibernation after the winter. A big stretch and a yawn and a deep breath of fresh air!

I am going to spend this next few weeks having some fun with my playground challenges and topics on the CK blog now that life is back to normal. I am really excited, I feel like the girls must feel when they have been waiting and counting the sleeps till a big play date. I missed you all!!! been counting the sleeps :)

it's good to be back

happy summer

So far, so good!!! We are really enjoying our summer together. although I can't even believe this is that last week of July already! We went out with Kristie and her boys yesterday. First we took the kids to a cool used book exchange called "flipped pages". The kids put so much thought into their books and ended up making great choices; Emy chose the lion the witch and the wardrobe, Tiara chose a new animal ark book (I have been reading a chapter with her every night and these are great!), and Kaiella's is a fun story too with great illustrations; called Trupp. We went with our friends from there to go swimming for the rest of the afternoon. Emilea was a little fish as always, and Kaiella was determined to swim by herself ( life jacket on of course) even though she had the worlds biggest diaper-bum LOL! ( crazy how they expand with water) It took her a little while, but my sweet Tiara was so very proud to have found all of her bravery and decided to join in too! good for her. She even got this mask and a snorkeler out and spent some time with her little head under the water. Such a big big step for her. I spent last week in Chicago for CHA, had TONS of fun! You can see lots of pics from my trip on my CK blog. We are planning a camping trip for the first week in August, good old fashioned tenting and camp fire cooking. Really looking forward to that. I wish summer could last all year, the warm glow in the evening, extra outings with family and friends, the smell of sunscreened little people running around full of chalk and sand. But you know I say that about all of the seasons I guess. I am just happy to be taking it all in and cherishing the day fully. Have a good one.

Emilea

my beautiful girl. I love the way you can just feel her warm peaceful spirit in this photo. She seems to be growing up so fast sometimes I look at her and it takes my breath away. It is so nice having her home with me for the summer she has been reading TONS and enjoying the time with her sisters. I always like watching the way their friendships blossom when they are home all together for the holidays.

I have decided to make myself a flickr gallery of some photos, just learning about how it all works but seems really cool, lots of amazingly talented people out there that are super inspiring. If you want to take a peek a few of my pics are here

OK

we all need a little reminder sometimes!

( photo from toon town in Disneyland...I loved all the fun to be had there!)

gift

I am giving away a free gift with my new column in Creating Keepsakes this month, to help make a simple story book or just use on a page as you like. check it out here :)

life update

I haven't been posting here much lately, I miss this place. Just feeling a little blog identity crisis trying to keep two blogs going and knowing what to post where. I am working on solving that. A great solution is in the works and I am excited to get it figured out once and for all :)

But for now, I thought I would pop in to say hello and happy summer. Ah! just saying that makes me breathe a little deeper, I love summer; the fresh dewy air in the morning, the flowers and birds and grubby hot little kids, and the carefree happy warm days that go with it all! I welcome summer with the openest of arms.

here are a few of my favorite photos from the past little while

need a moustache? Tiara decided that this was the perfect craft-of-the-day and made one for everyone in our family LOL! SO funny.

oh yes, I wore mine proudly to greet Cam as he came home from work, I think he nearly fell off the step. new change to note; this is the new green we painted in our main hall and one dining room wall. SO much happier than the grey that was still lurking there from when we moved in. the other three walls of the dining room are a nice robin's egg blue...so fresh!

soccer season was a blast! Tiara really got the hang of it with the comfort of coach daddy. makes me so happy because she was super nervous about it when they first began

these two pretty butterflies were happy to help celebrate a special birthday for my beautiful MOM in June. We spoiled her as much as possible with dinner, a trip this mineral spa just out of town and a day of pampering

this little attitude really cracks me up! she is not even 3 yet and already is giving looks like this. oh boy. I should add in a big thank-you for all of the prayers and well wishes we have received for Kaiella after she was burned. As you can see here, her arm has healed up really nicely.

Cam's parents got a hot tub put in this spring and everyone has been enjoying some good soaks in there. Especially Emilea, I think. She is a real little fish! It is so nice for the girls to be out in the fresh country air. Spending lots of time outside with their grandparents is a real gift to all of them

our proud preschool graduate

spending lots of time at the park. We love our outdoor time together as a family, so the warmer weather has us outside as much as possible!

went to watch a bit of Emy's field day at the end of June. I love this event every year! the kids do too. this here is the sponge race, a fun drippy wet game. I can't believe Emy is finished grade 2 and heading for grade three, WOW! that feels so big. Her first week of summer holidays has been great she has read at least 20 chapter books already! I LOVE watching her joy in reading unfolding. I think we will have to get her down to the library at this pace though. She will have read every book we have in no time!

everyone was learning to ride bikes this year! Tiara would barely even peddle her own tricycle last year so getting Emy's "big" girl bike and deciding it was OK to go for it was a really big step! she worked with cam for awhile but decided to go with training wheels for this year. whatever feels good! Kaiella is doing her best on the tricycle and Emilea is working as hard as she can to master her two wheeler on her own! I can't wait to get out as a family. That's my little update for now. Have a great sunshiny day!