Sneak Peek

Here is another sneak peek.I created this layout using only items from my new kit. When I post it on Friday, it will be a freebie for whoever wants it.

FYI - If you want to see the other 2 freebie kits I have, just click on the Label "My Designs" or "Freebie" on my sidebar. They are still on 4shared, so you can download them if you'd like. If you do, please leave me a comment. Also, if you create any layouts using my designs, I'd love to see them. Thanks!

De-Junking, VT & New Design

Yesterday, Ben and I decided to de-junk some of the kids' overflowing stuff. We have several baskets in our living room with toys and apparently dirty clothes, silverware, bowls, cups, and trash!! We went through them and put some items to donate in one bag and all the trash in another bag. We did the same thing to the boys' room (they share a room). There are still 2 baskets of 'in between' clothes that we need to find out if they fit anyone. We filled a total of 3 large trash bags (I'm talking the big black bags) and 2 smaller bags to donate. We took a break today. We haven't tackled the girls' room yet and it's kinda scary. So, maybe I'll start on that Thursday because tomorrow Ben and I might go on a date while the kids are in school. Anson had so much fun at my friends' drop-off babysitting that Ben and I may go to a movie and let Anson go play. I asked him about it and he is very excited!

Hey, I got my visiting teaching done today!! Woohoo! I have to confess that I haven't been that great of a visiting teacher lately. Not really sure why, but I haven't been getting it done like I usually do. Anyway, New Year and New Partner, plus a new gal to see. Molly is my new partner and I'm excited! She's my neighbor and I'm enjoying getting to know her better. She's so sweet & talented and her kids are darling!

AND I have some fun news! I have been dabbling a little and creating another freebie scrapbook kit to giveaway on my blog (and it's not for an online challenge this time, unless my online group just happens to pick the same color scheme)! I was having fun & I think I went a little overboard because it's kind of big. Anyway, it's Valentine themed, so I may wait until it's officially February before I post it. Well, it's still not to the caliber of other designers' kits out there, but it's simple and it was FUN like it's supposed to be. Ok, so here's a little sneak peek of what's in my kit. I made a layout using only items from my kit (and this is just a small portion of what's in it).
So, keep checking back to see when I post my kit (well if you're interested in a freebie anyway).

President Gordon B. Hinckley DIED

June 23, 1910 - January 27, 2008

My Dad just called to tell me that President Hinckley passed away today about 7pm MST. He died of "causes incident to age" in his home in Salt Lake City, UT. He was 97. (Also reported HERE and HERE) He was the 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from March 12, 1995 until today.

WOW! I really really love him! He was an excellent prophet. He will truly be missed!

52 Blessings - Week 4

This morning I was thinking about what I could spotlight as my Blessing for this week, and then it really hit me today at church. In primary, our lesson was about Lehi's Dream, and we were discussing the symbolism - the Rod is the Word of God, the Tree is Christ's Love and the Fruit is Eternal Life. Also, I was thinking about yesterday at Felicia's activity, she brought home a plaque that says "Daughter of God" and they told the girls that every girl is a Princess because our Heavenly Father is our King and she really loved that. I am so thankful for my Savior and knowing that I am a Child of God.

Journaling:

It is such a Blessing to know that I am a Child of God and my Savior Loves me! I know He suffered and died for me and was Resurrected so that I may live again. I am so thankful for the Gospel and to have it in my life. I am grateful that I have the Word of God so that I may grow closer to Him with each word that I read and study.

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you."

John 14:27

(Credits: Little Dreamer Designs "Lima Bean" paper sampler

Font - Susie's Hand)

YGA & TP

Yesterday was a Stake Young Girl Achievement Activity for all the girls age 8-11 from 9am-12pm. And each girl was allowed to bring a friend. Felicia brought her friend, Yesenia. They had such a great time! They had, according to Felicia, "The Best Breakfast Ever!" Banana nut muffins, fresh fruit, juice and Valentine conversation hearts (that were on the table for decoration). They sang some songs, learned some Kon Fu (I told Felicia that it's Kung Fu - LOL), decorated journals, and made babysitting packets. They came away all SMILES! Thanks to all those who worked hard to put this activity together! It was all worth it!

Here's what's inside their big carrying cases:

First Aid info, Babysitting fun, Decorated journal & "Daughter of God" plaque
Last night some people came by our house to show us how much they LOVE us! Felicia heard a noise and thought someone was knocking, so she opened the door (I had to remind her we don't just open the door when it's dark outside) luckily no one was there, but they left us a nice SURPRISE!
WOW! I haven't been TP'd (toilet paper'd) since I was younger and living at home. I admit that I did it a few times, so I had to laugh when I saw this. I thought it was funny. Ben did too. But we opted to wait to clean it up until today and since it rained a little last night now all the paper is stuck to our trees. I told Ben that we should just wait til it dries then it'll be easier to clean up. The kids had a blast blabbing to everyone at church that we got TP'd last night! ha ha :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALICIA

Today is one of my Best Friends' Birthday!!!!

ALICIA you are AWESOME!!!

Here's a pic of us on New Year's Eve! We ALWAYS had a ton of FUN together & our husbands get a long great too!

Alicia & I met our sophmore year in high school and have been friends every since! She is a fabulous friend and is always there for me (and all her friends). She is so sweet, funny, and always has good advice! She has 4 beautiful kids and is a great Mom!

Here's a blast from the past - we both turned 16 quite a while before the rest of our friends, so we went to our first school dance together - Sadie Hawkins (girl as guy)! We had such a great time at that dance (and the whole day of activities too)! Here we are after the dance at my parents' house eating Fench Silk Pie from Village Inn and Grape Martinelli's.

Alicia, Daniel, Eric & ME

We had one major thing in common in high school - Orchestra! She played viola and I played violin. So, we enjoyed our California Orchestra Tours. This is our Senior year at Six Flags.

Jennifer, Alicia, Aimee & ME

Another fun outing was the couple times I got to join her at her family's cabin. Oh my we had some good times there! Yep I think we're wearing matching plaid flannel boxers and a t-shirt. That was the norm for our sleepwear!

Alicia was a tremendous help & support as my Matron of Honor at my Wedding! Hmmm she almost looked prettier than me that day (tee hee). She is just the BEST!!!

I hope you have a Wonderful Birthday, ALICIA!!!

I Luv ya tons!!! Thanks for being such an extraordinary friend!!

Broken

I just took these for a photo challenge at DSSA. You're supposed to take a picture of something "BROKEN" so here are mine:

Broken Chain Link

Broken Diving Board Spring
Broken Roof

27 Dresses

Here's Anson & Grandma Call

My Mom, Anson (check out his cute dimples) & ME
Anson was all ready to go today...to my friend's house who does drop-off babysitting. It was his first time going to her house and he did great! He knocked on the door, as soon as she opened it, he walked right in. He doesn't do that very often, especially without me leading him in. He was excited to go play with friends. I packed him a lunch & he put it in his Diego backpack (he loves taking that backpack everywhere). So, I dropped him off and my Mom and I headed to the movies. We saw 27 Dresses which was really CUTE and FUNNY!
When it was over, we headed over to Chili's for our favorite Buffalo Chicken Salad. Mmmm it's so good!! (well minus the bleu cheese & bacon)

It was such a great day!

Thanks Mom for hangin' out with me today!

Anson had so much fun playing that it wore him out & he fell asleep on my lap after the kids came home from school. His slow sleepy breathing almost put me to sleep too. I call it the "sleepy power!"

Do your kids have "sleepy power" over you?

And have you seen this movie?

Same Pics, New Layouts

I got this new beautiful kit and wanted to try it out. So, I played with the pics from my previous "Heritage" LO and came up with these:

Everything is from "Joyful Hearts" by Weeds & Wildflowers (sold exclusively at PrimaHybrid).

WOW!!!

Tangie was having an alpha giveaway at DST and I can't believe it - but I won!!!

I got Queen of Hearts {Valentine} Alpha. Aren't they beautiful??? I'm so excited! If you like them, you can find them in her shop HERE. She also has different colors.

THANK YOU, Tangie!!! You ROCK!!!

Sleepy Boy

Now these are just too funny to not share! Last night when I told Anson to get ready for bed, he did. Sometimes he sleeps in his jammies and sometimes just his underwear - tonight is a no jammie night. But then Ben called me to "come here you gotta see this!" Anson had fallen asleep at the table with a bowl of animal crackers and a cup of water. He's sitting on a blanket and leaning on a throw pillow. He is so cute!

Ok, so I carried him to bed and wrapped him up in his favorite Diego blanket & pulled the covers over him. His legs were cold from dangling off the chair for a few minutes. But then, early this morning I thought I saw him walk into our room and go pet the dogs (they have a big fluffy dog bed by the wall). Well, Ben almost tripped over him this morning because he laid down by the dogs. But he didn't just wander into our room, he obviously had intentions of staying because he brought his pillow, blanket and his big stuffed (or not so stuffed - lost a lot of stuffing) dog to lay down on our bedroom floor by the dogs. I took this picture before he woke up, but he looked even cuter snuggled up to his stuffed dog when Ben found him earlier.
I let him sleep in this morning. When he finally got up, he came and found me. I said "Oh you woke up!" And he said "NO I'm going to lay down w/ Daddy!" ha ha I told him that Dad's at work and it's time to get up. He ran to go see if it was true. Then I found him trying to lay down again. Silly little guy!! Don't worry he didn't lay down for long - he's up and full of energy!!

When my kids get tired, they can sleep anywhere! We've caught our kids asleep in weird/funny places lots of times. I'll have to dig up some pictures and have a post of just sleepy poses. I caught Felicia asleep on the toilet before (that was funny) and Ashley fell asleep on the chairs at the table (while the chairs were pushed in - she was laying across a couple chairs). I've caught Nathaniel asleep on the couch (sitting up & laying down) while holding an xbox controller while the game is still on.

Have your kids ever fallen asleep anywhere funny?

FHE - Cleaning the Church Building

We had a GREAT FHE (Family Home Evening) last night! We weren't exactly at home - we volunteered to help clean our church building with another family. Families volunteer every Saturday & Monday. Our kids LOVE doing this! I don't know why because they don't like cleaning our house. I guess it's always more fun cleaning somewhere else. Anyhow, they did a really good job, and everyone helped even Anson. Especially since I had to take him to the doctor earlier because he couldn't stop coughing (he's been coughing for a while but it suddenly was a really bad day). He had taken a nap when we got home from the doctor's office, but woke up just in time to help clean.

Here's Anson helping to wash the bathroom counters.

Ashley & my friend, Kristy B, cleaning the bathroom mirrors, sinks & counters.
Felicia's wiping down the changing table.
Nathaniel, Matthew (they were in charge of emptying trash cans) & Ashley
Kristy & ME (She is so nice, she's one of the first people I met in our ward and I love this gal. She also was Nathaniel's first cub scout leader & he absolutely loves her!)
Kristy & Aisling
Ben vacuuming
Kristy's hubby, David - he also vacuumed
Adam & Aisling playing basketball when we were done. The grown-ups joined in for a quick little round of Girls vs Boys. It was FUN! They're a fun family!
Here's how Ashley & Anson celebrated (since they're never allowed to play on the stage during church, they finally got their chance)!
We're grateful that we had the opportunity to serve and show our love for our Savior by taking care of His church building.
We also showed our kids that we love and appreciate them by taking them to get a treat when we were done. I mean what's FHE w/o refreshments? We had to go to the store anyway, so we let them pick out some donuts! See, we can be nice sometimes. :)

Silly Cousins

I'm sad because in less than a month Ben's sister, Heather, her hubby, Tom, and their son, Trevor, are moving to North Carolina. We LOVE having them so close to us. We are going to miss them tons!! So, my nephew, Trevor, came over to play this weekend. He and Nathaniel are Best Buds!

They LOVE being silly together!!
The girls wanted to join in & be silly too!
This seems to be the only way I can get everyone together. Super Silly poses!!
Ok, this is supposed to be the nice "say cheese" and smile pose.

Rollerblades

Ok, yep, I'll admit it - I was up really late digi-scrappin'. And yes, ok, I'm probably addicted to it, too. There I said it. Now onto the good stuff. This boy is addicted to ROLLERBLADES!!! My awesome friend, Alicia, let him borrow them because they don't fit her daughter anymore & they're too big for her son. So, he totally lucked out!! He got these New Year's Eve when we left their house that night. Early the next morning he put them on as soon as he woke up and he's barely taken them off since then. I think he only takes them off for school, bedtime, and church! Silly BOY!! But I have to give him credit cuz he's a natural. He loves them and is actually pretty good with them. So, I say let him have his FUN!! I gotta be the nice mom once in a while, huh?!!

Journaling reads:

A friend let you borrow these rollerblades because they don't fit anymore. You learned how to use them so quickly & even started to do jumps by the end of your first day! On the second day, your jumps were even higher! Way to go, Nathaniel! Now if we could just figure out how to get these off your feet. You put them on the minute you come home from school and won't take them off until bedtime. I guess that means you like them! That's ok because we know you're just having FUN!

(This was also for a Numbers challenge at DSO. Supposed to use 8 photos & 8 papers. Talk about tough! But I think I pulled it off. Credits HERE)

My Baby Pics

I found this fun kit from Lisa Minor (called "Back in the Day") who used the trendy colors of the '70s and since I was born in that era, I thought I'd use it for my baby pictures (plus it's for the Heritage challenge at DSO). Check out that couch in the bottom picture - it has exactly the same colors as the papers I used. Too funny, huh?!! Here I am at about 3 months and 2 years old.

What do ya think? If my name wasn't on the layout, could you tell that was me?? All my kids thought the bottom picture was Ashley! ha ha :)

Credits HERE

52 Blessings - Week 3

I have been posting my weekly blessings in no particular order and my next blessing is my WONDERFUL HUSBAND, Ben!! He is so Awesome & I couldn't imagine my life without him. We have been married for almost 12 years, 4 kids later, and we are still so much in LOVE!

Credits HERE

If you want to see my first tribute to him (and you didn't see it in my archive tag) you can go HERE.

Ben, I'm so glad that I called you back so we could go on a 2nd date, fall in love, get married & sealed in the Temple for eternity!! You are the BEST thing that has ever happened to me! I will LOVE you ALWAYS and FOREVER!!

WORST DAY EVER!!

**WARNING** Long ranting here...read at your own discretion...YOU have been WARNED!

I'm having a REALLY BAD DAY!!! I guess it's not the worst EVER cuz I could probably name many more days that were way bad (when Nathaniel & Felicia were little). BUT it's bad for me!

I had plans of this being our Super Saturday in terms of actually getting ALL the chores done (since nothing has been getting done for a while) today! I even typed up a nice list of all that I wanted done, including what I needed to do. Half the list was for me and the other half was for the kids to get done. I'm not asking for much, mostly pick up their stuff, put it away, help do some cleaning. The usual stuff that we do each Saturday, but lately NONE of it has gotten done. Especially the girls' room - it's AWFUL!!!

I've had to ask nicely, ask nicely again, ask not so nicely, beg, plead, scream & yell just to get them to do anything! Nathaniel is actually the only one doing some stuff. He got side-tracked a few times by turning on the tv or talking to a friend who came over to see if he could play. But at least he's doing something. The girls on the other hand - NOTHING!! They continued to play & run around. I had a long talk with the girls trying to motivate them to clean their room. It brought Felicia to tears, finally something touched her and they cleaned for a little while, so I let them have a lunch break. That's when it fell apart again. Just before Ben came home, I even started to cry because the house still looked really BAD & yelled at the kids some more. My sweet Nathaniel stepped it up and tried to really help more since the girls were lacking.

When Ben got home, I told the kids that if the house couldn't be cleaned up then I wanted to leave cuz it just makes me sick to look at it. So, I hid in one of the rooms where the kids couldn't see me. They suddenly realized I wasn't around & were looking for me. They even called my cell phone but found it on the counter. So, they called Ben's phone (he was taking a short nap in a dark room). They found him and were ok. They wanted bananas & forgot all about looking for me. They figured if my phone, purse, shoes, clothes & van were still here (I could hear them naming everything they found), then I must not be gone. However, Nathaniel began to cry and look for me everywhere. He was so upset! I felt a little bad. So, Ben convinced me to come out & make an appearance for Nathaniel. He suddenly calmed down. He is SO SWEET! He told me that he was missing me and that I am the only thing that makes him happy!! More tears for me. I LOVE them all SO MUCH, but it just hurts & makes me sad when they won't listen or help! Nathaniel has been helping me do laundry tonight (since there is tons & I stopped working since I totally lost it) and I think he's actually enjoying working with me. I guess he's just happy that I didn't actually leave. Although, I told him I was out walking around & decided to come back (I know it's mean but I was upset). The girls finally made some progress with their room. So, they finally get a little food for dinner (yes I know it's late but in my defense, they did have a really late lunch).

If it weren't for my sweet & amazing Nathaniel & my loving hubby Ben, then I would still be super duper upset! I have calmed down some & now I get to finish my primary lesson. I read it earlier in the week, I just need to do some finishing stuff with it.

Hope y'all had a better day than me!

Dinner & Dessert

Ok, another post about food. I swear that my life does NOT revolve around food, but it's fun to talk about & share recipes & ideas. And since I posted my recipe for Tortilla Soup, it was sounding really good, so I made it for dinner tonight. Here's a picture of my bowl. Ok, I know I don't have the prettiest or fanciest bowls (and I wasn't expecting to take a picture until last minute) but there you have it. It was SOOOO good! (FYI - the recipe calls for about 2lbs chicken breast meat, I used 3 good size breast-halves and it was plenty.) I also added a little fresh squeezed lime juice. Delicious!!!
Last week my Visiting Teacher called to wish me Happy Birthday and also said she wanted to make me a pie. She's SO nice! They came and visited me yesterday, which I totally love their visits, and then last night she came by again to bring me THIS - a Banan Creme Pie with a container of Cool Whip!!! WOW!!! We didn't get a chance to eat some last night because we had to go to the store and it took longer than we thought. So, it was too close to bedtime. So, I snuck a little piece this morning while the kids were at school (I had to share with Anson cuz he caught me - tee hee). It was so good! After lots of begging after dinner, I finally gave everyone a slice with a dollop of cool whip. They were so excited & ooohhh'd and aawwww'd too! It has a pastry crust with lots of slices of bananas and topped with banana cream and then of course some cool whip to top it off!
THANK YOU SO MUCH, Diana!!!!! (<-my VT who also happens to be the Teacher's Aid in Ashley's Kindergarten class) IT WAS SOOOO GOOD! And now totally gone! Treats don't last long in this house!!

9-1-1 IDIOTS

Ok my friend, Patsy, just emailed this to me. It's hilarious!!! They're 9-1-1 calls & oh my goodness! I cannot believe people call in for such stupid things. You have to SEE this!!

Tortilla Soup

I made this for an online Recipe Challenge at DSO. This is a really easy recipe & delicious! So, I thought I'd share it with you! If you click on the picture, it should get bigger & you can copy the recipe, if you want. Let me know if you try it. I actually haven't made this for a while, but now I think I need to. Sounds yummy!

Credits HERE

Girlie Lunch

Today my Mom invited my sister and I to go to lunch! We all met at Subway for a quick one because my sister had to get to work soon & I had visiting teachers coming over. So, it was FUN to have just the girls together (well - Anson was the only boy)! I tried to take a picture since we don't have very many of just us girls, but it was only ok. Then a very nice man sitting behind us asked if we wanted help. YES!! You can barely see him sitting behind my sister in the pic w/ her and my Mom. Here was our girlie time today! We may make this a regular thing! YAY!!

ME, Christy, my MOM

(man who took above pic) Christy & Mom

Anson & Auntie Christy
Anson loving his cookie

FUN Archives

I've been tagged by ONEHM for the Archive Meme (which hers are totally Awesome, so if you want any inspiration go read hers)

Instructions: Go back through your archives and post the links to your five favorite blog posts that you’ve written. But there is a catch:

Link 1 must be about family. (And another one HERE)

Link 2 must be about friends (if it weren't for Julie, I probably wouldn't have started a blog). (Ok, I don't post specifically about my friends, I usually just link to them every time I get an idea from them, so here's another ONE.)

Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are… what you’re all about. (More crazy info HERE and HERE) I don't like to talk about myself very much, so you gotta take it while I dish it out. tee hee ;)

Link 4 must be about something you love. My life would NOT be the same without HIM!

Link 5 can be anything you choose - this is what I'm striving for this year!

Ok this was kinda hard cuz I've only been blogging since 9/21/07. Ok, so sometimes I post more than once a day or skip a day here n there, but apparently I tend to post a LOT of pictures of my family and scrapbook stuff. Not too much deep insight of my life, so I guess I need to work on that. Anyway it was fun to go back and see what I've been writing about.

Cold Stone Creamery & S'Mores!!

I LOVE Cold Stone Creamery and I got my Birthday Club Coupon, so FINALLY we went on Saturday night to get my FREE Creation!! That's Dark Chocolate ice cream with Butterfingers!! That was my first time getting the dark chocolate - it's so good!! Yep I ate it all even the cone! Delicious!! Funny story - Ben and I left the kids home to go get these (he got one too - he had to pay for his) and we just said "Lock the door, we'll be right back!" ha ha. Ashley learned a few months back how to call my cell phone all by herself, so she called me as we were on the road back. We only ran in, got our cones, and left. Well, we were driving to Walgreens to pick up a prescription, but apparently they close at 6pm on Sat. Dang it! So, that's when Ashley calls and asks me "Mommy can you please bring the kids a treat, toooo?" LOL. How could we resist that sweet voice? We hadn't planned on it. I know - mean parents. Oh well. I didn't get a birthday cake this year (didn't really want one) so this was my birthday treat! So, Wal-Mart Market was right there on the same corner, so I asked Ben to run in & grab something for the kids. He didn't want to leave his cone in the car cuz it was cold outside but warm inside the car. So, being the super nice wife, I turned on the a/c full blast to make sure his ice cream didn't melt. I think it was warmer outside now - Brrrrr inside. Ben hurried and found some hostess cupcakes for them. Sorry that turned into a long story. When we got home the kids were happy to see us, but they stopped for a minute and were like "How come you guys got BIG cones and we get cupcakes?" I of course reminded them that mine was my FREE birthday treat! That's WHY! ha ha ha

Ok, moving on. So, Sunday evening after dinner, we took the family for a walk including the dogs. We don't take the dogs very often. It was fun, but the kids kept fighting over who got to hold which dog's leash. Ben had Star (even though Anson started out with her but couldn't hold on tight enough) and Felicia started with Pepper, then Nathaniel got Pepper on the way home. We also found a baby gecko, so Ashley got to hold it for a while, then Felicia after she had to turn over Pepper's leash to Nathaniel. Anson kept cracking us up though. He was lagging almost the whole time because every rock or brick trim or hill was a little adventure for him & he had to explore EVERYTHING!! It was fun even with the bickering. When we got home the real FUN began. Ben started a fire and we made S'MORES!!! They each got to roast their marshmallows & Ben helped put the s'mores together. Here's everyone hovered around the fireplace.
Here's Anson taking a big bite!
Felicia being silly & taking a big bite!
Ashley enjoying hers!
Nathaniel trying to eat half of it in one bite!
Ben roasting his marshmallow - didn't get one of him taking bites! Darn
Here's my burnt marshmallow. I like when they catch on fire!
Here's my self-portrait of my bite! These were yummy!
THANKS MOM for the stuff to make S'mores!! They were a BIG HIT!!