Peggy's Place

Let's Scrap February 2012 Blog Hop

2012-01-31T14:26:00.000-08:00

Yay! It's time for the Let's scrap blog hop! This blog hop begins February 1st but, since I will be at work I am having to post mine a bit early :-) I am thinking you came to me from Jen Leeflang's blog. http://jencraftsa.blogspot.com/ If you did not, Mindi Brown @ http://scrapchat-n-coffeetalk.blogspot.com/ has the hop order to help you find your way.

Welcome :-) My card came from the 9-16-09 card sketch.

http://letsscrap.ning.com/photo/9-16-09?context=album&albumId=2186252%3AAlbum%3A251619

Here is how easy it is to enter for my random draw

*Be or become a member of Let’s Scrap which you can do by clicking here http://letsscrap.ning.com/ . It is free, easy and fast! Once you get there, I am sure you will love it!

*Become a follower of my blog

*Leave me a comment telling me your favorite stamping technique

And if you would like a second chance in the draw

*Make a card from the sketch I have posted and upload it to the gallery at Let’s Scrap. Please tag it as such 9-16-09, LEAP20

Please note comma space and that LEAP is all capitals.

*Leave a comment with a link to your card on Let’s Scrap.

The hop ends at 11:59 pm Central Standard time February 29th, which you would be able to track using the clock on the main page of Let’s Scrap.

My prize will be a gorgeous white chipboard "All Sorts" mini album from the Close To My Heart idea book. You can go to my website http://peggyruiz.myctmh.com/ and enter item #Z1224 to get a look at this fun album. Now here is my card from the sketch. I used retired CTMH papers; CTMH stamps, ink and chipboard elements (I love the way our white chipboard takes inking and stamping so well), and my Cricut for the layered butterfly. To add a bit of dimension, I adhered only the body of the butterfly to my card and folded the wings upward a bit. Don't forget bringing an element from your card front (and even to your envelope) as I did with the second generation stamped butterfly offset on the inside can really tie it all together :-)

Now hop on over to Sesil Cratin's blog http://sesilcratin.blogspot.com/

for more card fun and good luck :-)

CTMH contest

2012-01-29T10:58:00.001-08:00

So far I have 17 entries in my CTMH layout contest for January. Get yours in to me before the 31st to be entered into a prize drawing :-)

Don't forget the January contest

2012-01-18T05:35:00.001-08:00

Create a layout in January using mostly CTMH products about either your resolution(s) or hopes for the upcoming year or about your favorite memories from the past year. Post a link in the comments section here to your layout and your supply list by January 31st and I will draw one random winner for a prize from me

So far my friend Connie has 3 layouts in

3 day weekend!

2012-01-14T09:36:00.000-08:00

and of course, even though it is Saturday my brain is up at 5 LOL. I have to admit I love watching my sweet husband sleep though <3 ....... catching up on email and facebook and working on ides for an open house to kick off the new Close To My Heart idea book that goes live to customers on February 1st. It is just jam packed with gorgeous new paper, stamps, embellishments and very fun alterable items!

Memories

2012-01-12T06:49:00.000-08:00

My scripture for today in my daily devotions email was about prayer and how you pray. It made me remember a couple of things about my sweet Amanda. She started praying early... about the same time she started talking. And she was never hesitant to talk to God, thanking Him for even the smallest things. I remember one day in WalMart.... she is sitting in the shopping cart and we are waiting for Ashleigh to come out of the dressing room where she is trying on clothes. Amanda bows her head and quite loudly prays "Dear God, thank you for letting us be at WalMart to buy clothes, Amen" I could hear people several aisles away giggling but I thought it was so wonderful for her that she understood she could talk to God anytime, anywhere, and about anything.

As she got older she took the scripture about praying behind closed doors to heart. If she was praying about something she felt was important she would go into her closet (which she was petrified of by the way) and pray her little heart out. Things HAPPENED when she prayed this way. Our Pastor at the time used her prayer closet in a sermon and adults from our church would specifically ask her to pray for them. We have a story about how she and Ashleigh prayed me into twins when I was pregnant last. i'll tell that story another time

I scrapped yesterday!

2012-01-08T08:59:00.000-08:00

This is the blog hop I am participating in during the month of February. Several talented ladies are playing and it should be tons of fun as well as spark your creative juices. For this one, we each were assigned a card sketch. I finished my card at the crop yesterday and I think the ladies agreed with me...... it is so dang cute! I also finished a couple of 2 page layouts that I am very pleased with. I will share them here soon

Scrapbook day today! :-)

2012-01-07T08:35:00.000-08:00

I love my scrapstudio but also love getting together with others for a day of sharing and creating. On the first and fourth Saturdays of every month I host a crop in the private dining room at our local Shari's Restaurant. I bring my Cricut and all my stamps to share plus have my paper and embellishment inventory on hand in case anyone needs anything. Sometimes we are a small group and sometimes we fill the entire space but we always have a blast :-)

Christmas break is over

2012-01-03T06:04:00.000-08:00

I have enjoyed the extra time with my husband and my children and even managed a bit of time in my scrap studio. Besides my own contest for Friday I will soon be participating in a blog hop with my friends at
http://letsscrap.ning.com/ and this offers more opportunities to win some fun things. Keep watching my blog for more details coming soon.

Bass and I have started our year of devotionals for couples book. It has sparked some interesting discussions and some prayer time but also reconfirmed we are on the same page about almost everything :-)

Happy New Year! and a chance to win a prize

2012-01-01T12:31:00.000-08:00

Last day of 2011

2011-12-31T11:16:00.000-08:00

This year has been full of ups and downs, celebrations and difficulties, happiness and sadness. Josh and Jeremy are settling into middle school nicely and Amanda is doing quite well in her Junior year. I can hardly believe she will be a senior next year!

I have had the great joy of being married to Bass for one year now. We sure have had a rough time but I love that through it all his love for me and mine for him remain a constant. It fills me with unspeakable joy to have this man who I trust so much........ what a gift God gave me. And I love how God reminds us how He loves us with all the gifts and miracles He has provided over the year. We learned of our Ashleigh's engagement and we had the joy of a beautiful grand daughter..... Bre's Raynee Lynn.

I am still blessed with a job I love..... a different assignment this year but still students I love and I am working with a fabulous teacher.

The biggest loss this year was the passing of my father..... a most wonderful man who taught me much and left me with so many good memories. After Dad's passing mom decided to move to Texas with my oldest brother. It is weird knowing she is not here anymore but she has moved into the computer age so email helps and she even skyped with the twins on their birthday :-)

Almost 2012

2011-12-29T10:24:00.000-08:00

First of all I cannot believe how long it has been since I have done a blog post. So much has happened in the last year I cannot even begin to share it all.

Second, I see and hear people making New Year's resolutions everywhere As I say every year I do not make New Year's resolutions because I like to believe that I am striving each and every day to be the woman, wife, and mother that God intends me to be.

But I am making a few changes this year. For one I am bringing family game night back..... a night that we all commit to hanging out with each other and having fun. Everyone's lives have gotten so busy. This will be good for us as a family.

Bass and I are starting a daily devotional book for couples on the 1st. We are hopeful it will help to keep us grounded in our faith and dig deeper into God's word.

I am also planning on more blogging. Facebook kind of takes over as an easy way to keep up with friends' lives and keep them updated on yours but I want to share two things here....... one is to share some of the devotionals we will be reading. I also plan to share more of Close to My Heart news and more of my artwork. There may even be a few "how to" tutorials. :-)

Almost 2011

2010-12-31T21:55:00.000-08:00

I am not bringing the New Year in quite as planned. My darling husband is at this moment in Spokane delivering a car he sold today. I am a bit sad that he won't be here with me at midnight but not too sad because my heart knows he is here with me always and in all ways. What joy he has brought into our lives <3 My heart had forgotten what it was like to feel safe and loved and treasured. How wonderful to be able to sleep soundly through the night ....wrapped safely in his arms and free of the nightmares and insomnia that followed me for years. How amazing that our love could heal so many things in me that I thought were broken forever. I would not trade my past because I can not imagine life without my wonderful children in it but I also know that no matter how many years God blesses Bass and I with as husband and wife it will never be enough.

And we are having a party! As I type this I have a house full of my children and their friends. We are a loud house tonight and what joy it brings me to have them and their friends here and be able to listen to the fun they are having. And, because of Bass's late night delivery he gets to go in late tomorrow so all 6 friends are spending the night. Another blessing in my life...... a house big enough to hold the laughter and joy of my children and their friends.

Some things are still difficult. Money is tight and keeping up is sometimes a pretty impressive juggling act. I think I am going to have to send Josh on his honor choir trip without me because we just don't have the money for me to go. I cried for quite a while today when I realized this. But still....... God makes sure we have "enough". We may not be a fancy house with all the latest gadgets and gismos...... we may not always have money for extras that we would like..... but we are most definitely a house full of love and God most definitely lives here with us. Knowing this I face the coming year with excitement. "For I know the plans I
have for you, declares the Lord; plans to prosper you

and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

I scrapped yesterday!

2010-12-30T09:50:00.000-08:00

Ever since getting my new CTMH idea books and my copy of our newest sketchbook called Magic I have been itching to scrap. This book has 35 brand new sketches with ideas and directions to make them interactive as well. I created this page using the "Backstage" sketch on pages 28 and 29........ of course I tweaked it a bit to make it my own. That is what I love about sketches. they are a great "jumping off" point but as you create they grow into your art :-) I used retired patterned papers with an accent of cranberry. stamp sets used are D1217 "Free Spirit" and D1445 "Amore". I also used my Cricut using the George, Christmas Cheer, and Alphalicious cartridges. The black half circle and attached heart are mounted on top of your page protector with the brad going through the protector and the layout. This allows the piece to be swiveled to read the hidden journaling underneath.

Close to My Heart in 2011 :-)

2010-12-27T10:56:00.000-08:00

I am looking forward to the New Year with CTMH. It is hard for me to believe I am going into my 6th year as a consultant for this wonderful company. I have been a customer for almost as long as I have been scrapping and stamping which is going on 13 years. I still remember my very first purchase..... my friend Kim was using these VERY fun layered pumpkin stamps to embellish a halloween page and I just had to have them. She gave me a book to look at because she was just getting ready to close out a party she had and my first order ended up to be over $100.00. That was back when the stamps were still wood mounted and now that they are top of the line clear stamps and blocks I love them even more. Add to that the wonderful, and easy to follow, sketch books for cards and scrapbook pages; gorgeous double sided patterned papers with coordinating white core cardstock in the scrapbook kits; perfectly color coordinated inks, embellishments, and markers; and all the very fun alterable items and more........ what's not to love?

While other direct sales companies have raised both prices and shipping costs, CTMH has found ways to keep their prices the same AND even lowered some in 2010! They do this by finding innovative ways to keep their costs down so as not to have to pass increases along to their customers. In 2011 we are changing from the current quarterly idea book release to releasing them twice a year (February through July and then another that will cover August through January). This change also includes a few other changes. The best one (in my opinion) is over TWENTY more pages in each idea book and these are filled with some fabulous new products..... more details below.

There are EIGHT fabulous new scrapbook kits. Wow are they gorgeous! And remember these will retire at the end of the idea book cycle and they then become an "available while supplies last" item so be sure to get the ones you love by ordering while the idea book is current.

Sophia is a wonderfully fun feminine kit in blush, goldrush, hollyhock, and pear with a beautifully coordinated layered flower stamp set and a cute new polka dot alphabet stamp set. Bliss is a gorgeous new set in neutral tones of bamboo, chocolate, grey flannel and vanilla cream. This set has some lace and flower coordinating stamps sets as well as an elegant new accessory assortment and you can bring in any additional accent color you want because of the neutral tones. Next is Miracle with bamboo, heavenly blue, crystal blue, and sweet leaf giving it a cool elegance that can easily be used for both feminine and masculine pages. Look for the new backgrounds and borders and delight stamp set that coordinate beautifully with these papers. We also have the miracle irresistibles chipboard set that is so fun with these. The sweetheart kit is perfect for your love themed pages, cards, and altered items. The colors are baby pink, cotton candy, black, and tulip and I ADORE the new sweetheart level 2 embellishment assortment as well as coordinating stamp sets! Wings is another wonderful set that can easily be used for feminine or masculine themed projects with base colors of black, juniper, vineyard berry and sweetleaf. Wings has a very fun new pleated ribbon set that coordinates with it as well as wonderful new stamp sets. Mayberry is another very fun kit with a bit of a summery twist. The main colors are cocoa, honey, olive and smoothie and the coordinating stamp sets remind me of summer fun :-) We also have a nice new designer ribbon collection in pinks to coordinate with this kit. Lucky is a FABULOUS kit in desert sand, olive, outdoor denim and sunset that has some fabulous coordinating embellishments and stamp sets with a vintage feel. I LOVE the journal spots and the bingo card stamp set! Fanfare is another great kit for your boy pages and projects in colors of cranberry, pacifica, sky and sunset yellow. The new E sized pennant alphabet shown with this set has SO many fun possibilities! Remember all level 2 kits contain 2 each of 6 different double sided patterned papers and 2 each of 3 of the main colors for coordinating white core cardstock as well as 4 sheets of a neutral base (white daisy, vanilla cream, etc.)... plenty to do several projects... as well as 2 sheets of coordinating card stock stickers.

Besides all of these gorgeous new kits and coordinating item we have several new stamp sets including new E sized alphabets that are perfect for creating page titles, fabulous albums including several great chipboard and acrylic mini albums, card kits that include envelopes..... even shaped and acrylic cards, fun new ribbon and embellishment packs, fabulous white chipboard embellishments (including irresistibles) that are great for inking and stamping, And don't forget the SIX new stamp of the month sets that are only available in their featured month.

Now, if you are like me your wish list for this new idea book will probably be more than you can afford in one order, Let me tell you ways to make it more affordable AND even earn yourself FREE products in the process........

You can host a gathering in your home (the private dining room at Sherri's restaurant is available at no cost if you don't have space in your home). When you host a gathering I have inventory available on site for your guests to see as well as a projects or projects that I will help you and your guests complete that is provided totally FREE. I work with each individual hostess to develop projects that will help guests learn how to use a specific product, learn a technique that they have been wanting to try, learn how to use a tool or tools that is new to them.... whatever we think will leave your guests with projects they will be excited to take home and use. After we complete our project(s), I will assist you and your guests in ordering items that you want and will use and the best part is as hostess you get to order additional products for free based on the total amount of sales for your gathering.

Not the "party" kind of person? Or maybe you are but your wish list is STILL larger than your pocket book? You might want to consider joining one of my 6/$25 clubs. This is how they work.... each member of the club agrees to a minimum purchase of $25.00 per month for 6 months. each member also gets a turn at being "hostess". In your hostess month the club orders insure you earn a minimum of $25.00 in free products. Want more than $25.00 free? You can take orders outside of your club group to boost your total sales and earn you more free products. Even better! With our online ordering system I can set you up so you can even have friends that live far away order and you still get the credits for your gathering total (boosting your sales and the amount of free products you get to choose) and online orders are shipped directly to the person who places them. Oh, and by the way, this online feature also means that people who live far away can join a club still and reap the hostess benefits also.

My clubs for the new year are filling up fast so contact me soon to join one. You can form your own group of 6 friends or I can put groups of 6 together. Club members also receive some special perks from me throughout the year as a thank you :-)

Looking for ways and/or ides to use these fabulous products? Join my email list, facebook and as a blog follower to watch for upcoming announcements of crops and classes. My crops are open and I do not charge for them. We meet in the Roger's Room at First Presbyterian church in Pendleton (usually on the second Friday of each month but in January it will be the first Friday....the 7th) . I do ask that croppers bring a $5.00 donation to the church for the use of their space. I bring my entire inventory and have on site for sale paper and embellishments and for use inks, stamps, idea books and my cricut. I also am working on online classes for my far away friends :-)

Today Thoughts

2010-12-27T09:23:00.000-08:00

Outside my window... the day is a little dreary but inside my heart there is sunshine and a rainbow :-)

I am thinking...about how much I have to be thankful for..... the many blessings in my life

I am wondering..... what God has in store for us in the coming new year

I am praying...... for so many things...... for God to whisper to the hearts of my children, for reminders from Him about forgiveness.... even when it is hard, for the strength and wisdom to be a good mom to my children and a good wife to Bass, for the ability to let go of that which will never change

I am thankful for...so many things.....a job I love, an amazing church family, the blessing that my children are to me, being loved by such a wonderful man

From the kitchen...not sure yet

I am wearing...mt pj's still......on winter vacation :-)

I am creating... ideas for the New Year's Eve party the children and I are planning

I am going... to remember that I can choose to forgive even when it is hard

I am reading... my new CTMH idea book :-)

I am hoping...that God will convict the hearts of certain people to do the right thing

I am hearing...quiet :-)

Around the house...the kids are starting to wake up

Awesome!

2010-11-26T08:58:00.000-08:00

Melody Ross is an amazingly beautiful woman who has survived much including the loss of her business and bringing her husband, the love of her life, back from a traumatic head injury. She started a business of retreats for women called Brave Girls Club that has grown, I think, into so much more than she ever dreamed. It is a ministry of healing and hope, growing and learning, that has already done so much for so many. For Thanksgiving she made this video http://bravegirlsclub.com/blog/?p=1704 which prompted me to blog about the many gifts that are AWESOME in my life. I challenge each person who reads this to do the same.

AWESOME: knowing that God loves me and has a plan for me
AWESOME: the gift of my 4 miracles after doctors began telling me at the age of 16 that I would never carry a baby to term
AWESOME: surviving pain I never imagined possible and being able to forgive the person responsible for that pain
AWESOME: the gift of an amazing pastor who lovingly taught me to forgive not only those who had betrayed me but to forgiver myself.... this one was HUGE. This forgiving and healing led to so many wonderful things in my life I never thought possible.
AWESOME: the gift of an amazing church family who helped my family survive when we thought we had lost everything
AWESOME: being given the gift of love again at my age and after I thought I was permanently broken
AWESOME: feeling safe enough to sleep through the night again (after years of nightmares and insomnia) wrapped in the arms of my love
AWESOME: being married to a man who loves God and who keeps his promises.
AWESOME: watching as my husband picked up the phone to call his mom who he had not spoken to in almost 30 years... hearing her cry tears of joy and ask his forgiveness and hearing him as he was able to grant that forgiveness.
AWESOME: having the gift of going to a job I love everyday and with the best coworkers anyone could hope for.
AWESOME: hearing my almost teenage son say he loves me right after he has gotten in trouble for something and, when his friend laughs at him for it, explaining to his friend that in our family we always make sure people know we love them even if we don't love their choices or behaviors.
AWESOME: hearing my 21yo daughter say "I love you mom" ....words I once thought I would never hear from her again
AWESOME: the amazing woman my 16yo daughter is growing into. Her love for me and faith in me was what saved my sanity more than once during some of the most difficult years of my life.
AWESOME: watching how my son lives his life in faith and what a tender heart he has for others.
AWESOME: the gift of amazing youth ministers and Sunday school teachers in my children's lives. These people have helped to develop the faith my children now have and I am beyond thankful for them.
AWESOME: watching my preteen twins willingly get up at the crack of dawn on Sundays to help cook a hot breakfast and serve it to the homeless in our community. Watching them reach out to shake a hand and sit down just to visit during breakfast makes me so unbelievably proud of them. I love knowing that they get tithing is not just about your money but also about your time.
AWESOME: the gift of one Basilio Ruiz in my life <3 We both have been through some very painful times and we believe now that this was all part of God preparing us to receive and appreciate the gift of each other. I LOVE knowing that God made Bass for me

My list could go on and on....... what about yours?

Today Thoughts

2010-10-16T09:23:00.000-07:00

Exactly 3 weeks from today I will be married to this wonderful man who was given to me by God to be my husband and soul mate. It still amazes me and actually takes my breath away at times. I tried so hard to make him give up and he never would....so certain was he in God's plan for us. I was so afraid to let anyone into my heart after having to end a marriage of over 15 years.... so sure I was permanently and fundamentally broken beyond repair. How amazed the person I was then would be to know the person I am now..... so secure in Bass's love for me and for our children....all 8 of them :-) I am not one of those people who believe God CONTROLS all circumstances.... that is why He gave us free will. I am, however, totally convinced that He can and does USE all circumstances. When I was married over 20 years ago I do not believe God intended to lead us down the road of his drug addiction and abuse. I also do not believe God planned the pain and heartbreak that Bass has had to deal with in his life. I DO believe that God has used those things to create in us the 2 people that totally and completely love and appreciate each other..... that were created for each other.

Wedding postponed

2010-10-02T09:42:00.000-07:00

Well, it is official...... my "non-contested" divorce that was begun in April and should have been final by July is STILL not final and there continue to be delays that I cannot control. Bass and I have cancelled our planned wedding date of October 13th and will not reschedule until I have the final papers in my hand. I am very sad about this. Silly I know but when Bass allowed me to choose the date, marrying this man who is such a gift to me on my birthday was very important to me. In my heart of hearts I am already his and I know a minor delay is no big deal when we will have the rest of our lives together but this year will be a sad birthday for me :-(

Bass and I remain totally committed to each other and he has been amazing through all of this.... very supportive and understanding. I LOVE this man :-)

Today Thoughts

2010-09-26T12:58:00.000-07:00

Outside my window... It is a sunny and warm day

I am thinking...about what a wonderful gift my now 16yo daughter is to me and that i am thankful we were able to help her create memories of this birthday that she will always treasure.

I am wondering..... how teenage girls can function on so little sleep :-) We had a house full of them last night and I don't think anyone. including mer, slept more than 3-4 hours

I am praying...... as i always do each day that God will guide me in my path and choices and that I will be a good wife, mother, and friend.

I am thankful for...so many things.....a job I love, an amazing church family, the blessing that my children are to me, being loved by such a wonderful man

From the kitchen...breakfast casserole and cinnamon rolls

I am wearing...my pj's still. It may take me a while to recover from Amanda's birthday party :-)

I am creating... a life of intention

I am going... to remember that I can choose to forgive even when it is hard

I am reading... I don't remember the tile...it is a book Amanda gave me

I am hoping...that God will convict the hearts of certain people to do the right thing

I am hearing...the sound of girls upstairs

Around the house...there is a TON of cleaning up to do from Amanda's party

My Wedding Flowers so far..... Aren't they GORGEOUS!

2010-09-17T14:23:00.000-07:00

Totally

2010-09-16T12:37:00.000-07:00

totally in love, totally safe, totally sure this is the mate God intended for me. As Bass and I go through our pre-marital counseling I become more sure of these things than ever. I love how he has opened himself up not only to me but also to Pastor Marc. I love how we are able to share everything in and out of these sessions and how we so easily come to compromises in the areas where we do have small differences. I love how he has finally come to understand what a wonderful man he is and that he is worth taking care of. It makes me sad how long he didn't believe that was so. I love how he has been able to reach out to his mom and mend fences with her that were broken long ago. I love that she asked his forgiveness and he was able to grant it.... finally realizing this is a gift as much for himself as for her. I love to listen to them visit on the phone and wish we could find a way to bring her here for the wedding.

Our first session with Pastor Marc was a bit of a surprise to him but not to us really. He started by giving us each 2 personality profiles to complete with the instructions to complete them on our own and not to share our answers. I believe the next session was supposed to be used to discuss how to use the areas where we differed to use one person's strengths where the other was weak and vice versa. When we went for our next session he asked if we were pulling a joke on him and had we done them together. We assured him that we had not and then he shared that our profiles BOTH came out almost exactly alike! He said in all his years of counseling he had never seen such a thing and that he had even called many of his colleagues who also said they had never seen a couple come out so alike. Bass and I were not so surprised...... actually not surprised at all. God made us for each other after all :-)

The next counseling session, today's session, took place after filling out another pretty in depth survey. There were some differences on this one but it was also evident that the differences were created out of our love and concern for each other. Also areas that Pastor Mac thought we needed to discuss we found we had already done so and easily come to a compromise that was ok with both of us. I love how I can do that with him.... how I don't feel a need to always be on guard to protect myself and my children. I love how safe he makes me feel....... how he can make me feel the warmth of his love for me with just a look or a slight touch of his hand. I will thank God each and every day of my life for this gift and yet still don't think I can ever thank Him enough

Today thoughts

2010-07-12T12:45:00.001-07:00

Outside my window... the wind is blowing. I am sad that I cannot go outside and enjoy the breeze. I don't want to spend my summer vacation indoors but the breeze causes such pain. Trigeminal Neuarlgia is not fun!

I am thinking...about how it is that a father can live with his conscious when he chooses not to pay child support....... living off someone else rather than getting a job. Does he seriously not understand how sad it is for his children?

I am wondering..... how the twins are doing at church camp and Amanda at vacation bible school

I am praying...... for so many things...... for God to whisper to the hearts of my children, for reminders from Him about forgiveness.... even when it is hard, for the strength and wisdom to be a good mom to my children and a good wife to Bass, for the ability to let go of that which will never change

I am thankful for...so many things.....a job I love, an amazing church family, the blessing that my children are to me, being loved by such a wonderful man

From the kitchen...not sure yet but something off the barbecue grill :-)

I am wearing...shorts and a tank top. It is hot today but much cooler than it has been the last few days

I am creating... ideas in my head :-)

I am going... to remember that I can choose to forgive even when it is hard

I am reading... Stephen King's "The Dome"

I am hoping...that God will convict the hearts of certain people to do the right thing

I am hearing...the wind rattling the windows and KLOVE playing on my radio

Around the house...there is so much still to do

What does being "in love" really mean

2010-07-06T12:04:00.000-07:00

And can you believe I am just now learning this at almost 50 years old"? For almost 20 years of my life I thought I had "IT"...... I thought it meant being a partner to and standing by your partner no matter what. Now I am learning it is so much more. I am learning that you don't "fall" in love...... you grow into it. It is not just that feeling of wanting to be with the person you love or even the way he takes your breath away when he kisses you. It is so much more than just being told "I love you" without the actions to back it up. It is KNOWING....... knowing that he loves you even when you don't love yourself. Knowing he will stand by you through anything life throws at you. Knowing you will NEVER have that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach as he packs his bags and yells about how he hates his life and wants nothing to do with the responsibility of marriage and children as your children cry in your arms (been there, done that and so thankful to know it will NEVER happen to us again). Love is so much more than a FEELING. It is a CHOICE....... it is starting and ending each day by CHOOSING to love and honor him and knowing he does the same even when it is difficult.

Most importantly I always knew it was important to have a GODLY man leading the family. It is that quality that allows the wife to feel safe..... that allows the children to trust him and love him and KNOW that he loves them even when they are not perfect..... even in the midst of correcting a wrong behavior or choice. Anyone can SAY they are a Godly man. Many can go through the motions and put on a good show for the world that makes them APPEAR to be a Godly man. But the connection.... the trust..... the KNOWING..... feels so much different when you are lucky enough to find the man who truly is a man of God. A man who is both humble and able to lead.... a man who is both weak and strong..... a man who KNOWS he will make mistakes but God will use them. When you are lucky enough to be given the gift of a man like that be brave enough to wrap your arms around him and say thank you to God.

I love that feeling of peace that envelops me the moment he wraps his arms around me...... that feeling that he is my safe place and no matter what life throws at us we will get through it TOGETHER. I hope I never forget to keep thanking God for this gift in my life. I love you Bass and I am so thankful for the gift of you in our lives.

I am guilty

2010-06-28T13:35:00.001-07:00

of neglecting my blog again. I have lots of news..... some good and some not so good... since my last post. The bad news is I am guilty of neglecting more than my blog... or feeling like I am anyway. The newest medications I am on are really kicking my butt. I am often dizzy, sick to my stomach, forgetful and just plain not functioning very well AND still in pain. The good news is Bass and the kids love me and have been great about pitching in, helping out, and forgiving me for what I think are my general failures. This is one of those things where you end up feeling like the cure is worse than the illness but I know lots of people are lifting me in prayer and, with the love of those around me, I will get through this time.

More good news during this time is the way God continues to work in our lives. Bass is loving his new job and doing great at it already. God continues to provide for our needs and even some of our "wants" in ways that leave me feeling humble and thankful at the same time. I post to Facebook that Ashleigh is in need of furniture for her new apartment and within the hour I have a friend calling me to offer just what she needs. I step out in faith and register the boys for church camp in hopes that we can come up with the money before the deadline and not sure exactly how I am going to do that with no child support coming in and I have not one but 2 offers to help get them there. Church camp is HUGE in the summer of my children and I am so thankful that they love and will have this chance to reconnect with God and other Christian friends.

Some things I know I need to learn to let go of ....... things like hoping for their dad to actually provide the monetary support they should be able to count on from him, thinking I need to always be perfect and get everything done to be a good mom, feeling guilty for taking the time to rest and heal....... but, even though some things are a struggle, my overall mood remains one of thankfulness and faith. When God is for me who can be against me <3>

The rings!

2010-05-02T11:55:00.000-07:00

We finally have them...... after months of searching for exactly the right bands here they are........

After Bass found the PERFECT engagement ring (the center stone is an opal, my birthstone, being "hugged" by 2 emeralds, his birthstone) not just any band would do. We wanted it to coordinate but also were hesitant to use opals in the band because they are such a fragile stone. We designed this band that was created with alternating emeralds and diamonds. It is perfect!
His band is from a brand new company and also unique. The etching reminds us of his Apache heritage.

Home made pop tarts

2010-04-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

found this recipe at smitten kitchen.com ...... my kids are gonna love me! :-)

Homemade Pop Tarts
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Pastry
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pats
1 large egg
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) milk

1 additional large egg (to brush on pastry)

Cinnamon Filling (enough for 9 tarts)
1/2 cup (3 3/4 ounces) brown sugar
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, to taste
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 large egg, to brush on pastry before filling

Jam Filling
3/4 cup (8 ounces) jam
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water

Alternate fillings: 9 tablespoons chocolate chips, 9 tablespoons Nutella or other chocolate-hazelnut paste or 9 tablespoons of a delight of your choice, such as salted caramel or a nut paste

To make cinnamon filling: Whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, and flour.

To make jam filling: Mix the jam with the cornstarch/water in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, and simmer, stirring, for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, and set aside to cool. Use to fill the pastry tarts.

Make the dough: Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Work in the butter with your fingers, pastry blender or food processor until pea-sized lumps of butter are still visible, and the mixture holds together when you squeeze it. If you’ve used a food processor, transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Whisk the first egg and milk together and stir them into the dough, mixing just until everything is cohesive, kneading briefly on a well-floured counter if necessary.

Divide the dough in half (approximately 8 1/4 ounces each), shape each half into a smooth rectangle, about 3×5 inches. You can roll this out immediately (see Warm Kitchen note below) or wrap each half in plastic and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Assemble the tarts: If the dough has been chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to soften and become workable, about 15 to 30 minutes. Place one piece on a lightly floured work surface, and roll it into a rectangle about 1/8″ thick, large enough that you can trim it to an even 9″ x 12″. [You can use a 9" x 13" pan, laid on top, as guidance.] Repeat with the second piece of dough. Set trimmings aside. Cut each piece of dough into thirds – you’ll form nine 3″ x 4″ rectangles.

Beat the additional egg and brush it over the entire surface of the first dough. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling into the center of each rectangle, keeping a bare 1/2-inch perimeter around it. Place a second rectangle of dough atop the first, using your fingertips to press firmly around the pocket of filling, sealing the dough well on all sides. Press the tines of a fork all around the edge of the rectangle. Repeat with remaining tarts.

Gently place the tarts on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Prick the top of each tart multiple times with a fork; you want to make sure steam can escape, or the tarts will become billowy pillows rather than flat toaster pastries. Refrigerate the tarts (they don’t need to be covered) for 30 minutes, while you preheat your oven to 350°F.

Charming tip from King Arthur: Sprinkle the dough trimmings with cinnamon-sugar; these have nothing to do with your toaster pastries, but it’s a shame to discard them, and they make a wonderful snack. While the tarts are chilling, bake these trimmings for 13 to 15 minutes, till they’re golden brown.

Bake the tarts: Remove the tarts form the fridge, and bake them for 20 to 25 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown. Cool in pan on rack.

Whole Wheat Variation: I was itching to swap out 1/2 cup of the flour with whole wheat flour. I am sure it would make it more deliciously breakfast.

Pop Tart Minis: The biggest struggle I had with these was the size. I actually like my baked goods on the tiny size, thus I think this could make an adorable batch of 16 2 1/4″ x 3″ rectangles.

Savory Pop Tarts: Nix the sugar in the dough and halve the salt. Fill with pesto, cheese, ground nuts or olives, or any combination thereof. Brush the tops with additional egg wash and sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds. Please invite me over.

Do ahead: The sweet versions should keep at room temperature in an airtight container for a week. If you’d like to make them further in advance, I vote for freezing them unbaked between layers of waxed paper, and baking them as you need.

Warm kitchen warning: Guys, I live in an inferno, the kind of steam-heated, 85 degrees inside (68 gorgeous degrees outside) existence many other New Yorkers are familiar with. Between the heat and yesterday’s rainy humidity, me and this dough were struggling. To keep it from being too warm and soft, I was stuffing the trays of dough in the freezer for 10 minute shifts almost every time I worked with them. If you find yourself in an overly warm kitchen working with dough that gets soft too quickly, just keep using your freezer. The 10 minutes here and there that you extend this project will save you many gray hairs as the dough becomes easy to work with again.

Trigeminal Neuralgia

2010-04-24T11:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/trigeminal-neuralgia/DS00446

My latest development in my ongoing MRSA battle. On the plus side I am happy to know that this horrible pain in my face is not pockets of infection but I am also sad that the MRSA is continuing to wreak havoc with my health. Apparently this nerve damage has been caused by the MRSA. One of the most effective treatments is surgery to sever the nerve but this is not an option for me as any surgery puts me at greater risk. I have now been referred to a neurologist and the next step will be simply to try to control my pain.

I have also been advised yet again (by the 3rd doctor now) that I need to find a new line of work because my immune system is so compromised that daily contact with the illnesses kids often come to school with could eventually kill me, especially after having dealt with MRSA pneumonia once already). I want to convince myself that this is only the doctors being overprotective...... over reactive..... but am praying for God's guidance in what I should do.

enter to win this fun package from Stampendous!

2010-03-26T11:15:00.000-07:00

If you’re like us then you love to craft and you love to use stamps for scrapbooking. We are giving away a great set of stamps just for you and your creative ideas. Included in this stamping set is:

Clingrubber from Stampendous-Poppy Scene
Impressions Stamp from Stampendous-Artsy Design
Feather Wood Stamp from Stampendous
Penny Johnson Stampavie- A photopolymer clear stamp (Looking Chic)
Sarah Kay Stamp from Stampavie-A photopolymer clear stamp (girl picnicking)
Home Sweet Home Scrapbook Card

Click on this link http://www.favecrafts.com/sweeps/Stamp-Sets-Giveaway# to see a photo of the package and to enter once daily between now and April 9th :-)

Spring Break :-)

2010-03-24T10:06:00.000-07:00

We may not have gotten to go on our mini vacation to Tacoma as planned (many repairs that needed to be done on my car ate up vacation money) but our staycation has been pretty good so far.

Friday Bass picked up Martee and they were here for the weekend. We missed the 100 year celebration at church Saturday because I had a migraine and my medicine made me fall asleep for a few hours but other than that the weekend was good. It is always fun to have him here. We watched movies, he played video games with the twins and we all had a very fun game of Trivial pursuit.

Tuesday was spent at my mom and dad's doing chores as a thank you for all they have done for us over the last few years. The twins did yard work while Amanda, Bass and I moved furniture to vacuum and shampoo their carpets. Then Bass and I headed to Hermiston to work out some detailing for our wedding bands. We are going to LOVE them and we got a great deal thanks to the Hermiston Bridal Fair.

Today Bass and I are going to go out walking and then have a late lunch at Hamley's..... again courtesy of the Bridal Fair and the gift card we got there. We are hoping it will be warm enough to eat on the patio.

Thursday not so much fun at first..... a doctor appointment for me that I am NOT looking forward to and eye appointments for the kids. But THEN.............. I get my hair done! I have not had my hair done for almost 6 years! I used an online makeover site to try on hairstyles and will get a shoulder length cut and a color weave with 2 shades of blonde highlights. And then a dinner date with my love (again courtesy of the bridal fair and $75.00 worth of gift cards)

Saturday Stamping Savvy

2010-02-27T08:17:00.000-08:00

To start getting ready for my first online class with you ladies you should all be thinking about a stamp set that can be used to create random stamping. I am attaching some samples from my photobucket album. The first is a sample where we created background paper using a CTMH set that has several stars and circles in it and using ink colors to match the patterned papers (from the Sarsparilla pack) we added. The second is the same stamp set changed up a bit with colors from the Whoops a Daisy pack. The third is the back 2 pages of one of our 6x6 accordion mini albums. We used one of my all time favorite CTMH sets called Playful Flourishes on this one. This was the first lesson in random stamping for a lot of my ladies. They started off pretty fearful ("you want me to do what?????) but quickly caught on and realized how fun and easy this technique is. Notice how the words in this are designed to wrap around the flourishes. And last is the front view of the album in case you wanted to see the whole thing :-)

And my tip for the day is remember acrylic stamps are flexible.... . you can form word and/or image collages on your block to stamp all at once. you can also alter the shape..... for example twisting a stitched image from a straight line into a curved shape on your block so you can stamp a stitched half circle to accent a photo

Sunday musings

2010-02-21T09:16:00.000-08:00

* thankful for so many blessings
* I have 4 of the most amazing miracles in my life and so thankful God knew better than all those doctors who told me I would never carry a child to term
*I am totally in love and so excited for my upcoming wedding day...... the depth of my love for this man still takes my breath away and it is so amazing to me to have someone I can totally....100% and without hesitation..... trust in my life life. I had almost forgotten what it was like to feel cherished and safe and special.
* We are blessed with the most amazing and wonderful church family. I LOVE that our church family teaches my children what it truly means to be part of the family of God
* I am thankful for my faith and the many ways God has helped me to grow in faith and to step out in faith over the last few years but mostly this year. Even when it feels I am stepping off a cliff only to fall He is always there, always faithful and always lifting me to new heights I never thought possible
*I am thankful for a job I absolutely LOVE going to every day. Even on the tough days something always happens to make me realize how blessed I am to have these kids in my life

Bass's Valentine gift and card

2010-02-20T16:43:00.000-08:00

The mat frame was precut. I added random stamping (corners, flowers, love quotes), some stamped papers behind some of the the precut openings and photos from our engagement shoot. Everything on the card is stamped except the flowered paper and paper flowers. This week we will go shopping for a 12x12 frame for it

Valentine's Day 2010

2010-02-15T10:29:00.000-08:00

As I am writing this blogpost and remembering yesterday I find myself giving this huge sigh of...... contentment....... absolute and total bliss and contentment! My only disappointment is that I forgot my camera :-(

I was sad that Bass had to work but excited about the day anyway. Falling on my favorite day of the week it started with an awesome worship service that was made even more so by the attendance of our good friends the Dawsons, who now live in Tacoma. I was sad again that Bass was at work and unable to meet them but he and I and the kids will go visit them in March over spring break. I LOVED hearing our church family telling Paula about what a wonderful man Bass is, how they can see how happy he makes us, and how they have given their blessing to our upcoming marriage. Paula and I talked a bit about what a miracle it was that God gave me such a gift at this stage of my life and even more so that I was able to find the courage to accept it and trust it after all I have been through. After church we went to lunch with the Dawsons and the Case family.

After lunch I dropped the twins off for a sleepover birthday party and headed to Kennewick for the beginnings of our Valentine celebration. I bought a dozen gorgeous red roses. I had borrowed the sweetest picnic basket from my friend Melissa and called ahead to order take out from Olive Garden to pack in it for Bass's dinner break. As I walked into the store I could hear his staff making comments about "oh how sweet! There is "Bass's chick" (love that!) and she has a picnic and roses for him". (They are mostly a fairly young staff LOL) I was escorted to Bass by one of the young men who work at Macy's. The smile that lit up his face when he turned and saw me was all the gift I needed for the day. Then as his eyes took in the roses and picnic basket he was positively beaming. I love that I was able to surprise him this way. To make the afternoon even better after a "picnic" (ravioli portabello and white chocolate raspberry cheesecake) in the food court we went strolling through the mall. We ran into some old friends of Bass's who had not seen him for about 2 years. I loved hearing them tell him how great he looked..... how HAPPY he looked..... and how nice it was to see him looking so happy :-)

After he closed the store at 7 we headed back to Pendleton for his valentine gift to me..... 9pm dinner reservations at Cimmyotti's. We were the last customers in the restaurant and everything was perfect.... right down to the roses waiting on the table! I had not been to Cimmyotti's since they reopened with new owners. It is still very elegant looking and the food and service were excellent. Our waiter was so attentive right down to refilling my wine glass each time it was empty. We started with appetizers of calamari and crab cakes along with their wonderful bread with warm dipping oil. Bass had prawns and linguine and I had the linguine with clams and white garlic sauce. YUMMY!. I even got to give Bass his first taste of clams (which surprised me since he LOVES seafood).

After dinner I gave him the rest of his gifts from me...... An altered 12x12 "LOVE" collage frame done with photos from our engagement shoot and love quotes and a hand made card with a love letter inside. I love how he was not embarrassed to show how these gifts touched his heart. I would share a picture but he took them with him because he wanted to show everyone at work today :-)

What a positively perfect and magical day! Thank you God for all the blessings in my life.

Nothing happens by pure chance or accident, and what appears to be merely fortunate or unfortunate circumstance is really the outworking of God's plan

2010-02-13T10:46:00.001-08:00

I was just thinking again last night as I was crafting Bass's Valentine's gift how absolutely amazing it is to me that I am where I am in my life right now. When my marriage ended I truly thought that part of my life was over for good. I could never have imagined trusting someone enough to give them my heart. I had absolutely no idea that God had this amazing man waiting in my future. ♥

Saturday Stamping Savvy

2010-02-06T06:11:00.000-08:00

I am teaching an online stamping class for one of my scrapping groups. I thought I would also post here and it would be an easy place for people to refer back to.

I should probably start by saying I am a diehard acrylic fan. The clear acrylics allow you to do so many things with ease that are difficult, if not impossible, with wood mounted images. Close To My Heart is my absolute favorite company for acrylic stamps. They are made of the highest quality polymer, made to last a lifetime, and provide crisp and clean images. For those of you just starting out, yes you can buy less expensive acrylic stamps but truly you get what you pay for. And for those who have tried it in the past using images like those found in the $1.00 bargain bins of some stores those are the stamps that give acrylics a bad name...... give it another try with a quality stamp.

Today's post is going to be twofold...... covering what I believe are the advantages of acrylics over wood mounts and also covering the care and cleaning of acrylics.

A major advantage of acrylics are that the images and blocks are clear. This means you can place images EXACTLY where you want them...... this is especially awesome with layered detail stamps. Before Close to My Heart went acrylic I used wood mounted stamps and was often discouraged by having "messed up" a scrapbook page because I could not accurately place my image where I wanted it or a detail image from a layered stamp could not be lined up correctly. With the clear acrylics I can see exactly where my image is going to be. I love this! I have well over 200 stamp sets in my inventory and have been known to use my stamps to create my own background paper to coordinate perfectly with my photos (a technique known as random stamping that I will teach later) as well as stamping most of my page embellishments.

Next let's talk storage. I have 4 Iris carts (each with several drawers) full of wood mounted stamps I never use anymore. CTMH stamps come in a fairly flat 6x6 plastic envelope. I use baskets from the dollar store for storage and have my entire inventory sorted into about a dozen of these stackable baskets. I have then sorted in a way that makes sense for me (retired images, flowers and girly, masculine themed, sets I use most often for scrapping, sets I use most often for cards, alphabets, etc).

And the last major advantage is price. Once you own a few basic sizes of the acrylic blocks you never have to pay for your "mount" again as opposed to wood mounted stamps where you pay for the wood mount for each image in the set. This makes the acrylics approximately half the price of an equivalent set of wood mounted stamps

Acrylics are as easy to use as they are to store. They work kind of like window cling..... simply peel your image off the carrier sheet and the same side that was against the sheet goes against your block. This is another area where the ability to see through your images and blocks comes in handy. You can build a word or title on a longer block (remember it will be "right side up when you flip you block so you will spell "backwards" when placing your letters on your block). CTMH blocks have a white line along one edge to help with lining things up. Another tip for making this easy... use a cutting mat with grid line. Place your letters along the line to spell what you want and then place your block over them to pick them up while maintaining their straight placement. Inking your image is easy too. I use the "twist, twist, twist, tap, tap,tap method...... just like it sounds place your image (already on the block) on your ink pad with a gentle pressure twist back and forth 3 times then tap into the ink pad 3 times. This gives a very nice, even coat of ink. (Before stamping look through your block to make sure you have no stray ink smudges on it. If you do simply wipe them off with a tissue) When stamping it is often helpful to have a thin piece of craft foam (or the foam that comes as part of your packaging with the CTMH stamps) under your paper. Think of this as replacing the foam piece between the image and mount in wood mounted stamps. Place your image straight down, apply a gentle pressure using your palm (never "rock" your stamp) across the entire image, then lift straight up. When doing things like layering a detailed outline over a base image I find it helpful to stand so I am looking straight down over my images. I line up one edge of the detail and then lower the rest of the image until it is flat and again apply that nice, even pressure.

My last tip for today is a few basic "care and cleaning" instructions. Because acrylics work like window clings they will eventually lose their "stickiness" due to the grease from your fingers while handling them. When this happens simple wash them in warm soap and water. I use dish soap..... any that does not contain aloe or lanolin. Rinse them well and lay them to air dry with the side that will stick to your carrier sheet facing up. I usually wash them in a bowl them dump into a pasta colander to rinse. This helps make sure I don't lose any down my drain. In a pinch, like at a crop, when you don't have time to do this I find a squirt of spritz cleaner works well.

Also, one thing to remember with acrylics is they do tend to get a bit of staining from use..... especially with red and pink inks. This staining is slight and does nothing to harm your stamp. As long as they are properly cleaned after use this staining will not affect anything you stamp with them in the future.

Autism

2010-02-01T05:58:00.000-08:00

Do you know/love someone with autism? I just heard about this new movie coming out soon. It stars Claire Danes as Temple Grandin. Temple is a most amazing woman who lives with Asperger's syndrome like my son Jeremy. I had the blessing of hearing her speak once and meeting her in person. A most amazing woman. I can't wait to see this movie

http://www.autismsupportnetwork.com/news/opening-door-temples-world-776541

love the Close To My Heart February campaign special!

2010-01-31T14:17:00.000-08:00

I LOVE being a Close to My Heart consultant! Our February special campaign offer is a great deal PLUS partial proceeds will go to help Operation SMILE's Haiti relief efforts.

Donation for Haiti:
From February 1-28, 2010, our textured cardstock combo packs are buy one, get one FREE—and with every offer purchased, Close To My Heart will donate $2 US to Operation Smile’s Haiti relief efforts.
Operation Smile is always a fantastic charitable partner—offering free facial reconstruction surgeries to needy children throughout the world. They’ve currently marshaled their medical teams and resources to provide emergency relief in Haiti, and the donations given as part of Hearts for Haiti will be used exclusively for Operation Smile’s efforts in Haiti. For more information on their on-the-ground response, you can visit www.operationsmile.org/haiti.

Textured combo packs have 4 each of the 6 colors in a color grouping. they are a lighter shade of color on the back side and all have our wonderful white core...... so many possibilities :-) And with the BOGO offer it works out to about 30 cents per sheet!..

Here are the item numbers. You can contact me to be added to one of this month's club orders or order directly from my website www.peggysauvie.myctmh.com AND you can order multiples sets and get the bogo on each of them :-)

* X5747 Basic
* X5681 Spring Harmony
* X5745 Summer Celebration
* X5669 Autumn Harvest
* X5670 Winter Cozy

asking for prayers

2010-01-23T10:50:00.000-08:00

Blended families are hard. There is no way around that. I remember years ago when Rex and I split up after almost 20 years together. At that time I had no intention of ever allowing myself to love or trust again. I also remember preparing the kids to receive whoever Rex chose to be his partner in his "new life". Was this easy for me? Not really. But I did it because it was best for my children. I knew their dad would not remain alone and I never wanted them to feel like they had to choose sides or that liking, or even loving, this new person in their Dad's life was somehow a betrayal of me. I remember his first girlfriend after our split being totally shocked that my kids were already ok with her before they even met her and that this was so because I had prepared their hearts to receive her before she was even a part of his life. I remember working hard when they were living together to make sure my children never felt like she and her son were his "new family" even though he lived with them. I talked to them often about their dad's love for them and they felt safe in believing he could love these "additions" to his family without compromising his love for them.

Now I am the "other woman". Not literally because Bass's marriage was over long before we started dating. But apparently even though his ex made it clear by her own actions that she didn't want him anymore she doesn't want anyone else to want him either. She has used anything and everything she can to try to control and manipulate him. She has threatened to take the youngest kids away and has led all of the children to believe that their dad has chosen his "new family" over them. He is strong enough not to allow this to hurt our relationship but it still causes him great pain because he loves his children so much.

And now the main reason for this post and prayer request. Bass's oldest daughter has asked to meet with me to "clear the air". She has questions she wants to ask me and she deserves honest answers to them. However I have not, and will never, speak a word against their mom to them. I have shared some things here and on my facebook that I needed prayer for and recently discovered that his ex stalks both places and reads my posts and so his daughter most likely knows how I feel about her mom's behavior but I still will not say a word against her mom to her. I would never want to interfere in the relationship between mother and daughter. She loves her mom and she SHOULD love her mom. So as I prepare to honor her request I am requesting prayers that God places His hand upon my heart and grant me wisdom to choose my words carefully. I'm not sure how to defend myself against the lies their mom has told without telling the truth but that is what I must do.

My quote for the day

2010-01-21T06:38:00.000-08:00

sent to me by a friend

There are motives behind every action and a consequence for every intention however; "you cannot control (others' actions) ..........all you can control is your reaction to it

This is so true and exactly what Bass and I discussed last night. I almost instinctively want to defend and protect him from pain and stress but I know I cannot control the actions of the person causing it. However I can, and will do my best to, control my own reactions because I refuse to add to his stress level. If I allow this person to also cause me pain Bass will see it and it will only cause him to be upset for me. So my prayer for today, along with being the best partner and helpmate for him that I can, is for god to give me the strength to be in control of myself so I don't react as well as the strength to continue to pray for this person who is so hard to pray for.

Blessings and prayers

2010-01-19T18:53:00.000-08:00

It's no secret....... I am head over heels totally in love with this man who is soon to be my husband. I talk to God daily about Bass............... thanking Him for the blessing of this man and his love in my life and praying that I will be the best partner and helpmate to him that I can be. That is so hard when someone else tries to sabotage all of your best efforts.... even at the expense of Bass's health and the happiness of innocent children. How can a mom use and manipulate her children simple to "get even" for something that she brought about with her own lies and manipulations? How could someone throw this wonderful man away to begin with? And why when she clearly no longer wanted him would she be angry that 3 years later someone else does? I try to pray for this person every day. Some days like today it is harder than others. How dare she call and add even more to his stress level when she knows he just got out of the hospital? How dare she refuse him access to his own children one minute and the next tell the children that he has chosen his "new family" over them? How can she be so deliberately hurtful one minute and then say she is doing it out of love the next?And how do I effectively pray for someone that I totally do not understand?

how do you boost your immune system?

2010-01-13T15:31:00.000-08:00

That was my medical lesson for the day. Apparently now antibiotics previously successful with MRSA are causing it to mutate into other bacteria that can cause things like chronic fatigue syndrome, cancer, and fibromyalgia. And I already know first hand how scary it can be if it gets into the lungs. There are tons of theories on what is best from a naturopathic point of view and these ideas range from VERY expensive to potentially doable. I laughed out loud at the doctor when he said to limit my exposure to illnesses and viruses. (I already knew my body is in a cycle where I can "catch" things easier and they are usually more serious for me because my immune system is already in constant battle to keep the MRSA in check. Then it attacks the new threat and that allows the MRSA to get a foothold again) I explained I work at school and have kids coughing and sneezing on me every day. His advice was to get a new job :-( Once we established that I could NOT quit my job we talked about various natural ways I could boost my immune system. Some are very exotic and expensive but some are more doable. They range from manuka honey ( found in New Zealand and which I can't use due to my diabetes) to lemon oil added to water and tea. Also I can play with my diet..... more antioxidants (yogurt, green tea, etc.), more protein, more greens (preferably organic), green smoothies (sounds disgusting but see below for a couple of recipes I was given) and more raw veggies and fruits

Cool Blueberry Bonanza:
2 leaves of kale
2 leaves of collard greens
1 leaf of red chard
1 cup Italian parsley
1 cup spinach
1 banana
1 cup blueberries
2 cups filtered water
1 cup ice cubes
Blend well. Makes 1.5 quarts of smoothie

Green Romaine:
8 leaves Romaine lettuce
1 cup red grapes
1 orange
1 banana
2 cups filtered water
Blend well. Makes 1 quart of smoothie

Wild Banango:
2 cups lambsquarters
1 banana
1 mango
2 cups filtered water
Blend well. Makes 1 quart of smoothie

My youth group had our first meeting of 2010 yesterday

2010-01-11T06:29:00.000-08:00

I lead a group of 3rd through 5th graders at First Christian church. I love these kids and love that our church gets they are an important part of our ministry and church family. The grandma of one of the girls offered to provide snacks and made us quite a feast. While we ate we had a fellowship time..... we caught up on what was new with each other. We talked about New Year's resolution we made and our plans for accomplishing them. We also talked about how we should not make resolutions only at New Years but also how we should try to live each and every day the way God would want us to. We gave our group a name (FCC Kids For Christ) planned some fun activities, talked about topics the kids would like to discuss and service projects we could do. The kids came up with a great plan to adopt the local cat rescue organization and raise donations of supplies and $$'s for them. AND, after all this planning, we had about 30 minutes to play in the game room. It's going to be a good year :-)

as we come up on 2010

2009-12-30T12:34:00.000-08:00

I find myself thinking of New Year's Resolutions. Many of my friends and loved ones make them and almost as many keep the ones they made. I don't do the whole New Year's resolution thing. Not because I believe I don't need to improve myself but because I hope that I am working every single day of every single year on becoming the woman God intends me to be. Often it seems that God has more faith in me than I do in myself but I am learning more and more to just step out in faith and follow where He leads. Over the last few years He has led me through some pretty scary times, lots of disappointments, broken promises, and lots of heartbreak. Over the last year He has led me through a time of healing, renewed faith, new involvements at church, and into a new relationship with an old friend...... the man I now believe was intended for me all along.

As I think back over the last several years and yes even as I contemplate the promise of the years to come I wonder how people who do not have faith in God survive life's tragedies and find the strength to keep going? How do they make the right choice even when it is hard? Sadly the answer for most is that they don't or at least not very well. I am praying now for someone who made wrong choices, selfish choices, over and over in their lives and is now blaming God for the end result of those choices. Actually, not even blaming God...... turning their back on God as if He never existed in their lives. It is so sad and hurts my heart as I imagine it must break His. He gave us free will to choose our own paths but it must be heartbreaking to Him when we choose wrong and even more heartbreaking to watch us suffer the consequences of those choices.

A December Saturday 2009

2009-12-19T10:32:00.000-08:00

Amanda, Joshua and Abbee on their way into the Festival of trees
Abbee giving Santa her Christmas wish list: pillow pet. Dora Barbie, Teddy Bear
Hot chocolate and cookies
Choosing our Christmas tree at the Hummel tree farm

Decorating the tree at home

December Saturday

2009-12-05T07:11:00.000-08:00

My one day to sleep in and I am so excited about plans for this weekend that I have been up since 5am (which actually is sleeping in for me LOL)

We have not done the Christmas activities around Pendleton for a couple of years.... since the twins got too old. But today we do Christmas Pendleton style! Bass should be here in just a few hours and he gets to bring his 4yo daughter Abbee this trip. We are doing the Festival of Trees family day at the convention center as well as the Christmas carriage parade and other fun activities on main street if it is not too cold.

The kids are always so happy when Bass gets to be here and are sooooo excited to have Abbee for the weekend this time also. If we are not worn out from the days activities we are hoping to also decorate sugar cookies tongiht and maybe get our tree and decorate that after church tomorrow. I am pretty sure we will run out of hours before we do all they have planned but I am so happy that they are so excited to have Abbee included in our plans :-)

Life's twists and turns

2009-11-29T15:22:00.000-08:00

Wow! It has been a long time since I posted to my blog. It seems to have been replaced by facebook. Now, don't get me wrong.... I love facebook. I have connected with many old and dear friends and family that I might never have found otherwise. I love playing silly little games like cafe world to take my mind of the serious things in my life. I love that in a matter of minutes I can catch up on little tidbits of news from several friends at once. But, looking through a friend's blog today, I realized I miss the stories and details read on their blogs that don't make it into the limited space status messages on facebook.

So, for those of you who don't know it, my big and somewhat surprising news is that I am .......... engaged! Who would have thought after having my heart broken into so many pieces that anything (or anyone) could have healed it enough to love and trust again. And yet God once again has given me a most precious gift. His name is Basilio Ruiz. We have known eachother forever..... passing in and out of eachother's lives over the years. And then, much to my dismay he came to me with the idea that maybe we were meant to be more to eachother than just friends. I without hesitation told him to run far away in the opposite direction because I believed I was so fundamentally and permanently broken that I could only bring him pain. Lucky for me he had more faith in me than I did and worked to slowly earn my trust in a totally new and different way. Then came THE day. The day he first asked to kiss me and (thankfully) did so without waiting for my permission. I would have said no... was ready to say no. I'm so thankful he didn't give me the chance to say no. That kiss was the completion and the beginning of so much for me. I knew in my heart that God meant this man for me. How I could be so sure of this when I had been so easily fooled in the past I did not know. I only knew it was so. I am not some teenager but when he kisses me my heart soars, when he wraps his arms around me I feel safe and loved, When he speaks to me of our future I know without a doubt that what he speaks is true. When I watch him with the children, see them look at him with love and hear them tell him that they love him my heart swells until I think it may burst. I did not believe I could ever know joy like this again. I love this man!

SEI blog giveaway

2009-07-03T07:55:00.000-07:00

cool stuff............ go to http://seilifestyle.blogspot.com/2009/06/100th-post-giveaway.html to check it out :-)

God is so good!

2009-06-17T18:46:00.000-07:00

Went to Kennewick last night in order to attend a cardiologist appointment with Bass first thing this am. A little background...... Bass had surgery including having a stint put in 2 years ago. there was quite a bit of blockage at the time and they told him he was lucky he had not actually had a heart attack. He has not taken very good care of his health since.......... not doing follow up care and not taking his medications. Thanks to a recent promise to me he is back on track in taking care of himself. He has restarted on his medications with his regular doctor and today's appointment was to asses what, if any, damage had been done over the last 2 years. This is where the God is so good comment comes in. His heart is in GREAT shape in spite of the fact that he did not follow through on treatment and medications for 2 years. The cardiolologost was in shock.

Amanda's 8th grade graduation

2009-06-11T06:44:00.000-07:00

Amanda and me after the ceremony

Amanda with my mom and dad before the ceremony

the last chamber choir performance

after gettign her awards

Photo from today

2009-05-25T17:32:00.000-07:00

taken by Joshua as we had Bass's birthday lunch in the food court at the mall of all places :-)

Heading to Kennewick today

2009-05-25T08:21:00.000-07:00

with the kids to celebrate Bass's birthday and it's a beautiful day! :-)

today was a day for thinking

2009-05-21T17:09:00.000-07:00

about the many blessings in my life right now and being so grateful for them :-)

our day at the mall

2009-05-17T09:04:00.000-07:00

Well, Amanda found her dress and the girls tell me it was relatively painless. She picked a gorgeous brown silk dress....... ...... very grown up but not revealing. They did good and had tons of fun. I am pleased. I wanted the day to be a great memory for her and I think it was. :-)

Starbucks was great. A friend who is a manager at Macy's in the mall met me for coffee and we had fun catching up while the girls shopped.

Olive garden was also yummy as always. They had a new dish........ ..... chicken and lasagna rolls with a white sauce and spinach..... ....... it was yummy!

Shopping at the mall today

2009-05-16T07:17:00.000-07:00

for Amanda's dress for 8th grade graduation. I can hardly believe it and it takes my breath away a little bit to say it. My "glass half full girl" will be a freshman in high school next year! It seems like just yesterday she was learning to walk.

Amanda is not so thrilled about the whole dress idea. So I came up with a game plan to try to make this special day more fun for her. The twins are with my mom and Amanda invited her 2 best friends to come shopping with us. Estany will also be in the graduation ceremony with Amanda and McKayla graduates from 8th grade in Helix this year. We will have a girls day out and end with dinner at Olive Garden before coming back home.

Wish us luck :-)

family photo shoot

2009-05-12T16:30:00.001-07:00

photos done by Kevin Madsen of Nighthawk Photography

Amanda

My favorite of Amanda and I

One of the whole group..... Joshua, Me, Amanda, Jeremy

My favorite of Amanda

Talk to the hand :-)

Happy mother's Day

2009-05-10T07:11:00.000-07:00

My 14yo, Amanda, sent me this funny mom video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QitzqXZq6w
You should watch it.but don't be drinking anything. I laughed until I thought I would pee my pants

I also woke up to the sweetest letter from her sitting on my keyboard waiting for me. It tells me what a great mom she thinks I am and how lucky they are to have me. Made me cry

Have a great day everyone. We have Sunday school and church and then the rest of my day will be a surprise planned by my children. I think I heard some whispering about a picnic in the park
_________________

the day after National Scrapbook Day

2009-05-03T07:13:00.000-07:00

How was everyone's day? Mine was awesome! I had 10 ladies sign up for my crop/workshop and 9 came. We started at 3 and the last of them left about midnight. They loved their goodie bags and had a blast doing the make and takes and challenges. And I always love how everyone starts with the same supplies and the projects all look different when done. One of the challenges involves voting and a prize for the winner so be watching my blog in about a week to see entries and vote :-)

Our photo shoot

2009-04-19T08:36:00.000-07:00

yesterday was sooooo much fun! The photographer's name is Kevin Madsen and his business name is Nighthawk Photo. He is based out of Council, Idaho but travels to do custom shoots also. As part of my "payment and incentive plan" for working with him on portfolios and art exhibits he gave us a free onsite shoot. He came yesterday and we took him to a couple of area parks for outdoor photos. I already knew he did beautiful work but the photos he took of us............... Wow! The kids went from "mom do we have to" to having fun and suggesting poses. Besides the formal portraits (including........gasp...... some of me that I actually like) he took several candids that are going to be awesome. He took his memory card to Walmart and burned everything .....257 pics!............ to Cd (took 4 of them) for me. I can print whatever and however many I want. I will be picking them up today and can't wait

devotional shared from my faithbooking site

2009-04-19T08:35:00.000-07:00

READ: 1 John 4:7-12
Be imitators of God . . . and walk in love. —Ephesians 5:1-2

In the middle of carting 70 pieces of luggage, an electronic piano, and other equipment through airports and on and off a tour bus, it’s easy to wonder, “Why are we doing this?”

Taking 28 teenagers on an 11-day ministry trip to a land across the ocean is not easy. But at the end of the trip our bus driver, who had carted us all over England and Scotland, grabbed the bus microphone and in tears thanked the kids for how wonderful they had been. Then after we got home, he e-mailed us to say how much he appreciated the thank you cards the kids had written to him—many of which contained the gospel.

Although the students ministered to hundreds through song during the trip, perhaps it was the bus driver who most benefited from their Christlikeness. In Ephesians we are told to be imitators of God and to walk in love (Eph. 5:1-2). Others see God in us when we show love to one another (1 John 4:12). The bus driver saw Jesus in the students and told them that they might just convert him to faith in Christ. Maybe it was for this man that we took that trip.

Why do you do what you do? Whose life are you affecting? Sometimes it’s not our target audience that we impact most. Sometimes it’s the bus drivers of the world. — Dave Branon

Lord, may I be a shining light
For all the world to see
Your goodness and Your love displayed
As You reach out through me. —Sper

Witnessing is not just something a Christian says, but what he is.

Wow! God at work!

2009-04-14T20:16:00.000-07:00

Jeremy attended his first karate lesson (something he has been wanting for 2 years) tonight thanks to an anonymous donor and a wonderful school counselor at our school. The donation paid for his start up fee and 4 months of twice per week lessons and the owner of the school donated uniforms!

Now let me tell you more about how awesome it is when God gets to work :-)

Joshua came with me to the lesson. At one point the main sensai turned Jeremy over to another sensai and asked me to come back into his office. He asked if it was ok to tell him a little about our situation and then offered Joshua a family rate to join his brother. I thanked him but said I could not commit to that each month. Before we left both sensais asked me to come back into the office and the second one said he would like to scholarship Joshua to attend also if I would allow him too.

I was sad I had forgotten my camera but even more so when they called Joshua back into the office to tell him the news and have him pick out a uniform. This is soooo cool for my boys on so many levels and I am very thankful for this gift to them

Wishing everyone an Easter full of blessings

2009-04-12T04:55:00.000-07:00

He isn’t here! He has been raised from the dead, just as He said would happen. Come, see where His body was lying. ~ Matthew 28:6, NLT

I almost forgot the website

2009-04-07T06:26:00.000-07:00

If you want to see some of Kevin's work, from portraits and glamor shots to nature shots, visit his online gallery at http://nighthawkphotoonline.com/gallery/index.php

exciting news

2009-04-06T19:19:00.000-07:00

I have a new..... job?.....partnership?.........adventure? Not sure what to call it yet but I am excited. A customer I did some scrapbooks for a few years back put me with in touch with an amazingly gifted photographer who was looking for an objective eye to help him choose shots for portfolios for various target audiences (family portraits, graduation portraits. glamor shots, etc.) as well as help him choose shots for upcoming art shows/exhibitions. I will get paid on commission when he makes sales based on what I have put together for him. He is based out of Idaho but travels to Washington and Oregon for custom shoots on request AND I have put him in touch with the Art Center in hopes he will do a showing of his work here. As part of my "package" he is going to be coming here soon to do portraits of the children and I. I have always wanted to do an outdoor family photo shoot and I am sooo excited! When he comes he will also be wanting to shoot some of our local nature/points of interest so feel free to send me suggestions on places to take him. I will share our portraits when we get them done (maybe even an 8th grade graduation shoot if I can talk Amanda into it) and maybe some of you will want to book a custom photo shoot :-)

a thought for today: incomplete

2009-04-02T05:28:00.000-07:00

shared from one of my faithbooking sites

READ: Philippians 1:3-11
He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. —Philippians 1:6

When I was a little girl, my parents bought their first house. One afternoon, the family hopped into the car and drove to see where we soon would be living.

I couldn’t believe it. The house had no windows or doors, and there was a strange odor. The basement was clearly visible through big gaps in the floor and we had to climb a ladder to get down there.

That night when I asked my mother why they wanted to live in a house like that, she explained that the builder wasn’t finished with it yet. “Just wait and see,” she said. “I think you’ll like it when it’s done.”

Soon we began to see changes. The house got windows, then doors. The “funny smell” of new lumber faded. The holes in the floor were covered and a staircase was added. Walls were painted. Mom put up curtains at the windows and pictures on the walls. The incomplete house had been transformed. It had taken some time but finally it was finished.

As Christians, we need “finishing” too. Although the groundwork is laid at our conversion, the growing process continues throughout our life. As we obediently follow Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2), one day we too will be complete. — Cindy Hess Kasper

God sees in us a masterpiece
That one day will be done;
His Spirit works throughout our lives
To make us like His Son. —Sper

Please be patient. God isn’t finished with me yet!

An inspirational thought for the day

2009-03-29T07:41:00.000-07:00

shared on one of my faithbooking sites :-)

READ: Luke 2:8-20
Behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. —Luke 2:9

Writer Anita Brechbill observed in God... Read More’s Revivalist magazine that “Most often the Word of the Lord comes to a soul in the ordinary duties of life.” She cites the examples of Zacharias performing his duties as a priest, and the shepherds watching their flocks. They were at work as usual with no idea that they were about to receive a message from God.
Luke describes the ordinary days when these men received their message from God: “While [Zacharias] was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, . . . an angel of the Lord appeared to him” (1:8,11). While the shepherds were “living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night . . . an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them” (2:8-9).
Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest said: “Jesus rarely comes where we expect Him; He appears where we least expect Him, and always in the most illogical situations. The only way a worker can keep true to God is by being ready for the Lord’s surprise visits.”

On this ordinary day, the Lord may have a word of encouragement, guidance, or instruction for us, if we’re listening and ready to obey. — David C. McCasland

I wonder what I did for God today:... Read More
How many times did I once pause and pray?
But I must find and serve Him in these ways,
For life is made of ordinary days. —Macbeth

God speaks to those who are quiet before Him.

National Scrapbook Day is coming! :-)

2009-03-27T07:23:00.000-07:00

On the first Saturday in May.

I still miss Carla's NSD crops. This year will be my second NSD crop. The ladies that came last year had a blast and so did I. I have the private dining room at Shari's booked from 3pm until we quit :-)

For those of you who have not attended here are some details. The crop fee is $25.00 (payable in advance to reserve your spot) and includes plenty of space for you to play in, free and unlimited drink refills with your purchase of dinner from Shari's restaurant, and a goodie bag with materials to complete the projects I have planned, as well as time to work on your own projects. I have prize drawings and challenges throughout the crop and will have my complete CTMH inventory on hand. You are welcome to use my stamps, inks and tools and will be able to purchase papers by the sheet and embellishments from my inventory. For each $25.00 ordered(and remember I will have the brand new summer idea book available) you will get an entry ticket into the prize drawing for the grand prize of the crop. Want to know what it is? You'll have to attend to find out :-)

Progress is a wonderful thing :-)

2009-03-27T07:15:00.000-07:00

Randy's guy is making steady progress on the HUD list. The kids and I have been using this time to "declutter". Just a few more things and we will be ready for the final inspection :-)

I hate to admit it but I think I'm getting old :-(

2009-03-25T08:32:00.000-07:00

My eye appointment did not go so well. Wait, I'd better clarify.....the appointment itself went well ........they always take good care of me :-) .......... but the news not so great. My eyes have been bad for as long as I can remember. I got my first pair of glasses at 5 and have always had really bad astigmatisms in both eyes. Then in high school I developed floaters in both eyes and these have gotten worse over the years.

My vision yesterday was significantly worse............ no big surprise there since I have not had the money to get new glasses for me for the last 5 years. He also decided to dilate them and take a look because he was not happy with how hard to was to get me a good, crisp image in the testing and found clouding that indicates the beginning of developing cataracts which run in my family :-(

HUD update

2009-03-24T11:45:00.000-07:00

Randy was here! He is getting started on his repairs today. Our job is to get the yard, collapsed storage shed and clutter inside cleaned. We will make a pile for the dump and he will lend us a trailer when we are finished. Now I just need someone with a truck and some extra hands to load it and haul it to the dump when we are finished

ScrappyJo's online crop: Scrap N Go

2009-03-22T20:40:00.001-07:00

This was the Scrap N Go challenge for the crop. This book corner was so fun and easy to do! I am sure I will do more of these :-)

ScrappyJo's online crop: Recipe Challenge

2009-03-22T20:38:00.001-07:00

This was the recipe challenge for the crop. We had to use cardstock, flowers, buttons, alphabets and one of several techniques. I chose doodling and did the green swirls using a doodling template and sponged ink

ScrappyJo's March crop

2009-03-22T20:36:00.001-07:00

This layout did double duty. There was a "Listening is in the Ears" challenge. We were to turn on the radio and use the title of the first song we heard on a layout. I had the oldies station tuned and the first song I heard was "Wild Thing" I remembered these pics from when Joshua got to bring the Wild Thing home over his birthday weekend in first grade. There was also a sketch challenge that I used as the blueprint for my page design. I used papers from the CTMH Stardust collection. I used my Cricut to cut the brackets that form the frame and also to cut the stars that I used in place of the flowers in the sketch.

HUD update

2009-03-18T05:11:00.000-07:00

For those of you keeping track (and keeping us in prayer) I finally have a HUD update! As you know we qualified 3 years ago for HUD assistance and have been slowly working our way up the list since then. Well, we finally made it to the top! I attended the preliminary meeting and they came and did the first inspection on our rental house. My big job will be cleaning out the storage shed in the back yard that the roof caved in on. I have to weed through to see what is still good and find a way to haul the rest to the dump. There are a few small things that we were expecting the landlord would have to do............. not really any surprises there. The biggest thing sounds like the wiring in the back 2 storage rooms in the basement. A lot of it is not covered properly and there are some spots that need junction boxes. Nothing too major for Randy I think. My landlord is Randy Thomas and he has already expressed his commitment to work with me and to work with HUD to help us be able to stay here. Once everything is up to code and we pass a final inspection, HUD will begin covering a portion of our rent here with their payment going directly to Randy

My scrap studio

2009-03-17T05:30:00.000-07:00

crop table 1 (looking toward entry door)

stamp station (to the left of crop table as you are looking toward door). this has changed a little. I have a TON more acrylic stamps and the CTMH inkpad and marker storage now

crop table 2 (looking in from entry door) and you can see part of the tool room behind

sizzix, cricut and coluzzle stations plus you can see a corner of my ctmh storage to the right. Also in the smaller room with my ctmh storage is a desk with my laptop and wide format printer

one entire wall is built in shelving and cabinets with a great counter. Here is my light table, etc.

punch storage (love these punch pals) and to the right of this is another smaller room with all my paper storage stored vertically in shelves along the wall

income tax splurge

2009-03-16T05:07:00.000-07:00

Amanda has been wanting her own laptop for some time now. Recently I saw one the new ACER mini laptops. they are so cool..... about the size of a book and fully functioning except no CD?DVD drive. I decided to get her one as an early birthday present. We went to Tri cities and lucked into getting the most awesome salesguy helping us. We went home with a full sized ACER, fully functioning including the CD?DVD drive and a ton more RAM and memory for only $16.00 more than the mini one! I also picked her up a webcam so last night she got to really talk to her dad online...... they could see and hear eachother :-)

Looking forward to a fun online crop

2009-03-16T05:03:00.000-07:00

Friday, March 20th from 7-11pm and you have until midnight Sunday to upload challenge entries. There will be a special "crop store" with great bargains and tons of fun stuff. ScrappyJo's is one of my most favorite sites. Anyone who has time (Since we will no longer be traveling to Idaho to meet Allen's family, I plan to kick off my spring break this way) should come

go to http://www.freepowe rboards.com/ shopscrapbooks/ index.php and check out the March 20th online crop thread. If you are new to the site and mention my name I get extra crop points :-)

loving connections

2009-03-01T06:19:00.000-08:00

this facebook thing is so much fun. I spent a good hour last night chatting with an old friend (well actually an old boyfriend lol) from high school. It was great catching up with life and remembering "the good old days"

and hey Pat............... I still have the "me and my car pic" :-)

graffitti gone: cleaned up by the lost and found youth group

2009-02-26T16:33:00.000-08:00

under the supervision of Danny Bane and with Randy Thomas of A-sharp painter offering to do any finish work need pro bono.

here is a link to the EO article for anyone following the story

http://www.eastoregonian.info/main.asp?SectionID=13&SubSectionID=48&ArticleID=89405&TM=70255.87

newspaper article on the vandalism

2009-02-23T19:34:00.001-08:00

can be read here
http://www.eastoregonian.com/main.asp?SectionID=13&SubSectionID=48&ArticleID=89274

vandalism :-(

2009-02-23T05:07:00.000-08:00

such a senseless act.

sometime late Saturday night or early Sunday morning our church was broken into and graffiti was spraypainted over several walls and items throughout the bottom 2 floors...... even in the baptistry. I am thankful it was not worse....... they did not break or steal anything and there are many irreplaceable items that were left untouched....... but the idea that someone would do this in a church just makes my heart sick :-(

Do you facebook?

2009-02-18T21:39:00.000-08:00

As I am dealing with not being able to sleep because of the pain behind my eye and a severe headache that I have had for 3 days :-( I have been hanging out on facebook. I don't even remember who it was that first convinced me to sign up there but I am so thankful to whoever it was.

Today I hooked up with a very old and very treasured friend who I had lost contact with a few years ago. He was my best friend in NY and the hardest person for me to leave behind when Rex and I made the decision to move to Oregon. We kept in touch at first and he and his wife even visited but he moved and changed his email and we lost contact. I can't begin to describe how happy and excited I was to get an email today that he had sent a friend request on facebook. We spent a bit of time catching up before I had to log off to get the kids ready for school and it was like we had just spoken to eachother yesterday :-)

love you Ralphie :-)

read this on one of my faithbooking sites and wanted to share

2009-02-15T07:23:00.000-08:00

and wanted to share

I'm a Christian:
When I say ... "I am a Christian" I am not shouting "I am saved;" I am whispering "I get lost", That is why I choose this way.

When I say ... "I am a Christian" I do not speak of this with pride. I am confessing that I stumble and need someone to be my guide.

When I say ... "I am a Christian" I am not trying to be strong. I am professing that I am weak and pray for strength to carry on.

When I say ... "I am a Christian" I am not bragging of success. I am admitting I have failed and cannot ever pay the debt.

When I say ... "I am a Christian" I am not claiming to be perfect. My flaws are too visible but God believes I am worth it.

When I say ... "I am a Christian" I still feel the sting of pain. I have my share of heartaches which is why I seek His name.

When I say ... "I am a Christian" I do not wish to judge. I have no authority. I only know that I am loved.

Author Carol Wimmer

My dad is home!

2009-02-10T05:10:00.000-08:00

not out of the woods yet but home! Not in a nursing home. I spent most of the day with him yesterday so mom could take care of business...filling prescriptions, making appointments, and a couple of meetings. He was mad that i was there (typical man and does not want to admit he needs help) but said thank you when I left :-)

thanks to all who kept him and my mom in prayer and please continue to do so

more sad news

2009-02-06T05:24:00.000-08:00

Rex just called in tears. his oldest sister passed away in NY this morning. It was cancer and expected but still sad so prayers for his family would also be appreciated

My Dad is in the hospital

2009-02-06T05:19:00.000-08:00

He has many issues going on. We have had some isuues with care and appreciate prayers

Close to My Heart news

2009-02-04T04:31:00.000-08:00

The winner of my January challenge to share a layout of a favorite memory from 2008 was Susan Ames. I will be mailing off her prize soon so watch your mail Susan :-)

The February campaign special is a very fun one that you won't want to miss. Purchase $25.00 in stamps (excluding the stamp the month and customized stamps) and receive This adorable b sized birthday set for free

Contact me or order directly from my website www.peggysauvie.myctmh.com

Jeremy got an award today

2009-01-30T16:25:00.000-08:00

for the character trait fairness. He was quite proud and happy to also see his Grandma and Grandpa there

My January challenge

2009-01-30T05:01:00.000-08:00

time is running out! so far i have 18 entries in the scrap your favorite memory from 2008 challenge. You still have time to share yours and possibly be my random prize winner. Post a link here or email to me

sorry for the confusing post

2009-01-27T16:26:00.000-08:00

I was a bit upset when I wrote it. The short story is before he left for Florida my ex said he was sorry and I thought he really meant it. I would like to believe that he understands the level of pain his choices caused and also that he truly is sorry for the way things ended. Unfortunately.............or maybe fortunately.............. he chose to email a friend of mine and told her a story that was totally NOT based in truth. I'm thankful she shared that email with me. I'm still not sure why it hurt me as much as it did but it also taught me a valuable lesson that I will not soon forget.

well so much for my last post

2009-01-24T10:08:00.000-08:00

it seems once again I was fooled into believing something I just really wanted to believe but thanks to a friend I now know yet again that some people are great at going through the motions without really meaning it :-(

Saturday

2009-01-24T08:40:00.000-08:00

and more white stuff on the ground.....can you say yuck???????

On a good note we got Rex to the airport and off on the plane to Florida. It was, of course, emotional but the kids did so much better than I thought they would. I am so proud of them!

After he finished saying goodbye to them he asked to hug me and actually said he was sorry and I believe he really meant it. I think this is the first time he has said those words to me and actually meant it. I learned a long time ago (with lots of help and wise counsel from my pastor) that I could find forgiveness for him and that I needed to do that for me and the kids but all I could think to say back to him was "me too because it didn't have to be this way........you chose it" Harsh but true.

I also wanted to say thank you to all who have taken the time to respond to my post here and to email or call me privately. Your support and prayers have been a huge help and comfort to me over these last 2 years

Today is the day

2009-01-22T05:06:00.000-08:00

That we put Rex on the plane for Florida.

I have very mixed feelings. I am glad for him that he will be with family that can help care for him. I am sad for my children who will miss him. I am dreading the ride back home from the airport after my children say goodbye to him. I am sad that 18 plus years of marriage ended this way because of drugs. I am angry because I don't understand addiction............... I still believe he had a choice and he made the wrong one. I wish we had meant enough to him for him to be able to stop using for us. I am hopeful for my future and praying hard for my children

Wow~ life has been busy!

2009-01-13T08:19:00.000-08:00

I have not posted in a while.

Last Friday was our first second Friday crop for 2009. We had a blast creating as always and Jennifer won the door prize................. a level 2 That's Amore paper pack from the brand new spring idea book.

The Key to My Heart January campaign special has been a huge hit.................. gorgeous papers in all the newest CTMH colors and a wonderful E=sized alphabet set full of gorgeous images. Supplies are limited so if you are wanting one contact me with your order soon.

Also don't forget another chance to win some free CTMH goodies this month. simple scrap your favorite memory from 2008 and email me a pic or post a link here to where I can view it by January 31st to be entered in the prize drawing

Cards for soldiers for 2009

2009-01-04T07:27:00.000-08:00

CARD SPECIFICATIONS: All cards should be A2 size (one half of an 81/2" x 11" sheet of cardstock, folded in half). This size card will fit the envelopes donated already for our Program. If you make a larger card, please be sure to clip an envelope that fits with it. Leave the cards blank on the inside, with a self-stick note from you (or your child) to the soldier if desired.

GENERAL OCCASION CARDS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME with any of the rounds below. These cards include: birthday, miss you, thank you, love you, get well, retirement, sympathy, welcome new baby, etc. Don't forget to do some of the birthday, etc. cards for children.

MAILING ADDRESS for 2009: Cards For Soldiers, 5 Spicebush Circle, Litchfield, N.H. 03052

MAILING SCHEDULE FOR 2009:
Round 1: Cards should be received by Jan 5, 2009 - Valentine's Day/Love Theme, St. Pat's Day and Purim Cards. (We've already missed this mailing. Sorry, I didn't get this posted in time.)

Round 2: Cards should be received by Mar 1, 2009 - Passover and Easter Cards

Round 3: Cards should be received by April 15, 2009 - Mother's Day and Armed Forces Day Cards

Round 4: Cards should be received by May 6, 2009 - Father's Day, 4th of July/Independence Day Cards

Round 5: Cards should be received by June 15, 2009 - General Occasion Cards

Round 6: Cards should be received by July 31, 2009 - Patriot Day, Grandparents Day, Rosh Hashanah Cards

Round 7: Cards should be received by Sept. 19, 2009 - Halloween, Thanksgiving Cards

Round 8: Cards should be received by October 14, 2009 - Veteran's Day Cards (Please write a note to a soldier inside these cards)

Round 9: Cards should be received by Nov. 6, 2009 - Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, New Years Day Cards.

HOW THE CARDS ARE USED. When the cards are received by Chaplain Banks, he puts them in a central location where the soldiers can go and select a card to send to a loved one, friend/relative. The soldier selects a card, opens it, reads the message to him that we have placed on the sticky note, removes the sticky note and writes his own message to the person for whom he has selected the card and sends it on its way. So not only do we get to use up our scraps when we make these cards but we get double use out of them which really makes our time we spend making these cards really worthwhile.

today I am thankful

2008-12-29T07:08:00.000-08:00

for so many things. At the top of the list are my faith and my church family, My children were given some news lately that was very hard for them to deal with. their dad is moving to Florida in January, While I think this is a good move for him it is, of course, very unsettling for them to say the least, I shared this as a prayer concern for my children at church yesterday and the response of love and support was overwhelming and humbling, Again I wonder how people with no faith survive the major tragedies and difficulties in their lives. God has carried my family through so much in the last few years and continues to do so faithfully and in so many ways.

Another very cool thing at church is watching the way they have embraced and welcomed Allen into our extended family. Already he is being involved in call to worship, special music and co-teaching a Sunday school class. It is great to see him feeling so much at home in the church we call home.

A New Year challenge

2008-12-27T10:27:00.000-08:00

with a prize.......................

Here is your jump start for a scrapbook page....................... Scrap a memory from 2008 that is important to you. It could be something wonderful, a new addition to your family or home, something diffcult that you made it through, a big change in your life................. you get the idea.

Link your page to theis post or email it to me by January 31st and one lucky winner (chosen by random drawing) will win some cool CTMH products

Happy Day After Christmas

2008-12-26T14:34:00.000-08:00

My family was very blessed this year as I hope yours was too. I had a houseful for Christmas Eve which I LOVE. Most of us attended candle light services together and everyone came back for at least a part of Christmas day.

Christmas day at my house is very laid back and lazy. I make my big dinner Christmas Eve and also prepare breakfast casserole and monkey bread before going to bed for Christmas morning. The kids cook the coffee and have their own little ritual of hot chocolate and gift snooping as they wait for mom's coffee to Be done. they they wake me up, I throw breakfast in the oven and we open gifts. By the time we are done we have a wonderful, hot breakfast. I do clean up and then the rest of the day is everyone fend for yourself with snacks and leftovers and every cleans up after themselves too. We all stay in our jammies and just enjoy being relaxed and together.

awesome song

2008-12-23T09:18:00.001-08:00

that I have been singing/praying for someone who truly needs to feel God's love, direction, and forgiveness in his life

January is National Papercrafting month

2008-12-22T08:28:00.000-08:00

Each year CTMH designs a wonderful campaign special to celebrate this month. This year is no exception. As a matter of fact I think they have outdone themselves.

I already shared a photo that shows the gorgeous papers (in our new colors of sorbet, tulip, juniper, and creme brulee) well. Here is another photo that shows in more detail the gorgeous E-sized stamp set that is included. I LOVE this set

Contact me to find out how to purchase this limited time set.................. $47.90 purchase price or earn at a discounted or free price with a qualifying purchase

favorite Christmas cookie recipe from my "little" brother

2008-12-18T06:44:00.001-08:00

Favorite Christmas Cookie

1 cup of water

4 large eggs

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup nuts

1 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 cup of brown sugar

lemon juice

2 cups dried fruit

1 bottle Jose Cuervo Tequila

Sample the Cuervo to check quality. Take a large bowl, check the Cuervo

again, to be sure it is of the highest quality. Pour one level cup and drink.

Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl.

Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point it's best to make sure the

Cuervo is still OK. Try another cup . . . just in case.

Turn off the miserer thingy. Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.

Pick the friggin fruit off floor. Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck

in the beaterers just pry it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the Cuervo to

check for tonsisticity. Next, sift two cups of salt, or something.

Who giveshz a sheet.

Check the Jose Cuervo. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your

nuts. Add one table. Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can

find. Greash the oven. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over.

Don't forget to beat off the turner. Finally, throw the bowl through the window,

finish the Cose Juervo and make sure to put the stove in the dishwasher.

Cherry Mistmas.