Valentine Treats ~

These fun treats are samples for the class I am teaching the ladies at church on February 12th. I love these papers, they are so springy, perfect for valentines and layouts for little girlies.

In case you were wondering ~

It is freezing cold in Idaho today!!! We woke up to -22 degree temperatures. Yes, the kids still have to go to school. Kristine is not happy about that.

Happy Monday ~

Hope all of you had a great weekend. It is freezing cold here, but life just goes on as normal. I guess for this time of year freeaing cold is normal. Here is a picture of a little cutie that will just warm your heart. Yep, she has her grandma wrapped around her tiny little finger all ready.

If you want to see some cute crafty stuff, those pictures are just after the cute grandbaby pictures.

Look at those eyes! Isn't she just precious. I think some days her Mom and Dad have another name for her though. She is just a breath of fresh air when she comes to visit.

Now here are the crafty things. These fun papers are new Raspberry Tart papers from Stampin' Up! This is a little calander cover and the next one is a little treat box. The LOVE stamp is also a new Stampin' Up! one. Did you see the fancy links to the right. Here you can find and link to the new catalog and other brochures. There are so many fun ideas to see. Enjoy your day!

Moving Day ~

Yesterday was a big moving day. Since Jen moved off to College, Kristine got to go down and take over her room in the basement. Since a little flooding problem a couple of months ago we just left Jen with a cement floor and rugs because we knew she would be moving out soon. Kristine plans on staying here a few more years, she is only 13, so we needed to put carpet down. The nice carpet that was in the living room before we did the wood floor has been rolled up in the garage, so the plan was to use that and recarpet the room. First we moved all of Jen's leftover, but still good, don't give away stuff up to the family room. Then we, actually Rod and Brad moved the huge roll of carpet down and we wrestled with it for a while and figured out how it would fit best. Rod did an amazing job. I was just thinking fold under edges or whatever, but Rod did a professional looking wall to wall carpet job. It looks great. We then had to move Kristine's stuff down three sets of stairs, and Jen's stuff up the last two sets of stairs. The upstairs room will be a real guest room. Yes, it will have Jen's stuff in half of the closet, but it will be a guest room. The room is light pink and the bed set is cute brown, pink, green and white large flowers. There is a matching clock, lamp, chair and rug. Really a cute room. I added a new pink and brown flower Scentsy warmer and it is almost done. Kristine is getting her new room all set up, it is painted a nice yellow color and looks great with her new teal polka dot bedset. I was totally worn out when we finally stopped.

In the middle of the day, the mailman delivered my NEW Stampin' Up! catalog. It was so hard to set it aside and finish the moving. But when it was time to sit down, I was glad to have something to look at, at least until I fell asleep from being totally exhausted. The new catalog officially comes out on Monday, so I will show you a couple of my favorite things from the catalog then.

Fun New Fabrics ~

I don't know why, but I have always bounced between so many different crafts and hobbies. One of my favorites that is coming around again is Quilting and Sewing. I found a cute blog that has a lot of fun fabrics and other creative stuff. Stop and see jane run. You'll be glad you did.

Time to be Crafty ~

I keep finding fun blogs that are doing giveaways of cute crafty things. You will want to visit Stamps, Paper, Scissors and Donkey Smiles. Yes, she has pictures of cute little donkeys along with her crafty things. Definately worth the visit.

I made this cute little calendar cover the other day. Love how it turned out. When we finally have warmer spring weather I'll have to do another cover where she isn't wearing a hat and gloves. But for right now this fits.

Here are a few more cards I finished last week. The picture quality isn't the best, but I wanted to post them, so I can remember what I've made.

Can you believe I made it through a whole post without pictures of my grandbabies or my puppies. Enjoy your day!!

Fun Pictures ~

Ok, So I've been playing with my new Photoshop and having fun with some new pictures. This probably isn't a big deal, but I thought they turned out pretty cool. Michelle took this picture with her phone and sent it to my phone so I could see how cute Sydni was. I downloaded it to my computer and went to work. Here is the original picutue. Which is actually pretty good for a cell phone photo.



And here it is with a little Photoshop work.
And look at this one. Not only is she a little sweetie, but I like how the soft colors of the picture turned out.
I can't wait to get these printed out and scrapbook them, actually I will probably do a digital layout before I get prints made. I'll be sure to show you how they turn out.

Digital Layout ~

Just wanted to show you a new picture of cute little Sydni and a new digital layout. It is fun to get back into the digital stuff. There is so much to learn, but I love to escape to my craft room and create.This week I have been organizing my digital stuff and pictures on my craft room laptop. It is so fun to go up and escape to my own space. On my message board Kristine wrote:

"The Craft Room - Where all Creative Things Happen!"

Hope you get some creative time for yourself too.

Look at these cute girls ~

Since Christmas is over I can show you the pictures Michelle and Alex had on their Christmas cards. They are so cute. I love the little dresses Michelle found for them and well, I just love these little girls. Enjoy!

More fun stuff ~

If you get a free minute over the holidays, stop over and visit this blog. She has fun crafty things to see and a fun blog candy up for grabs. Enjoy!

Diggin' out ~

It was lots of work but lots of fun too. Brad and Kristine brushed off cars, shoveled the driveway and moved cars around so they were all off the street. Oh yeah, it was snowing and blowing really hard while they were working, so that just added to the fun. The street crew came during the night and did the street so we can get around today. Since the whole neighborhood drains right in front of our house, our street is a priority and they plow it all to the center and come along with their snow harvester and take it away. It is kind of fun to watch them work. From inside with Hot Cocoa of course.

Winter Fun ~

Winter is here! Kristine took the girls out to the backyard this afternoon. It is so fun to watch them run and jump through the snow. I need to try and get video of them sometime. Their ears are flying and then they disappear into the snow. Kristine got on her knees and made trails around the yard for them to run on. It makes getting around easier for short dogs. They love following trails.

Our Christmas Lights ~

In case you've driven by to see my neighbors light show at night you've probably missed my Christmas Lights. We replaced all three of the front outdoor light fixtures and for the holidays we found these beautiful wreaths to show them off. Looks pretty good. Kristine did put a garland up on the front step rails and put another wreath up on the front door. She said it is her job to help us keep all of the traditions. So far she is doing a good job of keeping us in line. Enjoy your day!

Merry Christmas ~

Now that most of the Christmas cards I mailed have probably arrived, here is a little peek for the rest of you, and for the family that happen to read my blog. Hope all of you have a great week with family. Kristine and I have started on our goodie baking and are gearing up for one last shopping run tomorrow. Saturday we braved the mall. Since some of my shopping was for Kristine, we dropped her off at Pretzel Maker with pretzel money and went shopping. She's 13 so it wasn't illegal to drop her off, and it worked quite well, until she called me and said her small order had run out and she was out of pretzel bites. She got to sit there a while without pretzels because I wasn't done.

The other day we had some high school kids came around caroling. The puppies stood behind their gate and barked and howled along with them. It was pretty cute. If you are in our area you'll have to drive by and see our neighbors fantastic holiday light show. It is quite the show. It runs from about 5:15 pm to 10:30 pm. Tune your car radio to 88.7 FM and get in line to enjoy the show.

What is normal anyway ~

Well the past few weeks have certainly not been normal. Usually my life is pretty even and kind of boring, I like boring. So a few weeks ago, we start getting ready for a new grand daughter by having an Early Thanksgiving Dinner. Yummy, we had all of the good stuff and fun cooking with Michelle here to help. Way too many pies, but they were so good. Wonderful day with all of our family. (That would be all 8 of us.) That night we kept Kymber with us while Michelle and Alex had a night away before getting up early to go have a baby. Now, I am not a night person at all and this little girl is, especially when she isn't in her own home. So after not much sleep we get to take this sweet little girl to meet her new baby sister. What a treat. This new baby is so tiny and cute, makes you totally forget that you didn't sleep a whole lot the night before. We had a lot of trips across town to see this new little family. Kymber started to recognize the hospital halls and knew that was where her Mama was. With this little family safely back at home, it was time for second Thanksgiving. Yup, we did it all again. We had to do more pies too. Nothing is better than homemade chocolate pudding pie. This time there were just 5 of us for dinner, but we still had to have everything. Friday morning Rod and I were up at 4:30 am to go shopping. I still can't believe we went out so early, but it was fun and we got a good start to our shopping and some great deals. Jen had to work at 5 am at the mall, so it was fun to stop in and see her working. Saturday was pretty normal, leftovers, relaxing, just the way I like it. Got stuff moved back into my craft room after doing the wood floor. It looks so good. More about that later. At 9 pm we were getting ready to drop Robert,s Jeep off at the airport so we wouldn't have to stay up until 11 when their flight got in. Then Rod got a call from Heidi, my sisters daughter that is going to school in Rexburg. She had gone for the Holiday week to Colorado with some friends. On the way home, the car broke down and so she was calling for help. They needed a ride from Pinedale, Wyoming. He said, yes, we'd be there then we checked the map to see just where Pinedale was. If all went well, we should be there at midnight. Kristine wanted to come, but we told her to stay home and we would take her sometime during the day so she could actually see Wyoming. We dropped the Jeep off at the airport for the Haws kids, picked up gas (cheap gas, by the way. Just $32 to fill the TrailBlazer.) and Dr. Pepper and peanuts for Rod, and we were on our way. I called my sister to let her know we were on our way. Luckily when I talked to her, the weather and roads were great, so she got a good report. They didn't turn ugly until we were off the phone. Smart Heidi had called and talked to Rod first, so when she called her mom to say she was stranded in Wyoming she could tell her right then that help was on the way. We felt a little like the rescue party for the Martin-Willie handcart company. Except we were so glad for the warm vehicle, 4 wheel drive and bridges. We crossed the Hoback River 14 times and the Snake River 4 times. Wouldn't have wanted to do that on horseback. It was so good to see Heidi and her friends. A nice lady had let them stay in the convenience store until we got there so they were safe and warm. After lots of happy hugs, we loaded up the three girls and their luggage. (It was just as good to see Heidi this Thanksgiving as it was last Thanksgiving when she was able to come after her big surgery.) The two boys wanted to see how far the car would make it without being loaded down. So we followed them all the way home. We got the girls dropped off at their apartment building and made it home by 4:30 am. Kristine had brought the dogs up to her room to keep her company while we were gone. And she read a book and tried to stay up and wait for us. Don't remember much about Sunday, but Monday morning I headed out to help Michelle and the little girls for a few days. So much fun. Michelle does such a good job with her girls. I don't think I could keep up with little ones everyday like all of you young moms do. But I've got the grandma thing down. Back home again to my Mom of a teenager job and a family that really did miss me. The past week has been busy with Rod's work party, working on Christmas gifts, putting up the tree, and getting a cold. We put a baby gate up in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, so the hounds can't get in to see the tree or the presents, or answer the door. So our presents and our tree are safe and when you come visit you won't get mauled by dogs happy to see you. They will just howl from behind the gate. Brad just moved back in, since the semester in Rexburg is over, so I am back to figuring out how much milk it takes to get through the week. Hopefully I am back on top of things now. I'd better be since there are only 9 more sleeps until Christmas. The girls (both daughters and puppies) and I went out to take pictures for Christmas cards yesterday. I played with Photoshop last night and they are ready to pick up this morning. I'd forgotten how much fun (and how frustrating) digital stuff can be. I also did a baby announcement for Michelle. This past month has pretty much flown by. I've been so glad that I've been able to help my family, both as a Wife, a Mom, a Grandma and an Auntie. Can't wait for the next few weeks to see what other fun things happen. Maybe this is the new normal.

Here are a few of the pictures from our photo shoot.

Little Visitors ~

We had a surprise visit from Michelle and her cute little girls yesterday. We watched Sydni while Michelle ran some errands in town. I wish we would have kept Kymber too, it sounds like Michelle would have enjoyed the time without a little helper. Sydni was so sweet and waited patiently for her Mom to come back. Here are a couple of pictures for all of you that can't get over to see the little sweetie.

She is really growing. Yesterday she was up to 6 lbs. 7 ozs.

New Santa ~

We are a little slow, but the Christmas decorations are starting to come out of the box and be out where we can enjoy them. I just got a new Santa to add to my little collection. These are from the Jim Shore Collection. Last year I got the two big ones and just got the little one this weekend. I think they are my new addiction. I'll give you another peek at other fun decorations tomorrow.

I found another fun blog to visit if you are into crafty things. She has a fun give away too.

I'm back ~

Well I just got to spend a few days with the cutest little grand daughters ever. Kymber is so sweet with her tiny little sister, and Michelle is a great Mom. It was fun to be there with them. It will be fun to watch this new little one grow up. And I was glad to get back to my Mom job after doing the Grandma thing. Now we are working to get ready for the holidays and deciding just how many goodies we can squeeze into the diet, without overdoing it. The goodies list is getting quite long.

If you are into cute crafty things you will want to Check out this blog. Bea is doing a give away to celebrate the holidays in Sweden. Such cute stuff!!

Welcome Sydni ~

We welcomed a sweet little grand daughter into our family today. Her name is Sydni Aspen. She was 6 pounds, and 20 inches. Just a tiny, perfect little sweetheart. Here are a couple of pictures we took today when we took Kymber to meet her new little sister.

Just so you know ~

Just wanted you to know that my craft room is torn up and getting a new wood floor. It will be wonderful when it is done, but in the mean time I miss my space. Well, I get to see all of my stuff since it is spread out between Kristine's bedroom, my walk in closet (which you can't walk in any more), and there are piles on both sides of my room and at the bottom of the bed. While we were moving everything, Rod kept saying, "You sure have a lot of stuff", over and over. Yeah, I don't think he knew what was in there, but I think things will go pretty fast getting it done. And I will have time this week to go through things and get rid of, or figure out how to store them better. "The girls", (Cassidy and Candie) were such good helpers. While I was pulling up staples and nails they were right there on my lap trying to help. This is when I am so glad that they are 35 pounds a piece and not the 50 to 60 pounds that some Basset Hounds get to be.

Here are a couple of cute pictures from this past week.