Days 1 & 2

So I know that Wendy's gonna do the Project 365 with me. Who else??? Anyone? Come on, we can do it!! I'm sure you are like Wendy and I thinking there's gonna be LOTS of pictures of us working but hey that's what we do!! I'm hoping it will make me capture things I wouldn't otherwise think to take a photo of!! Get me out of the groove of only taking photos at special occasions, holidays and get into the habit of getting the ordinary/day to day life happenings.

So who's in?

I decided to start mine on Monday since that's usually the beginning of my work/school week. So here it is my photo/journaling for day 1.

For the past several years Emma and her best friend Ryli have celebrated Christmas by spending the day together instead of exchanging gifts. They get to choose what we do for the day. This year....Shopping and a movie. We watched the movie Bedtime Stories which is very cute. There is nothing better than the sound of your child laughing all the way from the toes up! We also went to the mall where the girls would pick out outfits, giggle as they were putting them on because we were not allowed to go in with them and then put on a runway show for us!
So much fun!!

Day 2 - Tuesday

We got a Wii for Christmas! Thanks Secret Santa!!
Okay, so we aren't big "gamers" but this system is so much fun!! We've been having nightly contests, each choosing a game then seeing who can out play the other. It's so much fun to all be in the same room, playing and not fighting (other than the usual smack talk) and getting active! How cool is that! I came home last night and tonight to find Greg and Tyler having a full out pool tournament. I swear all we need is the smoke and drinks and you'd think we were in a pool hall! They certainly have the loud, smack talk going on!! It's just too funny!!

What a great idea!!

Check out this adorable photo box! I love the idea of printing out your favorite photos and having a place to store them until time to scrap them!! I plan to create a "Favorite Photos" Album in black and white with a few pictures in color. This would be the perfect place to print and store the photos for this album until I get them in the book.

For directions to make this adorable box check out the Fancy Pants blog at http://missfancypants.typepad.com/

Want to create this box? Pre-order your kit complete with paper machie box, papers, embellisments, rub-ons, ribbon and chipboard numbers for only $10.99 plus shipping!! You can order by email at info@kisscropnshop.com. Orders will ship around the 18th of January.

Am I crazy?

Okay, careful...some of you are not allowed to answer that question!

Seriously, I'm thinking about starting (well, I already started) the Project 365 by Becky Higgins. So not something I've ever done but for some reason this one is calling to me to try. I really think this could be fun and I might actually get some of my own scrapping done! We'll see.

Here's the details, let me know if you decide to try it to! I may even post my Project 365 pics and journaling on here. http://www.beckyhiggins.com/blog/

Merry Christmas!!

Just a quick note to wish each and every one of you a very Merry and Blessed Christmas!!

I just can't believe we've been through another year together of preserving our memories. I am amazed almost daily at the friendships that have been made while we scrapbook. Someone new comes to an event, I seat them with a group and viola....instant friendships form! The number of new babies and the joy shared with each birth, the support and prayers given during losses of loved ones, job changes, life changes, surgeries and there is always someone there to lend support. Not to mention the generosity this group has!! Donations to breast cancer, over 10,000 pages donated to Alzheimer's!! WOW!! I must tell you I am so honored to be a part of this family of scrappers and am looking forward to what the new year is going to bring us!

God Bless, Merry Christmas and see you in the New Year!!

Shannon

Need a good family movie?

Emma, our cousin Ashlee and I just finished watching the movie, The Christmas Shoes. Based on the song that makes me cry every single time I hear it this movie will do the same. All three of us sat crying as the movie ended. It's a Kleenex movie for sure!!

It's a great family movie and will really make you stop and think about life choices, family and the value of time. I picked my copy up at Lifeway Christian Stores but also seen it on Amazon. It's been out since 2002 and we are just seeing it. If you are like us and a little slow in watching movies check this one out but grab the Kleenex!!

So what did you think?

I got my new issue of Creating Keepsakes today. They are making some serious changes to the magazine. I haven't gotten to sit down and really look at it but from what I can tell I think I'm gonna like it! They are including a TON of sketches in each issue, promising more layouts with multiple photos and more. It's about time!! I'll take my time to really look through the issue tonight after kiddos are in bed. I like using sketches when I get in a bind and can't think of anything else. Most of the time when I start with a sketch the finished product looks NOTHING like the sketch but hey it got me started! LOL!!

What other magazines do you like? I picked up a Scrapbook Trends issue yesterday, really had some cute ideas in it. I subscribe to Memory Makers, Creating Keepsakes and Simply Scrapbooks. My favorite tends to change from time to time so can't seem to cut one of them out!!

Who ordered this???????

What the heck is up with this COLD weather? YUCK!!! I don't mind a little snow but this cold, damp, dreary weather.... NASTY!! It can go away anytime, like now.

So.....Irene busted me, guess it's time to share now!! LOL!! I did sneak away this past weekend to spend a weekend with one of my bestest buds Wendy. We went to the Rockin' R Retreat Center in Temple, Texas. Oh my gosh!! The place is amazing and the owner Rena is a blast!! We went to get some work done for next years classes and we did accomplish that. Right, Wendy? LOL!! I can tell you if are ever able to get to Temple, Texas for a retreat this is hands down the place to go. I'm even trying to figure out how we could get a group of us down there for a weekend! How much fun would that be girls?

As for today, I need to be motivated!! I have class kits to get ready for Sunday's private class. I have some Christmas projects to complete and I haven't worked on either!!! There's always tomorrow right? LOL!! What projects are you working on? Christmas gifts? Christmas decorations?

Viva Las Vegas! Crop

Okay, so I finally got some pictures of the crop to share!! I had such a blast and just can't thank the teachers, vendors all of my assistants, the kitchen staff, my mom!! and of course all of you!!

The Prize Patrol cause "No one leaves a Loser!" at a KISS Event! Thanks Janet and Janice for all your spirit, enthusiasm and support!!

The welcome gift - Glue Glider Pro and refill!

Secret Sister Swap- so much fun and we will be doing this again!!

One of many of the classes!!

I'll post more pics later, enjoy!!

Christmas Pics

Another tradition, I take pictures of the kids in front of our Christmas tree. Of course my intention is always to use them for our Christmas cards but I never get around to mailing cards!! I've never gotten our pictures done this early either so there is hope this year!!

I think I'm going to do a Christmas Photo Shoot Album. Just something fairly small that I can add some of my favorite pictures from each photo shoot each year. Maybe a chipboard book, hmmm... gonna have to do this! It would be a great way to see how the kids change each year! Anyone else do something like this?

Here's a few of our pictures: I need to do some cleanup work on them but haven't had a chance yet.

I love this one of Emma looking at the tree!! This is one of my favorites from the photo shoot. Tyler's at that fun age that he hates his picture and is really hard to get a good one. Emma LOVES the camera so it's all smiles AND poses from her! LOL!!

And this is my tree, well a piece of it! I just can't get a good picture of my tree!! I tried no flash and flash. So anyone have ideas on how to get a good picture of a tree with the lights on? I LOVE my tree!! I'm soooo anal about my tree!!

Here's what I have on my tree:

• white lights, tons of them!!
  
• scented pinecones, they smell so yummy when the lights are on and heat them up a bit!
  
• gold little squiggly things, don't know what they are called but I love them!!
• muted red and gold bulbs, not really anything fancy just simple with some glittery designs on a few of them.

That's it!! Nothing else but I LOVE it! I love my tree! I've had it forever and it's still just perfect. It's tall, it's fat (like me, LOL!!) It makes me happy!!!

Traditions

Well I've heard from Rene that she scored big on hubbies gift...what about the rest of you? Still shopping? Not started yet? If you haven't already, don't forget to tell your Santa that you want a gift certificate to K.I.S.S. Events for Christmas! You'll get a little something extra along with the gift certificate if it's ordered by December 15th! Just email me at info@kisscropnshop.com for details!!


So we started something new this year, hoping to make it a tradition. I got this idea from a website or blog somewhere and sorry that I don't remember where. On December 1st I gave Emma 24 small wrapped presents. She gets to open one each night until Christmas. They are all Christmas themed books or movies that she already had with the exception of about 8 of them. We unwrap and then she and Greg read the book together each night. It's so much fun to watch her get so excited over something she already had. It's helping her count down the days and it's creating some quality daddy/daughter time! Can't beat that! Now I wish I could think of something similar for Tyler but he's not much of a reader and other than hunting/fishing things he's not that interested! I do love this and hope that it will inspire you to share a tradition that you do or start a new one!!

Special thank you to our schools for NOT taking out the true meaning of the season. Our K-4 program was last night and the kids did a great job! I was thrilled to the point of goose bumps when they sang songs not just about Santa and Reindeer but about Jesus!! What a great land that we live in that we can celebrate the REAL reason for the season and I'm so thankful I live in a community that is willing to not only celebrate it but sing it! Here are a few pictures from the program.

1st picture - Emma's class, 2nd picture - Emma and best friend Ryli, 3rd picture Emma and cousin Luke

Score for me today!!

I had to run an errand for hubby today so decided to go ahead and run to Joplin and do a little more Christmas shopping. Glad I did, what a great day I had!!

Found my mom and dad's Christmas! Went to four different stores and finally found it and am so excited that I waited till the last stop! I can't tell what it is cause she reads my blog! Sorry mom, not gonna tell ya!!! I do have to get it wrapped tonight before she sneaks over here!! Also found my hubby's Christmas. He's gonna be so surprised, can't wait to see him open it. Oh and Tyler's!! He's sooooo hard to buy for these days, everything he wants is EXPENSIVE not because he wants them to be but his hobbies are expensive! Hunting, hunting, hunting!! This means guns, predator calls, game cameras, etc. You get the picture! I did find a very nice gun cleaning kit with wooden box at Academy today. They were on sale, two left when I got there. SCORE! Greg will have to finish him up now. Then Emma, I was mostly done with her already. Her "list" was so well thought out this year and has been fun to find. I am DONE with her, including the filling of the "sock". If you are looking for Barbie Doll outfits go to Freeman Annex. I know, weird but they had the best selection of clothes and cheap!! They even had little matching hat/shoe/handbag sets for $1.87 and outfits for under $3.00!! SCORE again!! Yeah me!! Oh and Michael's. If you have little girls and need goodies for the "socks" check out the dollar section. Especially if they are loving Hannah Montana or High School Musical.

So that's it, I am finished with my shopping now. Greg has to finish Tyler and his parents but I am DONE!! First time ever I have finished so early. Now what am I going to do? Well, I've got a few projects I'm wanting to work on so that's what I'll start next week. I promised myself we were going to have a stress free Christmas and so far so good!!

Hope you are having fun shopping and finding lots of bargains!! I just LOVE to find that just perfect gift for someone and won't settle on just anything. It's so exciting and I know Greg gets tired of me calling and squealing about my perfect finds!! LOL!!

Trying this again!!

It seems that it would be easy to keep a blog updated and it really should be but for some reason I have the hardest time posting! Not sure if it's the lack of time, the feeling that I'm talking to myself (those that know me well, know that I hate to talk to myself) or the lack of things to talk about....wait! It can't be that!! I know, pick yourself up off the floor! I've never run out of things to talk about. Guess I'll have to admit it's just too easy to put off for one more day then it turns into a week then well 3 months! YIKES!! I'm going to work harder at posting on the blog and hope that you all will encourage me by posting messages so I don't feel lonely!! LOL!!

To start, how was your Thanksgiving? Ours was great. Very low key, no rushing from house to house. We had a great dinner and was miserable the rest of the day. Some of the family ate again that night for supper but I just couldn't make myself do it! It was wonderful, don't get me wrong just way too much of it!! We took some great pictures of all the grandkids and I'll post when I get the disk from my aunt. For now, here is a picture of a layout I recently finished. These are pictures from Thanksgiving 2005. Yep! I'm that far behind!! LOL!! I have actually gotten to scrapbook some of my own photos the last few weeks. It's been a blast and I've gotten more done the last two weeks than I have the last two years. Guess I needed a little break to get me inspired again. Speaking of breaks, I'm headed to Texas for the weekend. Wendy and I are going to do a little power-planning session and see what we can cook up for you all next year. Can't wait, I'm soooo excited!!

Sorry for the bad pictures, I had to take them with my camera. My printer/scanner isn't
hooked up yet from taking it to the crop!! (Yes, I've really been that bad!! LOL!!)

This is one of the kits I got from Paper Kandi Company at the Viva Las Vegas! crop.
I changed it up a bit and just love how it turned out!

More to come..... I have lots of pictures from the Viva Vegas! crop and LOTS of fun details about the crop to share! Have a great night!