How many emails did I have?

Do you see that? 9510...Insane!

Okay, Croppycatter is closest with 1200...email me your address and I will send out a prize...Congratulations!

This week has BEEN BUSY!

The days just have flown by and I still have things to do... Today, I am having a yard sale, need to finish 2 LO's, prepare an appetizer and a make and take for a ladies night at church all while taking care of my five blessings and my sweetheart. Whew...I am tired just thinking about it! So off I go to work on a couple of things before it's time to pull everything out of the garage! Happy Saturday everyone!
C~

Congratulations Sweet Memory Winner!

Congratulations Joanna! You are the winner of my sweet memory contest!
I hope you enjoy your sweet treat...a $20 gift card to Coldstone Creamery...I know you have one "near" you...so I don't have to ask!
Thank you to everyone who shared this special memory with me...

C~

The Computer is back home!

Well, my laptop is back home and working somewhat...there is a couple of things that need to be tweaked...and I am SO happy....clicked on my outlook and received my messages...so this post is another challenge...with a scrappin' RAK...so, how many emails did I receive? It's been gone for a couple of months....give me your best guess...I will post the answer on Saturday, June 1st....

My computer gal put me into Outlook instead of Outlook Express and that is challenging for me...I REALLY liked Outlook Express...she says I will like this better...so we will see!

My son also got his email set up...he is so happy...BUT his email isn't working yet...that is one of the things we need to tweak...hopefully later today we'll get that fixed...

I am home today sick (from Church) with David and Grace...we all have the coughing/running nose junk that's going around. I was coughing SO bad yesterday, I could BARELY talk...used my Vick's type vapor rub on the feet and slept good...I am going to try to make my own Vick's rub using an unpetroleum jelly...I'll let you know how that works.

Well, gotta go...don't forget...give me the best guess on the number of emails I got...I will choose the closest too...under or over....

C~

The necklace

Okay, I just wanted to show you all the necklace Grace made just in case you didn't believe me on the last day of co-op post...

Isn't this pretty?

C~

What are your fond memories of this place?

This takes me back to such a wonderful time in my childhood...a time that seems so perfect in my memory...makes me SO sad that it isn't here for my children, but after they were laughing at this video, I think they don't deserve it....now (and don't you ever tell them I said this) the video is kinda funny...everyone didn't look this funny when we were little...

There is another one here: http://www.happyitis.biz/multimedia/zoorunning.wmv

Remember any of this?

I found this among my things:

The pictures are so small, it is hard to read, but remember the Pig Trough? Didn't people who finished this on their own get a ribbon that said, "I made a pig of myself at Farrell's" ?

THe Hot Fudge Nutty Nutty was probably our favorite...or a butterscotch shake...mmmm...okay, I am in happy place right now...

So, is there a place your family always went to for birthdays or special occasions? Do you have a particular memory that is just IT for you?

Makes me think...one day, God will wipe away every tear...there will be no more sadness, no more sin, we will have great joy worshipping at the feet of our Savior...now I don't know much about what is going to happen in heaven and I am not going to even think about it...we couldn't even think up anything as good as what God has for His people in eternity. Gives us hope to keep on when your house is falling apart and a good friend is dying of cancer and you need a $2,000 repair on your car and you just got paid and you have $5 to last for two weeks and you fill in your details...I'm just making them up as I go...cling to the cross of Christ dear ones...one thing I know...it's better than any hot fudge nutty nutty!

Death of a Crockpot

This post is in remembrance of my crock pot who has served me well for 6 months. She died a tragic death when she fell out of our pantry and her head (lid)cracked into a hundred pieces. She was preceded in death by her brother crock-pot who met with an untimely death the first time he was used at the hands of my eleven year old son "helping" me load the car. She may be able to be resurrected into useful service if this owner can find a replacement lid...until then, may she Rest In Peace...

Can you all believe it? I have gone through TWO crockpots in SIX months.....aaaauuuuuugggggghhhhhhh!
At least we are going towards summer and not winter....see there is ALWAYS SOMETHING to praise God for!

C~

My Corner of the House...

Well, this is my little corner of the world...I am hoping that it gives encouragement to many who do not have scrap spaces to rival those in the magazines...I would say that most of us do not have the space or the money to create rooms that belong in Beautiful Home magazine...but, what do we have...do we have a corner of a livingroom, bedroom or office...do we have a room dedicated for this...
Well, my space is in our Sunroom...it is hot in the summer and cold in the winter...we are hoping to lay down some carpet and close up a couple of skylights (they leak and the sun fades EVERYTHING left out)...maybe then it won't be so dramatic.
My table is one of those plastic banquet tables that we got from Costco several years ago...to the side of this, I have two carts with paper in them
The bookshelf was one of those that had the glass doors that pull down from each shelf...a couple of the runners had broken, so when we pulled it out of our hall, I put it in here....all of my supplies are seperated out by type...works for me!

I have several things on the floor by my feet...mostly because it is a mish-mash of things that I don't feel like figuring out what to do with it....
This again, is my workspace...VERY CLEAN right now...I look out the window to a lilac bush...my favorite! My poor little Cricut is broken...a child fell on it....makes me so sad!
This is the view out my other window...so peaceful...I love this spot!

So what is your spot like...if you have a beautiful room with lots of pretty organizers and you are blessed with the gift of making it look cool, then I am rejoicing with you...maybe one day, mine will look cool too...right now though, I am making the best of what I have and I am so thankful for it!

Blessings,
Carrie

Beautiful Saturday...

It is a wonderfully beautiful Saturday morning and I thought I would take just a moment and express my thankfulness for this incredible day...It is already about 80 degrees, but a slight breeze is blowing through the house, keeping it cool for now...Living in Washington State, we don't see that foreign body that is known as the sun...the lilac's are blooming and wafting their intoxicating fragrance...it is a BEAUTFIUL day...We are doing some housework right now, but I plan on taking it easy in the scrap room later...)I think I will write about my scrap space soon, lest you think I have it better than I do) I have so many photos to get caught up on...

We went to a garage sale today...it was to benefit cancer research...I found a couple of shorts for David, but the build-up for this sale was bigger than what was there...I was a little disappointed. This makes me wonder, what causes would you champion for....I had a garage sale once to raise money for a gal who wanted to go out on a short term mission's trip...I have been the co-ordinator for gathering school supplies for our local schools for children who couldn't afford them...I have donated things for various missionaries...Missions is where my heart is, I guess...

I would love to take a cross country trip to see the best of what each state has to offer...I was thinking today about how I could make that dream a reality and wondering if we as a family could combine our fundraising ideas to start a cross country educational fund...I might even start with a cookbook....know any good recipes?

I hope your Saturday is as beautiful as mine!

C~

Wedding Album, Once Again

Well, this is the wedding that never seems to end... to refresh you all, my niece got married in November...for Christmas, I made her, her father and her uncle albums. For Mother's Day, I made my MIL an album...then on Monday, I just found out my MIL and niece were going to see my SIL...so as I am talking to my MIL, I am formulating this plan in my mind to finish my SIL album, so she can have it this weekend. Then I find out (Remember, this was MONDAY), that they are leaving on Wednesday afternoon...less than two days to get this done...well, I put everything aside and worked on this for the two days...when my niece stopped by on Wednesday to pick it up...I WAS TWO PAGES SHORT...oh the agony...so I sent the album off...and the two pages are still on my table...I just cannot face it yet...the stinker is that I really like some of the pages I made for her album...I told my niece...Man, I should have made your album last...you know what that means....Mine will be the best (Oh, I can't believe I am even thinking about ONE MORE ALBUM...)Well, after I get a break from seeing the same pictures six times over, I will be able to tackle this project...again....
C~

Last Day of Co-op

Well, today was the last day of our homeschool co-op...and I must say, I am glad...I love co-op, but toward the end, I am SO ready to be done...
This term, I taught one class...We the People...it was an overview government class that mostly covered The Constitution. I learned SO much and I hope the kids did too...there were 13 kids in that class...in the fall term, I will teach an election class...not so much teach as facilitate...these kids are going to have an actual election to see who will be President of Co-op. I am hoping to include campaigning, fundraising, debates, advestising, somehow have an electoral college and then a victory party after the work is done...we'll see how it turns out..
Anyway, that was the only class I taught this term...I helped in one class called K-3 Potpourri...this was the BEST class...the class had the same name for two periods, but the class that I helped in did FUN stuff...we made film canister rockets, cards, bookmarks, bee may day baskets, talked about leap year and a solar eclipse, played games, did puzzles..then the kicker was the Mother's Day project...they made beaded necklaces...now these are NOT the macaroni or pony bead type things that you really DO NOT WANT TO WEAR and try to shove into a drawer a month later...these were BEAUTIFUL!~ I was so impressed with the projects this teacher came up with...I think we are going to plan to work together again in the fall and do a Christmas gifts class...different things they can make for Christmas Gifts.
The last class I was in (all parents must help or teach in some way each period) was a High School writing class...that was a lot of fun...today the topic was Boys vs. girls and I must say, the boys were not happy with the direction of the essay...it was a lot of laughs though...
On a sad note, one family will be moving to Japan for about a year...her husband has been over there working for months and his job needs him there longer, so off they go...we are looking forward to when they come back, but it is still sad to say goodbye for a time...I am now VERY thankful for email!
We still have our school work though...HOPEFULLY, we can get on track with our daily work now that we do not have to worry about what is needed each week for co-op...we'll see...
Well, as it feels like about 85 degrees inside this house, I am feeling VERY lethargic...I am thankful that my honey is cooking tonight...it will be a late dinner, but no complaining here!

How's your day going?
C~

Retreat

Well, I am back from the retreat and rested now...lots of talking, laughing, babies...a great time... We arrived on Friday evening and got settled in...my goal, besides getting to know these ladies better was to finish a wedding album for my Mother-In-Law from my niece's wedding. I was able to get quite a bit of scrapbooking in and finished the album. YEAH! This retreat was very different to any I had been to before in that....It was mostly about rest and fellowship...no speaker, no notes, etc...And boy did we talk about just about everything under the sun. I am so glad that it worked out for me to go.

When I got home, I had a surprise...now I know this is NO BIG DEAL for most, but I have been asking my husband for this for MANY YEARS...so I walk in the house, set my bag down and turn into the dining room to see a white board on the wall...I cannot even tell you how excited I am about this...I have been writing a morning greeting on it for my family for a couple of weeks now and this will make life a little easier (won't tip off the counter and clonk me on the head anymore)...Also, I need this SO often throughout the day...school stuff, chores, important family news...etc...

Grace got a couple of new dresses...she looks SO ladylike in them...just look at this...

They are SO Long...I hemmed this one up a bit, but it is still long...she looks so sweet and ladylike in this...

Well, I think that is it for now...my brain is becoming mush...I think I am getting a little bit tired...

Talk to you soon!
C~

Tea Parties and Retreat

I can't remember if I talked about the Mad Hatter Tea Party Online Crop at Serendipity Scrapbooks...it was a blast! I actually got 6 layouts done...the design team came up with some FABULOUS challenges all set in the Alice in Wonderland theme...I am pleased with what I did and everyone else who participated was sure busy with their layouts too!

Here are a couple of the ones I did...

Queen of my heart is Miss Grace with her silly facial expressions...Full HOuse of Love was a challenge to use a card in the layout somewhere...6 Year old drama queen is my daughter again...I was trying to get some picts of her with a good smile, but they were kinda cheesy, so I kept saying, okay...one more...so she got tired of that real quick and some picts show her pouting, making a funny face, etc...

The pink Layout says "I'm a Mom"...this was a challenge to show pictures of the "hats" we where as moms...So I have pictures of my hands doing things I do each day...washing dishes, laundry, teaching school...etc...the last two picts were inspired by a great song, called...what else??? I'm a Mom....I'll copy it below, but the tooth brusher and potty flusher come from it...the song lyrics are also the journaling on the page....

I see every hour that’s on the clock
I hit the ground running and I never stop
While I do the work of a hundred men
I get it done by the sweat of my brow
And most folks marvel at just how
I get up in the morning and I do it all again
Three hundred sixty-five days a year
I’m paving a new frontier
And I’m a long, long way from the queen of the prom
From Monday to Sunday without fail
Rain or shine or sleet or hail
I’m a hard working woman, I’m a mom
I’m the ringmaster of the three ring circus
That I fondly call my home
I’m a peacekeeper, part time preacher
Coach and chaperone
I’m the head carpooler, the golden ruler
And my life’s a marathon
I’m a hard working woman, I’m a mom
Yes it’s true as some suggest
I should wear an “S” upon my chest
And have my face on the cover of a magazine
I can leap tall buildings with a single bound
And on the average, pound for pound
I’m the bestest mom my kids have ever seen
I’m the ringmaster of the three ring circus
That I fondly call my home
I’m the mediator, exterminator
Savings and loan
I’m a tooth fairy, a dictionary and a lexicon
I’m a hard working woman, I’m a mom
Well it’s a thankless job at times
I get beat down by the daily grind
And people ask what planet I am from
But when I tuck in my kids, turn out the light
They say, “I love you” and hold me tight
I remember how glad I am to be a mom
I’m the ringmaster of the three ring circus
That I fondly call my home
I’m the tooth brusher, the potty flusher
My life is not my own
I’m the bed maker, the cookie baker
But above and beyond
I’m a hard working woman, I’m a mom

Great, Great song! It is written by Kenna Turner West

So...I am going to a homeschool Mom's retreat this weekend, which means I will not be able to attend our Mother's Day Tea at church, with my daughter...she is bummed, but I think I will try to see if we can go out to tea next week...we have a couple of little tea houses in our neighborhood...they may be all booked with Mother/Daughter events already...

I had two dresses made for her...and they came today...they are so long though, that I think I will need to hem them...they are REALLY long...she is tall for her age, but this is a bit much...they are beautiful though...in the Pride and Prejudice style...She really needed a couple of new dresses and this lady contacted some people (that she had sewn for before)about making the dresses at her cost, so I figured it was a good deal...so much in the stores makes them look like little adults...I want her to look like a girl for as long as I can.

Well, I need to get back to reality here at the house!
See you all later!
C~