One of these kids is not like the others....

one of these kids just wouldn't say cheese!




















Hey.... have you heard the news?? Deluxe Designs has a blog now!!! Katherine did a beautiful job putting it all together!

The kids and I had a good time today. I took them to the old Northwest Train station on Eureka Springs, and we spent a while exploring the antique trains and equipment. My pictures have a lot of harsh glares to fix since it was the middle of the day and it was bright outside, but I was still happy with some of them. The whole place was closed for the day, but we were still able to wander around and explore, which was better because we were able to do things we couldb't do if it was open. For instance, I am pretty sure the kids weren't really supposed to climb up in the really really old Pullman car, but it did make for a really cool photo op!















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Back on a creative track

I ended up making 7 layouts, a card, and a necklace with the chipboard pieces this week. I loaded most of it on ScrapVillage for the feature on the chipboard tomorrow, but I am putting these three up here instead. My scanner didn't survive the cross country move, so I had to take pictures of everything... I ended up with crooked lines everywhere. The first one I painted the punctuation mark and used a flower for the dot. It is hard to tell in the Wendi layout, but I embossed the arrow and exclamation mark with UTEE, then froze and cracked the pieces. The third one I just painted and stitched on them.

I am heading out the door to take the kids to the coolest train station I have ever seen where we will be taking photos and exploring a bit. Back in a bit!

A day of scrapping...

... sort of... :0) Jack left about 4:30 this morning to take Jessica to her doctor's appointment in Little Rock. She has scoliosis, so she needed a follow up to make sure she doesn't need surgery right now. She is fine, and she has grown since her last visit. I think they enjoyed the chance to spend the driving time together.

Chet went to spend the night at a friend's house last night, and Matt left this morning for EFY, so I only had the four younger ones all morning. After I picked the house up I pulled out some scrap stuff and got to work. I finished three layouts today for a feature coming up on ScrapVillage on July 10th featuring the Deluxe Designs Plain Janes... fun fun fun!!

We went this afternoon and turned in some of the paperwork for the house, and everything is still moving along smoothly. When I get back from Atlanta next week I will probably start packing again to get ready to move into the house. I am not even ready to start thinking yet about how white all the walls in the house are!! I will just be so glad to finally be in our own home, though, that hopefully the painting and cleaning won't seem so daunting!

One of the things I have really enjoyed at this house is the fact that we have tons of wild blackberry bushes growing here. I was reading the listing for our house and it mentions that the property has four different kinds of fruit trees and some berry bushes. Yummy! Fortunately, I think the house is far enough of the main street that Todd shouldn't be able to find any peace officers to assault with the fruit he picks.

Jack brought home a suitcase of clothes for the kids that my mom picked out for them. Todd put his Superman outfit on yesterday afternoon, and I haven't been able to get him out of it since then. I need to get another picture of him because he has decided to go one step further and make it a Clark Kent/ Superman get up. He puts his black suit jacket on over the Superman shirt, and then practices jumping out of an imaginary phonebooth. That is why you bought him that really nice suit, right Mom?

Anyway... I am off to bed. We are getting up in the morning and heading to an antique store where we saw a dogrun for sale. If it is a good price we will get it so Mikey has a more comfortable way to live outside until we get on the property. The thought of antiquing gets me all warm and fuzzy... I love poking through the stuff!

Chat soon!

His middle name is Trouble

Today I was peeling eggs to devil for the party at Johanna's and I had sent Chet, Todd, and Kyle out to pick wild blackberries for a cobbler when Faith came running in the door telling me there was a cop coming up our driveway. My heart started racing, and I opened the door with some trepidation. What in the world could have happened now??

He looked at me very sternly and said, "You might want to talk to your son." Um okay... so I had to ask him, "which one?" Heaven knows anyone of them could have found several different ways to get to this guy. He said, "The one who just ran in the house." "Faith, which one of your brothers just ran in the house?" Faith said, "Well, Todd is hiding under the beds." "Yes, well, go ask him to come here please." It turns out that he saw the officer driving around the circular driveway and decided to throw his blackberries at his squad car. So Todd comes to the door, where I scold him for throwing things at the police, and I tell him to apologize. At this point Todd says, "Fine... I am sorry (dramatic pause) BUT YOU WERE TRYING TO RUN ME OVER!!!" I just wanted the earth to swallow me whole. I don't think I have ever seen a cop so angry. He has probably never been pelted with blackberries before, and then accused of trying to commit vehicular manslaughter on a four year old. He may have wanted to by the time he left, though. Sometimes it is so hard to be a mom... especially when you have to be a mom who is dying to laugh but doesn't dare. This is such a small town that every stop the police make is printed in the newspaper that comes out once a week, so I am going to clip the printout and add it to a page. I don't think I will share the page with the cop, though. I hope Todd doesn't get a reputation as a juvenile delinquent before his 5th birthday. And I really hope this isn't a precursor to his teenage years. I just never know what this boy is going to think of to say or do next!

Happy birthday, America!!

I thought I would add some photos tonight and add a quick update! We have been enjoying this past week. On Saturday I took the kids to the Green Forest Appreciation Day where they had a bunch of games, food, and a fireworks show. I love free events! We have made jewelry, watched movies, played games, put together a puzzle, and just spent a lot of time hanging out together. Jack is getting home on Wednesday, and we are all looking forward to that. We are all just praying that the local office calls him this week and offers him the transfer he has been waiting for.

The antibiotics and steroids seem to have done the trick for the spider bite. The swelling is gone, and there aren't any signs of deteriorating flesh, and hopefully there won't be anymore eight legged freaks who decide to turn me into an evening snack.

Things seem to be moving forward well with the house as well. We are getting all the rest of the paperwork together and waiting for the home inspection report to come back. If all goes well we will be in by the first of the month.

The best news for this post, though, is another reunion update. When we first heard where Jessica was, Jack sat down and he said to me, "Babe... I am getting my girls back.... both of them." He knew that as soon as he could reconnect with Jessica he could work towards building a relationship with Jocelyn as well. This week Jocelyn called and talked to him, and we have all had a chance to get to talk to her and get to know her. She has a little girl named Ariel that we can't wait to get to know as well... can you believe we're grandparents??? This has been a year of so many blessings for us.

Anyway... here are some pictures from this last week. The banner is a shot of Kyle and Todd running towards the monkey bars the other night at the park. A coupld of minutes after I took this shot I had to go rescue Todd from the top. He climbed right up there without any thought of how he would get down, and when he realized how high up he was and how big the spaces between each of the bars were he just perched himself on top of one and began to holler for me to come get him. He cracks me up.

We are heading over to Billy and Johanna's today to swim and set off some fireworks. I hope you all enjoy your 4th of July celebrations!


I had to go pick up an electric dryer the other day, and while we waited to get it loaded Todd tried his hand at the exercise bike. He didn't let the fact that his little legs weren't long enough to ride the bike properly deter him!

This has to be the biggest dandelion I have ever seen! It took Beth about ten puffs to finish blowing all the seeds off to make her wish!


This is the outfit I took Jessica shopping for the other day. It was so fun to see her picking things out for herself! The pink skirt has gold sequins on it, so the sandals were perfect with it. We came home and made her the necklace, bracelet, anklet, and earrings to wear with it.

This is my friend Marilyn and I. Marilyn came by and saw me at the show in Chantilly last week.

Tipsy had three kittens this week. I love that the mostly white one looks just like her. He even has the white tip on his tail that she has and is named for. The other two will end up being mostly black with white spots on them.


These are all from the appreciation day we went to on Saturday.
Jessica and Beth taking a ride around the park on a barrels and tractor train driven by a Mennonite farmer.


Faith and Todd took advantage of the face painting booth.


Todd wanted to ride the blue barrel, but by the time we were finally able to get him on the train, the green one was the only one we could commandeer. (there weren't any lines... kids just kept jumping in seats as soon as the train stopped in a free for all frenzy, so I had to help them claim a seat!)

Jessica and I
The girls dancing along to "Honky TOnk Badonkadonk"


Chet just being goofy. He spent most of the night hanging out with his new friends Rhett and Martin, so we didn't see much of him.


Just a random shot of Beth cuddling with CryBaby in an empty basket.

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Some updates

I am working on an updated banner, and even playing with the idea of changing some color schemes on my blog, but I thought I would at least pop in and say hi and let you all in on the latest!

Court went really well on Monday. We went in, all the lawyers said their pieces, the judge made sure we aren't hardened criminals, and then he sent Jessica home with us for the initial five week visit. We return to court next month to finalize custody, and then she is all ours! We were all just really excited as we piled into the car and made arrangements to pick her stuff up, and then it hit me just how real this finally is. Jessica was coming home... so my eyes got all teary and I had to grab some tissue and dry up the waterworks. I can't tell you, though, just what it meant to finally get to bring her home. Ten years later, and she is sleeping in her bed, eating meals with her family, playing with her siblings, and spending hours and hours just talking with us. It overwhelms me still. The kids are loving having her home, and it has been a very smooth transition so far. She got all unpacked and filled her drawers, boxes, and shelves with her goodies and clothes, hung her stuff up on her walls, and took over the counters in the bathroom...which is perfect, because more than anything we wanted her to feel at home here.

Matt has been a youth leader for the cubscout camp this week and has really enjoyed it. He is killing me... seriously... all week all he can talk about is how he is growing his mustache. He doesn't want to cut his hair at all, so he looks like a Chia pet again. He is sprouting up, and thinning out, so nothing fits him. And he has a crush the size of Texas on a girl who isn't the least bit interested, but that hasn't deterred him at all. This teenage boy stuff is harder than I thought (and a lot funnier) it would be!

I took the kids to play in the park yesterday, and I was bitten by some nasty spider. I didn't actually see the culprit, who would have died if I had caught him, so I can't give a positive ID. I went to the ER today because it is very swollen, tender, and hot to the touch. (looks like someone planted a red-hot golf ball above my elbow.) The doctor gave me a shot of steroids to keep the swelling at bay, and started me on a course of antibiotics. The primary suspect is a brown recluse, but it could also be a severe allergic reaction to a bite, and I like the second option much better. I am allergic to a lot of other things, so I am jsut shooting for that option at that point. If the swelling doesn't subside by tomorrow I will go back. See, Mom, sometimes I am good and I do what the doctors tell me to do. I let them give me a shot in the hip, and although Kyle thought it was incredibly funny that he had to turn around while Mom "got shot in the butt" I was feeling a bit hesitant about the whole process! It is such an undignified way to receive medical care.

Tomorrow we have errands to run, and a very important skirt to go buy. Jessica has been wanting a gypsy type skirt like Faith loves to wear, and in my book a girl who wants a pretty skirt to dress up in should have one. The movie rental place has free rentals this weekend too, so we are going to take advantage of that offer while we are in town. Tonight I made a couple of beaded pieces, and tomorrow the girls and I are going to work together to make more... and you know what.... I just can't wait.

Take care, and I will be back soon. Hope you are enjoying the weekend as much as I am! Mom... I miss you... please come visit soon!

working in Chantilly

This weekend I am in Chantilly, Virginia, and then I have a few weeks off before the next show. Last night there was a huge thunderstorm that boomed all around us. I liked listening to it as I fell asleep, especially since I knew I was safe and sound inside! I brought some of my beads with me and bead-lifted (Katherine made us laugh with that one!) a really fun necklace Kara had made for herself. I need a black shirt to wear with it now.

We are heading to court on Monday. In fact, we are driving down there as soon as Jack picks me up on Sunday. It looks like Jessica gets to come home with us for thirty days, and then we do another court review to finalize custody if everything is going well.

I have to get ready to go to work today, so I need to log off. If you are coming to the GASC this weekend stop by the Deluxe Designs booth and say hi!

San Diego was so wonderful!!

I got home yesterday from San Diego, and it was a perfect balm for the last few troubled weeks! I worked with Kara and Ann, and Sharla and her hubby Chris this weekend, and we got to spend some time doing some really fun things. After set up on Thursday, Ann and Kara and I headed to my favorite bead store in SD, then we raced around Ikea (where I spent $5) and Target(where I only spent $7) on a couple of speed shopping sprees. It was just great... hours spent at places we all enjoyed!

On Friday night we all 5 explored some of the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego, ate some Thai food and Rocky Mountain chocolates, and tried to take pictures of the Hari Krishnas who were singing on a corner.

On Friday morning my friend Mette surprised me by showing up for my class, and she invited us to a bonfire party her family and friends were having on Saturday night. After tear down Ann and Kara and I headed up to Escondido to enjoy the evening on the beach and had a blast. We got there too late to get really awesome beach photos, but that didn't stop us from trying to snap a few as we played in the surf for a little while.

I got home on Sunday afternoon, and we all went to dinner at the Cracker Barrel for Father's Day.

Today was a much busier day than I was planning on. The caseworker came out to finish the home inspection, which went really well. Then we went to meet a new realtor and look at some houses. We found another one that will work for our family, and it is a third less expensive than the last one we made an offer on. We ended up making an offer and then heading to the bank to begin the loan process, and now we will just see how it goes. It is good to see things happening, but I will not get excited about it again until the papers are signed this time!

here are some pics from the weekend. I am heading to Chantilly on Wednesday, and I am looking forward to that trip a lot. Then I have a couple of weeks off, and I am really excited about that! We go back to court next Monday, and if all goes well we will get to bring Jessica home for the first summer visit we have had in over a decade! I'll let you know how it all goes!

Chet and Faith in front of Cracker Barrel

















Ann, Kara, and I trying to take our group photo on the beach














our feet in the sand and surf













love this shot of Ann





















Mette and I













Kara and Mette in front of the fire














Kara and Ann with one of the cops who kicked us off the beach at 10pm!






















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Chipboard adoration

I am just copying this from Katherine's blog, and I know that a lot of you are going to want to check into this!!


Hey, want to win some chipboard?!?!??
Check out Two Peas Message board for this:
We are thankful for all the great things peas have been saying about our new "Plain Janes" Chipboard Shapes that we have decided to give away 12 sets of our new line! There are 26 different packs and each winner will receive all 26! Please post below if you would like to enter! We will end the drawing on Sunday night at Midnight Pacific Time (6/18/06). We will print up the thread, cut all the posts into strips and randomly select 12 winners! We'll post the winners pea names on Monday 6/19/06 and will ask you to pea mail me your real names and physical addresses. It's that easy! Good Luck and thanks again! Jolleen Deluxe Designs

I used the swirls and diamond on the top layout, and a mix of swirls and paisleys for the frame on the bottom page.

My plans to spend Monday evening scrapping were completely thwarted when the DHS worker called to say she would like to come do the home inspection on Tuesday instead of next week. I spent Monday finishing up all the unpacking, detailing the housework, and then was up till 3am assembling the girls' beds. The inspection went well, and last night after the kids went to bed I just had to pull some things out to make a couple of pages with the new chipboard pieces from Deluxe Designs. I want to try some other techniques with the other pieces, but last night I was too tired to do much more than paint and doodle them. It makes me happy just looking at them!

I am in San Diego this weekend, and when I get home on Sunday Jack and the kids will be picking me up. I am looking forward to all of us being home together and just enjoying being in a house that is all put together!

Back again

I must say, I really love the ladies at the shows when we go to Texas. They are always so friendly there!

This weekend we released our new chipboard shapes, and I am so excited to get a chance to finally play with these pieces! Check out Katherine's blog for a sneak peek, and check back here in the next day or two because I fully intend to pull out some scrap supplies tonight and start playing!

It was pretty late by the time I got the kids and then the dogs home last night, got some grocery shopping done, and got the car unpacked. I did manage to hang some of my framed photos and art pieces, and the house is starting to feel like a home. Today I am going to attempt to get the girls' beds assembled, and paint the bathrooms. Then tonight and tomorrow are mine to scrap, scrap, scrap. I picked up a humongous piece of cardstock at Recollections that I plan on using to create a large piece for the hallway. Jack is calling the cable guys to come get the cable and internet installed in the house, and then it will really feel normal. I feel so at odds without my computer available whenever I need it!

I forgot to update you all with what happened in court. Our house inspection is in two weeks, and then we go back to court at the end of the month to finalize custody arrangements. Jessica will get to come spend weekends or weeks at a time with us until the end of the summer, and then she is supposed to be home with us for good before the school year starts. Such happy news!

Matt had a wonderful time at scout camp, and earned lots of merit badges. He needs to attend a city council meeting to finish earning one more. He lost ten pounds over the week while hiking to all his classes, and is feeling really good about that. He made some nice friends, and his leaders really like him. I am going to take his camera down to get it developed for him tomorrow.

I woke up to a blanket of muggy clouds this morning. The heat part isn't so bad (at least not yet I am told) and I love the way the moister air is making my skin feel. I am a much softer lizard now.

I love today's quote, so I had to add it here for later:

“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.”

I need to log off now and get back home to take care of life there. I will be back tomorrow to post anything I end up making tonight!

Arlington, TX

I flew into Arlington last night to work the GASC show. I had booked a flight for Jack to get back to Vegas for work, and it turns out we got to fly to Dallas together. It was nice having an extra hour to just cuddle a bit before we spend a few weeks apart. I feel bad for him because he hates flying, and we were on one of those little jets where tall men feel like they are flying on a Lilliputian plane!

I just got done calling and talking to the kids. We have never left them with anybody but my mom or my brother, so this has been a long day, but it sounds like everything is going well.


It took a while to set up the booth today, but we moved it all around and tried something new, and it looks really nice. If you are coming to the show swing by the aqua blue Deluxe Designs booth and see the brand new stuff we have out... it is so cool!

I have some more work to get done tonight before I go to bed to get some rest before my 8am class tomorrow. If I remembered my card reader (which isn't likely since I forgot things like some of my clothes and shampoo, etc) I will try to post some pics before I go home. The internet should be installed in the new house after I get back, and then I can get back to posting regularly! I might even scrap on my next couple of days off once the house is completely done and I am done setting all my scrap stuff up.

Have a good weekend!

Surviving

The last 24 hours have been something. I don't even want to type it all out to save it for posterity... but when my mom got on the phone last night and said "I love you" I broke into tears and sobbed. Like a baby. I was ready to cry "Uncle" and throw my hands up in despair. I got most of it worked out today, though, and the rest of it is other people's problems to deal with, not mine.

Jack got on the road today and I am so glad we will all have a couple of days together before we both have to leave again. He should be here tomorrow night, and it can't come soon enough. I don't like this single mom gig at all, but more importantly we are all missing him like crazy. He had a telephone interview yesterday, and will have a face to face interview Tuesday morning before he flies back to go to work again, so please say a little prayer that they hurry up and push his transfer through!


In spite of the issues that keep coming up that I was completely unprepared for, I am still trying to make it all come together nicely, and there have been some really pleasant moments as well. I got most of the boxed stuff we need for the next few months into the house today, and Portia, Ed, and Johanna helped me get the beds all moved in. I bought all of the kids new bedding, and I am spending tomorrow unpacking most of it and cleaning the bathrooms really well. When Jack gets here with the truck we will finish getting the furniture in, and it should be mostly done. The really nice thing is that I have a perfect garage for photo shoots, so as soon as I can I will get everyone out there to take some updated group shots! I am holding off on altering one of the window panes I found so I can use a picture of all seven of the kids together when Jessica gets here.

I lost my cell phone a couple of days ago, but it was turned into the police department today. My poor mom got a call today from the Berryville PD looking for her daughter. I wonder if they called my dad too, since he was on my list of numbers as well.

A bird built a nest in one of my scrapbook boxes. It is so cute, and I don't want to disturb it, so I think I will leave that box there and see what it looks like to see baby birds hatching on a bed of embellishments. If anything shows up in the nest I will post pictures to share!

Anyway... I am done babbling tonight. Sleep well.

Still painting..

I went and got a lot of the detail painting done today. I have never painted an entire house by myself before, and it isn't really high on my list of things to do again someday! It is looking very nice, though. If the power company gets the power turned on tomorrow I will clean the carpets and start moving furniture in. I took the cats over today, and they are very, very, very happy to be released from their cages. Poor kitties.

The kids made friends with some of the other kids living in the cul-de-sac today. I love being able to let the kids play in front of the house and not have to worry about cars flying around the corner. As stressful as it has been, I still can't believe how gorgeous it is up here. There is a man who goes walking everyday through the town, and waves to everyone who drives by. I just love the friendly atmosphere here. I don't think I ever realized how much I avoid looking at people I don't know until they all started saying hello to me!

There is still a lot to get done, and not a lot of time left to do it, but it is a huge sense of relief to see it coming together. We are leaving on Sunday to go to court on Monday, and we are all really looking forward to seeing Jessica again. Her caseworker said it looks like she can be home with us before school starts again. Then I am heading to Arlington on Tuesday to teach for the weekend. I am thinking this will be a week where going to work means getting a break!

I am beat, so I am going to bed. TTYS

My arm hurts...

but that is just fine.

We decided to go a different route with the house. There are just too many problems with this particular lender, so we are withdrawing our offer and talking to builders this week to start over. We found lots of land that we can buy outright and then have the house built on it. It will take a little longer, but I am happy to know we are doing something productive now!

I found a rental house and went to paint today. (I can't tell you how scarce rentals are here... we found two total throughout the four closest towns!) The landlord was super nice. We can have our pets, and since I was willing to do the painting he let me paint the walls any color I wanted. I went with a taupy brown for the living room, hallway, our room, and the boys' room. The girls room is a spring green to coordinate with their pink/green/springy bedding, and the kitchen, the utility room, and the bathrooms are country white. We have a big yard for the kids to play in, and the neighborhood is very nice. I love that the deputy is living right across the street from us, and Faith loves that she can see the horses and their ponies from our front porch. Tomorrow I am going back to finish with the cutting in and the baseboards, and then I will start moving furniture in. I am trying to have it all put together before Jack gets back on Friday so he doesn't feel like he has to drive across the country and then do a lot of manual labor. It isn't ours, but at least it can be a comfortable home until ours is built!

I found a really fun science program for the kids through the library that Chet is going to love. Matt is going to scout camp with his troop through the church here on Monday, and he can't stop talking about it. I have to get him to a doctor for the physical he needs before he goes sometime this week. It feels good to be settling in!

I had to add today's quote so I can use it later. I love it!

“Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.” Oscar Wilde

I won't be on for a couple of days most likely, but I wanted to update and let you all know things are looking up! When the phone gets turned on in the next day or two I will email it out to everyone who needs it!

Have a great week!

so depressing

What started out as fulfilling a dream has become a nightmare. The original lender had problems with the appraiser, and wanted to change the terms of the loan, so we had to go with a new lender. They are putting a rush on it to try to get it all approved and closed by Tuesday, but I am having such a hard time staying positive. It is so depressing to know that we are stressing our friends out by being here so much longer than we were told to expect. I hate not knowing for sure what the outcome is going to be. Today I made some calls about rental homes and began looking into other homes for sale in case they come back with more problems on this house. I know it is all going to work out. It always does. I just hate the not knowing, and feeling ready to cry at the drop of a hat from the stress.

I took the kids to the Saunders Gun Museum today to get out of the house for a while. It is a pretty nice little museum on the historic square here in town, with lots of outlaw guns from Jesse James, Billy the Kid, etc, as well as other antique guns, Native American displays, and early history of the town. We also went to the library and got all the kids library cards and checked some books out. The older kids are at the community center swimming right now, and tomorrow we are going to look into getting them a membership there to go play basketball and swim during the summer. There are positive things happening, and I keep reminding myself of that. I just desperately want to be in my own house, getting it put together and making it a home.

Still waiting

This is killing me. The closing was delayed again until today, if all goes the way they said it would today. Jack and Al flew back to Vegas yesterday because Jack has to work at that office until his transfer finishes going through, and Al had to be back to work today. My mom flew back two days ago for the same reasons. It has been a hard couple of days full of more good-byes. And now everybody who came out to help move us in is gone as well. There are some nice people from the ward (well, technically a branch) that are going to help me get the furniture in when I can actually move in, but I am still going to miss Jack during the next couple of weeks until he gets back.

I went poking around some antique stores the other day while I was waiting, and that was incredibly fun. I found a set of wooden lockers from an old county jail that I simply fell in love with. I love things with cubby holes and drawers. I am looking for a set of old hardware store drawers that I can repurpose in the new house.

Today I am going to assemble my little drawers from Ikea and get them painted, and go ahead and paint the shelves Jack built me before I move them into the house. I figure if I have to put up with all this waiting, I may as well put the time to good use. I also found some old window panes that I am going to sand down, paint, and add some photos to. I have wanted to alter some windowpanes forever.

If you are trying to email me, I can't access my personal account right now. I am not ignoring you, I promise... :0)

Interminable waiting

The escrow is supposed to close today, and we are supposed to be able to move in tomorrow, and the waiting is killing me. I have been working on making the bead curtain for the girls' room (it is very pretty... can't wait to show you!), and yesterday we went and got some non-perishable groceries at Sams Club to stock some of the pantry. Jack is going back to Vegas on Sunday to finish waiting for his transfer to go through. He went in yesterday to talk to the local office, and they have the perfect position for him here. It looks like he should be done transferring out here in a couple of weeks, and that is a HUGE relief.

I saw the sunset last night, and it was gorgeous. I always loved the Vegas sunsets with the sun sinking behind the mountains. It sinks behind the mountains here, too, but the difference is that I am living on top of the mountains, so it looks completely different at this vantage point... simply stunning.

It is still sinking in that this dream is a reality... my kids are in the country, we are moving to a farm, we live on top of a beautiful mountain, and I have fruit and berries growing in my garden. Jack is out riding a riding lawnmower right now trimming down Billy and Johanna's 11 acres as a thank you for letting us stay here while we dealt with the delays that weren't supposed to happen. We are so lucky to have so many good friends all over the country! I will post pictures as soon as I can!~

Live From Arkansas

We mde it safe and sound! The cats are a bit disgruntled, but they will have to get over it! We pulled in about 1 this morning, and today we are taking care of paperwork and other mundane stuff like that. We have to get the truck and trailer unloaded and returned, so it will be a busy day! We can't actually move in until the escrow finishes closing (there was an appraisal delay), but I will keep you updated as I can! I have pictures to share, but those will have to come later! Have a great day and I will be back!

hello from Novi!

I am just popping in from Novi, Michigan to say hi and update a little! It has been a good weekend here at the show! Jack called me today, and the house is packed and he is loading it all into the truck tomorrow. I am getting home Sunday afternoon, and we are leaving to head out to Arkansas first thing Monday morning. Suddenly a part of me feels like crying constantly... as excited as I am for a brand new start in a brand new area the uncertainties of being so far away from family is weighing heavily on me. I simply don't know how to say goodbye.

I have to get wireless internet installed out there before I can post there, but as soon as that is up and running I will be back online and sharing all the new and exciting things in our lives with all of you! Well, they are exciting for me at least, I don't know what pictures of our berry bushes will do for you! :0)

We get to see Jessica again in just a couple of weeks, and that makes us all so happy. We just want to bundle her up and bring her home right now.

I have always liked coming here to Michigan, and this show isn't any different... friendly people, lovely scenery, great weather this time of year... I love it here! I taught a class at Scraptales the other night (Katherine don't laugh at me!) and it went well! Gorgeous store!

I will try to update again before I leave here, but if I don't post again before Monday morning, please jsut say a little prayer for us that he trip is safe and we all arrive in one piece with our sanity intact!

Eleven years and holding

It was eleven years ago at just about this time of day that we promised for better or worse, and we have held to that promise. I don't have any pictures with me of us now, so I am just copying the wedding page from Jessica's album here so you can see how skinny we were back then. Happy anniversary, Jack... I would marry you all over again! Miss you!

Shopping in Chicago...

well, okay, I am working too, but yesterday was a tremendously fun shopping afternoon. I introduced Ronda, Teresa, Amanda, and Sharla to my favorite store of all time... yep, Ikea. We browsed, we oohed, we aahed, and I do believe I have them quite addicted now. Lucky them, they are getting an Ikea practically in their backyard... I am so jealous!

I was only going to pick up a few little things, and then I found this lamp for the boys' room. Chet wants a solar system theme in his room, and the kid asks for so few things, how can I possibly say no? This lamp spins and casts stars, moons, and planets on the walls... how perfect is that? And right next to that wonderful little contraption was a display of these utterly lovely beaded lamps... lamps that perfectly match the beads we are hanging in the two upstairs rooms to divide Jessica's room from the younger girls' room. Who could resist them? Not me, that is for sure! I bought two, one each for both of the rooms! I also bought a gauzy curtain to hang between the beads in the doorway, and some really nice black iron keyhooks. The really great news is that there is an Ikea in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Sacramento, Long Island, Houston, and the St.Paul area... and guess who is hitting all those cities this year??? By the end of the year my house should be completely done over with all the wonderful things Ikea has to offer! After Ikea we headed to TJ Maxx, where I found the perfect coppery brass hanging baskets and fruit basket for my kitchen table. So what if we don't have a kitchen table for the new house yet... at least it will be well dressed when we get it, right? We also went window shopping at Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, and the Container Store... what a wealth of inspiration those stores are as well!

The house is almost all packed. I was literally packing up until the minute I had to leave to catch my plane out here. When I get home this Sunday, I will finish up with the final packing and cleaning details before I had out to Novi on Tuesday. Then when I get home next Sunday we are getting a good night's sleep and heading out to Arkansas Monday morning. I am a bundle of very tired nerves, and the kids are going back and forth on whether they are happy about this or not. I am making Faith a little album to keep pictures of her Vegas friends for my next assignment, and I should have it done to give to her before I get home this week. She is having the hardest time with the thought of leaving.

It has been a day today... we are all working hard and well together, but the electronics are conspiring against us. Tomorrow we will be ringing everybody up on calculators, and taking a manual inventory of the remaining stock... fun, fun, fun. I bet you all wish you were here doing it instead of us! :0)

I am going to head back up to my room and go to sleep so I am bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to teach and help run the booth tomorrow. Wish us luck!

Monday, Monday

It is the first of the month, which means the new feature is up at Scrap Village. This month we all made spring related pages.



It was also my turn this month to create the City Planner Blueprint, so this is what I made using a sketch I made with my Pages by Design. Click the Blueprint link if you would like to see the sketch and the layout together. you can print the sketch out and add it to your PBD idea books.



I got home from Nashville yesterday, after I completely slept through the whole flight. That is the best way to fly... sound asleep! I had a good time there. On Saturday I went to see the Grand Ole Opry during my break between classes.














I loved taking the backstage tour. We got to go behind the scenes to see the post office (103 is Clint Black's box and 104 is Garth Brooks), the dressing rooms, the greenroom, we visited Studio A where HeeHaw was filmed, and then we went onstage.








For somebody who sings as poorly as I do, this is the closest I will ever come to performing on the Grand Ole Opry! For me the tour was more rewarding than watching a performance would have been... I loved learning the Opry's history and seeing all the photos on the walls.














I also went through the Opry's museum, where I had my photo taken with Patsy Cline... :0)


























After a very quick teardown on Saturday, we went to dinner, and then to a movie. Sheri, Johanna, and I went and say "Take the Lead", a very, very good movie. I loved how funny it was, and I really loved the true story the movie is based on.

We found














Chet's Barber Shop during this trip, and these are a couple of other funny photos I caught along the way as well.


























How does one walk and keep their jeans around their knees? What kind of girl looks at this and says "ooohh... I love the way it looks like you glued your butt to the back of your knees!"


























And I thought the Cracker Barrel was a family style restaraunt???