Kathy's Kreative World

Moving

2010-10-31T20:31:00.001-07:00

Hey everybody....I still haven't figured out how to clean off this watermark thing off of my blog so rather than stop posting which is pretty much what I have been doing for the last few months I decided to start a new blog which you can find at kemorgandesigns.blogspot.com. So come on over and check it out.

Big News

2010-08-18T22:47:00.000-07:00

I've been horrible at this all summer...not too sure why....so I decided tonight I would up date you all with the biggest news in our family......many of you have probably seen it on facebook but in case you haven't and you happen to frequent my blog the big news is......our return missionary son is now ENGAGED!!! We are thrilled....we are excited to have a daughter...and Jeremy couldn't have made a better choice. Holly is awesome! So now we are into the throws of planning an open house as they will be getting married in the Mesa, AZ temple......in October. So if you don't see any new posts from me for a while you'll know it's cuz I am too busy getting ready for a wedding. ;-)

Having Issues

2010-08-18T22:45:00.000-07:00

I'm having issues with my free blog background....apparently it expired and so now even though I have found another background I have all these wierd things on my blog that I can't seem to get rid of...so annoying! So I guess this is my disclaimer....I don't know how to get rid of them....sorry everybody. =)

Home Again

2010-07-21T20:42:00.001-07:00

We've been home for a month now. I have been so bad at blogging. I have managed to post things on facebook but my poor blog has been neglected. So lets see if I can bring you up to date!

We had a wonderful reunion with Jeremy. Now that he has been home for a month it's almost like he was never gone. We spent 4 beautiful days in Yellowstone. Saw some AMAZING sights and some incredible animals. Like a HUGE 'ol Bison just wandering down the side of the road no more than 4 feet from our car! We met some wonderful people in one of the areas where Jeremy served. I feel as though I have aquired more family. Of course we saw some old friends too....all in all it was an amazing vacation.

I took nearly 1000 photos...I know I will never scrap them all but here are a few of the ones I have scrapped since we have been home.

A Good Day

2010-06-12T21:55:00.000-07:00

Today was my last day of work before my vacation started. I was so worried that with it being the first Saturday of coupons it would be crazy busy...I had been so tired on Friday that I was worried that today would drag on forever...mainly because I am SO ready for vacation! Anyway...on my way to work I uttered a quiet prayer that I would have a good day....as I said it I remembered Jeremy's words when he was a little boy and use to pray to have a good day. He always was so specific. He would pray to not just have a good day but to have "A good day, and not a bad day." So today I when I said my quick little prayer on the way to work I asked to have "a good day and not a bad day".........and I was indeed blessed with exactly that...it was definitely a good day. Who says you can't learn from your children? ;-)

6 Days Left

2010-06-10T22:43:00.000-07:00

I decided I would try opening up my blog again....hopefully no more weird comments. Somehow I lost interest in writing when I didn't think anyone was reading it. So I changed a few settings and we'll see if this works out better.

We are down to just 6 days until we go and pick up Jeremy.....I can't wait! I took another picture of my countdown jar...those 6 little M&M's look mighty lonesome in the jar. =D

My vacation starts on Monday....two weeks away from work...I am so looking forward to it. I decided that there is a reason why employers give you vacation time........you really need that break. I haven't taken one in two years and I am more than ready for the time away!

The other big news is that Jason got a job. He started working at Cold Stone today. He's really excited and I am very proud of him. In today economy and with him only being 17 it has been difficult for him to get a job. So far he is liking it....they have to sing if someone tips you guess he had to sing today...he wasn't too excited about having to but he has such a nice voice...I bet he did just fine!

I have a new job at church....I am teaching the 15 and 16 year olds in Sunday School.......the material is rough (the Old Testament) but the kids are awesome. I taught most of them when they were younger. I have a large class...about 15 kids...and the noise level in class is pretty intense...but so far I have managed to get in a few key points from the lessons. =D

That's about it for now........stay tuned I may just post again before we head to Idaho =D

Bad Blogging

2010-05-26T22:25:00.000-07:00

Ever since I went private with my blog I have been horrible at blogging...I haven't written anything in over a month! I decided I would post a quick post tonight just so in case you are actually reading my blog you won't think I dropped of the face of the earth =D

I am continuing to work thru my jar of M&M's....it's looking pretty empty. Only 21 M&M's left in the jar. Only 21 little days left until we pick up Jeremy!!! I told him on Monday during our exchange of emails that I had actually dreamed about us picking him up....he shot an email back to me and said "Sorry Mom, I only dream about Missionary work." It made me smile....and oh yes, very proud of him. It's good to know that he is out there working hard and serving the Lord.

This week my sister Linda came to visit...well actually she came to SoCal for her oldest daughter's graduation from Loma Linda Medical School....I just was lucky enough to get to see her for a couple of days...even tho we didn't get to spend a lot of time together it was still a blast! We ate, laughed, shopped, and watched the finals of Dancing with the Stars. I even stayed with her at the hotel so it was really a nice little "Staycation" for me. Jason took the photo of us today before Linda left.

I've been in a scrapping slump. I started this challenge of doing a layout a day in May and I did pretty well for a while but then I realized that scrapping was becoming more like work so I decided I needed a break....This is my most recent layout...it's a fun one in honor of the "Murphy Girls" both having birthdays this month. I have also been working on a cute little mini book that I am going to use for a travel journal for our trip to Idaho but that has really been it.

Jason went to scripture chase last night...as usual it was pretty crazy...I took my camera but he wasn't being very cooperative as you can see...gotta love my goofball son!

So there you have it....not sure how much better I am going to be at blogging in the next few weeks with Jeremy coming home but I guess you will all have to stay tuned. =)

We are Down to the Wire

2010-04-18T09:18:00.000-07:00

Elder Morgan will be home in just under 2 months!!!! I can hardly stand it...and I can hardly wait to see him again! It's been a long two years....but it has gone by so fast....does that make sense?? I am so looking forward to our reunion the middle of June! Here are two of my recent favorites of him right now. The whole time I was scrapping this cute little boy photo of him I kept looking over at the grown up photo....how did it happen so fast??? Note to self......I really shouldn't wish my life away!

Feeling Grateful

2010-04-07T12:41:00.000-07:00

I wanted to get this down before it became a dim memory. Yesterday I went for a diagnostic mamogram and a bone density test. The bone density test was just done as a baseline and other than I had never had one done it didn't bother me too much, the mamogram however, worried me as the doctor had felt something at my physical in January. She didn't seem to be too concerned so I didn't worry about it too much...but then it started to nag at me and I decided I had better go and get it done....so yesterday was the day.....I was a nervous wreck the night before....even though I felt like all would be ok....what if it wasn't? I had Cliff give me a blessing that night and went to bed feeling a bit better. I got up Tuesday morning and took Jason to school and then headed off to the hospital. First I had the bone density test done....it was easy....I was worried that it might be like an MRI and I am so claustrophobic that I was a bit worried but it turned out to be no big deal. Then I went for the mamogram....then they did an ultra sound....and gratefully they found NOTHING! YAY!!! Just breast tissue......I left the hospital feeling like I had, had the weight of the world lifted off my shoulders.! It was such an amazing feeling. I practically floated all the way home. I know so many people right now who are either dealing with or have family that are dealing with cancer. I am so grateful that there was nothing wrong.....Thank you Heavenly Father!!! I am so blessed.

A New Look

2010-03-27T11:39:00.001-07:00

I decided I wanted a new look for my blog so I went and found a new background....not too sure about it yet but when I went back the site to look for some more the site was down so I will leave it for now.

It's been busy around here the last couple of weeks. I was sick all last week so I didn't feel like I got much of anything accomplished. This week I hit the ground running and was able to get some stuff done around here as well as put in some scrappy time.

The biggest news around here is that we have booked our flights to Salt Lake and our hotel for when we pick up Jeremy! It is really beginning to feel real to me now. I can hardly wait. Last fall my friend Sue had her son come home from his mission in Paraquay and she posted some of her photos on facebook. There was one shot that just said it all to me....it wasn't a great photo, in fact it was blurry but she was hugging him. It was so emotional for me to see that picture I am hoping to get a similar one of Jeremy when we pick him up. When he left I tried so hard to be strong and not cry but you could totally see it in the pictures we took that "Mom was about to loose it." I am really hoping for lots of cool pictures when we pick him up.

I have four new layouts to share. A couple from Christmas and a couple more "thoughtful" ones. I had a big "ah ha" moment the other night while scrapping. I had been working on a Christmas layout and it was cute...I was happy with the way it turned out but....it wasn't until I started the "moment" layout that I realized that I am totally a moment/story driven scrapper. Sure it's fun to do the birthdays and the Christmas layouts but it's the little moments and the stories that evoke the emotions that are what I love scrapping most.

Lucky

2010-03-17T12:25:00.000-07:00

In honor of St Patricks Day I decided to post a couple of older layouts. I did both of these back in 2007 to honor not only my Irish heritage but my Dad as well. I was very young when he passed away so I can't recall if it's an actual memory of him always wearing a green carnation on St Patricks day or if that is just a memory that my Mom "helped" me to remember after he was gone. Either way...I am grateful for the memory. My sister and I have scrapped this photo of my Dad countless times....it's one of the few really good ones we have of him. It was taken probably about a year before he passed away.

I guess perhaps my Dad is one of the reasons I love to scrap...not that he was a crafter my any means....he was more into camping and fishing...but since I have lived so much of my life without him all the little memories that I do have are precious to me. In my "7 year old memory" of my father, he was perfect, he had no faults. Of course I know, as an adult, this isn't true but I figure if there was ever a positive side to having him pass away so young that is it. So today I honor you Daddy and what few precious memories that I have of you....I am grateful to have had you in my life even if it was for just a short time. I love you.

So I'm a Bit Behind

2010-03-16T18:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday when Jeremy and I were emailing back and forth he asked me what I was doing. I told him I was working on my "December Daily." His reply was "You do realize that December is over right?" I assured him that I knew that December was over and that I really hadn't lost my marbles in the 21 months he had been gone....but rather that I had not had time to finish it. He's such a goof or to quote him...he's a dork! Anyway, regardless that December is long over I decided I would post a few pages from my "December Daily." Normally December Daily albums stop with Christmas day but I decided to carry it out thru the end of the year....not sure that was a good idea as it took me longer to come up with photos for the last few days of the year and even longer to finish it...oh well....live and learn.

Double Digits!

2010-03-08T20:42:00.000-08:00

If someone had told me back in June of 2008 that the next twenty-four months were going to zoom by this fast I wouldn't have believed them....but now looking back I can truly say that the time that Jeremy has been gone on his mission has totally raced by! He will be home in 99 days!!! He told me today via email that he didn't even know he was under 100 days left....I am proud of him for staying focused on the work...however since I am MOM I can be excited about him returning home very soon.

Jeremy at 19
Jeremy at 21

Another Month

2010-03-05T09:42:00.000-08:00

Has zipped on by! What happened to February....I know it's a short month and all but really where did it go??? I think I said the same thing about January....sheesh why is it the older you get the faster time seems to go?? Anyway...I haven't posted any layouts since I posted my fav's from 2009...good grief I'm a bad blogger...so without further ado here are some of my recent layouts. Jason did a great job taking Cliff's and my photo at our Valentine lunch at Ruby's on Valentine's weekend.

Some of my favorite photos of Riley from his first year with us.

Love this photo of my missionary son Jeremy! This one of my favorite photos of Jason...I took it from half way up "Tarzan's Tree House" at Disneyland....love his special love notes too. =) This was a gift for my niece and her new husband for their wedding. I found a beautful 12x12 frame to put it in at Michaels....she loved it!

We had a terrific Valentines Day weekend. Cliff made some great Valentine cakes and of course Riley thought he was going to get some...lol

More Valentine's pictures. Love this one of two of my favorite guys! =) Jason and I had a blast at Target one day playing with the St Patricks Day hats at the dollar spot and the camera on my phone.

Mindy's Wedding

2010-02-26T09:15:00.000-08:00

February is almost over...I've been busy as usual and haven't done much blogging. Between posting on http://www.scraplove.com/ and facebook I keep forgetting to add to my blog. The first weekend in February I had the wonderful opportunity of watching my niece get married. My goal was to actually keep my sister, the mother of the bride, from loosing her marbles....fortunately I did my job well and I am happy to report that Linda is doing just fine....with all her marbles intact. =) Here are just a couple of my favorite photos from the wedding.

The Murphy/Rankin Girls before the rehersal dinner

I love this photo of the tulips in Linda's garage...yes we did all the flowers for the wedding. The tulips were gorgeous! I must confess I followed the photographers around and snapped this one....love her reflection in the window.Someone else took this one...it's so cute of the happy coupleMindy's bridesmaid Alicia took this photo...they look so cute and happy!

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T17:07:00.000-08:00

We have had a wonderful Valentine weekend here at the Morgan household. It started off yesterday with a Valentine lunch at Ruby's in South Coast Plaza. Today after I managed to get through my lesson that I had to teach at church I have had a wonderful and relaxing afternoon. Jason made dinner for Cliff and I...he even set the table put out a candle and served us so that we could have dinner by ourselves....what a guy! Someday he will make some girl a wonderful husband. =) Thanks Jason for being such a great son! Anyway here are some photos from this weekend. I decided I would post them now instead of waiting til I get them scrapped since I haven't been doing much of that lately. I've been so busy I haven't had much time to scrap...so now that things are settling down around here maybe I can get busy scrapping again. Anyway....have a great Valentine's Day everyone!

Where has the Month Gone???

2010-01-31T22:36:00.000-08:00

I was going to wait until tomorrow to post but then I realized it would be February already so I decided I would post quickly about CHA....what a wonderful time I had. I got to see so many new things and meet some truly wonderful people. It was fun hanging out with the girls from AMM as well as hanging out with my long time friend Stayce. Here are just a few photos from last week.

The Last of My Top 10

2010-01-06T21:59:00.000-08:00

I am down to my last three layouts....I thought I had them all picked out and then I decided I would change my mind....it is a womans prerogative after all. So with further ado, here are my last of my top ten layouts for 2009.

These have to be three of my all time fav's. The first one I did as a layout to enter in a contest over at Pagemaps. I used one of Becky Fleck's amazing sketches for this one...I had so much fun attending to all the details. The photo was expecially fun for me to scrap as it was one I hadn't ever seen til recently...It's my grandfather at what appears to about the age of 2. I just love the overalls and bowler hat he is wearing.

The second one is one I did of my family....they truly are my world. I saw the idea of long thin rectangular photos and I thought it was a cool idea. Kind of a "slice of life" type of layout. It worked well cuz I got to do a family layout even though Jeremy isn't home to take a family photo. I love the lime green and black color combo. I matched my outfit without even trying....gee think I have been scrapping too long? ;-)

The last photo has to be one of my ultimate favorites from 2009...not because the layout is that amazing or anything but because it's a side of my sister that I don't see very often. We had so much fun at CHA last January...we laughed ourselves silly...won some great prizes and did some cool make and takes!

So there you have it....my Top 10 Layouts for 2009.....somebody recently suggested over at AMM that we do a Top 10 Photos from 2009.........now THAT could be a REAL challenge. I will have to think about that one.

Top 10 #'s 4,5, and 6

2010-01-05T22:21:00.000-08:00

I am pretty sure I have posted all of these here before...they are by far some of my very favorites from 2009. The first photo is of my Grandmother. I love the young and older photos together along with the whole vintage feel of the layout. I also loved that I used an actual scanned 1926 newspaper of my grandmothers for embellishments. The second layout has a lot of emotional attachment to it. Jeremy has been serving the people of Idaho on his mission for over a year and a half now. Last summer he sent home this photo after there had been a flash flood in the town where he was serving....in the true fashion of a "scrappers son," he knew I would want to see the actual hail so he sent home the photo but I saw beyond the hail stones to see the service that he is giving by serving a full time mission. Last is a photo of Holly, Jeremy's girlfriend. She is just the sweetest and I loved these photos of her that I took at Disneyland.

Well that's it for tonight....I have three more I will try and remember to post tomorrow.

Layouts 7 and 8

2010-01-03T10:47:00.000-08:00

I had a few minutes this morning so I decided I would post the next two of my Top 10 layouts for 2009. The first one is of Cliff and me from July 4th weekend. It's a good picture of both of us. I love the layout. The pattern paper came from my wonderful friend Michelle over at A Million Memories....she puts together awesome kits and she proved me wrong....I told her I couldn't do "vintage" and low and behold I made vintage work....thanks Michelle for helping me to think outside the box. The second layout is of Jason and Riley....I love the photo....so much so I used it on our Christmas card this year....again it's more of the kit from AMM....I loved the little picket fence on it. So I guess these two layouts were my favorites cuz I loved the product I was working with AND I loved the photos....guess we will see what I come up with for tomorrow...So stay tuned.

My Top 10

2010-01-02T22:24:00.000-08:00

I got this idea from Lady Grace over at Scrapbookdeals4u and thought I would give it a try over the next couple of days. I went looking back through all of my 2009 layouts and decided to pick out ten of my favorites. It was interesting how I selected my top ten. Most of them it was the photos that I used.....some it was the story that I told, others it was both...of course there was the fun paper and embellishments that drew my eye in but mostly it was looking at the photos and the emotion I felt while doing so. These aren't in order of preference....I love them all but for today here are layouts #9 and 10. Both of these layout brought back huge emotion for me. "Priceless Moments" is a photo of my oldest son and I walking on the beach. The photo is older, before he left on his mission, but the story was from 2009. You see for Valentine's Day he sent me the sweetest card...it made me cry...so I scanned the Valentine and used it on my layout. I have the layout framed in my studio. "Puppy Kisses" layout is also a very special layout. I took this photo of our little dog Riley after he had gone missing for 3.5 days...we were so glad to have him home again.

Stay tuned for more layout....probably tomorrow. ;-)

#9 and 10

Wow...2010!

2010-01-01T18:47:00.000-08:00

It seems like only yesterday we were ringing in the new Millennium and here it is now 10 years later! Ten years ago......I had been married 19 years......My boys were ages 11 and 7.....I was well......10 years younger ;-)....I had been scrapping for only 4 years.....I was a SAHM who did Day Care....I really hadn't given much thought to menopause or retirement......and I certainly had no clue as to how fast time really goes by and how in a blink of an eye my little boys could become young men. In short I was caught up in the business of day to day living often forgetting to enjoy the journey along the way.

Now here I am ten years later....no more little boys at my house. No more Day Care....and no longer a SAHM. Instead now, my life is full of working outside the home at a crazy place called Costco...people ask me if I like working there and I usually tell them yes...in some crazy warped way I do. I have a son serving a full time mission for the LDS church in Idaho and I have another son in junior college. Cliff and I just celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary....I am often amazed he has put up with me this long. I have been scrapping now for 14 years and it is still my passion.....it took me forever to find something that I am really good at but I am so grateful for this amazing wonderful hobby that I have become so passionate about. I have learned so much through this wonderful art form. I have met amazing, gifted, and talented scrapbook artists that have inspired me to think outside the box and to try new things that I would never have ever dreamed up on my own. I am so grateful for the gift of this talent....it has made me look at life differently....I am trying to see the details...the little things and not always just the big picture. In short I am learning it's really not just about living your life it is about ENJOYING THE JOURNEY as you go through your life.

What will 2010 bring for me...I guess I will have to see...I have a few goals I have set for myself.....the first one being to get myself back in some kind of shape....I realize that "round" is indeed a shape but I am tired of my clothes not fitting. Please wish me luck with this one....it's a road I have been down many times before but not recently. My second goal is to try to simplify things around my house a bit. An online friend posted on her blog the other day a quote by Jon Gordon and I loved it...I think I am going to take it into this new decade with me "Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful." If I use this mantra as I am cleaning things out I am guessing I will be able to get rid of a lot of stuff around here.

It's a New Year.....a New Decade. Here's to 2010!

Still Crazy....

2009-12-20T06:59:00.001-08:00

about you after all these years!! It's hard to believe that we are celebrating our 29th Anniversary today! Thanks for loving me like you do! I love you honey! Happy Anniversary! xoxoxo

It's beginning to look a lot like....

2009-12-15T08:30:00.000-08:00

Christmas! I was so good at posting last month and now this month I seem to have fallen off the "posting wagon"! So I decided to post something quick here so I can get back on the horse so to speak. I've been working on my December Daily album....trying to come up with clever and meaningful ways to document our December. This photo is one of my Christmas mugs....when Jeremy was a little boy it was his favorite because it had a train on it. So since he isn't home this Christmas I wanted to document this memory. I've also been playing with my camera....I actually took this photo in aperature mode...I also played with it over at http://www.picnik.com/ and gave it some neat effects...so I am learning. I am trying to look find the little things that make our holiday special...little things like this mug.

One More Grateful Post....

2009-11-29T22:05:00.001-08:00

before the month ends.....I can't honestly finish out this month of being grateful without posting a few photos from today. Pictured below is my brother-in-law and sister-in-law Sandi and Gary. Gary, has been working at Disneyland....today he took us there for a day of holiday fun. I am grateful for family and the fact that Gary shared his "work" with us. The place was beautifully decorated and was a wonderful place to kick off the holiday season. I am really in a festive mood now. Thanks Gary for sharing the Disney holiday spirit with us.

a family photo with Santa

under the "A" in California in front of CA Adventure and beautiful pointsettias inside Disneyland

Sleeping Beauty's Castle looked breath taking drenched in beautiful wintery icicle lights.

Family, Friends and Food

2009-11-26T22:34:00.000-08:00

What a fun day this has been. I am so grateful for family, friends and great food.

For a Good Cause

2009-11-25T22:25:00.000-08:00

I came across this thread over at A Million Memories I decided I wanted to help get the word out so I am posting a link here...Michelle over at AMM is such a sweet girl and I am grateful to her for her wonderful scrappy site and for her generous heart...she is an inspiration to me. Thanks Michelle. http://www.amillionmemories.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=30916&p=1

My Friend

2009-11-25T14:51:00.000-08:00

Today I am grateful for my sweet wonderful friend and hair stylist Stephanie Wilde. She started cutting my hair 16 months ago. I have known Steph since she was an infant, we have been friends with her family forever...so when I was looking for someone new to cut my hair, her Mom suggested I try her out. I was looking for a new style but didn't know what.....Stephanie figured it out for me and my hair has been getting better and better with every hair cut. Thanks Steph, for making me feel so great about my hair. I truly am grateful for your expertise and talent! If anyone reading this is close to Huntington Beach, CA and wants to contact Stephanie for an appointment she works at Salon Amibance 714-846-5900

Catching Up

2009-11-24T13:17:00.000-08:00

Ok....I fell behind yesterday so I am posting two photos today. Today I am grateful for Jason and his wonderful sense of humor and the fact that we spent sometime running errands today. We went into Lowes and right by the front door were all of these Musical Christmas Toys....we had so much fun playing them....they made me laugh.....some of them were scary but others were really funny. I couldn't help but get out my phone and take a picture of this little guy. If I knew where we could put him where Riley wouldn't eat him or bark at him he might have come home with us....Thanks Jase for spending time with your Mom and making me smile. I am so grateful for YOU!

The Weather

2009-11-24T08:09:00.000-08:00

Today I am grateful for the beautiful weather we have here in Orange County...while many places in the country are dealing with ice and snow and cold It's been delightfully warm here. Gotta love SoCal!

Primary

2009-11-22T21:23:00.000-08:00

Today I am grateful that I was asked to help out in Primary today. For those of you who aren't familar with this term it is the children's "Sunday School" so to speak of the LDS church. For two and a half years I was the Primary President....I loved my church job....and I loved the kids. It was hard for me when they released me and found another job for me to do. Today I had the opportunity to go back and help out......and I loved every minute of it. The kids are so sweet and it just made me grateful not only to be helping in there today but for the two and a half years I spent working in the Primary with these wonderful children.

Fall Leaves

2009-11-21T21:58:00.000-08:00

As I drove to work today I was pondering what I wanted to post about....what was I grateful for today? It is getting more difficult to come up with things...I don't want to keep posting about the usual things that one thinks of when one says they are grateful...about that time I drove by a shopping center with some trees with beautiful fall leaves on them...now I know for those of you who live where you have four seasons this may not seem like much but living in Southern California we don't have a lot of trees with leaves that turn color and they don't turn color until now, mid November. The trees I saw this morning were on fire with color...they were simply beautiful. Unfortunately I didn't have time to take a photo, nor did I have my camera with me. Then I remembered a simular tree, one that stood outside my father-in-laws hospital room, two years ago, shortly before he passed away. It was too was on fire with color. So today I am grateful for beautiful fall leaves....and my dear sweet father-in-law.....we miss you Daddy.

Our Sweet Riley

2009-11-20T22:04:00.000-08:00

As I think back over this past year one of the things I am really grateful for is the fact that after Riley ran way, last March....we FOUND him! When he left it was just heartbreaking....we were all so sad...but what joy we felt when he returned. It was a huge testimony builder to all of us of the power of prayer. Everyone was praying for his safe return. I am so grateful our prayers were answered and Riley came home after 3 and a half days. So today, 8 months after he left I am grateful he is part of our family. He loves us unconditionally and is simply the best puppy ever! (most of the time anyway)

Finally!

2009-11-19T12:11:00.000-08:00

I finally did it....I couldn't take it anymore.....I finally cleaned up the linen closet...4 shelves clean 1 more to go! Today I am grateful for an almost clean linen closet.

Online Friends

2009-11-18T07:46:00.000-08:00

This last week with our internet being down for a couple of days it occured to me just how much I rely on the internet....I felt lost for 2 days without the internet. I don't know if my family understands that I call these wonderful women my friends and yet I have never met them. We chat online regularily, we share scrapbook pages, we know about each others kids...if only we weren't spread quite so far across the country we might actually get to meet in real life....today I am thankful for all of my online friends. Today's photo is a layout I scrapped a while back about my online buddies!

Why I Live Where I do

2009-11-17T11:12:00.000-08:00

I think I am missing a day in my gratitude posting and after my walk today down at the beach I decided to post twice today. It's absolutely beautiful outside today....perfect weather in my book...the sun is shining, it's about 70 degrees, and oh yeah....it's NOVEMBER! I went to visit a friend of mine down by the beach....I couldn't pass up the chance to go for a walk so I grabbed my camera before I left the house and here's my favorite....well one of them anyway. I played with it in Picnik.com and made it kind of edgy and fun. Today besides being grateful for my husband's family.....I am also very grateful to live just 5 miles from the beach and have beautiful days like today that I can enjoy!

Gotta Love these Guys!

2009-11-17T07:49:00.000-08:00

Almost 29 years ago I married into the best family ever! Cliff is one of 6 kids and I came from a family of just my sister and me! Needless to say that first Christmas we spent together as a family was a bit overwhelming for me. I was desperately trying to find quiet places to hide at my mother-in-laws house. Now of course I miss it when we don't get together with his family....I love all the craziness and the chaos....tho I must admit I have been known to still try and find that quiet place to hide...lol Today's photo is of just part of Cliff's Sister Sandi's family....just part of the Morgan Clan that I am grateful for. You guys are the BEST! Of course there are other family members that I am grateful for so stay tuned...For more family photos in the days ahead.

20 Years Ago Today

2009-11-16T08:24:00.000-08:00

I can remember it like it was yesterday....we had been waiting for it for 10 long months...going through the process and anxiously awaiting for our court date for your adoption to become final. Twenty years ago today I legally became your Mother....and what a blessing it has been. Thanks for making me a Mother......I am so grateful for you!

More Gratitude

2009-11-15T12:47:00.001-08:00

For those of you who might not know this is my younger son Jason. He is my ray of sunshine on a cloudy day, he can make me laugh faster than anyone else I know. He loves me more than he can say and the feeling is mutual. Today I am grateful that I have this amazing young man in my life. Life just would not be the same without him. You are the BEST Jason Roy....I love you!

One More for Today

2009-11-13T22:24:00.000-08:00

Since my internet was down for two days I am behind in my gratitude blog entries so I decided I would post a quick on tonight.....then I will be caught up.

I have been married to this wonderful man for the past 28 years...I am so grateful he is part of my life.....even tho we make each other crazy on a regular basis....he is still my rock and the one I turn to when I need to support. I am so grateful for his love. Love you honey!

Up and Running

2009-11-13T15:07:00.000-08:00

I posted this challenge and had really intended to keep up with it and then our internet went down....I lost two days so I for obvious reasons you understand why I posted the photo for today that I did.....I am grateful for modern technology and the fact that our internet is up and running again. Ididn't realize just how much I missed my online friends when I couldn't talk to them. Gotta love the internet!

Attitude of Gratitude

2009-11-11T09:01:00.000-08:00

Here it is already the 11th of November and I decided I would try and take a picture a day of something I am grateful for and post it here. Not sure if I will make a scrapbook out of it or not but at least it will help me focus on the things I am grateful for. I posted on facebook this morning that I am grateful for birds that sing in November. I was walking Riley and I heard this little bird singing up on the wire...it made me stop and think....if I hadn't walked Riley....I would never have heard that sweet little birds song....so glad for Riley too. I don't ordinarily think of birds singing in November...it was nice to have the peace and quiet of the morning to hear his song. Ok so I don't have a picture for this but I do have this cute little bird photo that I took last spring..he was sitting outside my kitchen window.

The Perks of the Job

2009-10-30T07:17:00.000-07:00

I am often asked if my job working at the door at Costco is boring....I can honestly say that for the most part it isn't. I get paid to "people watch" and that can be oh so entertaining. The fact that I am a "people person" certainly helps. Sure it can get to be mundane and repetitive but I can safely say it is almost always "entertaining" There are a couple of perks of working at the door......I have run into people I haven't seen in 20 years...and I see friends from church all the time...we Latter day saints are Big Costco shoppers :-) and probably the best part is that our door faces to the west so I get to see AMAZING sunsets. If I was home at sunset I would totally miss the beauty of God's handiwork. So while the job itself may not be my dream.....the good Lord has given me the opportunity to find the silver lining in it all.

Outside My Window

2009-10-26T10:28:00.000-07:00

I was inspired by an Ali Edwards post on her blog and decided to try it on mine and go for not one but two blog posts today! (gasp)

Outside my window....is another beautiful sunny SoCal day
I am thinking......... about my Missionary Son
I am thankful for.............oh so many wonderful things in my life ...my wonderful family...the wonderful SoCal weather........our sweet little dog Riley......my many wonderful friends...the list just goes on and on
From my Kitchen.......not too sure yet what I will fix for dinner...it’s a bit early yet ;-)
I am wearing......... my brown hooded tee shirt, jeans and flip flops
I’m creating......just finished creating 6 layouts, going to start working on my December Daily
I am going........to the chiropractor today....my sciatica is killing me lately
I am reading........my scriptures....I really need to make this a daily habit
I am hoping.........to start work on my December Daily this week
I am hearing...........the tree trimmers outside trimming our neighbors tree
Around the house........the house is full today...everyone is home, certainly not normal for a Monday
One of favorite things.....is getting email text messages from Elder Morgan...it’s almost like talking to him
A few plans for the week ahead.......working....scrapping.....maybe hitting the pumpkin patch with Jason to get some fun photos.....and hanging out with the family.

A Picture to Share.............

The Birthday Boy

2009-10-26T08:09:00.000-07:00

We had a great time on Cliff's birthday. We both ended up with the day off so we were able to spend it together. He wanted to go to Lily Garden his favorite chinese restaurant for lunch...what yummy food we had. Then he decided he wanted "Stonefire Grill" carrot cake so we went and got some of that....it was a really nice relaxing and low key day. Since Uncle Gary is staying with us he came along for lunch too. It was great that we ALL had the day off. The girls at the chinese restaurant made him this cute little orange and fortune cookie cake and sang Happy Birthday to him in English AND Chinese...all in all it was a very fun day for all concerned.

6 Degrees of Separation.

2009-10-18T22:29:00.001-07:00

The world truly is small. Who would have thought that while Jeremy was off serving his mission in Idaho that I would have the privledge of meeting two wonderful missionaries from Idaho. One was able to spend 2.5 months studying with Jeremy while he recovered from knee surgery and the other one just went home to the area in which Jeremy is now currently serving....It seems silly but it's so nice to feel that connection. Here is a layout I did about the three of them.

Time is flying by...This past week it was brought to my attention that Elder Morgan has been out on his mission for 16 months now. He will be home in less than 8 months!...that just doesn't seem possible....when he left 24 months sounded like an eternity....it has gone by so quickly...even for me as his mother is has zipped by. Tho I must admit the first three months were the most difficult....we have adjusted and now we are just looking forward to him returning.

We attended a wedding a couple of weeks ago...my sweet niece got married. We had a great time visiting with family and friends at the wedding here's one of my favorite shots of the bride and groom. They look so happy. I'm so glad we were able to attend.

Thats about it so far this month....stay tuned...

Where has September Gone?

2009-09-25T22:04:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast this month has zipped by. We have had a few changes at our house but one thing never changes...my love for my family and the love I have for the art of scrapbooking. Jason and I went on a photo shoot and I got some fun photos of him, plus he had a birthday so that was a good excuse to go to "Sprinkles" for cupcakes. I scrapped the photo of my nephews kids with our neighbors cat...I love the way that one turned out. Jeremy sent home some really fun pictures this past week so I have done several layouts with them. I can't believe he has been gone for 15 months now....before I know it he will be home! So here in no particular order are some of the layouts I have done recently.

I Couldn't Pass This Up

2009-09-15T09:37:00.000-07:00

Ok so Cathy Zielske posted on facebook about this little challenge over at todaysmama.com I'm a sucker for all things cricut so decided I would try this!

Post and answer the meme questions on your blog and then send us a link to your post via email with “Cricut Meme” in the subject line

Great Escape Meme
1. If you could escape to anywhere in the world where would it be? It would have to be Hawaii! I just love it there.
2. What song do you play when you are by yourself in the car? Just about anything Keith Urban Days Go By comes to mind as I feel my life racing before my eyes.
3. If you had a night to yourself, and money was no object, what would you do? I would probably grab my amazing husband and wisk him away for an over night get away at the beach
4. What is your guilty pleasure? IN n OUT Burger
5. What is the farthest place you have traveled away from your home? Hong Kong
6. Last book that you couldn't put down? "Sisters Ink" by Rebecva Seitz
7. When you want to escape into another time, what movie do you watch?
8. What is your favorite local escape? anywhere it's quite and peaceful....love the ocean
9. How do you escape on a budget? I live in SoCal so I go walk on the beach
10. Best food you've ever had while on vacation. Lehi (pronounced Lee-hee)a fish local to the Kona coast it was amazing and I don't even like fish!!

Ok there you have it! Just a little bit about me.

What happened??

2009-09-06T17:30:00.000-07:00

I blinked and I haven't blogged in over a month! I haven't scrapped much this past month either. Not sure I could even tell you what I did to keep so busy. Here it is Labor Day weekend...the summer is gone...WOW It certainly flew by!

The big news at our house is that Jason started at Golden West College last week. How did I get old enough to have my baby be in college? Wasn't he just born? Ok so he was born 17 years ago on the first of September....anyway.....I digress. So far he is loving college and I am so proud of him. The week before school started I took him over there and we had a little "photo shoot" on campus. I managed to get a couple of really nice pictures of him...this is my favorite.

We had our nephew, Erick come to visit this weekend with his wonderful wife Tami and their adorable children Sarah and Adam. They were here for a fun run 5K at Disneyland. It was great to visit with them and see the kids....they are getting so big. I only took a few photos, love this one ...they were standing at the door looking out at the neighbors cat.

Well I guess that's about it for now. I am looking forward to getting back into the fall routine.

Summer was great but after a while the routine of fall is nice to have once again. Here are a couple of layouts that I did manage to get done since I last posted. This one is of our niece's daughter at her first dance class. Loved the photos. Had a great time scrapping something girlie! ;-)

These are some silly pictures of us taken in a photo booth at a wedding reception we recently attended. They just make me laugh. Guess even after 28 years we can still be silly! Jeremy sent this photo home and I totally fell in love with it...he is just looking so darn grown up and totally handsome! He was doing some service digging the hole that he is standing in! Yikes!

The Perfect Day

2009-08-03T18:39:00.000-07:00

Ok so the perfect day was two days ago but I had such a wonderful Saturday that I thought it was worth blogging about. First off I didn't have to work! Thank you so much Manny! First I ran to Target and the grocery store... I noticed was how quiet it was....after all it was barely 9AM...then I came home to a quiet house which is so rare these days. (Cliff and Jase had gone to the Gym) I did some cleaning for a bit. Not much just enough to keep that peaceful feeling going on. Then the boys came home about 11:30 and the house was picked up, I'd had some alone time, the boys then decided that it was time for lunch so we all piled in the car for a family lunch at In 'n Out...love that place even tho it's not good for me. After lunch we came home and I played in my studio. I created a fun layout with a photo of Jeremy. Jase had a friend over playing video games and Cliff was reading and taking it easy....it was just so nice to be home together even tho we were all doing different things. Later on Jason went to a youth activity at church and Cliff and I went on a date. We went to dinner first and then we took Riley down to the dog beach. Riley behaved himself tho he still isn't sure about the water.....though I can't figure out why.....the water was really warm.....it felt so good to be down at the beach. What a great day! In my book...just about as perfect as you can get!

A little Overhaul

2009-07-27T11:04:00.001-07:00

I've been a busy scrapper lately...it's been so fun to create. I found a new source of inspiration at http://www.amillionmemories.com/ Thank you Michelle and all of your wonderful designers...they have so inspired me!

I also decided to update my blog a bit....made it look more scrappy I guess...so let me know what you think.
This is a lift of one of the AMM designers

This is my favorite! Another design inspired by AMM. Love this photo of Jase and Riley

Jason and I were having fun with the camera and got this cute one of Riley.

I love this one of Cliff and Me on July 4th weekend.

I simply had to have some of this BasicGrey Junebug paper...it was perfect for a picture of Riley.

This is one of my sister and me at Disneyland.

This last one is a technique I tried with a mask and glimmer mist...it was kinda fun...more silly pictures of Jason and Riley.

Time is Slipping Away

2009-07-19T17:22:00.000-07:00

Here it is the middle of July and I haven't posted a thing here on my blog...time just keeps getting away from me. Ok so I have been working more hours lately but that changes this week so I decided I would try and catch up on my blogging. I've been busy scrapping when I'm not counting Costco cards at the front door at work...and I am trying new things....I've been recently visiting my friend Michelle's scrappy site amillionmemories.com. All I can say is WOW there is so much talent there. If copying is the highest form of flattery then I am the queen....I love scrap lifting....it just always gives me a place to start. I found a layout of Michelle's that I liked and decided to try my hand at vintage...now I always think of vintage as either 1. girlie or 2. used for heritage photos....so I decided to think outside the box a bit here and do a layout about my sweet missionary son.

July 4th they had a flash flood in the town where he is serving. I managed to get a few photos from a sweet facebook friend of mine (thanks Ricki) and have done a couple of layouts. So without further ado...here they are.

Here is the journaling for the "Hands of Service"...the photo just said so much to me...it wasn't about the hail stones at all but about Jeremy and his willingness to serve.

"Jeremy sent this photo home so we could see the hail that they had on the fourth of July in Inkom Idaho. when I looked at the photo what really caught my eye, wasn’t the hail at all. It was his hands Hands that once were tiny and held on to mine as he learned how to walk. Hands that built amazing lego creations as a young boy. Hands that massaged my shoulders when I had a headache. Hands that worked in our yard or emptied the dishwasher. Hands that he folded in prayer. Hands that prepared the sacrament. Hands that throughout his life have chosen to serve others and by choosing to serve others he has chosen to serve our Heavenly Father.
Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Matt. 25:40
I am so blessed to be your Mom. I love you always."

Busy Busy Busy

2009-06-30T11:38:00.000-07:00

Wow...it's the last day of June and I haven't posted hardly at all this month. Guess I have been busier than I thought. I am back working in the hearing aid department so I have a couple of day shifts a week so that has added to my plate...in a good way I might add....Jason has also started Golden West College. He's taking an automotive class for the summer so I have had to play taxi driver for him as he doesn't have a license yet. He's loving the class and I am excited that he is excited. We saw Jeremy's "hump" day come and go.....so it's all down hill from here Baybee!! I think he has something like 350 days left til we pick him up next June! I'm so looking forward to that!

Cliff and I spoke in church on Sunday.....not only did we speak.....we survived speaking! lol We spoke on Genealogy and Family History....I did the family history part and managed to weave some scrapbooking into it....in a way that made sense to people tho. I had people comment afterwards that they thought I had done a good job...some said they had never really thought about scrapping as a family history so I was glad that perhaps I had given a few people something to think about. Cliff did a good job too....I don't know why he thinks he does such a bad job....he had the audience laughing more than I did.

Remember that box of photos I found in the garage? Well while Linda was here visiting we scanned a bunch of them and I decided last night that I would scrap this one. I'm guessing gramma must have been about 6 or 7 which makes the photo over 100 years old. Since July 4th is coming up on us this week I thought it was the perfect one to scrap.

Well I'm off to play taxi service once again....so I guess this will have to do for this post. See Ya!

I just got the word.....

2009-06-14T19:02:00.000-07:00

About this totally cool FREE class that Jessica Sprague is offering ....I am just learning Photoshop Elements and think this will be an awesome way to learn something new....go and check it out everyone!

A Busy Month

2009-05-25T20:47:00.000-07:00

Wow my last post was from May 7th...guess I have been a bit busy. First there was Mother's Day....I had an awesome one. Talked to my missionary son for almost 45 minutes! It was so good to hear from him. Then I had an amazing dinner prepared by my wonderful husband and younger son....It was just a wonderful day! The following weekend my sister arrived for a visit. I took a couple of vacation days along with my regular days off so we had 5 days to play! We went to Disneyland and CA Adventure, hung out here at home and scrapped....did a little shopping and had a general good time being together. Now here it is Memorial Day. I'm so glad Costco is closed and I didn't have to work. I was able to attend a fundraising event for a very sweet little 4 year old girl named Avery who is battling leukemia. Jason played in a dodge ball tournament while we were there....we had awesome food and just a general great time. There were lots of my Costco co-workers there too. Here are a few photos from today. Some I took, some my friend Janet took.
This post wouldn't be complete without some photos of my wonderful friends and co-workers at Costco....so here are some for you guys!

Last but not least here are a couple of photos of Jason and his friend David playing dodgeball...they did quite well

How did my little boy get so darn tall? I look like a midget standing next to him

Just Some Layouts

2009-05-07T10:53:00.000-07:00

Here are a few layouts I have done recently. I love the one of my grandmother and her friends. It is based on a layout I saw on http://www.badgirlkits.com/ I have felt such a closeness to her since I recently found those albums full of her old pictures...I feel like perhaps we are more alike that I ever thought. I truly feel that she was a "scrapper" in her day. The layout of Jeremy I did for an online crop challenge over at http://www.scraplove.com/ It was a good story to tell...and of course any time I scrap photos of my missionary son it makes me smile. NOTE: of course I should have spelled the title correctly...lol Note to self...must fix the title on this one! The layout of Jason and me from 1993 was a real eye opener for me. For all the countless hours I spent holding him as an infant and a child I have NO photos except for this one....so sad I wasn't a scrapper back then...I might have tried to get in the photos more often. The layout with the three photos of Jason on it...was one of those layouts that once I read the quote I knew I had to do the layout with photos of him. It's simple but the quote speaks volumns to me. The My World layout was fun to do. It's a http://www.pagemaps.com/ sketch....love the results. The funny thing was that it wasn't until someone commented on the fact that the pattern paper matched my outfit that I even realized that I had done it. It just made me laugh and also made me realize how much I do stuff by instinct and don't even realize it

I did this layout for a challenge over at http://www.scrapbookdeals4u.com/ I love all the fun photos of Linda and Me...She really is a wonderful sister...I'm so grateful for her.

Well there you have just some random layouts and random thoughts for a Thursday morning.

Just 5 Days....

2009-05-05T09:13:00.001-07:00

Til I get to talk to my Missionary Son! YAY! This could be the BEST Mother's Day Ever!

It's Right Around the Corner

2009-04-30T22:26:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that tomorrow is May 1st. I will be teaching at the Scrapbook Garden in Huntington Beach on the 9th....finally I can show you all my creation. I am thrilled with the way it turned out. Thanks so much to my online friend Jenny for giving me the inspiration. The class isn't quite full yet so if any of you local girls want to take the class give The Scrapbook Garden a call.

A Real Find

2009-04-22T10:51:00.000-07:00

I was out in the garage the other day and came across a box of OLD photos and I mean seriously OLD! It was so cool. Some were back from the early 1900's others were from the late 1800's and then there were the ones from the 1950's a whole book of photos of my grandfathers neon sign business including some of the signs he made for businesses in San Jose. I have been looking for this album for over 10 years. I thought for sure it had gotten thrown away in the move. In among the photos was a St Helena Star newspaper from 1926 with my grandparents wedding announcement in it. I think I got as much fun out of reading the ads as I did the discription of Gramma's dress "The bride wore a "frock" of white beaded georgette crepe made with full skirt and simple bodice." Then they went on to say, "The Rundle home was beautifully decorated, pink gladiolas, roses and maiden hair fern being used in profusion." I can't remember when the last time it was I used the word "profusion". It was a great find...now I have my work cut out for me....I need to scan all of these photos....that is going to keep me busy for a long time.

This is my grandmother with her brother and sister and her parents...dont know the guy on the far right

This is my Mom with my Grandma and Great Grandma

This is a photo of my grandfather. I am thinking he must be about 2 which would mean this photo was taken about 1898!

I am so definitely going to be scrapping some of these awesome photos.

A couple of Layouts

2009-04-19T21:09:00.000-07:00

I've managed to scrap a couple of layouts this past week....both of my missionary. One recent and one not so recent. How did he manage to go from this sweet little boy to this amazing young man I will never know. But I love him dearly and am grateful he is serving his Heavenly Father.

Of course I have to post a layout of Riley....our sweet little dog. He has been home from his "Survivor" adventure for over a month now and we continue to be grateful for his return. We have bought him a harness for walking now so I feel much more comfortable walking him.

These are some photos from last fall.....he got a hold of a roll of toilet paper and just made a mess. We couldn't be mad at him for too long. One look at his face and he KNEW he was in trouble.

For those of you looking for another sneak peek of my class project....as soon as the store gets the photo on their website I will post it here. Have a great week everyone.

As Promised

2009-04-07T15:44:00.000-07:00

Here is a sneak peek of the project I am going to be teaching at my LSS very soon! I am really excited with the way it is turning out! It's going to be a great way to get back into teaching!

More Changes.......

2009-03-29T19:28:00.000-07:00

I have been contemplaing about returning to the world of teaching.....scrapbook classes that is...but I was having the worst time coming up with what to teach that was until yesterday. One of my online buddies posted this insanely beautiful project that I thought would make an awesome class....so.....shot off an email to my friend and asked her if she would mind and then I talked to the store owner and she thought it sounded cool so now I am on a quest to create this really amazing project....stay tuned....for more info. ^_^

He Made MY Day!

2009-03-22T20:57:00.000-07:00

While I was on my break at work yesterday I received a picture message on my cell phone from a number I didn't recognize....curiosity got the better of me so I opened it and look what I found....yep Elder Morgan and his companion! It totally made my day! He was having dinner at a members house and the member took their photo and sent it to my cell phone....I love my Son!!! I tell ya it sure made the rest of my shift much nicer knowing that my dear son was thinking of his MOM!

Getting Scrappy...

2009-03-16T15:59:00.000-07:00

I had to scrap some of my photos from the weekend....I love the way it turned out.....I love the way Brent is looking at Deb in the big black and white photo. They just look so cute....ahhhh young love....sigh.........Love you guys!

A Wonderful Weekend

2009-03-16T09:19:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend attending our nephew Brent's wedding. We had a great time and it was so nice to see Brent so happy. I decided I would post a few photos here so that the family could see them. Congrats and Best Wishes to the new Mr. and Mrs. Stoeckle!

I love the way they are looking at each other...so sweet! Gotta love Brent and his shades!

I think there might be a "shades" theme going on here....lol
I love this one of Jase and Adam

ok this one isn't very good so I played with it so it looks like I meant for it to be all fuzzy! lol

Their cake was beautiful...tasted pretty darn good too.

Cliff and the grooms older brother David.

Sandi and her beautiful granddaughters Kayla and Emily

Crystal hamming it up for the camera!

Love this one of Julie and Jayden!

What a week

2009-03-08T18:38:00.000-07:00

Last week was quite the week! It started on Tuesday morning when I decided to walk Riley out in front of the High School while I was waiting for Jason to get out of Seminary at church....I should have known better....Riley isn't use to walk on such a busy street especially at 7:30 in the morning with all the traffic going to the High School. We were almost back to the church parking lot when he wiggled out of his collar....ran out into traffic....ran back into the church parking lot.....of course this whole time I am FREAKING out! I hollered at some kid on a skateboard to see if he could catch him....in retrospect it was the wrong thing to do, it just scared Riley more. He got away from the boy on the skateboard and he last saw him going over the freeway over pass towards another busy street.....my heart sank........it was all my fault.......I was sobbing there was nothing I could do......we spent the next two hours wandering the streets calling his name and feeling so helpless! Finally we went home.....my heart was broken....Jason's was broken....we didn't know what to do next.

I found a photo on my computer and we made some flyers......I posted on facebook and my favorite scrappy sites about what had happened.....hoping someone would say they had seen him....that night when Cliff got home he even posted on Craigs list that we had lost him. Life went on but the three of us were truly in mourning......we had only had Riley such a short time...only 8 months but none of us could figure out how we were going to get along with out our sweet little puppy.

Wednesday, it rained.......I prayed that someone had taken him in so he wouldn't be hanging out in the rain.....we called the pound.....we knew he was microchipped and licensed but without his collar no one would know. We put up flyers....and we continued to pray. We got a very sweet email from Jeremy that helped sustain me through the day.....Thursday dawned to beautiful blue sky....we were again hopeful that we would find him....Jason and I went over to the animal shelter that day...that was hard...no Riley and all of these sweet dogs with the saddest eyes looking up at me....it was really hard. That night it was windy and cold and I continued to pray that Riley was safe and warm some place....if only someone would call us.

Friday morning Jason and I decided that we would stop in at some local Animal Hospital's. We also stopped in at a couple dog groomers. We got home early afternoon and I checked the messages on the answering machine....someone had called and said they had seen him just down the street from the High School.....we got all excited....I was in the process of trying to find a phone number to call this person back when my cell phone rang....my good friend Angie Meyers and her son Christopher had seen Riley on their way home from school....Jason and I jumped in the car and raced over to where they were....we called and called and finally I saw his sweet little face in the bushes. I couldn't believe it! No one had taken him in and here he was right in front of my eyes! We pulled him out of brush and he was so happy, crying, kissing my face..then he had to go and see Jason and do the same thing.......it was an amazing reunion.

Long story short..........We took Riley to the Vet and he seems to be none the worse for wear....he's a bit skittish but is slowly getting back into his old routine. I am so grateful for all of the prayers and the help and support we had in looking for Riley. It has been a testimony builder for our family that God does hear and answer our prayers. Welcome home Riley!

I snapped this photo of Riley after he was home and bathed and just chillin' on the back of the couch.

A Quick Visit

2009-02-22T14:10:00.000-08:00

We had the opportunity to see Jeremy's girlfriend, Holly and her family on a recent trip to SoCal. They came to take Holly's brother to D-land for his birthday. I wasn't sure if we would get a chance to visit or not but since we have passes to D-land this year we met them in the park last night for a couple of hours. It was fun to see them again. Of course I took my camera along. I wanted to snap a few photos so I could send them to Jeremy.

Thanks to Jason, we got a great picture of Holly and me....it was pretty dark and difficult for him to see what he was doing but he did a great job!

A Special Layout

2009-02-20T22:21:00.000-08:00

I created this layout as a gift for my sister in law, Chris. It's a tribute page to her daughter in law who passed away recently. I haven't seen our nephew in years and I honestly never me his sweet wife but from everything I have been told she was a wonderful lady. I was honored to create this layout for Chris.

Another Layout for the Holiday Weekend

2009-02-16T15:17:00.000-08:00

I was inspired by a layout I saw over at SD4U. The title was perfect for our little Riley.I had the perfect paper for it so I decided to run with it. Thanks for looking!

Mother's Day and Valentines

2009-02-16T09:20:00.000-08:00

I am such a "Moment" scrapper. Here I managed to combine two great memories. A photo of my son and me walking on the beach on Mother's Day 2008 and scanned copies of the Valentine's that Jeremy sent me this year. I used a smaller version of this photo of Jeremy and me in his Valentine mini album...I thought it was such a sweet photo that I needed to scrap it for me. I had a great time creating it yesterday. I used some yummy Basic Grey bittersweet and a sketch from Pencillines.

Who says you can't use pink on a guy layout!

My Funny Valentine

2009-02-15T10:26:00.000-08:00

Jason, Cliff and our little Riley dog gave me this adorable Valentine yesterday morning. It was so cute. On the inside Cliff wrote "No I'm an American Eskimo Mix" cuz that's what Riley is. It was signed by Jase, Cliff and a "glittery paw print" from Riley...it was just way too cute! It made me smile all day long...I am so blessed to have such wonderful men in my life!

It doesn't get much better than this

2009-02-15T10:18:00.001-08:00

Last night while Cliff and I attended our Saturday night session of Stake conference he reached in his notebook and gave me this card. The inside reads: "Are moms like you. Happy Valentine's Day with Love" Jeremy then went on to tell me what a great mom I am and how much he loves and appreciates me. It really doesn't get much better than this!

Valentines for my Guys

2009-02-15T09:57:00.000-08:00

I just had to share these cute little mini books I made for Cliff and the boys. I designed everything from cutting the chipboard and patterned paper to selecting the photos and placing the embellishments. I used the cool paper I got from the Making Memories booth at CHA!

Cliff and Jase liked them....Jeremy hasn't seen his yet....I have to get it in the mail to him. Thats what I get for not coming up with the idea sooner. I may just have to change my mind on mini books...they were really fun to put together.

Another CHA layout

2009-02-05T13:25:00.000-08:00

Here's a collage that I did with some fun photos from CHA...it's simple but I wanted the focus to be on the photos.

The Adventures of SUPER SLICE!

2009-02-05T12:12:00.000-08:00

I finally had a minute to scrap these fun photos of Linda as her alter ego "Super Slice". I made sure I used the Slice to cut out a few things and I used Making Memories paper...perhaps I should try posting it on their blog. ;-) Thanks Linda for helping make our CHA experience not only "safe" but hilarious as well!

Super Slice and CHA

2009-02-04T21:54:00.000-08:00

We had an amazing time at CHA. It was so fun to have some great girl time for a few days. We saw tons of awesome scrappy stuff. We made some cool make and takes, had lots of M&M's, made some wonderful memories all the while laughing ourselves silly!

Making Memories was giving away their portable die cutting machine called the Slice. All you had to do was wear their apron and have your picture taken and maybe you would get choosen. Amy Stayce and I all won!

Linda of course had to be unique and wear her apron backwards. She thinks that's why she didn't win...we just thought it was way to darn funny and spent a lot of time laughing hysterically over it. I decided she looked like she ought to be a super hero with a cape on so we nick named her "Super Slice".... off to save the planet one layout at a time! Here she is getting ready to fly off to her next adventure! Gotta love my sister Super Slice!

Catching up!

2009-02-04T14:43:00.000-08:00

I finally have a few minutes to catch up after CHA! I came home (ok so I don't live far from the Anaheim Convention Center but still) and went straight back to work...7 days straight! So I am glad to finally have a day off. I had thought about posting all the cool details of my CHA experience and decided instead to post a link to my sweet friend Amy's blog. She posted a wonderful travel log about our CHA experience and I decided I couldn't tell it any better...so if you want to read about our awesome time at CHA Go here Bilaterally Speaking
I will be posting some fun photos of my own in the days to come so stay tuned!

2009-01-22T13:54:00.000-08:00

I borrowed this from my friend Mary's blog! Thanks...loved this idea!
The game is , you copy and paste it into your blog and bold the ones you have done.
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland - many times ;-)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch - does scrapping count?
15. Adopted a child - 2 of them! ;-)
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling - does going on a snorkeling trip count?
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching - and actually saw one too!
63. Got flowers for no reason -have an awesome hubby :)
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Seen Mount Rushmore in person
101. Learned to play an instrument

My Boy....

2009-01-21T14:01:00.000-08:00

Our wonderful missionary got sick this week....another first for both of us....him being sick without his Mom around....and me feeling sad cuz I couldn't take care of him....the good news is....he can't give me the bug either! lol His companion did send me some cute pictures of him sleeping....poor boy....throwing up is never fun. I may just have to scrap it for his mission album.

Biggest "Scrap" Loser Contest

2009-01-09T10:48:00.000-08:00

Here is the latest going on over at www.scrapbookdeals4u It sounds like we are going to have a lot of fun loosing our scrap stash...here are the details:

Biggest (Scrap) LoserWhen Monday, Jan 12- Saturday, Feb 14 (5 weeks of losing!)Note The competition begins at Scrapbook Deals 4 U on January 12th. Will you be crowned the Biggest (Scrap) Loser?Each week will feature a list of stash items to use on your layout as well as a bonus feature for that layout. How much of your stash can you lose? All layouts will be voted on and at the end of the competition, our biggest loser will be our guest designer for March! The prize will include a coveted monthly kit from ScrapbookDeals4U.Competition will be steep, and participants will be losing lots of weight (in stash). Are you ready to lose your stash? Extra credit will be offered.To join our stash-loss competition, add your name to the roster in the sign up thread in this folder here: http://scrapbookdeals4u.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=2397We are excited to have lots of losers! Come and play with us!

SD4U January Kit Layouts

2009-01-05T22:10:00.000-08:00

I had fun with this months kit...here are some of my layouts. The kit this month is jam-packed with cute "three bugs paper" and all kinds of fun embellishments. You really need to get on over to www.scrapbookdeals4u.com and get one of these kits while they last. I had fun playing with mine. These are some of the fun layouts that I came up with.

Change is Good?

2009-01-04T17:24:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know I have been in charge of 35 kids at church for the last two and half years. I found out last week that they were releasing me from my calling as Primary President....I cannot tell you how sad I am. When I was first asked to fill this position I was totally shell shocked and couldn't possibly understand how or why they thought I would make a good Primary President. Over time, with the Lords help, I not only enjoyed my church job but grew to love each child as well as all of my staff. I told someone not too long ago that I "loved my calling". Two and a half years ago I wouldn't have believed that was possible. Now I guess the Lord has something else in mind for me. Time will tell. Who knows in a few weeks I may have a new blog post about how totally dumbfounded I am over my new calling.

I would like to publically thank my Presidency...you know who you are. You have done an amazing job and I know that the Lord brought us together. I could never have done it without you! I would also like to congratulate the new Presidency....you ladies will do a great job. You are wonderful wonderful women of faith.

So here is 2009......

I Finally Finished It!

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

I have been working on my December Daily album all month. I ‘ve been taking pictures and writing stuff down so I could put it all together. My wonderful online friend Michelle actually MADE the book. All I had to do was put the photos and journaling in it....it has been quite a task....but SO worth it. I am really happy with the way it turned out. I know Michelle wants to see it so rather than flood the gallery over at http://www.scraplove.com/ I decided I would post them here on my blog instead. Thanks again Michelle for helping me captrue my memories from this wonderful holiday season.

Finally...

2008-12-22T09:45:00.001-08:00

The tree is all done! It's different for us this year but I am happy with the way it looks. Merry Christmas Everyone.

28 Years

2008-12-20T22:52:00.000-08:00

Wow! It so doesn't seem like it could possibly have been that long since we got married, but today Cliff and I celebrated our 28th... Anniversary I know it's crazy this time of year but we did manage to get out for dinner with our good friends the Deans. We went to Kings Fish House and had a yummy meal. Thanks guys for helping us celebrate 28 memorable years. Love you honey!

Welcome to the age of....

2008-12-04T14:02:00.000-08:00

Facebook! I decided to start a facebook today. So far I have 14 friends....who knew it could be so fun....I better be careful or I will never get off the computer! hehehe. So if you are on facebook and want to be my friend....give me a holler.

It's beginning to.....

2008-12-04T13:55:00.000-08:00

Look a lot like Christmas! Well at least a little bit around my house. Check out this cute little goodie that arrived yesterday. I bought it from a wonderful online friend who is a very talented designer. It's the cutest little book designed for you to take a picture a day during the month of December....I loved the idea but am so not into making little books....when I saw Michelle's album listed in her Etsy store I new I just so had to have a "Michelle Original" so I bought it! I love the way she has made it so beautifully shabby chic! Even my best attempt at shabby chic isn't very shabby. Ha Ha! I am hoping to capture the everyday little things that you don't always photograph or journal about throughout the month...wish me luck!

Here's another one

2008-11-26T11:46:00.000-08:00

Here's one more layout with the Christmas kit from http://www.scrapbookdeals4u.com/ I still have a couple more to do so hopefully I am not boring anybody with them. ;-) I really love the way this one turned out. I had next to no Christmas photos from last year so hopefully I will get some more this year so I can use some more of this wonderful kit.

Not One but TWO....

2008-11-26T09:11:00.001-08:00

That's how many kits I got to play with from Scrapbookdeals 4 U for the up coming month of December. We are posting layouts a bit early on the sight so I decided I would give you all a look at what I have created with the awesome Christmas and Prudence Kits here on my blog. The kits go on sale December 1st and believe me when I say that Martha has loaded them FULL of fun goodies. The "Prudence" kit just screamed vintage to me so I started out doing a few older photos with it but then I decided to do a layout of Jeremy and his missionary buddies and it worked great for that too...so it is a very versatile kt. The Christmas kit is just awesome and works well for Christmas photos or not... I did a couple of layout that weren't Christmas related at all and it worked perfectly. So I highly recommend either of these wonderful kits over at http://www.scrapbookdeals4u.com/

Jeremy's Gift

2008-11-11T13:06:00.000-08:00

Ok....since I have to mail Jeremy's Christmas gift early I decided I had better get the scrappy part of his gift finished. I have been working on a little 6x12 book for him of photos since he has been on his mission. I was going to add photos from Thanksgiving on the November page but since we got together early in the month for Mom's funeral I figured I could use a bunch of family photos from the trip and finish it before Thanksgiving. I like the way it turned out. I used a bunch of 6x12 sketches from Pagemaps.com and just ran with it and really had fun creating it for him. Hopefully he will enjoy it.

SD4U November Kit Layouts

2008-11-02T06:32:00.000-08:00

I just had to post my new November kit Layouts......this kit ROCKS!!! I had such fun playing with it. I found it to be very versatile. I even did Mom's tribute layout with it. The colors were perfect! So run don't walk over to www.scrapbookdeals4u.com and pick up one of Martha's spectacular kits!

Mom

2008-10-27T10:45:00.000-07:00

As I looked into her eyes yesterday I knew it would be the last time I saw her here on earth....she knew it too...she started to tear up....I told her I loved her and kissed her good bye. She has wanted to go "home" since Daddy passed away last year...so now she will be with Daddy once again. While you will be missed greatly here, I am glad to know you aren't in pain anymore. Viya con Dios Mom.

Happy Mail

2008-10-27T10:36:00.001-07:00

After being gone all weekend we came home to a padded mailer from Jeremy. Enclosed was a CD full of professional photos that he and his companion and group had taken. I couldn't wait to get my hands on them. I kept the layout simple but am happy with the results. It's so hard sometimes cuz I miss him terribly and at the same time I am so proud of him and wouldn't want him anywhere else.

I'm Anxiously Awaiting

2008-10-26T23:11:00.000-07:00

the arrival of the latest kit from Scrapbook deals 4 u! This month Martha is putting together two amazing kits. Here's a little sneek peek for ya!

For Holly's Benefit

2008-10-22T07:42:00.001-07:00

I just finished this yesterday....I know I didn't waste any time scrapping the photos but now that I don't have as many photos to scrap I have to either do old photos or the newest ones that really excite me....you can guess which route I went yesterday. lol I used older Basic Grey paper and a sketch from the current Basic Grey newsletter. Any way....here is my California Snow Dork! I somehow don't think he will be this excited to see snow in a few months.

Gotta love Digital Photos

2008-10-20T12:02:00.000-07:00

Jeremy sent home his memory card today so I raced to the computer to see what he had sent....he only sent 4 pictures two of which weren't that great but I just had to laugh.....only a California boy would be standing around in the snow posing for a picture in a tee shirt, shorts, and NO SHOES!!! What a goof ball.....

Too much fun

2008-10-13T16:37:00.000-07:00

When I saw the sketch that Stayce used for the last week of the contest over at Scrapbook deals 4u I knew it was perfect for my photos. I had way too much fun playing with this layout. It's all done very tongue in cheek. I made a layout about a tractor and made it all glittery and sexy??? I had more fun playing with my new cricut deep cutting blade and black embossing glitter! I made the glitter letters and the other embellishments on the page. I even used an OLD die cut that was the wrong color...I just used it as a template. These photos are from last year's trip to Utah and the corn maze in Lehi...they were a perfect fit for Kenny Chesney's song "She Thinks my Tractor's Sexy".

I Did It!

2008-10-12T19:01:00.000-07:00

And it was so easy! I found this cool Blog layout and it was so pretty I decided to play around and see if I could try something new...and I did! There may be hope for teaching an old dog new tricks yet! Big thanks go to my friend Michelle over at Scraplove for giving me the link for this cool blog design. Thanks so much girlfriend! The only problem was I lost my music and all of my blinkies and such...ok so the old dog has more to learn....lol

Here are a couple of layouts that I have done this past week...all three of them are lifts from amazing artists. Two of you are two of my bestest online buddies...the other lift was from an awesome layout that I saw over on Jenni Bowlin's blog.Thank you so much girls...you inspire me more than you know!

I wish you could see the details on my faith layout better...I used "holographic" embossing powder on the title and it just looks so cool and sparkley IRL

The Story DOES Matter

2008-10-08T13:46:00.000-07:00

I was so inspired today by the Sept 28th post over at "The Story Matters" blog that I sat down and answered the questions and created this layout....I think I will send the questions to Jeremy and see if he will answer them...it was a good little exercise in not only creativity but thinking as well....guess I used both halves of my brain to come up with this one. :-)

The challenge at the Story Matters is over. I figure anytime you can get your brain thinking is a good thing so I posted a little challenge of my own for the girls over at Scrapbookdeals4u....I hope they will take me up on it.

A Really Good Day!!!

2008-10-03T22:02:00.000-07:00

It's little moments that matter most....today I went and had breakfast with a friend.....a friend I had been estranged from for over 5 years....She is such a wonderful woman I am really we are back in touch again! I have missed her over the past 5 years....I am so glad to have my friend back!