13 Days of Halloween and a giveaway!!

My hybrid project is on the DHD blog today (go there for the tutorial and list of credits) - so I thought I'd share it here too.  I'm giving away all three stitchings, so if you are interested leave a comment letting me know the one you would like.  I'll be picking 3 winners on October 13th, the last day of our blog series.  

My Mom was able to come for Aubrei's last volleyball game this past week.  We had so much fun with her here.  She makes us all feel loved and special.  Aubrei's team won and it was so nice to watch her having fun and playing her best.  Brodyn got to show Grandma his preschool and even introduced her to his teacher (like he was a mini grownup) - he was so excited!  Ainsli got to pick her Halloween costume and look through lots of fun books and magazines and had a ball!

We miss Grandma and Grandpa all the time, but I'm very thankful that when we get to be together that it is special and filled with precious memories.  More than anything, my kids know that my parents love them and that is priceless.  

Now I think I will go start another project!

Happy Halloween!

Competition Solo

We're off to another competition this weekend and this time Ainsli's trio will be competing. I'm glad I was able to document how I felt last weekend watching Aubrei do a solo for the first time. I wanted the photos to be the focus, but I wanted to share the story too. I'm so proud of her and thankful that I get to be a part of these experiences.

To see credits of the kits I used go here.

We have a winner!

Congrats to idahorhodes for winning the gift certificate!

Thanks to everyone for the neat comments!

Mad March Memories Blog Hop

Hey everybody! Its time again for a DHD blog hop, our excuse this time is Mad March Memories!

Today I've made a template for you out of one of my favorite layouts. Its simple, but I still love it! It incorporates masking, which I use on almost every layout I do. Most of you know what I'm referring to, especially if you've used templates before.

For those of you who don't, masking is taking a shape or element and clipping a paper, photo, etc. to it. In the case of this layout I used one of Robyn Meierotto's tags and created clipping masks for my photos.

Here is my layout:

And the template I made for you:

Click HERE to download it. I hope you enjoy!!

If you are on your way to get the collaboration, you will need my letter, which is E.

Your next stop on the hop will be Mary Rogers or back to DHD if you've gotten sidetracked along the way! Here is a peek at what you'll be getting . . .

If you would be so kind as to leave a comment or become a follower of my blog, I'll be drawing a winner for a $5 gift certificate on March 15th. Enjoy the great collaboration the designers have created for you and good luck with all the drawings!

6 months later . . .

I've finally scrapped Ainsli's 8th birthday. Yes, its 6 months late, but I've always found birthday layouts to be a pain. When Jen and Celeste designed the Sweet Bea collab I thought immediately of Ainsli. The colors were adorable and Ainsli LOVES pink. It was a birthday theme, but not in an obnoxious way. So I decided to try a birthday layout again. I did one page, liked it so well that I had to make it into a two-pager. So, maybe now I won't shy away from all those birthday pics I've been avoiding!

Today I got to help Ainsli's Activity Day group with making pillowcases. We had a really fun time, and I got the sewing bug again. Too bad that my machine started smelling like burning rubber as we were finishing! I guess we'll be looking for a repairman before I start anymore projects. Thanks to Amy and all the ladies that helped her - the girls really enjoyed it. Ainsli is very proud of her new pillowcase and is even letting her Daddy use it to take a "late" nap right now. :)

Recap

Its been awhile since I posted. I wish I had a great story to tell, but I don't. We were purely in survival mode, trying to get rid of all the sicknesses in our home. No fun. Brodyn was a sick little boy. He loved it when he was able to play games on the iPod to help pass the time.

The other layouts are just a few that I did with products from DHD. We've had some pretty cute stuff coming out lately. Definitely makes scrapping fun with cute new goodies. :)

Recently I was asked by our old neighbor John, to edit and type his new book. I love that sweet old cowboy, so of course I said yes. So that has kept my fingers busy lately! For once Brei isn't up late with homework, but I can't wind down - go figure!

My buddy is growing too fast!!

I did this layout for this week's 4play challenge at DHD. I've been loving these bright colors (Aubrei has me converted:). Brodyn is always making silly faces for the camera - it doesn't matter to me cuz I can still see his expressive, happy eyes. He's grown so fast lately, that I can't keep up with him.

He started in with a fever again last night, so apparently we didn't get rid of the pneumonia like we thought. When he's sick he needs his Momma constantly, which I am totally fine with. He's much more important than laundry anyway! But my backache this morning was another reminder that he's almost getting too big to hold and pack around.

We had a wonderful Sabbath day yesterday. It was the most touching and spiritual fast and testimony meeting I've attended in a long time. I'm thankful that the little Duncan boy had the courage to share his testimony of Christ and how the spirit touched him as we sang I Believe in Christ. What a beautiful gift he gave to the rest of us by setting the tone for the meeting and being such a glowing example to us all.

I was nervous about my lesson with the Young Women because I felt so much responsibility because of the importance of the lesson. But I was able to keep that sweet, calming spirit with me as I shared things most close to my heart. I pray that the spirit spoke to those sweet young women as well and that they internalized how sacred and special it is to be a woman. When I think of the potential they have I am truly in awe that Heavenly Father has allowed me to serve with them and be a part of their journey for awhile.

special deliveries

I made this page with Audrey Neal's new kit "Jar of Hearts" at DHD. The pictures were taken last year when the kids opened their valentine package from Grandma and Grandpa. Today we received more of the love that Grandma is so good at sending. I'm glad I preserved this memory of how important these moments are to them and how much they are loved. My parents are really great grandparents and I'm so thankful for that. They are constantly making my kids feel special and very loved. We are very blessed!

We Made It!

Volleyball is over (I made it through)! Aubrei's team ended up getting 3rd place at Districts. She hurt her thumb warming up for the last game so she wasn't able to set, but she still did a great job and I'm very proud of her. I can't believe how much she progressed this year (makes me excited for next year - am I crazy or what?). She is very much a team player and hard worker, which makes her a great setter.

A few days after vball was over Aubrei was playing football at school and her other thumb got kicked. Luckily it isn't broken, but she's had to have brace and wrap on for a couple weeks. We're lucky she's done with vball and that she doesn't need her thumb to dance. Silly girl - gotta love her!

Brodyn fell at a friend's house last week and we ended up at the Emergency Room. Thank goodness for glue - so no stitches. Its been a pain keeping his knee wrapped, but its healing well (especially for my wild and dirty 4year old).

Ainsli is doing well in dance and school and trying my patience. Proof that miracles do take work:)

We're gearing up to do fundraisers for dance team. We're hoping to make enough to cover competition fees and hopefully costumes too, we'll see!!

I even have exciting news this month! I made the decorator team at Design House Digital. I'm so excited. They are my favorite place for digital scrapbooking goodies. I love their gallery and all the fun things they do. I'm so excited to be a part of their team and share my passion for preserving memories - digital makes it so much quicker and that is a great thing in my book!

Brrr...

I thought I would share the layout I made for a DHD challenge. Yes, I know its spring, but in Wyoming there is always snow - so why not a snowy scrapbook page?! I made a word cluster for this page and uploaded it - so if you're a digital scrapper you are welcome to download it. Here is the link . . .

http://www.4shared.com/photo/RErH2R20/coldcluster.html

my reward

Taking the time to create this layout was "my reward" for walking until I couldn't feel my legs and avoiding the german chocolate cake on my counter! Things are going good!