10 Years!

10 years ago today I married my best friend!  We have been through a lot together over the years, ups & downs as life goes.  Together we have watched our 3 babies grow into toddlers and now school age children, who make us laugh and a little crazy every day.  We've supported each other through a few rough patches and the loss of many loved ones.

We can sit and talk for hours on end (yeah anyone that knows us would not be surprised by that), and make each other laugh at the craziest things.

 

I love this man with all my heart, for who he is and all the things he does for me.  I can't wait to see what the next 10 years bring for us!

Happy Anniversary Mike, I love you!

xo

It's Spring?!

Today is officially the first day of spring....I don't think Winnipeg knows this, it's gloomy & raining and we still have a ton of snow. It is also my birthday today, I woke up to a sweet card made by Sami....she wrote that she's so glad I turned 37! LOL Not sure I'm as excited about that as she is!

I spent yesterday in Miami, MB scrapping at a mini crop with members from LIITD. Didn't get much done, but that's nothing new since I spend most of the day chatting and eating...oh and shopping too! Yup treated myself to lots of fabulous goodies yesterday, include Tim Holtz's new dress form die!!

If you head over to the Counterfeit blog you will see the cool way they are introducing everyone on the DT. They asked each of us to make a collage of things we love.

In my collage I of course added my kids, our puppy Amy, a favorite photo of myself, a photo of Mike and I from last summer...and one of us walking hand in hand. I also added a photo of one of my lilies, these are my most favorite type of flower and I have many varieties in my garden! And well since this was a scrappy blog introduction I couldn't resist adding a few of my favorite altered projects.

The blog will be quiet for a while now (unless I can sneak one more post in), because we're heading down to Arizona this coming week...and I'll have NO access to a computer for over 10 days! EEK!! That's ok it will be great family time!

Before I go here are the tags I made last weekend in Tim's classes. They are full of great products and awesome techniques!

Ok one last thing, this movie was one of my favorites as a teen, I can't even count how many times I watched it. Anyway I thought the start of this clip was perfect for today!

6 Years!!

Fun & Celebrations happened at our house yesterday! It was Sean's 6th birthday...seems like just yesterday we brought him home!

Sean invited some of his friends over to help him celebrate, he was so excited and had so much fun!

Just look at this face when we brought out his cake...now that is one excited little boy!

He managed to get all the candles blown out in one shot...although if you look to the right I think his big sister gave him some help! LOL

Happy Birthday big guy!!

Thank you to everyone that has given us lots of hug and support this week after the break in. The kids are all fine and I think the excitement of the birthday party helped them deal with the trauma. Mike is doing well too, still mad....mostly at himself because he had the chance to save our stuff, which consisted mostly of family jewelry that can't be replaced.

There's no time to dwell on what's happened, I refuse to let any of this ruin the kids birthdays or Christmas! My Mom arrives home on Tuesday and we'll celebrate both Sean & Samantha's birthdays with the family! Then Friday night is Sami's party with her friends, eight year old girls sleeping over should be interesting!!

I hope you all have a great week!

Hug Your Loved Ones Extra Today!

Tonight was one of those moments that makes you even more grateful your family is safe and sound!

We were robbed tonight, that's not really the worst of it...the worst part about it is Mike coming home with the kids and the theifs were still in the house!!!

I am more than gratefull that all they took was stuff and left my family unharmed! Yes some of the items had alot of sentimental value, but they're just things, taking them does not take the memories attached.

So today give your loved ones an extra hug and enjoy them all that much more!

Time to unplug...

We're getting ready to head out and spend some time reconnecting as a family and with nature....yes it's time for our annual camping trip! This year though we're heading somewhere new rather than Grand Beach which has been the tradition. We're going to Steep Rock Lake....it has crystal clear water and limestone caves....sounds exciting!!! I'll be sure to have tons of photos to share when I get back!

Of course I can't leave a post without a photo....so here's a recent layout I made for my monthly challenge at Love Is In The Details...

Have a great week, thanks for visiting!

Beach Days

I love the beach, it's so calm and relaxing.......my favorite place to be on a nice warm summer day!

For our holidays last week we thought about heading out camping but the forecast did not look too promising so we decided to hang out around home instead. But of course Mr. Weatherman was wrong and it ended up being a beautiful week....oh well we chilled at home, lots of family time so it was a good week anyway!

We did manage to head out to the beach for the day, the temp was perfect and there was a nice little breeze!!

Here are a few of my favorite photos....

This cute little dragonfly came and hung out on Sami's foot for a while. She thought it was so funny and promptly named him Greenie!

I hope you all have a great long weekend........I'll be busy working on my August Reveal for Love Is In The Details. Sorry can't share it with you yet! ;)

Why is it...

...the older you get the faster time seems to travel? And has anyone figured out a way to make it slow down? I'm really looking forward to summer holidays, spending time with my family camping and being totally unplugged from the world for a week!

This past Saturday we had the chance to visit a family friend's farm where the kids were introduced to the cutest little calves!

We all enjoyed the day....even in spite of the mass amount of mosquitos!

Sunday was a nice quiet day at home, I actually spent most of my day playing with my scrap supplies.....and boy did it feel good!!! I managed to finish up 2 layouts and make a card!!

This layout is based on THIS Sassy Lil' Sketch.

The timing was perfect for this card, a coworker celebrated her birthday today so I gave it to her!

Now I need to clean up the crazy mess I made......you know just so I can do it all over again!!! ;)

Scrappy Crush

Have I mentioned that I'm having a major scrappy crush on the new Tim Holtz Sizzix dies? Well I totally am!!!! Ever since TH announced he was working with Sizzix to design some dies I've been not so patiently waiting!! LOL!

As soon as Lori put the pre-orders up I jumped on board and ordered almost half the dies & texture fades embossing folders.....let's just say it's a good thing these were expected to come in shortly after my bday! ;)

Last time I headed out to Miami for a mini crop they were in and Lori had mine all lined up at my table. I walked in hugged them and then spent a while just admiring the beauty! Yes, it's official I'm a scrap geek!

I've been having so much fun playing with these dies...here's my latest layout where I used the film strip die & regal crest!

One of my favorite things about TH's dies is that many of them are separate pieces which makes them so much more versatile!!!

I hope to see TH working with Sizzix more in the future!!!

Kiss Me I'm Irish!!!

Ok so I'm not at all Irish but on St. Patrick's Day I pretend to be...and get away with it...hmm could be the flaming red hair! LOL

I can't believe in just a few short days I'll be celebrating my 29th birthday again......no really what's wrong with celebrating it 7 times! I'm actually looking forward to it, I get to spend the entire day with great friends doing what I love....scrapping!

Speaking of scrapping...here's a little project I did over the weekend. I used lots of Jillibean Soup products and my Sizzix. The box is actually an old Prima flower box that I've been holding onto for years...feels good to finally do something with it!

I hope the luck of the Irish are with you today and you find your own pot of gold!!!

Sharing a Smile!

Right now work is almost at it's peak of busy season, the days are long and yet they fly by...which mostly means I don't feel like I've accomplished enough! Today was good, but something got to me right at the end of the day and I was feeling a bit stressed...and then I see that a new friend Cheryl has awarded me the Beautiful Blogger Award!!!

Thank you Cheryl for bringing a smile to my face and helping me wash away the stress!!!

Now I'm suppose to list 7 things about myself....really do you actually want to read 7 things about me? LOL Ok well if you want to or not here you go...

1) After taking a 5 year break from my career to stay home and raise my children I am back on track. I've returned to the company that I invested many years of my life to...not only that I returned smack dab in the middle of our busiest time of year. Yeah ok the timing could have been better but I am happy and loving every minute of it!

2) About a month ago I came to the sudden realization while in the shower (yes I seem to do all my best thinking in the shower) that I am now closer to 40 than I am to 30. I'm really baffled by this realization because I'm not sure how I got here!

3) At one time I had an Olympic dream....I was very young and it was very far fetched, but I did dream of being an Olympic figure skater. Once I got into my teens it didn't take me long to realize that this was never going to happen, but I continued to skate for the love of it....and no I never once competed, it was all for me!

4) I am the youngest of 3 and the only girl. I believe that growing up with 2 older brothers and surviving all of their torment has made me a stronger person, I'm not afraid to stand up for myself.....part of that also comes from knowing that if I ever get in trouble those bothers of mine will be there to back me up!

5) I knew my husband, Mike, for more than a decade when we started dating. In all the years I knew him neither of us even considered the idea of us together......it came as a shock and surprise to both of us, but I'm glad we made that leap!! :)

6) As a natural redhead I am very stubborn and can be a bit hot headed at times...yes I freely admit that!!!

7) I am missing my Mom terribly right not as I always do when she disappears for the winter to enjoy a warmer climate. I'm also a extremely happy that she has a new person in her life, he treats her very well and has brought a smile to her face that I have not seen since my Dad passed away!! I'm counting the days until she's home......25 more to go!

Phew....I think that's enough about me for one post!!! I am passing on this award and the smile it gave me to my team mates from LIITD!!

Chelsea

Melissa

Melanie

Amber

Cindy

These are the best women to work with, we all support each other in so many different ways!!

I had big plans to get lots of scrapping done this weekend....and maybe even a few cards made, but that didn't happen! I did manage to get 1 layout done though so it's not a total loss! LOL

I did this layout for my monthly challenge at Love Is In The Details.......you should pop over and join us, lots of fun going on all the time!

On the home front little Miss Amy is growing so much already!!! She's so sweet and such a good little pup, we love her to bits!

I survived my first week at the new job....even without a computer!! So many people asked what I did and how bored was I, but I spent the week getting to know the people on my teams and getting caught up on some of the changes that have gone on with the company in the 5yrs I've been gone! I am loving my new job...feels like I went home! ;)

Have a good week, I hope to get some more scrapping done later tonight.....if I do I'll share later!

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

I hope you all have a chance to enjoy some time with family & loved ones during the holiday season, may all your wishes come true!!! All the best for the New Year to come!

Starting in the New Year I'll be returning to work for the company where I worked for many years prior to becoming a SAHM! I am very excited to go back and reconnect with a lot of old friends! In the meantime I'm going to enjoy the holidays with my family....and get a little scrap time in too!

See you in 2010!

Puppy for Christmas

The kids got a new puppy for Christmas from their Grandma T. We decided it would be best to give her to them early rather than on Christmas day which is full of enough chaos!!

Meet little Miss Amy!

The kids just love her so much, and she's fitting in with our family perfectly!!!

I'm sure there will be some cute puppy layouts coming soon!

1 More Day!!

School starts tomorrow for the kiddos and we're a house of mixed feelings! Zach is not so excited about starting grade 4, he has to get a shot this year, learn the recorder, and he's not too keen on his teacher.....but he'll survive. Sami is full of excitement for a new school year, she loves school....wonder how long that will last? LOL And Sean, well he's not too sure what to think, but once he sees his friends I know he'll be excited.

Me, I'm always excited to see them go back, it's nice to fall into a regular routine, but I'm a little anxious for them too. Of course there's the odd sad feeling too because they're all growing so darn fast.....still dealing with the fact that my baby is starting Kindergarten.

I'll be up bright and early tomorrow (ok that's not much different), with the camera ready to get those first day of school photos......and yes I'll share them with you all!

For now here's a card I made for the September Sizzix Card Challenge at Love Is In The Details...

Well I'm off to get a few more things ready for tomorrow morning....have a good one!

Welcome September

September is the beginning of so much, school starts, registration for hockey, ringette & skating, my anniversary and signs of fall start to show.....it's going to fly by too fast I'm afraid! But of course being the beginning of a new month means another kit reveal at Love Is In The Details....gotta love that right! :)

Here are a few examples of what I did with the French Porch Gossip kit (don't you just love that name!), the rest of my work along with everything the rest of our amazing Creative Team has done can be seen here!

ooh that Melissa Frances vintage bingo card mini album is amazing......really loved working with it!! You can purchase the kit here.....but don't wait too long! ;)

Yesterday started off as quite an emotional day, we spent the day together as a family and laid my Dad's ashes to rest. It was of course hardest on my Mom, but I guess she decided after more than 7 years it was time. But I'm happy to say that the day ended with a bang!!! My brother JK got engaged to a wonderful & beautiful woman!!! I am beyond excited for the two of them!!! YAY!

Vintage & Rock 'n Roll!!

Summer will soon be over and it never really began! I can't believe how horrible the weather has been, cold & rain.......blah! The kids will be back at school in just over 2weeks, wow it's hard to believe! We're heading out to the cottage tomorrow for a few days just the 5 of us, how fun it will be to have some family time! YAY!

Here's a little vintage layout I did of my Dad, one of the only baby pictures of him I have! Check out those eyes, they're so huge and totally adorable!

Zach had been joking around for quite a while about getting a mohawk....well a few weeks ago we let him do it for a little summer fun!!! Check out his big grin, he just loved it!!!

Well it's gone now, his hair grows so fast that the sides were already growing in so we decided to shave the centre down to match!!!

Have a good week, and be sure to come back on Wednesday to a little blog hop action! ;)

Journal me this, journal me that

Today's inspiration at Daily Inspirations is to make a layout with hidden journaling!!! Two things I love about hidden journaling is it saves space, especially on a smaller layout, and if it's something you don't want totally out there for all the world to read this is the perfect solution!

Here's my layout...

The tab above my photo pulls out to reveal the journaling. It talks about a pretty private issue so having it hidden is perfect for me because I still wanted to capture my thoughts/feelings but not have it out there for everyone to see.

So today when I got home from work someone had left 2 American Crafts Modern D Ring albums for me....but no card or note!!! I absolutely love them, they are my favorite album, and it was the perfect way to start the weekend!!! I don't know who you are yet but I'm going to find out so I can give you a HUGE thank you!!! :)

I am so glad the weekend is finally here!! The husband and kids are heading out to the cottage without me, so I get to enjoy a nice long relaxing weekend by myself!! YAY!! I really hope my mojo is kickin' it this weekend!!

Have a great weekend wherever you are, I hope you have better weather than we're having, raining once again. *sigh*

New Look

What do you think of the new look? I found this template at Template~Mama, she has some really great templates.....it wasn't easy choosing!!!

I'll be back later with a card.....it's currently 2:40am and I should get to bed!! LOL

Later Gater!

We are heading to the beach and won't come home till the sun don't shine! Ok I wish, we are heading out for our annual family camping trip for the next few days.....yay! So I'll leave you with a couple of layouts I did this week!

I'll have plenty of photos to share when I get back, if you're working.....try not to work too hard!

Father's Day

My Dad was a very genuine person, he didn't believe in lying, he spoke what he though, he was always there for a person in need whether they were family, friends or even strangers. Through the years he taught me so much, how to throw a ball, how to ride my bike and drive a car. He would talk to me openly about anything, and taught me to save my money, never let anyone push me around, don't start a fight (always let the other person throw the first punch), and believe that being a woman held no bounds to what I could if I set my mind to it.

So many special times were spent together, he was my Dad, my teacher, my friend. The most important lesson he taught me was how to love. His love for my Mom cannot be described in words, his love for my brothers and I, his family & his friends was always very clear, not a day went by without him showing us or telling us how much he loved us all.

The last year of his life he spent a great deal of time with Zach, his only grandchild. I'm more that grateful that I was able to give him something that brought him so much joy & happiness. Even in his last days, just hearing Zach play in the house brought him a little happiness & peace amongst the pain he was enduring. It's been over 7yrs since he's been gone and I still miss him terribly. I miss him for my Mom, for me, and for my children......they never got a chance to meet/know him.

Happy Father's Day, Daddy.......I know somewhere you're listening, I love you!

xoxo