It's coming through today.....

the Olympic Torch, that is. My family and I are heading down to City Hall tonight to watch it come in. It will probably be the only time that this will ever happen here in our small city; so we better make sure we get some good pictures of this event!

Have a good night!

Merry Christmas from my family to yours.....

Luke 2 : 1 - 20 (NIV)

1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to his own town to register.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Looking for the horseshoes.....

that are up there somewhere.....

Sorry for that visual, but I'm having a really fantastic, lucky week!! I don't really believe in luck, but I think I'm really having the socks blessed off me!!

First, my LSS runs a monthly Sketch contest. This LO won me a $15 gift certificate to the store. I'm really low on card stock, so this just made my day!

Then, on Tuesday, I found out that this LO won me the weekly prize over at 52 Weeks..52 Sketches; which was a great kit from Scrapbook Studio!

AND then, tonight, after playing along in her 12 days of Christmas contest for all 12 days, my FAVORITE photographer, Stacy announced that I was her Grand Prize winner!!!!!!!!!! SO extremely excited, as Richard and I were hoping to be able to book her to do our 12.5 anniversary photo shoot in April!!!!!!!! I can't wait!

Have a great night!

On vacation.....

and getting some scrapping done. Participating in various challenges that I've found at several different sites helps. Like these two pages created for the Bookmarks Challenge over at Two Peas in a Bucket :

And these ones created for challenges over at 52 Sketches..52 Weeks. I was so sad to hear that Julie will not be running the site next year - her sketches rock!

Today I got to sleep in until almost 9am! Thanks goes to my kids for staying quiet for that long. I really needed it. It's been a good vacation so far; I'm just relaxing and doing NOTHING for at least another day.

I'm just about ready for Christmas - can't wait to see my kids reactions to their gifts. I promised myself that I wouldn't stress about it, but I still hope they like my choices.

That's it for today; Have a good one!

Yet Another.....

snow day today. The third one in a row. It's not the amount of snow we're getting, I think, but the wind blowing it all around. In town where we are, it's better than on the highways and back roads. It's colder today, too.

It better clear up before tomorrow, hubby and I have plans to go away.

I'm 3/4 of the way through Christmas shopping. Next week, I'll be done - and yay for that!!

Have a good one!

Another.....

snow day today.

Another day home with the kids. But, at least hubby is snowed in today too.

I'm going to attempt to finish Christmas shopping today. Wish me luck.

Have a good day.

First.....

snow day of this school year! Can I say Whew!!!?? I'm so glad I don't have to drive a school bus in all of this!!!

Today is the first day of an apparent 3 days of miserable weather coming our way. It's a good day to stay home and scrap, I think.

Have a good one & stay warm!!

Inspired by.....

the most beautiful little girl :


This is my new neice; isn't she sweet?

Also, I found out that snails hibernate. Because of this site; I now know just about everything I need to know about snails. Ours is still alive, we saw him yesterday briefly.

I have started Christmas shopping. Note for next year - I should have started earlier. Gak, I hate Christmas crowds!!!

Have a great day!

I have a new.....

niece!!! She was born yesterday afternoon to my brother and sister in law. She is SOOOO (but I'm not biased at all!!! ;D) beautiful & I'm so excited to meet her next weekend.

My youngest daughter brought home a snail from the bus yard this week. He is still alive, but seems to sleep an awful lot. Does anyone out there know if that's normal?? He also likes to eat apple. Who knew that about a snail? I don't think that he has a name yet.

It's been dull and grey here the last couple of days. Blech. But, we have no snow and I'm grateful for that. I hate winter. Who knew that it could be 10 degrees Celsius at the end of November in Ontario??

I have NOT started Christmas shopping yet. I think I might try to do it all in one day. I'll let you know how it goes. I have NOT started decorating yet. It's not December. I am NOT listening to Christmas music yet. I'm still Bah Humbugging until Tuesday. No sense in getting over excited too far ahead. When school gets out for the break and I don't have to get up early to go to work, THEN I'll get excited!

I'll leave you with a (ironically) Christmas page created for 52 Sketches...52 Weeks. My oldest daughter and I sang together last year at church for the annual Candlelight service.


Have a great day!

Taking a Break.....

from applesauce making to post a couple of pictures. This is what my kitchen currently looks like :


And the HUGE pan of applesauce that is awaiting freezer bags:


Yum, my house smells so good today - good even though it's blah, dreary and raining today & there's going to be a LARGE mess to clean up later!

Gotta get back at it - Have a great day!

One Minute.....

to remember that freedom isn't free.

My prayers and thoughts are with those families whose loved ones will not be coming home and those who are missing family members who are posted overseas.

Thank you to all those who stand in the line of duty for me.

I am grateful.

Ok seriously.....

I need to get my act together!! Bad blogger, bad blogger!! I can't believe it's been almost a month since I posted last!! But honestly, there really hasn't been too much to blog about.

My family has all been through the first colds (or was it a flu??) of the season. We're all on the mend, thanks to Vitamin C, echinacea and lots of extra rest.

It's done nothing but rain off and on here for weeks. I'm sick of it.

My husband and I have lost another grandparent - this time it was his Grandma. We knew her better than my Beppe. We are sad. I am realizing that life is short and time with family should be precious, so I am trying to make the best of every minute of every day.

This past weekend the kids and I drove up to visit my sister and her family in Timmins. By myself. That's right, just me - the only driver - and three kids. It's about 8 hours and 700 km north of where I am. This also includes driving on Highway 400 - something that I've never been comfortable with. I hate merging onto a high speed highway. But, I did it!!!!! So super proud of myself for sure, plus now that I know I can do it, I can do it more. While we were there I did a bit of scrappy shopping - bought some cute stamps and a new boarder punch....... hmmmm perhaps a card making day should be in the order??

Speaking of scrappy stuff, not too much of that has been going on in this house lately. And I'm ok with that. It's good to have a break once in awhile. But, I'll leave you with a couple of LO's recently done for 52 Sketches..52 Weeks.

Have a great day!

A little bit of.....

scrappy goodness today.

Since Sweet Pea Scraps stopped making new kits, I haven't been creating as much lately. It's a good thing really, as I'm now working again since school started, and I have less time to be creative anyways. But, as promised a few posts ago, I'll share what I have been doing!

I bought this stamp at my LSS a few weeks ago, but since we don't really make a big deal out of Hallowe'en in our house, I thought I'd experiment and try to make a fall tree! So, I pulled out my eyeshadow foam brushes (yep the cheap ones from the dollar store. I use them for getting into small spaces that my inks won't reach) and tried my hand at blending 4 different colours. I liked the first one I tried on a scrap piece of paper, so I created these three :

a little "plaque" with a really great quote for fall :

a fall "Joy" card

and a little thank - you card.

Also, I made this page for a new mom in my congregation. It's meant to be a shower gift, so I framed it, and she can add her favorite picture of her little guy. I used sketch #14 from 52 Weeks...52 Sketches for it.

Otherwise, things here never slow down; really it's starting to become normal! I'm more than halfway through Echo in the Bone, and I'm hoping there will be a #8 in the series!!! It's very good.

That's it for now - have a great day!

So, this guy and I.....

are celebrating 12 years of marriage today.

This is us exactly 1 year ago.

My fave photographer, Stacy, snapped this at Ricky & Alissa's wedding for us.

And we haven't changed much.

And our marriage gets better and better every year that goes by.

And yes, we still argue. But we're better at making up now.

Still so very happy to be married to each other.

Celebrating.....

today!! My wonderful sister sent me a handmade card earlier this week & my hubby surprised me with a card (*gasp* that he picked out himself!!) left for me in the bathroom this morning at 6:30am. Then Renee gave me one of her prized fairy cards as a gift! Another surprise followed with a card & candle from 3 of the kids on my bus (whose mom knew it was my Bday) and a then gift of zucchini relish (yum, yum - my favorite kind), honey and a book from another girlfriend. I'm so very blessed with so many good friends. It's been a great day. I hope you have a good one too!

Happy Birthday.....

to me!!! But not really until tomorrow. Then I'll be 34 - but I don't feel like it, really. I still feel 18 in my mind!!! So, because I was over at the mall this morning, I bought myself this nice little gift today :

Newly released as of last week, I've been waiting 3 years for it to come out! And, so, today I'm going to spend the whole day reading it instead of cleaning the bathroom like I should.

Have a great day!

More Inspiration.....

from the 52 Sketches....52 Weeks blog :


Love the sketches over there!

I'm feeling better this week - but still sad for my Mom.

Otherwise, we're slowly getting into school days routines again - but sometimes 6:30 am stinks. My bus route has changed again too, and with the addition of 13 more kids, I think I'm going to implement a seating plan this afternoon, just to save my sanity.

So, today I'm going to spend a quiet day at home and try my hand at card making and stamping. If it goes well, I might share it here!

Have a good day!

Yesterday.....

was a sad day for my family.

My Beppe passed away rather suddenly.
She lived in Holland & I didn't know her very well. I regret that now. She was my Mom's mother, so my Mom and Dad are flying there this afternoon to be with her brothers. I am very sad for my Mom.

My next post will be happier, I promise.

Heading.....

here tomorrow with the kids. They've been so good these last couple of weeks while I've been working to get the school ready for the first day. This will be our last summer Hurrah! together before they go back.

Today I picked up all the info for my bus route - right now I'm looking forward to getting back to work. In a couple of weeks, it'll be a different tune!! =D

I found a new place to go play this week - this site has great sketches & an online community as well. My LSS runs a sketch contest every month and last month the sketch was from there. Here's a couple of pages I've made using inspiration gathered from there:



Have a great night!

It's the most.....

wonderful time of the year!!!

It's back to school shopping today - and yes, I actually am looking forward to it!! It's Ericas first time going. Although she really doesn't need much - just indoor shoes and a lunch pail - I think she'll have fun. All three ladies are getting haircuts today too, as we are in desperate need of them! Ethan just needs a little trim around his ears, but I can do that at home.

Jack the dog and the Wii should be going home sometime this weekend as well. Thank goodness about Jack - I'm not sure I like having a larger dog here when we live in the city. Maybe it's just because of the shedding. I'm not so happy about the Wii going back to my MIL's though, I've rather enjoyed doing yoga on the Wii Fit. Maybe we will have to save up to get our own system.

I've been working at the school everyday this week so far. I'm sore and tired, but the good news is that 4 more classrooms are done! Whew, just one more to go!! Then it's on to bathrooms and the gym. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! It's very faint, but it's there.....

I'll leave you with a LO. This is my brother and my mother dancing at his wedding last May :


Have a great day!

We're Done.....

with all the kids sporting activities for the summer!!!!! Renee's last soccer game was this morning. She played net & was VERY good if I do say so myself. The field was soaked, but she had a great time & her whole team did really well.

Also tonight we saw this concert at one of our local high schools. My kids though it was FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC!!! And so did I! They were funny and they had high energy songs with a little bit of dancing and a good solid message about God & Jesus. I'm so glad we went!!!

It's been an interesting week here in our neck of the woods, with several tornadoes rolling thorough - pretty unusual for us in Southern Ontario. One came pretty close to my hometown - way too close for comfort really. They say they were F2's but after seeing the damage caused and several videos online, I cannot imagine what it would be like to have a stronger one!!

Have a great weekend!

Changing up.....

the blog for a different look - what do you think?

Well, we have a dog again. Not really our own, but we sent Jack to live at the in-laws several years ago - he's a country dog at heart - and now we have him back for about 10 days while they are out West. The kids think it's great. I'm not looking forward to cleaning up the hair. He sheds. Alot. Good times. Really. I'm smiling on the inside.

Not much else is new - we're enjoying the last few days of summer. It's finally been a bit hot - the kids and my niece and nephew were in the pool ALL DAY yesterday; literally. I think they only got out to eat and pee. This time we even remembered the sun screen. Last time this happened, everyone was as red as a lobster by the end of the day.

Maybe I'll go and scrap.
Have a great day!

Enjoying.....

a few minutes of peace and quiet. This week is VBS week, but at a different church (not our own) and in the evening! They are feeding my kids supper (at 5pm) and doing the program (until 7:30 pm) after that. Unique eh? I'm loving it! This is usually what I like to call the "witching hour" where everyone is starting to get hungry, cranky and tired, but it's not supper or bedtime yet....you know what I mean.

I say thank goodness for VBS - it's saving my sanity!!!

Also, it's Happy Birthday to my buddy boy Ethan today - he's now big number 9!! Only one year to go until he's in double digits too!! Time just keeps flying along, sigh.

We went to the (outdoor) wedding on Saturday and had a blast in spite of the constant rain!! But here's my guilty secret : I (the scrapbooker) did NOT take my camera (forgot it, really) and I did NOT take one picture. And I LIKED it!!!!! It was fun to go to a wedding and just go! I flirted with my hubby, danced a few dances and slept in with no little feet thumping to wake me up!! We need to do that again sometime soon!!

Have a great night!

August SPS Projects.....

Ok, so I'm late posting these. I'm going to claim busyness, but that's not the real reason, I'm just feeling lazy about blogging lately.

Anyways, here's a pic of the August Sweet Pea Scraps kit :

Isn't it lovely? And here's my projects:

Otherwise, things around here are good, but still pretty busy. Hubby and I have a wedding to go to this weekend, and next weekend is my family reunion - really looking forward to both events!! Swimming lessons finish up this week too - I'm SO glad that summer activities are starting to wrap up! I'm ready for school to start again.

If you get a minute, pop by the August gallery - lots of great projects to help inspire again this month - have I ever said how much the Sweet Pea Girls rock?

Have a great weekend, all!

Ok, so this is getting......

ridiculous. I just can't seem to keep up with it all.

Yesterday we had a TON of people over for coffee and lunch after church, the three days before that were spent cleaning up after 4 days of camping and cleaning my house to get ready for said get together, and we went to the Science Centre in Toronto during that time too. It's been raining for 5 days and I can't get good pictures of my August SPS kit projects because the light is low. Swimming lessons start this week and in 2 weeks it's a week of VBS mornings, PLUS today I'm going to rewrite my driver's test to renew my licence - essential if I'm going to drive school bus in the fall again. Sigh. This sucks. I thought it was supposed to be summer vacation!!! I think I need to go back to work to go on vacation from vacation.

I'll be back soon with a happier post, I promise! ;)
Have a great day!

3 days to go.....

until our annual camping trip with the Cloutiers! I guess I should start getting ready for that eh? But, I'm not. As per usual, I'm leaving it to the last minute, although I have most of it planned in my head & one very quick list jotted down that even I can't make sense of anymore; although at the time, it seemed pretty good. I'm trying to get the house cleaned up before we go, so that I don't come home to a mess. There's nothing worse than coming home from a vacation to find even more work waiting for you there. Man, I hope the weather is good this year!

The sneak peek is up for August. I love this kit & already have a few layouts planned in my head. Last month I didn't do any heritage LOs, so keep your eyes open for at least one next month! Also, Renee took some great pictures for me in June, so I'm using them as well.

Today my parents are leaving for their semi-annual trip to The Netherlands. I say semi annual, because they try to get back every other year, as my Mom's whole family lives there still. They have an evening flight, so by the time they get there it will be early morning! With the time change, they'll spend about 12 hours in the plane, although in reality, it's only a six hour flight.

It's library day here again, thank goodness! The kids have been arguing and pesting each other this week something awful & I've had my fill of the nonsense. Once a week the library has an hour long free program for my older two, and then Erica and I hang out in the kids wing picking books, playing on the computers and in the toy yard while we wait. You HAVE to be quiet in the library - HOORAY!

Have a great day all!

I'm Baaaa-ck..... (picture heavy post)

so sorry that I've been gone! I can't believe that it's been so long since I've posted - AGAIN!!! The kids and I have been enjoying summer stuff together and they've been visiting with grandparents while I've been summer cleaning at the school.

As promised, here's some of my Peggy's Cove pictures - my sister and I both really loved this place.

And, here's my July SPS projects - I loved the bright, summery colours in this kit!! But first, here's a picture of the kit :

And, here's my projects. I was so inspired by my Peggy's Cove pictures and the colours of the kit fit them so well, that I made these right away as soon as I got home. The journaling on the picture is a quote from Max Lucado and is actually a Daisy D's rubon that I found in Halifax at one of the LSS's there. I felt it fit the mood of the page, even though the sea isn't mentioned :

And, because my brother's wedding colours just happened to be blue, I made this one. The little file folder at the bottom opens up to reveal more pictures. I like it so much that I think I'm going to keep it for myself!! I'll make another one for them later ;), sorry guys :

It was super windy and Erica had so much fun being her silly self at the beach while camping last summer :

And another page for my Family Reunion album - snowball fights in August. Huh. Who'da thought it??

And, because I had so much of the kit left over, I thought I'd make up a few more cards for my ever growing card stash!

I spent a lovely afternoon with my best friend from high school last weekend. It was my high school's 40th reunion, and while I didn't end up going to many reunion things, it was really nice to see her again. I hope we'll get together again soon.

I guess that's it for now, have a great night!

I'm here.....

but I've been really busy finishing up my July SPS projects and cleaning up after my family. I just KNEW there was going to be a downside to my going on vacation alone!!!

But, I digress. =D

Next time I post I'll share some of my Peggy's Cove pictures.

Have a great day!

One More Day.....

here in Halifax. My sister and I are planning a day of sightseeing if the weather is good and shopping at one of the LSSs.

Yesterday it poured, but we were at Pier 21 which is all indoor. What an amazing place!! They have photocopies of all the passenger lists from all the boats that brought immigrants to Pier 21 over from Europe over a 40 year period. My Dad stopped in at the research centre and found our family's names on one of the lists, so he signed his name next to it. I've really been into learning more about my family and our history, so yesterday was one of the highlights of the trip for me.


I'm starting to look forward to going home. I miss my hubby and kids and am sad that they're not here to share all of this with me. On the other hand, it's been fun to be by myself and not have to worry about the kids. It's been an experience that I'll never forget! Stay tuned for many, many pages about these last 5 days. =D

Have a great day!