Happy Birthday Rina!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RINA!

I really love working with Rina and Kimmi at Scrapbook Elements! They are wonderful designers and I am blessed to create with their beautiful kits! I got this one last night... it is Mellow on My Mind
I am catching up on some of Rina's older kits even though I love her new things so much. I just love these soft colors and tend to get her kits with pinks in them just because I love to make Brag Book pages for Charli. Working with Rina gave me the inspiration to do stacked papers, I really love this look! I don't want to be greedy and ask for too many kits, LOL, I want to be around a Long Time!
Each week Rina blesses us with gorgeous Scripture Word Art at SBE the thread is Here
It would be great if you stopped by and joined us for the weekly Scripture Challenge, it is great getting to know people that are not afraid to scrap their faith!

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Les is a Grumpy Bear this morning! I feel sorry for those at work today! He got me to bring him Advil when I got up at 5:30 and then he got up and asked if I was OK, I said I was fine and he fussed because I didn't ask if HE was OK. I knew he wasn't because he had asked for the Advil but we had just talked about not complaining so much the other night! Then he was looking for his gout med and asked me where it was, I told him I did not touch his medicine except to get him the Advil and he blows up about how a simple No would do.
He had trouble putting on his shoe and I asked him if he had been keeping up with what he ate and he said he had had Nothing he wasn't supposed to! Now he is really aggravated I didn't give him a hug... I told him not to start my day badly and expect a HUG! I did tell him I loved him though. Please pray for him and his right broke foot and left foot with Gout!

Roses for Valentines

This is one of the types of roses I had planted for Valentines. I bought 6 bushes and Les and my brother planted them. This one is Queen Elizabeth which I got because my Mom, sister and daughter are all named Elizabeth! It is planted on the side of my house so I can see it as I put up in the drive way. One of our church deacons gave me a metal bench, table and chair, it really looks great! I am proud of them and want to make a little place to sit them.
Last year I had a small herb garden. Hopefully I will get that going, too. I have the seeds sitting right in front of me. The main thing is attracting butterflies. I also bought zinnias. It should be warm enough soon to start them!
My nephew graduated from Boot camp in Ga. Wednesday and will be going to Texas now. I am proud of him and hope he does really well. He is very smart, just never stuck to anything, now at 25 he is in the Army. Jeremy had a lot to do with that.
Papa is now at home, thank goodness Les helped before he went to work!
Mama had to go back and get the place where she had her mastectomy drained for the third time, she is getting worried about that.
This week Bud taught us about how words affect our health. He showed many scriptures and it really made sense! He explained how we cause our immunity system to be weak when we make statements like "I am coming down with the Flu"
and how we often cause our own health problems. I have always seen this from family members who tend to be sick a lot. My own MIL is always sick, I always figure it is a way to get attention as is the case with many people.
I have always thought it strange that I have an Immunity suppressive disease and Les always gets the stomach viruses and bad colds! One thing I do, though has been when a virus starts going through work I start praying that I won't get it. Prayer works and I don't have to miss days out sick!

My Office

I thought I would share pictures of my office. I am very proud to have my own space. Les can have the living room, I hardly go in there except that that's where my Volkswagens are, LOL! You can tell my favorite colors are Kermit green and aqua, the bottom two shelves of my bookcase are Charli's toys and the rest are art supplies, paints, colored pencils and my cross stitch. I am going to get a small kitchen set to go here. I have a whole bunch of tea sets and play food in the garage so as soon as she is old enough we will have tea parties. I don't mind sharing my space with her!
Where my sewing machine is has my photo boxes and albums, magazines, sewing and beads. To the right of my computer is all my scrap booking stuff and my yarn.
I decided to add the top of my desk because I surround myself with pictures and some of my favorite things, I Love those jeweled crosses that my Mom gave me, there's also a I Love Grandma mug from Charli, a prayer box and a silver angel frame from my Mom. My Valentine from Les is on top and there's the box of chocolates I haven't finished. That's the TV beside Charli's desk, it sits on an antique sewing machine from a good friend.
Well, I hope this gives you a glimpse into who I am. I spend more time here than anywhere else!

I guess you can guess where this cup came from, LOL!
My SIL's Grandmother died Sunday. It was his Dad's Mother, the funeral will be at 11:00. They weren't close but she had done several things for Trey and Gina including giving them money to buy Charli's crib.
NHC won't take Papa because he can walk too far and he can't go to the Rehab hospital because he can't do enough for himself. It looks like he may Have to go home and have a visiting nurse. I was so hoping he could go to NHC where they could take care of him and give Kathie a break!
I got a nice thank you card from Preacher Bud for helping with Dink and Kat's Anniversary party. I thought that was very nice!
It is still below freezing in the mornings, I am so ready for spring!

VW THING

This is one thing I am missing from my collection... a VW Thing! I was playing around last night looking for images and found out that Matchbox added this to the 2008 collection. Actually Hotwheels and Johnny Lightning have a version, too! I am going to have to see if I can still find one! I came up on 2 Bahas at Dollar General last week, so maybe I have a chance!
That's the challenge now with my collection, finding things I don't have, LOL!
I don't have a lot of the newer VW's and have just recently been finding my favorite the "Ghia", I would Love to actually have one of these cars! I would love to have one to go to car shows in! I have a picture of me beside one from the 2007 car show uptown on my EHD I may have to find and post, LOL!
Well Annabelle was still out sick yesterday, Amanda had to send her home early Thursday, I hope she comes back today so I will have all my babies!
After I get home from seeing Charli I hope to go see Papa, he took a bad turn with his heart and had to be moved to another floor with constant monitoring, Jeremy never contacted me again to check on him, I guess he hasn't gotten Internet time.
Gina had to go back to get an adjustment on her jaw, she had a head ache Sunday so Les and I were alone in church, when all my family come we take up two pews but lately that is rare, Gina doesn't miss many Sundays though, I think that's the second one this year, I really enjoy seeing everyone there.

I needed to make a book for a couple at church who are celebrating their 50th Wedding anniversary today. They eloped so I had no pictures from the wedding and the photos I had were not from the 50's so I came up with this idea. I downloaded pictures from 1959 and researched a little. The kit is called Home Made Memories by Connie Prince
http://www.gottapixel.net/store/product.php?productid=19828&cat=0&page=1
This is the Gotta Pixel link but it is also at Divine Digital and on sale for $2!
http://divinedigital.com/boutique/product.php?productid=5360&cat=0&page=1
I wish I had more time with this because I didn't get the pictures until Friday night and since I did some cleaning and kept Charli I was rushing to get it done yesterday! I did 24 pages though and told Kat if she got me some pictures I would add them for her.
I did add the photo frame from Natali at Scrapbook Graphics and the overlay that makes the paper look old is from Elena's Blog. I learned these things from '59
Lee Petty won first Daytona 500
The Dixie our local diner opened
The Corvair was first introduced
and several other things.
I think I will do my kids and Charli and Seth books about the year they were born, I might even do mine!
Oh, Papa had to get his IV back, he is dehydrating and had a bad day yesterday.

What a wonderful time I had playing with Charli last night! I redid my office so her desk is beside mine and made her toys more accessible to her so we played. I gave her a Princess Valentine and she carried it around and would put her pocketbook over her arm and she kept her crown and beads on. I am glad she is so girly! I now have room in my office for a small kitchen set in the next few months. I have a huge collection of tea set and play food I have been getting as I go to thrift stores and I am so excited she is growing up and actually playing!

Charli was playing with her brush Tuesday and I got these cute pictures! She even 'fixed' mine for me! She was in a playful mood this week and so sweet!
We didn't eat at Fuddruckers because they were packed when we went to Greenville. We ate at a new Chinese Buffet/grill/ Sushi Bar called Ni Hao and it was SO GOOD! Wow! We had the buffet which included steak which they cooked for you and crablegs for $10.95 Les even got to eat FROGLEGS and was happy about that! I think my favorite was the hibachi grilled shrimp but they had so much it is hard to say. The only thing was the crablegs were small and not worth wrestling with the crackers to eat. One thing that amazed me were the grapes on the dessert bar were as big as plums! They were sweet, too!
Les had to send his phone to be repaired, it had several problems, I hope they can fix it or upgrade for him.
I have several things to get done today and am getting an early start, a couple from church are celebrating 50 years so I am doing a project for them and Charli is coming over to play with me so I need to neaten up.
I also bought the material to start a quilt project. I want to practice on a couple and then I will make the babies one for Christmas. I told Les I would like to make Seth one with a map of the USA and put a little VW attached to a ribbon so he can put it on Meme's house then his. I have written out my plans. The ONLY thing is I HATE to sew, LOL! I have made quilts before and think this will be fun though!
OH, we talked to Papa about going into a nursing home while he gets his strength back, he had been fighting Kathie about it but by the time we got there and he was alone he told us he guessed he was going to have to. He thought he could go to the rehab hospital but he isn't able to do enough for himself to. he had a horror of the nursing home and didn't think about them having the rehab section. He was doing well and sat up and really talked to us. I am glad noone else was there at the time. Les and Kathie say I can do more with him, I just listen to him and talk gently and caring to him. Les said he is thinking about his on health, his Dad is in worse health than his GD was at a much younger age. I have always told him I will 'put him away' in a nursing home if he becomes cripple, LOL. Gina says she will help me!

It looks like my FIL will need to go to a nursing home awhile, my MIL can't be pulling on him and taking care of him as much as he needs right now. His lungs are shot with the COPD and he has a fatty liver. Also he is diabetic and because of not using oxygen the way he should he has Dementia. I was praying nothing would happen Before Jeremy came home but he is really out of it and his quality of life is not good. I know Jeremy would not want to see his Papa like this. They REALLY love each other. When jeremy was little and would need to be corected it would hurt his Papa so bad. After Ghostbusters Jeremy made the "NO" symbol on the doors and TV with a crayon and George didn't want us to spank him because he was just copying the movie.
I asked Kathie to save George's National Guard awards for Jeremy. That child was so proud of his Papa and called the Guard "Papa's Army" The picture at the top is our send off party when Jeremy joined the Army. Yes, I am in that picture, LOL!
It is so strange that my Mom is also having problems with her liver, too! I pray she will get better quickly!
Oh, I really like the new CSI. I thought I would miss Gill but the new character, Ray is super!

Playing with magnets

This is Charli playing with some magnet arrows, she really enjoys them! She plays with them for long times! You can see by these pictures her curls are really growing out! I am so tickled she is going to have curly hair like Gina! My favorite moments are when she takes her nap on me and as she sleeps she sweats and wakes up with a lot of curls! She seems to enjoy our naps, too and never gives me any trouble by fighting sleep.
I finally heard from Jeremy and Julie, he emailed me and she called me. They were just so excited to see each other they forgot everything else, sending Charli a birthday present, calling me on my BD and checking on his Grandparents... he left on the 11th, I guess I just don't understand.

When I saw this Mr Roboto Kit
I had to have it to scrap Charli's Favorite Robot, PLEX! She even has this on sale for $1 at Gotta Pixel. I am going to scrap one of my first VWs, too! The stomach bug has made it around the Daycare and I have had a Lot of diapers to change! I am praying it is over! They were all a little ill yesterday, too, pushing and not getting along, I hope that's better today, too.
I am up to 130 friends on Facebook. I even found my Mom's cousins who are twins and some of my Wal-Mart friends.

That 70's kit! That's what this one is called and I love it! At Digishoptalk the designers give away kits and Karyn at Digitalarts-Cafe gave me a half price coupon on this one and it was on sale too. Super kit!!
My SIL's hours have been cut like so many others and so I to go see Grandmama a few minutes after I left there. Charli was in a terrific mood. I will download the pictures later.

It's not easy to see this but it is something I drew several years ago. I haven't done any 'real' drawing in a long time. I do things for work, I love doing paper piecing but nothing like this photo of my DD, Gina. Maybe I will do a portrait of Charli sometime.
I sat with my in laws at the hospital for awhile and then went to see my Mom and Grandmother, yesterday, They were both good visits although Papa couldn't wake up. I was worried about him falling out of the wheelchair on the way to x-ray!It's now been one week since he went to the hospital! We will find out today about his condition.

TREASURES

I actually went to bed at 7:00 last night so I am up now. Bojangles has the smoked sausage biscuit back and I had eaten one before the concert Friday and it made me sick so I didn't really eat anything yesterday and now have a very slight headache. thought if I ate a little something I would feel better in a few minutes.
The real reason I am having trouble is that Kathie asked me to make a list of things I wanted my name on for her. I can't think of much but I do want all the photos and her Mickey Mouse watch (it's a special collector watch) I do want Jeremy to get Papa's things from the National Guard, that's what these are mostly, I borrowed them for VBS one year and photographed them, Since he can't speak for himself I am requesting them. I also want Gina to have her pearls. She is the only granddaughter that is 'girly' and would treasure them. She also gets her Mema's original wedding set.
I have things in my jewelry box with names on them of who I want to get them and where the item came from. I am going to do pages for a bragbook so things that are important to me won't end up in a yard sale or the trash. It's not that I have a lot but things like the rhinestones my Nanny gave me need to be with someone who cares that my Dad was 15 when he bought them for her and she gave them to me when I was 15. I hope I will be around to hand them to Charli when she is that age.
I don't need anything adding more clutter to my life and I will scan the pictures and pass on the originals to other family.
As a scrapbooker I have done Many albums and my art will outlive me, I think about that often, I sit here in my office and to me left is a pastel drawing my Grandmother did when she was in college, it is surrounded by 4 of my sunset photographs. On another wall is a collage drawing by Jeremy (I just added pictures) I hope Jeremy will want the art by Grandmama, it is one of my favorite possessions!
Also the things I have crocheted and cross stitched will remind people of me but most of all I hope my children and grand children will remind others of me! I know Gina is very much like me. I know I am rambling this morning Or is is late night? So I will close, my headache is gone now and I will go back to bed.

Here are some pictures from the concert last night. It was Awesome, it was 1:00 before we got home! They said there were over 13,000 people there, We didn't have to wait in line but 10 or 15 minutes. Toby Mac was the big draw and those teens loved him, we all did, too. There ended up being 19 people in our group.
The news is not good on my FIL, we will know exactly Monday. I Do Not want ANYONE to tell Jeremy before I have a chance to. I am not going to tell my DIL either. I am going to email him to call me ASAP, I am praying nothing will happen until he gets back in the states. I don't like people telling me about my own family when something important goes on and I will give my son the same respect! I just hope he will call me, I haven't heard at all from him since he got in the states and know he only had two weeks and has gone back. I am not Mad he didn't call me on my birthday or to say good-bye. I have grown to expect it...

More pages from Charli's Birthday, I had a lot of great pictures to scrap! This kit is called Flutterfree and is one of her 'older' ones I really love it!
Les had to go to the Dr 3 times yesterday, Sports Medicine sent him to an orthopedist so he is now wearing one of those boots on his right foot. I guess I will do most of the driving awhile because I can't stand when he drives with his left foot! At least he had vacation time already today and tomorrow since we are going to the concert!

Well, Ma Howard will be buried today, I am sad that it is at 11AM and I will be at work and can't go. Gina did a great job on her hair and she really looked nice, especially since she had cancer.
When I got home yesterday after keeping Charli Les said Dad had taken a turn for the worse and I needed to go see him before church. I got there and he was sitting there eating his supper. It seems like they do that to me all the time, tell me he's about gone and when I get there he looks pretty good, I told everyone it's because I came to see him. Uncle Bud and Louise were there along with Janette and my MIL. I sat on the bed beside him and talked to him and he ate his fruit and a little bit from his plate. He is still taking fluids and the antibiotics and they did a CT scan.
Looks like Les has a Broken foot now. He went to see his Dr today and has to be at Sports Medicine at 8:05. I told him he had to STOP finding reasons every month to go to the DR! Douglas from church said he didn't know whether to pray or just shoot him! At the funeral home Bobbi was teasing him too. I told her I wouldn't shoot him because that was messy, it would be something a lot neater. I tease him that's why I watch all the Forensic shows! I tell him all the time he better not end up cripple, that's what Nursing Homes are for! I wish I could afford AFLAC again because the medical bills are ridiculous!
I am keeping a record this year by noting how many times he does go to the Dr. last year it was over 20 times.
I guess today is not a very uplifting post! I did have a pretty good day, though, The kids were good at work, Katie was out, Caleb is still out after his surgery and Kamryn went home with the stomache bug. Charli was Great and the service at church was wonderful. even at the Funeral Home people knew she was ready and it wasn't sad. All in all, I can count several blessings!

I am so happy to be on Connie Prince's CT, now! This is the first kit I have done for her and it is on sale for $1! It is called Desperately Seeking Spring I think it's a wonderful kit for Charli's birthday pictures! I am going to do more.
Well, Monday we had a new member of the church born, Pyper Elizabeth to Sarah Blevins and Tuesday we lost the oldest member Virginia "Ma" Howard. Gina is going to the Funeral Home this morning to cut and fix her hair, Les is going to keep Charli and he's happy about that. It won't take too long. She has done this before for a church member. I admire her for it.
I really am having fun playing with Charli in the afternoons. She now has discovered magnets and Loves them! I'll post a picture later.
Have a Super day! (this is what the kids at work tell their parents)

Papa Douglas at church was the first to give Charli a Valentine last year and this year he has already made sure she got her's. I took it to her yesterday and Gina took her picture when she ate a piece. You can tell she enjoyed it!

Today when I got to work Ms. Juanita brought me a brown paper sack and said, I want you to have this and in the bag was this! It's even full of Wild Country cologne! What makes it more special is that it was her dad's, I truly treasure it.
I was the employee that was spotlighted this month and I told how I loved and collected VW's so she said this was one she wanted me to have.