{discovering} life

An Ordinary Day

I did this layout this week for the Weekly Challenge up at Two Peas. It was to create a layout/sketch in 30 minutes. Talk about a challenge for me...I am such a slow scrapbooker!!! It was super fun though and I really like the way it came out! Thanks Jen Johner for the inspiration! That girl is amazing! :)

So so busy around here! We were suppose to be moving this upcoming week but it looks like it's been pushed back to Feb 16. And I'm kinda glad - between assignments I need to get finished up and packing up this house by myself - it's no easy task! Overwhelmed - to say the least!

This afternoon - we are off to a Birthday Party/Say Goodbye party for Madisyn. I hope that she has a great time! I plan to get photos of her with all her friends and have them write a message to her in a book - so she will have a photo/message from all her friends when we move. I think it will be really special to her - she's going to miss them all so much!

So - quick post! Have a great weekend! :)

Heart Happy! :)

Thank you for all the wonderful birthday wishes...here, via email and also those that posted on Facebook! Thank you!! I had a great day and the kids had great birthdays too! It was a crazy weekend - for sure! It was so fun to see Jaxon dig into his little cake and chow down! He is the only one that has loved the cake and totally digged into it - Madi and Hudson just cried! LOL! He is out little eater and we couldn't be happier! I hope that he doesn't develop the same eating issues that the other two have - he is doing so great right now!

Anyway - thank you! ;) You helped me to have a wonderful day!

I wanted to share two quick things...

This layout is up at Hero Arts this week - using hearts and stamping different designs on each one. Very simple but I love how it came together! :)

 

And this card went up on the blog this week as well - a card for a dear friend! :) Again - it's heart week at Hero - so more lovely hearts! They update their blog daily so be sure to check it out! Lots of fun give aways too! :)

Also...

Have you had a chance to check out my 'A Year of You' class at Two Peas yet? Here is a link to the class and the downloadable PDF with step-by-step instructions and photos. You have until Feb. 19 to create your January layout using some or one of the techniques discussed in the class...to be entered into the drawing to win a prize from Two Peas. When you upload it to the Peanut Gallery - be sure to check the box for the class! I hope that you'll play along! I'm working on the class project for February - if you have any techniques that you'd like me to cover in this class - post them here. I'd love to hear if you have any thoughts or suggestions! :)

Ok - gotta go take Jaxon to his 1 year Dr. appointment! Have a great day!

Another year...

Madisyn turned 7 today!

7 years old!

I just can't believe it! I can remember so clearly...the day that I found out I was pregnant after 2 years of complications in getting pregnant. I remember the pride of carrying a baby. I remember the labor and the day she was born. I remember her crying, and crying and crying. I remember the joys, the firsts, all the tears that I have shed. I remember the day that we finally received answers...that she had autism. I remember the day we had to put her into a special education program, for all day school, at the young age of 2 1/2. I remember the obsession with stickers, with things having to be just right for her. I remember her progress, the happy little joys along the way. I remember her seeing her brother for the first time. And so much more...

today, that precious, special, darling little girl turned 7.

She has changed so much...grown leaps and bounds. She still deals with her own personal struggles...but she has overcome so much! Through all the tears that I have cried...there are so many more smiles today...so thankful for her in our family. I'm so thankful for her in my life.

After all the festivities of the day, as we tucked her into bed, I said a special prayer and then sang the routine 4 songs every night...ending with 'I'm a Child of God'. And all I could do was cry...

I'm the luckiest person in the world!

So lucky!

*****

Tomorrow, we celebrate my 31st birthday. I'm hoping that this year...I will believe in myself to do the things that I know that I can do...to have faith in myself as a woman, wife, mother and friend. This is the year for me!

*****

On Sunday, my third baby, Jaxon McKay, will turn 1 year old. Am I the only one that remembers his birth like it was yesterday? He has been the best baby...

I'm the luckiest person in the world!

*****

Sorry for the 'no photo' post! My computer died....again. This time it was the main logic board...not so cheap to replace. But, hopefully I'll have it back Monday...so I'll be back soon with photos and more! Have a great weekend! I'm off to eat more cake! ((And sorry for the cheesy post - sometimes ya just got to get it all out!))

I love STAMPS!

I love my rubber stamps! Seriously...I love them! :) On Thursday, when I got home from San Francisco, I was welcomed by a big box of new stamps from Hero Arts! Oh my gosh - I was so so so happy! Going through that box and looking at all those stamps that I love was just the best!! If you haven't checked out their new catalog, go to heroarts.com and view it! It's sooooo great!!!! Love all the woodgrain stamps!

And, then on Friday, my much anticipated Stampin' Up! Spring/Summer 2009 Catalog arrived in the mail! Ahhhhhhhhhh...bliss!

I love stamps! I love how they can change any project and make it more unique. They add so much depth to a project, so much personality...I couldn't scrapbook without them!

So, go check out the new Stampin' Up! catalog - and try not to drool! :) Yum is the only word I can think of! AND - for every order placed between Feb. 1 and March 31 - you'll get a free catalog!! No matter how much your order is! That is awesome!!! This catalog is beautiful! And, Sale-a-bration starts Feb. 1 too so you can get a free set for every $50 you place. More info on that soon! Anyway....

Here are some of my new favorites:

Butterfly Big Die - Oh my gosh!!!

Extra large die that has a moveable label die - how cool is this! The possibilities - I can't wait!

Rolodex Card clear die - ATC's! How fun will this be!

New SU! exclusive Texture Plates - wow! These are fantastic designs! A must have!

Corduroy Buttons & Brad sets - I'll take one of each color please! These are my new fav! LOVE! Check out all the colors - there are 6!

Colored Library Clips - love these colors!

Trendy Trees Stamp set - ummmm - cute!!!

Central Park Stamp Set - yum!

Fifth Avenue Floral - love these flowers! I bought the decor elements for my house - love them!

Gallery label stamp set - so pretty!

Thoughts and Prayers set - so nice! Check out that large tree as a decor element for your home - cool!

Laundry Decor Elements - getting this for my new laundry room! I'm going to put it on a magnet board so I can take it with us. Love the design of this - so beautiful!

So, there are some of my favorite items! There are a lot more though! :) :)
Enjoy browsing the new catalog! It's fun fun fun!!

Also....

Tomorrow is the 20th! Which means my Year Long Class at Twopeasinabucket.com will go up! Be sure to check out the Education Forum and come and chat with me about the class! I'll have links to the class in the thread there as well. Or, you can find it in the Garden (scroll down past the Guest Garden Girl projects and it will be listed there)! I'm really excited about this new year long adventure and I hope that you'll find this first class, inspiring! Be sure to check it out!

Ok - I'm off to watch KungFu Panda with the kids and to throw in some packing while I'm at it! :)
Hugs!

It's moving time!

Hi everyone! Geez - I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted! Last week, I was in San Francisco with my hubby! THANK YOU for everyone that left such awesome suggestions - I totally appreciate you taking the time to do that! I hit Union Square, Powell Street shopping, Pier 39 & Fishermans Wharf and a restaurant in 'Little Italy' and just simply had a wonderful time! Poor little Jaxon was sick here at home and I felt so bad leaving him - so that was hard! But I picked up lots of super fun things that I LOVE!! So much fun! I just wish that we had more time there - there was sooo much more to see! What a fun fun city!!

We got home late Thursday night and my parents and bro and his wife and daughter came in Friday night. From one thing to the next! :) We celebrated birthdays on Saturday night....we have a week of birthdays ahead of us! Get this...

Madisyn will be 7 on Friday
My birthday is Saturday
Jaxon will be 1 on Sunday

Crazy!

In the midst of all of that, I have a ton of work to do and finish up cause we are moving! Today I started packing up my studio and I've got sooooo much work to do to get us ready to go! It's amazing when you start packing things up - it takes a lot more boxes that you think it will! Geez! Kinda sick! :)

So, super busy! I've been keeping up with my Project 365 photos though and I got my kit Friday! Yippee! But, I had to pack it up today to move - so I'm labeling my photos and keeping my journaling and will dig into it as soon as we get in our new house.

I hope to be posting still but things are crazy - so I may be sparse...we'll see how I do!

Quick share...
My 'New Year's' Seasonal layout that went up at Two Peas in a Bucket.com on the 15th. I really love the colors of this one - lots of fun! Thanks to my sis, Shannon Norton, of Model Bride Photography for the great picture of my little kiddos!

It talks about our year of change...moving and so much is changing this year for our family. And it's all starting this month! :) You can see more details here.

It's sad to start packing and realizing that this is really happening - I'm sad to leave our great neighbors and ward here at Church! They will be greatly missed! A new adventure - crazy scary! :)

We are hoping to be moved the first week of February so I got lots to do before then! Anyone want to come help me pack! :) :) Hope you have a great day! I'll be back with more this week!

Project 365 and San Francisco!

Thank you to everyone that left such sweet comments about the layouts from the 2ps garden! It means so much! So thank you!!!!!!

Ok, so I don't do digital scrapbooking but I have tried a few times and with all the amazing new digi kits, it's one of my goals this year....to dig into it....just for fun!! I'm so anxious to play around with some digi kits that are calling my name at Two Peas!

I wanted to share that although the Project 365 kits at CK are sold out right now, there are a lot of other great options. Hopefully they can get more kits in!! But, if not, check out these digital kits that were released at Two Peas this week. Simply drag and drop your photos into the templates, add journaling and dates, and your done. Plus, these kits are killer cute! Seriously!!

 
The Daily Grind by Sande Krieger - love those fresh and hip colors! Yummy!! I believe I read that she is coming out with a new kit each month for this...so fun!

A Day In The Life by the Queen of Quirk - Jan Crowley (who is also a new Garden Girl!!). This girl is amazing - I have LOVED everything she has come out with at Two Peas and her kits are just killing me - so need to play with them! This kit is amazing!!! LOVE it!

The 365 Challenge by Crystal Wilkerson - darling! Love the colors - I can't stop using those colors lately - I'm sure you noticed!! Love the templates and love those buttons!!

Project 365 by Meredith Fenwick - great templates that you can easy drag and drop your photos into! Easy and dang cute!

So, hopefully that helps you with some more options!

I can't get the my fav lens on my camera to work - thanks to little JackJack dropping it on the tile floor. So, I've been using my other lens so I'm still capturing every day photos! I haven't missed a day and I love pulling the camera out each day...it's made me so much more aware of the little things...looking around and taking it all in. Love that!

***

Also, I wanted to ask for some help!! My hubby and I are going to San Francisco next week (I just decided to go this week!) and I need some recommendations on where to go! I've asked some wonderful friends and I've got a few places down - but if you've been there or live there - please share some must see places. I'll be on my own during the day, while hubby is at work, to shop and explore and then with my hubby at night. So, please share your 'must-see's! Fun shops or anything!!

Hope you have a great day!
Hugs!

A bunch of random thoughts and shares!

Wanna hear something funny? I was playing cars with Hudson this morning...

Me: "Hey dude, thanks for bringing me my packages!" (he was playing with a Lego mail man and truck)
Hudson: "Ya! I gotta go back to work now."
Me: "Hey mail man, what is your name?" (our UPS man is Paul and Hudson just loves him, so I thought he'd say Paul)
Hudson: "John McCain...."

What? Where did that come from? I was shocked and couldn't stop laughing! We haven't mentioned his name since the election - crazy kid! It was so funny though. I played cars this morning with John McCain! :)

Anyway....

Kids are back to school today! I'm soooo happy! :) I think they have been going nuts and I definetly have been! So, it's good to get back to some routine today. I got my big assignments done and now I'm trying to clean up this place! I still have Christmas ornaments on the table that need to be put away...a messy kitchen...and let's not even talk about my scrapbook room. Arghghh! Working on it today...gonna get things cleaned up in there so I can create!

A few random things...

Did you see that the new Hero Arts catalog went up today on their site? Ahhhh...I seriously LOVE stamps! LOVE THEM!!!! I'm hoping that my stamps will be here today or tomorrow and I'm so anxious to dig into them and play! Love all those amazing circles, wood grain, background stamps...my fav release from them ever!! Be sure to check it out!

On a personal note...

Jaxon is WALKING! Yep, the crazy little guy is walking! He took his first few steps at the beginning of December and would only do a few steps here and there. Well, on Friday Jan 2, I think he finally realized that he could do it and now, he is going full board. It's so weird to see his little body walking around - he is just growing up way to fast! I love that little guy so much! Crazy that he is turning one this month. Crazy!!

And...

I think it's official that I can post about it, but it looks like we will be moving the first of February. Crazy! We are so stuffed in this house...I have soooo much to pack up and I don't know how I'm gonna do it all! It's so overwhelming to think about. But, just like everything else, it has to get done so it will...one way or the other.

Project 365....did you get a kit? Let me know if you did! So sorry for those that had a frustrating experience! That stinks! I'm hoping that my kit will come this week cause I've got all my first week photos and journaling ready to go! I'll be sharing all my pages here as I finish them - I can't wait to get started!

Oh...and another random share...if your still reading this long random post...I think Jaxon thinks he's such a big boy cause now that he can walk, he thinks he can reach for anything on any table and pull it all down. I was taking my 365 photo this morning and set my camera down on the entry table - far enough back I thought - turn to say goodbye to Madisyn and bammmm...there goes my camera on the tile floor. Thankfully I had a filter on my lens - which cracked and I can't get off. And my lens is making funny noises and won't focus - not good. So - another fun thing! Oh joy!

Ok, enough of all that! :) :)

On January 1st, another Garden went up at Two Peas. The theme for this month is: yourself. Ouch! I don't like scrapbooking about myself...I know it's not good and it's important to do...but, yuck! :)

Here are my layouts for this month (all copyright twopeasinabucket.com):

This one is about all the things running through my head each day and learning to balance it all! :) You can see more details about it here.

A layout about my hubby and I. This was an older layout that I changed and tweaked...again, you can read more details about it by going here.

A new product layout using all those yummy goodies from Amy Butler. Love them!! You can see more close-up photos and read details here.

How is that for a random post! :)
I'm off to clean my scrapbook room so I can start more things! Yippee! Have a great day!