Christmas

I just love Christmas. It's my favorite time of year. I love seeing the houses decorated, the hussle and bussle of shoppers going out, the Santas. I just love it all. So, why does it seem that I can't get anything done! Why is it that hospitals always want to open new wings during the holidays? We have so much to get done and not a lot of time to do it.

Oh well, my house is not decorated much. I'm not putting up a tree this year, and the only decorations are the stocking and one Santa for the kids to play with. He reads stories and they just love listening to him. I do have most of my gift bought, they are sitting on the love seat down stairs. It's full. I just need to wrap them.

Xandra just loves the stockings. She comes in the house and gets so excited looking and pointing at the stockings. She wants to get her hands on them so badly. I still haven't gotten hers made yet. I need to work on that too.

We are going to my parent's for Christmas which allows me to have my house like it is. I'm looking forward to it. Becky and Lin and the girls, along with Kelly and Will and their boys will all be there. So we will have 5 kids for Christmas morning. I love spending Christmas with the kids. I love seeing their faces, and their excitement. Since I'm a kid when it comes to Christmas, it's just easier when there are other kids around!

I'm getting older!

Well tomorrow I turn 50. That is halfway to 100. Half a century! It's hard to believe that I have been around for that long. But it does beat the alternative! It has been a great life for the first 50, and I’m looking forward to the next 100!

One of my sayings is that you aren’t old until you reach 150! Well, I’m trying to remember that as I sit here trying to get over whatever has hit me this week. Between a fever, swollen glands, and a sore throat, it has been kind of tough. The best part is that I did loose 6 pounds this week! So, I’m not complaining too much.

Philip and I have both been a little under the weather this week, but we are both on the mend now. I’m hoping he will take me to the lighting of the Christmas in Winterville tomorrow for a birthday treat. I’ve never been to a Christmas tree lighting, so it will be a new experience. There is also a new Hibachi buffet in town that I want to try. That is where I think I want him to take me for my birthday dinner. Everyone who has been has raved about it.

We took a bunch of family pictures on Thanksgiving when everyone was here. As soon as I get my hands on them, I’m going to make a book, “A Thanksgiving to Remember.” That way if anyone wants one, they can order one for themselves. Also, I have a coupon that I need to use by the end of the year to get $40 off!

Challenges

I love doing challenges for scrapbooking. Unfortuately I haven't had a lot to time lately to do any. But I saw some on Sisterhood of Scrap, and decided it was time to pick it back up. They have a November Online Crop going on and there were quite a few challenges. I was able to get 5 of them done. Hope you enjoy them.

Here is Challenge 1. The challenge was a sketch designed by Sarah Slade. I used a digital kit by Raspberry Road Design called Big Boy. This is my granddaughter riding on a car.

This is Challenge 2. Use the word believe in the title. I used a sketch by Jayne Jones from the Sketchapalooza 2 class from Feeling Scrappy (they have Sketchapalooza Class 3 schedule, so check it out.) The digital kit is from Kim's Scrappin' called Christmas Morning. These are my sister three boys with Santa (my dad) on Thanksgiving. He made a special appearance that day for the kids.

The next challenge I did was challenge 6. The challenge was to use an embellishment as a letter. I haven't done this before, but liked the way it turned out. I used another sketch from the Sketchapalooza Class by Amy Bell. The digital kit is by Kim's Scrappin' Fall Splendor.

The last challenge was Challenge 9. I had to use the word "fun" in the title. My first thoughts were of the pictures here. I used a sketch by Jayne Jones for the Sketchapalooza Class. The digital kit is by Tracy's Design called Big Bounce Fun Zone.

Things I've done!

I found this on Jayne's blog. It looked fun, so I thought I would go ahead and do it. The high-lighted one are the ones I've done. Makes me realized there are a lot of things I haven't done! Better get busy.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Digital Layouts

I've been taking a class on Feeling Scrappy.com. It is a Sketchapalooza class. I didn't get to particiapate as much as I normally do for these classes, but I enjoyed doing the ones I was able to get too. It's a shame when work and life get in the way of scrapbooking!

Here are a few of the layouts I did for the class:

This is Jesse at Mom & Dad's house. She got Pop's hat and acted like she was going to a barn dance. She kept asking Pop to go with her, and saying Howdy Partner! She would grab the hat and yell, Ye - Haw!

Credits: Shabby Princess Kit - Grungy Grub and Pearl Flower Brads.



This is one of Jesse's school pictures. They take pictures in the fall and in the spring every year.



Credits: Shabby Princess - Turkey Trot Kit


This layout is of Isaiah my nephew's oldest son playing basketball at their school's fall festival. He loves all kinds of sports!

Credits: Shabby Princess Big Boy Paper and Elements.

Jesse turns 5!

We celebrated Jesse's birthday on Saturday. She had such a good time. Earlier in the week, I took her to ColdStone Creamery to order her ice cream cake. She tasted 4 different flavors of ice cream, Cake Batter (which was real good!), chocolate, nutter butter, and marshmellow. She chooxe marshmellow. They added sprinkles to the marshmellow and she also decided on chocolate cake. It was actually pretty good. We all enjoyed it.

We started out the day at Briley's Pumpkin Patch. It had rained earlier in the morning, so the ground was wet and the air was cold. Even with the girls dressed warmly, it didn't take long for them to get too cold. We took a few pictures with the pumpkins, and then the mandatory picture beside the measuring stick! We have done this for the past few years and we can see how much she has grown each year. We took Xandra's first picture there this year. Now we can see how she grows.

She got lots of nice gifts. A purse with all kinds of stuff in side, 2 pretty dresses, an outfit for school, some My Pretty Ponys (with brushes, she loves brushing their manes) and a laptop computer. It is a play one that will help her learn words, and some other things.

Her parents were there with Xandra, Kelly and Will, and their boys Joey, Brodie and Logan (JoBoLo as Kelly calls them). Granny and Pop, Papaw and myself along with Mike, Sherry, Amanda and James.

While at Granny and Pop's, Becky saw how Xandra and Brodie play. She kept telling Brodie to be easy with Xandra. They rough house together all the time. They are so cute. By the end of the night, Becky was leaving them alone. She found out the Xandra can take care of herself.

Laughter

Here is a layout I did for a challenge on FeelingScrappy.com. They are getting ready to begin a Sketchapalooza II class. I took the first one and was able to get so many layouts done and enjoyed the sketches. They are such talented ladies.

Anyway, the sketch is by Amy Bell, and the paper is all Creative Memories Vintage pack. The flowers were a gift from a friend (thanks Cyn) and the brads are from Making Memories. This is my first time using flowers and brads, but I really like the affect.

Check out FeelingScrappy.com if you would like to take the class. It's a great class and the ladies are alway so nice. Whether you are digital, paper, experienced, or a novice, this class is for you.