well, we did it.

we got evicted (landlord lost the house), found a house, moved, unpacked, put up the christmas tree, and enjoyed a wonderful christmas day

with family and loved ones.

we now live in queen creek...halfway to florence! lots of car time, but otherwise, nearly perfect.

we have plenty of room for all the kids and all our crap!

we dug through boxes that had been in the attic for 10 years!

no joke! and i would think, "heck, if i haven't needed this thing in ten years do i really need it now?" so much dust and mouse pee mixed with the memories. but we took a bunch of it to the dump, and a bunch of it to DI, and are trying to find a home for the rest. not a lot of storage in the new house,

but are managing...one box at a time!

laura and blue are here and we are loving the chance to bond with cami.

what a treat to have her in living color!

we were awakened this morning by another frantic call from krystal,

our almost daughter-in-law. these 6:oo phone calls are never good

and really need to stop!

anyway...cody and his friend were on their way to go snowboarding and hit a slick spot in the road. cody over corrected and ended up rolling his truck! the truck was totaled. daniel was fine. cody was taken by ambulance (he refused to get in a helicopter!) to scottsdale-osborn hospital to be treated for head trauma. his cat scans were clear and they stitched him back together.

we had a family prayer and grabbed the consecrated oil,

before heading to the hospital. but by the time we got there, he was getting dressed (in borrowed clothes, because they had literally cut his off of him!) and being released. he will be sore for a few days and have some funky scars to tell his grandkids about, but otherwise, he is fine.

in fact, he is in the family room playing rockband!

i am grateful for the priesthood and the power of prayer.

i am grateful for family and friends.

i am grateful that we are able to provide for our family.

i love the gospel of jesus christ.

i love the whole freakin' world (well, almost).

i hope you all had a fabulous christmas!

life is good!

I am: embarrassed about my weight
I want: to build my house
I have: been to italy!
I dislike: pickles, onions and mustard
I miss: playing games with the blues
I fear: i will NEVER get to build my house and live ANYWHERE but where i live now
I feel: worried about the future
I hear: clark kent TOTALLY making out with some chick
I smell: bbq meatballs
I crave: to eat anything i want and still be a size 6
I cry: all the time...i'm a total boob!
I usually: get out of bed when the alarm goes off and then lay down on the couch for another 30 minutes!
I regret: letting my big mouth get me into trouble
I search: for time to do all the fun things i WANT and still get done all the things i MUST
I wonder: if good people will vote and make sure the best man wins
I love: my car!
I care: what my house looks like (cute, clean, tidy...)
I always: eat chocolate while i scrapbook/design/create
I worry: my husband will die before he builds me my house!
I am not: skinny
I remember: losing the spelling bee in 6th grade...i will NEVER mispell the word "restaurant"!
I believe: you should always tell the people you love that you love them...don't assume they know!
I dance: by myself, because my husband won't dance with me
I sing: whenever i feel like it! singing is a soul's greatest expression...don't even think about telling me to stop!
I don't always: like obeying the rules...if it is a stupid rule, i WILL find a way to bend it...not break it, just tweak it a little!
I argue: often...but i CAN/DO admit when i am wrong
I write: in print and usually all lower case...i don't like my handwriting much and my cursive is even worse!
I win: when my kids feel safe enough to talk to me about their hopes, fears, accomplishments, dreams...
I lose: too much time playing spider instead of doing "more important" things
I wish: i was decorating my new house
I listen: to many kinds of music...especially songs you can sing along with
I don't understand: how the government can ask the working class poor to pay for the greed of the spoiled middle class...they made their beds, now let them sleep in them!
I can usually be found: reading, watching a movie, scrapbooking, or folding laundry
I watch: movies that make me laugh or make me cry...and if they are really good, i watch them over and over
I need: to have more confidence in my own creative ideas and not rely on others so much
I forget: to be grateful for what i DO have, instead of worrying about what i don't have
I am happy: to be going on my first business trip! i feel like such a grown-up!!!

there you have it...a little more than you probably wanted to know!
i tag: jenn, julie, amy t

driving home today,

i was listening to the "mamma mia" soundtrack...again!

the song "slipping through my fingers" came on.

as usual, it had me in tears.

when i hear it, i think of

my three beautiful daughters.

the times we have shared.

the laughter. the tears.

the good times and the bad.

they are truly three of my best friends. but this song makes me realize that i could have been

so much better as a mother. i should have done so much more

with them when there was plenty of time to do it.

now i see the future closing in and i have to admit that before long,

they will all be grown and gone and living on their own.

they will be wives and mothers and i will no longer be the center of their lives.

two of them are already married

and one of them is already a mother.

so i am even closer to being the only girl in the house than i care to admit.

but my intent is not to whine or seem entirely morose.

my intention for posting this is to

remind the rest of you

to make the most of every single minute you have your children near you. don't wait for "later"...it comes far too quickly.

and then "later" becomes "too late".

children are so precious, and once they grow,

they are grown ups forever after.

so love them. play with them.

read to them.

take them all the places you dream of going.

hug them. kiss them.

and never, ever "send" them to bed...

always tuck them in.

and always tell them you love them!!!

sarah, laura, jessica...i love you!

ps...you can hear this song by choosing it

from my playlist to the left!

or here are the words:

schoolbag in hand
she leaves home in the early morning
waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile
i watch her go with a surge of that well-known sadness
and i have to sit down for a while

the feeling that i'm losing her forever
and without really entering her world
i'm glad whenever i can share her laughter
that funny little girl

slipping through my fingers all the time
i try to capture every minute
the feeling in it
slipping through my fingers all the time
do i really see what's in her mind
each time i think i'm close to knowing
she keeps on growing
slipping through my fingers all the time

sleep in our eyes
her and me at the breakfast table
barely awake, i let precious time go by
then when she's gone
there's that odd melancholy feeling
and a sense of guilt i can't deny

what happened to those wonderful adventures
the places i had planned for us to go
well, some of them we did
but most we didn't
and why i just don't know

slipping through my fingers all the time
sometimes i wish that i could freeze the picture
and save it from the funny tricks of time
slipping through my fingers all the time

it's that time again!
shabby scrappin

is

tues, august 5

at 6:00 pm.

here is a sneak peek at the

project...an altered composition

book/day planner.

hurry...sign up today!

last chance!

okay...here they are...the much

anticipated pics of this month's

shabby scrappin'!

do i have your attention yet?

these are just a few of the pages,

meant to tease and tempt even

the strongest of scrappers!

if you want in, call

scrapbooks,etc at 854-2303

and sign up today!

hope to see you there!

listen up all you scrapbookin' junkies!

on friday, july 11, i will be teaching at scrapbooks,etc.

this month's project is

a very cute, tim holtz inspired,

travel-themed mini album.

cost of the class is a meazly $25!!

if you aren't familiar with tim holtz

and his amazing products and ideas,

click on his website link in my favorites list

for a peek into his amazing world!

and keep checking back...i have a few

pictures of the project,

which are totally meant to tease you

and make you want to come to class with me!!

(i just have to have a little help getting them

off the camera

and onto this darn blog thingy.)

'til then...have a great day and

take care of you!

well...richard and austin are at scout camp, cody is at the mall, sarah is talking on the phone, and jessica is babysitting. so...
i finally get a turn on the computer!!

i should totally be printing teasers for my june class, but i can't resist the opportunity to sneak a blog peek.


yesterday, sarah and i both had the day off, so we spent the afternoon at my brother reed's, with a bunch of the family, eating and playing games. then we picked up jessica (she had been quadding with her friend), and headed for the movies. we saw "ironman". terrific movie, by the way. and i must take this opportunity to say that

robert downey jr is STILL freakin' hot!!

then we headed to mervyn's to take advantage of their memorial day sale...all swimwear 55% off, with an additional 15% off if you used your mervyn's charge card. hey, i can do that!! so, at 70% off, we saved WAY more than we spent! then we made a stop at chicago grill for a bite of dinner. then it was home to watch a dvd...first one since the big tv died in january! richard hooked up sarah's ps3 to the bedroom tv before he left for camp! yeah! we watched "just like heaven". awww!! tear! love that movie. love mark ruffalo.


tonight we are going to drag two card tables into the bedroom and try to scrap while we watch another movie. any suggestions?


while i'm here, i might as well do a
random "tag" thingy.


1. i love photography. wish i could take better pictures. my dream job would be having a studio set up in my garage where i could do photo shoots to my little heart's content.


2. i love chocolate. but not chocolate pudding, and not chocolate ice cream.


3. i love movies. i know what you are thinking...you are thinking, "really? i never would have guessed". i am practically obsessed with them. i live my life in a movie dream world. re-living and quoting scenes from my favorite movies all day long. i think it must mean my own life isn't exciting enough. quite sad actually!


4. i love to read. as i read a good book, i play it out in my head as if i were watching a movie. i know...another shocker...refer to #3.


5. i hate cats. those of you close enough to me will know why i must humbly leave it at that and say no more on the subject!


6. i love my car. it is so stinkin cute and so totally amazing to drive. i can go anywhere and do anything in my car. if i ever have the chance to buy another car, i will buy another trail blazer. it's that good.


7. i fall asleep in church. every week. doesn't matter how much (or how little) sleep i get the night before. it doesn't matter how interesting the talk/lesson is. it's just that when i stop moving, i'm done for. that's it. done. finished. kaput.


8. i like the colors red/black. i like the colors brown/pink. i do NOT care for yellow, or purple, or green, or orange.


9. i love my family. they make me smile. they make me cry. they make me laugh. they make me happy. they make me sad. they make me want to sing. they make me want to scream. i love my family!


so, there you are. i little peek into my head...a pretty scary place to be most of the time!

happy tuesday.

take care of you!

(a movie quote...what movie?)

Here's a little video of Kaiti being herself on Mother's Day! Enjoy!



ok...sorry...it posted twice and i can't get either copy to go away. so just watch one...they are the very same video!

well, we did it!

le jour d'artiste

came off without a hitch.

i want to thank my

three frenchie friends,

carol, tena, and jennifer,

for working so hard and sharing

their creativity with myself and our students.

and, of course, i have to thank all the wonderful women who had enough faith to trust us to lead them on an amazing,

fun, creative journey.

what a terrific bunch of artistes!!

we ate, we laughed, we created,

we ate some more.

and we all went home with great big

smiles on our faces.

if you were not one of the lucky few

who joined us, don't fret...

we will be back again

next year!!

until then...au revoir!!

c'est tout bien!!

i am so excited to announce that i will be involved in a very special

all day event

at scrapbooks,etc.

on saturday, feb 23, carol wingert, tena sprenger, jennifer wagner, and myself, will be teaming up for

"le jour d'artiste".

each of us will teach a 2-2 1/2 hour class, showcasing our individual styles. that means four teachers,

four projects, catered lunch, prizes and tons of fun. you can sign up by calling scrapbooks,etc or by coming down to the store. don't miss this awesome opportunity!

c'est tout bien!

are you sitting down?

i'm b-a-a-a-ck!
i was very busy getting ready for christmas...absolutely love it!!

if money were not an issue (yeah right), i could just keep on buying gifts for everyone. but then, suddenly, it's all over. the tree is down. the lights are put away. the kids have all brought their stockings back. all the good candy is gone! but that's ok. we played games, ate great food, stayed up late, had a good time! it's all good.
since then, life has been pretty much the same old.

i am babysitting cambria tonight while laura works and blue is home sick. we have all been passing around various forms of icky-sicky. hopefully we will ALL be over it soon.
have a great night...drop me a line.

i promise to post again sometime before easter!