Goodbye 2008

Whew! What a year 2008 was.....Here are a few of my favorite photos that are sure to put a smile on my face. I know there are a lot of holidays that I didn't place on here. I get my greatest joy out of the simple days of life. The ones where fun just pops up unexpected.
I am blessed to have 2 healthy kiddos, a hard working husband, a beautiful home, and awesome extended family. I know this year was an awful in the economics department.....My prayers are with those affected by this. I hope that 2009 will bring peace, love, and happiness to everyone.
God Bless this country as well welcome a new president into the White House. I am for sure hoping that the economy is a top priority.

Below, The kids playing in the mud with friends.

Below, Back yard BBQ with friends. Notice my son was the only boy and he's hiding behind the tree. LOL

Below, My daughters Archery Team. They placed 5th in the State of Alabama. Not too shabby for the teams first year.

Below, My hubby helped build this for his brother. He was gone for awhile during the summer.

Below, Our new addition to the family. *Gawd, I hate this dog* We don't get along too well. This is hubbys dog.

Below, We got snow......look at this wonderful snowman created by my daughter. We don't get snow here so everyone was excited.

Me and the Hubs......we made it 14 years together. I am really hoping for a more peaceful year than we had in 08.

HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE NEW YEAR IN 2009!

A Merry Christmas Indeed!

Our Christmas was beyond belief. The kids were so excited and said, "this is my best Christmas ever".....those are the words that a mom and dad want to hear. Aside from it being about Jesus's birthday.....seeing the smiling faces of the kids, melted my heart. It reminds me why I wanted kids. Sometimes I feel sad that I brought 2 kids into this cruel world. Christmas morning reminds me why I must try to raise them with love and kindness, teach them between right and wrong, and rear them for adulthood, when they must enter this world without me holding their hand. I thank Jesus for being born and for my family. Most of all Christmas reminds me to LOVE people.

Here are a few pictures of Christmas.....My son throwing darts on his dartboard.
My daughter staring at money like she's never had a dollar. LOL

This is the most precious picture to me......in Sept my father in law died.....we saw him everyday....yet, when he died, I couldn't find any pictures of him and the kids together. I promised myself that this wouldn't happen again. Here are my kids with their Great Grandmother Christmas Day 2008. I took several.....I hope that they never forget this lady....she is amazing, strong, and a tad stubborn. I guess those are the traits that you need to live to the age of 89. She is like a mother to me. I talk to her daily and take her where ever her heart desires. She's outlived her husband and kids. We are the only family she has left. My kids love her so much.

I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas.....may you have many more and grow fond memories with each passing year.

Merry Christmas From Me To You

Merry Christmas

I hope that everyone has a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Enjoy your family and friends......embrace the smiles on your loved ones faces. Wishing everyone a season of Love, Peace, Joy, and Happiness!

God's Blessings to all!

Finished Shopping!

I had the weekend off....can't believe that I didn't get called in since no one was scheduled to work. I was a very happy chick! Friday night my son had strep throat. Hubby took him to the doctor and then the weekend was great.
Saturday, he felt wayyyy better. I got up and shopped all day....yep, 10 hours worth. Uninterrupted and with no kids or hubby......talk about HEAVEN! I did manage to get something for everyone on my list and now I am officially done. THANK HEAVENS! I don't think I've even been so tired. Santa goodies are tucked away. All presents are wrapped and under the tree. It doesn't look like they're getting much goodies from the fat man but what they wanted was expensive stuff in my book.

Tuesday, is our Anniversary. I can't believe I've been with the same man for 14 years. This is really blowing my mind. I don't know how we've done it. This past year has been the roughest. We plan on going out to eat tonight when I get off of work. Tomorrow night he will be working and so will I.

I hope everyone has a great Monday.

Slacking on the Ole' Blogger

Gah, I can't seem to remember to blog. When I do remember, I am all wrapped up in my blankets and would rather be beat with a stick than get up and type.

It's been a pretty eventful week. Saturday, Alabama lost the first game of the season....we did make it to a bowl game.. WOO HOO! It was a sad and slow night at work that night. I thought I was going to cry......I DON'T EVEN LIKE FOOTBALL! WTF is up with me?

Sunday, I was in a blah mood....I did manage to take the kiddos to their Granny's house and get some shopping done.

Monday, my daughter TURNED 11 YEARS OLD! OMG, talk about one depressing day. I felt old, ugly, and beat down. I was seriously wanting to schedule a makeover and see if that helped.
I still can't believe I am getting old.....though, I **DO** feel it.
All my daughter wanted for her birthday was a razor. Yep, you read that right....a razor! She got to shave her legs, go shopping with all of her Birthday money, wear a little makeup (very little) and go to her favorite place to eat, Kobe (Japanese Steakhouse)
Uggggg....I really dread this *mom of a preteen* thing that we have going on.

Tuesday, I had the day off.......Loved every minute of this day.....I went shopping for Christmas.....still not finished.

Wednesday, I didn't get much sleep.....the weather was awful the night before. I woke up to what appeared as an major electrical problem. Turns out the lightening hit the ground fault wiring and it just needed to be reset. Whew...I was really stressing over this....this stuff scares the hell out of me.

Thursday, I woke up to no power....another terrible weather night....gosh, we got some rain.
I took a candle light bath and make it to work with a semi wet head at 715am......I was really proud of myself.
We waited on snow......a rare thing in Alabama. Well, actually we're still waiting...I don't believe we'll see any at this point.

So much for my eventful week.......I promise promise promise to get some pics up.

Hope everyone has a WONDERFUL Friday......WOO HOO! This is my first weekend off in quite awhile. I am going to finish my shopping up.

ROLLLLLL TIDEEEEEE ROLLLLLLLL!

Ok....this is a quick post. I slept in half of the morning....well, ok it was the whole morning. I went to bed at 8 last night and got up at dinner time today. All of these hours at work are getting to me.

Today is the SEC Championship game: AL vs. FL
Yes, I know that FL is favored but us AL fans can't turn our back on AL......Afterall, we are UNDEFEATED! ROLLLL TIDEEEE ROLLLLLL! We'll see if we can do it!


I still haven't posted any layouts but It's hard to scrap and/or post from work.
I also have some Christmas pictures ready to post. I put up our golly whopper Christmas tree all by myself.....I promise to get those up before the weekend is over.


Monday my oldest baby turns 11....oh for the love of a preteen. I had to buy a bra back during the summer. I am just so NOT ready for this.....I still feel too young. Oh hell, who am I kidding....I feel old as dirt from the prehistoric ages.
I am going to shop tomorrow for her and for Christmas.....I am finally off for a whole day.

Ok....off to work. I hope everyone has a great weekend.

ROLLLLL TIDEEEEE ROLLLLLL! Go Bama!

Getting in the spirit, job opportunity, Free scrapbook session, Christmas

What can I say other than I love Christmas. I love what it stands for and I love seeing smiling faces in my house. This past weekend we put up the trees....YES TREES......we put up the huge tree in the living room and put a tree up in our dining room....then 2 small trees on the front porch.....then my son set up his 4 ft John Deere tree in his room.

I was also able to scrap numerous things this past week. I must really be on something because I haven't stopped and worked 12 hours each day. LOL Not really on something....I just have some goals right now.

I have a great job...well, used to have a great job now it's more like hell. I have a business opportunity knocking right now. I am so praying that this is the answer to my prayers and not some decoy to throw more forks in the road to success. I have a meeting at 330 tomorrow....we will see if this is the answer to my prayers....good thoughts are appreciated and I will post once I get the low down. SCARY DECISIONS SCARY DECISIONS Did I say, SCARY???????


On a scrapbooking note.......Valerie Salmon and Janna Wilson are hosting a free....yes....FREEEEEEE Got Sketch Mini session. Check it out at:
www.gotsketchmini.ning.com
Looks to be inspiring....I really enjoyed the GS102 class.

Hope you have a great week.

It's a New Week

WOW! I can't believe it's almost time for Thanksgiving....then CHRISTMAS! It seems like we just had these 2 holidays. I wished they flew by like this when I was a child.

I am not sure what our plans are for Thanksgiving this year. We lost my father-in-law 2 months ago, so the holidays will be hard for us. We were all really close since we once lived next door to each other for years.

On a positive note, I do plan to put the tree up once we eat on Thanksgiving. This is our second Christmas in our home. I want it to look more fabulous than last year. I didn't have the time or energy to do much in the way of decorating last year. We had just adopted a teenage mom and her baby, on top of our 2 kids...all of our time went into them.....it was difficult to adjust. I think we can swing it this time if we get a game plan.

I worked most of the weekend and have to work 730am-730pm for the next 3 days........I did manage to get some scrapping in today. I ordered a kit and got it all put together with pictures. I am so proud of this little album. It is way outside of my comfort zone and would have never created something like this without the kit. I will try to post it sometime this week.

I hope everyone has a fabulous week and a Happy Thanksgiving if I don't post before then.....Everyone can find something to be thankful for.

Happy Hump Day

Hope you're having a great hump day.......I have a ton to do today so no scrapping for me.

I take care of my hubby's grandmother......she has a full day in town and I have to be at work at 2pm. I hate days like this but one day I will look back and cherish the moments that I had with her......she's precious!

I've completed a few layouts and finished a clear mini album last weekend....I will try to get them posted tonight or in the morning.

School is out for Thanksgiving after Friday......geesh, I hope that the kiddos can go to their grandmothers for the week. CROSSING MY FINGERS AND TOES!

Have a great day!

2 Layouts and a Deer

Here are 2 layouts....I wish I could get the cropping straight....they're straight in real life.

I just got a phone call that my son has killed his first deer.....I am on my way to take pictures of him and his deer. Yippie!

Saturday News

I got the day off....had to show my hinney a little bit at work. I had to explain that I do have a family and that I wouldn't put them ahead of my family again. We'll see how that goes....I really hope that things work out at work.

Hubby took the kids hunting today...today was the first day of gun season for KIDS ONLY. Next weekend the adults gun season opens.......My daughter hates hunting...my son loves it. They didn't get a deer but they did get to see another 12 year old kill his first big buck. The boy lucked up on this hunt....his first time ever....was in the stand for 5 minutes and set the record for the biggest buck ever killed in this hunting club. WAY TO GO ROBERT!
Needless to say, this kid thinks that hunting is EASY......well, I think he'll be bored with the sport after what happened to him today.

My daughter and I went shopping this afternoon while the boys went hunting again. Jess is a huge Taylor Swift fan......she got her new CD......she's had her money saved and ready to purchase this CD since the release date on the 11th....I haven't had the time to go get it for her.
It's really a good CD.
Got some new scrapbooking stuff.....can't wait to put some pictures with these papers.

I was hoping that a Kit that I ordered would be in the mail today....didn't come! BUMMER! I am so waiting on this.

I've been playing with the new camera....Love it! I wish I had the camera before our trip. Oh well, I will book another cruise just so I can take some great pictures....HAHA *joke*

Alabama is playing tonight...lets hope that they win....traffic was horrible today in town......Gotta love ballgame traffic.

Have a great weekend!

General Rambling

Well, my morning is NOT going as planned......Today *WAS* my first off day in 3 weeks. I was so looking forward to it..........Needless to say, my only other employee quit....as in walked out! ARRRRGGGGHHHHHH! No reason other than "I don't have to work." Oh, for the love of dumbasses, what would we do without them????? Our turnover is suffering like something major right now. I have been with this place for 2 years now........I have been the only employee for 10 months out of the 2 years......I hate to break it to them but I WON'T work 65-70 hours a week again.

Ok....back on a positive note....I am thankful that I have a great job and it pays great, 6 miles from home, right next to the school that my kids attend. Shouldn't complain huh? The next closest job is 25 miles away. I will shut up!

I did get to play with the camera last night.....so much to learn......if you have any great tips, please share them with me! I feel a bit intimidated by this gadget.

Hope you all have a great day......I will post some layouts tomorrow....hopefully, they will look better than the ones already on here.

I got a Nikon...woo hoo

My husband surprised me with a Nikon D60 Gold Edition SLR camera with 2 different lenses......I was very shocked! I was going to upload some more layouts but think I will wait until tomorrow when I get the new camera hooked up. The battery is charging now.

No more crappy pictures but I am sure I won't be a pro like my friend Jenney.

Ok.....off to get kiddos in the bed.....I can't wait for better pictures.

Have a great night!

Layouts Part 2

The first layout is of our Captains dinner.

The second layout is of my son and hubby with the stingray. My son was a bit timid around the stingray but loved it when my hubby would act silly with it. I still have a gazillion more that I will get on here, slowly but surely.

Layouts Part 1

I have completed many layouts from our cruise.....here are 2 that I've finished.

The first layout is of us swimming with stingrays in the Cayman Islands. The second layout is of my daughter in Cozumel.

Layouts

These aren't the best pictures of my layouts but they'll do.

The first layout is of my kids at the pumpkin patch.
The second layout is of my friend Reba's grandson, Sam.
We all had a great time at the patch.

Game, Movie, and Layouts

The Game-----

OMG, I was on pins and needles the 4th quarter of the AL/LSU game. That was one awesome game! Yea ALABAMA! They had everyone scared and barely pulled it off. Official score was AL 27 -- LSU 21. ROLLLLLLLL TIDEEEEEEE ROLLLLLLLL! BTW, I don't get into football that much so everyone was a bit on the shocked side at work. I was all into this game for some odd reason.





The Movie-----

Fireproof was one of the best movies that I've probably ever been to. It was an awesome movie that really has a good message. I highly recommend it to ANYONE. There wasn't a dry eye in the theatre at the end of the movie. I really saw myself and my marriage play out in the theatre. I even saw a tear or 2 come from my hubbys eyes. I really believe this movie is one of the most POWERFUL films ever made. Please go see it....really really awesome. It is very easy to take your partner for granted and not realize it.

Here is the link for the movie and the book, "The Love Dare"

http://www.fireproofmymarriage.com/

http://www.lovedarebook.com/



There are a few other links for some other awesome stuff on the first link.





The Layouts-----

Blogger is down for uploading pictures. I will try again tomorrow night after work.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Question of the day

Will be beat LSU today?????? That is the question of the week.....I for sure hope that we do.

Alabama is ranked #1.........first time in a longggggggggg time. WOO HOO baby....it makes my hubby happy and I for one like a happy hubby. I have to work tonight so I won't be watching the game but I did buy a cute Alabama shirt to wear to work.



I hired a babysitter to keep my kids tonight. I can't wait to get off of work and head out to the movies. My hubby and I have had our share of disagreements lately. I don't know what the heck is up with all the fussing and bickering. I have heard wonderful reviews for the movie, "Fireproof" so we are going to see it. Everyone swears it will help your relationship whether you've been married 20 years or 2 days.....whether you're happy beyond belief or had your share of bumps in the road. There is a book called, "The Love Dare" that goes along with the movie.....It's a journal of tips.....1 tip a day for 40 days. A friend gave me the book yesterday.....I flipped through it, looks pretty good! It's basically those little things that couples use to do and say back in the beginning of a relationship. The things that made you fall in love.



Anywho, when I get the camera....I'll post my layouts.

Have a great weekend!

Long afternoon and night at work today. I like working nights and afternoons so I can scrap after the kiddos get on the bus in the mornings. I got to scrap 4 layouts before going in. I am getting my mojo from magazines right now. It's working thus far......I simply find myself stressed out about scrapping when I have to come up with a layout on my own.....this way is much easier.

My hubby took the camera hunting yesterday and I can't find it anywhere in his truck. I hope like heck that he didn't leave it at the hunting camp. I will try to get my layouts up on here tomorrow when he gets home from work.

Hope you had a blessed day........More tomorrow!

Layouts from Got Sketch 102

Lots to Scrapbook Ok, it's been like forever since I blogged....so long that I forgot my blogger addy and my password....well, you don't need a password if you can't remember the addy. LOL

I took a break from scrapbooking and started working.....now I am getting back into scrapbooking ....FULL FORCE! I am still going to work but I am *MAKING* time to scrap.I signed up for Got Sketch 102 in September...I missed GS 101.....well, I was doing really well, checking the website, scrapping the layouts before the new one was published and we had an unexpected death in our family. My father-in-law went to be with the Lord......it was so totally unexpected and to make matters worse, our kids have never dealt with death before. Needless to say, family came first and I missed the last 2.5 weeks of the 4 week class. I did print the stuff and will go back to catch up. We took a cruise to the Cayman Islands and to Cozumel to get away and spend time together. I took over 600 pictures on our journey. I hope we can start making a family tradition out of cruises....if you haven't been.....you SHOULD go....AWESOME EXPERIENCE! I have scrapped over 15 layouts of our cruise and will start posting them.I hope I can take the time out to scrapbook and get my blogging friends back .....it's been awhile since I had the time to read.

Hope you have a great Tuesday.....Don't forget to VOTE and pray that the Lord's will be done for our country.