Too Much of a Good Thing?

I have been waiting until I got these pictures from Donna to blog about our trip last weekend. We went to a three day/two night crop that was put on by a local scrapbook store, Paper House. It was their first time to host such an event and we had an absolute blast. Can ya tell from the pics? I haven't laughed so much in I don't know how long. We stayed up late, ate lots and lots of chocolate, shopped and shopped, and met some really nice ladies. There were only 19 of us altogether, but what a fun group. On top of all that we completed two nice class projects, AND- this is the most amazing thing for me- I actually scrapped!

I'm looking forward to scrapping next month with some of the local ladies I met. And, hopefully, the Paper House will host another Ready, Set, Crop again next year...

{Too much of a good thing is a good thing- Mae West}

Jack LeRoy Hose 1934-2001

Thanks for everything, Dad. I love you...

Happiness Makers

I got to watch Josh and Macs for a couple of hours today while Rachel and Travis packed up a few more things at the old house. Never a dull moment with those two here! It was Josh's idea to stamp his tummy. Of course, Macs wanted his stamped too.

Macs saw a photo of his mom when she was six months old and thought it was of himself. Funny, 'cause a lot of people think he looks just like her.

Josh realized he didn't know my name and was surprised to find out what it is. I could tell from his reaction that he didn't think it fits me like Brown Grandma does :)

Rachel brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. I think she read my last blog and was trying to cheer me up. Am I right, Rachel? Well it worked. That and the visit with my favorite three and six year olds...

{Blessed are the happiness makers- Henry Ward Beecher}

Random Me from A to Z Class Dedication Pages

These are the pages I made for the Random Me from A to Z class at Big Picture Scrapbooking. I wanted the project to be playful and I think the BASICGREY Color Me Silly papers and the Freestyle layouts portray that spirit. I like Freestyle because it is kind of retro-ish and reminds me of my teenage years.

The journaling on the top page reads: Why I created these Random Me from A to Z books: Because I can share random bits of information about myself without having to create a whole layout, but, if I want to do that later I can and the encyclopedia becomes a sort of index. And because maybe, someday, someone will want to know more about me than just the plain 'ol facts.

The journaling on the bottom page reads: I began working on this encyclopedia April 6th, 2006.

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I've been feeling blue today
Rachel moved a bunch more stuff to the coast yesterday
Including the beds
That means they are almost officially gone
I should be happy that they are only 75 more minutes away
I should be happy that Rachel and Travis are happy about the move
I should be happy that they have a nice new home and Ian has his own room
AND I AM, BUT,
I will still miss being able to go to most of the grandkids sporting and school activities
I will still miss Rachel dropping by on her way to town
I will still miss spur of the moment barbecues in the summer
And so much more...

{Almost any event will put on a new face when received with cheerful acceptance- Horace}

My Granddaughter

NOT! This is really my grandson. For spirit week at his junior high they had a dress up day where the boys dressed as girls and the girls dressed as boys. Rachel sent me this picture. He was so embarrassed when he found out. WHY?! He didn't mind going to school that way! Since I don't have any granddaughters (yet) I had to go ahead and scrap this one so I could do something girly and current.

On another note, I was thinking about how slowly time passes when you are a child and how quickly it passes the older you get. Seems to me that should be reversed, don't you?

Happy Spots

This is one of my 'happy spots'. There is nothing in the world that I enjoy more when the weather turns sunny and warm than my own swing in my own backyard. This is the view from there.

Sometimes John and I will just sit and watch the birds at the feeders that he makes sure are always full. We have regulars that feed all year long (american goldfinches), some that arrive in the spring (chickadees, house finches, & hummingbirds), and some that just pass through (swallows, woodpeckers, unknowns and Mr & Mrs. Duck- they actually fend for themselves in the ditch). We've already seen four house finches checking out the nesting boxes that John cleans out for them every year. Soon we will be watching them feed their young.

When Ian was a baby I would bring him out here to swing at night. We would listen to all the frogs in the ditch and for the distant sounds of trains passing by. Eventually he would fall asleep. Now that he is older we've enjoyed sitting out here in the evening with the tiki lamps and candles burning as we listen to Harry Potter books on CD.

Since John put the pea gravel 'patio' in for me we have spent many summer nights on the swing watching the Ian, Josh and Macs run around in the sprinklers after a barbecue and s'mores.

Even so, some of my favorite memories are of the times I spend here alone. Reading a book or one of my favorite magazines. Taking a nap. Or not quite alone- talking on the phone or with God. It's all good...

{It's the simple joys, the simple pleasures the heart remembers and dearly treasures. -Hadin Marshall}

...stop and smell the peonies

John grew this tree peony in his garden and sent Ian in with it for me. I was looking for a vase to put it in when I remembered that I have had this blue one hanging above the kitchen sink for years. In fact, it has been there so long that I stopped "seeing" it even though I see it everyday. I wonder how many other things I do that with. I was so excited about how beautiful it looked there that I decided to post it and it will go into my Random Me book as well. I love how scrapping and blogging are helping me to slow down and appreciate more and more of the little details of my life.