our family wall....

I finally filled every frame. I'm looking forward to updating some of them - we are going to have family pictures taken while in Hawaii...that should update a lot!! I have always wanted a big picture wall and I finally have one. This wall is upstairs in our hallway, but you can see it from my front door. I love that!

Another project checked off my list...

one down, fifteen to go.....

I started this.......

and because of this......
I got to finish this..............

YAY!!!

My scrap room curtains are sewn, ironed & hung {thanks to my hubby}

Thank goodness for a tired child!
One project checked off the list, fifteen to go...

the grass is always greener......

When we bought our house the backyard was a {blank canvas} and Scott has been hard at work. There are some projects that he does not care to take on. But, our canvas is starting to look pretty colorful!
We have (I get to very soon say had) a dirt yard....I know this picture is dark, but it shows the dirt...and look at the amazing sunset colors!

Then the sprinklers were finished, the dirt was raked smooth....the curbing was laid.....

The flowers are ready...these are actually hanging baskets that Scott is going to hang on the fence.

AND.......

the grass is GREEN!!!!

LOVE IT!

Now we just have to wait 2 weeks before we can step on it and 3-4 weeks until it can be played on. You know what that means?? A lot of reminding is going to be going on!

Another Day, Another Year Older

Happy Birthday!!

No, it's not my birthday, it's my sister Deanna's special day

Can you believe she's older than me?! Kidding!

I'm actually the oldest out of the five of us children...oh, and the wisest!

This is my Aunt Lorraine (my Mom's sister) who is visiting from Bellingham, Washington. Emma is a sweet little girl who loves everyone....so cute.
We got together to celebrate Deanna's birthday, but also to celebrate Mother's Day. We were lucky to go to dinner without the kids, which translates to = A QUIET RELAXING WONDERFUL DINNER!! Thank you Hayden for watching all 5 of the other kids.

Listen to the birthday circus, oops, I mean CHOIR!

Happy Birthday Sister!

Mother's Day

When it's Mother's Day, don't we all have this fantastic fantasy that this day is supposed to be one of the best days of the year...one where we are idolized, treated to fabulous meals, kind words are thought and expressed, we are showered with gifts, we glow in the treasure that are children are....My day was pretty close to that...with a couple of hiccups....

I made my own dinner this year, but I wanted to, so that was okay. I have wanted to try out this recipe for awhile and I thought, this is a perfect day to do it. It takes 8 hours to cook, so it had to be on a Sunday. Scott had to run home during Sunday School to prepare the 2nd step of the dinner...he also made this beautiful flower arrangement from flowers in our yard. I'm lucky to have my own personal florist. He also brought out a tablecloth AND some of our china. We love our china that we got as gifts when we got married. How sad is it that it has only been used one time before today....we had our friends Jeff & Valerie over for a {special} dinner. This was B.K. (before kids).....anyways.....

I had to be a substitute teacher for Noah's primary class at church. I readily agreed, knowing that it would be a disaster. Why do our own children act like turkeys whenever we are around?! His teacher has said numerous times that he is an angel in class....an ideal student. BUT, with me in there? Chaos. To say the least it was stressful. I did it though, I'll receive the blessings, right?! When we got home from church I thought that it would be nice to have a rest. Or shall we call it a child DETOX... So I lovingly asked Scott to make brownies for dessert and I was going to lay down.

So I took a short nap, woke up refreshed, had a delicious dinner (oh, if you want to try out the recipe, I cut it in half....and there were plenty of leftovers)....had yummy brownies and I didn't have to lift a finger (except for the morning prepping). Thank you honey for a delightful day...love you both!

Mom's Day

Today was Mom's Day at Noah's preschool...it was such a cute morning. When I arrived at school he was busy playing with some other kids and a mom. I just stood back and watched him without him knowing. My little guy is quite rambunctious at home, but at school (and church) I am told that he is rather calm, quiet and attentive. Who is this boy??? My observation was just that. So cute. We started off our morning with a special song that the kids had been practicing on for several weeks. I had noticed occasionally when I would say "thank you" Noah would sign it...now I know why. This is a long video (3 minutes), but it is a cute song. I love how "tired" Noah is, especially at the end.

After our song I was given an "interview sheet" that Noah completed with his teacher Ms. Desiree. The answers are pretty funny...and I know that he is only 4 so I won't take offense to some of the answers (you'll see what I mean)...

MY MOM'S NAME IS: Christy
SHE IS SPECIAL BECAUSE: she gives me stuff
I LIKE IT WHEN MY MOM: makes pictures and sewing pictures
MY MOM CAN DO MANY THINGS! I THINK SHE'S BEST AT: throwing trash away at the house
MY MOM HAS A PRETTY SMILE! I LIKE TO MAKE HER SMILE BY: playing with my toys
MY MOM IS AS PRETTY AS A: dirt (see I told you!)
MY MOM IS SMART! SHE EVEN KNOWS: having fun
I'D LIKE TO TELL MY MOM: candy is good

Our fun agenda....We got to plant a flower in a special pot, one that Noah had painted for me. He chose a pink flower because "Mom, that's your most favorite color!". Unfortunately the only picture is this one...sorry!
Next we got to decorate a cookie. It was supposed to be for me, but after dirt fingers touching it, spreading yummy frosting on it, and tons of sprinkles....I was able to pass. Which in turn was a good thing because Noah did not want to share his masterpiece.

We also got to make a picture frame. Noah chose to make the "mom" frame. He was very into this "art project" Maybe we'll put our awesome picture in it!

Then we had a spa station...no pictures. I was the lucky recipient of having lotion rubbed on my hands and arms. Unfortunately when half the bottle was squeezed out, I also got it on all of my legs and another mom's arms and legs! What a treat!

We also had a photo booth. We were able to get "dressed" up and have our picture taken together. I got to wear 2 feather boas and Noah wore a construction hat. It should be an awesome picture when I finally get to see it!

After our "fun" we went back into his classroom and "played" until it was time to go.

Noah wanted to take a picture of his two teachers, Ms. Desiree and Ms. Joy. This was the final outcome. I'll get a good one before the end of the school year.We had a fabulous "Mom's Day" party. It was great to do this with Noah. He had fun taking me to each station and sharing in these activities together. I do like his school. He is learning some great things.

projects....

Don't we all have huge PROJECT lists....that go on and on and on?????

I'm happy to report that I got to CHECK this PROJECT off my list!! I even completed it before my deadline. My friend Heather has a scrap/card group. She invited me to join, like a couple of weeks after we moved in. I turned her down! Then I thought, "hey, I'm capable of doing this, it will be fun, I'll meet new people....I love cards and scrapbooks!" So I called her back and said, "Yes, I will!" So once a month she holds a scrapbook night at her house. You can come without scrapbooking supplies in tow. In fact one month I brought my bank statement and financial papers that I needed to complete. How boring am I? But, I got my work done & was able to chat with friends while doing it!

So once a month we have an assignment. The first month was 12 valentine cards. So I had to make 12 of the same card and in return I got back 12 different valentine cards. How cool is that?!?!? So the next month we made calendar pages. I was assigned November. So I made 12 November pages and in return I got a whole year of calendar pages. Next was Easter/Spring cards. This month was a double page birthday layout. So the layout above is the page I did and I finished early!! YAY for me!!

I'm so glad that I joined her little group. I've met a lot of people and in return I get cute stuff!

But then there is this PROJECT....a naked window in my scrap room.....

OOOHHHH....but look at this pretty fabric.....my PROJECT I want to do so bad!

Then, there is this PROJECT that is more than halfway completed.....but I still need some more photos....I just need time.
Then this "little" wall has a dream PROJECT....I want to make a wall hanging/quilt to hang on this wall. This is the BIG wall that you see when walking up/down the stairs.....SOMEDAY.....

and the list goes on and on and on......and I'm off....to work on a PROJECT!