My Grandma Verna

Last night we celebrated my Grandma's 88th birthday and we all (from my 2 years old nephew to my parents and grandpa) told my Grandma what we love and appreciate about her. I really could go on and on about how wonderful she is, but I've done that here. But, what struck me about last night was how healthy it was for our kids to see us honoring the elderly.

It was so cute to hear my 2 year old nephew tell Grandma Great that what he loves about her is that she gives him "ama crackers." (animal crackers) We started with the youngest and went all the way up the line. Even Danny and Erica (my brother's wife) told what they love about my Grandma. My Grandpa (who married my Grandma about 20 years ago) also shared what he loved about her. It was so sweet!

I was glad to get a chance to tell Grandma what she means to me, but I was even more glad that my kids got a chance to hear us all telling her. I mean, if they don't see it modeled, who is going to tell me how wonderful I am when I'm 88!!!

Fellowship Questions

I love this post at girl talk. You might not have an accountability partner, but what great questions to ask yourself regularly. I found myself challenged to answer several of them.

• Describe your current practice of the spiritual disciplines.
• What is a passage of Scripture you have been meditating on recently?
• What fruit of the Spirit are you cultivating?
• What sin are you seeking to weaken?
• How can I pray for you?
• Here is an evidence of grace that I observe in your life.
• How are you seeking to grow in expressing biblical femininity?

Good stuff!!

Superbowl

Oh boy was this a sweet, sweet victory! You just gotta love those Manning boys, eh? I watched a post-game show on NFL.com and they showed the most priceless conversation between Eli and Peton. They were like two little boys talking about the game. I loved the footage that they showed during the game of Peton. He was so intense watching his brother and so happy for his victory. I love it when the nice guy wins. And, yes....I also love it when the not-so-nice-guy doesn't win. Nuff' said!

I can't wait to see the commercials those brothers will make now, eh?

Congrats to the Giants on a great game!!

Wordless Wednesday

Snowed in!

I haven't missed church for anything other than illness or vacation since I was in college. But, this morning we awoke to about a foot of snow and I got stuck twice just trying to get out of our driveway. So, we opted for worshipping God in his amazingly gorgeous creation. We bundled up and headed for the park. We had to help about five different people who had gotten stuck. I have never seen so many neighbors out shoveling and snow blowing and trying to get out of their driveways. The roads are a mess, but everyone seemed in such good spirits and willing to help each other get the cars moving.

We walked (trudged would be a better word) to the park where we could barely find the swings. We made a snowman and just enjoyed the amazing beauty that God has given us!

I have included a few pictures of the day.

Have my kids been reading too much?

Annsley and Seth told me tonight that they had a plan but they couldn't tell me what it was until after Tuesday. I prodded a little and they finally confessed that they were going to run away to the mall on Tuesday. They didn't tell me *which* mall however so I wouldn't be able to find them right away. They said that they were going to get their money out of the bank so they would have something to live off of. When I asked them how they were going to do that, they replied, "We need you to help us with that." I said, "OK. When you ask me to do it I'll try not to ask too many questions so I don't discover your plan." They were thankful. I told them I thought it would be good for them and help them with their independence skills. I promised not to tell Daddy until after Tuesday.

Um.....do you think my kids have been reading a little to much Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler? I remember loving this book as a kid and planning a few adventures of my own after reading it. However, they decided that our local museum just didn't have what they needed to survive, but the mall certainly does. Seth did let it slip that I would probably find them in the bedroom section of one of the stores. They also assured me it was nothing I had done! Phew!

Love/ Hate Meme

I love to eat: brie cheese
I hate to eat: raisins
I love to go: on vacation
I hate to go: to Walmart
I love it when: I have a lazy Saturday to sleep in and read in bed
I hate it when: I hurt someone's feelings
I love to see: my kids do something well
I hate to see: anyone I love in pain
I love to hear: my kids laughing
I hate to hear: anything out of pitch

For you: Miz Booshay

Tuesday Ten (I mean Seven)

1. Riverdance was great. I can only imagine long, wispy legs gracefully moving across the floor. I am not long-limbed.
2. I learned how to make a ribbon on photoshop. It looks cool, but I'll post it later. (Yah, I know Cathy, you could just curl a real ribbon in much less time!)
3. We have been doing our meals-on-wheels this month, and I can not tell you how much I like having meals delivered to my house on the nights that I work.
4. There is no football this weekend! I will be having withdrawals.
5. It is very cold here today!! I'm so thankful for a house and a heater...and my electric blanket.
6. American Idol has started, but I gotta say, I like it a lot better when they get to Hollywood. Danny and the kids enjoy this tryout part.
7. I really don't have much to say, but I really like you all....my imaginary friends, and I really haven't posted much substantial lately.

Tomorrow I get to go....

to this!

It almost makes up for the fact that the Seahawks will be home tomorrow. The only problem is that I will miss most of the early game (Go Chargers!) and part of the second game (Go Packers!) It sounds like it is going to be just a little chilly in Green Bay.

What are you reading right now?

I am reading All Rivers Run to the Sea by Elie Wiesel. I have always had a fascination with reading about Holocaust survivors, but this may be one of the most amazing books I have read in this genre. Wiesel weaves the tale of his fascinating life, adding his personal reflections on God, faith, love and forgiveness.

"To write is to plumb the unfathomable depths of being. Writing lies within the domain of mystery. The space between any two words is vaster than the distance between heaven and earth. To bridge it you must close your eyes and leap. A Hasidic tradition tells us that in the Torah the white spaces, too, are God-given. Ultimately, to write is an act of faith."

What's in *your* book pile?

Go Hawks!!

We have on our blue and green. We are heading to my parents to watch the big screen.

Can you imagine how the players must all feel right now?

Miz Booshay, all morning your phrase, "May the team with the best bloggers win" has been making me smile. That one really cracked me up. If I didn't have Crissy on my side I would give the Packers the advantage on that one. You are one of the few people I know (besides me, of course) who would have a picture of knitting and football in the same post! I hope your boys have a wonderful time at the game and could you ask them to say a little Seahawk cheer just for me?

I didn't mention yesterday that I am now officially married to a 40 year old! We celebrated last night at our favorite Mexican restaurant with my family and tonight we will celebrate with his family. He insisted that I NOT give him a party. He does not like to be the center of attention. This whole turning 40 gig has been made more difficult due to the fact that he found out last week he needs two crowns on his teeth. He has begun the downward slide. :-)

Like you really care....

I know I'm a bit PSE obsessed, but I really love my folded paper that I made! I just gotta show you. I added the shading, shadows, etc. I followed a tutorial, but I think it is cute. The picture on this page was just another technique I was learning and won't stay on this page. I'm having fun.

Wednesday morning

Happy Wednesday, everyone. We have amazingly beautiful snow outside and it makes me SO happy!! I love the snow. The kids should be awake now so we can start on our "schedule" but Annsley was out late at a basketball game last night and.....I'm enjoying the quiet right now.

This afternoon Annsley starts her next CYT class. She auditioned for a class called Star Spangled Kids that will tour to schools, but did not get in. She was the youngest to audition, and although she sang beautifully, she could not get the dance routine they taught at the audition. It was not an easy jazz routine and Annsley has not had much jazz, so she couldn't learn it fast enough for the audition. She felt bad right after the audition. But, when I told her she didn't get it, she seemed fine with it. She is taking a different fun class (which will mean less work and time). It was a good lesson for her. Confession time. I sort of felt like *I* didn't make it, and I found that *I* was disappointed by the whole thing. Very, very silly!! But, don't worry, I'm over it....for the most part. ;-)

Please be patient

If you are seeing a giant blog banner....sorry about that. I'm trying to make some changes, but I have to go to bed and I won't get back to it for a while. If you are seeing a tiny blog banner could you let me know, please. Thanks! I'm going to fix the colors too.

Can you stand another scrapbooking page?

This is what I'm spending my evening time doing lately. And....I gotta show someone!

My Photoshop Elements lesson

The lesson for the month was making "grunge" borders. Along with this I learned how to take the color out of a picture and then add it back in in certain spots.

This looks so simple. Why did it take me so long to do it? :-)

First Digital Scrapbooking page

I found this website, which has proved to be the easiest site for learning new things. I even subscribed to their newsletter where they send you new techniques to learn each month. The problem is that I am following the tutorials and trying to do some advanced techniques without having a great understanding of the basics.

They have a great beginning tutorial video, but it is Photoshop Elements 5. I am trying to decide if I should wait for the Elements 6 beginning training video (not sure when it is coming out..."soon" is what they say) or get the Elements 5 training to learn the basics. It doesn't make sense to use an outdated program, but.....well.....I'm kinda impatient!

My first Photoshop Creation

I followed a tutorial to make this cute Christmas ornament with Photoshop. I don't really know what I'll do with it yet, but I thought it was kinda cute.

2008 Project Challenge

Kelli came up with the 2008 Project Challenge. Each month choose a project that you would like to tackle. Pretty simple. Does anyone want to join me? My project for January is to get my recipes organized again. The paper seems to have multiplied. I'll let you know how this goes. If you would like to join me (and Kelli) let me know your project in my comments or post it on your blog and send me the link.

Year in Review

as inspired by the amazing Miz. Booshay

January:

OK, I can hardly remember back to January, but I took a very spur of the moment work trip to Rhode Island and stayed in an amazing hotel and had the best Italian food I have ever tasted in my life. Now THAT is a memory I can't forget. The company that paid for us (not our school tax dollars, you will be happy to know) is very generous to their guests!!

February:

I got glasses. I don't wear them all the time, mostly as a fashion accessory, but I find I'm needing them a little more as I approach 40!

March-April: We started our South trip in Dallas at the end of March and into April. This trip was one of the highlights of our year. It was so fun seeing the country and some old friends along the way. (Old in longevity not age, of course!) Here we are in a amazingly gorgeous place in Mississippi along the Natchez Trace. This trip brought our grand total up to 35 states that we have been in. I turned 39 in March and Annsley turned double digits in April.

May-The weekends in May were mostly dedicated to putting in our irrigation system at our property. This was a LOT of work and the kids did a ton of work. At the time I remember thinking that there was NO WAY this was going to be worth it, but I have sure been enjoying the produce in my freezer from all our work! OK, this picture wasn't from May, but you get the idea.

June: We took a short trip over to Seattle and had a great time staying with family and seeing some fun things. I also passed the oral defense for my masters degree. That was exciting!

July:

I finished my masters degree!!! Every July we head to the Oregon coast for a week with my family. This is always a yearly highlight for everyone. This year we extended our vacation a week and toured around Oregon with Danny's parents before we headed to Cannon Beach.

August:

LaNae (Danny's sister) and kids returned to Spokane from California. The kids have been so happy to be back together again!! There was lots of swimming and a visit from our wonderful Chicago friends (time to start a blog, Bets!!)

September:

We started back officially to school.

October: Seth turned 9 this month and had soccer games and practice and Annsley was rehearsing for Little Women, the Musical. October seems a bit of a blur.

November: Annsely was in her first play and loved it! See this post for pictures.

December: There are many Christmas highlights this year. One highlight is always the Christmas play that the cousing literally spend all year planning and practicing. The older the get, the sweeter it is.