Mara!

Very quick post here (must get some sleep - ha). I created the digi portion of this layout (pictures and paper) right before I left for my travels. I knew that I wanted to add some 3-D elements to it. Finished it up today and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

Journaling reads: Mara loves to dance. I was lucky enough to capture this twirler in action during our April 2008 visit. I so love this girly girl!

If you are at all into the digital realm of scrapbooking. This week is the 1st anniversary for Sugarplum Paperie. Nicole is having a blog-a-versary with freebies everyday this week. Go check it out. I didn't realize that she had only been doing this for such a short time. Totally top notch work and is so fun to work with on things. Take a look around!

Now I'm going to bed as we have soccer camp this week so we'll be getting up and out the door each day by 8:30. Dry run for the beginning of school?

And church this morning...simply amazing. God is so great!

Today!

Okay so I have said I was going to write about our trip. I'm just not there yet. And as we all know life keeps moving so instead of missing the things that are currently happening, I'm going to share them NOW. (I will eventually go back but for now it is current stuff.) So today I watched father and son put up a new mailbox at our house. It was so cute watching them work together. Jameson even got a splinter from the shovel. Real mans work, right? Speaking of guys, a few days ago Greg asked me to take a few pictures of his latest car, 1964 Ford Fairlane (does one guy really need 4 vehicles? Probaby not but they all have different personalities - so he says!) If I remember correctly I think my dad had a car like this at some point.

This evening was girls night with my church friends. Basically a group of us (a different mix every single month when we get together) spent the evening laughing, sharing books, inspiration and played a few fun games. One of which was spoons. I took a chance to attempt to photograph a fast paced action (since I was out first - I couldn't just sit there, right? ha). I love the look on Bridget's face as sh goes for the spoon. We had a great evening. These are all such great women! Before the others showed up Abby & I took Caleb on a bit of a photo shoot. He is such a wonderful baby. I couldn't decide on which picture I liked best so here are a few (these are all SOOC - straight out of the camera). Tomorrow (okay later this morning) is the first Sunday for Foothills in the new building. We are so so excited!! If you're close by, join us! It will be awesome...God will be there!

Tagged!

I just got tagged from Sarah.

1. Ten Years Ago- It was the summer after graduating from Ashland. And I was selling cars for College Hills. James was working at Mohican before he completed one more semester at AU. It was a great time. In September of that year James proposed! We had our engagements pictures taken (while we were in Ohio just last week we did another photo session in the same exact spot - fun! Thank you again Anne! Anyone in Medina, Ohio contact her for your next portrait session - Snapshots of Faith).

2. Five Things on Today's To Do List- Relax, officially blog about our Ohio trip, take a few pictures, get caught up on blogs in google reader & go to bed at a decent time

3. Snacks I Enjoy- Ice Cream in Ohio, muffins & lime chips

4. Places I've Lived- Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia & South Carolina

5. Four People I'm Tagging- Sarah (the other one!), Shari, Christy & Kristen

And as promised earlier today, I will be back eventually to post more about what we've been up to, just not yet. No it really wasn't THAT interesting so don't hold your breath or anything, just have lots to say and not enough time right now to do it!

Where?

Oh where does the time go? I just looked and the last time I posted on the the 7th. Boy have lots of things happened since then. I'm just getting back into the swing of things and home. I'd love to give you all the details of the last few weeks but today there isn't time. We have more important things to do...see our local friends. They've missed us (it does feel good to be missed)!

I recently read through the Sermon on the Mount. Such great reminders as to where the Bible stands on things.

Okay so I was going to post some pictures and possible a video...it will come eventually. Just know I will be back, eventually!

Brandt!

So here they are...my favorite shots of Brandt from his senior

picture session!

Lots to update...

We've been busy and enjoy some time to really enjoy our family & friends. Wow how I am learning to truly appreciate the awesome computer set up we have at home (thanks James). Not that I don't think I could live without it, but having it does make things so much easier. I've stolen a few hours of alone time at Panera to get some blogging done (reading & posting) and possibly some additional digi pages. I've posted a few of the recent ones that I've done - this is the reason I love digi scrapbooking. I could never have gotten creative time in while traveling. This lets my brain have the outlet I need without dragging all my stuff along for the ride!

We've been having a great time visiting with family and friends. Jameson really enjoyed the 4th of July and we didn't even actually see big fireworks. While visiting Kelley we had a fun day at the pool. Avery did a dive off of the diving board or the first time and Jameson got this huge popsicle. It was so big and he ate the entire thing. He is totally loving ice cream and most anything cool like that. That evening Kelley & I put on a fun display for the kids. They loved it!

Then on the 4th we arrived in Mansfield. We had a good time with almost the entire Luers family. Jameson had a great time playing with everyone. He especially enjoyed the smoke bombs that were lite at dusk. He made some funny faces. Once it started to get a bit darker we were treated to another round of backyard fireworks. I did an entire scrapbook page about him playing with fireworks. He loved them. Then on Saturday we headed to Ashland for the BalloonFest. Oh what fun that was. There were nearly 30 balloons that flew by. There was an X that they were supposed to land in, but the wind seemed to be a bit off so not one of them was able to hit the mark. We had a great time watching them try though!

Yesterday we spent the afternoon with some Jarvis'. Grandpa Jarvis was full of stories for us. I love this man - every time I see him he tells me how pretty & young I look! No wonder I love him so much - haha. Really though he is such a loving man. After we spent some time with him, I got to practice

some photography stuff on Brandt. He graduates from high school next year so I offered to take his senior pictures. We had a good time. Take a look at the next post for my favorite pictures.

And earlier today I got to finish a project I'd been wanting to do for sometime now. I added some fun fabric to my recycled walmart bag. Sarah shared her green fabric with me and I added the background. I think it turned out cute. Can't wait to use it!

Well I'm off to visit a bit with another loved one! Hope you're having a great day too!

Mothers...

Today was a typical all American day. Woke in a comfortable, safe bed, enjoyed a protein shake while Jameson had a cup of juice & a few slices of cheese. Stopped by the gas station to fill up my truck (only to hit the limit at $75), then we ran through for some lunch on our way to the outlet mall to find a few things we might need. Then I got back to Kelley's house and read this. There are tears in my eyes and my heart is very, very heavy. I'm not really sure how God is going to use me to help make a difference but I know there is a plan. How about you?

"Never walk away from someone who deserves help; your hand is God's hand for that person." ~Proverbs 3:27

Video...

Check out the video to the right. When I have a bit more time I'm going to mess with the size so you can actually see the whole picture. For now just double click on it and it will open youtube. This is from a few weeks ago in town. Such a funny boy!

Ohio!

We're here! After 8 hours in the car we made it to Xenia earlier this week. Not a very eventful drive - which is just the way we like it. Julia didn't have a good time but overall I think she did well since she was car sick most of the ride. We were grateful we didn't have any sickies actually in our car (we caravanned with Aunt Tam). I have noticed that whenever Jameson has a cold his motion sickness is worse. We're going to Cedar Point next week so hopefully everyone will be able to enjoy the fun rides?!

To give you all an update from last week. The presentations went well. There was really only one spot that I almost passed out. Not really sure why I stop breathing when I'm talking in front of crowds but when it happens my voice starts to quiver and it is not pretty. In addition to the breakout sessions that we were leading, I even had to add another little speaking role to the list...I was in a skit - I am so not an actor. As embarrassing as this is, I'm posting a picture here so you all can really see what fun we have in our voluntary roles! For the skit we were talking about the various 'hats' that alumnae in ADPi can wear. I really think the message was received too - yeah! The first group shot is of the team that lead the seminar. I really enjoyed working with Renee & Marcy on our sections. These are some outstanding sisters! The second group is all of the alumnae directors (minus 2 that weren't able to make it to Atlanta). At the summer workshops this is when I really get to see the rest of the AD team. I didn't feel like I really got to spend too much time with them this year - I missed you all. Watch out Orlando...the site of our 2009 Convention! The picture of Alphie cracks me up, Arlene did such a great job with all her bling!

During our free afternoon a couple of us headed downtown to check out the sites. We had lunch in the CNN center and then headed through Centennial park and onto the Coke-Cola museum. Nickelodeon was entertaining people in the park. It was so neat to see the mix of faces that were enjoying themselves. It was quite warm (about 95) so most everyone was either in the shade or in the one fountain that still had water. When you see empty fountains it is a visual reminder that we are still in drought. I had a really good time spending the afternoon with some of my fellow frozen north friends...Cara, Jenny & Christy. The picture in front of the Coke museum makes me laugh. Mainly because we didn't even actually go on the tour. The line to even get into the building was about an hour long and then we would still have to go on the tour. So instead we opted to wander through the store. It was neat to see all the stuff and we did get a to take a glance into the tasting room. Sometime I would really like to get back there for a tour but I'm guessing a Saturday in June is not the best time to try.

The night before we left for Ohio we had a good dinner together as a family. Images like this make me miss home. James is such a good father. We excited that he is coming to visit with us next week.

Later this week we're excited to get to Ashland for the Balloon Fest. I haven't attended since college. I'm so excited to share this with Jameson.

On another note, reading things like this from Compassion really make me so grateful and hopeful that there will eventually be enough. We know we have our next meal but remembering that not everyone does is affecting me.