Treasures...

"Your word I have treasured in my heart…" Psalm 119:11a (NAS)

This verse reminds me of February for some reason. I love the month of February (I know it is still January but we're very close to Feb)! Not sure if it is because of Valentine's Day, more time to spend inside or that I know I always get to see adpi friends. Whatever the reason, I'm excited! And this year not only do I get to see adpi friends, I also get to visit with lots of other friends and family in Ohio.

Our week has been so much fun so far! On Monday Sarah called and asked what we had going on. We actually didn't have much going on so we agreed to come hang out with them for a bit. Then her husband called and said that his business trip would definteily require him to stay overnight. So Jameson & I had stayed with them. It was fun for the boys to have a little sleep over. Then Tuesday we got up and headed down to Buford to meet up with my friend Carol and her daughter. Carol & I advised together at Mount Union many years ago. She also attended Ashland but was ahead of me in school so we didn't actually know each other at AU. It was so much fun hanging out with two sisters earlier this week!

Lots going on!

Wow has it really been almost a week since I posted? The time seems to be speeding by lately. I've gotten a few things cleared off my to-do list. Hopefully I can get back to regular posting, except that in a few weeks we'll be heading to Ohio so it will becoming scarce again soon! Never ending cycle of playing catch up and then a lull. So last weekend I headed to a scrapbook retreat and I got 15 cards done (including my swap cards!), 8 12x12 layout, finished a gift mini-album and put the finishing touches on the mini albums from July & December. It was a good fun creative time. Here are a few of the things that I finished up. The 4wheelin' fun layout includes some digital paper from Cafe J that I had printed off. It matched the other paper & the 4wheeler perfectly. In the July album I cut apart Jameson swim trunks and stuck them right in the book. He wore these things all summer and totally remind me of the summer of 2008. He wasn't too happy when he saw them in there though (because he thinks he can still fit in them now). Among the crafty things I've posted you'll notice the one of my iPhone. I have a sweet friend from digiland, Mel sent me these cute wallpapers. She is selling them on etsy, check it out!

In other news, it seems like Jameson has gotten even more independent lately. He is putting on his own shoes, getting dressed on his own (insists on changing into shorts the moment we get home and changes them frequently once we're home - I thought only girls did this?!), he is going potty facing forward (early potty training required us to start him out backwards, it was a hard thing to break but we're there now), he wants to get his own drinks (that doesn't work too well sometimes), he has learned how to unbuckle his car seat and the best one, he has started to wipe himself after booping. Some great things to celebrate at our house!

Last night we had life group at our house. Most of our group wasn't able to attend but we still had a great time and enjoyed a yummy hot cocoa bar! Also last night we were excited to get the call that aunt Caree & uncle Chris had welcomed their daughter, Adelaine. I don't have a picture yet that I can post but trust me, as soon as I have one it will be here (probably on a SB page if I can help it!). We're so excited to meet this sweet girl in a few weeks when we make it to Ohio.

Hybrid team call!

The Digi Chick is having a call for Hybrid chicks! Check it out!

Daily routine challenge!

I am hosting the blog challenge over at Sugarplum Paperie this week...Check it out!

(credits here)

I'm just getting back to the house after a great weekend at a scrapbook retreat at the GA Baptist Center. It was great to spend creative time with my local friend. I did miss the fun of our past January LALR events. I will say though that this was the first weekend retreat that I've been to since LALR. It was awesome to focus on my own things and do my own thing (like sleep in this morning instead of getting up to get the coffee, etc ready for attendees - even though Kelley & I used to do a great things, trading off days to sleep in!). I was quite productive in getting things done this weekend. I'll be posting some pictures later in the week. Now I've got to get some things done for GroupLink at church tomorrow as well as a couple of adpi calls that are later this evening. Hope you all had a great weekend and if you're lucky to have tomorrow off of work, do something special!

Random!

Okay so I'm warning you that this post is going to be rather random. Lots of various thing to write about so I'm going to go with the bullet point system!

• I just read that my very favorite print magazine, Simple Scrapbooks is no longer going to be printed after the May/June issue. Sad I tell you, but I guess now I'll be able to stay current with the other mags that are delivered to my mailbox!

• Jameson has been saying some really funny things lately. Like tonight he was watching one of his DVR programs and as soon a it ended he said "Oh I guess it is time to go to bed since the show it over" (I guess he hears us remind him that when the shows are over it is time to head upstairs for stories and bed...maybe he does hear us!)

• Today I'm hosting a challenge on the Sugarplum Paperie blog...check it out!
• Earlier this week I was able to do a little shopping with my sweet friend Sarah. We both made arrangements (thanks again Abby) for our kiddos so it was just us. We strolled through Archivers with new eyes since we didn't have to keep looking down at the kids, run to the bathroom, etc. While we were together Sarah gave me a belated Christmas present. She made me this little tag album with the top 5 reason she is glad we're friends. It is such an amazing reminder of what a great friend she is and how grateful I am everything single day for the way God has woven our lives together (if you don't know the store about how Sarah & I originally met...we were roommates at the adpi summer workshop in 1998 - yes 10 years ago, before kids, before we lived an hour from each other but instead were states apart and then 5 years ago God put our paths together again on a scrapbooking message board!)
  
• I recently created a project for Jameson. It is a way for little ones to practice writing their letters. I only printed out the letters in his name, since that is what he is working on at school. He has enjoyed playing with it! You can get this kit at The Hybrid Kid.The kit contains all 26 letters in upper- and lower-case, 15 sight words, a cover, a blank cover, a blank lined sheet, and all five colored backgrounds, plus all the cards in pdf format for easy printing...an absolute steal at $4.00!
• Another crafty project was completing the cover page for our 365 album (using this awesome kit from SPP). It feels so good to get these little random memories recorded quickly, every day! I'm thinking about moving the posts to another blog instead of facebook (leave me a comment if you have a preference).
• Did you notice Sarah's blog header...she did that all on her own and I am so proud of her!
  
• Also along the lines of creative things...this weekend I'm going to a weekend retreat with some local friends. This will be the first retreat I've gone on since LALR. I'm sure it will seem odd not to be running things but oh am I going to enjoy the idea that I can plug in my ipod and do my own thing, if I want to or go for a walk, and best of all hopefully get lots done!
  
• Oh and I think I forgot to post some of the gifts that I made for people during the Christmas season. Everything I did has been updated to this gallery (let me know if you have trouble viewing anything).
  

Okay I think that is enough for random things for today. Hope you have a wonderful weekend! Stay warm if you're in an area that is also experiencing lower than normal temps this week!

My word for 2009!

I'm not sure how many of you pick words to describe how you want to move into each new year. My word for this year is focus. I feel like I'm doing pretty good job, still getting things in order but really will it ever truly be organized, no & I'm rolling with it. Today I was catching up on some blog reading. This post by Melody Ross really pulled me in. In particular this "...I know for sure that life is meant to be enjoyed and not merely endured. God gives us our own lungs to breathe in and out of, He gives us everything we need…" Such a great reminder that everything that comes our way is what God had planned for us, good or bad.

I have a little share for you, a layout (credits here) I created last night with a picture of Jameson playing the wii yesterday. Also wanted to let everyone know that we appreciate the prayers while the little man was under the weather. He is back to his wild, active self!! Yeah for a growing, healthy boy!

Another parenting adventure!

Well the last 24 hours have been an adventure in parenting for our family! Last night Jameson & I, along with the sitter Jenna ran to Walmart. As soon as we made a quick exchange we were heading to the first session for our new life group with friends from church. While we were walking through Walmart Jenna commented on the fact that Jameson wanted carried and that he just didn't look too good. I told her it was probably because he is transitioning out of a nap and hadn't taken on yet that day (it was about 5:30). Then we got almost back to the customer service counter with our exchange when Jameson told me he thought he was going to get sick. I grabbed a bag from a register and got turned around just in time to have Jameson fill it up. Yes he got sick right there at Walmart. I grabbed him and we headed to the restroom to get rid of the bag. And then he did it again. We got cleaned up in the restroom and met Jenna back at the exchange counter. After I politely asked the two people in front of us in line to ask us to go ahead of them so we could get the wii remote exchanged and get out of there. They were both very nice about letting us go ahead and the clerk was speedy with her duty. At this point I was praying thanks to God that given everything that had happened we had come in contact with some very nice people along the way. Then we got to the car and headed to life group. I had the dvd and the sitter. I dropped of Jenna and the two of us headed home. (Okay at this point I should also add that James was not with us because he had a business dinner.) While we were driving home I had to pull over to help Jameson while he was getting sick again, and again. He was very upset because he had gotten it on his shirt and car seat. We were about 8 minutes from home so I told him to just close his eye because we could be home faster than I could change him on the side of the road. This is the photo I captured of him, he not only closed his eyes but he fell completely asleep. We got home and this continued through most of the night and into the morning. So far, since mid-morning, all has been back to normal here at home. Except of course that it is a true battle to get this boy to sit still. We keep saying, come watch this movie instead of running throughout the house. Hopefully we will all get a good night of sleep tonight and tomorrow will be a new day!

In other news, I wanted to update everyone that I've done a bit of refocusing in a few areas of life. One is ADPi, for awhile I'd been feeling a bit of an itch to have a new challenge. Well it has come and I'm sure challenged! I'm no longer volunteering as an alumnae director, now I'm a recruitment director. I'm very excited to be working with the collegiate women again. Another area of adjustment came with regards to the creative teams that I'm on. I am no longer on the team at the digi chick but have added the hybrid kid team to my list. I'm excited to involve Jameson more in the things that I'm creating. I'm almost done with the first project for the hybrid kid and can't wait to show you all. Also along the lines of being creative, I have been searching for a list with the days numbered throughout the hear. Nicole's sweet husband, Travis totally came through. I thought I'd share it here in case anyone else doing Project 365 might want it. click here

We've heard all about the snow that is coming to our family & friends in Ohio. Stay safe and remember there are some people that would love to be there with you!

One more thing...congratulations to my Debbie. She is officially a college graduate as of today. I am so very proud of her and can't wait to see what God has in store for her.

Week 1 down!

Okay so I never intended to be gone from the blog for this long but lucky for you all I can totally catch you up on what we've been doing. I previously mentioned that I was going to be doing the 365 challenge well week 1 is now officially behind us. I've really enjoyed the freeing feeling this has afforded me. I've always wanted to capture more of the daily happenings and this project seems to be doing it. If you'd like to stay up to date on a daily basis (okay I can't promise everyday will be on time but it will be better than on the blog). Check out my facebook pics. Here is the finish spread in my album (journaling spot created using a new kit from Sugarplum Paperie)

Lately it seems that Jameson is getting older, quicker. He does some really funny things and I just have to step back and remind myself that he really is only 3. This afternoon we were going for a walk and he started out in a jog and said "mom see you just have to do it like this". Okay thanks I'll take some jogging lessons from my 3 year old. We half walked/jogged all the way around the steep hilly road behind our house. He amazes me how much energy he has (even without a nap). Then tonight the 3 of us were preparing for a little wii fun and he said something (which oddly has totally escaped me at the moment). The funny part wasn't really so much what he said but the hand motions with it. He was pointing up at the ceiling shaking his hand. So grown up looking.

So is anyone else attempting to capture a picture a day for 2009?

Welcome to 2009!

Welcome to 2009! I wanted to drop by wish you a Happy New Year! I also wanted to let you know that if you'd like to follow along with the pictures that I'm using for the 365 they will be...HERE.

We had a good time last night. We went to the neighbors house. Good food, great friends and a fierce round of pool. My mom & William were driving here from Ohio. They called around 11:30 and said they were just about here. We met up with them at our house and both boys were wide awake to watch the Time Square ball drop at midnight. It was a sweet way to ring in the new year.

Today is my mom's birthday and I wanted to wish her a happy birthday. The boys were so cute singing to her and helping her blow out the candles.

Another cute moment from today was William on skype with his family at home. Dana and the girls were having a good time chatting with him. He was so excited to show them the hat he has been wearing all day! These two boys are having a great time playing with each other. Of course there have been a few moments of crying, yelling, etc but for the most part they are doing great. They even slept in the same room last night and again tonight.

Guess what this is my 101th blog post!