Emily

Too cool...Emily the star...Have your people call my people and we'll do lunch!

I love these pictures of my grand daughter Emily at six months old. Her infectious grin makes me crack up every time. These pages are for Emily's first year of life album. It records her every month from newborn to twelve months old. I have one started for both my grandchildren and each page brings back a flood of memories and smiles.

The paper is My Mind's Eye Bloom and Grow. I have had this line for quite sometime and have finally pulled it out to use. I used it for the previous pages for my daughters and I have a couple of cards to post later. It's just about all gone now but as much as I like it, I am always anxious to pull out new papers from my ever growing stash to play with.

Daughters {D}

Annie and Emily - This is one protective mommy...Emily will never be far from her momma's protective arms.

Jessica and Andrew - What is it about boys...so demonstrative and protective of their mommy's. Even at a year old, look how he has his arms positioned so that no harm can come to his mom and the big, sloppy kiss says it all!

Emily you definitely are your mommy's sunshine!

Daughters...how can one word say so much. It is a relationship none of us as women can escape, we either are one, or have one, or both.

Last night was part one of a two day Beth Moore simulcast conference at church. Yesteday was a draining day and I was really praying for God to refresh me through Beth and his word. The key verse was from Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." It made me focus on what my true desires are, not wants and wishes but true long prayed for earnest desires of the heart. I desire to serve God...I desire for my husband to be a strong man of faith...I desire for my daughters to know and serve God and to raise their children to do the same. Desires of the heart. Strong, thought provoking material in God's word.

What keeps resonating in my head was this statement from Beth, "At the end of the day, we are all going to do what we want to do." Not particularly a rocket science statement but whew...what a revelation. I can't force anyone to do or believe what I want them to. We all make choices according to our desires and we all do what we want to do. I am not in control of or responsible for my childrens choices. Huh? You mean all the tears, coercion and guilt were for nothing. They're going to do what they want to?

I want so much for my daughters, just as my mom still wants so much for me. There were times as we were bringing up our daughters that I can honestly say I thought to myself, "I can't do this, I am not equipped, what was I thinking!" Looking back, I spent so much of my time trying to force my daughters to fit into the mold that I created for them instead of encouraging them to love and serve God, trusting his plan for their lives. They are grown now, with babies of their own. All I can do now is pray that they will choose to love God and to serve him with all their hearts because it is what they want to do. Because it is the desire of their heart.

Blessings,

Patty

The paper is from My Minds Eye, Bloom and Grow. The stamps are from Unity Stamps.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! {D}

This super cool dude is my nephew, Gregory. He is the most awesome seven year old you will ever meet. Bright, inquisitive, funny and a really good dancer!

I made this scrapbook page for him to always remember the summer he turned seven and visited his cousins in California.

I made these two cards at a class at Scrappin Good Times in San Dimas, CA. The instructor and designer Chelle is amazingly talented and really inspired me to try cardmaking. I encourage anyone who loves handmade cards to take a class. You can know nothing about papercrafts and come away with amazing cards and be equipped to make more of your own. The paper is from My Minds Eye, Breaking Free line. The surf boards were colored with Copic Markers.

I can remember vividly the day my nephew Gregory was born. I was privileged to be there, in the room, when he made his entrance into this world. I can never thank my sister enough for the opportunity to witness such a miracle happen. Having adopted my girls, I never knew what the child birth experience was like and to see it from the viewing perspective was life changing.

"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mothers womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex...You saw me before I was born...How precious are your thoughts about me, O God." Psalm 139: 113 -117

To see that come together, God's complex workmanship, his plans for a tiny life, was a gift.

We take for granted the gift of life, the plans of our Creator for tiny little lives. The blessing of healthy children who laugh and cry and throw temper tantrums (not mine of course) who have desires and bents toward different temperaments and talents. But God has a plan for us all, each life was created with a purpose and God's thoughts are precious toward each one of his creations.

What an awesome God we have. We need to encourage not only our children and other children but also our husbands, sisters, brothers, parents and friends to live the lives that God created them for. With our God you know the purpose is nothing less than spectacular!!!

Blessings,

Patty

New Friends

It never ceases to amaze how God can put people in our lives at just the right time. I have been blessed with several such friends. Some are here just for a season, to pray with or help you through a difficult time. Others are around because they need you to encourage them. Every once in a while God blesses you with someone for the long haul. Someone that a chance circumstance turns into a true friendship.

I have never been afraid to call on someone that inspires me or that I sense a common thread with and God has blessed me for it. I have trekked many miles or simply walked up the block to meet them. Some I have met at the mail box or at the grocery store check out. Each one has added to my life. My advice to all women is to seek out new friendships, take a chance of being turned down for a cup of coffee or an email or phone call. You never know what new friendships await you if you don't go outside your familiar walls of comfort.

I made these cards to have on hand to send out when I sense a friend needs comfort or an encouraging word. The paper is a combination of BoBunny and Mind Minds Eye. The itty bitty nest stamp is from Karen Lockart and colored with copic markers.

Blessings,

Patty

Easy Peasy Muffins

Okay, let me start out this post right up front with the disclaimer that I am not the world's greatest cook. Oh, I might have watched enough of the food network and bought enough of the right tools to fool you, but don't confuse this with cooking great, gourmet dishes. My husband would be satisfied with a rotation of three staples, spaghetti, burritos (of any kind) and some kind of chicken dish. Throw in a delivered pizza every once and a while and were good to go. That doesn't stop me from pulling out recipes and buying cook books because someday...when I have the time...

This really simple recipe is from a Southern Living magazine (not sure what issue, I ripped it out and filed it) that gave several options for dressing up a basic store bought muffin mix. This one is for blueberry muffins. I happen to have fresh blueberries, (my grandson loves them), so I used them instead of dried as the recipe suggests. I also used my itty bitty muffin pan so that it would make more than the six indicated and I doubled the recipe. No math here just two bags of muffin mix.

Tomorrow night is our final bible study meeting for the summer and we always end with a snack fest and these are my contribution. I can't believe summer is coming to a close, before you know it we will be planning our turkey dinner and Christmas feasts. Let's not rush, let's just enjoy each day, with it's good and bad, thanking God that he has given us a new day, full of grace.

"This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

Enjoy the day,

Patty

Pocket Full Of Love {D}

I have taken on the challenge to compile twelve 6x6 pages with bible verses for a calendar for 2010. I am even going to commit each verse to memory. For those of you who know me, you know my memory is definitely not my strength. But one month to memorize one verse, come on, even I should be able to manage that. The first page I posted last week was titled, Immutable. Tonight I just finished page two called Pocket Full of Hope. This one is dedicated to my mom who is worried that I have abandoned my love of quilting for this obsession I have with paper.

This page is made using paper-piecing which is definitely a quilting skill and plenty of stitching, which required me to use my sewing machine and yes, even my seam ripper (or un-sewer) as my mom calls it. I lOOOOOve the way it turned out! Please let me know what you think. The stamps I used are from Unity Stamp's July KOM and the paper is Dream Street Paper.

The verse is from Philippians 4:5"Let your gentleness be evidence to all, that the Lord is near." In my summer study on the book of Philippians I discovered that this verse refers to God's judgement upon his return, which is near. We are to behave in a considerate way to everyone, even those who mistreat or persecute us because the final judgement is God's and he will right all wrongs. As Paul says to the Phillipians, "Rejoice and I will say it again, rejoice."

Blessings,

Patty

Mort's Birthday

Mort's birthday card. The "forest" was cut using my sihouette. The paper is the new Boo to You halloween paper by My Minds Eye. The stamp is one I found at Joanne's Fabric.

The Swing - We have pictures of our kids on this same swing nearly 20 years ago!

All five grandkids. Just give them some water and watch them go!

Mort, Andrew and Emily Jean - This was at the end of a very long day. Naps were needed by all and clothes were a thing of the past.

Just a quick post tonight...We just got home from my father in laws birthday party. He insisted on having it at his house and he treated for pizza! This was only the second family gathering at the ole homestead since my mother in law, Jean passed away. The first time was Christmas (only a few months after she died) and as much as we wanted to honor her memory, it was a disaster. The hurt was still to fresh.

Not this time, though. Boy did we woop and holler. The family has increased by three new grandchildren in the last two years plus the two who were already here. It was good to see such life in a home that once was grand central for all family gatherings. I couldn't help but think how much Jean would have loved it. I am sure that Mort is enjoying the peace and quiet now that we have all gone home but I know he was thrilled to have us there. The memories are sweet now instead of painful. We even managed to go through some photo albums. We took pictures of Mort with all the new additions plus lots of candid shots. It reminded me how important it is to be the keeper of memories, through photos and scrapbooks.

Time goes so quickly, enjoy every moment. Take lots of pictures and laugh your heads off!

Proverbs 15:13 "A glad heart makes a happy face; a broken heart crushes the spirit."

Blessings and sweet memories,

Patty

Girlfriends

I had lunch with my friend Monique yesterday for her birthday and we started talking about how long we've know eachother (over 20 years!). She is one of those friends that no matter how much time goes by, it is always easy to start up a conversation like no time has passed. That's the wonderful thing about old girlfriends, you share such history. There is not a good or bad time in my life that she has not been there for me. As we laughed and talked I realized again how blessed we are that God brought us together so many years ago. Happy Birthday, Monique.

I made this card set and gift bag for her birthday (no I won't say which birthday). The bag is just a regular lunch sack that I added a little bling to. The cards were made with Basic Grey's porcelin paper line.

Proverbs 17 "A friend loves at all times..."

Cherish your friends!

Pressing On {D}

I thought I would share some pictures of my craft room. This is the first time, in the 26 years I have been married, that I have a dedicated area just for me and my stuff! I do appreciate how blessed I am to have it but it is one of those things that can be a double edged sword. I have to be careful that I don't get so caught up in my "creating" that I ignore all else. Not just housework but also time with God. I find it necessary to set aside certain hours of the day (for me it's the morning hours) to be in His word. It takes discipline for me but I know myself, once I check my email then I check my favorite blog sites, then I doodle a card sketch or sort through ribbon, etc. and before I know it the morning is gone. Maybe it's just me...

My scripture today was Phillipians 3:12, "I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me." What stood out to me this morning was the phrase "But I press on". What does that mean for me? It means that this is a continuing process. To achieve what God has planned for my life has nothing to do with remembering my past failures or achievements. It is new every day. It is to be in hot pursuit, right now, in this moment. It's active, it's current, it's ongoing. It is nothing spectacular to the world, but it is everything to God. The Scottish minister, George Matheson said, "We conquer-not in any brilliant fashion-we conquer by continuing." In other words, we conquer by pressing on!

Have a blessed day, my fellow conquerors!