imagination

living in a wolrd with such creative people is a blast for me...can you just picture the creative juices floating through the atmosphere?

i can...it makes me smile.

HAPPY THURSDAY>>>>

This is what love looks like...

so much love...my kids are growing up surrounded by love...yes, i know how lucky/blessed i am keeps popping up lately in my posts but i can not resist it...i feel so
BLESSED.

Happy Wednesday>>>

Dreamy, dreamy, dreamy...

This is a photo from a scrapbook store down in Texas that will be opening soon. Can you imagine walking into a store like this?

Well, for those of you that aren't DARKSIDE scrapbookers like me, probably yes. But if I walked into this beautiful mecca....ohhh, boy...I would have to breathe into a paper bag.

Anyway...things are really good here...we are enjoying the pool and enjoying the easy, smeasy summer nights...get this...we got home last night around six, changed into our suits and just swam until 8:30. I brought trays of sandwiches and fruit around the pool at 7:30 and we had a little picnic. PERFECT.

So my heart feels so joyful...love the summer...hope you are loving yours too.

HAPPY TUESDAY.

feeling grateful...

since i have been a little girl i have become overly emotional when i am tired. right now i am pretty plum tuckered out and let me tell you i am sad and joyful and reminiscent and grateful all at the same time.

krissy's shower was just beautiful. she is such a beautiful person to the core and i love her so. the food was delicious, the house was looking so nice, and the company was warm and delightful. yet today in the midst of this beautiful shower that was filled with so much love, you could feel the missing piece of my Daddy's love that "umbrellaed" us all and made us feel like it would all be okay no matter what.

we all have such a deep wound from our Daddy going to heaven and as krissy gets closer to her due date you can just see her struggling so much with her wound. i just want to scoop her up and hold her and tell her it will be okay. and in the end the foundation that my mom and dad laid for us...this loving family that they created together will make it okay...and has made it okay but all of our life celebrations are bittersweet.

as i said, overly emotional and with all of this swirling through my head, i came home and finished a scrapbooking project that i started back in february about our house in Jackson. I love this house and have so many wonderful memories there and it was important for me to preserve them. so glad i finished...can't believe i actually scrapbooked, didn't think i would for a while after this week but it just goes to show--scrapbooking is so therapuetic for me...it helps me sort out all the stuff that floats around in my head.


next, i wanted to show how beautiful my Vera Bradley bag is...it is a bowler bag and my mom gave it to me yesterday...what a huge treat. i love it and it makes me feel special when i hold it. material? yes, definitely but i for one don't think there is anything wrong with owning objects that remind you of the magic in the world.

and next...my had me downs in the family room from Mom and Ash...a lamp from Mom which sheds more light on the subject and a rug from Ash which by golly, makes everything look better...from now on,,,,,,katie and robby will NOT be eating or drinking in there no matter what. i like the clean look of the floor and want to keep it that way.

so good night all...Happy Saturday...what is left of it. hug everyone who is special to you.

Happy Birthday, Daddy

Happy Birthday, Daddy....I love you and think about you every day. I use your lessons and values you taught me everyday. You are part of my fabric.

I love you.

Oh my Goodness

Guess where I will be in February...specifically February 15, 16, and 17?

Chantilly, VA

WOOO HOOOOO!

The Zoo

And now....the last day of our adventure...

The Pittsburgh Zoo...my favorite zoo...very accessible and shady and just a nice place to visit.

we met the pellonis at the zoo. rich and sandy pelloni went to PSU with dave and i...they live in cranberry, pa now and as some fun trivia, their wedding was the first wedding dave ever attended.

the kids had fun together and we got to see lots of interesting things...we missed the reptile house and the childrens indoor exhibit with the great meerkats but we'll do that next time.

HAPPY THURSDAY. this week went fast.

A new passion, perhaps?

Well, I am happy to announce that I have met someone new who is as passionate/crazy as I am about craftiness and trying new things.

So this blog post is for Sybil...hopefully you will see these purses.

I AM EXCITED.

yes, I know I won't be able to create these off the bat but...hey, i can dream, right?

took my breath away....

Katie needs more and more things to keep her occupied as she gets older...it is hard for me to admit that she is growing up but i have to because she craves more responsibility. yesterday, i sent her out with scissors to cut some flowers from our favorite hydrangea bush. she came back in and turned the corner to the kitchen and this is what i saw. it took my breath away. two miracles.

I AM SO LUCKY>

Happy Wednesday.

Children's Museum

as promised, these are the pictures from our adventure at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. What a super place. this is where we had robby's third b-day party and the kids were eager to return.

katie had noticed a billboard on the pa turnpike on the way to nana's house that advertised a Birdwell Island exhibit at the Children's Museum.

of course, this is Clifford' s home and katie was so excited to go see the the kid's loved this exhibit. katie was busy writing letters to clifford. it has been such a pleasure and a privilege to see her language develop.

rob loved the boats and was excited to sort letters in various character's mailboxes. he had a penchant for math...he also is big into the imagination...love seeing this in him. on his boat ride he was going to the store to buy some treats for me!

Dave thought he would be oh so cute and get into the doghouse since he "is always there anyway." if he only knew....

the other pics are of a great climbing structure that Rob really enjoyed and of Katie's wonderful creativity...she fashioned that hat all by herself.

HAPPY TUESDAY>

Family Day at Kennywood

We just got back from a half week of fun in Pittsburgh...

it was jampacked with activities and the kids loved it. over the next few days i will share pictures from all the places we went but i will start with kennywood. it really was a pretty perfect day. as many of you know, dave and i love amusement parks and this day rated up there with the best. the weather was just right, the lines were manageable, and the kids enjoyed themselves. robby had some type of allergic reaction but Benadryl helped that and he kept on truckin.' we got there right when the park opened and left at park close. we did not hear the goodbye song but...maybe next time.

so enjoy the pics and HAPPY MONDAY>

they're homemade

A Mommy moment for me...

I made homemade cupcakes with homemade icing for Katie's teeball party and it felt great.

I was proud of myself and since my Mom made everything homemade when I was growing up I feel like I have accomplished something here.

Yes, I was a half hour late for the game and my hair was wet out of the shower but I was at the game with homemade cupcakes.

YEAH ME!

They were yummy by the way...not enough cream cheese in the icing but yummy just the same. Ohhh, how I love my mixer.

K & Company had pushed my buttons...

How dreamy is this bag...and this bag my friends will be mine. I LOVE IT.

It is big enough to carry lots of supplies and look like you are together and organized. How great is that.

They sell it at AC Moore so at the next 50% coupon I will trot my little self on over and get this beauty. It is less expensive then the Vera Bradley that I want and I like it the same.

Have a great weekend.

I am at work now and I am all alone and bored...this is going to be a long night...I will start to make Owen's gift which I have been putting off for way too long.

A little scrapbooking fun...

so these are some layouts I have just finished. The one of Dave is for a Heidi Swapp Book Club I am doing in July and the two others are for June Design team. The challenge was to do one layout about a singular summer event and another about multiple events. I could not resist doing a little "heidi swapp" in the design team pieces. The collage probably is way too busy to be classified as Heidiesque but it is monochromatic in nature. She does this a lot with stunning results and I wanted to try it. I like this and fashioned it after a book club layout I did months ago...inspired by an Autumn Leaves Designer. The other I would venture to say is about as Heidi as I can get on my own...Dave doesn't like it...he does not like the blurry photo and does not like the white space. I like it...it was different and fun and I could not resist the blurry photo because the look on Rob's face is priceless. Thanks for sharing my work with me...
Happy Thursday,
swirls and twirls