Thursday, February 28, 2008

Photo Friday Challenge #2 Composition

I want to really challenge you in this week's photo challenge, but I know you can do it!

Photo Friday challenge #2 "composition"

Share a favorite photo of yours that shows good composition. "The act of composition in photography is looking through your viewfinder and arranging different elements to create an image that is not only balanced, but pleasing to the eye." Check out this helpful article on composition here.


Here's my pic for the challenge:




This is my sweet Ella looking out of one of our windows. She's just barely tall enough to see what's going on outside that window now and the look on her face is one of pure wonder!

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Happy Birthday Ella Bean!

Where did that year go? I can hardly believe that our little princess is 1 year old today. The experience of motherhood is so bittersweet. There's nothing in the world quite like seeing your new baby for the very first time.







Or seeing that same little one's first smile or watching her as she cautiously takes her very first steps. With the joy and excitement of each new milestone comes the realization that these wonderful little blessings do in fact have to grow up, whether we're ready for it or not.

Today I celebrate our beautiful blessing, Ella!



Beanie, you are a joy to all of us, we love you and wish you a very Happy Birthday!

Monday, February 25, 2008

And I'd like to thank.......

Flippin' Sweet! I won Nona's Splash of Color Challenge! Thank's to Nona for hosting and for the absolutely adorable prize! Love it!

And in the spirit of yesterday's 80th Annual Academy Awards:

There are so many to thank for this honor...I'd like to thank my daughter, Bean, for deciding that naps are in fact quite reasonable for baby's to take once in a while and for choosing last Wednesday afternoon to give naptime a try.

I'd also like to thank the creative genius at Disney and Pixar Animation studios for their collaboration of "Ratatouille" without which my three year old would have been "helping me" in the creative process that fateful afternoon by stamping on my table and dumping entire containers of brads onto the carpet.

Thanks to my daughter, Taylor for recognizing the design to be a wedding cake and thus sparing me any potential embarassment from my paper crafting peers.

And lastly, I'd like to thank my Sam for resisting the natural urge of a three year old to peel the ribbon and flower off of my contest entry until after the photos had been taken. Thanks Bud, you're the best.

Friday, February 22, 2008

my card for Nona's Splash of Color challenge



Well, I'm not sure this is a qualifing entry but here's my take on Nona's Splash of Color challenge. I really wanted to participate but regrettably, I do not have any of the Silhouette papers. So, I just had to pick some ideas out of the old noggin!

And I know that I seem to have quite a thing for placing pastries on my cards this week but I have a good excuse for this particular card too. My Sis-in-law, Marie is getting married on the 29th of this month (that's right it's a leap year wedding day for ol' Marie! ) and I figured I go ahead and make her card early, instead of trying to make one in the car on the way to the wedding...... like I've been known to try and do in the past. :0)

Thanks for looking!



Thursday, February 21, 2008

Photo Friday Challenge #1 "Green"

Ok, so I'm thinking since I have my new camera on my brain that it would be totally awesome to start a photography challenge! Here are the specs:

Each Friday I'll post a new challenge. If you choose to play along (you know you want to Christine :0) ), post your photo to your blog between 12am -11:59pm on that Friday, and leave me a comment with your blog address and make sure you check out the comments and visit the blogs of others who take the challenge.
This should be so much fun!

Photo Friday Challenge #1 "Green" Pick a favorite photo that features something green.


I hear it's not easy being green, but I just have to wonder how easy it is to stare cross-eyed at tiny green crocodiles! I just had to share this pic of my Nick and his favorite bath toys from when he was just under 2 years old. The look on his face just cracks me up every time!

Edit: Ok so I'm thinking that the one day limit on the photo challenge is a little too strict, sooooo here are the new specs ;0):
Each Friday I'll post a new challenge. If you choose to play along, post your photo to your blog between 12am that Friday to 11:59pm the following Thursday. Leave me a comment with your blog address and make sure you check out the comments and visit the blogs of others who take the challenge!

Doing the HAPPY DANCE!


Yessssssss! I am so excited! I just ordered my new camera! Woo hoo! I've had my eye on this baby for what feels like FOR-EVA and my darling Nate finally agreed that it was time to get it, YAY!


Now comes the waiting, the checking of my email like 2o times a day to see if it's shipped and the eventual stalking of the Man in Brown on the actual day of delivery. I'm soooo ready baby!

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

my card for Christine's Sketch challenge #1




Well I just had to join in on the fun too! Here's my card for my buddy Christine's card sketch challenge. My inspiration is my Ella Bean's upcoming first birthday ( I can hardly believe it's already been a year!) Thanks for looking!
P.S. The cupcake is actually a diecut from my Cricut machine :0) Normally I draw and cut out my own designs, but I got a little help this time. That's probably the main reason I finished it before the challenge was over! :0)

Monday, February 18, 2008

faithbooking challenge #1 About You

This past Saturday, I had the most fun leading our church's first faith based scrapbooking class and I thought it would be awesome to keep the fun going by starting my own faithbooking challenge right here!

Challenge #1 "Celebrate You"

Psalm 139 :13-14 tells us that God knew us before we were born. He knit us together in our mother's womb and we are wonderfully made. You are very special to God. You have been given unique talents, qualities and gifts. God has created each of us to be unique. We look different, we think different and we have our own different dreams, passions, hurts and sorrows. What makes you unique? What do you like about yourself? Why do you think God made you the way you are?

Once you have created your scrapbook layout based on the theme, be sure to post it to your blog and leave me a comment with your blog address and make sure you check out the comments and visit the blogs others who take the challenge. I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

Happy Scrapping!

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Ella's new sneaks




So I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to share some pics of miss Ella Bean and her new shoes!


Walmart fall-apart

Saturday, the fam all went out for a little shopping. We usually make these little trips with all four kids at least once every weekend, and after about 10 minutes or so, the hubby and I begin to question why we thought that this time would be any different from the last few times we've attempted to take our lively brood out into public. Like somehow they've all decided that they would make Mom and Dad's afternoon easy and, I don't know, behave or something. As if.

We decided to limit the fun this week to just one stop, our local Walmart. Once the older kids decided to stop fighting about who got to get out of the car first, we all headed for the store entrance. We made it inside the first set of doors only to be held up again when our 3 year old bolted for the gumball machines and coin operated fire truck. Fast forward through 8 mins of pleading"come on Sammy, we've got to go buddy" through a tiny firetruck window.

Eventually, we make it all the way inside the store and we head for the baby dept. in the very back of the store. Well, that was the goal, anyway. This time our 7 year old makes a break for the nearby toy dept. It takes about 10 seconds until the other kids realize where he's headed and decide to join him. Fast forward through 23 mins of "Sammy, please get off the tricycle and come back over here with Mommy".

Two Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and one Playskool Flip N' Play cell phone later, we make it over to the baby dept. We look around for a few minutes and find baby Ella a cute little pair of pink sneakers. We grab the shoes, wrangle our crew again and head for the check out deciding that we've had our fill of shopping with the kiddos for one weekend.

Once our stuff is all paid for, we head for the door and begin round 2 of Mom and Dad vs. Sammy and the fire truck......... Sammy and the fire truck win.

Friday, February 8, 2008

What.......is that?!


Since finding out that my little Sam is allergic to wheat, soy and eggs, I've taken it as a personal challenge to see just how many different foods I'm able to create from scratch without using these 3 ingredients. Most people would feel pretty intimidated by such major dietary limitations ( wheat, soy and eggs seem to be in EVERYTHING!!!), but I say: BRING IT!!!

Today in my kitchen / laboratory, I actually made egg-free, soy-free mayonnaise! And it actually tastes pretty good! My oldest daughter, Taylor, was observing this little culinary experiment with a worried look on her face (she was convinced that I was going to blow up my Kitchen Aid mixer) and asked " What..... is that?!" I proudly replied, " It's mayonnaise! But I think I'm gonna call it Jennaisse!" Not totally convinced, I had her try a little taste and asked her what she thought. "It tastes like cheese." Everybody's a critic.

But on the brightside, we can both agree that the taste does resemble food of somekind. I just don't think it's any kind of food Taylor will be subjecting herself to any time soon.