A new look...

I am a member over at Scripture Scrappers (http://scripturescrappers.ning.com), and was poking around in one of the forums and found a link to a blog for free blog templates (http://template-mama-freebloggertemplates.blogspot.com). WooHoo! Such cute templates! It even had step-by-step instructions on how to change everything. I actually learned/figured out how to "copy" and "paste." Yay, me! :D Though I'm not sure if I could do it with something else, especially without step-by-step instructions, at least I've not tried yet. But at least I was able to do this much! :) So, what do you think? I like it. At least for fall. I'll probably change the look again (if I remember how? hehe) once fall is over. Thanks for visiting....

Update on Mother...

Well, Mother was released from the hospital yesterday, and went to stay with the middle sister. Steve and I are a little concerned. We feel like maybe she should have gone back to the Laurels facility where she would have 24/7 care, without putting a lot of strain on her or the family to make sure her needs are taken care of. But, the sister seems to think that Mother will heal faster in the company of those who love her, and her knowing that her needs are met emotionally as well as physically. And she has other special needs, like being diabetic, and she likes to take her vitamins and herbal supplements. There is a nurse that will go out to the house once, if not twice (?) a day to check Mother's vitals. There is also some sort of monitor that she is hooked up on that will alert the hospital if need be. The nurse told her today that if she had problems again with retaining fluid, that she would go straight back to the hospital--and that wouldn't be good--for her, health wise, as well as it would be another costly copay--ugh! (Each admission, another copay....) We have appreciated all the prayers that have gone Up for her, but we ask that you continue to pray for her recovery, as well as for the sister & family that are taking care of Mother, and for the sibling "rivalry." In His Love....

Tiger Cub

Yes, we now have a Boy Scout, or should I say Cub Scout. He was so excited when they came to the school a couple of weeks ago. He came home that day, insisting that we go sign up the next evening--he wouldn't let me forget! hehe We got the info packet, filled out the paper work, and paid the fee. A week ago yesterday was our first meeting, and he was so happy to see friends from his kindergarten class, who aren't in his 1st grade class. They divided the boys, about 28 in all, into two dens. (Whew, that's alot of boys! And that was just the 1st graders!!) It was crazy!! This past Saturday, we went to Diamond Brand and got his uniform, or at least the parts that they weren't sold out of. Again, he was so excited, he wanted to wear it home! Last night we had our first Den meeting. Though it was only 14 boys, that was plenty for me, and it was still craziness! But we had a good time--despite the pouring rain outside. I took these photos before we left. I had intended to only put one on here, but I couldn't choose, they were all soooo cute!

The Cub Scout salute.....

...the sign of the Cub Scouts, which when one of the Leaders does it, it means to be quiet and pay attention....14 boys?....all at once?....yeah, right!
Now, doesn't he just look so serious? hehehe

He has to earn a Bobcat badge, which has five achievements, then he moves on to completing I-don't-know-how-many-more achievements to earn his Tiger Cub badge. Next year, if he sticks with it, he will work toward Wolf Cub. Oh, the fun we will have! (sigh) :)

Mother...

Thought I should put an update on here as to what is going on with Mother. Since my last post, she was doing well enough to be moved to the rehab facility, that was this past Thursday evening. We visited her on Saturday, and took the boys. She was delighted to see them. But the longer we stayed, and the longer she talked, the more tired she grew, so we said our goodbyes, and left. Last night around 10:30 pm, Steve's sister called and said that she had some fluid leaking from the incisions (?), and she was moved to Pardee. She had fluid around the heart, and the fluid in the lungs seemed to be getting worse, possibly pneumonia setting in. They thought they could get the fluid drained at Pardee, but not. They transferred her to Mission. They are saying congestive heart failure. She seems fairly stable, but she is starting to say irregular things, like she won't be leaving the hospital, and talking about family members that have passed on. We thought she might be out of the woods, but not yet. Any prayers are very much needed, and very deeply appreciated. In His Love....

OOPS!

I just realized, after several hours, that I left the title off! So much for being done!! hahaha Here it is again, title included! lol :D

Hooray for sketches!

I had discovered (by way of blog-hopping) a neat little website, Got Sketch? This LO was done using sketch 4 (4.5.07) for 6+ photos. I was able to complete this--from trimming the photos to end--in only a couple of hours. I like it, but it's not one of my favorites--though I do love the photos. I guess 'cause I don't feel as connected--it wasn't my own, it's not as personal. It was fast, though.

I used DCWV cardstock and My Mind's Eye patterned papers. Thanks for looking. :)

GO GREEN! (Philadelphia green!)

I may live in North Carolina, but the Philadelphia Eagles will ALWAYS be my team! I was actually able to watch the second half of the game today against the Carolina Panthers (I actually have a husband that's not much of a sports fan of any kind. Huh?), and it was great! I hooted and hollered and "Oh-no! -ed!" Steve threatened to turn off the TV if I didn't calm down! He could hear me from outside on the porch! hehe. The final score: Eagles 38, Panthers 10. Go Eagles! :D

Update on Mother...and some LOs...

Well, Mother seems to be doing fine. This morning Steve went up to the hospital to visit, and the nurse(?) said that she had already been up and moving around--they couldn't believe it!! I could--I told Steve yesterday that she's just stubborn enough that she'd show those DRs up! They said that she'd be in such pain and so exhausted that she'd hardly be able to move. Uh-huh. They don't know Ruth... They've moved her out of the heart/trauma(?) ICU and into her own room (I guess). Steve is back up there as I type this (Sat. evening), so I'll know more later.

But in the meantime, I thought I'd put up some LOs. This first one I just finished yesterday. You might remember seeing some of the photos from an earlier post. I had some new (to me) Cosmo Cricket papers that were bright and happy that I wanted to use. (Thanks Claudette, ;) ) I don't know if you can see it, but there is a vellum "splash" on the tags, that I cut using my Slice. Maybe if you click on the pic to enlarge it, you'll be able to see it better... This next one was from several weeks ago, before school started. Josh wanted to lay with Daddy and watch TV with him. As they snuggled, Steve said to me, "This is my Kodak moment." So there you have it....I actually used my stamps on this! Wow! And I added some thread to the buttons! Double wow!! I don't usually give it that much attention to detail!

These next two I did about a year ago or so. I wanted to add them here because I just heard from two of my cousins, on Facebook, that I've not heard from in over 25 years(?), and I was reminded of these LOs. The little boy in both of these LOs is Chris, or Scottie as I knew him. (first and middle names...) The woman is my grammy.

Again, if you click on the picture, you can see it a bit better, and read the journaling, if you want. It is a bit blurry, though.

Thanks for looking. And thank you to all for your prayers for Mother. I'll post more on her progress later.....

Update on Mother...

My husband called a little while ago from the hospital, and said that Mother made it through the surgery with flying colors, and should be able to receive visitors in a few hours. They will, of course, keep her for a few days, before releasing her to someone's care. The family will have to decide whether they want her to go into a rehab-type facility for the continuous care she will need, or if one of them will be staying with her at home. {We} would like for her to stay at the rehab center, but it will be up to her, as well as the rest of the family. Still need your prayers as they deal with all of this.

Prayer request...

My mother-in-law, Ruth is having heart surgery today. As a matter of fact, as I write this, she is in the OR. If any of you who read this could pray for her, it would be greatly appreciated. I only wish I had thought to post this a few days ago, or even a few hours ago. But He knows....And please pray for my husband, and his two sisters, as they await word of their mother, and that they can put aside any differences, and put the care of their mother first. Thank you all. In His Love...

ANOTHER tooth comes out...

Yesterday morning, when Josh went to brush his teeth before school, he lost another tooth! He said that he simply made some sort of face (said he didn't really remember) and he heard a crack, and then it fell out in his mouth. I was making lunches when he started yelling, "I'm bleeding!!" I went in, and there he was, and there was the tooth! I had noticed the night before, while we were working on his homework, that it looked crooked, like it would be coming out soon....but I didn't think it would be that soon! And the tooth fairy came again last night! (I bet she hopes that there won't be any more teeth lost at this residence for awhile! lol)

Labor Day hike...

Since it was a kind of cool day, we headed out to Pisgah National Forest to do a little hiking. We chose Moores Cove because, for one, it's short, and two, there's a nice little waterfall to reward us at the end.

I remember hiking this trail as a kid, and this huge boulder always intrigued me and my brother. Now, my kids find it intriguing!

Ben pretty much stayed close to Mom or Dad. But Josh loved to stop and play in the creek each time the path crossed over it.....can you see him squatted down there?......

I seem to remember this waterfall being a bit wider and fuller. Maybe it looks this way because we haven't had a lot of rainfall....or maybe it just seemed bigger as a kid....

Each boy had to go down to feel the water falling....Josh....

...and Ben. They wanted to take their shoes off and put their feet in, but since they had just been sick last week, we decided this was close enough....

If you know where you're going, either having been there before or have a map, you find a trail that goes on past the first waterfall. (Thanks, Dad...) This little waterfall is just a short ways past the main one....

We hiked another 20-30 minutes (it's shorter if you don't have kids! lol), and stopped at a small campsite for a break.

Then it was back down to the main trail. Ben still had plenty of energy, so he lead most of the way back. He kept saying, "I found the path guys...it's this way...com'on!"

Josh, on the other hand, had wore himself out on the way up...running and jumping and climbing on fallen trees...he's all boy. So he was a little tired on the way back and started to fall behind.

It was a great day for a hike, and we all had fun, especially the boys. We'll have to go hiking more often. (You got any suggestions, Dad? :) )

Another lost tooth....

Josh has had two or three top teeth that have been loose for some time now. From December of last year until about February this year, he lost 4 on the bottom. So it's time for the top to come out....He was trying to rough house with Daddy, literally trying to climb up Daddy. But Daddy wasn't really wanting to play, he was actually (supposed to be) helping me to make sandwiches. Josh lost his hand-hold/footing, and slid down, and hit his tooth on Daddy's belt buckle. The tooth didn't fall out immediately, but it was bleeding. So they went in the bathroom to rinse his mouth, and Daddy started wiggling the tooth, when he heard a "crack" (the root letting loose?). He wiggled some more, counted to two, and out it came! Josh was crying, screaming, and laughing! He was so relieved that it finally came out. And of course that meant a visit from the tooth fairy!! ;D

Finally!!

Well, here they are, the "long awaited" LOs of the first week of school. It didn't take as long as I thought it might, but it was long enough. I wish I could be like some of the artists that I see on other websites and blogs that seem to turn out a LO everyday! I guess I'm too AROC (again, that means "anal retentive obsessive compulsive"). Everything has to be in just the right place, and have it's own home. LOL! :)

For most occassions, like holidays, etc., I do a LO for both boys.

Most are alike, but different in some way.

All of these started with a sketch from CK magazine (I think; maybe Scrapbooks Etc. ??) And I used Autumn Leaves and KI Memories patterned papers, Bazzill cs, various stickers, and my Slice machine--love it!--and American Craft thickers.

Thanks for looking, and for being patient. (BTW, everyone is almost back to normal, except for their appetites, but all in good time. Thanks for your prayers.)

Back to school update....

No new photos, but I just wanted to give an update on how things are going around here.

We had a great first week of school. Both boys were excited to get into their classes. But then came the weekend. They did get to enjoy a birthday party at Pizza Inn for a friend from church on Saturday, but later in the evening, things took a turn for the worse. Evidently there is a "bug" going around the school, which Ben just had to bring home, as he was the first to come down with it, vomitting, etc.....just lovely...and after only three days of school!! He was so miserable...he was awake until about 3 am. After Daddy got home from work, he took over and I went to bed--around 2. He seemed much better on Sunday, though very tired. Needless to say, we didn't go to church. But later in the afternoon, I tried to wake him from his second nap, since it was nearly supper time, and it was then that he kinda gave us a scare. He was acting almost like a stroke victim. So we had him say his ABCs and asked him questions like "who am I?" and "what's my name?" etc. Eventually, he came around, and we were relieved. He was sleeping so deeply that, even though he was walking and sitting up, he was just that out of it. And then later, he was running around, laughing and giggling... like normal. I kept him home from school on Monday, but Josh went on to school. Around 2:30 I got a call from the school....Josh was sick...vomitting....luckily, I remembered to take the bucket with me!! Monday night, Steve came home from work an hour early, sick. Today, Wednesday, the boys went back to school, but Steve is still home. So, needless to say, I've not had as much time to scrapbook as I thought, or hoped. Family first. Especially when they're sick. And, so far, I've been blessed not to have gotten the "bug." Pray for me! Seriously......I'll need it. Thanks.....