Birthday celebration

My family decided today was a good day for my birthday celebration.  My birthday is Christmas day but Christmas is just a bit to hectic with the kids to celebrate my birthday on Christmas.  And yes...I may be turning 39 this birthday but I still love birthdays.  Being diagnosed at 15 with cancer...and not knowing if another birthday will come, I am all about birthdays.  The more the better.  So bring them on!  

 The kids and me before having cake and opening presents!

 The cake my hubby made me.  He is so awesome.  Not is it just a cake, it is a two layer all chocolate cake!  Just the way I like it.  The more chocolate the better!  And it couldn't have gotten better!

My gifts.  My hubby and kids are great gift buyers!  My hubby got me my knitting needles and needle case I wanted along with some more sock yarn.  I am a bit addicted to making socks.  I also got a snow globe from my daughter carli which has a picture of her and madison in it.  Then from Madison the new Ellen dancing CD.   I did have to tell Madison now that I have this CD I will be dancing around the house more than I already do!  She did not find it funny!

IT was a great afternoon.  Just spending time with the family!  Hope everyone is having a great winter break and everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Sharing...

Just wanted to share a few things today from this week. I know some of my family sees and reads my blog and this is where they see pictures I post!

Madison had a Jump for Heart last night!  They did an obstacle course for the kids and they all got jump ropes.  Madison seemed like she was having a good time.

 Madison loves to hula hoop!

Doesn't Carli looked thrilled to be there?

Also today I finished my latest pair of knitted socks.  I so love making these.  They all told me I would be once I started to make them and now I am.  My latest socks are a pattern called Vanilla Latte and I found the pattern on Ravelry.  I love these socks!  I am wearing them today!  I love the striped yarn and they are so warm.  I also...learned how to do a after thought heel on these!  Yikes was I worried.  But all my knitting friends taught me well and I caught on pretty fast!

Thanks for stopping by.  Sorry if you were / are expecting to see cards/stamping/scrapbooking.  I am still taking pictures.  I just have not been motivated to do my paper crafting lately. Maybe a little in the future I will have more motivation to do more but right now I just don't have it!

Have a great day and weekend!

Hello!

Wow!  I can't believe it has been over a month since I have posted.  It has been a pretty busy month!   I have not been motivated to paper craft lately. Not that I won't ever do it again, but I am just not in the mood and haven't been for some time.

As I have stated in a few previous posts I have taken on another hobby and that is knitting.  I have been doing a lot of that lately!  I finished my first pair of socks...which I first blogged about Here.

I messed up the decrease on the toe, but they still fit and I love them!  I really liked making them and they were so warm.  I finished them November 11.  Of course the first pair were for me. If I am putting all the time into them...then I get the first pair!

The entire time I was making my first pair my youngest daughter Madison kept asking me to make her a pair (my oldest Carli who is 15 thinks she is too cool to wear something knitted by mom).  So I started Madison's soon after I finished mine.

 Here is one of her socks almost complete.  The picture doesn't show it well but they are a little more pink.

And here is her finished version.  It was cloudy and dark so the colors don't show as well. But she loves them and wants to wear them all the time so that makes me happy!  

The girls and I went to Pennsylvania to visit my family and my husbands over Thanksgiving and it was a good time.  I got to spend a lot of time with Mom and Dad (we stay at their house), and see my sister and brother. But this trip my brother stayed at the house with us and that was awesome that we got to spend a lot of extra time with him.

We made sure to get in a family picture before everyone went their separate ways on Thanksgiving day!  We try to get a family picture a couple times a year when we are together. It doesn't always work out, but I am glad that this time we did!  I LOVE them!  

while at my parents I started my 3rd pair of socks.  I found this yarn at a local Yarn Store in Roanoke. I thought it was so cute.  Of course I am at my parents and rolling it into a ball and there is part of the skein that doesn't have any of the dark maroon. I was so mad. I thought..."they tried to get away with putting different yarn in there."  Seriously!  I got home and told my hubby. He said take a picture and email them.  I was just about to when I re-read the label. Yep...helps to read it very carefully!  Why read the label you ask?  Because on it, there was a H-P.  What does that mean?  Heal and Toe. Yep....there was an additional 25 years of coordinating heal and toe yarn!  Did not know there was such a thing!  Just goes to show you that you can always learn something knew!

So...here is my sock.  Yep...checking it out on my arm.  I love the striping and now have both cuffs and legs done.  Some ladies that I am in a knitting group with are gong to help me with an after though heal.  I am super excited to get those done!  Soon I will have a new post with my new pairs of socks!

Happy Halloween

Hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween.  Just a few pictures of the kids.

This is the group of kids that went together.  They are a great bunch of kids.  So happy Madison has such great friends.  Carli got to do her Halloween party with her youth group last night.  But she didn't want those pictures posted.  So....I just did the one from tonight!  Doesn't she look Happy?  well she had her ipod and music so she made it through!

Pumpkin Carving

We did a little pumpkin carving today!  Madison loves it!  Carli not so much.  She doesn't like to get her hands dirty!  But I think they both had fun.  

 Dad helping Carli.  Momma tried but I had a hard time maneuvering the blade with my bad arm.  There are just some things I can't do.   But...that meant I got to be the photographer.

Madison loved doing the pumpkin thing.  She loves getting her hands right in there!  

Two of the three final products!

And the final product!  Yep...three out on the porch!  It was a fun night!

First pair of socks

Here is the start of my first socks.  It took me several tries before getting it started. I had to tear this thing out I don't know how many times.  Boy was I frustrated!  Now...I am on a roll!  Now I am almost done with the cuff of my first sock. I have 5 inches done and 1 one to go.  Then I can start on the heel or whatever else I have to do. I say that because I don't know what exactly I will be doing next.  thankfully I have a friend who is helping me along the way. So when I am done with this then we will get together and she will show me what to do. If I am not mistaken I believe she said the heel flap will be next!    Wish me luck!

My Friend...

I cannot believe it has been almost a month since I have posted.  Life has just been busy.  The girls in school, birthdays, work, you know all that stuff.  I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their fall weather.

I haven't been working much on my paper crafts lately.  I have a bit, but not as much as I should be.  I am behind on scrapbooking and card making!  but...I am enjoying life.   I do have a card that I have created in my down time.

I did a search of this stamp set in google and found lots of inspiration.  So I adapted several different ideas in one!
Will update with my supplies later.

Thanks for stopping by and hope everyone has a great day!

Hello

Hello friends. I cannot believe it has been a couple weeks since posting.  It has been busy here with working and the start of school.  Thought I didn't get them posted the day of school I will now.

I am a picture taker. My kids know that I always have my camera.  This year Madison is in 4th grade and Carli is in 8th.  I stopped going to Carli's school for pictures when she got in 6th grade.  I am lucky I can get pictures of her at home.

Now Madison is a different story. when I asked her if I could come with her on her first day of school she said, "yes".  I was super excited.

 Madison on her first day...just getting out of the car.

 Outside her fourth grade classroom!

Madison with her new Teacher Ms. Ford. 

I was able to get a picture of them together after school.  I couldn't do it in the morning because I leave the house at 7 am to take Carli to school and Madison is still in bed because she doesn't have to leave for school until 8:30 so I take Carli to school while my hubby is getting ready for work. 

And here is my big 8th grader!  I was lucky I got this picture!  She is 14, soon to be 15 and just my presence annoys her let alone my talking or making her get her picture taken.

Soon I hope to be back with some cards or scrapbooking!

First Game

Today was Madison's first soccer game.  She decided this year she wanted to play...and now that I am not working outside the house and have a little more flexibility in my schedule we decided to let her play.

Let's start by saying I never played soccer.  I was a basketball and volleyball player until the diagnosis of my cancer took me out of the game.  So I sit on the sideline and cheer and am learning right along with her.  She is on the same team as her two best friends.  They all did such a great job today at their first game of the season. but not only is this her first game of the season it was her first game EVER!

And not only was there a game at 9:00 a.m.   they then had a scrimmage at 12:00 pm.  I wasn't going to have her go to the scrimmage...I thought it might be too much. But she insisted she wanted to go back. They all did a great job.  But...at the end of the scrimmage they were DONE!  Madison took a huge tumble and that upset her, then the coach was going to put her in for the last few minutes of the scrimmage, but she was crying and hold her stomach.  It was 91 degrees out...so I think the heat got to her. In fact I think it was getting to all of them.

Anyway...needless to say we are now in soccer.  Practices 2 nights a week. A game  on Saturday!  It is going to be a busy few months!

Here  are some pictures of the players doing their thing!

They were lucky though that they got the game and scrimmage it.  Not long after it started storming. It was raining really hard too.  Over where my husband was it was even hailing!  This summer has been super wet here in our area! I just hope the winter doesn't bring as much snow as we have had rain. 

Randomness

This past week has been super busy with working, soccer practice, school meet the teacher night and all.  Tomorrow another weekend comes and I haven't even shared last weekends photos.

We spent all weekend out at our land last weekend....Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  We headed over at 2:30 or so....and were there until 10:30 or so. We just absolutely love it. It is so peaceful and quiet out there.  The girls shoot their bows, as does Shawn and I sit on the porch watching while knitting.  It just doesn't get better.

 My sweetie and me.  The girls got their hands on the camera to take a few pictures.

 My loves.   Yeppers...I was a little camera happy this past weekend.

 Of course I had to get a picture of Sadie.  She LOVES being out at the land.  She starts barking as soon as we turn on the dirt road...which is a mile and a half to our driveway!

Sisterly love!  It does happen! 

One of all of us.  I wanted at least one together!  We don't do many family photos so sometimes I just take out my tri-pod and tell them they don't have a choice! 

As I said when we go out to the land it is super relaxing and most of the time I sit on the porch and knit!  This past weekend I did a lot of knitting and got my latest project finished.  I still totally enjoy card making and scrapbooking....but with knitting I can take it with me to the land.  Anyway...here is my finished project that I got done tonight! 

 I so love it!  And it is a super easy pattern!  I love the design around the top!  Love out it fits across the front.  And this is my FAVORITE color!

I even wore this tonight to my daughters, Meet the Teacher!  OF course I probably shouldn't have as it is a little on the heavy side and it was HOT!  But...I still couldn't resist!

And last but not least...Madison at her Meet the teacher night!  She was super excited!  We got to meet her teacher, see where her classroom is and she got to see a few of her friends that are going to be in her class and the classroom next door that works with her class sometimes.

Carli's School orientation was last night...but she would not let me take pictures. I figured I wouldn't push my luck. I got lots of pictures at the land last night so I wouldn't force the issue at orientation.  Of course I will have to get "First day of School" pictures that are not optional!  But that won't happen until Wednesday.