Busy, busy, busy...

Things have been quite busy lately. I have been fortunate to be in the same classroom subbing for the past 2 weeks. Such a wonderful group of Kindergarteners! Last week was my monthly crop and I finished a couple layouts using my Scrapbook Heaven kit. As soon as the reveal is announced, I can post pics. Last weekend we also went to a sledding party at church. Here is a pic of Natalie at the top of the hill. It was a very big hill that her and I went down..but becasue the snow is fluffy the sled moved at a perfect rate.


This pic is in front of our Target. Natalie always wants me to take a picture of her in this circle. I was so glad my Mom joined in the picutre, too.


And, this is just a cute one of Natalie with her Hello Kitty earmuffs.


This weekend is a perfect time for crops! Simply Obsessed is having a Super Bowl crop filled with games and challenges.

Mon Ame Memories is also hosting a crop this weekend. Not only that, but there is a design team call going on.

I do have some exciting scrappy news...can't give all the details yet but I'll give you a hint...it's a GDT opportunity.

Week of mourning.

Well, this has been a week of mourning. Jack's Grandpa Schlaack passed away on Tuesday morning after battling cancer for the past couple years. I can remember the very first time I met him back in 1997. He talked to me like he had knowm me my whole life. He had the most wonderful laugh and loved to talk about their travels. I will always think of him whenever I see or hear of Murfreesboro, TN. He told us that whenever they drove to FL. they would always stop there for the night to rest before they started in on the next day of driving. He had the kindest heart and a warm voice and heart. He married Grandma Schlaack after her first husband passed away in a tractor accident...leaving behind 3 teenage children and Grandma. Grandpa was the only Grandpa all the grandkids knew since he came into the picture shortly before grandkids came along. Jack had told me so many wonderful stories about Grandpa Schlaack, how he's play with them and the trips to FL. while they were kids. Even after Jack and I divorced, I still stayed in touch with them. I am so prould to have a shelf that he made Jack and I for our wedding. He worked at a place that made pianos,after the place closed he was able to use some of the wood there and made things wit it. The shelf was one of those things, truly gorgeous! He was such a talented craftsman. You will be missed!

Another piece of sad news from the scrapping community. I woke up this morning to see on Kim's facebook page that she was grieving her friend, Janice. The only Janice I could think of was Janice Nielson, so I popped in at SJ to see if the horrible news was true. Unfortunately, it was. I was so shocked and immediately my eyes filled with tears. Janice was the most loving person. I can remember PMing her so many times about scrapbooking and she gave me so many tips and offered so much to me that I was not aware of. She just PM'd me recently to tell me a funny story about how a kit almost got thrown away. It was the little things like that in which I admired about her. She always saw the glass as half full. She always left the most uplifting and postivie comments on layouts. Her love for her family was so evident in her scrapbook layouts. I am so thankful for this day of technology. I would have never "known" Janice if it weren't for the internet. I never heard her voice or saw her physically, but I truly adored this woman just by hanging out with her on the boards. I will miss you so much, Janice.

-11 degrees F!

I can't believe it is -11F right now! That is actual temp...it "feels" like -25! It's hard to believe it will be about 100 degrees warmer in 6 months! This is about that time of year when I start complaining about the cold temps and wish I lived in Florida. But, I'm not gonna do it! I am just going to appreciate the four seasons here in Michigan.

I have some scrapbook layouts to share from the latest Scrapbook Heaven kit.
I used a sketch from Creative Scrappers for this layout

Mix it up!

I did this layout using a sketch from the Mix it Up blog..it is also a layout I did towards a DT I am trying out for. For the Mix it Up challenge, we had to use "beginning" in our layout. I titled this layout, The beginning of a green thumb. The journaling is about how Natalie loves to help in the garden!

Christmas Program...finally and car update

Natalie's Preschool Christmas program was held on Thursday. I would say if it would have been on Friday it would have been rescheduled again after all the snow we got on Friday! The program started off with a great slideshow of the infants and 1 year old. The two year olds started the singing part of the program...very entertaining! They were so darn cute and funny. The 3 years olds were just as entertaining. Natalie's 4 year old class did a great job singing and doing their body movements. Natalie decided to hang out with her friends at the program which was kinda neat and different. I am so use to sitting by her all the time that it was unusual to have her sitting with her friends. Unusual, yet happy at the same time. I am so glad she is developing friendships and has the confidence to go on her own like that. Natalie and her friend Hailey were haning out a lot...along with Meredith and Troy. Such a cute bunch of kids. The program ended with a very nice skit about the journey Mary and Joseph made and then the arrival of baby Jesus.
Here is a pic of Natalie before the program. Gotta love the big cheesy smile

This is Natalie and her absolute favorite teacher, Miss Sarah. Natalie is so excited when it is a Miss Sarah day. I love that Natalie loves Miss Sarah so much...it tells me that Sarah is a great person and I am glad she is teaching Natalie!


Car update....
I got the call on Tuesday that the damage to my car was $1,500! It's still being repaired, the estimated completion date in Monday. Bummer! I really don't want to give back this rental...it's a brand new Chevy Impala with 890 miles on it. Well, I have done a lot of scrapping today and am off to do some more!

Scrapbook Heaven Crop

"If you're like most of us, you've probably got lots of scrapbooking supplies; so much that they're probably overflowing in your scrap space! PLUS, with all the new supplies received for Christmas, let's just say that we NEED to be using up our stash. Join us on January 11th as we kick off a three-week game of "Use Your Stash" BINGO, right here at Scrapbook Heaven! Each week we'll post a new BINGO card filled with a variety of scrappy supplies. Use up as many items as you can, and you're well on your way to winning the grand prize! Get your BINGO chips ready!

Also, for the month of January I created a "round" challenge. Here is my example.

Simply Obsessed reveal

Here are my creations I made using the January Kit from Simply Obsessed. I had a lot of fun creatin these layouts...perfect for all the snow filled days here in Michigan...well, at least back in December. It's been green for about 2 weeks now. Yay!

Bowling!

I took Natalie bowling for her first time yesterday. I was shocked at how busy the place was! We had to wait about 25 minutes to get a lane, but it was worth every single second. I didn't think that would be very nice of me to take Natalie to the bowling alley and then leave because it was busy. She was SO excited to bowl! First of all, I just have to say that Airway Lanes has really done an awesome remodel. The whole exterior and interior of the building is awesome now! There is also a lot of other cool things to do outside and inside now...miniature golf, laser tage, Quiznos, etc....so, we'll be heading back to do some of the other things. Natalie did a great job "rolling" the ball down the lane. She scored a 55! I am thinking I should have put the bumpers up for myself since I only got a 77...BUT I did let Natalie bowl in my place but only 3 times. Basically, I just stink at bowling! LOL I usually only get a 120 anyhow.
It's so hard to get good pics indoors but I think you get the idea. Here is Natalie with her blue bowling ball....she alternated between the 5lb blue ball and 8 lb pink ball.

I love this girly looking roll...I can see her wrists and fingers flexed

She would patiently watch the ball go all the way down and hit the pins. You can see in this pic that I cut quite a bit of her hair. I can't get over how much thicker and healthier it feels.

and this was the typical cheer afterwards! Yes, she does have hands! She just hates having the ends rolled because it'll leave wrinkles.