Happy Birthday Sara Jane

Today our little girl turns 29.  It seems like not long ago she joined

 our family and how happy we were to welcome her home.

Here she is with children of her own ... and it all begins again.

We love you Sara Jane,  Happy Birthday honey bun!

                                      



Sounds of summer ...

This morning I woke up early to the sound of a Humming bird feeding

just outside our bedroom window.  I took in that moment, thinking how

I love the sounds of summer.  I love it when I hear my neighbors

mowing their lawns, I love the sound of children laughing  as they play

 outside  and how I love the sound of Humming birds zipping here

and there pausing only to get a drink. 

When the kids were little I placed Humming bird feeders outside each of

 their bed room windows  so they too could take joy in the buzzing sounds.

The hangers for those feeders are still in place ...

 and each spring the feeders go up. 

Every 3 days I go from window to window, changing the sweetened

water  - remembering the days when my children were little and I smile.

A picture of our naughty little dog enjoying a lazy Saturday

afternoon in the shade. 

He loves drinking from the water hose as I water my flowers,

chasing his ball in the grass, keeping guard for that ol' black cat

and his afternoon treat.

Old Man Winter - please stay away for a good while.

The old man returns home

Joel was recently called to be the Young Men's President in our ward.

What better way to get to know the boys than a week at Scout Camp!!

He called me on my cell phone a few minutes ago and said,

" There's a dirty old man in your drive way." 

I went out to greet him ... scruffy, tired, dirty but I have to

say I sure missed the ol' fella like crazy!

Glad your'e home honey!

Unloading the gear...I wonder how much laundry is in store for me?

                                      

                                                                   I think I'll name this photo - The Siver Fox"

Week 4 - Final Week of Summer Card Camp -

Tis' Week 4 of Summer Card Camp

and I have loved every minute of it!  A huge

"THANKS"

goes to Kristina Werner and Jennifer McGuire

for hosting 4 weeks of wonderful ideas and tips!

I loved this weeks color challenge.  All the colors felt

like summer.  Here is my card for the challenge:

Summer time garden delight

Summer is in full swing so I decided to take a few shots of the yard to

share with you.  You can click on each picture for a bigger view!

-Front Yard-

Looking at the front of the house from my kitchen garden ..

..  and a shot of my craftroom entry way.

This is my favorite spot on the front porch,just outside my craftroom.

I love my mother's birdbath filled with tiny plants.

Of course Mr. Darcy had to get in on the pictures..such a ham!

A favorite place to sit and ponder life on a summer evening.

--------------------------------

-The Back Yard_

Joel's old boots on the log.  I tried to plant flowers

in them for several summers.  They dried up too fast

and died.  I gave up...now they're just decor.

A new sitting spot for early morning or evening.

 

Love this old creamer...makes a perfect home for petunias

The naughty little dog loves summer as much as I do.

What could be better than lyin' on the grass all day?

How to make or alter an envelope to fit your card

I found this amazing video clip on YouTube and had to share. 

I'm always making cards that don't fit the envelopes I have purchased.

Going to use this like crazy!

Summer Card Camp Week 3

The 3rd week of Summer Card Camp is here ...

... just 1 more week to go ...sigh!

- I hate to see it end -

Below is this week's color challenge

I really struggled with this color combination. 

I'm not a "brown" kinda girl so I wasn't excited to pull these colors out

 from my files of Stampin Up card stock -- Chocolate Chip,

Close to Cocoa, Rocket Red, Sahara Sand and Whisper White.

I knew right away which stamp set to use ...

... a new one .. my favorite from the new Catalog;

"Best Of Everything"

After I played around with the colors, I felt more comfortable

with what I was doing. 

Perhaps I'm more of a "brown" kinda girl than I thought :)

Summer Card Camp week 2 color challenge

It's week 2 of Summer Card Camp and I'm soooo glad I joined in on the fun!

Here is this weeks color challenge:

This is my entry for this week. 

I can't believe there was over 800 card entries for week 1! 

Lots of wonderful cards to see and learn from.

The best thing about Summer Card Camp is, I'm taking time to stamp!  I can always think of a million reasons why I don't have the time to  stamp but now I'm allowing myself to play once a week!

Happy 4th of July

How blessed we are to live in a country that has the liberties we have.

May God bless America and may we live to be worthy of it!

I needed to make a couple birthday cards and Stampin' Up's, " Create a Cup Cake" stamp set and punch were calling my name.   Lime green and pink look delicious to me so this is what I came up with.

Love the little pearls!



I just can't help myself ...

Today is Joel's 59th birthday and what could be better than an new

picture of our grandson - Peyton?  

 Isn't he the cutest little bundle of love?

Two days old, won't be long till I get to hold him in my arms...

sigh!!