Warm and Cozy

My family really took care of me this Christmas :0) I complain about being cold all the time. I can't seem to hold my body heat in very well so I got a little spoiled in the warm department. With my so thoughtful husband, my mom and my dad, I will be nice and cozy this winter :0)

I am still recovering from surgery, seems to be a very slow process. On top of that I have caught the flu so I will definitely be snuggling up with these warm pants and robe for a while. I really can not wait to feel normal again!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your families!

Hugs!

Recovery Update

Well after waiting and waiting the baby wasn't coming out on it's own. I tried to hold out so the process was more natural. After going to my appointment on Monday my Doctor and I decided that it would be safer for me to choose a D&C surgery. If it weren't for Christmas this weekend I would not have done this yet but, I don't want anything making this harder on the boys than need be. On Tuesday I had a confirmation ultrasound that showed there was still no growth and no heartbeat for the baby. I was scheduled for my surgery on Wednesday morning bright and early at 7:30 with check in at 5:30 AM. While I am glad that it is all over I am emotionally struggling right now. I am healing well and the surgery couldn't have gone smoother. There was one little issue with my heart that I may need to have checked out soon. The Doctors think it may have been because of the anesthesia they had used, not sure. I had a really good day yesterday but, today I have struggled really bad. I know anyone who has gone through this knows exactly how I feel. Miscarriages of any kind are not easy but, I think these kind are the worst. This is labeled a Missed Miscarriage where the baby had growth and a heartbeat at one point then died at another for reasons unknown and never detached so, the only way of knowing is with an ultrasound to confirm since there were no apparent signs of anything being wrong. I keep asking myself, how could I not have known something was wrong? After all I was the one carrying the baby, right? Very common question and the answer is, I couldn't have known. Nothing I did or didn't do could have changed what happened. I feel a bit angry at God right now. There are so many people out in the world who do not take responsibility or care for their children, or those who abuse and neglect them but they have them anyway. Why did he have to take mine? The anger will pass and the emotional healing will be a process but, with my husband and boys fully supporting me right now, I will make it passed this.
I know this isn't my normal kind of post and it isn't a very happy subject but, I can't keep this all bottled up inside anymore. Thank you to all that read this.

I wish each and every one of you the Merriest Christmas Ever! Enjoy your families this Holiday!

Hugs!

Boy Birthday Card

Caleb's best friend, right now, is having a birthday party today so I needed to whip up a quick card and this is what I came up with. I used a 8x8 paper pad by Cosmo Cricket that I have had for a while. I think it turned out cute :0)

I hope he likes it!

Hugs!

New video :0)

Hello there! Happy Friday to all! I was able to get a video posted of my larger matchbook style mini :0) I put a link in the description to Kathy's YT tutorial. Click here to watch my video on my channel :0)

Have a super great weekend everyone!

Hugs!

Christmas mini's

So I forced myself to get some projects done and it felt great. I recently made a mini done by Kathy Orta on YT. It is a matchbook style mini and super cute! You can find the video here. There are two parts to this tutorial and it is so cool and easy. Well, I like to miniature things for more production as little gifts so I did :0) Mine is made with envelopes and I love them. I have made 6 so far and 1 of the bigger ones the way Kathy did. I had planned on getting a tutorial done for mine but have not yet got around to it. After my surgery next week and Christmas I think I will get one done since these can be for any occasion. Hope you all like them and have a fantastic weekend!

Hugs!

Not so good news :0(

Well, I hope you all have had a great start to your week. I on the other hand, have not. I'm sad to report that I had an appointment yesterday to check on baby and it wasn't good. Turns out my little bean hasn't grown since 8w 6d, my last visit, and there is no heart beat. I now have to wait for nature to take it's course and try to heal with my family. I am so sorry to have to share this with you all, especially now that the holiday is here. We will make it through this as a family and all will be okay in the end. I guess God needed our baby for other reasons we will never know. I'm not sure when I will, but I know I will, be back in action here. Thank you all for the wonderful support you have given me so far, I appreciate you all!

Hugs!

Boys candy tags

I finished up the boys candy tags, yay! Caleb already attached the mini candies to the back of his and then I wrote his classmates names, small space :0) After school he wants to sign his name on the "from" spot. He can't wait to take these to school :0) I also finished Ty's but have yet to attach the candy and write on them. He also wants to sign his name, too cute. Here they are... same concept as my gift tags only smaller :0) These measure 2 1/4 x 4 1/4 and the cut outs are 2 inches. No dimensionals on these due to the candy on the backside. I am really loving this cartridge!

These are Caleb's and there are a total of 20, including him :0)

These are Ty's and there are a total of 29, including him :0)

Hugs!

More Christmas cards

These are the cards I got done on Sunday. I still have more to go and I am working on little candy tags for the boys classes that I will share when finished :0) Hope you all have a great week!

Hugs!

Christmas Paper Dolls

Just wanted to share a few paper dolls I made for Christmas :0) 

Santa and Mrs. Claus

Santa's Little Helpers

Hugs!

Mom's Christmas tags

Well, I got them done! Here are the Christmas tags for mom. I hope she likes them :0) I used the same DCWV Christmas Combo stack from last year. Cuts are from the same Gingerbread cartridge. The more I use this the more I really like it! Hope your weekend is going well!

 A closer look :0)

Hugs!

Christmas Cards

These are the cards I made yesterday. The Hello Kitty is for my sister of course and I'm not sure who will receive the other one yet. I hope to get some more made soon but I have to take a small break due to over doing it yesterday :0) Enjoy your weekend!

Hugs!

Finished Gift tags :0)

Here are the completed gift tags I made today. I made two of each design, one with the polka dot paper and one with the plaid. This is last years DCWV The Christmas Combo stack. I put the gingerbread cut outs up on foam squares for some dimension :0) I will be making some more because when my mom saw them she wants me to make her 10 different ones. At least these are really easy to do :0) I will share those when I am finished. I also got in a couple of cards that I will post tomorrow. Definitely took advantage of the energy but, now my back is killing me :0) Time to put my feet up and watch a little T.V. for the night!

See you tomorrow :0)

Hugs!

Christmas tags...

So, today I decided I need to get in gear. My mom bought me the Gingerbread Cricut cartridge around January or February and since it was after the holidays I never used it. Well, I wanted to make gift tags for the boys presents and thought it would be cute to use it, plus it's really simple with only two cuts :0) Way cute images! I don't care for the gingerbread man and girl, to me they are not cute so I won't be using them. This is what I came up with so far. The two tags are not adhered down yet, just kind of samples for the moment. I'm just glad I am doing something again :0)

Hugs!

The tree is up!

Over Thanksgiving weekend we put our Christmas tree up :0) Since I have no motivation lately to do much of anything, the boys, Ty and Caleb, decorated it for me. I have moved a few ornaments around here and there but, overall they did a fantastic job. This is actually the second year they have done it :0) Most of the decorations for our tree are handmade so that is why we love it so much. We still have yet to get some done this year but, I'm sure we will. Stockings have been hung also and the dining table has it's place mats set out. We are good to go except for the last of our shopping this weekend. I love Christmas! Here is our tree...

Hope you are all having a great week :0)

Hugs!

Crazy Hair Day!

Today is crazy hair day at our school so here is Ty and Caleb :0)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Hugs!

First Snow Day!

We are having a snow day today, YAY!!!! I actually don't mind them at all sometimes. Today is a good day for one :0) I hope you are all staying warm where you are. We will be making oatmeal cookies and hot cocoa later! Enjoy your day every one!

Hugs!

Pumpkin Picking

Every year, since moving to this house 4 and 1/2 years ago, we go to Nick's Nursery to pick out our pumpkins to carve. This place is great for kids! They have all kinds of games and activities to entertain them all. Maverick, being almost 16, doesn't pick out pumpkins anymore so no fun for him :0) Dallas doesn't pick out pumpkins anymore either but he went just to get out of the house. I thought I would just share a few photos of our trip on Saturday ...

 Caleb  Ty  Dallas

 Caleb

Boys playing the giant connect four game :0)

Hugs!

A money container

Caleb brought home a letter from his teacher today asking parents to send in some specific amounts of change for their learning money. She has plastic coins in the classroom but, they do not look very realistic. I have seen them and I totally agree :0) Well...I couldn't just send a container with coins so this is what I did. It also needed to have the child's name on it.

Here is a shot of the top :0)

Hugs!

5 days in a row!!!

Yay!!!! I am so proud of Caleb. This whole week of school he got 5 happy faces. Way to go Caleb!!!!

This is a major accomplishment for him and I just hope next week goes as smooth :0)

Today I didn't even have to get out of the car :0)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Hugs!

Daily Happy Chart

My little guy Caleb has been having a tough time detaching from me. I think it's because he is the youngest and has gotten more time since the other boys have been in school a lot longer. Well, it has become an issue to get him to want to go to school. He has been crying and chasing after me when I walk away so really stressing both of us out. I have had a lot of advise and tips from several different people, all very good ideas! We came up with a Happy Chart. At first I just wrote the days of the school week and he would have to draw a happy or sad face when he came home to represent how he did that day. This was okay but, very boring looking. Here is the new one I made and he loves it!

Much cuter! The little heads are on magnets so he can just place them and use the chart over and over. We have put the sad faces on the side of the fridge so he can concentrate on the happy ones for now. Since Friday of last week he has gotten 3 happy faces in a row and earned himself a Frosty from Wendy's :0) The next goal is another 3 for the rest of the week and it's Slurpee time! I will slowly bump up the amount of days and ween him off to just get the happy faces everyday. Wish us luck!

Hope you are all having a great week!

Hugs!

Legos!

So... I haven't been in my craft room lately but, I have been creative :0) Caleb loves Legos and has a bunch of them. Well, anyone with little boys, knows that they never stay together very long. After about two weeks, not working on them every day, we are coming to the end of completing the building process, Yay! Here is a peak at the table

He has several sets that have some missing pieces that we think got mixed up with some of Dallas's so we will go through those soon. Here are some closer shots of the Police station and Garage

Hope you all have had a creative week! Hugs!

A handmade chair

Here are a couple of shots showing off a handmade chair my son Dallas made in his 8th grade Technology class this week. I love it! And...he even carried it all the way from school, not that far :0) Cracked me up that he didn't call and ask for a ride, lol. This was made out of a 2x3 piece of plywood :0)

Pretty neat huh? I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Hugs!

Two new paper pads :o)

So Jeremy and I went out on Saturday for dinner to celebrate our Anniversary :0) Driving around a little before our reservation at Maggiano's he spotted a Joanne's and said we were going to go look around. Well, they had their DCWV paper pads for half off so I spotted these two and he got them for me :0) I love them and can't wait to make some albums or something.

The one on the left is out of my comfort zone but I love all the papers in it. They are definitely vintage so that is a little challenging. Hugs!

Sick of scraps :0)

So... Today I decided to cut down all of my scraps. The larger pieces anyway :0) The size I chose was 4 x 5 1/4 to use on cards. Check out this stack!

Here is a side view :0) This will make a lot of cards!

Now I just have to sort them :0)

Hugs!

Halloween cards

Here are a few Halloween cards that Caleb made on Monday. I put the paper on the front and he did the rest. We used a mat stack by Tim Coffey :0) The stamps were from Michael's and WalMart. I cut out the images for him and he put them on some foam squares for dimension. I think he did a good job, what do you think?

Here is one I did :0)

I just love Halloween!

Hugs!

Birthday card

This is a Birthday card I made for my son Maverick's best friend. He and Austen are going out on Saturday with Austen's parents for some German food :0) We'll slip some cash in this for him since it's too complicated to buy a gift for a 15 year old boy now days :0)

 The boys are big time gamers with the computer and xbox 360 so this is very appropriate.

I actually used the edge of my scissors to distress the edges on this. I like it! I want to do more of this. Hope you can see it good enough :0)

I hope you all have a wonderful three day weekend!

Hugs!

Snow bound

These are the two latest dolls. As much as I really don't care for the snow and coldness, these two are really cute all ready to go :0)

I'm off to work on more. Hope to show the book I am making for them soon :0) Have a great week everybody! And thanks for all of the sweet comments lately, I really appreciate it :0) Hugs!!!!