Luke 2:11 sets the importance of Christmas, that central figure Who was born to die, granting the ultimate gift of salvation..."for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

Our family took advantage of our time together, sharing memories, gifts and GREAT food (my son and daughter did the cooking). And new to our family this year is little Dillon!

There were four families that joined hearts to share the celebration of Christmas and the Father's gift to us, the Christ child.

The big boys joined in all the celebration after eating too. The table overflowed with prime rib, turkey, ham and all the fixings. There were plenty of sweets too. Everyone favored Aunt Susie's chocolate cream pie.

Mom and Dad had so much fun seeing 3 generations buzzing around, not to mention the cats and dogs who got into the fun.

By the end of the evening, with glad hearts and a storehouse of memories we cleaned up, packed up and shipped off kissing and hugging one another.

There is no end to the gracious favor of our Lord. This year brought challenges, testings, and more blessings than we can count.

Thanks to our heavenly Father and Lord Jesus for such an abundance.

We are getting close to the most wonderful time of year. It's a time when we lavish our family and friends with holiday cooking, gifts and most of all, our love. Our hearts seem more open to helping others, reaching out to the lonely and forgiving and forgetting past wrongs. You might say it's a bit of Jesus spread out to those around us. My Welcome Christmas Into Your Heart is a way of spreading a little love. The wreath is hand painted using pastel chalk and a blender pen.

This simple card speaks Christmas using traditional colors.  Leftover embossed card stock makes it frugal (spend your money on gifts instead!). Add a little clear gloss and bow to send your love all wrapped up.               May this Christmas fill your heart with the love of Jesus too.

Accessories: Christmas cardstock matstack, Red, Green & White paper, Cuttlebug Christmas Wreath, Stampin' Write Real Red pen, Studio G green ink pad, blender pen, Stampin "Old Olive" ink pad, chalk, green ribbon, clear embossing powder.

Galveston Island

Galveston island offered some fabulous fun for our family recently. My sister's time share is right across the  street from the beach, so we had a balcony view every morning of waves and surfers. The evening moonlight was a treat too.  

Here we are down by the water, wheelchairs and all!

Ken is standing on a dolphin statue which remained after hurricane Ike, but the base is sunken about 3 feet.

Touring the old familiar sites to see how much had been restored was so interesting. My sister previously worked on the island before Ike. Here are some buildings & homes we were glad to see.  Pier 61 just re-opened after 2 years, and the Flagship hotel on another pier is being re-built to reflect the original architecture...can't wait to see it all gussied up!    
                                                                                  

Kemah is one of our favorite boardwalks to stroll around. The view of the boats on the bay, the lovely palm trees and fun places to eat & shop give Kemah a unique setting just north of Galveston. The amusement park gets crazy packed during summer!

We will be back!

Children's Idea   

                                                                                                                                                             Lasting summer memories are captured in this simple card. Little dainty wisps of blue flower petals boarder my shed and make beautiful additions to cut flower arrangements.             Idea:   Select a stamp that makes a memory for your child and make a card together!  To gain depth, alternately press a fully loaded stamp with a blotted stamp across the paper. I used Old Olive for the stems and Not Quite Navy for the flowers and message. What a pretty memory!                                                                                         Accessories: Stamps are Heard from the Heart  & Pocket Silhouettes-Stamp'n Up, Blue brads from K & Co., blue paper from Botanical, white paper, matching ribbon and Not Quite Navy & Old Olive ink from Stamp'n Up.

   Labor Day at Memorial Park gives us a hundred reasons to get up before sunrise. Our baloonist have a unique challenge if they choose. Rise up enough to clear the tree tops and quickly descend to "touch down" into the lake.            EVERYONE  cheers!  We watched so many beautiful baloons it was hard to choose a favorite.  There as a fun looking Raggady Ann ballon, and a fabulously large Energizer Bunny. You choose!

We have enjoyed doing this excursion with our friends for the last three years. After taking in all that early morning fall air we head out for breakfast. Do you have a tradition to share?

Playing around in the backyard with my flowers is one way I relax. This year the garden produced an exceptional bounty of lovely flowers. God's handiwork is amazing! And this may be a little crazy, but here is a secret I'll let you in on...I tell my flowers how beautiful they are...yes, I love to talk to them. No comments please!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

 

One important gardening tip in my climate is to fertilize early in the spring, and at least twice throughout the season. I choose a fertilizer with insect control to reduce bugs that nest in the rose buds.  Aren't these pretty!

We had the time of our lives recently at a pre-season Bronco's game. Ye-ha...there were more events to catch that are never seen on TV. To begin with we were with our best friends, who no less provided the free tickets! The Mascot, horse rider, Junior teams, band, cheerleaders, fireworks and...oh yeah the food! GO BRONCO'S!

Invesco Stadium is beautiful. We had a great view to catch all the fun stuff happening on the field too. The cow girl on the horse invoked a big response from the crowed...during one gallop around the field she carried a giant flag.  My hubby really enjoyed the game and I was snapping pictures all evening.  The mascot even climbed up to our level to give a big thrill and get pictures with the crowd. Several of us made our way over and handed our cameras to folks standing nearby....he's a cutie of horse! Then, every time we scored, fire works blasted overhead. The game was close all the way but we lost by five points!!!  I was so busy keeping up with fun stuff, and there was a lot, that I kept missing the  fireworks.                                                                                                        Finally, I got the timing just right to capture the explosion.

Mascot...pretending to be shy!

       Wendy is my SIL, and her birthday is just around the corner. She is the QUEEN of card making in my book (check out her site with the link)! This card used a new Martha Stewart matching corner & edge punch. I played around to see some of the special effects when this idea came together. The glitter paper in the center added a nice diminsion to the dark blue background, and the brads have a slight glitter as well.                                                                                                                                                                                     HAPPY BIRTHDAY WENDY 

Ink: Autumn Rainbow blue by Stampcraft

Paper: Christmas Cardstock matstack dark blue, Best Occasions Glitter Pack white, white cardstock

Accessories: White glitter brads, scallop edge & corner punch from Martha Stewart

My cousin Sheila Mae brings a new meaning to "horse lover". She has raised horses just about all her life, and now she competes in "cutting". That is awesome! She recently checked out this site and asked where her card is. So, here it is! I just found this great horse stamp at Michael's on sale...that always makes a great deal even better! The trees are embossed, then highlighted with a Stampin' write pen. The horse is cut out & raised with foam dots.
Ink: Close to Cocoa by Stampin' Up, Que Sera Tera by K&Co.
Paper: Tango Fashion Colors, Botanicals
Stamps: Horse, Lovely as a Tree, Thoughts & Prayers 
Accessories: Chocolate Chip writer, Gold embossing powder, twine

We have truly enjoyed our two companions, Clyde & Penny. From the beginning, they have added a lot of "unconditional love" into our lives...forgiving and always ready to lavish us with their love. Like Jesus.
I've learned to trim them at home...not an easy task since both move at the sound of the wind!  Here they are all shinned up and ready for a walk, or a game, or both. If you decide to take up shaving your loved four legged pet, get the metal attachments. They are worth the investment!

I had never heard about the anticipation of waiting for a brown truck till my creative sister in law Wendy told me...now I know! That wonderful brown truck came just as I received the announcement of baby Olivia arriving into this world. Olivia Ninetta is beautiful and inspired this card, the first use of my new Cricut cartridge A Child's Year. The black shadowing adds a lot of depth--don't you think! And Fotoflexer is very fun...that's where the glitter for "Baby Olivia" was added.

Ink: Pretty in Pink from Stampin' Write
Paper: White, Botanical Fashion Colors, Black
Stamps: Warmest Regards,  French Script, Seasons of the Heart
Accessories: Cricut A Child's Year, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots, Nestabilities Scalloped Square, white ribbon

Card Making with Children Idea

My two grandaughters love to make cards when they visit. I have a box that stores all my duplicate and left over cut outs....very fun stuff!
Here's an idea...Have ready some pre-cut images to choose from with cards, cordinating color schemes and a few accessories like ribbon, tags or brads. For this project, I picked dragonflys and a theme of "giving".

 The black background makes the white and yellow pop with definition. Use the extra cut outs for additional cards with a slightly different look, like this one. Even make use of the punch-out portions of the designs for embellishments on the inside of the cards and envelopes. This saves a lot of time and money while adding a very coordinated look!                                                            

Paper: Black, White & yellow 

Accessories: Cricut George & Basic Shapes for the wording and Gypsy Wanderings for Dragonflys, Cuddlebug Tiny Mosaic, Fastenater Staple bar, Ribbon

Sometimes through others we see how to be content with the journey we are on. Instead of struggleing to be in control or take control of life, there is a peacefulness we can have that replaces fear, anxiety or disappointments (all pride based per the Bible). I was privilaged to know Julie Harper who lived a content life, with true joy, all inspite of cancer. She cound not change her circumstance, nor did God. What she did was choose to walk with Him in obedience, trust and a thankful heart for all He has done for her. This card was made with her in mind. Her funeral was today.


Stamps  Stampin Up Inspirational
Paper    Botanical green, Golden rod yellow (Joanns)
Ink        Creamy Carmel Stampin Up
Pencils   Colored pencils from Spectra
Chalk     Pastels from Stampin Up
Embosser  Owl florish from Cuttlebug
                                                                Accessories Brads from K & Company & gold ribbon

Family Reunion

Every year my hubby's family expresses their care and love for each other by getting together for a family reunion. And this year was no exception. The weather was perfect, the company was fabulous and the setting was spectacular! I should just say that Paula's house oversees a picturesque setting ideal for family gatherings. Trees and walkways, flowers, family and friends ... what more could we ask for??

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

My dearest husband and friend, in cahoots with my fabulous sister in law, bought me a surprise Cricut Expression AND a Gypsy!!  How cool is that??? Here is my first project, created during my hands-on lessons from my dear SIL.  This card was created in honor of my mother's 83rd birthday and love of flamingos.  Happy birthday, Mom!!

Stamps:  Priceless by SU
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Rose Red
Ink:  Rose Red
Accessories:  Cricut "Life is a Beach" Cartridge, Cuttlebug Floral Screen Embossing Folder, Black/White Gingham Ribbon, Brads, Marvy Double Scallop Corner Punch, Rhinestone, Dimensionals

Flower Girls

During July my two granddaughters helped cut flowers for our dinner table. We had a blast arranging the flowers. We picked peonies, irises and roses, among others.  Aren't they beautiful (the flowers AND the girls)?? And their aprons are hand made, one from me (green) and one from a church craft sale. Helping grandma cook and set the table made each meal extra special.