father's day 2008.

i am finding this to be an emotional father’s day this year. listening to talk radio today. several people calling in and wishing their father’s a fabulous day. some calling in telling that their father’s had passed and they simply missed them. i was sad for them. i have a great dad. he did it all right, even when he thinks he didn’t. we can talk about a great many things together. we love to drag through politics together. it’s easy for us to wax philosophical. i admire his spiritual insight into everyday living. he loves my mom unquestioningly. i have never doubted their relationship. that is huge in a daughter’s life, even an adult daughter’s. he keeps persevering even against discouraging odds. he is not afraid to show his humanity and admit his failures. oh, there are plenty of rough spots, but that just comes with being citizens of this world.
i love the way he is with my son. they have a relationship…how great is that? it means so much to me that they can be together in ‘their’ way. he loves my daughters beautifully. probably re-living some of his early parenting days when his daughters could still be wrapped up in his arms so tight that nothing could get in.
happy father’s day dad! i love you.

nine years old.

she's nine. and perfectly the girl she is suppose to be. sweet. soft and tough. she has to be tough with an older brother and two older boy cousins in the neighborhood. she has to be sweet and soft for her two little sisters and younger girl cousin. she is a good mix of it all.
we spent the weekend on my cousins farm. avery discovered a new love: atv-ing. she road all the live long day. she loved it!
at one point she ran out of gas. she was about a 1/2 mile from the house. her oldest cousin was with her. well, he did not realize she had run out, but he was not really paying too close attention to whether he was still with her or not as he was riding the bigger atv. so he left her stranded. she got back to the house hot and mad. whew! that girl can ignite. she was a woman scorned. so mad at her cousin she could only cry. she cooled off and all was well again, but i think she could have bit his head off if she had had the chance. can't say as i blame her.

happy birthday, my beautiful avery!

supplies: cardstock: stampin up: groovy guava
patterned paper: chatterbox: happy circles. happy flourish. happy stroll. happy circles.
scalloped circle: making memories
chipboard 9: not sure
chipboard coasters: sei
chipboard letters: making memories
label: etsy

yes...it's june!

it is finally warm today. the month is full of activity and summer time stuff.

road trip.

weekend family reunion in kansas.

art camp for the girls.

vbs for all.

pool.

parks.

concerts.

waterguns.

sunshine!

sigh...can it be true, can it really be warm again? i hope it is here to stay. the winter has been long indeed.

so today we are heading out for a little road trip to kansas to see family and celebrate what was suppose to be grandma's 90th birthday celebration. with her passing just over a month ago, the family decided to get together even in her absence and eat, and laugh, and play games and simply put: be together. i love that.

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a few posts here in the creative category. the june blocks are a bit on the bright side for my normal mode of color. but they look like summer. it was in answer to a challenge over at scrapnfonts. the girls loved them.

directions:

using 3x3 blocks, paint as desired. i used two of the colors from the patterned paper.

cut patterned paper 2.75 inches square. adhere to front. print out JUNE using the ck little al font. fancy cut the negative part out. using foam tape, adhere to top of patterned paper. print flowers from ck ali doodle font. one was printed onto white cardstock in blue, then colored in. the other was printed on patterned paper. adhere with foam tape.

there were other variations i had in my mind, but stayed content with how it turned out this time. my mind is now moving toward something for july.

supplies: wood blocks. patterned paper: girl power (cherryarte-work in progress june kit). the above said fonts

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treasure this is for my daughter analise. she is just in this place right now of adorable-ness (is that a word?) she can just light everything up with her smile and her eyes. this photo was also another chance to play around with the diffuse glow filter in pse. really love that edit. have been playing with it a lot.

patterned paper: base: chatterbox: eclectique blue sky. scenic route: parkside (lynden line). sei: dill blossom. scalloped circle: yours truly(archivers). chipboard coasters: sei. rub ons. making memories.

i am in a quandry about where to put the journaling. just can't seem to make it fit anywhere, so the layout it still not complete. it's driving me nuts. any suggestions? i am almost to the point of hidden journal spot, but it's just not always the best when the layout it behind a page protector.

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"she" was fun to put together. the cardstock is from in color by stampin up. it is my least favorite color of that line this year...so i made myself use it. love the way it worked with the making memories scalloped die cut patterned paper. the she journal tag is from etsy. used the cosmo cricket rubons from the may work in progress kit. the ribbons are part of my stash. have to do a post on my new ribbon storage. lovin it! it is so easy and accessible now. the ribbon covers up some flowers from another esty journal scalloped tag...the flowers seemed to clash with the fancy cut flowers from the webster's pages patterned paper. and yes there is stitching all the way around. another thing i don't do alot of, but i felt compelled with the look and feel of the photo, which is also using the pse diffuse glow filter.

okay...gotta go for now. still need to pack and get out of here...but feel better to have a few things posted.

thanks for visiting.

have a wonderful summery weekend.

chestnut.

tuesday nights are movie nights around here. paul works the closing shift at work, and the kids get to gather and watch one of ‘their’ movies. earlier, avery had found the movie ‘chestnut’ at the book mobile. a movie about a great dane, and being a movie about a dog, the girls were all about that. (seth, of course, had no interest in this little ‘chic’ flick.)
so the girls are about an hour or more into the movie. i am up in my create space, they are downstairs. suddenly, i hear analise just wailing, as though she got hurt. i mean she’s crying uncontrollably. from the banister i called down “what’s wrong?” at that point i realize they are all crying, big time sobbing. analise is bellowing: “chestnut is dead! chestnut is dead!” as i enter the room i see avery walking around the room bawling out the same thing. just distraught! honestly, at first i was going to laugh. they were hysterically hysterical! gracie was still in her seat, crying just the same. i asked them if they wanted me to turn the movie off. they could not answer. i’m thinking, ‘o.k. a movie for kids would not end like this, i mean, it’s not like it was old yeller or something.’ so i sit with analise in my lap, and avery practically on my lap, and we watch as chestnut suddenly comes back alive. whew! was i glad for that! i’m thinking i was going to be up all night with these girls who would be sobbing in their pillows trying to get to sleep all the while repeating ‘chestnut is dead, chestnut is dead’.
i had to laugh when it was all over. you have never seen a group of girls so beside themselves.
it all ended happily enough. of course avery let me know she was never getting that movie again. but i don’t think i will soon forget the site of those girls in mourning over chestnut the great dane.

you.

you were dissappointed that i did not make the horse idea work for your circus night costume. as i was making the needed adjustments to your outfit, you seemed fine and made no remarks that this was not your costume of preference. but as we got you dressed, your upbeat attitude from the day started to fade. i thought you were going to cry after your face was painted. you would hardly even look at yourself in the mirror. then it came out you were afraid 'they' were going to laugh at you. that was your fear. i tried to help you see that you would actually make people smile, but your ears and heart did not hear that. i was surprised we got any phots out of you with any good face. so, we made it to photos and to the church without any real tears. as people were arriving in their costumes, you became upbeat again. and then...one of the third graders said to you: "you look like a friendly clown". you immediately ran to me and and asked if i heard what she said and then you said: "she didn't laugh at me!" you were all aglow with that one! yeah for you...a sweet, friendly clown face and a sweet, friendly little girl.