Celebrating my birthday in Nashville!

Yes, I did just celebrate another birthday.  This year, I spent it in Nashville for the Stampin' Up! Leadership Conference. 

My Birthday was the day of Stampin' Up!'s annual Manager's Reception which is a night out for those demonstrators who have achieved a certain title and above. 

Manager's Reception was at The Wildhorse Saloon in Downtown Nashville.  We watched live bands, had the opportunity to line dance and ate the most amazing food.  Fun, fun, fun!!

The best part for me was spending time (and being silly!) with my upline, Angie, and meeting Shelli Gardner, the co-founder and CEO of Stampin' Up!. 

And all of this was just the first day...


Jamie

Looking forward to 2011!

I always love welcoming in a new year! My kids get so excited and they just love to watch "the ball drop".  This year we decided to head to New York City on New Years Day to see the "ball",  and to see the 2011 American Girl and to ice skate in the city.  We had a fabulous day!

The only sad part was that they city had taken the ball down.  We did have a good laugh at the digital image of the ball dropping and the girls taking pictures of the "faux ball".

Using our fun day as inspiration....my big resolution is to take time to have fun with my family and friends!

A Dream Class!

Back in August, I had the wonderful experience of attending a class taught by Jennifer McGuire.  Jennifer was one of the first people that I followed when I became interested in making cards.  She is full of inspiration and technique. 

I had the best time at this class with my bestie, Dorothy.  It was super fast-paced; but, I learned A LOT!  Great news is that these techniques that I learned can totally be used with my favorite products from Stampin' Up!  Now that my shoulder is becoming functional again.... I can't wait to put these lessons into action!

This picture is not so great; but, I was recovering from my shoulder surgery and didn't have a lot of use out of my right arm.  You should have seen me trying to make cards! 

Yes! I do love My Digital Studio!

The more that I play with MDS... the more I am in love! I loved creating this page of my son Isaac on his first day of Kindergarten this year.


Isaac missed a lot of school due to his health problems in pre-K and Kindergarten; so, as a family, we decided to have him repeat Kindergarten. I was so worried at how he would feel this year on the first day of school. I knew he would see his friends go on to first grade and he would be returning to Kindergarten. I am so grateful that he did amazingly. He shows me over and over that he is a warrior boy! He took that picture with his favorite monkey and then ran in to put it in the house. After the kids got on the bus, I walked back into the house and saw that monkey thrown on the steps. It felt like he was going to school for the first time! It seems like he was just born and it hurt my heart to have him go off without me AGAIN! But, I couldn't stop there. I drove my car to the school to capture his arrival. All Kindergarten students meet in the gym. While he was waiting, he saw me and tried to make a heart symbol with his little hands. Once again, my heart crashed into the rest of my body! But, he was so cute because he was the only one who knew all of the routines. Every morning the kids recite the "HAWK" rules while making a HAWK sign with their hands. I captured him walking down the hall reciting the rules with his little hawk signal. And, I knew that we would all be okay!

My 1st Attempt at My Digital Studio!

I have had a lot of fun playing with My Digital Studio from Stampin' Up! I think this could become an addiction. I used a template for this one; but, I can't wait to make a page from scratch.

This page features the day my girls and I spent in Washington, DC on September 12. We participated in a "Unity Walk" to honor and remember the victims of the September 11 attacks on our country. We got to learn about many different religions and cultures. We had such a great time... and, it was Sarina's birthday too! Since Sarina was born the day after the anniversary of September 11, we decided to name her "Sarina" because it means "peace". We are so hopeful that she will see peace in her lifetime!

Peace and love to all!

August 13! A happy happy day!

6 years ago today.... my baby boy was born. He was born with failure to thrive and other health problems including lung disease. He had to fight from the moment he was born. We have spent so much time in the hospital that he thinks it is a "fun, cool" place to visit. With all of the needles, CT scans, surgeries and more, my baby has remained such a happy delightful boy. I remember praying to God that he would make it to his 1st birthday. I was so thankful and yet cried because he couldn't "eat" cake on his first birthday since he had a feeding tube at that time.

And now, my Isaac is turning 6! The doctors say that he is truly a miracle child. They cannot explain how he survived what he has survived. Lets just say that I am a firm believer in prayer! Isaac is now about to go to Kindergarten (again!), his feeding tube is gone (and he eats like a football player!), he loves to do arts and crafts in my craft room, his greatest joy is Toy Story 3 and he hugs me all of the time. His favorite thing to do is write me little notes on post-its that he carries around that say "I love you, mom". Even though, we will always have certain issues to worry about and Isaac is still very much underweight, I just want to scream "God is great!" I have everything I need in life... and I am so thankful!

Thanks for reading the ramblings of a happy and thankful mommy!


Happy Birthday, Isaac Joseph!

Curtain Call Color Challenge #41

I decided I had to make a card even though my dominant hand is in a sling. I knew that I could not possibly make it another 3 weeks.... I just love the colors used in this challenge. I just couldn't get a good picture with my arm the way it is. Oh well, it was therapy for me!! All products are Stampin' Up! I couldn't wait to use this "Because I care" stamp set. It is gorgeous!


Supplies


Linen Thread