For Karyn...

So, my sister asked me to take some pictures of some of the birthday cards I have...(I've been in several different card clubs & have quite the assortment)...to help her get some ideas. Actually, she asked for a picture of "my favorite birthday card"...she probably knew that there was NO possible way for me to narrow it down to JUST one...LOL. So, Karyn, for you, here are SEVERAL different cards...hope the pictures help!! :) I'd love to see what you end up doing/making!


This first one I got from my ward exchange. The girl who did it is super crafty & sells Stampin' Up! stuff, so I'm not sure how helpful it is, but I love the colors & layout!




This one is so easy...I went through an "orange" stage, and needed something simple...




This one is fairly easy too...just a lot of layering, plus a bit of ribbon & a brad...





I thought this one looked fairly simple too, round the corners & staple a ribbon on the top. In case you can't read the saying..."True friendship isn't seen with the eyes...it's felt with the heart. Happy Birthday!" I love the colors black, white & red together...

Here's another really simple one that I got from my ward exchange...

This is a "Congratulations" card, but could easily use the layout & find some cute embellishment for the top...

Now...here is one of my favorite layouts ever. I originally received this card in my ward exchange & I thought it was adorable! Sorry it's so blurry...the picture doesn't do it justice...

So, I copied the layout & made this card (sorry, it's blurry again) for one of my exchanges with Matt's family...

And...I liked it so much still, that now this is the card I'm making to exchange with my sisters next month...all the same layout, just different colored ribbon, paper & brad, obviously! :)

Happy Card Making!!

Dandelions

I've never been fond of dandelions.

I've always thought that they were a weed and in need of getting rid of. How many nice lawns do you look at & see dandelions....um, none! Some of our neighbor's have a lot...like a whole backyard (unfenced, so you see them all) full. Another neighbor has quite a collection of them in their front yard. In our yard...they are growing in full force too. Over the past few weeks, Matt & I have been trying several different methods of "killing" them. I wouldn't say our lawn looks horrible, but the dandelions definitely doesn't make it the nicest yard on the block, either. Even last week, I was even grumbling to my mom about all the dandelions & what I could do to get rid of them.

Then, on Wednesday, that all changed. Dandelions make me happy, especially when a 3 year old boy(namely Parker), picks a few dandelions & brings them to me...handing them to me with a huge smile on his face, accompanied by a big hug and an "I love you, Mom!" How could one not love dandelions?

Frankly, I don't remember giving my mom dandelions as a kid (hopefully I did!) and I really don't remember making dandelions necklaces for myself or anybody else....but, now, every time I look out into our front yard, I smile at the dandelions that I see. Now, don't go thinking that I'll stop all efforts to help them disappear. But, for now, dandelions remind me of the love that my little boy has for me. They remind me of how grateful I am to be a mother. And, when Parks handed me those few dandelions, I knew that he loved me, regardless of my insecurities, faults & occasional (ok, more than occasional) failings of a mother. He (and all my kids) love me for me. And, I love them! I'm the luckiest girl in the world because I have 4 beautiful kids that call me "mommy" and I get to look into their darling blue eyes & know that they are mine!

Bring on the dandelions!

Abbie our Avid Reader!

This is totally a brag blog today.... Abbie loves to read! Almost anybody who knows her, knows she loves to settle down with a good book & hang out either on the couch or snuggled up in her bed. Right now her current favorites are any mystery (A to Z Mystery books, Bailey School Kids, etc) or books about twins (she has really gotten into the Sweet Valley Twins series -- do you remember those? and also the Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen books). Matt & are trying to talk her into reading the Nancy Drew mystery books right now... we think she'll really like those!

Anyway, for the month of March, the girl's school had a read-a-thon. They were giving out prizes to the top 3 students who brought in the most donations & also the top 3 readers (most minutes read) in the ENTIRE school. So, here's where the brag comes in......Abbie read 4350 minutes in March...that's over 72 hrs (outside of school) reading! She was THRILLED and so were we!! We found out a few weeks ago that Abbie was indeed one of 3rd highest readers in the WHOLE school...she placed 3rd! (The 1st & 2nd place readers were both 5th graders.) I think what makes me happy about all of this, is just seeing how excited Abbie gets about reading. If she was still reading Dick & Jane books, that would be okay too....I just want to instill in my kids a sense of enjoyment from reading...something I didn't develop for myself until a lot later! At the same time, I can't take all the credit for her love of reading...if anybody knows her Daddy, then it's easy to guess where it came from! :)

So...that's my brag...and here's a cute picture of Abbie reading away on the couch (she couldn't stop giggling when she discovered I was gonna take her picture...LOL)!