Thankful For... Days 7 and 8

The hardest and best thing I've ever done in my life is be a mom.  I had a moment last weekend surrounded by all of my family in the basement hanging out and loving each other when I was especially grateful for this life.

Gallery view here.  Kit is Simple Elegance by Scrappin' Daisies and it lives up to its name.  Simple, beautiful, elegant - I love it!  Based on a template by Helen at MScraps.  Links in gallery view.

We've had a strange fall, much warmer than usual, no snow, lots of sunshine.  It has been lovely, but I admit I had a little thrill when I looked outside the other morning and saw what looked like a winter storm coming in through the trees.  I grew up in a place that didn't have seasons or weather, and I really love being able to enjoy both now.

Gallery view here.  Kit is Fall Breeze by Flutterbye Faery Designs.  Links in gallery view.

Thankful For... Days 5 and 6

Life gets so busy and there's always so much to do, so many places to run, and so many things pulling us in all directions.  I'm grateful for times when I can just sit around being with my family at home. 

This gorgeous kit is Fall Memories by Ramona the Pest Designs at Polka Dot Plum.  Template was a DSD freebie from Studio Basic Designs.  Gallery view here.

This little nut has never been an easy kid.  She was my hardest pregnancy, my hardest baby, and as a toddler has been constantly on the move, destroying everything in her path, but she's also so sweet, cute, loving, and funny.  She makes my days ridiculously hard and perfectly wonderful all at the same time. 

This adorable mini is Give a Hoot by Flutterbye Faery Designs.  Every piece of the mini was used in this page.  It's free with the purchase of a Brownie Addicts membership for the month of November at Brownie Scraps - $10 includes this cute mini, another (gorgeous) never-released kit, a mega kit and add-on, extra coordinating freebies throughout the month, QP exchange, challenges, chatter, and fun!  Totally worth every penny and still worth the price even though it's already the 11th.  Gallery view here.

Ready for a vacation?

It's time for the 2nd Annual Brownie Scraps Cruise!  Hop on board and joion us for some great fun!

This really was ridiculously fun last year and you don't want to miss it.  You can buy your passport HERE.  Your passport includes a fabulous cruise kit and some other fantastic {surprise!} items.  You'll want to join us for Cruise Bingo and the chance to win $100 to spend at the Brownie Scraps store!!  Yes, you read that right, $100 GC to Brownie Scraps!!!  Have someone create a fabulous LO for you while you lounge by the pool.  And so much more!!!  (Click on the flyer for more info.)  Get your passport now.  You don't want to miss this!!

Thankful For... Days Three and Four

It's only day four and I'm already loving this project.  It's really great to spend the day looking for things I'm thankful for, and it helps me appreciate even the small things in life a little more.  Yesterday my 2-year-old woke up cranky and whining.  After I got her big sisters off to school, I tossed my whiny companion into the tub, filled it with bubbles and watched her scowl instantly turn to pure elation.  I love that I can make my baby happy with something so simple as pouring some bubbles into a tub of water.

Gallery view here.  Kit is Summer Fun: Beach by Marni Designs at Brownie Scraps.  The alpha is a FREE bonus with the purchase of the Summer Fun Bundle (which just happenst to be on sale now).  Click on the gallery view for the links.

My 11-year-old has had some issues with her teeth since she was little.  At the time I didn't realize what was going on, but looking back now in photos and videos I can see that as a baby she had a bottle of apple juice with her all the time.  all. the. time.  This resulted in "bottle mouth" which is a cute name for a gross problem -- rotting teeth.  When she was 1-1/2 she had to have her front 4 teeth pulled, and she lived without them for years and years until her adult teeth came in.  When they finally did, they were so crooked she still couldn't bite into anything.  We talked to an orthodontist earlier this year who said he could do her braces in two phases.  The first phase now to straighten her top teeth, and then in a few years when all of her permanent teeth have come in, we can do a full mouth set, fix her bite, blah, blah... all those things that orthodontists do.  We jumped at the chance to fix her funky teeth, and she had her braces put on in February.  This week she got them off, and it has been so fun to see how much she loves her straight, brace-less teeth.

Gallery view here.  This adorable kit is Toothy Grin, the new release from Ramona the Pest in her new store at Polka Dot Plum.  Links available in the gallery view.

What are you thankful for today?

Thankful For... Day Two

Tonight when we were all home from school, work, activities and finally all together for a moment before bedtime, it was time for family prayers.  It was my little 5 year old's turn, and her sweet prayer reminded me how thankful I am for the sweet, innocent prayers of children.  I love her faith and confidence that someone is listening and that He will answer her.  I love that she prayed to be able to go to Disneyland again in January.  I love that she prayed for family members whose needs she doesn't understand and random people in the world that she doesn't even know.  I love that the only thing she asks for herself is a night free of bad dreams.  What a blessing to have children.

Gallery view here.  Kit is Vintage Days by Marni Designs at Brownie Scraps.

Thankful For... Project: Day One

Happy November!  I love this time of year and all the holiday excitement.  Sometimes I get so caught up in the preparation for Thanksgiving, the food, the home, the travel, that I don't focus enough on the "Thanks."  So this month I've started a little Thankful project.  Each day in November (or at least until Thanksgiving) I'm going to take a picture and scrap a page of something I'm thankful for... starting today.

We spent the end of October on vacation.  We drove to Arizona to visit with family and welcome my baby brother home from his mission.  He's as adorable as ever, and we loved soaking up every moment we could spend with him.  From Mesa, we drove to our other favorite place, Disneyland!  We spent a week at the Happiest Place on Earth with our fun grandparents, and we loved it so much it was hard to tear ourselves away and come home.  Now that we're home, we're trying to recover and get things put back in order.  I'm slowly finding the living room floor, and the mountain of dirty laundry has been replaced with a mountain of clean laundry waiting for the folding fairy to visit.  (If you see her, send her my way.)  As I stood looking at that giant mountain of dirty laundry this morning, I found myself so extremely grateful for a washer and dryer that wash my clothes while I do other things.  Seven people + 10-ish days = TONS of laundry.  I can't imagine if I had to do it any other way.  Yikes!  So here's my first of many "Today I Am Thankful For" pages.

View it in the gallery here.  The kit is Joyful by Scraps by Mara available for FREE this month for particpating in the Brownie Indulgence challenge at Brownie Scraps.  Come on over and play along!!