{Masquerade...every face a different shade!}

Have you ever seen Phantom of the Opera? Well, its my FAVORITE musical of all time. I used to read the book when I was a child, then I grew up and saw the Broadway play, then when the movie came out, I went to see it on Opening night. I have the DVD, both the regular and collectors addition. I also have the soundtrack, both the regular and the extended collectors addition! lol

Anyway, my point. The woman's ministry at my Church hosted a Masquerade this week. It was a BLAST! We had an amazing message, great music, and masks galore! The Masquerade scene is my favorite in Phantom, and I felt so awesome in my mask. Not to mention...

I wore a dress for the first time in my adult life WITH a high waisted belt thank you very much!!

lol!!! I loved every minute of it! I went with my mom and my sister, here we all are before we left. (I must have been tilting my head back here, because my face looks huge! lol)


And here is my lovely sister, Brittany, in her mask.


And me in mine!


It was a night to truly remember!

{Seven}

Lagan, today you turn 7 years old. I cant even believe I am saying that. We have had quite a life together already. A life that I did not think would ever happen, but has been the most wonderful blessing God could ever give me.

I remember the night you were born. I had been in labor almost 14 hours. It was cold and rainy. I knew that you would always be a girl who knew how to make an entrance! We were all so captivated by your beauty. And now, I am captivated by your love. Your sweet soul and fun loving spirit are what keep me going through my day.

Your hugs are warm and comforting when I most need them. Nothing makes me happier when you never want to let go!

So here's to you baby girl. I can wait to see what the next 7 years will be like! I love ya boo!!

Love, Mommy

(Here is a journey through the last few years. Thanks for letting me share such a special day with you all!)
Lagan still in my tummy! :)

{"Excuse me...Are you Jesus?"}

My sister Brittany just sent me an email that I HAD to share with you all. This is truly how I want to live my life, to Glorify Him!

EXCUSE ME.
ARE YOU JESUS?...

A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional
sales convention in Chicago. They had assured their
wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner. In their rush through the terminal, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding.

ALL BUT ONE !!! He paused, took a deep breath, got in
touch with his feelings, and experienced a twinge of
compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been
overturned.
He told his buddies to go on without him, waved good-bye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight.
Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor. He was glad he did.
The 16 year old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying,tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping and no one to care for her plight.
The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them back on the table and helped organize her display. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket. When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and
said to the girl, "Here, please take this $40 for the damage we did. Are you okay?" She nodded through her tears. He continued on with, "I hope we didn't spoil your day too badly."

As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, 'Mister....' He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued, 'Are you Jesus?'...

He stopped in mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: "Are you Jesus?"

Do people mistake you for Jesus? That's our destiny, is it not? To be so much like Jesus that people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that is blind to His love, life and grace. If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would.

Knowing Him is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to church. It's actually living the Word as life unfolds day to day. You are the apple of His eye even though we, too, have been bruised by a fall. He stopped what He was doing and picked you and me up on a hill called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit.

Sometimes we just take things for granted, when we really need to be sharing what we know.

{Im trying...}

I am trying to get all caught up on my life and this poor blog has been neglected for a few days! But no fear my faithful blog friends, both of you will be hearing from me soon! :) hehe
No, I'm just kidding. I have some amazing readers, and I love all of you!!!!
I haven't been around because Lagan has been very sick. She was diagnosed with Asthma when she was 2, but it hasn't acted up in 3 years! So this past week she was having severe attacks of dry coughs and she couldn't breath. So I took her to the doctor and got her a new inhaler and some new nebulizer meds, and now she is taking it slow, but is doing much better. But, as fate would have it, its getting colder in the morning, then it's blazing hot later in the day, then freezing all night, so its not doing much to help her! I pray over her every night and I know that God will bring her through this so she can return to her normal life and not have to be on these treatments 24/7!

So as soon as life slows down, hopefully in a couple of days, I will be back with some AWESOME projects I have been working on, a couple of tutorials and lots of holiday decorating DEALS!!!!
Until then, oh faithful readers of mine, enjoy a photo of poor sick Lagan doing her "bweeving tweetment" as she used to call them!

Milking it for all it's worth.....

{FALLing for Autumn...}

This really isn't a "project" that is original or creative, but it was cheap and fun to do! I have TONS of projects coming throughout the holiday season though! So keep your eyes peeled for that!! :)

But before I share, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who posted a comment on my previous post. We had communion at church last night and 4 people that are members of our congregation all prayed for President Elect Obama in their native tongue, then we sang some of the most beautiful worship songs ever! One being "My Nation Healed" and the other was "He Reigns".
I truly believe that God's people will come together in every tribe, every tongue, and every nation to say that HE REIGNS, no matter what the situation!

Now, on to what I was talking about! :)
I was in Hobby Lobby the other day getting some materials for some upcoming projects, and I happened to spot this little wood sign and the fall colored paints in the "Fall Decor" section. They were both $2.99, but were on 50% off sale! So I got them BOTH for $2.99!
Now THAT'S a deal!! So I came home and painted the sign! I LOVE it! Its so "fall" and warm! I cant wait to find a spot for it! hehe



Oh, and did you spot my dollar store candle holder there behind it?! I LOVE those!!

{Pumpkin Patching}

Can I just say that class field trips are so much fun? I'm not even joking, I really had a good time. But there is something totally bazaar about me going on field trips. No matter what, I sign up and I feel great, I can't wait to go! Field trip day comes, I am totally sick! Last year, I had the flu. I had had the flu for 4 weeks, then I got better, then I lapsed and got it again for 2 more weeks. Needless to say, I thought I might die! Then this year, I got a really bad cold/sinus infection, but I went anyway because I told Lagan I would be there! (I know tons of moms are out there saying, "OMG! I can't believe you went on field trips with a cold or the flu!" But in my defence, both times I was totally hopped up on meds and when I had the flu I got the green light from my doc to go! hehe)

Anyway, back to what I was actually posting about! So this week, Lagan's class got to go to the Pumpkin patch and pick a pumpkin, plus learn all about different kinds of pumpkins and how to carve them and eat them! VERY cool! I even learned a few things!
It was a great time had by all and an awesome reminder that Fall is here, even if you can't tell in the 90 degree weather! :)
So I thought I would share a few photos from the day! Lagan was so proud to have her mommy there taking pictures, she told her teacher "She's taking them for her Blog"........do you think that's bad? lol
**Oh, and I do have that tutorial coming, Im just a little behind on posting!! hehe











Here is Lagan picking her pumpkin. The kiddo's got to pick a pie pumpkin and bring it home to decorate it for a class project, then we will get to make a pie! YUM!


there were sooooooo many pumpkins!


Lagan had a blast!

{Getting better, Getting worse, and Getting presents!}

I feel so behind! I hate being sick. I have this terrible cough now and my throat feels like I swallowed razor blades! But at least I don't feel achy anymore, and I'm not as tired. So that's good news.


But some more bad news on top of being sick...my last wisdom tooth is coming in and it is killing me! I had one of them removed 2 years ago, plus another tooth that had given me problems since I was able to remember. My second wisdom tooth came in and I didn't even notice, so that was nice. But this one (the last one) is KILLING me! My dentist said that this one and the last one that came in are no big deal because they are coming in straight and I "have more than enough room for them"! Did my dentist just say I have a big mouth?!

So to help me get over all of this terrible-ness, (I know I totally made that up!) I am so happy get some awesome gifts!

First, I won a giveaway over at Nester's blog the other day. Thank you Nester for supporting women in business, and your email was so sweet! Your compliments on my designs made my day!
The giveaway is an awesome card design from Keri at Keri's Card Design on Etsy. Keri is so sweet, I cant wait to work with her!
Wouldn't these make AWESOME Christmas Cards?



Then I got an awesome gift from my buddy Leslie in the mail this weekend. She sent me an awesome Glade Plug in Scented Oil. It's Apple Cinnamon, and my entire house smells like hot apple cider! YUM!! I LOVE it! :) Thanks so much Leslie for hosting such awesome giveaways on your blog too! :) What was totally special was the sweet little note she sent with it, I love her little cards. They have her initials engraved in them...how cool is that?

So that has pretty much wrapped up the good, the super awesome, the bad, and the really ugly from the past few days. I want to say thank you to everyone who sent your prayers over, I really hope I get over being sick by the end of this week so I can share a NEW TUTORIAL!! :) I'll give you a hint, its NOT for your home or for a scrap book, but it involves scrapbook supplies! Any guesses?...

{I have fallen ill...}

Yep, that's me! Sick as a dog! See, My mom and I have started walking to go pick up Lagan from school in the afternoons, its about a mile walk, and yesterday it started POURING down rain! So we had to walk in the rain that was like a white sheet! As soon as we got home we all stripped down and got into dry clothes. My mom dried Lagan's hair while I was changing, and it didn't occur to me to dry my hair. Well, I sat around in wet hair all afternoon in the air conditioning and under ceiling fans. So needless to say, today I have a cold!

So I might not be around to post much in the next few days while I try to recover. While I was walking to pick up Lagan today, it was cool and windy (NOT good on my swollen throat!) and all I could do is have a conversation with God. I just asked Him to heal my body. I have Bible study tomorrow night, so I hope I am better by then, or at least I can have everyone there pray that I get better. I can't really afford to get sick!

So let's make a deal...You pray for me to get better, and I will pray for you. No matter what you need prayer for, I will pray. You can send me an email or leave it in the comments, but no matter what, I will faithfully pray! :) Love you all!

{Love Revolution...Shine Conference 2008}

What a weekend! I had the most amazing time at our Women's Conference SHINE. This years theme...Love Revolution.
The weekend was filled with praise and worship, prayer, sister time, love, healing, and some amazing works by Jesus.

We had three amazing speakers that really changed my life with their teachings.


First was Holly Wagner from Oasis Christian Center, located in Los Angeles, CA. She was amazing. Her style is awesome and kinda in your face. I love it! Her book, God Chicks, is awesome too!! You can visit her website here: http://godchicks.com/


Our Second Speaker was Charlotte Scanlon-Gambill whi is the Senior Associate Pastor at the Abundant Life Church, in Bradford, England. Her teachings are so real, plus I love hearing her accent! Her newest book, In her Shoes, is just amazing. You must read it!


And Last but certainly not least, is our own Pastor Laura Koke. I love Pastor Laura. She is so in love with our church and strives for only the best for all women. From the nursery to highschool, singles, and on, Laura is always planning something amazing for the Women of Shoreline! Her book, Fit for the King, has shown me how to get my body strong for the Lord!

I also have tons of photos from the entire weekend! Feel free to take a look! :)

{Im a weiner...I mean a Winner!!}

I know, I know, I'm so un original with my titles! Oh well, I never claimed to be a writer!! hehe But I am totally a winner this week! I feel so awesome! First I won a giveaway, then two blog awards, all in a matter of two days! Soooo cool!!



First up, the giveaway. I actually love catching up with my graphic design clients and occasionally I will leave a comment. Well, I guess I left the right one, because I won a giveaway over at the AWESOME Danielle Marie's blog! I am getting some beautiful custom made cards and a $10 gift certificate! Plus her post about me is so flattering, I totally blushed! Danielle, you are so wonderful! Go check out Danielle's blog, see the awesome design that we did together, and leave her some comment love!!

Second, a Kreative Blogger Award. Now, I got one of these a while back from another awesome blogger, but this one came from KatyLin over at The Great Adventure


she was so sweet to send it over! Thank you so much KatyLin! Now, we are supposed to say 6 things that make us happy, plus give it to 6 people. Well since I gave this award out one already, I am not going to pass it along because there are WAY to many blogs that I love, and it would be wrong to only pick 6...maybe 60, but not 6! hehe
But I will tell you 6 things that make me happy!
1.) Scrap booking Paper
2.) Blogging
3.) Cooking comfort food
4.) Fresh Squeezed Lemonade
5.) Printable Coupons
6.) My special time with God



Next up is another awesome award sent to me by Lora at My blessed Life. The award is called Permio al Esfuerzo Personal which is translated to mean Prize to the Personal Effort, and here are the rules!
Rules:
1. Mention the blog that gave it to you.
2. Comment on their blog to let them know you've posted your award.
3. Publish these rules.
4. Share 6 values that are important to you
5. Share 6 things you do not support.
(your supposed to share this one too, but I stick with my story from before! lol)

6 Things that are important to me:
1- spending time with my family
2- going to church and having a special time with the Lord everyday
3- getting lots of comments on my blog posts! (lol)
4- being creative and always thinking of something new
5- my health
6- being a good friend to those that need one

6 things the I DO NOT support:
1- People that claim to be something, but do not live their life in a way the reflects that belief.
2- Arrogance
3- Abortion
4- Abuse of any kind
5- bad Mexican food (if you live in Texas, you know what I mean! lol)
6- People who cut down on other people to make themselves feel better!

So that about wraps it up! I had a fun day reading some new blogs, and seeing my awesome readers give me some really special gifts! I hope you all have a wonderful day too!!


OHH!!! P.S. I wanted to add that I also got another awesome award from Lora at My blessed Life. It's the I HEART your blog award! I feel so special!! Thank you so much Lora, your such a sweetheart!!