Felt the need...

to do some scrappin'! I've had these photos of my nephew for a couple of months now and I just love them. He is the picture of toddlerhood on a beautiful spring afternoon.

It is tradition that Sunday afternoon is always family day at my in-laws house. We go out to lunch after church and then congregate over there with my BIL's family. If the weather is nice, we hang out outside so that all the little ones can expend all their energy outside. My FIL has several of these big dump trucks that they love to play with and I snapped a couple of great shots of my nephew on this day.

Journaling reads:
Sunday is a Funday!Simon shows how our little boys have so much fun playing at Grandpa & Grandma’s on a Sunday afternoon.5-7-06

These photos just cried out to be scrapped with this kit by Katie Mann called Austin's World - Toy Trucks. The little trucks are just too stinking cute!!!

4-H!!!

Yesterday, our 4-H club packed 25 kids into 6 vehicles and drove 2 1/2 hours to Purdue University. Every year our club puts together a little skit for the 4-H Share the Fun talent contest. A lot of effort and practice time is put in by both the parents and the children. It's fun and the kids learn a ton! This year, after winning the top prize at both the county and area contests, we were invited to perform at Purdue with the best of the best. It was promoted to us as this really professional experience for the kids with a professional theater, professional sound, and professional lighting, but it ended up leaving much to be desired. The kids were very professional, though, and adapted well and put on a great performance. We didn't get home until after 1:30am and I am exhausted today, but all in all, it was a good time.

One more...

Another recent scrapbook page. I really like how this one came out. I LOVE this photo of Abi. I think her expression here with the little wet curl on her forehead just captures her. Although I liked the original, it didn't really look right with this scrapbook kit I wanted to use. I duplicated the photo and ran a Virtual Photographer filter on it that gave it a pink hue. Then I lowered the opacity of it so the original photo just showed through to get this look.

The kit I used is called BellaDonna and is by Doris Castle. She is in the process of moving shop this week and this will be one of her first kits available at her new home. I love the colors of this one!

I have lots more layouts in mind that I want to do, but don't think I am going to have too much time to get them done any time soon. There is lots of stuff to get done around here that's non-scrapbook related. I just realized that some of the kids 4-H stuff is due this Friday and we have procrastinated and not even started it. I guess life just wouldn't be normal if it wasn't busy!

Yay! It worked!

I finally got a photo to post. Here's one of my newest pages. These are photos from the zoo a couple of weeks ago. My son loves this part of the zoo. We call it the frog pond and it's a shallow little splash pond with these big toads that the kids love to climb on. All the kids have fun here, but I think Patrick loves it the most.

Journaling reads:
Patrick, you begged to visit the frog pond at the zoo and immediately stripped off your shoes and shirt. I teasingly told you not to get wet, but of course, you knew I was kidding!6-14-06

I did this using one of Doris Castle's new page sets called Little Fish which should be available soon. SO much fun! There are all kinds of neat glittery goodies in this one.

Ugh!

Some days I really don't like blogger! Can't seem to be able post a photo! Oh well, what do I want for free, right? I just had a couple of new scrapbook pages to share - I will try later.

Also, just wanted to share...visited the diabetic counselor again last Friday and was VERY encouraged. She clearly told me that I shouldn't be walking around hungry and helped me tweak my gestational diabetes diet - even ADDING food in places. She didn't think my blood sugars were too bad and said I shouldn't be trying o cut food that I need out to keep them down where they should be. Makes this hungry pregnant girl very happy!!!

Perseverance

Well, it's late and I should be sleeping, but although my body is tired, my brain is restless. I hate that. Pregnancy hormones could be contributing to this, too. Who knows.

It's been a frustrating day. As diligent as I have been about eating the right foods and even measuring them to make sure they are in the right quantities, my blood sugar levels are running a bit high. I guess I am going to have to cut back on the carbs I've been allotted. [sigh] I really miss eating until I feel full. I went to prepare dinner tonight, but realized that the only meat I had in the house was a leftover chicken. Normally, this would not be a big deal. I had intended to debone it and create a casserole. But when I was considering what to use, I realized that the bulk of it would have to be carbs. I got frustrated trying to figure out what portion I would be able to have and realized that I wouldn't have enough protein to make me feel even remotely full. I ended up shoving it all back in the fridge and calling my sweet hubby who brought home something I knew I could have from a local restaurant.
I have another appointment with the diabetic counselor tomorrow. I hope she can help because my fear is that if I can't get my blood sugar down, I will have to start taking insulin. I just keep remembering what my doctor told me when I was pregnant with number 2 and had gestational diabetes which was that she had never seen a pregnant mom who had to take insulin whose baby didn't end up in the NICU when it was born. I'm praying that I can get this under control with just my diet.

Anyway-changing the subject...as promised, here is my "award winning" photograph that placed 2nd in the Photos of Faith contest. It is titled Perseverance because this little ol' dandelion is the only that persevered enough to thrive in the dirt I call my front yard. Just as the dandelion must persevere in tough circumstances, we too must persevere. But Jesus promises to give us His peace. If there are any other photographer geeks out there who may be interested, this photo was taken using my Canon 20d, 50mm prime lens, f1.8, 1/8000 sec, ISO 200. Thanks for letting me share!

I stumbled upon this today and think it's a great resource. It's perfect for when the ol' creativity has taken a leave of absense!

Photos of Faith

This is my big project I was working constantly on a couple of weeks ago. Our church sponsored this photography contest. Each of the entries was to be inspired by John 14:27. We had 82 entries with photographers of all ages. This is the second year they have done this and last year I volunteered to create a photo book and DVD with all of the entries. Of course, I set a precedent and needed to do that this year, too.

The book not only includes all of the photos, but is also full of scriptures relating to peace because that was this year's theme. I think that the book came out pretty nice, if I do say so myself. Then I created a video where all of the photos fade in and out with there titles and their photographer's name with some lovely soft original music in the background. The music, much of it original compositions, was donated by two talented musicians. Both the book and the DVD have been made available for purchase. I like having them as a nice remembrance of the event.

Now I have to brag on my girls. Elizabeth got 1st place with one of her photos in the age 12 and under division.

Anna received second place in the 12 and under division with one of hers.

And Elizabeth also received 3rd place with this one. They did a total sweep in the young kids division!!!

Hmmm....I was gonna post my biggest shocker. One of MY photos actually won a prize! But blogger doesn't want to let me post another photo, so I'll have to show off in another post.

But I am so proud of my girls. I think their photography skill are constantly improving. Thanks for letting me share!!!

Throwin' myself a pity party

It's official. I have gestational diabetes. I am not surprised because I have had it with most of my other pregnancies, too. I had it with my first and second babies, assumed I would have it with my third and watched my diet and checked my sugars before I was ever tested. Then the test came back that I was ok. Probably because I had been so good and disciplined, but by that time I had pretty good habits. With number four, I didn't worry about it at all and my glucose test was fine. I was told that I didn't have to worry about the diabetes. BUT, she was over two pounds larger than any of my other babies. Makes me suspect that I just squeaked by on my glucose test and I should have been watching my sugars. I was told that if you have gestational diabetes once, you will probably have it with all of your pregnancies.

About a month ago, a good friend gave me a blood glucose meter so I could check my blood sugar. My levels were a little high. When I took my glucose test last week (where they make you drink a glucose solution, wait an hour, and take your blood to check how your body dealt with it), I was borderline for gestational diabetes. Because of my history and other symptoms, my doc decided to have me go ahead and keep track of my blood sugar and watch my diet. I went to diabetes counseling (which I realized I had not done since my first baby 13 years ago). I am a little irritated with my insurance company because when I went to pick up test strips for my blood glucose meter at the pharmacy, I was told that they would not cover strips for the brand meter I have. Of course, this is at 4:30 pm on a Friday, so I don't have time to get this ironed out before the weekend. I did call them yesterday and they will pay for a new meter for me, though. But I am still trying to make this happen and haven't been able to check my blood sugar since Sunday morning. I should be checking it 4 times a day.

So, I am throwing myself a pity party - mourning the loss of the goodies that my sweet tooth craves. I know it is for the best. My desire is for a healthy AVERAGE size baby and I will do whatever I can to make that happen.

BTW, the picture I just threw in there because blog entries seem so drab without one. My daughter took this photo of her waffle the other morning because she liked how it looked. As for me that is one of those foods I will have to limit myself on and totally avoid the syrup (unless it is sugar free!)

Baby Pictures!!!

Yesterday I got to have an ultrasound. The baby is at 26 weeks, so there is plenty to see. We got some great 3-d photos! The baby was sleeping but we could see it had its little feet tucked up and crossed at the ankles. It kept moving its hands, playing with the cord and pointing upward.

The WHOLE family came to the event so that they "could see baby pictures." The technician printed off lots of photos for us and then asked, "So, is there anything else you would like to see?" Now, we have been surprised at birth about whether we were having a boy or a girl for all four of our other babies, but we had never been presented with such an ideal opportunity to find out either. We were planning one this on being a surprise, too, but gave into temptation. So we KNOW! Hmmmm...should I spill the beans? Ya' wanna know? Well, it's a ??????

I made this scrappin' set last month just for these pictures that I knew I would eventually have. Yea! I finally got to use it. The text is from Psalm 139 and is so fitting here! Thanks for letting me share!!!

Frustrated

I have been frustrated with blogger. I have usuccessfully tried to post on 4 separate occasions this past week. Most of the time it just freezes before I even get started, but one time it let me type an entire long post before acting up and losing the whole thing! [sigh] Hope fully this time it will work!!!

I thougt I would show off this layout I did using a quickpage from Doris Castle from her Cute as a Button kit. I used Virtual Photographer (Dreamy) on the photo to soften it a bit.

I have plenty of stuff to write about, but I'll do that later.

Swing

I did this using Misty Cato's Urban Playground kit which is the Daily Download for June at www.scrapoutsidethebox.com . You can get a piece of it free each day in June. Kinda cool - especially since this is such a fun kit. I usually start with a photo and then decide how I want to scrap it, but in this case, I wanted to use this kit and went searching for an appropriate photo. This one was from a beautiful day in the park about a month ago. I don't get too many pictures of my 12 yo like this anymore!

I did this as a diversion from my other project which is creating a photo book for the Photos of Faith contest that my church is sponsoring. The book is done and now I have 2 days to complete a video of the photos. Wish me luck. My kids are bouncing off the walls today and my patience was wearing thin before 10am. [sigh] It is not looking out to be the productive day I need it to be today. At least not productive in he way I want, but instead productive in the child training arena. ;-)

Sisters - Resilience

I have posted this photo before, but I had an opportunity to scrap it and wanted to share.

I did this using a quickpage created by Lie Fhung, a very talented digiscrap designer. It is part of a kit she created to raise money for the relief effort to help those devestated by the earthquake in Indonesia. It is a huge kit called Resilience. Her description reads:

In the early morning of Saturday, May 27th, 2006 at 05.55 a.m. an
earthquake of 6.3 magnitude hit Yogyakarta, Indonesia - a city rich with
culture, active in art and crafts endeavors. The death toll now has reached
6,200 - thousands of people are left shocked and homeless, their house flattened
by the earthquake. I love Yogya, I have many artist friends there and the people
there are very friendly, patient and kind. It's a unique, beautiful city with
Borobodur and Prambanan Temples nearby. Fortunately, all friends that I know are
safe. Nonetheless this is a very devastating disaster. Let's do what we can to
help the victims! I created this RESILIENCE KIT to raise some funds. I wish all
the people in Yogya are blessed with the resilience they need to face this
heart-breaking disaster. Purchase this kit between June 2 - July 2, 2006: 100%
proceeding will go to the relief efforts through a few social foundations
working to help the people in Yogya. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!

I can tell you that the details of this kit are GORGEOUS! I just wanted to pass this info along in case someone else is interested in helping out by purchasing this great kit.

Once again, I needed a creative change of pace, so I made this quickie scrapbook layout. The photo is one we took in our new basement photo studio. We still need to do LOTS more practice with it, but have gotten a few cute gems like this photo.

This was a quickie layout because it is a quickpage by Doris Castle from her Nature set. The title was done with her Soft Blues Alpha which I thought went well with it.

Procrastination with scrappin'

Well, what do I do when I have a million other things I should be doin'? Yep, that's right; I scrap! I was feeling creatively blocked on my other project, so I thought I would do a quickie scrapbook page to try to snap out of it. I took this photo the other day at my son's insistence and it ended up being a favorite photo of him.

Journaling reads:
You must have thought you looked pretty cute cuddling your sisters Hello Kitty, because you insisted that I take your picture. I am so glad you did. Those eyes capture the sweetness of your personality that is so much a part of you, Patrick, at the age of 4.

When I was looking at this photo, I remembered an e-mail I got about a freebie kit available at the shabby princess site. The colors were just what I wanted for this. The kit is called Dinner Party and it was created by Sara Carling.

Busy....and tired

Good morning! This morning I realized I have been kind of bad about my blog. I have posted, but not really put any real thoughts down. I guess things have been so busy lately that my thought are too jumbled in my head to write down coherently. But that's life. Part of the problem is that my stamina is just gone. Everyday I am tired and crave a nap and every evening I want to go to bed before that the dinner mess is even cleaned up. I have projects I am working on and I know that a couple of late nights working would make a world of difference in getting them done, but I just don't have the energy. Ugh! It's the pregnancy and the heat and the allergies all rolled up together doing it. Part of me wants to push myself more and part of me knows that this is a time I shouldn't. I'll tell you being pregnant with your 1st at the age of 24 is WAY different than being pregnant with your 5th at the age of 37! Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled. I am so excited about this little blessing! (I just wish I had more energy to be excited! :-)

I am working on a big project for my church assembling a photo book for a photo contest they are sponsoring. I enjoy it, but it is SO time consuming. I will be happy to have it done and the weight of it off of me. Of course, then I will have to jump onto the next project (and the next and the next.....) [sigh] I think I want a nap. :) But I am off to bible study and to take a friend out to lunch. Stuff I really don't have time for, but will enjoy so much I am making time for.

Oh by the way, the photo here was taken by my daughter, Elizabeth, a few weeks ago. I have been taking a couple of photography classes at the Digital Scrapbook University and as part of it, I learned about natural lighting and built a backdrop. I have been trying to share what I am learning with my daughter because she aspires to be a professional photographer. She caught this when we were having a spontaneous photo shoot. It is of me and my youngest (who STILL takes a pacifier when she is tired). Even though whe I look at it I see myself as looking old tired and scroungy (which I was that day!), I still love what was captured.