Wendy's Way

Slowing Down a Bit

You know how things in life just get crazy?  It becomes normal though...we don't realize how rushed everything is and just how crazy things really are until something stops us in our paths.  I know most people live very busy lives and I know that we go through stages but from now on I'm just going to have to allow myself more time....time to just be with my kids, time to just be with myself....time to just be. 

The other day I stopped at the barn to pick up my daughter.  As usual she wasn't ready.  No big deal these days because the barn has really become our second home.  My son feels very comfortable there and usually plays with a friend while we are waiting for Lacee to finish up riding.  I have become friends with the ladies and other moms so I really enjoy being there myself.  I love the barn to be honest. 

So the other night I was just there to pick up Lacee, we were not going to hang out because I was planning on taking the kids swimming that evening.  My son was out back near the ring and pretty much all the horses and ponies were in for the night, all but one that was having a lesson in the ring and then a horse that was out grazing in the field which is right near the ring.  This horse is the most gentle, loving horse you will ever meet.  His personality is that of a dog, he wants to please, he wants to be around people and he just loves attention.  He is huge.  He is beautiful.  Eastwood loves my son Richard, it's so cute, Richard jogged up to the ring (and Eastwood jogged right behind Richard) to ask the trainer (who's horse this is) if she wanted him to go into his stall.  She said sure, so Richard started to lead him in.  Basically he will follow, you just need to help guide him along;-)  So as they go up the ramp to the barn Eastwood catches my son's foot, steps right on it and was on it for a few seconds from what I gathered.  I was not out back, I was on the other side of the barn.  I heard my son screaming and my heart just about stopped.  Richard never, ever screams in pain.  He was stung by over 20 bees last year and he didn't even cry, not one tear.  When he was a baby and had four immunization shots he never cried.  He has a very high threshold for pain.  I knew this was bad when I heard him screaming.  The things that went through my head are still with me and that is what hurts the most I think.  I felt better when I came around the corner and he said "Eastwood stepped on my foot", but once I took his sock off I almost lost it.  Again, terrible things went through my head.  "His foot is crushed, completely crushed...will he need surgery, will he walk again, will he loose his foot (I know a bit extreme but it scared the hell out of me!)  I knew he had to go to the hospital right then and there. 

I'm one to handle stuff like that pretty well and I stay pretty calm, but I was so upset.  A friend drove us there because I just was not in the right state myself to drive.  I sat in the backseat with Richard and held him and cried.  The pain that kid went through was just horrible.  I will never forget it, ever. 

I prayed, I prayed and prayed some more.  God heard me.  They splinted Richard's foot at the ER and sent us home saying "it's most likely broken but we can't tell because of the severe swelling, give him Motrin and call the Ortho tomorrow".  Richard slept well that night, but the following morning he woke in pain, and the pain just got worse and worse.  That poor kid was in so much pain and no one helped me.  I called both my pediatrician and the orthopedic office but they just said "put ice on it and give him Motrin, the earliest we can see him is 3pm"  WHAT?!  Okay so basically let the kid suffer for five hours.  It was so awful, not being able to help him...oh God I hope I never have to see or hear my child cry like that again.  My friend (Lacee's trainer, the owner of the horse) called me right at the height of all this and said "the split is probably too tight, take him up to the ER now, forget the waiting".  I started to drive up, and my son was just screaming, "mom my foot is going to explode".  My daughter was in the back with him so I told her just to take the damn split off now....she did and within seconds the pain was gone.  Amazing.  I feel like an idiot for not knowing that, for not doing something sooner.  I am so angry that not one of the nurses I talked to told me to do that and I even asked them about it.  Anyway, I turned the car around, we went home and waited....without the screaming pain. 

Amazingly enough his foot is not broken.  Can you believe that?  I can't.  He will be on crutches for a few weeks but basically that's it.  The swelling has finally started to go down and he is really doing well with the crutches.  I know this sounds so dramatic but it just hit me so hard.  My daughter was kicked on Christmas Eve, we spent the night at the ER.  Her pony tripped one time and literally rolled on top of her, thank God she was inside with the softer footing so she wasn't crushed.  She's fallen off many, many times.  It's so dangerous I know but the way I look at it, so is football right?  I don't know...do we stop living?  Of course not.  Do we avoid the more dangerous things in life?  Well what's more dangerous?  I just don't know.  Nothing will change, I know that.  Life goes on and we just need to be thankful for everything.   

I took a photo of my son's foot (I know I'm weird!!)  Actually Lacee took this shot at the doctor's office yesterday with her cell phone camera.  It's not a great shot but it shows how badly bruised his foot is.  The swelling has gone down so much...I still can't believe it's not broken! 

Thanks for reading and if you got this far I'm sorry this was so long....I feel better now that I wrote about it!  I'm gearing up for CHA....I hope to see lots of you wonderful people very soon!

Wendy:-)

Sick sick sick

We are all so darn sick!  First Richard was sick last week, then he got a little better and bam, it just hit him hard, he's on four different meds and has to use his neubulizer (probably killed the sp on that sorry!) Then I started to get a sore throat and now I'm sick, I feel like I've been run over by a truck...yuk!  Of course now Lacee is sick too, sore throat, lost her voice, headache...just fun stuff let me tell you.  So both kids are home sick today and we are not even dressed....but that's okay...we need to rest.

Anyway, I've been doing a few things here and there...we had a mini camp day at the barn yesterday and we did a fun horse craft (I actually borrowed one of my CHA make and take idea and the kids just loved it!)  This is what we did:

To get complete instructions for this project you can visit the Paper House Blog link HERE.

Let's see, what else....I made a couple cards, the first one was for a little friend of my son's who loves baseball, he had a party this past weekend;

This second card is for a very dear friend who made some amazing bracelets for me to give as gifts.  She also made me a bracelet that is just beautiful, this lady is so very talented in so many different areas, beading, scrapbooking, paper crafting and much more...she just started a blog too, you have to check her out! Natalie Goward  Here is the little card I made for her using the brand new sweet Garden line from Making Memories, love it!!

So that's pretty much it for now....I hope everyone is doing well!

Sorry so quiet!

Oh I've been so darn busy!  This past weekend was a lot of fun but now I'm beat, just worn out.  My little guy turned NINE on Sunday....how is that possible, I have a teenager and a nine year old.  Wow.  He had a really cool skateboarding party at a local indoor skate park.  Here are a couple of shots I took that day;

                                                                                                                                                                                                      
this is my little cousin, he's so cute and so darn brave!

and one just for fun....lots of PSing here...

It just started to snow outside...and I get to do a bit of scrapping now so I hope you have a lovely, warm and scrappy day just like me!
xxoo
Wendy

Happy You Year!

I think I've been watching a little bit too much Nick with my kids, this past week they celebrated New Year with a "Happy YOU Year" theme.  They asked a bunch of kids to send in videos about themselves and what their new goals for the new year are.  After seeing a bunch of different video clips I realized that I need to get back to me.  I've been so focused on everything and everyone else that I have neglected myself big time, and that's just not a good thing.  My goals are not big ones but they are meaningful ones to me.  I want to get more organized, loose some weight, eat healthier, just basic stuff but important stuff.  So after the ball dropped I began my new "You" year quest.  I have to say that so far (even though it's only been a couple of days) I feel so great about this.  I've actually already lost a couple pounds...and yes, I so know how that goes!  ha ha!!  I just have such a different outlook on life right now (I have a lot of personal issues to work out as well) but I feel good....I want to move forward, no looking back!  Happy YOU Year to you too! 

Again, MIA

Wow this month has hit me hard.  I've never been so busy, and just when I think it's going to slow down...nope, it doesn't.  I love the holidays don't get me wrong, I just think it's gotten way out of hand and people need to step back and realize WHY we celebrate, me included.  On Christmas Eve day I actually had a lot to be thankful for.  Lacee was kicked by a horse for the first time.  She actually was hit so hard that she flew threw the air and landed on her back (on the ice of course).  We went to the ER and spent the entire day there actually, but she just bruised her ribs and her back.  I was so scared though, I thought she broke her ribs (as did the doctor) then I thought maybe she had some internal bleeding...all these bad thoughts went through my head and of course I had to hear it once again from my family about how dangerous it is and so on and so on....I know being around horses is and can be dangerous if you are not careful, but you know what, my son was running around on the ice that same day, he could have fallen and hit his head, I mean accidents to happen and Lacee loves to be around the horses, she loves to ride...so what do I do, take all that away?  I can't.  She is safe, and the barn she's at is the best and is so very safe I really don't worry that much at all.  I'm just SO SO very thankful she's okay.  It could have been so much worse.  The most amazing thing to me is that her pony actually tried to (and did!) protect her.  The bad pony that kicked her turned back around to actually step on Lacee but Lacee's pony stood right in front of her and would not let that other one near her....that to me is incredible.  Animals are amazing they really are.

So...I have a lot of catching up to do!  A few assignments to finish up, lots of projects to do...so I'm off....I hope you all had a beautiful holiday!!  We sure did....I'm actually sore from playing our new Wii...ha ha!!

Off to New Jersey!

Well we are off to New Jersey tomorrow bright and early.  I hope you all have a super weekend and can work on some fun, scrappy projects.  I hope to do a bit of scrapping myself this weekend, but we'll see how that goes.  The kids are off again on Monday (they had today off as well) so it's going to be a nice, long weekend.  Be safe....

Mom of a teenager.....

Yes, I am a mom of a teenager.  Lacee turned 13 today.  I actually have so many feelings about today.  How can I possibly have a teenager?  I wish time didn't go by so fast.  I can say that I am so very proud of my Lacee.  She's a great kid, she really is!!  Here is the card I made her; @ 13  The inside is short and sweet, but means a lot....have a great day and hug those little ones....they don't stay little for long!

yeah yeah...used my bird punch again, lol!  The "13" numbers are suede chipboard by Provo Craft.  Here is the inside of the card;

Kids

This is just too funny, my sweet daughter (who will be 13 this month....and I'm still in denial that I will have a teenager so bear with me)...anyway she has this fun hobby of jumping the dogs, you know, like all little horseback riders do...they pretend anything and everything is a horse.  I just feel for the dogs, our dog, Cooper happens to love doing this, but my parent's dogs hate it and we visit them just about everyday (well since my computer is down - lol!) so Lacee has been jumping the dogs a lot....the little shepherd will now literally go run and hide, it's so cute actually but we were there this past weekend and I happened to grab my mom's camera and snap some shots, they came out terrible and I really want to re-do this now with my camera (and I'll share some shots when I do it) but I had to share one of them with you....this totally cracked me up!  Check out Cooper's ears and especially his tongue...just a little something to make you smile! 

Off to scrap - oh I have sooooooo very much to do!!  I also wanted to send out a huge thank you to everyone who sent me congrats on the Creative Express design team spot I received.  It's a wonderful thing and I'm so very thankful.  I really appreciate all the well wishes, they mean so much to me!!  Happy almost Monday!

What a weekend!

So busy, all kid stuff but we had a blast!  Richard had his first go at a football game, well, sort of.  What I mean by sort of is they had a jamboree, they played eight mini 15 minute games, no scores counted.  It was so cute!  I felt so bad watching these little guys as they got tackled hard for the first time, so many trying to be so brave and tough and not cry out for mom.  It was also very interesting to sit on the side lines with the "die hard football fans"....some families live and breath football, not sure that is for us but it was fun and as long as it remains fun, we'll be there for Richard.  Here are a couple of shots I took that day - I actually have a blast playing with my camera during the game....I don't shoot action too much other than Lacee and riding so this is good for me too - multi tasking, that's what it's all about when you are a mom right! 

Richard is number 54, sounds lucky right?!  We also went to this new skate park in Woodbury, CT, which doubles as the Woodbury Ski Center.  Now I know that the kids love to visit different skate parks, and I actually love it too, I bring my magazines and books that I need to get caught up on, grab my camera and away we go....but.......this place, even though it had an awesome skate area, was a rip off.  No one was there, just us and this other little boy and his mom who actually are big into snowboarding (so I'm sure they didn't get charged because they are "regulars")....but the owner of the place charged me $15 for EACH child (I had my son and two of his friends) and the sad part is we were there for maybe an hour and a half....I've never paid that much in my life!  We will not be going back to skate there, nope.....that was insane!!  I had no choice though....the kids were so excited and already skating so I paid and said to myself "never again".  I did get a few great shots though!  LOL!!  I'm not sure what it is about this first one but I just love it to pieces, one of my new favs!  I think it's the composition and the shadows/contrast...I just love it!

Then of course we had our barn time....I'm trying to take as many photos as I can, I'm so upset because I had gotten a shot of every single pony and horse that Lacee had EVER rode.  I lost them all when my computer crashed and I'll never get them back...I had this great layout in mind too...ah well, nothing I can do about that now but keep taking more photos.  Here are just a couple of my favs from the barn this weekend.

Lacee's BBB - "best barn buddy"

So I had a good weekend overall, busy but good.  I hope you had a great weekend too...today I HAVE to scrap, I have a bunch of assignments due and I can't put it off any longer....hope you have a super day!

Life is Good

Yesterday my daughter competed in a horse show, the show is in honor of all the year end medal finals that the girls work for all year long.  To qualify is a huge deal to these little ladies (and few gentlemen that also compete).  The classes are usually very large (or at least much larger than what the girls normally compete in).  Since Lacee has just started doing all this fun stuff in the past couple of months I honestly never thought she would even place (and I'm not saying that because I doubt her, I know she's a great little rider it's just that the competition is fierce and the girls are more advanced, have been doing this sort of thing much longer and some of the ponies....well we won't even go there....talk about a price tag though - ha ha!!)  Soooo...with all that said I am very, very proud to say that my little Lacee  places twice!!  She had five classes, four jumping and one flat equitation (which is tough for Lacee).  She placed sixth in a jumping class (our of 40 kids!) and SECOND in the eq class!!! (again out of 40 kids!!) - the funniest part....when she went in for the flat class we forgot to take the tail wrap off of her pony....maybe the judge got a chuckle out of that ....or maybe felt sorry for the kid - lol!!  Either way -Lacee was amazing!  Those are two very special ribbons to add to her collection.  Now tomorrow is the medal class....there are 50 kids competing.......wish us luck and say a prayer for her safety if you can....yesterday two girls fell off, so sad and so very scary.  Here is one of the few shots I got yesterday because I video taped her.  Look at Cece...so cute, and yup, if you look close enough you'll see the darn tail wrap!  Good thing Ms. Cece is a grey and it wasn't that noticeable!

Now for scrapbooking stuff........
I'm on my way out the door after I post this, I'm going to my local scrapbook store which will have a new owner in a couple of weeks!!  She wants me to continue teaching classes so I'm heading down to check out some new goodies and decide what to  use on my fall class projects.  I'll post some sneak peeks once I have the projects completed.  I did get to play a bit a couple days ago though and made a little card - check out the birdies....that's my new punch I got with my gift cert I won at Create For Less - isn't it cute!!!  The card is a tri-fold type card that opens up, I tied it closed with the sheer ribbon.
 

Thanks for checking in!!

What a trip!

Well we went upstate NY this past weekend, and when I say "we" I mean my mom, my Aunt Hope and my Aunt Patty.  It was almost surreal....I could see the memories just swirling all over my aunts and mother....so many bad memories.  Their childhood was terrible but somehow they made it and all have pretty darn good lives for what they went through.  I took a lot of photos and want to create a scrapbook for each of them, I'm thinking digi and then printing it.  Here are some of my favorite shots from the trip...

this is Ausable Chasm, a beautiful place to visit, check it out if you are ever in the area;

Aunt Hope

so, so pretty!

The house my grandmother grew up in.....

The mountains are just incredible!

This little log cabin is over 100 years old!

more mountains......

a river my mom and aunts used to swim in....

A Beautiful little church my grandfather helped build

Cemetery across from the church my grandfather is buried in...

thought this was so nice........

my mom, remembering.....

Okay, so this shot just cracked me up....had to take it!

just thought this was so beautiful, with the mountains and sunset in the background...really amazing.

Whiteface Mountain

just amazing, everyone we spoke to said "This is God's Land out here"

That's it for now.....lots of scrapping to do this week!  New classes are coming too - hope you can check back soon!!

xo
W

So much to do...

Just wanted to pop on and say hello, I have so much to do this weekend, so many projects to design....wish me luck!!  For now I leave you with some photos of our trip to a local aquarium the other day.  It was really nice to get away and not rush around here and there. 

love the little reflection of Lace here....

this was some crazy camoflauge exhibit, the mirrors made me look skinnier, love that!  lol!!

love, love the seahorses...always have to get a photo of them!

yikes....I love to sit and watch these guys, I challenge myself to try and get good photos (much easier said than done!)

we watched a neat little reptile show.........

this little girl is blind, her eyes are pure white...doesn't seem to bother her though.

and one of Richard's favorite things to do, pet the skates...such a fun day!

k - off to get all those projects done....have a great weekend!

sooo tired....

My gosh I'm just so tired.  It's about 1am and I have to get up at 4am for another horse show for Lacee.  I've been so crazy with CHA work (a bit too crazy I think, I have been putting in way too many hours and I can tell the kids are missing mommy), I leave for CHA in less than two weeks and I'm just about ready to drop.  Once this is all over we do it again for CHA winter....never ends I tell you. 

I'm pretty happy tonight though, I finally came up with a fun idea for a make and take and it's just about completed!  I'll share it tomorrow and I'm going to give some make and take kits away with those who are not able to attend CHA so please check back.  Then I have to get my newest class project completed, the class is August 7th - so excited!  I'll share more details and the actual project very, very soon. 

For now...I'm off to bed, but I leave you with a photo that just blew me away, not because of the technical aspect, but the emotional.  Don't laugh, okay laugh, it's really funny in a cute way...I actually took Lacee and her "boyfriend" Kevin out to the movies for their "anniversary".  It's so cute, I have to laugh myself because I'm thrilled that Lacee is the way she is.  She is going into 7th grade, she'll be thirteen (remember thirteen!) and last year all the boy stuff really started.  Some of her friends are doing things that I am literally disgusted with, so the "cute" and oh so naive relationship my daughter has with this boy is perfectly fine by me.  They haven't even kissed yet (on the cheek once or twice is all) and that, too, is just fine by me.  I allow this because it's like that, very, very innocent.  Lacee tells me everything, and I'm so thankful for that, I didn't have this type of relationship with my own mom, yes, we were close but I didn't feel I could talk to her about boy things, Lacee tells me all of her feelings and thoughts and I just listen, try to give her good advice and try not to flip out if she tells me something I don't agree with at all.  I think the key thing here is to try and be "cool" with the kids so they do come to you and are not afraid to tell you "bad" things. 

Anyway....here is a shot I took of them the night we went out for their "one year anniversary", these two were voted "cutest couple" and it's in the yearbook, I couldn't agree more  - ha ha! 

Happy Birthday to my Mom

Today is my mom's birthday.  I have to finish frosting the second cake (yup, made two....one chocolate and one peaches and cream, her fav).  I also made some grape salad (I'll post the recipe below, it's awesome!)  I made her a couple of cards for her and I'm out the door.  I've been up since about 5am, down to a horse show with Lacee for a lesson (tomorrow is her very first ever "A" show, which is a huge deal to us, she will compete against many...say a prayer if you will).  What a long week...tomorrow is the show, up at 4am, then Thursday I'll be in New York at Paper House trying to finish up our CHA product for the upcoming summer show.  So busy...just want to scrap and relax, maybe soon......

I gave my mom my thankful card that won me a spot in the CPS contest, the card is posted below under "I entered a contest".  Here is the card I made for the kids to give my mom -------------->

Hope you are surviving the heat...it's like 95 here today, yuk!!!

Dad

This photo is so silly, but it's also my dad in a nutshell, lol! He's an easy going, crazy idea, what can I do to help you kind of guy...and I just love him to pieces! Funny story behind the photo, I told my dad that I needed some really great, yet really different types of photos....well this is what he suggested, lol! He really would give the dog his seat too....what a guy!  I just couldn't tell him that this is not exactly what I had in mind....it would have hurt his feelings and I certainly didn't want that, so here is my layout featuring my wonderful dad, and his trusty side kick Radar.   The two do and go pretty much everywhere together, and it's so cute because they have the same type of personality.

Layout is all digital....elements are from all over the place, if you are interested in anything just let me know and I'll get you the info. Thanks for stopping by!! 

What a day!

A huge step......we had a big horse show today, not big as in the show was big, but big as in this was a big step up for Lacee.  Two steps up to be exact, she moved up two divisions.  I can't even begin to express how proud I am of my daughter.  She stepped up to the plate and batted a home run!  My daughter took home a first place ribbon in one of her jumping classes and a second in the medal class, which is a huge deal to her!  She now only needs six points to qualify for the children's medal finals at the end of the season and I bet she'll do it...my gosh I'm so proud.  Happy Memorial Day!  Notice her red, white and blue ribbons;-) 

Love this shot............

It was so hot today and they were both so tired........so sweet.

Happy Friday!

Not too much going on...dh bought Spiderman tickets (the boys won this one...) so we are off tonight to see it - I just hope we get seats together....sigh.  Well now, wait, maybe if we don't Lacee and I can sneak out and go see a different movie....nah....Spidey is worth it. 

Here is a photo I took of Lacee the other day jumping her new pony (new leased pony that is) Ce Ce (Cotton Candy)....talk about a bond, it's amazing....we are so happy to see her riding like this...

I used an acid washed conversion...basically you just bright red and blue (on the lighter side) color masks and then apply a little bit of a blur to soften the photo.  It looks pretty cool, I've noticed this being used a lot on MTV videos and a few commercials that are aimed towards the younger generation. 

Another quick note....I have to highly recommend an idea book I just got.  Creating Keepsakes new Computer Tricks book is simply AMAZING.  I've learned some wonderful things from this book and I'm already wanting a sequel.  Worth every penny. 

The Unexpected...

This is my first video post so I really hope I do this right.  My daughter is leasing a new pony, finally....she is having the time of her life!  That's what it's all about really.  She learned so much from the other guy but the "bond" wasn't ever really there, now it is.  Anyway, my wonderful husband bought her and I new cell phones (I swear sometimes more technology is not always a good thing, I miss my Nextel already) but these new Razor phones from Verizon have video cameras in them...cool huh, well I thought so too.  So we're at the barn the other night and Lacee is jumping as usual.  This sweet dog, who comes with other rider (adult rider) was just hanging out as usual.  She must have spotted the cat at the door near me and as Lacee was about to do a line of two jumps Libby the dog decided to go say hello to the kitty....the pony and Lacee still jumped (Libby almost did too)....it's a cool video if you can make it out, but it was a bit scary....now if my daughter had been on the other pony...I might be posting this from the ER.....

Here is the You Tube Link - I have to figure out how to post it here...

 

We are off to the barn again today.....tomorrow is a huge dog and pony show, we have our Cooper going and my sister's two dogs....today we just need to find costumes for all three of them for the costume show/contest.  They are also going to be in an agility contest and a "how well does your dog listen" type contest.  There will also be horseless jumping (where the kids see how high they can jump over mini type horse jumps actually made for that).  Then of course they will have the horse games, last night my daughter was practicing jumping her pony over a jump...but she wasn't on the pony's back, she has to literally hand jump her, so funny.  I'll get lots of great photos I'm sure!

Sunday Morning

This is what first hit me yesterday morning. 

Man I love this dog.  He's not supposed to jump up on the bed and he hasn't figured out that if he takes a bit of a running start he can jump up on the bed but my lovely daughter helped him up and then of course helped him to wake me up.  He just layed there and looked at me like he knew he had done something wrong.  I told Lace to run and grab my camera quick, he just looked so darn sweet I couldn't resist.

We found a new dog park to take him to and spent last night there, then stopped off at a road side burger joint and had dinner.  It was so nice, a great way to end the kids short vacation.  It just goes by so fast, before we know it summer will be here.  I have to admit I'm one of those strange moms that actually love the kids home......I can't wait for summer, really can't wait.

Spring Treat Boxes

My son's spring party was today.  I wanted to make up little treat boxes for the class ever since I got the treat box (it's actually called a popcorn box) template by Coluzzle.  I love that system and I highly recommend it if you do not have one.  It's very affordable and is so quick and fun, they have a ton of great templates too.  So I made up 20 of these little boxes, filled them with candy and the kids loved them.  I used different Colorbox ink pads in spring-like colors, just swipped the ink pad over the Bazzill, added some older spring stickers I had on hand and used rub-ons to add their names, then just tied some ribbon on and called it a day.  Now...my kids are home for nine days........hmmmmm....what to do, what to do.  Happy Friday!

So busy!

Well last week was just crazy, but all in a good way.  My little guy turned 8 - wow.  I can't believe how fast they grow.  I always remind myself of this.  My husband seems to get lost in the moment way too much, so he gets frequent reminders as well.  They are with us for such a short amount of time, once they grow up, they are gone.  No more tired eyes in the morning, no more school bus to catch, no more rushing to after school activities.  Gone.  They will have their own lives to lead.  I think of this often and my own family.  I need to see them more, I really do.  They live only minutes away and I never see them, isn't that sad.  So much to do, so many things to change in life. 

So, on a happier note, Richard had a fun birthday party last week.  I made his invitations digitally, figured I wanted to do something "different" but didn't have too much time to create all 20 by hand, so this is what I came up with;

The center is printed out and I matted is on bright yellow cardstock.  Turned out very cute and I got a lot of compliments on it from the mom's calling to R.S.V.P.  I used a freebie digi kit from the amazingly talented Katja Kromann, love her stuff!    Now I just have to design the thank you's.  I'm thinking about using this photo, even though it's not perfect, it's still cute and really expresses how the party went. 

Let's see, what else is new with the family.  Lacee started leasing a new pony.  He's a lot bigger than Kip and honestly I think he's "too" big.  I have to talk to her trainer a bit more on this one.  He's the best though, so willing, so trustworthy, a great confidence builder which is exactly what she needs right now.  It's so wonderful to see her so excited about jumping again.  She really went through a lot with Kip and he taught her so many things about this sport, but most importantly that she is not a passenger (as her trainer always reminders her of this), she is the driver, and they are animals, animals that are very unpredictable. 

With that said, meet Pepper.  He's a large pony and is about fourteen years old.  He's much bigger than Kip, who is a small pony.  Pepper and Lacee have already started to do bigger/higher jumps which is exciting, but she has to figure him out a bit more.  This is all so new to her and after being on the same pony for almost two years, she has a little adjusting to do.

Hope all is well in your little corner of the world.  Have a super day!

xxoo - W

 

Welcome to the Web Aunt Hope!

My lovely and very favorite aunt of all time is now on the web, she has been reading my blog and checking up on me (or so I've heard) he he....so I thought I would post a "Welcome to the Web" Aunt Hope!

I did a layout about her a long time ago but it's always been one of my favs, I'll share it again here.  She is really a very special lady and means the world to me. 

Hope all is well with everyone today - kids are home and we are just hanging out....Happy Monday!

Cooper!

Yeah!  We finally picked a name out for our new puppy!  Cooper is it!

On another note...I made up our holiday card digitally this year again, it's just so much quicker.  I made it to fit inside a business envelope.  Took the photo at the barn yesterday, of course Richard was more than happy but Lacee wouldn't budge for me - so this is it...as good as it gets for now.

Welcome to Our Home!

Here he is!!!  Our newest family member...hasn't gotten a name yet, but what a great reason to play a game and give out a rak right!  I've listed some names that we like - but we are just so undecided...post a name, help us out and if we pick it I'll send you a super fun rak!  Actually even if I don't use one that is posted I'll still pull a name out of a hat and send out a nice rak! 

This was the best Christmas present ever!  Even though I miss Dawson so, so much, we needed a new friend....we are and always will be animal lovers, I can't tell you how exciting this is for us!

Secrets

Oh man I'm so not good at keeping secrets, especially something like this...I finally talked my husband into getting a puppy NOW.  We need one NOW...I miss Dawson so much it hurts, and the kids are just as sad.  We need a little someone to pick us up again and make us happy. 

So here's the thing, my husband and I got into a huge fight about this, and it left us both sour.  We got over it and I convinced him to go over to the breeder's tonight and check out this little guy that caught my eye.  He said, "okay, let's go" and silly me says, "well maybe we all shouldn't go incase it doesn't happen" - I wasn't even sure if the dog is still available, last time I saw him was almost two weeks ago and we just left saying "thank you we'll let you know soon"....so here I sit, with butterflies in my stomach, anxious as a kid on Christmas Eve....will he come home with him?  I'll be sure to let you know how I make out!  In the meantime...if you have any fun name suggestions for a yellow lab, let me know - if we use it I'll send ya a huge rak and puppy hugs!! 

Dawson

Well we finally know what's wrong with our sweet dog Dawson.  After all the tests, the biopsy came back saying he has skin cancer.  Long term outlook is very poor, even with chemo.  I can't put him through that anyway, I just can't.  I have to call today and make "the" appointment.  We are all so sad, the kids, Tony, me, my sister's and Dawson's dog buddies know something isn't right.  Dawson is only six years old, he just turned six in October.  Such a short life.  I hope he was happy with us, we love him so much, he is such a good dog, great personality, so friendly, listens so well, just a great dog.  So, so sad.  Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.  This week is going to be so hard on us.  I think I'll make the appointment for Saturday (which happens to be my birthday but that's not a big deal to me, it's the best time for us all and then we can just come home after, not worry about school or work the next day....Saturday would be best I think.)

Good Night's Sleep!

We will sleep good tonight, and it's about time.  After having a terrible mattress for about fourteen years I think we are due.  We just bought a new mattress set and let me tell you, if you haven't done any research on this you should.  Getting a good night's sleep is so important, and when you think about it, the bed is the most used piece of furniture you will ever have.  Seriously, you spend a lot of time in bed.  If you don't sleep well then your day may not go as well, you may not think as clear, and worst of all you could have a day in pain.  One thing that I've always known to be true for myself is that I am so much more comfortable on something soft.  I bet a lot of people still believe that firm is best.  That is so far from the truth.  Oh but you have a bad back you say?  Then you need a softer mattress!  Really, sleeping on something hard is not going to make your back feel better, it's going to make your back feel worse.  You need something supportive.  I am so excited about our new bed.  We purchased a Kingdown, and it is amazing.  The first time I tried this mattress I felt like I was floating on air.  So soft, but yet I felt like the mattress just came up around the sides of my body and gave me full support.  Now I'm not at all one to sleep a lot and normally I wouldn't be writing about a product like this, but I am just so amazed at this mattress set that I want to tell all of my friends and family about it.  You can try them at Sleepy's, they have a bed computer to profile you and your partner.  Tony and I came out at a 3, but I decided to go with a 2 (which he was profiled at alone) because I do plan on loosing weight, and I love soft so I know I'll be okay with it a little softer than what was recommended for me (I was profiled at a 4 which is a bit firmer, but still much, much softer than what we had). 

Okay, enough about beds...I have a photo shoot to proof then it's off to sleep.  I know I'm going to bed early tonight!!

Photo Shoot - Family

Good Thursday afternoon to you all.  My lovely cousin (have to say that because I know she'll be reading this - wink wink...just kidding Mandi - you know I love ya girl!)  was up with her sweet kids for a couple of weeks.  I promised her I would do a photo shoot of the kids.  Well, the kids didn't want to do it without mom, which is just fine because I love the way these came out and I hope Mandi likes them too!  I think she should give them to her husband for Christmas, I'm sure he would love them too.  We did this shoot in about fifteen minutes flat, I had to bring my own kids to gymnastics that day so it was rush rush (what else is new right) but again, we did it and I'm happy with them, I actually had one printed up and it really looks nice!  All natural light, used my new backdrop (worth every penny I tell you!) 

Proof 1

Proof 2

Proof 3

Proof 4

Proof 6

Proof 7

Proof 8

Proof 10

Proof 12

Proof 13

And a couple conversions....

Proof 14

Proof 15

Take Twelve

Take Twelve

Years that is...is it a lot of time?  Not really, but it goes, time goes...it goes by way too fast.  I can't believe my first child is already twelve years old.  She looks older, acts older and is older, all in the blink of an eye.  I took these photos last week because she was turning twelve, and my mom saw them last night and couldn't believe how much older she looks.  It's really amazing how things change.  I stopped walking her down to the bus stop this year, about a week into school and I thought to myself, "this is how change happens, one day you are holding their hand, the next day you are not, sometimes it's literally the next day as in my case.  I felt so odd walking her down there, I was the only mom who did it, and they all were fine with it, but it was time for me to stop...sigh.  My husband has been very impatient lately with the kids, and I tell him not to get so upset because they are only young once, we can't do this again, once they are gone they are gone, no more little toys to pick up and get mad at, no more helping with the homework or reading bedtime stories when we may want to watch a good show on tv instead, it will all be over, much too soon.

Anyway, with those sappy and not-so-happy words, I did have a fun time photographing her.  She never wants her photo taken anymore, ever, so I have to bride her or really beg.  I want to re-shoot these too, I'm getting a new lens soon and I love this spot (almost right in my backyard and I never even thought to use it - go figure!) so I will most likely do this photo shoot again soon.  I also used a couple of new "trendy" conversions.  One is called acid wash and the other is just a black and white conversion that allows you to tweak things as you go, very cool.  I applied some fun new frames by Rhonna Farrer, you can see some of the frames here. 

I'm off to New York tomorrow to work with Paper House, it will be a long day, but hopefully productive.  I'm getting the dt ready to go, they have been so patient.  We were waiting for the new website to launch but it's taken a bit longer than expected so we are going forward with the team October 1st. Finally.  I can't wait to see what they do with all the new product!

Let's see, other news.  I have "unofficially" started a side photography business.  Just freelance and I'll do it by "word of mouth" mostly.  I've already gotten a few things lined up and am very excited about it.  I actually started a little website too so that I can post private albums for clients to view their photos and all my pricing and of course some photography will be on the site.  I've been slooowly adding to it day by day a little more, it takes so long to do I can't believe all the stuff that is involved in starting up your own business.  I still need to get my photogaphy postcards and cards printed, and I need to finish up the paperwork and submit for my LLC from the state.  I can't wait to do my first "real job" though, that will be very exciting.

Okay that's it for today.  Hope you have a super evening!

Prayers and Well Wishes

I know I haven't posted in a bit but I wanted to ask my friends for some prayers.  My dog, who is just five years old, is having a tough time.  The skin on his nose is literally coming off and it's starting around his eyes now too, not to mention his entire body.  We thought he just had a bad skin condition which happens to dogs a lot, but the vet seems to think this is very serious because of his nose.  It's almost like this is eating away at his skin, he looks terrible.  I took him in to the vet again the other day and he told me the only thing they can do is a blood test to see if it's Lupus, which the vet is pretty sure that's what it is.  There are two kinds of this disease I guess and it's a bit different in animals than it is in humans.  Dawson would be able to live a fairly normal life if this is what he has, he will have to be on medication for the rest of his life but he'll look and feel pretty good for the most part.  Problem is, the blood test is five hundred dollars.  Talk about a blow.  We just don't have that money right now but what was I to do.  I ended up making out a payment plan, it's just so hard, it's hard to see Dawson like this, it's hard to think this could even be worse, they may need to do another expensive test to see if the disease has affected his kidneys or other internal organ yet, and it's hard because of the money.  I love him so much though so there was no question about what to do, I just need some prayers for him to get better soon.  Thanks for listening!!

Dawson

Proud Mommy!

Oh my goodness I have so much to share today!  First I want to share some photos from yesterday, my little Lacee just rises to the occasion when she has a show!  It's amazing, she's so much like me, well the way I was when I was her age, that it's scary!  Shhh...don't tell her I said that! 

So she had a horse show yesterday.  We only do about three or four during the year, so the ones she does are very special.  This was a 4-H show, no points, but it was still a great show, a lot of competition.  Lacee cleaned house!  She won two first place ribbons/trophies and a second place.  The she won Champion of the Day in her division - very, very cool.  I was thrilled, and I don't think I've seen her smile that big in a long time.  She's been struggling with her pony (this guy likes to push her buttons) so it's been a lot of work and a lot of fear for her too, which is stressful on us both.  Jumping has been so hard for her, knowing that he might stop just kills Lacee's confidence.  We are working on it, but it's hard, I know I couldn't do what she's done. 

I can't believe I didn't get any shots of her jumping!!!  Well I did, but nothing great.  I was in the wrong spot and I thought they would be reversing direction, but they didn't - so my shots are not good of jumping, but I have  SO many that it's okay.

The other thing I want to share on my blog is my Memory Maker's Master's entry, and I will...promise! For today here are some show photos (and I even did up a quick digital layout!)  Have a super day!!!

xxoo- W - xxoo

Family

Family.  Funny how we don't think of our extended family as much as our immediate family.  They are just as important, they too are family.  My mother had a heart attack last year, lost three of her brothers in the past few years and has just not been herself since.  She has one brother and two sisters left.  When they were younger they were all taken from their mother and put into different homes.  Some went as a pair and others went alone.  Some were very badly abused, others were not.  They have remained strong through it all though and the older they got the closer they got as a family. 

My uncle, who we all had not seen in seven years and the last time we did see him was at my other uncle's funeral, decided to surprise us all with a visit the other day.  What a surprise it was!  So, so good to see him!  My aunt decided to come up from New Jersey and visit too, and the other sister lives right around the corner, so what to do....a photo shoot!

Keep in mind this was supposed to be just my mom and her three siblings, other decided to join in on the fun though, my cousin showed up with his bike and wanted me to photograph him, cool, very cool.  Then I thought why not do the couples thing with my aunt and uncle.  Needless to say it was a blast!  I told them all to wear light colors or black, white, jeans, that sort of thing and that I would meet them around 5pm, just before the sun goes down (great lighting!)  We went to a local park with a great bridge (or so I thought!)  The bridge only faces one way - behind it is a stream that leads into a pond, so you really only have one side to stand on and take your photos.  The other side is what I needed.  Oh well, I improvised.  There were some fun benches and some pretty brush, plus I brought my trusty stool.  I'll post a few shots but keep in mind that I have to go in and edit them all (the older folks want me to PS the heck out of them!  LOL!!!  I told them I would do it but nothing too dramatic because I want to see the real person, my aunt wanted to know if I could Photoshop her a bigger chest...ha ha, no, sorry won't do that!  I can, however, handle a few wrinkles;-)

This one is my favorite out of the group - it's so them, so natural...makes me smile.

My aunt and uncle.....so sweet

My cousin Chad, and his bike...