Love like...

*since after fidgeting with older posts, deleting and shrinking pictures, I am still not able to post a picture, I will post a link to the sign I made.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.381016461950187.106228.180053685379800&type=3#!/photo.php?fbid=381016465283520&set=a.381016461950187.106228.180053685379800&type=3&theater


he deploys tomorrow.

This is going to be another short post.  I got the supplies for this project way back in November of Decmeber of last year.  It was a project I had hoped to do with other ladies in my ward.

It took me until well after we moved into our new house before I finally put it together.  It probably took so long because I couldn't decide what I wanted to pain the wood.  I finally decided not to paint the wood at all but to stain it instead.  It works better with the decor of my house anyway.

The letter is vinyl.  Thankfully a wonderful lady from church has a machine that cuts vinyl.  I so wish I had one.  Someday I will own a silhouette  :)

 

Faith filled book

I know I have mentioned it on here before.  I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  That means I am, as some people label us, Mormon.

There has been a lot going on for me and my church.  Yesterday I attended the funeral of a young single mother.  Just 30 years old and was tragically taken from her 4 children.  It has put me in a very introspective mood.  I have had a difficult time finding real happiness since I heard the news.  Unfortunately I did not take the time to get to know this wonderful lady when I had the chance but in the past week I have learned a lot about her.  I know that given some time we could have been friends.

My ward (congregation) is also holding an open house tomorrow for all the locals who are interested in learning more about our faith without the pressure they may feel in another environment.

I am not sure how all of this ties into the main reason I am writing today.  But it is about this book

Darlene was kind enough to give me an electronic copy to read and ultimately review.  I have had her book for a long time and I am still not finished with it.  Time has not been on my side.  I admit I was a little hesitant when I started and read that she feels women need to submit to their husbands.

Although we are both Christian I don't agree with certain things she has said about religion.  But they have been minimal.

Today, while on the treadmill at the gym, I read a chapter that I needed to read today.

I am not sure if it is because of the funeral I attended yesterday or that, I believe, the funeral has brought me back over 12 years to my car accident when I lost my friend and attended her funeral.

Our Stake (big community of church members) President mentioned that we were at the funeral not out of grief or pain but out of love.  Love of the person that had passed.  I truly believe that.  He also challenged us to take what we have learned and use it to help others.

After my husband got home from work yesterday he was bombarded by myself and our 3 sons.  He had a stressful day and us running up to him did not give him the time he needed to destress from the day.  It ended up being a difficult evening for me although he got over it very quickly.

I find myself upset a lot about things my husband has done or not done lately.  It isn't something he can fix.  It is something I need to fix.  I know that now, thanks to this book.  Darlene has a way of putting everything into perspective.  How to make something make sense when nothing seems to make sense.

I have always been a fan of the 1950s, I would have loved to live during that time frame.  I don't consider myself to be a feminist but there are things that I do agree with as well.  That being said being a wife and mother in the 50s, knowing what I know, would be difficult for me.

Reading the words Darlene has put to print has helped me with these difficulties.  I am not saying that by reading her book I will be a perfect wife and mother tomorrow.  I do know that if I work on myself first everything else will fall into place.  My children will have a better mother and in turn will be better pillars in the community as they grow, my husband will have my respect and support and therefore he will have the strength, courage, love and anything else he would need to be able to complete the tasks that are asked of him in all aspects of his life.

All in all this is a great book, not a self-help book, but a great way to look inside and see what may need to be fixed within yourself and so much more.

Thank you Darlene for allowing me this opportunity.  I look forward to reading more.

Sweet 16

This one is going to be short and sweet.  Since I have been slacking on my crafting time I had a birthday card that was way overdue.

I made this card for my niece.  I can't believe it but she is now 16 years old.  It is just beyond me that 16 years have flown by like they have.

Everytime I think about my niece I think about my HS graduation (yep, it has been that long since I have been out of High School).  I see a picture of myself hold her in my arms in my parents family room and both of us all dressed up and ready for me to end one major chapter in my life.

I have a very strong bond with her, I just wish I could see her more.  A part of me feels like she is my child almost as much as she is my sisters daughter...

Two new homes

I know it has been forever since I have posted on here.  I have been busy with moving.  Still in South Dakota but off the base.  We are now owners of our very own house.  It is so exciting and I am so happy.  We became official owners of our very own house in January and yet it still feels so very strange that the house we live in is OURS.  I couldn't be more happy.  I do have a few photos.

It is a perfect fit for our family.  The back yard is a great size as well.  Now my boys have their very own BIG place to play.  The bonus is that there is a playground just across the street that I can see from my kitchen window.

Also, I have been busy trying to get my etsy store up and running.  I haven't done too much crafting but what better way to jump back into it than to start a store, right?  I hope so anyway.

Here is the link to my store:



http://www.etsy.com/shop/honeybee7896

If you are local and would like an item I am more than happy to waive the shipping fee.  If there is something you would like but not sure how to make it than please let me know and I can work with you.

I also have been thinking about adding some pictures I have taken on my vacations.  If anyone is interested in that please let me know and I will do so.

I am also wanting to get a couple of home decor items up on the shop.  If there is something I have posted in the past that you would like to have please let me know also.  I would be more than happy to either sell you that one or make a new one for you.

Here is a coupld of the cards I do have posted on my shop just to give you an idea of what I have in there.

I have tried to make the prices reasonable.  I would like your opinions on what I can do better with the store and what you would like to see up for sale.

Thank you for your time and I hope to see you around soon.

  

Better late

My days are all mixed up.  I don't know up from down half the time but the good news is that everyday is one day closer to being with my husband again.Last weekend my middle son was sick with some kind of stomach bug.  He woke up with it and by the next morning he was fine again.  A week later I end up feeling sick and was down Friday night through Saturday.  I had hoped that was going to be the end of it.  At about 10:30 last night my big man tells me he had gotten sick.  Needless to say we did not have a good night last night and having a not so hot day today.But with all that said I figured I better get something up before everyone thinks I ditched the blog again. 

I started out making this card as part of the teacher's notecards but then decided to make it as the thank you card for my boys to give their teachers on the first day of school, with the notecards.We got our letters in the mail and both my boys know who their teachers are and hopefully it will be an awesome year.  Good think is that they both have friends in their classes  :)That is it for today I hope to have more for you soon.Have a great week!!!Thanks for stopping by!!! 

Teachers gifts

 

I mentioned yesterday that I had some cards I was making.  I got the idea from two blogs I have been seeing.  One idea was because a lady was making stamps out of the sticky foam sheets she bought from a craft store.  After getting her children involved she had the idea to get the kids to make cards for the teachers they will be having this year. 

I loved the idea of making cards for the teachers.  What a nice way to say hello and start off the school year than to make cards.  These were so easy to make. 

I only made these two but I plan on making about 5 for each teacher.  I will have two in school this year.  My oldest will be in 2nd grade and my middle man is starting kindergarten.  I am so excited for him, myself and so sad to have my middle man gone all day long.

The funny thing they do here in South Dakota (or maybe just our school district) is have the kindergartners only go to school for 2 days the first week.  We start school on a Tuesday and should be getting a letter with teachers names and also telling us if my middle son will be starting school on Tuesday or Wednesday.  If he starts school on Tuesday than both my boys will have the same first day and middle man will only go Tuesday and Thursday.  If the letter says my middle mans first day of school is Wednesday then he will go on Wednesday and Friday.  They call it get to know you week or something like that.  After that it is Monday through Friday like the rest of the grades. 

So, the cards are fairly self-explanatory.  I used PTI's Vintage Cream cardstock.  Stamped the apple image in pure poppy, simply chartruese, and momento ink, rich cocoa.  The image is PTI, except the work, that is imaginisce.

I had the idea for the border thanks to Lorie at Live-Laugh-Love-Create.  I just used a regular black writing pen and a ruler.

I hope their teachers love it and I am so excited to have a paper craft on my blog once again.

Have a great Tuesday!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!!

  

Bronx

Just popping in real quick to share some photos I took while in New York.  We went in to see a Yankee game.  I tell you, it was the most amazing game I could have gone to.  History happened right before my eyes and I couldn't have been more excited...the rest of the game just continued to get better.It was a rushed trip so unfortunately I do not have any pictures of us there but I know there will be a next time.  These pictures I took while trying to get on the freeway back to Connecticut.I also played around with some more filters.  Again, I have so much fun with picnik that I can't decide on a favorite.  My husbands aunt and mother say I should try to sell my photos.  How awesome would that be?  I would love it. 

 Our time here is coming to a close.  We will be driving on first thing Friday morning and although I am excited to get home and my own routine I am sad to leave family.  Leaving family is difficult because you never really know when the next time will be.Thanks for stopping by!!!