Lots of rain!

Thank you, Lord!  We needed the

rain.  It came out of no where.  All

of a sudden it was just pouring.  I didn't

even notice the sky getting dark, just the

satellite going bonkers which it does when

there's interference such as rain.  Then it

came down in sheets!  I was going to mow

yesterday.  I'm thinking perhaps I should

have because now I really  have to mow.  It

was pretty humid yesterday, so maybe it

won't be quite so humid today.  It's way too

wet to be mowed this morning so will

have to wait until evening.  Tomorrow

is the first of September and I have

been asking God to please not take away

my warm weather.  I asked Him for warm

weather for the rest of the year.  I doubt He's

going to listen though and is probably 

getting a good laugh on me, but it's 

worth a try!

I got my cc issue sorted out.  They put

a block on it because the company I 

ordering from was in the UK.  Starbucks

is OK as long as it's in the US with this card.

I can't complain.  The interest is 7.5%, so if

I have to call occasionally and see what

is up I can deal with that.  But, hey, two days

before that they OK'd the transaction.

Go figure.  So I have lots of stitching 

patterns.  Guess what you're going to

be seeing for a while?  I love paper stitching!

I got several different styles of pattern, 5 or 6 

(can't remember) are geometric shapes and 

I think they make the best stitching patterns!

They are so elegant looking.  I have some

Christmas projects in mind so maybe I'll

be making some of them in red, green and

white.  Blue is a Christmas colour, too, 

right?  I'm not a huge Christmas fan.  It's

way too commercialized and has been for

many, many years.  I think it's important

to remember what we are celebrating.

The birth of Jesus Christ.  My oldest son,

Nathan, was 8 months old on his first
Christmas.  I took him in my lap and

read him the Christmas story from Luke.

From that Christmas forward, the kids

knew they could check out their stockings

but the presents would wait until after

we read the Christmas story.  I wanted

them to know that Christmas was more than

just opening presents and playing with

toys.  So while Christmas isn't all that

big with me, the "reason for the season"

is. I do love to give gifts, but that's for

any time of year.  We don't have to

have a special day to think about others

and give them gifts that will make them

happy.  The Christmas spirit should

last all year long.

Online ordering

Is so frustrating!!!  I ordered a couple of

patterns two days ago then decided I

wanted a couple more.  Both of my cards

are being declined.  So I call paypal.  

What's up?  He said it's my cards, not

their company (and this has happened

once before, too) so I say, really?  

Because the cards are at two different 

banks.  Strange that they would both

decline and I have plenty of money on

both.  So he calls one bank and they 

aren't open yet.  He says he will call

back and let me know later.  I will believe

it when I see it.  Meanwhile, when my 

local bank opens I think I'll give them

a call and see what is going on.  I'm

sure it is paypal's issue though.  I mean,

it's only $11.50, not a million dollars

or anything!

This card didn't turn out like I thought

it would.  You can't really see the pretty

edging, but It's OK.  Looking at it

on the computer I think I should have

used a plain colour with the large flowers

as it seems to detract from the edging

as well.

I was very sad to see that Gene

Wilder died Sunday.  My favourite film

of his was "Blazing Saddles".  When I was 

in labor with Cody, Allen, the doctor and the nurse

were all watching the film and laughing.  I

was not laughing.  But it's still my favourite

film.  So many stars have already died this year!

Laughing as exercise?

Well, that's what this card claims!

My sister, Robin, says exercise is

way overrated and I tend to agree with

her.  I prefer to get my exercise

jumping to conclusions.  Which I do

well, by the way.  For some reason

doctors don't seem to think this is

a good way to do it.  What do they

know?  They can't even keep a scale

from adding extra pounds at the office!

More little old ladies.  This is the second image

from the set.  It also comes with some more cute

sayings.  I hate colouring in pictures so I thought

I would just stamp it on coloured paper instead.

I hope it's easier to see in a larger picture than

what I'm looking at right now.

We finally got a little rain yesterday.  Even

a few rumbles of thunder.  Not enough for

me, but then I don't think anything would 

be enough.  As long as there's no severe

weather like tornadoes, it could thunder

all day long and I would be a happy camper!

We definitely needed the rain, though.

I'm pretty ticked off right  now at Pureflix.  I

cancelled my netflix subscription and bought

a ROKU specifically so I could get the

pureflix channel.  Except I can't sign up.  

And guess what?  The company only communicates

through email.  I have to say, though, that they

are pretty prompt as far as that goes.  When

I try to set it up it keeps saying it can't verify

my CC information.  So I call my card, sure

that everything is fine.  It is.   I contact

them again.  What's up?  Well, have you

tried this, that, the other?  Yes, yes and yes.

Have you put in the EXACT address that is

shown on your statement?  Yes.  Oh, and by

the way, I also tried the physical address just

in case.  Finally after about three back and

forths they tell me that, oops, their system is

having problems with PO boxes.  I told them

in my first email that it was their issue.  They

saw I have a PO box.  So I have to jump

through hoops to get them to tell me what I

already knew?  Jerks.

Good Sunday Morning

How did a whole week go by

already?  And where is the summer

going?  Before we know it snow will be

on the ground and I am not looking forward

to it.  I wish I had the money to be a snowbird.

I hate snow more and more every year

and yes, I will complain about that.  Bring on

the heat and I will tell the Lord it's hot but I

am by no means complaining!  I make  no bones

to Him about how much I hate winter and how

I'm pretty sure the Lord of perfection made a

mistake in this case.  You know how when you

are on a vacation and you come home and 

you feel like you've been away forever?

When I got off the plane in California in 1980

I felt like I'd been away from home a very long

time and was finally back.  That's how I'm 

pretty sure God made a mistake in my case.

Maybe I was meant to be the child of a Hollywood

star and living in the lap of luxury right now.  I

can dream.

So, on to the card.  I was experimenting with

a mesh die I have, trying out a couple of

things I wasn't sure if I  liked or not.  I may 

fool around with it again later today.  But

then I came up with this card.  I wasn't

sure how it would come out but when I

got done die cutting it I liked it very

much.  The only change I might make is

the colours.  They are too close together.

I tied the ribbon right through the mesh which

I thought was very cool.  On the back of the

sentiment panel is a blank panel that you 

can write a greeting on.  I can't tell if the sentiment

panel is crooked or not.  It kind of looks like

it is but with the mesh it's hard for me to

tell.  Anybody?  Even if it is, that just shows

it's handmade, right?!

I'm looking forward to church even though

I don't think I can sign more than one song.

They are all so fast.  The problem is that

I can sign them fine.  I just can't keep up

with the song while I'm doing it.  Then I get

messed up and mad at myself and the song is

two thirds of the way through before I

gain my focus again.  Maybe someday I 

can get it right.

 

Deaf coffee chat

I have probably talked about the deaf chat

before but I got guilted into going again this

month.  I don't know any of the people

that go (the deaf people, I mean) and they

all talk so fast, but I was able to communicate

with one gentleman.  I didn't talk a lot to

him, just a couple of sentences, but he

understood what I was saying.  It's good

practice, I suppose.  Then the kids from

the local high school came in.  About 6 of 

them.  These kids have sign classes every

day and go to the chats for extra credit.  Here

are these teens signing away and I'm thinking

maybe I'll just shrink down into my chair.

I wonder if I will ever be good enough to 

hold down a decent conversation.  If the 

Lord brings you to it He'll bring you through

it I guess and I do feel like He brought me

to this.  I need to practice more, but it's

hard to practice with no feedback and

kind of boring, too.  Oh well.

This didn't come out like I imagined it in

my head, but I still think it looks OK.  I

should have used a different paper on

the front, I think.  Maybe a vintage brown

instead of pink.  It goes with the washi tape

on the inside though.  When I first bought it, 

I thought it was just roses.  After I got back

to Robin's and looked at it again I saw

it had birds on it.  I might not have bought

it if I noticed that, but it's still pretty.

It looks like it might rain/storm today.  That

would be very cool, but I'm not holding my

breath and I sure don't want to happen here

what happened in Kokomo earlier this week!

I didn't hear of any fatalities thankfully, but

a starbucks got taken to the ground by a 

tornado and by the grace of God the people

there were in a corner bathroom on the only

wall standing!  The ironic part is that two of

them were not even from here but here for a

business meeting.  One from Florida and the

other from North Carolina.    I'm very glad

everyone was OK!  How scary.

For we walk...

By faith.  That's hard, isn't it?  At

least for me it is.  I want to know

what's up ahead so I can plan.  I've

heard it said, "We make plans God

laughs."  I'm pretty sure He's laughs

at me sometimes!  So I try to pray:  "This is

what I have planned for today"  Leaving 

it open for God to change my plans.

Sometimes He does, sometimes He

lets me go on my merry way.  But

at least I know I've done my best

to turn over my new day to God

and wait and see what He might 

have planned for it.

The front is the first picture.  It's

a gatefold card, so I couldn't

get it to stay together very well, hence

the paper clip.  I would have put

a belly band on it, but I think it would

interfere with the flourish.  I glued that

on then carefully cut it in the middle so

it would be on both sides and match up.

for the inisde I used the raindrops stamp again

and I'm not sure if it shows up, but the inked

panel has drops on it, too. I flicked water

on it and then dabbed it off.  It looks pretty

cool.

My leg itches like crazy even after 2

days!  I woke up at 5 am digging at it so

I put some more cortisone cream on and

took a benedryl hoping that that might help.

It's not so bad now (6:45)  but still hurts.

I've been stung before but never have I

had this reaction.  I looked it up and I

think I have a very mild allergy, but I think

mainly it's just a reaction to the sting.  It's

not swelled or anything.  But it sure is

driving me crazy!!  As John would say, 

"Short trip...)!!

My daughter in law, Pam, is becoming

quite the celebrity!  Another photo

showed up on the Walmart FB page.

She didn't want her picture there, but since

she is the manager she got drafted!  I think

it's awesome!!

 

Have a good day, everyone!

Owwww!

I got the lawn mowed yesterday.  I also got 

stung in the leg by a hornet.  I saw it on

my sock so I know it was the culprit.

I'm glad I wore shorts because if I had had

jeans on it might have gone up my pants leg!

I guess it was just a lone bee.  I was

afraid I had another ground nest.  I don't

see any evidence of that thankfully.

My leg still hurts this morning!  No welt

or anything, but it hurts and itches.

As I finished the last strip, looked up and

said, "Well, Lord, if you're going to let it

rain let 'er rip" and -true story- I felt

sprinkles on my face!  It only sprinkled, 

but it was pretty funny!!

I've been seeing these raindrops stamps all

over the place so I just had to have one.

Doesn't it look 3D?  I thought it was the first

time I saw it!  I love how it looks!  I'm 

planning on using it with things that don't have

anything to do with water necessarily and

see what I can come up with.  The artist

has other stamps as well.  She does

beautiful work!

 

How cool is this?  My DIL, Pam, is the manager

of the cold section at walmart and they used

a picture of her on their fb page to show off

a new product.  It says:

 

New item alert!
Looking for a new sweet treat? Stop by and check out our new hostess deep fried Twinkies! They come in 2 flavors chocolate and original golden, Only $4.76! Stop by the frozen department and pick them up!

I've never liked twinkies and I think deep
fried twinkies sounds gross, but apparently
other people like them.  No accounting
for taste, LOL!!

 

Friends

Aren't friends awesome?  Of course, Jesus

should be our closest friend, but He

gives us some pretty amazing people

here on Earth.  They can be people totally

unrelated to us or family members (Nancy!)

Friends make our lives so much richer.

This card is for my friend, Dianne, because

I couldn't resist the old ladies and sayings, lol.

The gold washi tape I picked up in NC.

I've really not been into washi tape because

the stuff around here is pretty boring.  But

the store we went to, AC Moore (which we

don't have around here to my knowledge), had

tons of it and I fell in love with this design.  It

is so versatile and so pretty!  I'm not good

at colouring but I think it came out pretty well.

I'm still working on the card with the other

stamp I got and eventually I will make a

card with the 3 old ladies that go with this

set of stamps.  There are hilarious sentiments

with the stamps.

About a year ago I decided to put up foliage

around the top of my cupboards.  I've seen

it done before and loved the way it looked.

Yesterday I picked up some battery operated

tiny lights and put them up there too.  They look 

fantastic and really make a nice night light.

Aren't they pretty?

In the next couple of days I'm planning on picking

up a roku stick so I can stream pureflix.  I have 

netflix right now which I rarely watch and pureflix

is Christian movies only and I think maybe series,

I'm not clear on that.  I think I will enjoy it more.

Speaking of which, I got the movie "God's not

dead 2".  If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend

it.  As with the first one, it is an awesome movie,

but more, it really shines the light on the trials

that Christians are going through.  Jesus said

it wouldn't be easy and I think we know that

it's only going to get harder.  The world seems

to have become so evil.  I think part of that is

because we are made more aware of it through 

the media, but it just seems more evil.  I keep thinking

surely Jesus will come back soon.  But before

John died we were going to a church in Camden,

Michigan and the pastor was talking about that

very subject.  He explained that in Jesus' time

things were very, very evil.  So I guess we can't

use that as criteria as to Jesus' return.  The world

has always been evil.  Thankfully we are only

passing through.  For John's memorial Robin

put together a picture montage and the background

music was from Building 429's "I'm not home

yet".  I love that song.  It reminds us that this

is NOT our home.  We are only here temporarily.  

When I hear it I think not only of John, but

also my cousin Ronnie who died from brain cancer.

As much as we would like to have them here in our

lives, no way would we want them back.  They

are HOME.  We will be there someday.  But 

for now we have to deal with this world the

best we can and spread the word that this

is not really  home.  All that to say the movie

is amazing and you should really see it soon.

Always good to say thank you

OK, I know I'm late, but it's Bri's

fault (I told you I was going to say

that, Bri!)  She stayed the night with

me and we were too busy having fun

for me to remember to post the blog!

I have a thank you card today that I

think turned out really well.

It had an exclamation point with it but

It was separate from the dot at the bottom

and I dropped it somewhere.  I didn't feel like

cutting another one, naturally.

I got a couple of cool stamps yesterday, so 

I will have fun playing with them and show

you what I came up with tomorrow!

Then I need to mow the lawn....Anyone

want to help??

Back from NC!!

I had a really great time at

Robin and Steve's this past week!

Here's a picture of my new buddies,

my niece and nephew, Belle and Noah.

While there we went to the Greenville zoo

in South Carolina.  I didn't see any  palm

trees, sadly, but it was great being back

in South Carolina.  One day I hope to go

back to Charleston.  

I didn't write down the name of these guys

but aren't they cool?  One is a male,

the other female.  I think the female is

the one in the back.

This is a baby giraffe.  I think he/she was about

a year old.  Not much shorter than mom!

 

We also went to a nature preserve in 

Asheville.  this poor bear was so hot.  I accidentally

deleted the better picture, sadly, but stuff happens,

I guess.

I won't bore you with more pictures.  Suffice

it to say it was a fun trip. The trip home not

so much.  For some reason they funneled off

4 lanes of traffic from I 75 into Monroe Ohio.

No explanation and worse, no detour signs.  When

I felt it was probably safe to try to get back on

I ran into an accident before I could get to the

on ramp.  It was over an hour before I was back

on my way again.  That was annoying.  But I 

made it there and back safely, so I am very grateful

for that.

I should have a card tomorrow to add to the blog.  

One more picture to show, though.  I forgot.

Robin and I did some crafts while I was there.

She made this tray and I think it turned out

beautifully.

I also bought a little wooden dresser

which I  hope to make to match.  I've never

done anything like this before, so I  hope it

turns out well.  While I was there I also

started cross stitching again and found that

I can do it with almost no pain at all!  I

go today to get an injection for my shoulder,

but the problem was the radial tunnel I

have in both arms.  I'm hoping to make

some nice Christmas presents now that I

can do it again.  Hopefully I have time!!!

Where did the summer go anyway?

 

Vintage day

My muse, henceforth to be known as

"Reflections", was in fine form yesterday.

I made 3 cards which are all basically the

same, but all different, too.  I was inspired 

by my friend, Karen's vintage pocket letter.

Pocket letters are ATC's that are generally

a theme and placed in a 9 pocket baseball

card protector.  That's usually what  ATC

artists  use to store their cards since they

are the same size.  Behind the atc's

small items are placed; buttons, ribbon,

stickers, etc. and a piece of candy

(Ghiradelli works well) or a tea bag.

I've made a few, but not super enthralled

with them.  I'm not good at themes.

I didn't have any brown ribbon so I 

sponged some brown ink on organdy ribbon

and it worked perfectly.  For the words

I cut 6 or them, glued them on top of

one another and then covered them with

crystal effects which makes them nice and

shiny and adds additional dimension.  They

look 3-D.  I was pretty pelased

with how they turned out.  With a couple 

more they would make a nice set.

I have a paper pack which has these

images on one of the sheets.  I may

go ahead and do a few more.

I'm going to be out mowing the lawn

by 830 this morning.  I hope the neighbors

aren't ticked but who cares, I'll be gone

for a week, lol.  I'm sure they will

be fine with it.  It's not too hot yet.  The 

problem is that some of the lawn is brown

and doesn't really need to be mowed, but

the rest will be horrible when I return

especially if it rains (yeah, right).

Tomorrow I'm planning on leaving at 6 am. 

I've done this before.  Why am I so nervous?

Maybe it's an excited nervousness, who

knows?  Once I'm on the road I'm sure

everything will go well.  Please pray for a safe

trip.  Thanks!!  Everyone have a great week.

Just black and white

I love using just black and white.

It has such elegance.  I made

this card last night and was so happy

with how it turned out, but felt it

needed something more.  So...

I stamped a sentiment to the side on

the black using white ink.  Except I

used the wrong ink.  It came out very light.

Since it was a clear stamp I thought I'd try

to re-stamp it with a better ink.  I didn't

get it lined up perfectly, big surprise.  So

I made another one and I hated how

it turned out because I had the top leaves

in the wrong place.  So here is the

original without a sentiment.  I guess

it really doesn't need anything anyway.

And even it it does, it's staying the way

it is!

The flash kind of washed out the centre, 

but it is a true black.  It looks much

better in person.  Thankfully I took a picture

before I ruined it and threw it away.  I may

try to make another and be more careful

of the leaf placement because I think it 

looks so elegant.  The little pink flowers

on the lower right flowers are from my 

friend, Karen.  She sent me a happy package

yesterday.  I love getting happy mail!  Thanks,

Karen.  I love all the goodies you sent me!

I'm going to dinner with Dianne tonight.  We

haven't seen each other for two weeks and

of course, I will be gone this Friday and next 

which is usually the day we get together.

I'm planning on leaving early Friday morning (12th)

and coming back the following Saturday   (20th)

so I will only miss one week of church.

Speaking of church, I made God a deal

yesterday.  I'm wondering how long it will

be before He holds me to it and if I will be

brave enough to follow through!  With His

strength I can do it, but it will be verrrry scary!

Why do I do these things to myself?!  It

will be kind of like walking on water.  If

I look away from Him I will definitely lose

it.  I'll let you know more later.  Until then

you will just have to wonder.  No more clues!

But really, if anyone knows what I've been

doing these days, they can probably figure it

out if they think hard enough about it.  No

more clues!  Didn't I say that once already??

Tomorrow will be my last post for a week. 

I will miss doing the blog, but I know I'm going

to have fun in NC and have lots of things

to talk about and pictures to show!  Hopefully

I will have a great card to show tomorrow-

if it turns out right.

Swingin'

I love, love, love how this card

turned out!  Cody and Pam are 

celebrating their 7th anniversary on the

14th of this month!  They seem so perfectly

matched and I am happy that they are

doing so well in their marriage.  Though

I've never seen any, as we know, 

every marriage has it's bumps

When I was looking through the  stamps

I came across this one which I 

thought was perfect and made me

giggle!  It's a swing card and it

came out perfectly the first time!

That usually doesn't happen when

I'm trying a new fold or moving

card, so I was both surprised

and happy!

Isn't that just the neatest card ever?  I

just love the movement of it.

I had a wonderful lunch yesterday and I

think we are well on the way to becoming

good friends.  I didn't really know her

well, but it turns out we have quite a bit in

common and I really enjoyed getting

to know her and just sharing some time
together.  I hope that our friendship will
continue to grow!

 The Lord has changed my  life a lot
in the last 4 months.  It's not pleasant
when He slams a door in our face.  I
wasn't happy.  I cried and complained and
finally came to the conclusion that He had
something better for me.  So I sat back
and tried (somewhat impatiently) to
wait for His timing and direction.  It always
pays off in the end if I can just be still
and listen for His voice.  That is not a
virtue that is innate to me, so I am still
working on that.  I am a WIP as we say
in the card/scrapbook group: a "work in
progress".  But isn't that what all Christians
are?  If we have "arrived" then what would be
the point?  God continues to work on
us daily to bring us closer to Him and
help us to see that as Children of God
He has a better idea of what we need
that we do.  And just as our children
did, we sometimes rebel against Him.
At least I do!  But then I've always been
rebellious anyway, according to my parents.
That's another story.   Personally I think
I'm a pretty fantastic person, LOL.  There
are those that would disagree with that
but everyone is entitled to their opinion-
even if it is wrong!  :)  Wow, I'm
kind of goofy today!  Better go watch
Supernanny.  I love that woman!

Happy Monday morning!

Well, it was a thought.  I know some

people who do NOT look forward

to Monday.  I don't really care one

way or the other, to be honest.  It's

just another day.

I made my cousin's birthday card

in time to get it in the mail.

I used the sanding block to sand

the cardstock, revealing the white core.

I'm not super happy with how it

turned out.  I should have used another

embossing folder, but I didn't have any

that I thought would look good either. 

It needed a smaller design.  Maybe

I need to get some more folders.

But hopefully she will like it.  The ribbon

is pushed through a slit in the

card and carried behind the inside of

the card.  I thought it would be too hard

to try to wrap it around the blue mat.

Also, this way I could slide the knot

to where I needed it when I put the

oval on.  Generally speaking I have to

lift the ribbon and move it since I 

never seem to put it in the right place!

I'm looking forward to lunch today with

a friend. I've never had lunch with her

before, so it should be fun.  This is going

to be a busy week getting ready to leave

on Friday.  I'm excited, but not crazy 

about the 12 hour drive.  I suppose when

the time comes I will have so much

adrenaline rushing through me that it

will be a breeze.  At least that's how it

was last year.  I have my Newsboys,

Building 429 and misc. cd's ready to

listen to all the way there, so I'm set.

And let's not forget that I won't be alone

during the trip.  Jesus will be right beside

me.  I sure wish He would drive, though! 

Chilly morning

What happened to August?  I am by no

means complaining since it's not COLD,

but it was pretty chilly this morning!

I really need to go somewhere where

it is warm all the time.  I was never

made to be in cold weather.  I'm not

sure why God dropped me off in this

part of the country!

Practice went well yesterday and

I am confident I can sign  "Revelation

song"   The others I can sign choruses

...I think.  One of them I've never heard.

That's the biggest problem is that I don't

know a lot of the songs this church 

sings.  I listen to Christian music all

the time.  I'm not sure where they are

coming up with these songs, lol.  But

as I said yesterday, I'll do my best and

If it's for the Lord (and it is) then my

best is good enough.  99 1/2 % of the 

people in church wouldn't know if I

made a mistake anyway!  The problem

is, I know.   I expect to be able to do

this and I have to keep reminding myself

I've only been learning for a little over

a year now.  How long did I study

my native language in school?!  I still

can't diagram a sentence.  I hated

doing that!

To the card:  This is just a generic

notecard.  I guess I have to make another

birthday card, though, because I forgot

my cousin's birthday is the 16th!  She

sent me a card and that reminded me.  So

that will probably be coming tomorrow.  

Kind of boring, actually, and not really

my best, but it will do, I suppose.  I just 

couldn't seem to make it work.  Dianne

came home yesterday so hopefully my muse will

make an appearance soon.  She's so unreliable!

This is the day the Lord has made!

Finding Dory

At Walmart!  Cody and Pam found

me the neatest pez set.  I hadn't seen

it and I bought the regular pez dispensers,

but had I seen it I would have gotten it

even though I already had the dispensers 

singly.  I kind of quit collecting pez because

I have nowhere to display them, but I

do love the sets.  This is by far the most 

awesome set I've ever seen!

Isn't that just the cutest?!  It says it's a real

fishbowl and I suppose you could put

a fish in a plastic bowl.  I wouldn't, but it's

just such a neat way to display them!

Dinner was awesome and the cupcakes

were pumpkin with cinnamon cream cheese

icing.  They were yummy.  I really enjoyed the

chili dogs.  Pam had never had them before!

I bet she has them again because she seemed

to really like them.

I don't know why I made a birthday card.

I was going for the design and when I

got it done, I just went with the birthday

sentiment.  I'm sure I will have a birthday

before too much  longer that I can use it

for.  I like how it came out though.  Not

sure if it really shows up, but the card itself

is brown.  The paper is from the double

sided cardstock that I picked up the

other day at hobby lobby courtesy of my

cousin, Nancy, who sent me a gift card

for my birthday.  Thanks, Nancy!!

 

I'm going to church later to practice signing

the songs with the band.  I don't even know

what songs they are singing this week and I'm

sure I won't be able to do  the entire songs,

but most of them I can sign the choruses

at least.  I told the Lord I'd do the best I

could and  that's all He asks us to

do in the first place.  

Just a note with music!

Ok, not real music, but it has musical paper!

I'm sure I  have posted "just a note"

cards before, but they make such nice

cards to send.  

I like how it turned out.  Naturally, because

I CASE'd the card from pinterest.  Sometimes

you just have to take another person's

card idea because it's so awesome!  Imitation is

the sincerest form form of flattery!

Today is my birthday (yippee) and my dad 

keeps telling me I am 60.  (Not true).  So

I called him last night and said if that WAS

true then one of two things was also true:

either they were fooling around before

they were married since their 60th 

anniversary is the 11th, or I was adopted.

THAT would explain a lot!  I was hoping

for the latter.  He said I was hatched.

Still explains a lot.  Speaking of their 60th, they

both deserve awards for sticking it out

that long.  Some days it seems more like

a war zone than a marriage.  But I digress.

I'm planning on calling my mom today and

seeing if she wants a play date with B'Elanna.

My dad is off at a craft show and she so loves

to play with B'Elanna.  It seems to bring her

joy, so I try to do it when I can.

Cody and Pam are having me over for dinner

tonight and look what's for dessert!  I told her

I wanted chili dogs and chips and since she

posted the recipe for these on facebook

 I requested  them, too.  Don't they look yummy?!

Blessings

What blessings do you have?

One of my blessings is my friends.

This card was made specially for

one of them.  All my friends bless

my life in one way or another and

I try to let them know with a surprise

card now and then.  Besides, I have

tons of them from writing this blog, lol.

I was so super happy with how this 

came out!  The two panels on either side are

popped up although it's probably hard

to see from the picture.  

I complain so much.  I try not to-especially

about the heat since I hate cold so much.

But I do complain.  Whenever I do, I

try to remember all the blessings God

has given me.  Blessings that I don't or

ever could deserve.  I always tell Him

there are too many to list, so sorry if

I miss some here and there!  I'm pretty

sure He understands! But I

always want to be thankful for the

things He has given me.

Faith

Something I don't have enough of.  If

I were out walking on the water with

Jesus would I sink?  I hope not, but I'm

afraid I might. 

This shows the card both open and closed.

I cut away about 2 inches of the front so you

could see the decorative paper inside.  I also 

embossed the front panel.  I love how it turned

out.  It didn't look complete though, so I 

added the ribbon and I was very happy

with the it.  It would be a nice card

for someone who is going through a

tough time.  Like I wrote about the other day,

when we are going through hard times

it's easy to forget that God is still there.

It's the faith part that is hard in those times. 

At least for me it is.  I totally believe God

is able to handle my problems but I tend

to want to do it myself.  That's human nature.

Remember your two year old?  "I do it!"

Sometimes I can do it.  Other times I

can't.  I think God gives us things that there's

no way we can handle alone to remind us

that we need to turn to Him.

This is a card from a friend in Texas, Kat.

I love how she used the grunge stamp!  I

think I will try her technique!  She makes 

beautiful cards.

Clean and simple

I had several ideas floating around

in my head today but none of them

came to fruition.  I'm sure my muse

hitchhiked to Michigan to be with

Dianne.  She's sure not here.  She's

very undisciplined.  So this was as

good as I could come up with today.

Just not in the mood to create, apparently.

I saved the outside of the flourish

I put on the card the other day.  It came out so

perfectly in the middle that I didn't want

to throw it away.  Usually I just put it on 

haphazardly and not on a good mat, just

on whatever I have available.  What made

me decide to do it nicely is anyone's

guess, LOL.  I kind of forgot about

these stamps I got from Gina K.  They

have images as well, but I just wanted to

use the sentiment and it really speaks to

me.  I want to be a blessing to someone

today and every day.  I don't think I

accomplish that, but I do try.  Most days

I don't even see anyone, so I can't do much.

But on the days I do venture out, I hope

I do it with a smile.  Except in the car.  I

am not usually smiling in the car because

there are idiots on the road that

can't keep a steady speed and go very

slowly.  Anything on a 55 MPH road that is

under 60 is too slow.  Unless there's 

a cop nearby.  Then I'm grateful for 

the idiot that is keeping me legal!  If the

Lord is trying to teach me patience by
putting slow people in front of me, it's

not working.  You'd think He'd

have figured that out by now!!

Where is God?

Our Pastor and my sign teacher, Pam's

mother died Thursday.  His son, Adam,

preached yesterday.  I've never heard

him and was fascinated at his insight.

He talked about how we are to not

forsake gathering together.  His observation

was that when people have troubles they often

turn away from God, angry that God hasn't

done what they want  Him to do.   

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough

Words from the song "Blessings".  I had that 

sung at John's memorial service.  

He likened 

our tendency to do that to a car.  You fill it up

with gas, then it runs out.  So you get angry

and say, "I filled that car with gas and it ran

out so I'm never going to the gas station

again!"  We would look at that person like

they were crazy.  But when troubles come

that's when we need God the MOST!  So

why would you run from Him?  My observation

is that sometimes that's the ONLY time people

come to God.  He wants us there all the time.

Good times, bad times and in between.  Isn't

that what a friend is supposed to be?  With

you no matter what?

The sentiment inside says "deepest sympathy".