Scraps of my Life

Heavenly Sunshine

2011-02-13T06:08:00.001-05:00

Trying to understand things... I surely don't though! Lord, help me to be happy and show love and joy and happiness to others!

As I spent the day driving home yesterday from my friend Karen's 31 Open House I just kept praying about all the issues in my life. I decided to stop at the overlook and take some pics of the gorgeous creation God has made, the Smoky Mountains. I turned around and feeling and seeing the sun and it's beauty I couldn't help but take a photo. It turned out so much more amazing than "I" planned. Which is always the way it is.... God is amazing. I have this plan or idea and He has a much better one! Even when it doesn't feel like it is much better... I know it will be! I just have to trust him!!!!

Who would come?

2011-01-18T01:26:00.001-05:00

A little while ago I stood in the kitchen stuffing my face with Doritos. Not a real great thing to do late at night but, I wanted them and so even though it wasn't good for me I did it anyway. I was feeling a little light headed and weak and thinking how bad it would be if I passed out. Or worse yet, what if I had a heart attack and died and my family found me in the morning with my hand in the Dorito bag. My mind wondered who would even come to my funeral. Who would care that I died. That is really bad. I know lots of people care. But does it even really matter? Am I focusing on what man or woman thinks of me? Maybe my concern is in the wrong place. I need to keep my focus on God. That open bag of chips is a reminder of how crummy my life truly is without God. Those chips satisfied my longing for junk for just a minute. But they left me feeling empty just like the bag is now. God is the only way to truly FILL up!!

(NET) Psalms 103:1-5 Praise the LORD, O my soul! With all that is within me, praise his holy name! Praise the LORD, O my soul! Do not forget all his kind deeds! He is the one who forgives all your sins, who heals all your diseases, who delivers your life from the Pit, who crowns you with his loyal love and compassion, who satisfies your life with good things, so your youth is renewed like an eagle's.

31 days of prayer

2010-02-10T00:45:00.005-05:00

I was invited to join a challenge today on Face Book. It is a challenge to pray for my husband for 31 days. WHAT a great challenge. I want to meet this one. Feel free to join me in this adventure! Here is the info from Facebook.

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Day 1 - Pray that your husband will grow spiritually and consider his accountability before the Lord. Pray that he will guard his heart by developing spiritual disciplines - Bible reading and study, prayer, meditation, scripture memorization, etc. (2 Peter 3:18; Prov. 4:23)

"The heart of her husband safely trusts her, so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life." Prov. 31:11-12

I'm so glad you've decided to accept the 31-day encouragement to pray for your husband. Your decision means that you truly want to be a blessing in your home. This challenge will also result in spiritual growth in your own life. Don't be surprised if you see the biggest changes in yourself!

I'd like to encourage you to keep track of what God does in your marriage over this next month. I hope you'll take time to share what God does in your home as you bless and encourage your husband.

The Apostle Paul instructed all Christians to pray for one another. (Ephesians 6:18) This includes wives' responsibility and privilege to pray for their husbands. Earnest prayer for your husband is good for him, for you, and the spiritual health of your home. (Proverbs 31:11-12) Satan desires to destroy your husband, especially his character and his leadership in your relationship. Trust God through prayer as you daily surrender your husband and marriage to the Lord's wise, loving care.

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My life has been pretty tough lately. There has been many changes in my life. But, through it all... GOD has remained the same. He has placed me in many of the situations and He has allowed the others. I KNOW He has a plan for me just as He does for YOU too!

Through all of the issues we have been dealing with, my husband has been AMAZING! He is such a WONDERFUL, God fearing man. I couldn't ask for a better person to be spending my life with. He has had to deal with lots of things for ME these past few months and yet he continues to move forward and LOVE me for who I am. He has supported me in all my endeavors and been RIGHT beside me. He has prayed with me and prayed for me. He has listened to people gripe about me. But, through it all, he has remained the most GODLY man. He has listened to GOD. He has had to listen to me too... but God's words are SO much better than mine.

So, on this lovely, cold, dark night as I sit here all alone in my warm home...(everyone else is sleeping which I should be too...) I just am VERY blessed to have a HEAVENLY Father who loves ME! Despite all my issues and all my YUCK... HE loves ME! I am very blessed to have a wonderful husband, who has been with me for 22 years. He has cared for me when I was sick, he has rubbed my feet when I am sure they were stinky, he has loved me for who I am. He has been with me as each of our children were born and been with me when our first born died. He is the best husband I could EVER ask for. I am so blessed to have four beautiful, God fearing daughters. Who stand for what they believe, even when it means they will be ridiculed. They love GOD! They are amazing young women who make me SO happy to be called their mom. I have friends who love me for me also. They listen to me gripe... they give me GREAT advice (even if I don't want to hear it). They are the amazing gifts from God. I just am SO blessed. Thanks God for ALL the wonderful things in my life. But this post is about my AMAZING husband. Thank you God for giving me the man that was meant for ME. Thank you for giving me a man who makes me be a better person. Thank you for my WONDERFUL husband Mark. I LOVE YOU MARK!!!

another goody

2009-06-23T03:07:00.002-04:00

Here is another ADORABLE thing you could win. I LOVE these market baskets. I gave one to my friend Chris last year and have YET to get one for me. SO, here is a chance for you and me to win. GO here to her blog and enter to win this basket. If you mention ME in your post and you win, we BOTH win.. wooo hooo... check it out.

LATER

LaRessie

FREE Photoshop class

2009-06-12T22:14:00.002-04:00

You need to go check out this opportunity for a FREE Photo editing class, using Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. If you have been wanting a way to learn about these programs.. Jessica Sprague is your girl. Check it out here..

http://www.jessicasprague.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=976:free-photo-editing-class&catid=1:latest&Itemid=148

No blogging for a WHILE

2009-06-11T12:00:00.003-04:00

I have been SUPER busy and have neglected my blog.

We have finished our schooling for this year and taken our EOG tests and so SUMMER

is upon us! Life just keeps staying busy though... dance won't finish up until next week. The girls have their recital on Karena's birthday June 20th.

I have also been VERY busy planning for our VBS at church. We are not doing a "traditional"

VBS this year. We have tried it doing a 3 day, a 1 day and even a partial day. This year

we decided to try something DIFFERENT. We are doing VBS/Camp every Wednesday night for the whole summer. It is a program for summer church series for 13 weeks from Gospel Light.

It is has involved much planning. We decorated our mobile classroom and it is a camp theme.

We had a VERY good turn out and we had a BLAST. All of my teens at church are helping

and we had over 40 people in all there last night just for our Camp. It went by VERY quick. Here are a few pics of the event...

Hope you have a BLESSED day!

FREE cake plate...

2009-06-11T11:56:00.002-04:00

Look at this CUTE cake plate you can win. I saw this from a friend that you can enter a post on her blog and win your very own cake plate. It is a $40 value. She has an ETSY shop now too. You gotta check it out. Go post and maybe you will win. BUT, I want to win!!!

http://fancyschmancydesigns.blogspot.com/2009/06/new-etsy-shop-and-give-away.html

100 goals...

2009-04-21T21:37:00.004-04:00

My niece Amanda inspired me to make some goals. She made a post on her blog in November of 2008, with a list of 100 goals. I read this back in Nov. and thought how cool it was. But, I am FINALLY making the list.
I am following this list with the same attitude my niece and her friend Melissa stated in their blogs "I am not going to be primarily motivated by my list. I like to live life, listen to God, and see what happens - to be open to opportunities that present themselves." I will post when the goals are met. I will see how this all pans out. It has sure made me think about things. I can check off a couple right now. :) Goals are important. So if I write them down hopefully they will be in my mind. Hope you enjoy them. Try it.. it is FUN!

1. Make a list of goals. MET 4/09
2. Start Weight Watchers MET 4/09
3. Loose 10 lbs.
4. Loose 20 lbs.
5. Meet my GOAL weight.
6. Make a shadow box for each of my girls with their baby items.
7. Have a yard sale to get rid of some junk.
8. Move our filing cabinet downstairs, and organize files.
9. Put down new flooring in my room.
10. Put down new flooring in the girls' room.
11. Put down new flooring in our bathroom.
12. Paint our bathroom.
13. Paint our bedroom.
14. Redo the girls room.
15. Make a schedule for cleaning.
16. Sew pillowcase dresses.
17. Shoes for the older girls for Sonja's vow renewal.
18. Make bags to sell.
19. Read a book on hormone replacement.
20. Read Digital Field Guide to Nikon D 80 to learn how to use my camera.
21. Pay off credit cards.
22. Clean out hall closet and organize it.
23. Clean off the front porch.
24. Get a new Washer and Dryer.
25. Read the entire bible in a year.
26. Read the New Testament in summer 2009.
27. Have a professional fitting for bras.
28. Have a 1 hour massage in 2009.
29. Have a manicure and pedicure in 2009.
30. Make some Wee Folk Fairy Dolls.
31. Visit the Tanks in June 09.
32. Visit my sister in Tx. in 2009.
33. Become a lifetime member at WW by 2010.
34. Wash all the curtains in the house in 2009.
35. Clean out school books in 2009 and sell books.
36. Take pics for window frame and put them in frame.
37. Go on a Cruise with Mark.
38. Open an online digital scrapbooking store.
39. Open my house to a friend one time a month.
40. Call my long distance friends at least one time a month for 3 months in a row.
41. Go on an overnight trip with Mark for our Anniversary.
42. Take the girls to Dollywood 3 times in 2009.
43. Take the girls to the King Tut exhibit.
44. Take the girls to the museum in Atlanta.
45. Knit one pair of socks for me.
46. Choose and buy all curriculum for Fall 2009 school year.
47. Order and give tests for end of year testing: finish by June 2009.
48. Have professional photos of Kira made.
49. Have professional photos of Karena made.
50. Have professional photos of Kamryn made.
51. Play the Wii Outdoor adventure for 10 hours.
52. Walk for 30 min. 60 times.
53. Scrapbook a monthly layout for 2008.
54. Scrapbook a monthly layout for 2009.
55. Print photos and put in photo books for 2008.
56. Print photos and put in photo books for 2009.
57. Get a perm.
58. Go camping with the family.
59. Go on a family vacation to the Grand Canyon.
60. Plan and host a lock in for youth group at church.
61. Help plan and host graduation service for church.
62. Help organize a drama/dance team at church.
63. Take the girls and Mark to WY to the bible camp I used to attend.
64. Get a new heater for the basement.
65. Work on arranging house to allow for my mom to move in with us if necessary.
66. Get a new mailbox.
67. Play a game with my girls 12 times.
68. Go out on a date with Mark.
69. Read a book for FUN, nothing homeschooling or medical related.
70. Pay off hospital bill.
71. Write on blog at least one time a month for 2009.
72. Take the girls to 2 art museums in 2009.
73. Make a Yo-Yo throw out of my dad's old shirts.
74. Make T shirt bags.
75. Start an Etsy store for bags.
76. Make rag quilt.
77. Learn to quilt.
78. Make ornaments to give out at Christmas to church and family members (2009)
79. Go to a homeschool conference.
80. Start Transcript for Kira.
81. Spend 1 hour a month with a friend just for FUN for ME (for the rest of 2009)
82. Watch the Truth Project and do the study.
83. Have a home bible study in our home.
84. Help with Mom's morning out this summer at least 1 x a month.
85. Have a day out with each of my girls alone (once on their birthday and one other time in 09)
86. Attend 20 year High School reunion.
87. Start a book on life.
88. Recarpet the stairs.
89. New Roof on the house.
90. Take the girls to the Nature Center.
91. Make a crocheted rag rug.
92. Go to an Estate/Antique Auction.
93. Do the Love Dare for Mark.
94. Learn to take through the viewfinder photos.
95. Clean out Scrapbook room and get rid of MOST of the stuff in there.
96. Take a photo at sunrise and take a photo at sunset.
97. Take the girls to Holden Beach.
98. Take an art class.
99. Pick strawberries with the girls and make jam.
100. Go on a Mission trip.

Finally the chair... AND a visit with Family...

2009-04-07T14:49:00.010-04:00

So I keep forgetting to post the chair after we had recovered it. HERE it is...

The messy room and all. I was snapping photos when my niece and her family were here visiting and I remembered to take a pic of my chair. So you get the FULL effect. :)

I was really proud of myself and Mark. I didn't think I had it in me. I knew Mark could do it but not me. I was also impressed with the sewing machine. There is nothing like items made a while back.. they are made to last and work unlike some items from today.

YES, my niece, Amanda and her dh Matt and their two FABULOUS kids were able to visit us the last week of March. They had a short stay here before going to Matt's brother's wedding at the Biltmore House in Asheville. WOO HOO...
We had a WONDERFUL time despite the fact I ended up with a migraine during their visit. SIGH. I was hoping I was over those YUCKY things. NOT...

Here are some of my FAVORITE photos of them while they were here.

In my yard:

Oliver my great nephew

Gabriella my great niece

Amanda my niece and Gabriella (her daughter, my great niece)

Kira in the cherry tree blossoms

Matt and Amanda on my porch. (we had planned to do a photo shoot out in my yard, near my sheds etc... we were doing like engagement shots. It was raining so we had to compromise and use my porch and my rustic house. )

At the park:

Gabby swinging... she LOVED swinging at the park.

Olly on his way to slide one more time. I had a hard time catching him for photos, he was QUICK...

Kamryn on the playground...

Karena on the playground... don't you love the shades...

I am SO enjoying my new camera. I even made myself a logo so I look all professional with my photos. I have been playing around with some actions on photoshop and editing the photos. They sure look better when you do that. I have had a blast. I hope you enjoy looking at my BEAUTIFUL family. If you want to see more of the photos from their trip here... email me and I will send you an invite to my picasa web album.

Hope you have a VERY blessed day.

LaRessie

Life lately!

2009-03-17T00:54:00.015-04:00

Let me give you a short recap of my birthday events. I had my follow up appointment with the Dr. after my surgery. My Dr. is in Asheville so we made a day of it. Mark took off the day and went with me. The appointment went well. The Dr. released me and said I could start back to real life. He said I was healing well and all looked good. YEAH!!! After the appointment Mark surprised me and took me to an Antique store. I was so excited. We had lots of fun looking. We did find a few things. First Mark found me an old window that he wants to make into frames for pictures. Then he found an old Dr. bag... we had to get that. Mark was SO excited to find the clock. It has mechanical parts and you have to wind it. He was pleased with this find. That was the extent of our antique shopping. Next we headed to Target. I had to get a few things from the Dollar spot for the girls. Then I got a purse I had been eyeing for a while. I also got a cute shirt. Mark got some much needed pants too. Next we made a quick trip to Best Buy. I wanted to see about a new lens for my camera. Mark was SO sweet. He bought me the new camera I had been wanting. It was the last one so we got a discount on it since it was a display. I had been searching all over for the camera and realized it had been discontinued. So I had given up hope of getting it. They are just upgrading the model. Anyway I got my camera.. YEAH.. now to learn to use it. :) After that we went to lunch at Olive Garden. YUM. Finally we made a stop at the hospital to visit one of our elders from church. He had hurt his back in an accident and we got to check on him for a bit. We came home and had dinner out with the girls and my mom. Finally we came home and I got to open presents. My girls were SO kind to me... the got me the wallet I had been wanting.. a new Vera Bradley one. They also got me a check book cover and cosmetic bag to match. I also got a beautiful nightlight from my mom. I am SO blessed. The girls had also made me BROWNIES.. yum.. just like my friend Liz makes. I love them. They had put 38 candles on them and YES, I blew everyone of them out. WOO HOOO! It was a great day. I am so happy to have my family and all their love that is SO much better than any gift I could get. I am happy with the gifts too.

Now back to life... I have been doing some redecorating in my house. My friend Sharon had helped me come up with a focal point object to work from. I am trying to make my living room brighter. We also needed some more seating. We have family coming to visit next week and we want to be able to enjoy each other. Also we want to be able to entertain a little and we just barely have enough seats for our family. So we moved some things around and took out some pieces of furniture, brought different in etc. First we moved our tv off of the antique cabinet I had it on. It is a GORGEOUS piece but it is huge. We moved it out and my dd is going to use it in her room with her antique bed. It is going to look great there. So we hung the tv on the wall. That made some room. Then my hubby brought in an old cabinet his father had made. We painted it and he put shelves in it for our dvds etc. Next we got a chair from my mom.. it had just been sitting in her spare bedroom. We recovered the seat in it with some fabric I had laying around in my sewing stuff. I also made a cover for a wicker basket I have that I put our blankets in. Finally today I made a cover for a pillow to coordinate with the chair and basket. It looks really nice. I have some pics here to show you...

Cabinet being repainted by me.

Chair Mark recovered the seat.

Basket I covered the top.

Pictures of the Living Room rearranged.

I am SO happy with how nice it looks. We also decided to recover another chair we had out in our shed. I got some fabric to coordinate for $30. I didn't realize that Mark wanted me to sew the fabric for the chair. He is usually the one who does stuff like that. But, I did it.. WOO HOO.

Here are pics of the chair in progress.

Mark stripping the chair down.

Me sewing the chair fabric.

Mark finishing up the chair.

I am so proud of my new chair. It turned out REALLY nice. I thought I had a picture of the finished chair. I don't. I will get one and post it soon. THanks so much for looking. Hope you enjoyed seeing my "new room".
God bless.. HOPE you have an AMAZING week.

LaRessie

Today is the day that the Lord hath made!

2009-03-06T15:21:00.005-05:00

It has been 3 weeks today since my surgery. I am feeling well and trying not to over do things.

It has been hard to sit back and watch my family have to do the work. It sounds good when you are thinking about it... but reality is... It is hard! We have been enjoying our homeschooling alot. We are studying Ancient Egypt. So we decided that the girls should dress up like the Egyptians. They had a blast. Here are some pics from our Egyptian studies....

I have been enjoying my camera. I am love to take pictures. I have always... but lately I am really trying to learn more about photography. I am also trying to keep up with my photo a day challenge. I love my Nikon D40 and I am learning all kinds of things about it.

To go along with my learning... one of my scrapping forum friends from France was talking about TtV photography on her blog. SO, I had to check into it. NOW, I am on the hunt. I had to find and old duaflex camera. So the girls and I made some trips around town to the Thrift Stores. We had no luck in finding the camera... but, it was still a success. Kira was able to find some old records to use as decoration in her room. We have lots of old records ourselves... but we didn't want to part with them for decor. Karena found a couple of shirts. Kamryn found books. She is like her mama... we LOVE books. She got a children's dictionary and a baby names book. The girls had been on the lookout for one, for quite sometime.

As for the camera, I did find one on a web search and I sent off a money order for it yesterday. I will be getting a Kodak Duaflex for $15ppd. WOO HOO.. gotta love a deal. I will hopefully learn how to take pics TtV and be able to share with you. You can click here to learn more about Through the View finder.... and you can go to flicker and see the wonderful photos people have been taking. The whole idea is you take a pic through the view finder of an old reflex camera. You get an old photo effect. My dh reminded me that you can do this same effect with Photoshop or with items around the home... but I have to have a challenge and this will be SO fun taking pics with an old camera and a new. I was right... my mom did have an old Brownie camera. She was more than happy to give it to me. It is a little dirty and needs some cleaning up. I may not be able to use it for TtV but, nonetheless I have another "antique" to add to my collection. The neat thing about this camera is that it was my mom's. But, evidently my dad used it for something and did not want it to be lost so, he had carved his initials in the camera. So it makes it even more sentimental to me. You can see in the pics below, the original box, the camera and my dad's initial carving. I LOVE finding old things.

We are staying very busy and enjoying life. Last night I was able to go to my homeschool meeting. I SO enjoy spending times with my friends. It was just two of us but, we enjoyed ourselves immensely. I found out deep, dark secrets about my friend... LOL.. you know what I am talking about R. :)

Tonight I am off to scrapbooking at our church. It is a monthly event. I missed the last one due to illness I think. So it will be fun to get out with the girls and scrap.

Thanks for keeping up with us.

We shall meet again soon.

God bless.

LaRessie

First Signs of Spring!

2009-02-26T00:25:00.004-05:00

My daffodils...

It has been almost 2 weeks since I had my surgery. I am doing really well I think. I have little to no pain. I do have some soreness but as long as I don't over do it I feel pretty good. I have been moving around a bit. I walked around my house yesterday and took some pictures of my daffodils. OH.. I love the daffodils. They are my favorite flowers. I guess since they are the first flowers of spring and it is near my birthday is why I love them so. It is so refreshing to see them start blooming. The day I cam home I saw them starting to bloom. NOW, they are blooming... still lots of them to come. The flowers are just part of the beauty of God. I see each little bloom and petal and how intricate they are. It is just the handiwork of the Almighty. Spring is my FAVORITE time of year.

I am using my "down time" wisely. Since I can't do the things around the house...

like cleaning, cooking etc. I am working on all my scrapbooking "STUFF"...
I have been a scrapbooker for over 10 years. But, I have been a digital scrapbooker for a year and a half. I LOVE digital. All the fun NONE of the mess. I believe I am better at scrapbooking now, because I can delete the page if I hate it and I haven't wasted any supplies or money. :) Now I am blessed to be designing some items for digital scrapbooking. It is so much fun. Today I decided I needed to scrap. So I made 2 pages... WOO HOO. I am absolutely SO blessed. I have TONS of wonderful friends. I so enjoyed my best friend Sharon's visit during my surgery. She came along way and cared for me. That is true friendship. So I made a page about US.

This picture was taken the day she was leaving. I used MY papers from my Floral Fun kit.

I really had a great time making this page.

The second page I made is about my DARLING youngest daughter. She is so hilarious.

We went out to dinner one night... just me and my girls. We LOVE the Japanese

restaurant here in town. Kelsa has been getting us to try "new" things. So she had

some sushi and Kamryn wanted to try it. She did.. but she didn't like it.

Once again I used some of my Floral Fun Papers. I LOVE this layout.

It was so easy but lots of fun. The pics are just so fun!

Today was a very special day for US. Kamryn committed her life to Christ.

She was baptized this evening after church services. There was LOTS

of wonderful people there to witness her commitment to Christ.

It was an amazing evening. I am SO blessed to have been able to see

all of my girls commit their lives to Christ. I will share pics soon. We took a bunch.

I just don't have them uploaded. Thanks for sharing in this joyous moment with ME.

God bless and thanks for reading.

LaRessie

One of my favorite pics of 2008

2009-02-19T11:58:00.006-05:00

I love to get something for FREE. I am such a bargain hunter. So I saw last night that I have 3 chances at winning a free photo editing class on JessicaSprague.com . So OF course I want to try. All you have to do is post a comment on her blog in regards to the question of the day. She will draw a name from the comments and they get a free class. So for todays comments she wants us to share our favorite photo we have taken of people. I am using my favorite from 2008... I have SO many because I take so many.

This photo is from the fall of 08. We had our DEAREST friends, Bob and Sharon, visiting us. We went towards Highlands, NC to see some of the beauty of God's world. I took this picture of my dh showing our youngest daughter how to skip a rock. This is something I have NEVER been able to do. He makes it look so easy. I LOVE watching my husband teach our girls. They are priceless moments. I have captured a few of these times with a photo. In this photo you can't see their faces, what you do see is the Love they have for each other. My daughter just LOVES to let her daddy teach her. It shows me the closeness of a father and daughter. Look at their hands... he is guiding her through the motions, taking her hands and showing her each step.

This photo shows me so much more though. It reminds me of how our Heavenly Father teaches us things. He holds our hand and walks us, teaches us all we need to know. He works through us and we don't have to "know how to do it" HE does. He is so loving and caring. That is why God gives us our earthly fathers... to remind of Him. My daddy is not with us anymore. But, I have many memories of fishing with him and how much he loved the Lord. If you have your daddy around, be sure and let him know that you love him, even if your relationship is not good, still love him because our Heavenly Father wants you too. But MOST important... love the Father

we have in Heaven. He is SO good to us. God is so good. Be blessed.

LaRessie

Home and Healing

2009-02-17T00:27:00.002-05:00

I am so glad to be home. I was only in the hospital for a day. I had EXCELLENT care in the hospital. Being a nurse I was somewhat concerned about being in the hospital. In our society today there have been some bad problems in the medical field. SO, I took my WONDERFUL friend with me to be my overseerer. I also had my darling husband and other family. I was prepared. I was PLEASANTLY surprised at the care I received. It was so refreshing to be under the care of such wonderful people. I have a new respect for my lost profession.

We made the trip to Asheville on Thursday for all my pre-op appointments. We got done earlier than expected and we had to make a Target run to get my meds for after surgery, at home. My friend, arrived into town while we were at Target and my DH suggested that we go SHOPPING. He was going to go rest at the motel. WOW... my hubby was suggesting I shop. We went to Home Goods... OH how I love that store. I found a great deal on some bed pillows I am a picky pillow person. Then I also found some REALLY nice towels. We were just "looking" and we started talking about how I have been a little down lately and realized that part of my problem is that my house is not my "home". The house we own was my Mom and Dad's home. I just haven't been able to make it mine. I have been trying but haven't been successful. So, while we were shopping we found me an inspirational piece and we started finding things to brighten up my living room. We went with some green and yellow. I wouldn't have thought to go with those colors but my "decorator friend" has an eye. SO we had a blast picking up a few items. We went back and got my dh to go to supper. They were SO kind and let me choose where to eat. I chose Ruby Tuesdays. We had to drive a bit to get there and of course there had been a wreck or something and we got stuck on the interstate for quite some time. WE enjoyed our time though. Sometime I will have to tell you about my mishaps. Anyway, we had a nice dinner finally. Then we made a short trek to another Target to finish up with getting a few more decorating items. Then it was back to the motel to get some rest.

I had to be at the hospital by 5:30am. YUCK! I had my surgery on Friday morning at 7:30am. I was in a room by 11 am. I don't remember a whole lot of that morning and I am FINE with that. I had pain but was given my meds and did fine. A little naseau from the meds so we switched and I did much better. I continued to rest and recover. It was a good day. I had a fun night. I wasn't able to sleep since I had slept most of the day. We just talked most of the night and caught up on life. God is so good to give me JUST what I need. My nurse that night was SO fun. She said we were the partying girls. LOL.. I am such a partier. Anyway, it was an enjoyable night after surgery.

I was released on Saturday morning after I met all the discharge criteria. It was pretty straight forward. The drive home was pretty tiring and I had quite a bit of pain. But, it was wonderful to get home and see my baby girls. I missed them so much. I was able to lay down and take a nice long nap. I woke up to my new decorated living room. The curtains we got are PERFECT. There is so much light now in the room and I feel so cheery. My dh made me a GORGEOUS curtain rod out of wood. I am SO excited with all my new stuff. It is amazing how just a few little things can make you feel different. I was SO blessed to have my dear friend with me for the weekend. I also had lots of friends planning, making, bringing meals. I am just SO greatful for all of my friends and family. God is really good to me. THANKS to everyone in my life who has prayed for me, thought of me, called me, checked on me, brought me meals, took care of my kids, cared for me in..... YOU all are so wonderful and I am so gracious. I hope to share with you all what you have done for me.

I am continuing to heal everyday. My girls are taking good care of me. My house is in order and I am getting to rest and play on my computer a little. Keep praying for my recovery. I am a very blessed woman.

God bless you all.

LaRessie

I am SO blessed

2009-02-10T20:21:00.002-05:00

I am always amazed at God. He is so wonderful. I was able to go out to dinner with my friend Wendy. She is AMAZING. I bawled through the prayer and part of the meal. It has been too long since we have been able to spend time together. I am just so greatful for little moments I get to spend with her. She showed me God again. I know NO matter what she loves me. When she smiles I her heart smiles. THANK YOU WENDY for being my friend. I love you girl.

WOW, how can someone love me? I am such a sinner. I am a slacker. I am NOT what I want to be. That is the problem. I am looking at ME. God is who I should be focusing on. I am made in HIS image. I can't focus on my faults... instead I need to look to HIM, run to HIM, seek HIM in all I do and see.

I am preparing for surgery this Friday. I have family coming to be with me. A dear friend driving 7 hours to be with me and care for me. I have my church family cooking meals for me. I have other friends bringing me meals also. I see HIS love through all the love my friends and family show me. I want to bring that to others. I pray that I do. I also want to continue to do more and more for my Lord. God is REALLY good.

So remember when others need you... help in any little way. You may not even realize how you are really helping that person. When you are on the receiving end, let people help you. It is hard to do. I am speaking from experience. I don't want to put anyone out and I don't want to be a bother. I am learning to let others help... it gives them the blessing of helping.

SO thanks to EVERYONE for all your love, support and help. MOST importantly I want to thank everyone for their prayers. I feel God's love and I feel the prayers for me giving me the peace that ONLY our Lord and Saviour can give.

I love you all. God bless.
LaRessie

Sickness... awwww.. and my Great News

2009-02-04T00:57:00.007-05:00

I have been so busy with sickness and sick kids. It all started in November with me having Bronchitis. I coughed and coughed for over 3 weeks. I finally got well. Then January started and I had a sinus infection. I tried to fight it off on my own and my remedies. But, on Kamryn's birthday I had to go to the Dr. Mark, Kamryn, and I did get to go out to lunch and I was able to enjoy that... even though I really couldn't taste the YUMMY Japanese food. Then I started to get well and we had the stomach bug in our house. Kamryn had it the worst. We have all had some touch of it. Some of us are still fighting off something. I am SO ready for the sickness to get out of my house and stay out. I hope with the cold weather we are having maybe some of the bugs will be killed. I get very anxious when the kids are sick. I prefer not to be sick but, I would rather it be me than them. I try to keep my thoughts on God and I have been praying LOTS.

Keep me in your prayers. I will be having a hysterectomy on Feb. 13th. YES, Friday the 13th. I am NOT superstitious so it doesn't bother me. I am so blessed, my dear friend Sharon is coming to be here for the surgery and help us out. I have my wonderful husband and girls who will help, Sharon, my sister and her hubby are coming if they can, my mom and then my local friends who will be helping with my kids. WOW it is so wonderful to be so blessed. Count your blessing RIGHT.

me and my sweet hubby

I am still on the lookout for snow. I want to have a BUNCH of it. I love playing in the snow with my kids. I love taking pics of the snow and them too. We did have some snow this afternoon and I got to snap a few shots. We went out and played around for a bit. But, there wasn't enough to sled and really play. So I am hoping in the morning there will be MORE. We shall see.

here are the girls (remembering Barney.... "If all the snowflakes were candy bars and milkshakes, oh what a snow that would be... Standing outside with my mouth opened wide... eheh eheh eheh eheh eheh...)

my house with the snow falling

close up of a winter flower (I love the closeups)

I ended up taking a snow day today anyway. I just needed a little break. The girls did too. We are enjoying our studies this year on Ancient Civilizations. We have been reading lots of great books. We are currently on Ancient Egypt. But, today Mark stayed home since there was SUPPOSED to be snow and so we just enjoyed a snow day. I ended up working on my digital scrapbooking. Which brings me to my "great news."

My "great news". As you probably know I love digital scrapbooking. I have dabbled in designing products for a while now and I sold some at a store for a little while. I kinda got discouraged and just about gave up designing totally. I introduced my dear friend Liz to digital scrapbooking almost a year ago. She TOOK off and is designing templates and other goodies. She has a knack for it. She has been selling stuff on her blog for a while now and she recently opened her own store, Scrapping with Liz . Well, this past week, she ask me if I would start selling some of my designs in her store. I thought about it and prayed about it and decided to give it a shot. I have 4 items up for sale at her store now. You can go and see what I made. I have been having a blast. It is so fun to be back in the groove. You can also keep up with my digital stuff at my other blog

LaRessie's Digital Designs

So that is my news. I need to get back to real life and go to bed. I will blog more soon.

Love ya. God bless.

LaRessie

4 am why am I up?

2009-01-17T04:34:00.006-05:00

WELL, if you know me very well at all, it wouldn't be surprising to see me up at this time. I am a "night owl". But, lately I have been better. I am trying to go to bed at a decent hour. Especially since I have been sick. I have been in bed much earlier. I went to bed tonight, last night, I am not sure of how to say it correctly, anyway I went to bed at 12 midnight. Then I have been up and down for hours. My head finally won the battle. It has been hurting almost constantly for the last 4 days. I HATE HEADACHES! This one is sinus and I am not supposed to take sinus meds because of my blood pressure. hmmm, headache and die, high blood pressure and die, I chose NOT TO HAVE A HEADACHE. OK... nuff whining. I could go on and on but I shant.

I tend to be a worry wart. Now those of you who know me will be thinking, NO not LaRessie. LOL.... Yes, I worry about things. I used to be horrible at spending money. I spent like there was no tomorrow. Hence DEBT. But, the Lord did a work on me. He has shown me that money isn't everything and I need not worry about it. I mean, I have the debt, and it will be repaid sometime, hopefully before I die. He has really helped me to see that we need to not overspend and I need to concentrate on saving a little. God is still working on me, to make me what I ought to be.... I catch myself now worrying about not having ENOUGH savings. What is it? I KNOW that my God will provide. I KNOW that HE is able to do ALL things. So why do I worry.
SATAN, that is why. I let the lies get me going and then I worry. It is NOT as bad as it used to be.. but it is still there.

God showed me tonight during one of my awake times, that I have it WONDERFUL. I have an AMAZING family. I could go on and on about them. My darling husband, Mark, is one of the most Godly men I have ever met. I mean I could tell you the things I think he does wrong, but, really he is wonderful. He provides for our family. He ALWAYS has. He works very hard and does it to the glory of God. He helps me out around the house and he doesn't expect me to be Superwoman. He is my best friend. I LOVE him so much. He puts up with me and has for over 20 years now. He is NOT selfish, he gives it all to our family. I am SO blessed.
Then there is my girls. OH, how blessed I am. I have 4 beautiful daughters. Not only beauty on the outside, more importantly, beauty from within. They are such a blessing from the Lord.
My oldest... Kel, well, you gotta love Kel. She is such an inspiration to me. She is WISE beyond her years. She has ALWAYS kept me on my toes. I so enjoy watching her grow up. I am excited to see what her future holds. I love our late night chats. I also love the fact that she CAN'T keep a secret from me. I just KNOW things... even when she doesn't tell me. Drives her crazy but, I LOVE it. I love you SO much.
Then my sunshine, Kira. She has ALWAYS lit up my heart. She is a joy to be around. She likes to stay up with me too. We enjoy some quiet time together some nights and it is OUR time. She is our peacemaker and VERY sensitive. I love the way she shows God to me. It is hard to explain, she just gets it and she lives it. She helps me feel grounded. I know she is there. She will help me whenever I ask and has always done so. She is VERY artistic in many areas. She will try things, just like her dad. She reminds me VERY much of him. I love you my dear.
Then there is Karena. She is HER own person. She doesn't have to follow fashion, she makes the fashion. She is a trendsetter lots of times. She is a leader. She has ALWAYS had to have her way. In a good way mind you... She likes to be her own person. I knew that from when I was pregnant with her. She doesn't need other people's approval... just God's. She has a depth to her that I see and it makes me want to be closer to God. I love her for being HER. I love you...sweetheart.
Last but not least... my baby girl... Kamy. WOW, she will be 8 in just a couple of days. MY how time has flown. I can't believe she is so grown up. She is my baby, what else can you say. She will always be my baby. She is SO creative. She amazes me. She LOVES to make things with her hands... the hands GOD gave her. She is so sensitive, like her big sissy Kira. Kamy is growing so much each day in her physical and spiritual ways. She is learning and asking Important questions and answering important questions too. I love the little things she comes up with. The other day she informed me that Obama will be the second president of her lifetime. She said that George Bush has been in office for all of her life. She is RIGHT. She was born on January 19, 2001. George Bush was inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2001. So technically that is the ONLY president of her life... except for one day with Clinton, we won't count that. She just thinks of interesting things. I love it. I LOVE You... my little one.
ALL of my girls are so great and I could go on a LONG time about them.
I also have my adopted daughter, Jess. SHE is so special to me, to all of us. She and Kelsa met at college last year. We met her this past summer and it was like we had ALWAYS known her.
We were blessed to have her with us for a week at Thanksgiving and a week after Christmas. We love having her around. She just fits right in and doesn't mind our QUIRKS. She is a Godly woman, she shows me a strength that not many women have. I love ya Jess.

That is just ONE area of my life that is so great. I also have my extended family. My mom who lives very near me. My sisters Carol aka Dennie and Sonja. Their families who I DEARLY love. Carol, my oldest sis... I keep following in her footsteps, four girls, getting old, lots of issues.. I LOVE YOU sister. She is a good friend. Even when I am mean to her she still loves me. She gives me stuff. I could even take it and she would let me. :) She is a good sister. I love you. Mandy and Crew... OH I love those babies.. they are SO precious. Mandy and I grew up together in some ways. I remember watching tv with her and teaching her to write her name. She is an INSPIRATION to me. She is so together and I can ask HER for advice. What an aunt huh? She lets God lead. I LOVE watching her and her family grow. I love you Manda.
Natalie and hubby, Nat is my bud. She has always had a special place in my heart. She is definitely her own person. She doesn't conform. She tends to have similar traits as I and her mother.. LOL.. she is just NAT. I love being able to talk medical stuff with her. She understands... She loves to stir me up.. yet she is tender too. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH NATTY.
Megan and hubby, MEG is a JOY... she has a laugh that will make you smile... she loves life. Megan is SO precious. I have always loved how she is SO fun. We have lots to remember from when I visit. It seems I bring out the medical needs in her.. LOL.. she gets cut and we go to the hospital... she has a boil... we go to the hospital.. what is UP? Megan, those times are precious to me. I felt like I was able to be there for you.. even though we have been far apart while you have grown up. I am ALWAYS here for you. I LOVE YOU... so much.
Emily and beau, Emily is Emily, I am SO enjoying how she is growing up and I am finally getting to know her. She is an amazing young woman and I LOVE being around her.. I love going shopping with her and picking out stuff for her (and her mother buying it.. LOL). You are so fun. I can't wait for more fun times together. I LOVE ya... sweety.
Sonja and Michael. They inspire me. They will give you the shirt off their backs. Sonja has ALWAYS been very generous. She loves to give to others. She makes me strive to be a giver. We have had MANY good times and MANY bad times. But, we are still sisters and friends. She will be there for me whenever I need her. I love you... Michael is a servant. He takes care of Sonja and he is growing into an amazing preacher from what I hear. I have seen him GROW up in many ways. He stands up for himself now.. GO MICHEAL.. and I couldn't forget Buddy and Rebel. Buddy is OUR BUDDY... he was our dog and now has moved on to the HIGH life with Michael and Sonja.. well he is on a LONG vacation with Michael's dad.. anyway, we love Buddy and miss him. Rebel, well, he is a rebel. I don't get him sometimes, but, he always wants to be your friend. Gotta love that.
My brother Mike and Brenda (who is another sister to me) and his family, Rob and family, Rob has ALWAYS been my guy. I used to dress him up in girl clothes when he was very little.. and he still loves me today. Erica and crew. She is an amazing woman. She works hard and is doing things I don't know I could do. She is a BEAUTIFUL woman who I am blessed with in my life.

My friends... who love me when they don't have to. Having one good friend is amazing. I have (in no particular order, I love them all dearly) LOTS of them.
Sharon ( OOOHHH... she gets me in WAY too many ways. I could write a whole book on her and Bob too. She is... Shay won... she is the one who knows my deep secrets and loves me anyway. She is one who can call me and scold me and I love her anyway. She is a gift from God. She is such a joy to me. I can't even write it all down. She is AMAZING... I grow closer to her each time we talk, each time we see each other. We don't even have to talk... we can just sit on my porch and soak up the moonlight. She is...my DEAR friend.. I LOVE you girl. Thanks for being YOU. Then there is BOB. He is an amazing man of God. He taught me many lessons in AR. He was the youth minister where we attended church. He is deep. Yet, SO funny. He makes me cry. He is sharing his wife with me when I have surgery. THANKS Bob. He would be here himself if he could. He loves me and my family for who we are. That is an amazing task. Bob, you are very special to us. LOVE you.)
Chris ( is like a mother to me. She is such an amazing GODLY woman. She keeps me in line. I could write a book on her too. She has shown me SO many things and she still likes me. LOL.. She is a mentor, she is a gift from OUR LORD. She loves me for me and makes me strive to be better. She is wonderful and I love YOU too girl. Then there is her other half... TIM, he is like my dad. I miss my dad. Tim, loves me and cares about me. He is a blessing too. Love you too timmy.)
Liz (my young friend... LOL... she is so special. I admire how she is with her girls and her home and how she is just HERSELF. She is wonderful. She can do anything... and do it SO much better than me like, digi scrapping and photography.. just one of those kind LOL. LOVE YOU.)
Debbie (where do I start, she is Debbie. She is always there when you need her. She will do ANYTHING for you. She is one step ahead of you. She thinks of things to do that are BEYOND helpful. She USES her gift from God in amazing ways.)
Nanette (an oldy but a goody.. HAHAHA.. she is a JOY. She makes me laugh and she LOVES to craft. She is one that I may not keep in contact with, but, she is there... always)
Wendy ( one of those people you feel like you have known forever. She is an amazing woman who I admire deeply. She shows me God and doesn't try to. She just IS. I love getting together with her. It fills me up with the Lord. She and I have LOTS in common and I think more than we even know.)
Angela (a dear friend. She is always encouraging me with my homeschooling. She loves her kids so much and it shows.. they are good kids. She is a Godly woman trying to improve herself wherever she can. She inspires me to improve myself.)
Stephanie ( a new friend but a dear friend. She is wonderful. I just LOVE being around her. She is fun, and SO beautiful. She loves the Lord and it shows.)
Georganne (She is a new one too... but I LOVE her. She is DEEP. She makes me think. She challenges me to be better. She knows EVERYTHING.. not in a bad way.. she is SO knowledgeable and that is a gift from God. She LOVES to help. She makes me want to be a servant. She is who she is and I LOVE My Friend.)
Rebecca (She is quiet yet, bold. I love her meek and gentle spirit. I am always inspired to be a better person by her. She loves the Lord... and she loves her family. She is another new friend and I look forward to getting to know her better)
Denise (She is the one God placed in my life when I needed a friend DESPERATELY... someone who really understood what I was going through when Kelsa went to college. She helped me MORE than she could ever know. She touches me each time I see her. Even though we don't communicate like I would like too, she is always there for me I know. She GETS my issues when others may not.)
Jo Ellen ( she is my bud. She is my soul sister. We just connect. I help her, she helps me. IT just is. I have learned to really LISTEN to God... she was the first one I shared a word from God with. She will always have a special place in my life)
Jennifer (from long ago.. lol.. she is one who helped me in many ways. She was THERE for me when Karena was SO sick... she let us stay at their house during tornado warnings in AR. She was one of those kindred spirits who we have SO much in common and we will always have a place in our hearts for each other. She touched my life in many ways. She holds a place in my heart too.)
Barbie (from LONGER ago. Since childhood. She was my playmate. She and I imagined what it would be like to be grown up. We played dolls, spaceships and cops and robbers. We snuck out (shh... don't tell anyone) and we were there for each other during some hard times too. Even though we have been MANY miles away... she is one of my dearest.. she knew me LONG ago and I love her SO )
Sue (the one who taught me to be a housewife.. wish I could live up to how she is... she helped me to be a better house keeper (sorry I have slacked off dear) and how to be a mommy at home. She was one of my first friends in AR. I was there for her 3rd daughter's birth and she came to my 4th daughters birth. We have been through some fun times and some hard. I have slacked off keeping in touch with her, but, she has too... LOL.. I love her and she holds a place in my heart too.) Robert her darling hubby. He is an amazing man of God also. He is a servant to SO many. He is one I can talk to about GOD and His presence. He is a dear friend also. Love ya Robert.
and SO many more. It takes LOTS of people to deal with me... LOL
I just am amazed at how God blesses me. He is at work ALWAYS. If I will only open my eyes and SEE. THANK YOU SO MUCH GOD!!!

So, if you have made it this far, WOW, you must be one of my family or friends... I just am so grateful for all the Lord has done for me and my family. You are blessing to me TOO.
I have many other great things in my life, a house, a car, and WAY too much stuff. Gas in my tank so I have heat in this COLD weather. Money to pay the bills and buy extra for my baby's birthday. God THANK YOU.... I praise YOUR holy and precious name.
I pray He will bless you all. I love you all.
LaRessie

A New Year

2009-01-04T22:56:00.006-05:00

Well, it has been quite a while since I haved blogged. Life got REALLY crazy around Christmas and I had to take a break from life. I hate when I feel like I just can't go on. I am better now. I wanted to share what I made for my girls this Christmas.

I have spent the last few weeks making gifts... My wonderful friends, fellow homeschool moms, and sisters in Christ, we all got together and made "heavy babies" for our girls and others in our lives. I SO enjoyed getting together with them. Here are my babies.

These babies have on very special clothes. They are recycled from an old robe, a couple of night gowns and a shirt. They had very special meanings to each of the girls. These babies can be "warmed" in the microwave and then you have a nice warm baby to make you feel good. Great for monthly pains too. Of course a friend made a comment that we shouldn't put our "baby" in the microwave... LOL

We have had a tradition of making gifts for each other for the last few years. So the girls spend the month of December deciding what they are going to make for each other. It helps us focus on others and not US. So this year was "dolls" for me. I also found this GREAT book of course from a friend.. that is called Wee Felt Folk. It is so neat. I showed Mark a little treehouse that they could play on.. the fairies that is. So he ran with it.. and this is what he made.

Then for the bigger girls, Mark made Treasure Chests/Jewelry Boxes. He designed them, of course built them and then did wood burning and aging to the hinges, handles and the boxes themself. They turned out WONDERFUL. He did a great job as usual. He found some treasures for the girls too. It was lots of fun getting the goodies and then arranging them in the box. WE both enjoyed these gifts.

Mark told me he SO enjoyed making these boxes. He said he may start making them and selling them. So if you are in need of a COOL jewlery box email me or comment... He might have a little side business soon.

We have been so blessed this year. God is so good. I look forward to the new year. I know He has great things in store for ALL of us.

God bless.

LaRessie

My Christmas card

2008-12-13T23:17:00.002-05:00

Here is the christmas card I made..

some of you will get this in the mail.. hopefully before Christmas. I made a template from the card so if you would like to download it..

go to my digital design blog http://www.laressiedigitaldesigns.blogspot.com/

Enjoy.

Calling Digital Scrappers

2008-11-17T22:58:00.002-05:00

I love a good deal. I love digital scrapbooking. So how can you mix up the two?

Go to www.Costco.com and type "Photoshop Elements 7" in the Search box at the top of the page. Elements is WONDERFUL to scrap with. I have PSE 5 so this is the newest version
available. It is on sale... $49.99
Check it out. Gotta love a good deal.

Remember, the sale price of $49.99 will only last until December 7, 2008!
Non-Costco members can also order but will have to pay $2.50 more (5 percent additional).

Just a little help for my friends.

LaRessie

Heart of Wisdom - contest

2008-11-13T16:14:00.003-05:00

I am a homeschooling mom as you may know. I am always looking for the "right" curriculm. I tend to buy things and they just don't work. So I sell them and buy more. I feel like a used book store many times. :) Last night I was surfing the net, when I couldn't sleep, looking for more information on my curriculm choices. I was SO pleased to find HeartofWisdom.com
It is SO my type of curriculm. I have been searching for something that is chronological and uses the bible as the main source of text. I have been using Mystery of History which we have liked, but I wanted a few more in depth activities etc. Heart of Wisdom looks like a fit for us. I purchased an Ebook on Ancient Egypt. I printed it off today and am very pleased with the information. Then today I got an email about a contest they are having. If you join their community and post on the forum you have a chance to win 2 free Ebooks a $30 value. They are giving these away to 10 different people. So if you are interested in freebies... go look here

http://heartofwisdom.ning.com/forum/topics/heart-of-wisdom-contest-20

God bless..
LaRessie

HERE'S SARAH

2008-10-29T00:57:00.006-04:00

So here is my little Sarah Palin. Kamryn wanted to dress up for dance class as Sarah Palin. They were having dress up week at dance. So she had the perfect outfit and the right hair. All we had to do was get her some glasses. The dollar tree is such a good place.. LOL..

We are all on the political kick around my house. We have been studying about the president and elections etc. We have been to the Republican headquarters. It has been a really great learning experience.

The biggest event for us was an opportunity to go to a political rally this past Sunday. Sarah Palin was in Asheville, NC which is very close to us. I wanted to take all the girls and go to the rally. So I took Kelsa, Kira and Brittany (a friend from church). We didn't get to go in the arena where Sarah was talking... but we got to go into the "overflow" auditorium and watch her on a big screen. We had such a GREAT time. Mark stayed home with the younger girls since it was such a long wait etc. The other girls got to HSM 3. So they were happy with that.

We are planning to continue our studies of politics and we will be watching on election night and keeping up with who wins what state. Life is ALWAYS about learning.. so we will continue to do that. Keep the politicians in your prayers. GOD is in control. That makes me feel SO much better about everything.

So have a great week and GO VOTE next week.

Me in Pictures

2008-10-05T01:57:00.008-04:00

My nieces have been posting these neat posts about "me in pictures".

This looked so cute. I really enjoyed searching for these items.

So here is mine:
ENJOY

My age:

My favorite object:

My favorite food:

What I did today:

A bad habit of mine:

My maiden name:

My first job:

My college education:

My name:

A place I would like to live:

The place I was born:

The place I live now:

LIFE...

2008-09-28T23:35:00.012-04:00

Well it seems I have not been blogging much lately... We have been VERY busy. Not a new thing though. It seems as if life just gets busier. I keep thinking we will slow down, but, when? When my girls were younger I always wanted something to do. I needed to keep busy and we would go when we could. Now that they are growing up, I seem to be on the run CONSTANTLY. I love being there for them, don't get me wrong, I just miss sitting down and being still with them. LIKE they would do that right...

We have been doing our school work and really enjoying the new year. We are studying ancient civilizations and the Bible. We are ALL really enjoying it. We have read some great books. We have moved down to our "school room" finally after almost 3 years of living in this house. I kept saying I would make the scrap room a school area too, we just never did it. So I spent the last few weeks of August cleaning out the area and getting rid of stuff. Well actualy I piled the stuff in my basement to have a yard sale.. oh another thing I just DON'T want to think about. YUCK.

We finally though have our room and we enjoy spending time together there, learning and playing.

We have been doing nature studies with a couple of my homeschool friends and their girls. It has been really fun to get outside and enjoy God's wonderful creation and it all ties in SO great... God is really good.

Here are some photos from some of our nature studies.

*Kira sketching in her journal * Kamryn sketching in hers *Karena and her best buddy

*The big slug we found * Kira took these last two notice the pollen on the bee

We also enjoyed going to the fair with our friends. The girls had entered some of the photos they have taken this year. They all won ribbons.. YEAH..

*Kamryn - pic of apple tree *Karena - pic of apple blossom *Kira - pic of bee with pollen

They also got to make some pottery. Karena was THRILLED... she has wanted to do this for a long time.

We went during the day and Karena got to make her pottery with a whole group of 3rd graders watching. The teacher was Kira's first grade teacher. He remembered me and Kira.. wow what a memory that was 8 years ago.

Kamryn got her turn too. She seemed to enjoy it. She didn't like the mud on her hands though. Kinda hard to make pottery without getting dirty. :)

No fair is complete without a trip to see the Pig's... P.U.

And here the girls are with our friends

We all had a great time.

So fall is here and we will have many more gorgeous days to see God's wonder. I will try to post some more photos from our nature studies. I will also post some of the girls sketches. We are all getting better at it and learning more about how unique God made each thing.

God bless.

LaRessie

my new badge

2008-09-18T11:11:00.001-04:00

look at me... Join me on Digiscrap 101

View my page on Digital Scrapbooking 101

Fun Crafts to do with your kids

2008-09-13T23:23:00.003-04:00

I just got a GREAT email from the Year of Crockpotting Blog. It was on how to use your crockpot to make Shrinky Dinks.
Click here you can see all the information on how to make them. Looks totally fun.
We have a shrinky dink oven but the light bulb is out. It is hard to find one too.
Now I have another great idea to do crafts with my girls.

This email reminded me of a lot of FUN things I have WANTED to do with my girls.
I haven't done them... but I have the ideas. :)

A few months ago I got an email to make Paper... I have wanted to do this and I have been preparing for it.. just haven't done it. Maybe you will try it.

Make Paper from Dryer Lint

If you have a clothes dryer, you certainly have the daily task of cleaning the lint filter. This keeps the air flow moving, and removes potential fire hazard. Most people just throw this "fluff" away. As the "Queen of Cheap," I'm not tossing this away. You can use it for pillow stuffing and mini quilt batting. You can make paper mache. Or you can make lovely hand made paper. We enjoy this as a fun craft project.

Commercial artists who make hand made papers use a form called a deckle to make their paper sheets. Its basically a picture frame with a fine mess screen stretched over it. Its dipped into a vat of fiber. Once an even layer is collected, its removed and the water is pressed out forming paper sheet. The sheet is then popped out to dry.

This is a simplified process to use common kitchen objects to make smaller paper sheets. This will give you a chance to learn and have fun, for little or no expense.
Materials:Plastic lid from a large butter tub (or something similar) Dryer lintwatera piece of old sheet large enough to cover the butter tub lidtowels for blotting waterDish Pan, large cake pan, etc.

Directions:Take the butter tub lid and poke small holes all over it from the inside. Don't make them too big. Make as many as you can without ripping the lid apart. Use common sense.

Place a on a water proof surface --or just do the whole project outside where you can get messy. Place one folded towel down on the pressing surface.

Put water in the dish pan. Add dryer lint until its like a moderately thick soup.

Take the butter tub lid you are using for a deckle and swirl it in the soup mass of water and lint. Remove. Place it on the folded towel. Cover with the old sheet scrap. Cover with the second towel and press the water from the lint/paper.

You can emboss patterns on it now by pressing shapes on it.

Pick up the covering towel and sheet scrap. Now you can see the nice round piece of paper laying there. Flip the lid over to tap what is now paper onto a surface to dry.

An old window screen is best, but any flat dry surface will do. Let the paper dry --- and use for art projects!! This is sooooo much easier than having to rip paper scraps and soak them, etc..
Keep repeating the process until the lint is used up.

Let the aper dry for several days.

If you dry on a flat surface and not a screen turn once or twice so it doesn't mildew.

Enjoy your paper!!

I hope you have some ideas on how to make some great crafts. Let me know if you do any and share your pics. If you have more fun ideas.. share those too.

Have a great weekend..
LaRessie

Political Post and how busy we are

2008-09-03T23:38:00.004-04:00

OK... I know politics are off limits to some people. NOT me. I am watching the Republican convention and I must say... Sarah Palin is WONDERFUL. I really wanted Mike Huckabee to be president. But, since he wasn't chosen as Republican nominee, I will concede for McCain. But, I will say that Palin is amazing. So off my soap box now. :)

We have been busy getting started schooling this year. I must say that I usually enjoy my time off TONS... not that I didn't this year but, I was excited to get started this year. We have started using a new curriculum called Illuminations. It is a Language Arts program that goes along with Mystery of History. We are ALL loving it. I am so excited to be part of the program. It is a beta test this year and I am SO excited to see a WONDERFUL new program. I am usually more of an unschooler, we do school work but not traditional. This year I could hear God telling me I needed a little more structure. So He laid this program in my lap. I almost didn't try it. But, I finally listened to him. It is amazing. I just can't praise this program enough. You should check it out. I am excited to hear that they will be beta testing the next few years too. YEAH.. Finally maybe I have found something I can stick with.
Now I just need to clean out all the book shelves and SELL extra stuff so I can have a little bit more organization in my home. Go to http://www.brightideaspress.com/ and check out Illuminations.

Hope you all are well. I am fighting off a sore throat. So I better get some rest. WE are going to do a Nature Study tomorrow afternoon. I will post pics soon.
LaRessie

Texas Fun

2008-08-08T00:29:00.009-04:00

I had the most fun in Texas with my sister and her family. I went for my niece Megan's wedding. It was a great trip.

We, me, my mom, my sister Sonja and her husband Michael,flew into TX on Wednesday and my

sister, Carol picked us up.

We went back to their home and we had a BBQ dinner with the soon to be in laws.

My niece, Amanda, and her kids were there. OH I love my great niece and nephew. They are TOO cute. I got some precious pictures of them too.

Thursday I went with my sister Carol to pick up some of my brother in laws family, Darla, Sally, Lindsay and her baby girl Adalie. More fun and food with the whole crew.

Then Friday was getting ready for the wedding with lunch out. Mexican YUM.

We decorated at the Country Club for Megan's ring ceremony and reception.

After a very long busy day, we ended up making a trip to the ER because the bride to be had an area that looked like a staph infection. They gave her a mega dose of antibiotics and told her NOT to go to a Dr. in Mexico while on her honeymoon.

Saturday was the big day. Megan and Travis are mormons and were sealed in the temple. We met them outside the temple and had pictures in the HOT Texas sun. Then off for another great lunch... this time BBQ.

Later on it was time for the ring ceremony and reception. Megan was ABSOLUTELY gorgeous, she looked just like a princess.

I got to take MANY pictures with my new Nikon D40 and I had a blast. I also got lots of advice from Megan's photographer. That was fun too.

My brother in law, Steve's family is LOTS of fun. They are always a little crazy too. One of his brothers threw their sister, Carol, into the pool. She hit a rock on the way in and she mashed a tendon. So guess where we went again, back to the ER. They actually remembered us too. We had a lot more fun this time. I am surprised we weren't thrown out of there. So it was a really interesting time.

Sunday, was a day of rest. We were all SO tired. It was nice to just stay around the house and swim in the pool. All the family left and so it got REALLY quiet. On Monday, after all the crew left, we did some shopping Sam Moon and Charming Charlie's. Let's just say, Purses and Jewelry. I had WAY too much fun. Then on Tuesday our last day, I got a new haircut. I had to copy my sister... I LOVE IT still. After running around and shopping again, we decided it was time for intervention on my sister's closet. We did a HUGE cleaning out and it is VERY organized... now if I could do that for myself. All in all it was a GREAT time.

I will post some pics of my new haircut as soon as I can get them uploaded. I have had an issue with my SD card, it is corrupted and I can't get some of my pics off.

Thanks for reading. Till next time. God bless. LaRessie

Just a fun thing

2008-07-21T01:24:00.002-04:00

OK I hate chain letter type things.. but this looked fun. I saw it on my sister's blog and enjoyed remembering a fun memory we had. So if you want to join in. :)

"Everybody is doing it"

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

JOYS of my life

2008-07-21T00:14:00.006-04:00

I realized a few days ago that I have lost some joy in my life. That shouldn't be. I love the Lord and I have been blessed with SO many wonderful things. My family first... they are so WONDERFUL. I have been married almost 20 years to an absolutely phenomenal husband. I have 4 beautiful daughters, who bring me delight EVERY day. Why would I not be joyful. So, I have decided to have more fun. To be nicer to people. To REALLY show God's love. I want to seek HIM in everything.

This past week we had a visitor.
Kelsa's buddy from college, Jessica.
WHAT a sweet girl. She is my adopted daughter. Has been since I first met her about a month and a half ago. What a blessing she is. God really is good. He put Kelsa and Jessica together. She kinda mothered Kelsa and I LOVE that. I SO enjoyed her visit. I got up Thursday morning and just decided we needed to get out of the house and show Jess a little bit of NC beauty. So we took a drive up to Highlands to see Dry Falls, which was closed, but, we made the best of it and went to Briday Veil falls and let the girls get their feet wet. Then we went on into Highlands and went to a toy store.. VERY fun, and then got some fudge and chocolate covered strawberries. YUM. It was a great day.

For years, I have been hearing my dh talk about the places his dad preached. His dad was a preacher for many years when Mark, my dh, was growing up. He tells the girls all about the silly things he did at the different little churches they went to. A few weeks ago, Mark asked the girls if they would like to go see some of the churches his dad preached at. They were so excited to learn more about these places. So we took a drive on a Sunday afternoon recently. He took us to two little churches.

One of them we saw had a beautiful river flowing by it. We had to go and ask if we could go back in to see the river since it was on private property. They were so nice and let us go in. This was the river where my dh was baptized as a child. Here we are standing on the bank of that river.
It was so wonderful to see these places and hear him talk about his life. We all SO enjoyed this trip. I took lots of pictures and decided I want to make a photo book about all these little churches and the memories my dh has.

So today we went to another church his dad preached at. He told us some more funny stories.

Then we took the girls to the Little Tennessee River
and let them wade in the creek. They actually ended up swimming... but it was fun. I got to use my new camera. WOO HOO. It takes great pics. I got smart and was taking pics in the river and fell on a slippery rock. But, I saved the camera. I was OK too. It was a close one. :) I got some great pics of our fun day enjoying our Lord God's creation. He is really good.

My week will be busy. I will be doing the usual, taking the girls to dance, etc... but on Wednesday I am leaving to go to TX for my niece Megan's wedding. I will be gone a week and I know my family will miss me as I will miss them TERRIBLY. But, I am excited to be with my mom, my sisters, my brother and my nieces and nephew and their kids. So until next time.. BE BLESSED.

Freebie on my new blog

2008-06-26T01:34:00.003-04:00

Well I have started a new blog just for my digital designs. That way I can use this one for my personal stuff. Go on over and see the new blog

http://laressiedigitaldesigns.blogspot.com/

here is the freebie I am offering over there.

Enjoy. I hope you like the new blog. God bless.

LaRessie

June Desktop FREEBIE

2008-06-01T01:55:00.008-04:00

Happy JUNE!!! and Happy Birthday to my 2nd daughter, Kira. She is 14 years old today.

I love you Kira....

Well... it looks like lots of you have gotten the brag book freebie.. WOO HOO. Enjoy the set. It was lots of fun to make. Don't forget to go to www.prettyscrappy.com and look around. The new collab kit "Summer Fun" is a great kit. It is only $9.99. Get it today before the price goes up. This is a HUGE kit made by all the designers at Pretty Scrappy.com. You can

click on the picture to go directly to the store to buy the kit.

I made a freebie for you. A June desktop for your computer.

Just add your own picture.

Just click on the picture to download your very own desktop.

Thanks and enjoy the freebies. Don't forget to go pick up all the brag book pages. They are only free until next week. If you want to purchase the entire set you can click on the preview of the pages below and buy the set for only $4.99.

Have a great week. I know I will. We are off to Dollywood. Then we are going to KY to visit my best friend and her dear hubby. HEY Tanks... I am SO excited to see them. I hope to get a little designing done while vacationing. I will have some freebies for you VERY soon.

God bless...

LaRessie

2008-05-31T02:40:00.004-04:00

Summer Fun Brag Book!

We have a super-suprise for you all today! The Design Team and Creative Team at Pretty Scrappy have created 34 awesome brag-book pages from the new "Summer Fun" designer collab kit!
You can visit the following blogs to download all of the pages.

Pretty Scrappy Designs: http://prettyscrappy.blogspot.com/
Michelle: http://mickeyscorner08.blogspot.com/
Angel: http://scrappingwithangel.blogspot.com/
Kate: http://momscove.com/blogs/castleofdreams/
Jaydensmama: http://www.mommyofjayden.blogspot.com/
Share Your moments: http://shareyourmoments.typepad.com/
LaRessie Designs: http://momuv4girls.blogspot.com/
Just Passin' Thru: http://justpassinthru.wordpress.com/
Kathy's Scraps: http://kathysscraps.blogspot.com/
Chris Brown Designs: http://chris-myscraps.blogspot.com/
Lady V dZine: http://ladyvdzine.blogspot.com/
Xandra Martin Designs: http://xandra-a84martin.blogspot.com/
Brittney Ferguson Designs: http://brittneycreations.blogspot.com/
Kiere's Creations: http://kierescreations.blogspot.com/
Denise G Designs: http://denisegdesigns.blogspot.com/
Debi: http://www.sweetadalinedesigns.blogspot.com/
Judy: ***awaiting blog address***
Sandy Laipply: ***awaiting blog address***

Or, if you don't want to "hunt the pages" you can click the preview to see a larger picture where you can buy the whole set for only 4.99!

Here is the page I made. ENJOY... You can click on the preview to download. PLEASE leave me a comment if you download and send your friends here to get the brag book page.

All pages in this brag-book set were created with the "Summer Fun" collab kit. This Mega-Mega Summer Fun kit is a collaboration kit designed by all 13 members of the Pretty Scrappy Design Team. This GINORMOUS kit is almost 1.5 gigabytes!!! It contains 201 papers, 6 alphas, 3 quickpages, and 638 elements!!!!! Holy Moly, that's a lot! All of this for only 9.99!!!
Click here to grab it now before the price goes up!
The previews below are only a fraction of the items you will receieve with this amazingly large mega-kit! Click the preview to take you to this HUGE kit.

Thanks so much. ENJOY getting your brag book pages. Let me know what you think about them. God bless you all.
LaRessie

2008-05-11T23:11:00.002-04:00

My friend Elizabeth made these GORGEOUS layouts with my papers from my
"Plans for You" papers. You can see them on her blog
http://elizabeth.albersoft.com/

Thanks LIZ.

It is so nice to have wonderful friends. I have several that I just LOVE and adore. I also have a WONDERFUL family. I had a great Mother's Day weekend. My oldest daughter came home from college for the summer... YEAH... on Friday. We went to dinner at a new restaurant in town. It was wonderful and must less expensive than we planned. Then, we went to a Mother's Brunch on Saturday at our church, the men served us WONDERFUL french toast, bacon and fresh fruit. My DH was a big help with this. I LOVE him.... Then today after church we went out to lunch and I got to just rest for the day. WHAT a wonderful weekend and what a WONDERFUL family I have. They let me pick out a purse (one of my favorite things to get). I also got an excercise holder for my ipod, so when I walk I can listen to my ipod easier. YEAH. I am VERY spoiled. I hope you had a fabulous day yourself. REMEMBER.... God loves you.

LaRessie

Mother's Day FREEBIES

2008-05-10T18:44:00.004-04:00

A little gift for you.....

Well, I have not been good at the freebies a day thing. SO I decided to put all the freebies up and you can get the whole kit until next week. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all of you.

Please leave me a comment and if you make something share it with me. I appreciate all of you who are using my goodies.

Please check out my store at http://www.prettyscrappy.com/

THANKS and ENJOY!!!

http://www.4shared.com/account/file/47134005/63e378ac/mday_card_1.html

http://www.4shared.com/account/file/46813912/8d22d664/mday_card_2_.html

http://www.4shared.com/account/file/47134170/5d0a70d3/mday_card_3_.html

http://www.4shared.com/account/file/47134255/1d105887/mday_card_4_.html

http://www.4shared.com/account/file/47134342/9bad9652/mday_card_5.html

http://www.4shared.com/account/file/47134423/bfbf17c7/mday_card_6.html

A Layout and Mother's Day Freebie 2

2008-05-07T22:17:00.004-04:00

My dear friend Elizabeth made this layout with my new kit "Plans For You". My paper are now available at http://www.prettyscrappy.com/

Here is part 2 of the Mother's Day Freebie. I hope you enjoy these pages. You can download this only until the next page is up. Please leave me a comment if you download my pages. I appreciate your comments.

You can download the free page here.

Another Freebie for you

2008-05-05T23:28:00.003-04:00

I have a freebie for you just in time for Mother's Day. This is page one of a 5 x 7 mini album. I hope you enjoy this freebie. I used my NEW kit "Plans for You". It is available at http://www.prettyscrappy.com/ .

There will be a new page for download each day. SO hurry and get this page while it is available.

Click on the picture for download or click here.

ENJOY

LaRessie

May Desktop Freebie

2008-05-04T19:34:00.003-04:00

I am finally back. I haven't posted for a while. Been super busy. I am now a digital designer at http://www.prettyscrappy.com/ .

I am so excited to be there. Please check out the site and see all the goodies the designers there have for sale.

I have a freebie for you. I made a May Desktop for you. It is made with my Floral Grungy kit. It should be available soon at http://www.prettyscrappy.com/

click here to download

thanks so much for looking. Please leave me a comment.

God bless.

LaRessie

I finally scrapped

2008-04-08T23:48:00.000-04:00

YEAH.... I have been in a scrapping funk. I finally got to sit down and make a page. I used some of my new papers... WOOHOOO.. I think it is the first time I have actually scrapped with MY papers. WOW. There are just SO many great designers out there I LOVE to use their gorgeous designs. Anyway, the page is of my darling youngest daughter. SHe is VERY tallented and I love daffodils.. so what a great page to share. Thanks for looking.

LaRessie

Freebie fixed

2008-04-08T09:55:00.002-04:00

I am so sorry. I didn't correctly link the grungy floral papers. But here is the corrected link.
So now you should be able to get all 15 papers. Sorry for the mix up. That is what I get doing this when I am feeling ill. EnJOY the papers and let me know what you think.
click on the link below to get the other papers. God bless. LaRessie

this freebie has expired

MORE freebies

2008-04-06T23:02:00.002-04:00

Well I am finally posting the rest of the papers I made. The grungy flowers and grungy solids. I hope you enjoy them. Please leave some comments for me. I love to hear what you think of what I am making. I am working on some elements to go with this set. So hopefully in the next week you will see some more goodies. Click on the links below to download. Please feel free to list my blog on yours and leave comments here. It is fun to see others interested in your work. God bless you all.

These freebies have expired

Until next time...

LaRessie

Some Spring fun

2008-04-02T23:43:00.001-04:00

I teach the youth at our church. I LOVE doing this. I am definitely in my sweet spot. Tonight we threw powdered doughnuts at each other. Why does that have ANYTHING to do with our Lord and why did a grown woman enjoy this so much?
Well, we have been discussing sin and how it affects us, how we are all sinners and yet God uses us. Also how we can spread Christ's love to others. So, we put two boys in big tshirts to cover their clothes and their "group" threw little powdered doughnuts. It ended up with lots of people getting hit with powder, even ME. We then talked about how sins may or may not show up to others, but, they are there. How sometimes the "small" sins make a big impact on us. They really GOT it. God is so awesome. I am SO blessed to be a part of His work teaching youth.

Here is my NEW kit!!!! A freebie for YOU!

I have made some new papers I am SO proud of. These papers are based on Luke 12:27,
(BBE) Give thought to the flowers: they do no work, they make no thread; and still I say to you, Even Solomon, in all his glory, was not clothed like one of these.

I am so excited to share with you:

This is my Spring Floral kit. This is just a preview of the papers.

Today's freebie will be the floral dots paper. This freebie has expired.

I have 2 more sets of papers and I am working on the elements and an alphabet. I can't wait to finish it. Please let me know what you think of this kit.

Thanks for looking, and downloading.

God bless.

LaRessie

It is APRIL (time for a freebie)

2008-04-02T01:28:00.001-04:00

Well, I can hardly believe it is April. Time sure does fly. We had a beautiful first day of April. It was in the 70's and the girls THOROUGHLY enjoyed being outside today. We did some of our schoolwork outside and they LOVED it. It was a REALLY nice day. In many aspects. I love homeschooling and am finally getting to do what I really ENJOY!!!!

A FREEBIE...actually 2 freebies...

I have finally got the rest of the Hope kit uploaded to 4 share. Please enjoy this kit. It is not the greatest work... but it was one of my first.

Here are the brown papers

and here are the elements

I have just finished some GREAT papers for my spring floral kit. I am going to be uploading them in the next day or two so be on the lookout. It is a MUCH better kit with lots of depth. I am also working on some elements for that kit. So hopefully I can give you some nice papers to make some GORGEOUS spring pages with.

He is Risen

2008-03-23T22:23:00.000-04:00

What a blessed day this has been. I hope your day has been a great one also. Easter is such a wonderful day. My girls of course love to dress up and hunt eggs and get candy. But, they all know that is not the reason for this day. My 7 year old prayed today that we would all not forget the real reason for Easter. Out of the mouth of babes. In my bible class we talked about Christ's sacrifice of love and obedience. How He served, serves, us. It was an incredible day.

I have been very blessed. The Lord has been sharing with me, that I need to share all my designs. So I am going to be obedient. I made a kit called Hope and shared a freebie with you all. Well, I am going to be sharing the entire kit with you all. I pray it is a blessing to you. Today I have the pink papers for you. Watch for the brown papers and the elements. ENJOY using them and share any layouts you do with me.

God bless you all on this beautiful day.

Here is the preview for the whole kit.

Click here or on the preview to download.

A Freebie for YOU

2008-03-14T18:01:00.000-04:00

Here is a freebie for you...Hope. I love the overlay in this. It is a scripture from Job.... "and you shall trust, because there is hope." Job 11:18. There are 4 papers, an overlay and 3 elements.

CLICK here to download the kit.

Trusting is something I have to work on. I think I trust God and then I let little things make me wonder and worry. So have HOPE. God is in control. Thank goodness!!!

I have hope, I know that Jesus Christ died on the cross for all of our sins and that He ROSE on the third day. What a wonderful thing to remember. I pray you enjoy this kit and it gives YOU hope. Trust in our Lord. He is SO amazing.

Tonight my oldest DD is coming home from college for SPRING BREAK. We will be spending time together and I am SO excited. More HOPE... I love being a mother and it has been such an adjustment to have one of my little chickadees leave the nest. I have had to learn to deal with it. We all have. So it is so nice to have this little break. No babysitting... just spending time as a FAMILY.

Enjoy the freebie and please share any layouts you do.

God bless.

LaRessie

Happy Day!!!

2008-03-13T14:58:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was my birthday. It was a REALLY nice one too. To start off the day my oldest dd who is at college called me and sang Happy Birthday to me. I miss her so much... she will be home this weekend though. YIPPPEEE.

Near lunch time my best buddy and designing friend Chris and her daughter came over. They brought us LUNCH.. it was so..... good. We enjoyed eating and talking. Then the girls went to play and we played on the computers. We are working on a program for our gym and we are designing all the ads for it. FUN... it really is. :)

My dh had told me to buy two of the items I have been EYEING for a few months now. SO I got an iomega PINK, 160gb EHD.... WOO HOOO.. and I got a Wacom Bamboo tablet.. YEAH... I am a happy girl. I love gadgets and ESPECIALLY computer gadgets. One of my other good friends, Mary B got me a gorgeous white block shelf from http://www.blessingsunlimited.com/ . I have been wanting that too. I am SO spoiled. My mom got me the cutest thing... dust mop slippers. I HATE housework and I have said I was going to get some of these someday so I could mop the hardwood floors just when I am walking around.. WELL, my mom got them for me.. they are TOO cute.

At church, my DH got a birthday cake for me and EVERYONE at dinner sang Happy Birthday to me... it was payback for his Surprise 40th birthday party. He says I am going to get paid back every year until I am 40 (I have 3 more years). The teens I teach all had fun asking me how old I am... it was a nice evening.

It ended with another gift from my DH... he got me a Willow Tree figurine (Together). He is such a good husband and he totally surprised me. I LOVE HIM.

I got to end the day talking to my dd again. She is such a sweety. It was a wonderful day.

God is SO good to me. I just can't think him enough for all my family and friends. It was just what I needed today. The gifts were great but it was the love from everyone around me that made it a WONDERFUL birthday. Praise God!

Eph 3:20 Now to him who is able to do in full measure more than all our desires or thoughts, through the power which is working in us,
Eph 3:21 To him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations for ever and ever. So be it

It is a NO... but a freebie for YOU!!!

2008-03-06T01:09:00.001-05:00

Well, I didn't make it to the next round on the LDD apprentice program. It is hard when there is such wonderful competition. But, life goes on.

So I am still designing and ready to start sharing freebies. I made a freebie kit for the LLD program and so I am going to share it with you. BLESSINGS is the title and it is inspired by Dueteronomy 28:1-2 "If thou shalt obey diligently the voice of the Lord thy God, and observe and do all His commandments, which I command thee this day, then the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt obey the voice of the Lord thy God." (Geneva bible 1611)

You can download the kit here.

I hope you enjoy the kit. Please leave me a comment. If you use the kit share the layout with me. I would love to put it up here for others to see.

Thanks for reading.. ENJOY your day.

LaRessie

The Apprentice?

2008-02-23T00:04:00.000-05:00

Well, I am doing something I never thought I would do. I have sent in some digital goodies to Little Dreamer's apprentice program. I really am not sure what will happen but it is an opportunity to get to try my hand a digital designing. I have been so addicted to digital scrappign since my friend Chris, shared with me the joys of Photoshop Elements. I have been digital since August 2007. SO now, I am trying my hand at designing. Once again thanks to my friend Chris.. now her work is STUNNING. And someday SOON... I get to be on her design team.. WHOO HOO.. she is a really tallented lady.
I am going to be doing some goodies and posting them here on my blog for FREEBIES... to share with others. I just hope someone will come by and grab them. SO keep an eye out if you are a digital scrapper. Maybe someday I will be a Little Dreamer Apprentice. LOL

life...

2008-01-30T22:24:00.000-05:00

Life, what an interesting word. It is a four letter word. It is a meaningful word. But, what is life without Christ? That is something I don't want to find out.
I have so many things to be thankful for. My family, my friends, my church, my kids at church I teach. Life is really good at times. God just knows what I need when I need it. He places people in my life when I need them. I take lots of effort. Not just one person can help me. I need several. :) If you know me you know that is OH so true. But, God has always given me the right people. He placed a new person in my life recently. One who has touched my heart and soul. She is just a jewel from God. She came into my life when I didn't even realize I really needed her. I had prayed for who I should share my pain with and yet I had no answer (so I thought). Then, there she was. Talking to me and telling me to call her, to lean on her and offering advice I didn't even realize I was needing. God is AMAZING.
All this to say... God is in control. I am not and I am OH so glad. I never realized the problems I was about face. I never realized how much pain would be involved. But, GOD knew. HE laid out the plans right before me.
My deepest thanks Oh Lord. THanks for my dear friend, Denise.
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly aboe all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be the glory in the church by Christ Jesus, to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

How do you get past the BLAHS...

2008-01-24T00:28:00.000-05:00

Well, here I am again in the winter blahs. Plus add sickness and you have my life. I am whining.. can you hear it?
I don't like this state of mind and yet I find myself in it quite frequently. So how do I get past it?
Well, I have to remember that I have LOTS of reasons to have JOY. My dd reminded me of this, just this morning. As we talked on the phone and I lay in bed feeling ICKY.. she reminded me that I am a Christian and I have to share the JOY I have in Jesus. She is a very intelligent girl, you know.. She really is. SO I am trying to find my JOY.

I have to tell you that life is hard and I am not a master at this by any means. But, I have found in the past few weeks that life can throw you a curve ball and you can Catch it. Christ has shown me that my life will go on with my daughter at college. He has shown me that my daughter is a FINE, young woman, who I dearly love. I knew all this.. but, HE shows me daily as I hear her talk to me. She thinks she is just rambling, sometimes I get lost in the conversation.. but my heart JUMPS with Joy for her. She is growing up and yet, she is still my little girl. I love her DEARLY. It is an amazing thing when you hear your child really sharing deep thoughts with you. We have done this for several years. We have been close and we have spent many hours talking. But, it is different now. NOW she chooses to call me in the middle of the day and share her life with me. I am SO happy she is my daughter.

Give your child a hug today and let them know just how much you love them. They grow up WAY too quick.

One more thing. Check out this blog.. WOW she writes wonderful posts. I can only hope to write like that someday. Her post from Jan. 23 is amazing. Read it..
http://holyexperience.blogspot.com/2008/01/everyday-liturgy-holy-habits.html

A Birthday ,Sickness, and my verse from God

2008-01-20T01:22:00.000-05:00

Well, my youngest had a birthday today. Hard to believe she is 7 years old. Where does time go? I never understood when people would say how fast time goes as you get older. I sure do now. My oldest is in college and my youngest is 7... SIGH. I guess this is part of life. She had a great birthday today, despite the fact that her biggest sister didn't get to come home from college. There was an 80% chance of snow and that meant, she might not make it back to school. So we decided it was best for her to stay there. It was a sorta sad day. We made the best of it, though. We got on our webcams and the birthday girl opened presents and her big sister got to watch... AWWW technology.

There has been some sickness in our household too. I thought we were all on our way to better health. Guess what, my throat hurts. So I have been dosing myself with herbs and vitamins. I think I am down for a small count.

I am determined to be better at this BLOGGIN' thing. We will see. I really want to improve on my writing and I want to share some things about our Lord, Jesus Christ. So, we will see if I follow through.

My verse the last few weeks has been Jeremiah 33:3 (Bible in Basic English)
"Let your cry come to me, and I will give you an answer, and let you see great things and secret things of which you had no knowledge."
I LOVE this verse. It just has rang true to me for the past few weeks. I keep hearing it in all sorts of places. In songs, at church, at the youth retreat we went to, in my bible study, in my Thin Within book... and so on. God is so good to share amazing things with us. I know He is in control. So cry out to Him, He will answer YOU...

God bless.
LaRessie

Christmas time is coming

2007-11-27T11:35:00.000-05:00

HERE are some tags I made while digi scrapping last night. I want to make some that are a little nicer.. but these were a first try.

I can hardly believe it is November 27. Less than a month till Christmas. I have been trying to make a few gifts and I am not having much luck. I started babysitting my cousin's little girl who is 3 months old.. SHEW... I forgot how much time a baby takes. So I do a little bit when I can.

The other big venture in my life right now is my new business. I am an independant consultant for Blessings Unlimited, a Division of Day Spring Cards and Gifts. I am so excited because, my upline and one of my best friends (Mary Beth),my downline and daughter (Kelsa) and I are hostessing an open house this Saturday. It will be lots of fun. Check out the website and if you are interested in anything let me know. I will send you a catalog. Or if you want to hostess a gathering.... let me know. It is such a wonderful company and what an opportunity.

Creative Team

2007-10-04T00:57:00.000-04:00

Well I have been so in my digital scrapbooking that I haven't had time to do anything else. LOL

I am now part of Lisa Majewski's Creative team. I get to use her awesome products and make layouts.. WOOHOO..

Check her products out at:

http://www.digiscrapboutique.com/Digiscrap-Designers

and

http://shop.3scrapateers.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?Search=Yes&sppp=10

She is an awesome designer. I hope to upload layouts for you to see.

Time for school

2007-08-26T13:49:00.000-04:00

Well, it is almost time for my girls to start back to school. That means I have to get it all organized and ready for them. I am mostly ready. I ordered the last of the reading books for my youngest last night. It is expensive homeschooling at times but, I am usually so blessed to find good deals. If you are a homeschooler, you know used curriculm is the way to go. I do lots of buying and selling at

vegsource.com/homechool

Now onto my scrapping passion. :)

I have found myself a great place to hang out

scrapbook-bytes.com

Let me tell you, I have been byten. Lots of great ideas and fun challenges etc. I have been having way too much fun.

My middle girls will start dance next week so I have taken on the task of making them felted bags for their dance bags. Have I gotten started NO. But, this will be my big project for this week. I have to always have something big to work on. Keeps me jumping. LOL

Hope you have a great week and thanks for reading.

Hello for the first time

2007-07-29T00:19:00.000-04:00

I am not good at this blogging thing. I just want to try it out and see how it goes.

Just a little info on me. I am a mom of 4 beautiful daughters. I have been married to Mark for almost 19 years. I love the Lord and am so happy to be a child of God.

I keep myself busy with all the girls and their activities. We have homeschooled our girls for the last 7 years. We love it.

In all my spare time... LOL I love to scrapbook. I have been out of the loop for a little while. But still have LOTS of goodies to play with.
I am just now learning digital scrapbooking and am addicted to it already. I have spent most of my day downloading free stuff and bought a few goodies too.
I love to knit and I have done a little crochet. I just learned to do a little weaving a few weeks ago also. A friend of mine showed me her small loom and I was hooked. So I am now working on a blanket and burp cloth for my niece who is expecting her 2nd child in a few months.

So you can see I am a very mixed up person. I want to be better at writing and keeping track of things for my girls so hopefully blogging will get me to open up a little more.

God bless
LaRessie