New Baby!

While Ava was putting together a puzzle this morning, I decided to take the chance and make a baby card for a friend of mine who just had her first baby. I still love the baby set from PTI called Bity Baby Blessings. I stamped it on the patterned polka dot paper from SU and cut out each onsie. The background was made using a template from SU. I sponged it with a dobber and then used my scorpal to create a grid. I really like how it turned out. It was a little time consuming, but I thought it added a lot to the card.

This morning I took Ava to a friend's house to play with some other kids. She will be going there 1 day a week when I go back to work in a couple weeks. I think it really does Ava a lot of good to hang out with kids her own age. I know Ethan and Ava didn't always play well together, but I think there is some assurance from having your brother there just in case you want to play and she doesn't have that anymore. I'm hoping the new baby will help fill a little bit of that void.

We're having a pretty relaxing week here at our house. The weather has been really nice so we've been trying to get outside for a while each day. I worked on organizing scrapbooks yesterday. I'm so torn as to what to scrapbook with my kids. Ethan has "sooo" many books and I'm behind by about 2 years with him being sick. I keep going back and forth about ordering a digital book online or whether to try and finish them. I think I'm going to stick to scrapbooking though because I really do like the finished product and who says that I have a time line to get them finished. Any suggestions???

Hopefully I'll get some more stamping, I'm hoping for scrabooking. We'll see how that goes. I need to finish laundry and attempt to clean out Ethan's closet. I'm not sure how that is going to go.....I take things a little at a time and it seems easier that way. I'll get it finished before Nov for sure! Be back sometime this week!

Getting ready for fall

This is my template that I made first for this week's template challenge....wrong colors, but I still love how it turned out. I love this new set from PTI, Vintage Picnic. I used the Pack a Picnic template again. I have only used the large one, but I'm sure that the small one would be just as cute! The best part is that you get both for just $5. Give them a try if you haven't already.

I used my last 2 sheets of pumpkin pie paper from SU....oh I with that PTI had a pumpking color, maybe that is what is in store for next month. I found my checked paper at Hobby Lobby. I mixed up my coloring and used both copics and watercolor crayons from SU. My Mom actually taught me to do this and I like the look of it.

We had a nice weekend. Friday night we went out at the local winery for a comedy night which was our first night away from Ava girl since Ethan died. She had a good time and is already asking to stay at Grandma's house again. Saturday we had a lazy morning/afternoon and then went to the circus in the evening. Ava got to ride an elephant so that was cool. She seemed to really like the show! Sunday was a full day of church, then a luncheon afterwards, and then off to a family lunch. Ava didn't get but a 20 minute nap in on the way home, so come 9:30 last night we had a very crabby girl on our hands. Hopefully today will be more on schedule and just a lazy day around our house.

I'm getting ready to scrapbook the new baby's first page with the ultrasound pictures. I have a ton as I believe we have had 5 ultrasounds already. I have an appt on Tuesday so I'm sure I will have more then. I have a wonderful doctor that truely understands all the Dave and I have been through so he is more than happy to take a look at our new baby just to give us a piece of mind.

Hopefully I'll be stamping some this week. I'm really wanting to get started on designing the baby announcements....thinking cowboy! I have the cutest outfit for the new little one that I can't wait to see him in. I'm also wanting to get more of my pictures printed from last year until now.....I'll try to do those little by little so I don't get overwhelmed. Thanks for stopping by!

Remembering to Remember

It's time for Lauren's template challenge and what a challenge it was for me, (especially if you don't follow all of the directions the first time)! I had a template all finished and I was so proud that I had completed it well before I needed to only to find out that I didn't use the right colors....oh well, I just decided to make another. I used the Pack a Picnic template from PTI designed by Lauren. This is my "new" favorite template. I just love it. Be sure to check out the other team members blogs to see their creations and you can share yours on Pam's blog using "Mr. Linky".

My basket has very special meaning to me. I've been wanting to give my old necklace to my friend for quite a while now, but just didn't quite know how to do it. It's probably been a year or so ago now and Ethan would talk all of the time how he wanted to marry his friend Annabelle. He would even call Annabelle's daddy and tell him, it was too cute. One day though I don't know how it came up, but he was talking about the actual wedding and he was telling me how there was going to be a ring bearer and flower girl and then that Kevin, Annabelle's Daddy was going to walk up the isle and Kevin was going to carry up my necklace and give it to Annabelle. Well, now all of this is just a dream, but to make Ethan's wish come true, I gave the necklace to my friend yesterday. Of course we shed some tears, but now I know that the necklace that meant so much to me for so very long that it is going to go to someone very special someday, Ethan's best friend!

The necklace says it all...."BELIEVE IN MIRACLES". I truly believe Ethan was our MIRACLE and now he is up in heaven with GOD looking down on all of us. What a great boy he was and still is to us.

Hope you enjoy the template that I came up with for my very special gift...it turned out just perfectly. Hope you all have a wonderful Saturday. We are taking Ava girl to the circus tonight. Last time the circus was in town my husband took Ethan back in 2007, just one month shy of us finding out he had cancer. It will be bittersweet to take her tonight, but I'm sure she will love it. I'll be back later in the weekend to share pictures of my other template and of our trip to the circus!

Lauren Dana Dawn Jennifer Kendra Lisa MacKenzie

Maria Odette Pam Tamara Tracey

Cute as a "Cupcake"

My little Ava girl needed some new fall clothes....she is growing so much. Lately the weather here has been so unseasonably cool....70's. We are usually in the upper 90's this time of year with very high humidty. We have been gobbling up this wonderful weather....notice how little I've been inside to stamp! Ireally am heading to my stamp room after I get Ava down for her nap!

I snapped a picture of Ava this morning in one of her new outfits. I'm a little biased, but I think she is so cute in this outfit. I rarely put her in pigtails even though I think they are adorable. Last time I had her in pigtails I took her picture with Ethan.....it's one of my favorites!

No Ethan doesn't have pigtails, but this picture is definitely so cute! This picture was taken in January....oh how much can change in 6 short months. I miss him so!

More Lilly Rose

Some of you might be getting sick of seeing Lilly Rose, but there is one little girl around here that never gets sick of seeing her. Every day she totes around her little kitty like it is some baby doll. She even drives her around in Ethan's motorized truck!

I haven't stamped in a couple days....just stuff going on with the family. I do have a baby bed up for our new little boy. It's very hard transitioning a room from your son that passed away for a new baby. I said to my husband that it is hard because you are so sad about the child you lost and so happy about the new baby to come! Ethan would be so proud knowing that we are using the same cowboy themed bedroom. He wouldn't have wanted it any other way. They were going to share a room and that would have made him so happy too!

Tomorrow we are heading to pick up a new puppy for my mom. It is a westie puppy that they are naming Daisy. That will keep us busy all day. Today we got to see a friend's new little baby boy. We sure had fun holding him. He's a cutie. Hopefully our little boy and him will be good friends someday. We have a name for our little one, Kale David. We just can't wait for him to get here!

Hope everyone is having a good week. I'll hopefully be back stamping by Wed! Until then.....

Lauren's Inspiration Challenge

Seems like I'm "finally" getting back into the swing of these weekly challenges! It's nice to be spending time in my stamp room.....I have it all cleaned up so that inspires me to create even more! It's taken me a long time to get to this point, but it has definitely been worth the effort and time. This week was Lauren's Ispiration Challenge and I actually found this color combo quite different than anything I would normally put together. The colors I used were PTI's Rasberry Fizz, Ocean Tides, Ripe Avacado, and SU's So Safron. I've been wanting to use my new PTI set, Damask Designs, for a long time now. I think it made a nice elegant looking card!

Yesterday Ava and I hung out for a while in the stamp room, she was painting and playing with play-doh and I got to work on a scrapbook page from one of Ethan's books. It's so nice to get back into my scrapbooking. It may take me my whole life to catch up and complete all of the pictures that I want to scrapbook about, but it will definitely be worth it. I really enjoy it and I love to look back at all of the pictures and stories that go with them. It feels like I get to relive the little moments in our lives for a little while just by creating a page.

Today we are going to try and work on getting part of "Ethan's" room put together and ready for his new little brother. Ava got her new furniture this week, so a lot of stuff got thrown into Ethan's room so we could clear out Ava's. I can't take down Ethan's name or personal things yet, but getting the baby bed set up will be a big accomplishment for this weekend. I just wish Ethan was going to be here to meet his new baby brother. He was so determined it was a boy and was so excited that we were going to have a baby. I'm slowly but surely getting ready for our new bundle of joy. In fact I was so excited that I found a little cowboy outfit for him the other day, something that Ethan would have definitely picked out. It even has matching soft cowboy boots and a hat...oh he is going to look so cute!

Hope all of you have a great weekend. Be sure to stop by the other gals to see all of there creations. Here is a peak of what everyone created!

Lauren

Dana

Dawn

Jennifer

Kendra

Lisa

MacKenzie

Maria

Odette

Pam

Tamara

Tracey

A little Birdy told me!!!

I have my card to share with you for my stamp club tonight. I made it this morning, but had it "kinda" planned out! These are all the colors in Ava's new bedding, including the birdy. I used the new Sizzix die that I got from SU for the flowers. Isn't the birdy cute! It's from the SU set "Good Friend". I can't wait to make a new picture frame with this set for Ava's room. That's my next project that I complete....hopefully! Now if Ava girl would just fall asleep for her nap I could get the rest of the house ready for tonight.

Lilly Rose is back!

Ava is thrilled that her kitty is back. She totted out to the barn last night to show our friends her kitty. She is so lovey dovey with her and then at times she likes to throw her too....we're working on that part! Don't they look so cute....I had to share! I do have a card to share, so maybe I'll get it posted when I get home. We are heading to meet my husband for lunch and then I have to get back and get things ready for my stamp club tonight. I still have a little tidying up to do and I have to cut my cardstock of course....I never get that done very early! I'll have pictures to share soon of Ava's new bedroom furniture. It is just adorable and is exactly what I wanted when I was a little girl. Until then.....here is my Ava and her Lilly Rose!

Happy Day for Ava!

Yesterday Ava, my mom and I went to town to pick out some paint and fabric so I could repaint a wall in my living room. It wasn't planned, but I thought.....why not, it will give the room a change and I love to redecorate. We didn't get home until mid afternoon and I checked my phone messages before getting Ava girl down for her nap. I didn't expect to hear the message that my neighbor had to say. It was about Ava's LillyRose. She had been lost since Thursday and guess what....she came walking up to the neighbors house shortly after midnight last night covered in burrs and ticks. We live about 3/4 of a mile from their house, but I'm sure she took the short cut across the field, but still it is a long way. After Ava's nap we went over to their house to get her surprise. We now have one very happy little girl! Isn't that a great story. I'm really not a patient person, so I had basically written off the kitten to either a raccoon or a coyote, but guess I was wrong! Oh Happy Day for Ava and her Lilly Rose!

So.....yesterday I was determined to get a card/template completed for the PTI guest stamper contest, but this was way more important than any contest. My little girl is very happy...and I can always enter next month!

Just for You Ava!

As those of you that read my blog know that my Ava Girl loves kitties. I found this Sizzlits die from Archivers on my shopping trip and thought I would give it a whirl on my cuttlebug. It works like a charm. I'm so excited because I know that SU has several dies for the Big Shot that I would love to have, but I didn't want another die cut machine. I'm thrilled that these work on my cuttlebug.

I made this card for Ava "just because". You know how I posted pictures of Ava with her new little kitty Lilly Rose, well, we can't find her. We let the kitty sleep out in the barn on the 4th night after we got her and we think that some wild animal must have gotten her in the middle of the night. Ava was very upset, but now she just wants another kitty.

I love how the card turned out. I cut the kitty out twice, once out of white and then again out of PTI's Berry Sorbet. I used some Lemon Tart polka dot paper from PTI to accent my card. The button and ribbons are from PTI as well. I love this company and all of their products and designs. I'm hoping that I can work something up for the Guest Designer contest yet this month....that is on my "to do" list for tomorrow. I haven't submitted anything for that in a very long time and I used to strive to get something submitted every month.

I gave Ava her card and I asked if I could take a picture of it and she instantly said, okay....I'll hold it for you on the stairs!

It's been a month now since our Ethan went to heaven. We've definitely had our ups and downs. I say that we try to get back to normal, but I'm slowly learning that life has drastically changed and there will always be a large void without our son. I'm very lucky though that we have a ton of memories, pictures, and videos to remember him by. One thing that I'm so glad that I did is to have a word document to write down all of the things that my kids do throughout the years. I started this when Ethan was a baby and now I have it for the last 4 1/2 years. I will treasure this forever and I have hopes to compile all of this with my pictures in a picture book. I do scrapbook a ton and have several books of my kids, but I want to make a book at Wal-Mart that I can print more than one copy of that will share pictures and stories of my son's life. It's going to take a while to complete, but I think I'm ready to start.

Hope all of you have a great start to your week.

Lauren's Color Challenge

Finally.....after a call to our DSL provider, I have my picture to share!

Here’s my first creation in 6 weeks…..for Lauren’s Color Challenge! I love this new set from PTI called Vintage Picnic. The baskets are so cute and the set can be used for so many holidays. This color combo was one that I had never used before, but it is always good to “step outside of your norm”…..seems like I’ve done that a lot lately with just life in general.

I colored the flowers with my copic and I colored the leaves with my watercolor crayons. The basket was paper pieced with PTI polka-dot patterned paper. My Mom made the flower embellishment. I added a button to make it pop. I even got out my cuttlebug for this to create the swiss dots in the background. Overall I really like how my card turned out!
Be sure to check out all the other creations from the team!

Dana G
Dawn Easton
Jennifer
Kendra
Kristen
Lisa
MacKenzie
Maria
Odette
Pam
Tamara Harder
Tracey Cuccia


We had a good time shopping yesterday. I got a new body pillow and it made sleeping last night so much more comfortable. I know I’m only half way along, but with number 3 I am big and already having trouble sleeping. Should be fun over the next several months! We found a few new outfits for the new baby yesterday. It’s still hard to look at boy clothes as I’m always thinking about Ethan. I did find these cute little blue jeans with little roll up cuffs that matched the pattern on the button up shirt. It’s too cute and is something that I know Ethan would have picked out for the new baby. I love to buy clothes and dress my kiddos up, it’s just something I enjoy.

Ava did good yesterday as she is used to getting a 2 hour nap and didn’t fall asleep until we were on the way home around 8:30. We met up with a college friend of mine and her daughter for supper so Ava perked up and had a good time playing with her. Overall it was a good day to get away and just do whatever. My biggest purchase yesterday was a purse. I’ve needed one for a long time, but I have one from AMM that hold pictures of my kiddos and I was really looking for something similar. Well, I decided on this other purse and I purchased these clear picture frames that were key chains and I’m going to hang 3 of them from the handle so I can still show off my kids on my purse. I’m going to hang them at different lengths so you can see them….I’ll have to share a picture later once I get it all put together.

Hope all of you have a great weekend. I still need to finish up my stamp area, but I think today we are going to go hang out with some friends tonight. I’ll hopefully be back soon with some more “creations”! Thanks for stopping by!

I'm BACK!

Here's a little peek for you of all the gals that are participating in tomorrow's color challenge for Lauren. I know I said....I have to get my stamp area cleaned up so I can play, but I just said "GOOD ENOUGH"! The table still has stuff on it, but I cleared a space and made a card.....it has been probably 6 weeks since I've made a card. It was quite an accomplishment yesterday. Here's a peek at what everyone has to share. I'll be back tomorrow with the "big picture". I'm off today to do a little shopping. I'm looking forward to it! Hope all of you have a good Friday!

Ava and Ranger (her little ....)

Ava and Ethan both love their animals, but especially our little burro, Ranger (or more frequently called, the little "ass"). As I've said before, everything reminds me of my boy and this was no exception. Ava wanted to go for a ride on Ranger so my husband got him saddled up and ready to go for a walk to the winery. This has to be the cutest most loveable animal that GOD ever created! It isn't any taller than Ava and is just like a little puppy dog. It always wants treats when you go out to the barn and Ava feeds him his fair share plus! He gives her kisses and loves to snuggle. Ethan especially loved to ride on the cart that we had for our burro. It was definitely one of the best additions we have made for our family and it wouldn't be here if it wouldn't have been for our Ethan. He got this burro as a gift from my uncle when Ethan's make-a-wish horse was delivered from Colorado last September. I wanted to share some pictures of our ride the other day. It used to be a fight as to who would ride in front...everytime Ethan and Ava would fight over this. Both kids wore their cowboy/girl hats so sitting right behind each other was interesting......but so cute.

Over on Lauren's Blog she has a perfect little package ready to go for my little girl. It's a little pony from Build-a-Bear and it is adorable. She is going to love it so be sure to check it out. My house is clean except for my stamping table area so that is my goal today. The hope is to have it complete so I can start creating in time for Lauren's Sat challenge. Hope to be back soon with some "crafty" things to share!

Lilly Rose

Ava girl is on cloud nine with her new baby kitty "Lilly Rose". Our friends have a lot of baby kitties and I promised Ava that she could get one when the kitties were ready to leave their Mamas. Yesterday we went and picked up Lilly Rose. She loves her new baby and has been toting her around all day long. I have a few pictures to share of Ava and our new addition to our "small farm".

Lilly was actually the name that we were going to use if we were having a baby girl, but we found out on Thursday that we are going to have a little baby boy. We are very excited and can't wait for him to get here. November seems like so far away.

On the home front my husband and I actually accomplished something that has been sitting for over 4 weeks now. We haven't folded laundry in yes, 4 weeks. It's just hard knowing that this would be the last time to put away Ethan's jammies or hang up his button up shirts. It was hard on me, but we did it and his room is all straightened up and looks so nice. It will take a lot of time to go through everything and get things put away....one thing at a time.

I'm gradually getting my stamp area back together and hopefully will have it completed by tomorrow and can start sharing some creative projects. I'm hoping to actually take part in Lauren's Saturday challenge. We'll see how the week goes before I commit, but that is my plan. Until then....Happy Stampin!

My GIRL!

Yesterday I got Ava all dressed up....well, I do this everyday, but I was thinking that I could take her picture yesterday for her 3 year pics. Luckily she was in a very cooperative mood and did almost everything I asked within a 2 minute time frame. Here are a couple shots that I got of her.

Pictures are another thing that are so easy for me to take, yet so hard to take too right now. I miss capturing my little boy. Everything and I mean everything reminds me of him. We were at the grocery store yesterday and I can remember all of the people saying "What a cute cowboy" and he would get mad or he would goof off and dance in the isles. I'm sure it will get easier with time and the more I go to places, but I find it weird that it is the little things that really bother me. I'm definitely a shopper and always have been, but I can't hardly walk by the boys clothes racks because it reminds me of shopping for him. Ethan loved his clothes and I was always looking for button up shirts that he would like.

I'm finally getting back into my organizing mode and I've started in our office/stamping area. I made some progress yesterday and I'm planning on working a bit on that today before Ava girl wakes up. Some things I have had for years and I think it is now time to part with them! We'll see how ambitious I actually get today. I did make a tribute wall for my Ethan and it looks wonderful. I probably won't share a picture, but it reminds me of all the things he was so crazy for.

Thanks for stopping by. I'm so amazed that the Weiman Wranglers digi stamp has raised almost $2000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Illinois. That is absolutely wonderful. We are still enjoying Ethan's Make-A-Wish gift and I'll post some pictures of Ava riding our little burro (ass) to the winery last night. She has so much fun on him. Have a great 4th.....maybe I'll get my stamp area back in order and make some new creations next week!