Peace on Earth!

Here are a few Christmas cards that I played with yesterday. I really like how they turned out. The pink one was inspired by Nichole Heady's color combo she used with this tree and the others I was just trying out different color combinations. The tree is from PTI's set BELIEVE. The color combos are Spring Moss and Kraft from PTI and Riding Hood Red from SU, Dark Chocolate from PTI and Riding Hood Red from SU, and Spring Moss from PTI and Pink Pirouette from SU......which one is your favorite?

I was going to save these to post in the hospital next week, but we are going as a family, meaning Ava, Ethan and my husband will all be there, so we might be quite busy! I'll be happy that we are together, but I'm sure we'll be exhausted trying to entertain Ava and keeping Ethan occupied since he won't be able to walk with the catheter in his leg. Hopefully it will be a short stay. Optimistically the best chance of coming home would be on Tuesday, but then we are back for an MIBG infusion on Wed afternoon and a scan on Thursday AM at 8:00.

My very good friends from college are on there way to my house to visit. I can't wait. I haven't gotten to see either of them in quite some time. Their names are both Lisa and mine is Alicia (pronounced u l E sh u) so when we would go to the bars in college we would quickly say we are Lisa, Lisa and Alicia......it was a mouthful, especially after a few beers. Oh did we used to have so much fun. Now I have 2 kids, Lisa K has 2 and Lisa M has 1 with another on the way in October. It will be a fun visit and I'll hopefully have some fun pictures to share.

Hope all of you have a great weekend. I have a card to post for tomorrow....Lauren's sketch. Thanks for stoppipng by!

A Rose is A Rose

The other day I got to play with my new stamp set from SU, A Rose is a Rose. I fon't know if you can see it or not, but I added some sparkle with dazzling diamonds....some around the oval and then some on the rose petals. I really like this rose and am planning on using it to make a frame around a quote on my daughter's wall in her room.

I mixed the new pink piroutte and the pretty in pink to make the petals. The green ink and cardstock is mellow moss from SU and the ribbon is spring moss from PTI.

I was stamping during lunch time today so I have some more cards to share in the next several days. Next week we'll be in the hospital so I'll save to post my pictures then. I'm geared up to work on my Christmas cards while we are there....we'll see how that goes. It might be busy, it might now be. We're enjoying our days here at home before leaving on Sunday.

Be sure to check back on Saturday for Lauren's Sketch. Thanks for stopping by.

Thinking Christmas!

Just thinking about Christmas.....actually I'm just trying to get something together to work on while in the hospital with Ethan next week. So, I decided to get my stuff ready for my Christmas cards. I love them!!! I'll let you take a look at my picture for the front of my card. They are very simple, yet just perfect. I needed a little "Pick me up!" this week.....the waiting on everything gets to you after a while. Stamping usually brightens my day! I went with a Chocolate Chip/Riding Hood Red color scheme and had the picture printed in a sepia tone. Yes, I know Joseph led Mary and baby Jesus wasn't born yet, but "you get the picture" right!

This is our new burrow, Ranger, or as we sometimes call him, Eeyore. He is just wonderful. He is so friendly, kind of like having a 2nd dog. The kids are so attached to him and want to ride him all of the time.

Off to bed.....I stayed up way too late. We are heading to St. Louis tomorrow so Ethan can have labs drawn for his pre pheresis workup. Then we should be home until Sunday. I had to laugh tonight while Ethan and I were saying our bedtime prayers. We had finished with our prayers and then Ethan wanted to say one more. "Dear GOD, could you please make Ava un ornery" "Thank you, Amen" It was too cute. Good Night. Hopefully I'll be back with a post soon....I made a card with my new SU set called A Rose is a Rose. Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday Sketch with Lauren

Lauren's Saturday Sketch!

Wow.....it's been a week since I last updated. Time and life changes so quickly. We've been all over the US since I was last here. Things are quite crazy around our house. This week started with a barn raising over the weekend......and i truly mean a barn raising in 3 short days! Then on Tuesday we got a phone call that changed the week.

The Doctors from Philadelphia called and we made some "quick" arrangements and flew out Tuesday evening for a 8:30 doctor's appt on Wed morning. Needless to say, we filled out paperwork after arriving Wed morning, met with the Doctor by 9:30, took a tour of the facility and were back in a taxi by 11:30 to try and catch a 12:50 flight back to Illinois.......it all worked out and we got home just in time for Ethan to get his Make-A-Wish horse, Sonador.

Our family is now 3 memebers larger! Sonador, Dusty, and Ranger are all here and have brought so many smiles to our faces already. This is a hard time in our lives and maybe the timing is just perfect and this is just what we needed. Ethan's next step is on Sept 15th where they will harvest stem cells and reserve them for some future treatments. Looks like we are home all next week to enjoy ourselves and our new friends. I'll give a few more details later, but it is late here and I thought I better get to posting before I forgot!

My card is a new color scheme for me, Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow, and Pumpkin Pie. What do you think? I really like the color combo. I used some of SU's new designer paper that I think added a nice touch. I got to use my new set, Autumn Harvest, from SU and the sentiment is from Hugs and Wishes, also from SU. The dew drops on the side are new from http://www.ellenhutson.com/servlet/StoreFront I love these. The ribbon is from SU too. I'm all set for Stamp Club for this month, which if you are reading this, it has changed to next week on Sept 10th....due to some recent changes in our schedule with Ethan's treatments. I made this card while the kiddos ate breakfast. I'm having a hard time taking away any time from the kids to do my "crafts", so I'm getting a little time in while doing other things. Gives me a little time to "not think" about other things going on.

Below are pictures of our new family members. Sonador is on the left with Ranger in the middle and Dusty on the right. Sondador is Ethan's buddy, Ranger is Ava's minature burrow, and Dusty is my horse. All three of them are just wonderful. Sondador has taken quite well to Ethan and loves to eat carrots from his hand. Ranger is just a doll and loves to be petted and the little kids ride him. He's just so gentle and kind.....he reminds me of Eyeore from Winnie the Pooh. Dusty is definitely a lady's horse and is already my new best friend. She rests her head on my shoulders and is a real sweetheart. They are definitely a wonderful addition. I talked Ethan into getting his picture taken under our "tree" today too. Aren't they just too cute. He has on a cowboy vest that came from a friend who has a son going through treatments for Leukemia. He hasn't taken it off except to shower. Ava is sporting some new cowgirl attire too!

Hope all of you have a wonderful weekend. My posts are probably going to be few and far between. All our energy and focus is on our family and getting our son well. I do like to escape from "my world" too so I'll hopefully be doing some stamping for relaxation. I'll definitely be back next Saturday. Be sure to check out the other ladies cards as well.

Tamara Harder http://tamarastamps.blogspot.com
Maria Levine http://riacreations.blogspot.com/
Dawn Easton http://www.TreasureOilerDesignz.blogspot.com/
Kirsten Dubosque www.kirstendubosque.blogspot.com
Kristy Vernon http://www.kvernon.blogspot.com
Kim Gasper http://stampinintherain.blogspot.com

MacKenzie Bruckler http://midnightscramper.blogspot.com/

Trick or Treat! and Barn Raising Day!

Here's Lauren's Saturday Sketch!

It's Saturday, and I think our news is starting to set in and become "real". I guess as real as it can. I wasn't even going to post, but here I am at 4:50 in the morning and I can't sleep, so I thought, why not. The kids are still nestled in their own beds (thats a rarity). I was sleeping with Ethan, but Ava is in her bed and Dave is in ours!!! We start Ethan's Barn Raising today at 8:00 am. I think this will be such a site to see. There is so much lumber sitting in our yard and today there will be so many helpers that are coming out for such a good cause. Ethan's Make-a-Wish horse, Sonador arrives on Tuesday (not Wednesday) like I thought so we are anxiously awaiting that. It will be such a sweet gift that Ethan so deserves.

On to my card (and back to Ethan in a bit). I used my new stamps from Pink Cat Studio, Limitless Limbs Stamps. It is such a cute set. It was a little time consuming cutting out, but oh so worth it. Isn't the tree wonderful and the kitty is oh so sweet. I chose to flip the sketch. I added some swirls with my piercing tool....thought it added a little extra to the card. The paper is Only Orange and Basic Black from SU. Hope you enjoy.

Ethan had a really good day yesterday. It was such a busy day. The kids and I got up around 7:00 or so and had a typical morning of watching a few cartoons, Ethan drinking his lemonade and then they both had eggs. We had so many people in and out all day getting ready for the big day. The watermain was put in yesterday, UPS delivered my big SU order from Stamp Club, they were getting the foundation ready for the barn, the AC man came to replace the motor in our unit (when it rains it pours), and then we had a ton of friends that cam last night and we hung out while the lumber was being delivered.

We didn't hear anything from Philadelphia yet, so we wait, once more. It will be Tuesday now since it is a holiday before we hear anything as to when we will be heading that way. As far as Ethan goes though, the words when the Doctor says "the cancer is back", couldn't be more numbing, but I think we are now ready to fight again! It takes a while for the initial shock to wear off and then start to move onward. Please keep Ethan in your prayers.....we need them now more than ever. Thanks for checking in and taking a peek at my card.

Here's links to the other gals too.

Tamara Harder http://tamarastamps.blogspot.com
Maria Levine http://riacreations.blogspot.com/
Dawn Easton http://www.TreasureOilerDesignz.blogspot.com/
Kirsten Dubosque www.kirstendubosque.blogspot.com
Kristy Vernon http://www.kvernon.blogspot.com
Kim Gasper http://stampinintherain.blogspot.com

MacKenzie Bruckler http://midnightscramper.blogspot.com/

Here are my sweet kiddos. Ethan is having a ball helping out Brick and Ava is getting to teeter totter with her friend Annabelle.

Just Hanging in there.

We found out some devastating news today. Ethan's biopsy is in fact neuroblastoma. We live here in west central Illinios and Ethan has been treated in St. Louis for the past year. Our Doctor is going to be sending us to a hospital out in Philadelphia next week to start another treatment option. We'll know more details today. I can't sleep......I just hold him and wonder, what is going on?

I wish all of you out there that check my site could meet our Ethan. Words can't really describe how cool of a boy he is. He's smart beyond his years, his witt is just amazing and is just so darn cute (I mean handsome as he would correct me!). I'm having a hard time with this at moments......last night I did pretty good, but this morning it feels like I've been hit with a truck.

Please say a prayer for our little boy. We don't know what lies ahead, but we are ready to fight again. Saturday we are having a Barn Raising for Ethan's Make-A-Wish horse, Sonador, that is coming on Wednesday. He is so excited. We haven't told him anything about what is going on and probably won't until we have to hop on the plane. Anyway, I know some of you reading this have been wondering.

I have Lauren's card finished for tomorrow.....we'll see if I get the energy today to take a picture and put it up. I like how it turned out. I'm going to have a hard time taking any time away from the kiddos now to do stuff like this. Before it was my escape, but I don't know now. Sorry to be so down for a Friday morning! Hope all of you have a good weekend. We're going to have fun with Ethan's barn raising!

Clean Up!!!

I'm trying to organize a little more in my stamp room so that means I need to go through my stamps and sort. I'd love to get rid of these sets below. Just send me an e-mail at twoengrs@adams.net and I'll get back with you on the shipping. I have more down stairs in a tub......but that will have to be for another day!



I don't have anything to share today! I decided to clean instead of stamp!!! I definitely can say that I like stamping a lot better than cleaning!!! Here are a couple pictures of my "small and cozy" stampin space. It's pretty well organized, but very tiny! It works though!

Circus Train $10
Bodacious Bouquet $15
Definitely Decorative Fresh Fruits $15
Definitely Decorative Crayon Fun $10
Fun Faces $7
Rhyme Time $10
Kids at Play $15
Define Your Life (Brand New) $25
Little Layers Plus $7
Mini Messages $5
Fun Filled $5
Along the Same Lines $10
Love Ya Bunches $7
Everyday Flexible Phrases (Brand New) $20
Mini Mates $15
Too Terrific Tags $7
Holiday Spirit $15
Little Hellos $10
Holiday Blocks $10
Fun With Shapes $15
Nature's Secret $15
Year-Round Fun II $10