The orchard

I almost never do two page layouts anymore--I guess it's because with a digital camera I usually only print the "best" pictures. However, on this day at the orchard, every picture seemed to sort of capture the feeling of the day. I have been waiting to use this cute paper and I'm pretty happy with the results. I'm wanting to do Christmas pages while I still have that lingering Christmas feeling!

Got any big New Year's plans? We have invited the Mose's over but our evening usually ends before 9:00 which is fine by me! If you know me, you know I'm not much of a partier--never have been. In fact, I can't remember ever being to a real New Year's Eve party--ever. How lame am I!!!???

A scrapbook page---finally!

I think it's been over a month since I scrapbooked just for myself. I had a lot of orders for Christmas books and gifts so I didn't have time to do anything just for fun. Actually I still have a few orders to fill. However, I have been itching to do a page and I finally took the time to do it. Now that's all I want to do! Maybe a few more pages and then back to work.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL..........

We celebrated Christmas with Tracy, Ryan and Stella yesterday. Tonight we will go to church with my parents and then come home and eat dinner and unwrap gifts with them. Then, tomorrow morning the boys will open gifts from Santa and the Foreman clan will come over for Christmas here. Busy, busy, busy. I love the hustle and bustle, but I always end up feeling like I didn't have time to really ENJOY the holiday because I was so caught up in all the work that goes along with it. I've really been trying to talk to Parker and Jack about the real reason for Christmas. I hope they understand. Parker is so sweet, he really loves the slow Christmas songs like Away in the Manger and Silent Night. He has such a soft heart. Jack was adorable last night. My parents gave us a framed picture of themselves and unbeknowst to us, Jack took it and put it on a shelf in his room, then took it down and slept with it. Love it!

Well, I must get back to work--Merry, merry Christmas to anyone who reads this!

THIS makes me HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY

My friend Heather has a bag very, very similar to this and I completely fell in love with it. I wanted one sooooo much. My totally awesome and thoughtful sister Tracy finally found one for me (and herself!) I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. You know how sometimes something silly like an article of clothing or a food or some other simple thing can just put a smile on your face? That's what this purse does for me. I didn't think I would ever get one which makes it all the sweeter.
I feel the same way about my Christmas tree. It just makes me happy to look at it. I love the non-traditional colors and how shimmery and sparkly it is. The boys love it too because although it has pink ornaments, it is also loaded down with trucks and dogs and batman and other manly things. A happy compromise I suppose.

Christmas Card

Just in case anyone is reading my blog who doesn't receive a Christmas card from us, this is this year's card. The picture of Parker and Jack is good, but not at all what I was wanting. I was hoping to show how different these two look but you can't really see that's Jack's hair is white. They actually almost look like brothers in this picture!
Parker is upstairs making a dinosaur nest complete with eggs right now. He is using my scrapbook supplies. This is a little scary, but I am happy to let him go for it when he is feeling artsy (which is rare.) My parents always let us use their stuff to create and it is one of my fondest memories of growing up. Yesterday Parker planned out how next year for Halloween, he wants to have a mini haunted house in our garage. He was planning out every little detail. The great thing about this is that Tracy and I did that one year in our garage. I think we got as far as hanging green yarn from the garage door tracks and then realized that it wasn't going to come off like we planned. Oh well, I love hearing him plan and organize. Gosh, I wonder where he got that?!

Professional Bowling Tour

My niece Macie had her 3rd birthday party on Saturday at the bowling alley. Jack jumped right in but Parker waited until the last 15 minutes we were there to give it a try. (Typical Parker.) They both had a blast and Parker is convinced he is a great bowler now. We haven't let him know that you don't always get to use bumpers! The troubling thing about Macie's birthday is that it means that Jack will be THREE in exactly 2 months. How did that happen!? I've got to get that kid potty trained before his birthday!

Sometimes..................

Sometimes they can be so sweet.
Sometimes they work and play together peacefully.
Sometimes they behave.
Sometimes they are loving.
Sometimes they listen.
Sometimes they obey.
Sometimes they are just precious.
And other times, I want to strangle them.
Today is one of those other times.
How many times have I prayed the serentity prayer today? More than I can count.
Ahhhhh, the joys of motherhood!

My two little elves

This picture of Jack just makes me laugh. He is wearing our decorative Christmas stockings. He got them down and put them on and then was just walking around like it was perfectly normal. He also had a Santa hat on for a while but chucked it off when I pulled out the camera. Sometimes he can be so funny and charming but most of the time he's just impossible. Still love him like crazy though! He definitely has Christmas spirit. He walks around singing and just gets so excited about decorations and lights. He wants a "tar and a tassle." That would be a guitar and a castle for those of you who don't speak toddler. I know for sure that Santa will be happy to oblige. Parker kind of keeps changing his mind. However, Santa already knows what he's getting and it isn't likely to change at this point!

Christmas Countdown

This is the Christmas Countdown calendar that I made for the boys. Each little pocket holds a card that reads things like: put a puzzle together with mommy and daddy, make red and green Christmas jello, go to McDonald's, eat doughnuts for breakfast, etc. Just fun little things that my kids enjoy. They are really having fun with it--and so am I. I saw this in a magazine but I changed it quite a bit for my purposes. It really is easier than it appears!

Thankful for old friends!

We had a great time at our little Thanksgiving get-together--at least I did. Hopefully we will be able to do this more often and with those of us who were missing! I love to reminisce even though we've told the same stories over and over and over..... That's one of the joys of having "old" friends. We have grown up together. I have known these friends for 22 years and I didn't meet them until my freshman year of high school. Isn't that weird!? I think we are very lucky that we have all kept in touch and remain friends. I love these pictures. We look like we planned out what to wear because we are ALL color coordinated! What a blessing--yet another thing to be very thankful for this holiday season!!

Sugar and Spice

I made this little accordian album for a friend. Actually, my main motivation for making it was to use lots and lots of glitter. I am really into glitter and rhinestones right now. Unfortunately, there is not much need for sparkles when I'm doing "boy" scrapbook pages. I did find some star shaped sequins today that will be a nice little added touch on boy pages. I love to wander around Hobby Lobby and find things that might not be intended for scrapbooking but work just as well.

Tomorrow, the boys and I are heading to Bloomington for "The Best Day Ever." At least that's what we're calling it. They want to go to Toys R' Us. Hopefully they will find some things that they want Santa to bring them for Christmas. I can't believe how hard it has been to try to get them to commit to something they want. Of course, I am the same way so I shouldn't be surprised. I am hoping to buy some lamps that I saw at Hobby Lobby last week. They don't have them at ours, so I'm hopeful they will still be there. My goal this weekend is to have this house ship-shape which means I had better get off the computer right now!

Some old photos--some new photos

A Christmas Past

I am trying to "catch up" with my scrapbooking and do all those old pictures that I have had sitting around just waiting to be scrapped. So far, so good. It's actually fun to do pages from when Parker was little and Jack was a baby. They've changed so much. They are upstairs trying to kill each other right now. From the moment they get up they just antagonize each other. I know most siblings do this, but it is driving me CRAZY!!!!!! My mission this week is to clean my house--I mean really, really clean it. However, I must first de-clutter so I can see the surfaces that need to be clean. It must be in tip-top shape by Thanksgiving. That is my goal! Wish me luck because I am a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad housekeeper!

Family Portrait

Our church is doing a new directory so we went to get a family portrait taken. Sadly, this is the first one we have had done since before Jack was born. After the appointment, I realized why we haven't done this for almost 3 years. It was AWFUL!!! The poor photographer was lucky to get one decent photo of us. This is the first one he took. He was only able to take 3 shots before Jack lost it. I love him dearly, but he is impossible. My hair is in my face in the picture because I have been wrestling with Jack to keep him on my lap. Someday I will laugh about this, but right now it just seems very frustrating. However, Parker and Travis look very handsome. I keep thinking about how difficult it is going to be to get a good photo of the boys for Christmas cards. That is why I am going to start now. I better get the camera battery charged up because this could take a while!

When Parker Was Small (well, smaller)

Scrapbook Summary

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Boo at the Zoo

We went to Boo at the Zoo last night--or at least we tried to. The zoo parking lot was full, so was the Children's Museum. We were going to give up but then we parked in a little clearing and walked all the way up to the zoo only to find a line about a mile long. After some discussion, we decided to skip it. Maybe we will give it another try tonight. I KNEW we should have gone earlier in the season. Lesson learned!!!!!!

The Great Pumpkin Patch

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In a GROOVE!!!

Feeling Creative!

I'm on a ROLL!!!

I scrapped today!

I finally cleared my desk off enough to make a scrapbook page. I am feeling very creative right now and I would love to sit down and do nothing but scrapbook the rest of the day. HOWEVER, laundry and cleaning and, of course, my never-ending quest to get organized all must be done. Parker is a bit under the weather today and the weather outside is just awful. Rainy and cold. The perfect day to never leave the house--and that's just what we are doing today.

A New Couch for the Foreman's

YIPPEE!!!! I have a new couch and loveseat. I went to K's Merchandise on the first day of their going-out-of-business sale and bought the couch and loveseat that I have had my eye on for a year. I had to wait about an hour to place my order, but I did it--and Jack was even with me! He was a very good sport all things considered. This picture doesn't really do the fabric justice. It is much prettier in person. That is my new picture hanging above the couch too. I just love it! The room still needs some decorative touches, but it's coming together nicely. We put a TV in the kitchen so now the boys are not allowed to bring food into the living room. Parker is totaly fine with that, but Jack is not so agreeable. He will get the idea soon enough.
I am hoping to complete at least one scrapbook page today--would you believe I haven't scrapbooked in a month!? Well, I haven't scrapbooked my own kids anyway. I'm off to clean up my dining room so I can actually make space to make a scrapbook page!!!