counting my blessings today

Today is an especially blessed day for me. My brother, Lex and my nephew, Trey walked away from a horrible rollover car accident on the freeway with only cuts and bruises yesterday. They had just left my mother's house after our monthly lunch and we left shortly after them. When we saw the stopped traffic and the flashing lights on the freeway and my sister and sister in law fly by us on the road, it scared me to death. I am so glad that my siblings and I are close and that we tell eachother "I love you" on a regular basis. I didn't get to say that to my sister in law often enough before the accident that killed her two years ago and it haunts me. I got to hug my brother yesterday evening and I am so thankful for that. Hug your extended family and tell them how much they mean to you as often as you can.

Hurray, I am back!

I have no idea what has been wrong with my blog but on a whim, I decided to change the template and it came back. I'm still waiting for Sonia to contact me so I can send her RAK to her. My CK message board name is dettao. PM me with your address.

And the winner is....

Thanks to everyone who stopped in and said hello. The winner of the Foofala canvas flowers is Sonia. Please pm me at the CKMB with your address and it will get mailed asap.

20 candles on her cake

Curtis and I traveled to Austin this weekend to see our baby girl. She turned 20 on Tuesday. No more teenagers for this family any more. We spent the day doing tourist stuff and shopping on Congress Avenue and on Saturday night we took her and her roommates to dinner at Hula Hut. What a fun place. The food is Polynesian/Mexican. It sits on the lake so it has a beautiful view. The night was gorgeous so the wait outside was very nice. Curtis and the girls had a good time trying to get the birds to take their chips from their hands. Of course, we capped off the night with her favorite German chocolate cake that I brought from home. Never too grown up to blow out the candles.

My favorite little guy

This little guy has completely captured my heart. He and his mom have been living with us for about a year now and it is time for them to move on and start life on their own. Part of me is glad to see them go so I can have my house and quiet back but the other part of me is really sad. I enjoy having them both here. It is cool to be able to relate to my daughter mother to mother, woman to woman. I like playing with the boy. He keeps things lively around here. That's definitely true. I made this layout as part of my HOF entry. It was the one for the craft project. I cross stitched some colorful hearts to use as embellishments. The journaling reads:

When this handsome guy was born, I had my doubts about whether I could adore him as much as I adored my girls when they were small. After all, I had no experience with little boys. Would he be as cuddly and sweet as they were? Would he let me smother him with hugs and kisses? Would he love me? Being his grandma has been more fun than I ever thought it could be. He is sweet and funny and loving . He is also exasperating and infuriating and just plain ornery. Even with all of that said, I have to admit, he has my heart.

I'm curious as to how many people actually read this blog since I have the link in a couple of places now. Say hello to me and I will have a drawing for a package of foofala pish posh canvas flowers on Wednesday, April 25.

Another Brian Andreas story

I had time to read lots more of the Brian Anreas stories on his website last night. I saved several of them that I thought I would use later. This one touched me.

The loss is not yours alone, she said & you will see it in their eyes when they do not think you are watching. How long does it take? I said & she put her hand on my chest & we did not speak.

March 29th marked 4 years since my Dad left us. As hard as it still is for me to believe he won't be there when I go to my Mom's house each time, it is even harder for her. She misses him and talks of him often. I was so fortunate to grow up in a home where the parents genuinely loved each other and were affectionate towards each other. What a great example they set for us on how to live a loving life.

This a picture of them taken while they were still dating. They had a whirlwind courtship and married just a few months after meeting. They had a great relationship and my Dad was such a romantic. He was always leaving cute little notes for her to find.

Laughter Unfurled

Several weeks ago, I was browsing in a shop called The Artful Hand when I discovered these cool wooden sculptures and prints called Story People by an artist named Brian Andreas. I was drawn to their colors and their abstract design but was more drawn to the stories that came with each one. I stood there and read every story. I was intrigued enough to buy one of his books. Naturally, there were several that I thought would be great for scrapbook pages. I even thought to myself that Allison with her quirky sense of humor would also love these stories.

Allison's favorite word is laughter. Not only do I love that she has a favorite word, (Do you have one? I need to think about that one.) I love that she says I influenced her choice of that word. My fondest memories of both my girls' childhoods always involved laughter. In honor of her word, her laughter and my discovery of the Story People, here is my newest layout. I go to play with my new cricut, my new Autumn Leaves stamps (the butterfly) and I was brave enought to draw that butterfly path by myself. I was a little nervous about that one.

The smiling philosophy

Do you wonder why my blog is called so, I smile? It is how I live my life. I am a big smiler. So, this weekend my wonderfully funny and, most of the time, happy little girl was home from college. She called me to the computer and said, “Mommy, you have to listen to this song. This reminds me of what you always told me when I was growing up.” Allison said that her philosophy of life is that laughter and smiles will get you through life no matter what gets in the way because that is what I always said. Wow, she was listening! What I actually said to my girls was that you should smile even when you don’t feel like it because the longer you smile, the more you feel like smiling. I am one who believes this. Happiness is a choice I made a long time ago. I am proud that my children were listening and watching and learning. This is a very simple song by a young acoustic singer named Amber Rubarth. If you would like to hear her sing it, this is the link to her myspace page.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=3918844


The Chrysanthemum Song
I found a little potTook it in the kitchen
And filled it with some dirt
Planted a chrysanthemum
And you should've seen how it turned my mood to yellow
It turned my mood to yellow in a day

I read about a boyWho suffered depression
His parents hung a mirrorInside his bedroom
And they made him smile at it three times a day
'Til it took his depression away

And it goes to show that there's a natural way
Of healing what we're feeling inside
It goes to show that before we prescribe
We should first try a simple smile

So I drive out to the middle
Of nowhere, and I turn little
As I stare up at the stars in the sky
And these heavens erase any worries I face
If I look up once in a while
And it goes to show that there's a natural way
Of healing what we're feeling inside
It goes to show that before we prescribe
We should first try a simple smile
Give it a
Smile Smile Smile
Just a little
Smile Smile Smile

Have a blessed Easter

He walked among us that we might know the meaning of love.


"This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son."

1 John 4:10

Today's quote is about connections

This quote from Serge Kahlil King is about connections.

" We are all connected to everyone and everything in the universe. Therefore, everything one does as an individual affects the whole. All thoughts, words, images, prayers, blessings, and deeds are listened to by all that is."

Doesn't that make you stop and think? If every thing I say, everything I think, and every thing I pray for affects everyone else, that is some major responsibility.

I thought these pictures of Karen talking on the phone that apparently is surgically attached to her hand would illustrate this quote well. Both of my kids are way more connected to frends and family than I was at their ages. I think it is wonderful that they have so much love and friendship to offer. By the way, the exact conversation that Karen is having in these pictures is, "My mom has totally lost it now. She is actually standing in a chair taking pictures of me talking on the phone. We'll be committing her soon. "

My First Post

I created this blog a very long time ago and then never did anything with it. I've got some "learnin" to do to get comfortable with it. I think I'll use it mostly for random thoughts and observations rather than on updates about my daily life. After all, my daily life is pretty ordinary. I get up early. I go to work. I come home. I love my family. Some where in there I find a few hours a week to scrapbook.

Scrapbooking is more than my hobby. It is my obsession. I am addicted to pretty paper and adhesive. Give me several colors of cardstock, some flowers and buttons and ribbon and I am a happy girl. It is the one thing I do for me. I love it. I spend too much money on it. Recently, it has been my avenue to making new friends. I am very excited to be a part of a circle journal with my new heartfriends. I am also happy to have met some local ladies that scrap. My circle has widened.