Happy {inter}National Scrapbooking Day - freebie

(If you're not here for the blog train, you can scroll down to the next post, heh heh)

It's {inter}National Scrapbooking Day!

Welcome aboard the fun-filled ScrapMatters blog train! I'm stop #3, after Andrea and Britt.

We are boogyin' to the tropical groove, pretending that the breeze is warm here in my neck of the woods... which takes me to one of my favorite destinations, Hawaii! DH and I went there for one leg of our three-part honeymoon some eight years ago. We happily overdosed on Dole Whip, Matsumoto Shave Ice, Kua'aina Burger... and spent some calm, blissful moments overlooking the North Shore and climbing up Diamond Head. I would go back there in a heartbeart. Sweetie, pack your bags - we're going back to Hawaii! ;)

Here are a few layouts to share with you-

We took an insane amount of photos during our honeymoon. This is the condensed version:


Ron took this photo of me on the sly. I guess he knows that otherwise, my awkward camera smile would have overtaken my face (smart man, that hub unit of mine):




Here freebie, freebie, freebie!

Click on the preview to grab the coordinating quickpage freebie.

Take a gander at the incredible shopping to be had at ScrapMatters right now - cuh ray zee!


And to entice you even further, you'll be able to get the following kit for free with a $15 purchase. Yours truly designed a few of the elements in there, hee hee:


Thanks for hanging out with me - now onto my friend Denise's blog for some more goodies! Tell her I sent ya.

So where does one pick up?

Do you know how many photos and life events happen in a span of three months? What to post, what to post.... :)

I guess the best place to start is with yesterday's stream of thought - I continue to purge and rearrange my list of priorities, and this layout was born out of my brain's spring cleaning:

(linked for credits)

The tiny journaling reads:
Will the girls know to stop and smell the flowers if I never do? Too many irons in the fire. There is no more of me to give to the people I yearn to love the most. NO MORE. My Mother's Day gift to myself is to act on this wake up call. Time to reorganize. Time to simplify.

Off to the girls' gymnastics classes - I love seeing the concentration on Amanda's face as she pushes her strength to its limits, and Abigail's unbounding joy tearing through the circuit. I just love these kids and am so glad they are mine.

April showers bring May flowers

(Look what greets me in the front yard - my tulips are so breathtaking!!!)

As evidenced by the dust that has settled on this blog (not to mention the lone tumbleweeds and chirping crickets heightening the effect), life has been busy. Heather, everyone's busy, you say. Yes, I know. But the kind of BUSY I've had is the kind where you know you're not the one in control, but rather the commitments and deadlines pulling my strings. I've been a useless marionette... especially to my beloved husband, children, God.

The funny thing is, I volunteered for most of it. While they're all wonderful things to be involved in, all at once is just a heavy enslavement.

So the moral of my extended blogcation is this: He who is involved in the most activities LOSES. Live a simple but meaningful life.

Many of you out there are superwomen/men. I have found that I am not. Multi-tasking equates to multi-bungling for me.

I am in the process of shedding many, many, many commitments. Easy? It's extremely painful, actually. I despise quitting, and letting people down makes me want to throw up. But I'm feeling a freedom I haven't felt in a while.

Dear husband will be out of town all next week, and I'm eager to step up to the plate for my children.

Folks, I'm back.


(Another tulip photo from my front yard)


Indeed, life is altogether too fleeting, too precious.

Be strengthened -

MercyMe - Bring The Rain

Bring the Rain
by Mercy Me

I can count a million times
People asking me how I can praise You
With all that I've gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You
Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It's never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on You, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer
through these times
So I pray

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

I am Yours regardless of
The dark clouds that may loom above
Because You are much greater than my pain
You who made a way for me
By suffering Your destiny
So tell me what's a little rain
So I pray

Holy, holy, holy
Is the Lord God Almighty

My first wedding shoot

The photos are finally in the possession of the couple, so now I can share a few of them. Take a peek on my photography blog.

It's a quickaroonie! And grab the freebie-

Is that even a word? As promised, it's a quick post - take a peek at my blog post at ScrapArtist. You might even get a freebie there!

Have a good week-

t.g.i.f and Happy {Lunar} New Year! :freebie too:

Thank goodness it's Friday. And Happy New Year - year of the Ox. My sister Gina was born in the year of the Ox. Moo.

Synopsis, my friends? Life is good. :)

-met up with some new friends at a local Chinese buffet for Lunar New Year
-Amanda's homeschooling is going swimmingly. It's exciting to see my little one grasping the concepts of fractions and geometry so readily. Amanda's latest interest is astronomy, as you will see in this drawing she made:


(do you need a translation? clockwise: Mars, Uranus, Moon, Pluto {she says is now a little dwarfy planet}, Daddy Planet, Abby Planet, Amanda Planet, Neptune, Sun, Mommy Planet, Saturn, and Venus)
-Abigail is now an adoring fan of the shows Caillou and Curious George
-made an astoundingly delicious balsamic vinegar reduction sauce the other day. It made for an even tastier chicken and veggie pasta! Ah, the wonderful internet is my favorite cookbook...
-finishing up post-processing on my first wedding shoot
-sore from yesterday's weight training class - it's aptly called "Chisel". Since I have shelved my goal of running the Race to Robie Creek because of my knees, I'm focusing on strengthening my knees and ankles. And core. And arms. Who am I kidding, everything. I've found a good 11-year-old running partner too. Jeremy, are you reading this?
-Ron set up the new 52" in our family room. TV has not been this fun in a long time! Abigail is able to unpause the Media Center (DVR) already - another nerd is in our midst!
-gearing up to paint the rest of my kitchen
-finishing up some projects for friends
-one of my projects was featured in a publication, The Daily Scrapper. You can snag this freebie there:







-some layouts from the past month or so:











-made a "feelings" notebook for Amanda, so she and I can communicate about things that are on her mind. The rule is that she can write in it whatever she wants when she's feeling a certain sentiment, whether she's angry with me over something or excited/nervous/happy with other things. Then I respond to her. Occasionally, I add entries too:












(created for the hybrid feature in ScrapMatters' January newsletter)

Whew, this is one loooooonnnnnnng post. You deserve a good weekend for plodding through my mind's mumbo jumbo~