My Favorite Things

Fun With the Fam

Hey there!  It's Monday.  Has your week gotten off to a good start?  I have some fun pictures to share with you today.  We got to spend quite a bit of time with my family on Saturday.  On our way to the get-together though, we stopped at World Market.  A couple of you sweet readers mentioned that you thought World Market sold Tim Tams -- the yummy Australian cookies that we've gotten kind of fond of (wink!), so we stopped in to see if we could buy them here.  Turns out, we CAN!  Only in the US, they're called Arnott's, which is the name of the company that makes them.  When we found the cookies, we turned around to discover that we can also buy Vegemite here too!  Haha!  Bart's not a Vegemite fan, but I tried it myself for the first time earlier this year and I have to say that I didn't hate it.  LOL!  It was pretty different, but I'd try it again.  :)  We've shopped at World Market for a long time and never realized we could get these fun Australian goodies right here in town.  Fun!

Oh, and since I know some of you will ask, yes Bart is on crutches in the photo above.  His knee still hasn't quite healed up since his surgery this summer so his doctor instructed him to use crutches for two weeks to see if his knee will get better.  He wants to determine if it's the bone bruise that they saw this summer and if it's not better in two weeks, then it's probably not the bone bruise and he'll have to have another MRI to see if something else is going on.  So, there you have it......sorry for the side-track, but I know you girls -- one of you (or 20!) would have asked!  Hee.

 

So, I thought it might be fun to take along some supplies so that us girls could work on a little project at the get-together.  My sisters and I worked on sets of Christmas gift tags - ones that they could use themselves or give as gifts.  This is my sister, Gracie, gettin' glittery. 

 

We created quite a mess on the kitchen table, but I think we all had fun.  :)  The boys were all sitting right behind us in the living room, watching tv, so we could all talk and laugh and carry on, but we were getting a little girly project done at the same time.  

 

This is my sister, Diann (the babies' mama).  This was a great time for her to get to work on a crafty project because there were enough of us there to help keep track of the babies so she could actually have a little mama time.

 

Baby Ally (hardly a baby at all -- can you believe how BIG she is?!) had her first stamping lesson!  See the stamped tag on her shirt?  I used some dimensionals to stick it on her.  Ha!  You can also see a few stray dimensionals left on her shirt.  :)  She liked her tags....for awhile anyway!

 

Here are the little tins of tags that we made.  I only took two stamp sets -- 2009 Holiday Tags Collection and Signature Christmas -- but look at all that we were able to create!  I'm thinking of using mine on cards instead of as tags.  

Can you see the girls in your family working on a project like this, say at your Thanksgiving gathering?  That way, you'd all have tags ready to roll when you wrap your Christmas gifts!

 

Here's Ally and Aunt Glory (my youngest sister).  Styyyyyylin'!

 

And look how big this guy has gotten!  This is baby Malachi.  What a sweetie.

 

Nap time!

 

After we got done crafting and eating, it was time to play some games which included a few on the Wii.  Even Ally got in the spirit!  Cuuuuute, right???

And so, I'll leave you with this for today.......

 

Smooches!! 

Chicago, In Photos

Hello All,

I have lots of fun Chicago photos to share with you from our getaway last weekend! 

CLICK HERE TO VIEW CHICAGO PHOTOS and to read the story of these gigantic pancakes and more!  Haha!!  

Note: I've added the Chicago photos in a photo album in the side bar on the right, so if you are looking for them at a later date, they'll be easy to find!  ;)

Have a goodie!

Happy Birthday, Honey!

 
(Bart behind the wheel of our rented convertible in Hawaii, earlier this year)

Today is my hottie hub's birthday and while I know that he'd just as soon we didn't even talk about it, I can't help but do all that I can to celebrate the day that he came into this world.  While I think it's sweet that he doesn't want anyone to have to make a fuss for his birthday, I also can't help but be glad for a day that's all about celebrating HIM.  I have so much to be thankful for when it comes to Bartley.  Here are just a few things I love about him....

• I love the way he makes me laugh.....all the time!

   

(Bart getting ready to dig into a huge piece of Alaskan King Crab meat!)

• I love his caring, generous nature. 
• I love that he's so hot!  (I'm sorry but it had to be said.) 
• I love that he works out and takes care of himself, trying to be as healthy as he can. 
• But I also love that he can eat a Chicago-style deep dish pizza with me and enjoy every bite!  ;) 
• I love that he takes being the 'leader' of our home seriously and while we work as a team to make decisions, I know that I can trust his judgement, when I'm not really sure what to do. 
• I love how he dotes on his new great-nephew.  (Seeing your husband make a fuss over a new baby is pretty adorable.)  

 
(Bart with my sister's sweet baby boy earlier this year)

• I love that he's my best friend and that we honestly and truly would rather spend time with each other than anyone else.  That's not to say that we don't have friends we love to spend time with, but we just love to spend time together too.
• I love that he fixes dinner quite a bit so that I can keep working in the studio.  (and honestly, he's a great cook!)  
• I love that he always looks for ways to bless me.  He thinks of little things all the time, like bringing me a little snack, if he's in the kitchen getting a snack for himself.  So thoughtful.
• I love that he opens doors for me.....and any other woman that happens to be walking right behind us, into a restaurant or store.  And not only that, but he opens the car door for me......always.  I didn't ever ask him to.  He just does.
• I love it when he snuggles with Riley dog and I love it that he takes such good care of Riley.  They're great buddies.   

 
(Bart and sweet Riley boy hanging out in front of the Christmas tree last year.)

• I love it that he takes out the trash.  I think I've only ever had to do it about twice, and that was only because he was out of town on trash day.  I know it's a trivial thing, but I'm thankful for it for sure!  
• I love that he knows the lyrics to about a zillion songs and will sing along in the car.  

 
(Bart being silly and hanging off one of the trains on display at Union Station.  Hee.)

• I love that he makes going to church a priority for our family, and more importantly than that, has a relationship with the Lord.   
• I love that as I type this, he's in the kitchen prepping veggies that he's gonna throw on the grill with burgers, and he's singing along with John Mayer on the iPod.  Hee.  (He doesn't know that I'm typing this.  I'm sneaky like that.)  
• I love that my husband makes me feel like I'm the most important person in his world. 
• I love it that he loves to travel as much as I do!  I wouldn't trade a single one of our travel memories.....we've got some great ones!

  

(Bart and I in a gondola in Venice last year.)

• I love that it's so easy for him to meet new people and find something to talk about.  
• I love the way he dresses (though maybe this one shouldn't count since I'm the one who trained him so well).  Hahaha! 
• I love all the fun we have together, whether it's going to pick out a new tree or on a trip or just hanging out at home in front of the tv. 

   

(Bart and I zipping around in a golf cart to pick out a tree at our {huge} nursery)

• I love his kisses.  (What?  I'm just being honest here.)  ;) 
• I love that he's my biggest fan and that he cares about my happiness.
• I love it that we're extremely content with our life.....we're happy and we're oh-so-blessed. 
• I love that he helps me put up the Christmas tree and all of the decorations without complaining....much.  Hee. 
• I love his green thumb! 

  
(The results of Bart's green thumb...part of the container garden on our back deck.)

• I love that he sometimes surprises me with a quick trip to our favorite gelato shop, for no reason other than fun! 
• I love his laugh.  It makes me laugh.  I love that. 
• I love it that he loves to ref (and is good at it!) and willingly sets that money aside in our vacation fund.

 

(Referee Bart in action.)

• I love that he sleeps better when I'm with him than he does when we're apart.
• I love that he's much more adventurous than I am.  He challenges me to try new things and to not be afraid. 
• I love that he's a directional wizard.  This comes in handy since I'm directionally challenged.  :) 
• I love that he likes to take short day trips with me to fun little towns nearby.  

 
(Us smooching in front of a historic home we visited not far from here.)

• I love that he doesn't mind shopping with me.  (unless it's at Archivers!  LOL!)  
• I love cozy winter nights in front of the fireplace, warm and snug, while we watch a movie and have coffee together. 
• I love our life together and I wouldn't trade it for anything!  (Love you, Baby!  I hope that I can be as much of a blessing to you as you are to me.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!) 

  

I know that I did a similar post to this one last year for Bart's birthday, but I think that in this day and age when marriages seem so.....I don't know.....disposable, I want Bart to know just how much he means to me and I don't mind if you all know it too!  ;)  Thanks for letting me get a bit sappy on you today.  We're off to celebrate at McCormick & Schmick's for dinner tonight.  Totally can't wait for our birthday date!

I'm sure some of you dearies will leave sweet birthday wishes for Bart in the comments section (that's just how you are)....just want you to know that I'll make sure he reads each one!  Hee.

Love to you,

Family Photo Shoot!

Hi-ya....

Just thought some of you might enjoy seeing pictures from our recent family photo shoot!  Now that 3 of the 5 of us siblings are married, and now that one sister has 2 babies, and since the same sister and her family live an hour away and since the only brother of the 5 siblings travels with his band quite a bit.........it's just a bit of a challenge to get us all in the same place at the same time!  Hee! I'm sure some of you can relate.  It's been awhile since our last family group photo.......wait a minute.....I don't think we've taken pictures of the WHOLE clan since before the babies??  And before one or two husbands too, maybe! 

Needless to say, we were long overdue for some family photos and in an effort to keep costs down for all parties involved, we decided that I could attempt to take said photos with the Nikon, and in some cases, with the tripod and remote.  Keep in mind that I'm not a photographer.....I'm a total wannabe!  However, I am so thrilled with some of the shots we got and this way, each family can print (or not print) whatever pictures they like in whatever size, without anyone having to spend a fortune on photos.  Genius, right?  ;)

Unfortunately, it did start to rain on us so that cut our photo shoot a bit short and we didn't get a few shots that I was really hoping to get, but we did manage to take 350+ photos in a couple of hours!  HA!  Gotta love digital! 

This is my sister, Grace, and I.....and that little sweetie is Baby Malachi (our nephew).  (My sister, Diann, is his mama)  Sunday was his baby dedication at church so we were all there for that, got to have lunch together w/Mom & Dad for Mother's Day and then we headed out for our photo shoot.  Bart snapped this photo of the 3 of us after church.

This is Baby Ally.  She is Baby Malachi's big sister.....by 11 1/2 months!  Oh my WORD, she's a dolly!

And I guess you know who we are.  I was sitting next to Bart when the man all of a sudden pulled me up onto his lap and my sister started snapping away with the camera!  (I love it when he's spontaneous like that.)  ;) 

Rather than put all of the photos in this blog post, I put them in a separate photo album.  

You can CLICK HERE to view the rest of the photos or you can click the link over in the right hand side bar!

Back tomorrow with my Papertrey release projects for this month!

Night!

The Highlight of my Thursday

I'd like to tell you about the two things I'm most looking forward to today, but in order to do that, I have to give you a little back story first.  You're gonna laugh.  Well.....probably not during the story, but I bet you will at the end.  :)

About 6 weeks ago, I got a call from my hottie husband.  I was working in the studio and it was a Friday night in the thick of basketball season which meant that he was at a game so you can imagine that I was rather curious as to why he was calling me during game time!  He called to ask me to call our dentist!!  Are you ready for this??....

While he was tossing up the ball to start the game, one of the players jumped up to tip the ball and on his way down, he knocked Bart in the teeth with his elbow!  At first, Bart didn't think too much of it so he stuck his whistle back in his mouth and when he bit down on the whistle, it sort of flopped down and he realized that something didn't feel quite right!  He pulled the whistle out and realized that his bottom two front teeth, were now LOOSE and the whistle had shoved them forward!!!  Ack!  So........he did what any good official with an obvious high tolerance for pain would do.....he pushed his two teeth back into place, wiped a bit of blood off his hands, put the whistle in the SIDE of his mouth and went on to finish reffing the first half of the game!!  As soon as he got to the locker room at half time, he called me to see if I could call our dentist's emergency line or something and see if I could get him in on Saturday to fix his teeth!  Can you even BELIEVE THIS???  Oh my word!

So I called the dentist's emergency line and left a message which was promptly returned by our dear dentist himself.  Keep in mind that it's Friday night, he's obviously at home, I can hear his kiddos in the background, and I'm now explaining everything.  He was SO kind - he opened up the office on Saturday just to see Bart.  (they're not open every Sat.)  As it turns out, he basically put a brace along the front of those two teeth and anchored it to the next two teeth on either side.  However, he told Bart not to put any pressure whatsoever on those teeth for 6 weeks.  That meant no brushing (just those two teeth, thankfully!!) and no eating anything that you have to bite into.  He's only been able to eat things with a knife and fork and let me tell you, we learned the hard way the day we forgot and brought home deli sandwiches for lunch, that it's no fun to eat a big thick sandwich with a knife and fork.  It ended up more like a chef salad with croutons after he cut it all up!  LOL!

Sooooo.....for the last 6 weeks (except for our "oops, we forgot and ordered a sandwich" day) we've avoided such foods as BURGERS, TACOS, SANDWICHES & PIZZA (except the kind you eat with a fork because it's too thick to pick up!)!!  It's funny how things that you don't normally eat a ton of become SO important to you when you CAN'T eat them at all!  Hahaha!

Anyway, so today, Bart is supposed to get the brace off his teeth (assuming that they've healed properly) and this brings me to the two things that I am most looking forward to today:

1. Mushing Bart with a big mushy kiss -- you know, the kind where you don't have to worry that you might cause permanent damage to someone's teeth!
2. A BURGER!

 

P.S.  Quite a few of you have asked me to do a video on how I tie my bows.  While I'd love to do this for you, there's just one problem:  I don't have a video camera!  Haha!  I can tell you though, that even though I pretty much hate to see myself on camera, I'm *considering* getting one to use for tutorial videos because a gazillion of you have asked (no promises, though!).  IF we did get a video camera, are there any other tutorial videos that you would like to see from me?  If you just want to see bow-tying, then perhaps I'll just try to borrow a video camera instead of buying one.  Thanks for your input, Crew!

Look What Followed Us Home!

Well guess what?!  We went out to test drive a couple cars yesterday because we've kind of been thinking about trading the older of our two vehicles for awhile and ended up buying a new car!  Hee.  We totally weren't planning on buying one yesterday but ended up getting a great deal that we didn't feel like we could pass up.  I'm totally excited!  We are normally mid-sized SUV people but this time we got the 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe which as you can see is a bit of a sports car.  ;)  This is the color we got, however we didn't get the spoiler on the back (which you can see a bit of in the photo).  It looks tougher and more like a James Bond kind of car without the spoiler!  ;)  It's also a V6 with a lot of horsepower so it's definitely got some 'get up and go'!  I must say, it's veeeeery fun to drive a performance car!  

We think we'll call our James Bond-ish car "Gennie" (the Genesis).  We named our Murano "Murray" and our Sante Fe was Sofie.....so yeah......we're pretty creative with the names.  Haha!  Gennie could be a Bond Girl.....right???  :)

REGARDING THE RASPBERRY SUITE COLOR CHALLENGE:

Some of you asked if we could use the Mister Linky widget to make it easier for you to check out each other's links, so I've added it to the color challenge post.  Feel free to use that going forward, however it's up to you if you've already posted your link in the comment section, if you want to link again in Mister Linky.  You DO NOT need to relink, if you don't want to.  Rest assured that I am viewing ALL links whether they're in the comments section OR in Mister Linky.  I don't want this to be a hassle for you.....I'm trying to make things easier for you!  :)  BUT, if you want to repost your link using the Mister Linky widget to make it easier for my other blog readers to check out your creation, then by all means, feel free.  

Regardless, ALL links this week (both in the comments section AND in Mister Linky), qualify in the color challenge so don't sweat it either way.  OK??  I want this to be FUN for you and easy for you and me both, so hopefully Mister Linky will help us out!  

Have a great day, Peeps!!  

P.S.  Yes, that is my actual hand-written signature.  I created it on my Wacom Tablet!

Anniversary Recap and the Winners!

First off, the recap...

Such a great day, Tuesday was.  Yes, we still had to go to work, but Bart sent me the sweetest eCard to brighten my day and then when we got home from work, we exchanged gifts.  (We usually get each other something special for days like our anniversary and Valentine's Day)  This year, I got B one of his favorite polo shirts and some fun plaid shorts that he will look SOOO cool in this summer!  He gave me.....a purse!  Technically, it was a photo of a purse with a 'coming soon' note on it!  Actually, we had been out shopping and I saw this purse that I loved but when he tried to buy it a couple days later when I wasn't with him, it had been sold!  Dirty darn!  So, he got online, found the purse, found out that it had free shipping from Macy's, also found out that it was $20 cheaper online than it had been in the store (!) and ORDERED IT!  The little lovely arrived on Thursday and I must say, it's just perfect!  So sweet that he went to all that trouble to hunt down a purse for me.  These are the kinds of things he does.....I'm tellin' ya, he's the best.

Anyhoo, we also went to dinner at Ruth's Chris steak house to celebrate.  SUCH a fantastic meal (filet & stuffed lobster tail) and what a treat to just sit and linger over dinner.  We were there for two hours.....eating, laughing, talking.  I loved every minute of it.  All in all, it was a great, romantic evening.  Thank you SO much for all of the sweet well-wishes you left for us here at the blog-o!

And speaking of your comments, I LOOOOOVED reading about your loved ones!!  So touching to hear about the people that are so important to you.  Honestly, you have know idea how much joy I get from 'listening' to you tell about your spouses and mothers and fathers and children and grandchildren!  It was so sweet to hear just why each one is so dear to you.  It sounds to me like we ALL have a lot in our lives to be thankful for!  I had such a great time with this contest!!

So, shall we announce some winners?! 

Winner #1 (Floral Delights clear stamp set by Close to my Heart):

Congrats on your 8th anniversary! My great love is my husband. He is so thoughtful, loyal, kind, loving to me and our 3 children and best of all he treats me like a queen. I am so blessed to have him in my life.

Posted by: Holly C. | March 11, 2009 at 02:33 PM

 

Winner #2  (Windsor clear stamp set by SEI):

My two great loves ... my daughter and son! They have grown into such wonderful individuals and have made me so proud! Both are wonderful parents themselves and I know that my grandchildren are in the best of hands! Happy Anniversary to you ... your hubby sounds fantastic!

Posted by: Judy S | March 10, 2009 at 11:34 AM

 

Winner #3  (3 Step Hibiscus clear stamp set by Kitchen Sink Stamps):

Happy Anniversary Dawn & Bart!! Congratulations on 8 years - all too often it seems that people don't work to make their relationships last. Sounds to me like you both do things to make each other happy and matter every day! :o)
I love my son, and I love, love, love my husband for giving me my son. When we met, he had been through some pretty hard relationships and lost his children in custody battles. He was done having kids he wasn't going to raise. He finally gave in to my pleading. I always knew that there is no other love like the love you have for your child, but until you experience it, you can never truly *know*. 
Anywho, thanks for the fantastic giveaway! I have been wanting to try the KSS, so I'm crossing my fingers that I get picked! :o) Have a fantabulous day! ~lyss

Posted by: Alyssa | March 12, 2009 at 08:32 AM

 

CONGRATS Holly C, Judy S & Alyssa!!!  Please email me with your mailing address!!  (email link in left side bar below my photo)  (Side Note: I did not 'rig' the contest so that Alyssa could win the stamp set she was wishing for!  LOL!  She really was the winner of the Kitchen Sink Stamps, which I think is so cool!  Congrats, Alyssa!)

OK, Peeps.....I'm hoping to be back later today with a card to share, but we've got a bit of erranding to do today and I have to admit that I'm feeling a bit run-down.  I've finally caught Bart's cold....bummer.  ;)  

Also, don't forget that TONIGHT is the big Release Party at Papertrey Ink!!  I will be over at the Papertrey Forum starting at 10pm EST so come on over and chat with me!!  I'd love to get to 'talk' to you so be sure to say HI!!  PLUS, Nichole has a contest going on tonight as well.  You can read all about it HERE and all of the fabulous products that have been sneak peek'd for you this week, will be available for purchase tonight, starting at midnight EST!  

Hope to see you at the PARTY tonight!!  
Smooches!

Celebrating Mothers

Hi All!  This month at Papertrey Ink, one of the assignments that Nichole gave us on the Design Team, was to create a Mother's Day gift and coordinating card.  For my project, I actually enlisted the help of my siblings to jot down some favorite memories of Mom over the years so that I could put together a Memory Jar for her.  This turned into such a fun project and I can't wait to see Mom's face when she reads all of the memories that my siblings and I put on paper for her.  She's gonna bawl like a baby!  HEE!!  (Mom, try and act surprised when we give you your gift!)  :)

I am the oldest of 5 siblings - the "baby" at 14 years old, being almost 20 years younger than me.  So my parents have had kids in the house for almost 34 years now, with a few years to go yet.  ;)  AND, they've got two grandbabies now besides!  It's been so interesting to read all of the memories that my siblings have of special mom moments........some of them, things I never even knew that had happened.  Each one of us has our own special memories that we cherish and I think it will be so sweet for Mom to have those memories down on paper to read thru whenever she wants.  I'm even thinking that this would make a GREAT gift for our 2 Grandmas......the whole extended family could even participate in contributing memories to the jar.  

First off, lets gather up a few supplies for our project.

I started by selecting a jar that I wanted to use.  In this case, I found this penny candy jar at Target, but they also have them at Walmart from time to time, and at either store, they generally run $6 or less.

I had each of my siblings email me some of their favorite memories of mom from not just our childhood, but over the years too.  Just anything that stood out in their mind as something that they really appreciated or that made them feel really special.  Once I had everyone's memories, I copied them from the emails and pasted them into a blank document.  I made sure to separate them into individual paragraphs, adding each sibling's name at the end of each memory.  You'll also want to leave 5 or 6 lines of spacing between each memory to allow for cutting space once they're printed.  Once I had the entire document ready, I printed them out on standard copy paper in black ink. 

Once the memories are printed out, you'll want to cut them into strips, each one approx. 2 1/2" - 3" wide. 

Next, you'll want to determine what ribbon you're going to use to tie around your 'scrolls'.  In this case, I decided to color code each of the memories by using a different color of ribbon for each sibling.  I chose the ribbon colors for each sibling based on our favorite colors..........this way, Mom will know right away who's memory is who's.  :)

Now for a tip on tying bows around these little scrolls.  If you try to tie the ribbon around the paper, you'll end up smooshing the paper.  I found that by using a highlighter (marker), I could tye the bow around the highlighter and then slide it off and slip my rolled up strip of paper into the already tied bow.  MUCH easier.........trust me on this one!  ;)

 
This is what they'll look like when you get them finished.

And here is the completed jar full of sweet memories.  I used a couple of ribbons to tie a bow around the handle on the jar's lid.  Then I added a flower and button and then made a tag to hang off the handle as well.  

 
Here's a close up to show you the detail on the tag.  I used Melissa Bickford's new Wishing You... stamp set (available on the 15th) for the fun tulip cameo image and then created my sentiment with the Fresh Alphabet set and the Simple Alphabet set.

I also created a coordinating card using some of the same colors and details that I used on the jar and tag.  I used another of the tulip images from Wishing You... as well as some sentiment stamps from the new Mother stamp set (available on the 15th) and some Damask Designs as well.

Here are the card and the jar together.  I love how coordinated this project is and it would be so easy to recreate in any color scheme!

Nichole has created a FREE pdf download for you that has complete supply lists and instructions as well as full color photos of this project plus mother's day gift ensembles from EACH of the other Design Team members so you'll want to be sure to head over to Nichole's blog to get your download and to see Nichole's mother's day project as well! 

You'll also want to visit each of the Design Team members to see lots more details about each of their projects!

Betsy Veldman
Melissa Phillips
Mish Wooderson
Lisa Johnson
Heather Nichols
Geny Cassady
Lauren Meader
Niki Estes
Becky Oehlers
Debbie Olson

And don't forget to stop by Melissa Bickford's blog, to see what else she has created with her new Wishing You... stamp set!

I hope that you've found some inspiration here today!  Does this project seem like something you could see yourself making for a special mom in your life??  :)   I hope that at the very least, your creative juices are flowin'!  

Have a goodie! 
Dawn

Happy Anniversary, Honey! (and a giveaway!)

Today is our 8th wedding anniversary and I have to tell you that it has been an amazing, wonderful 8 years.  I tell you about my 'hottie hubs' from time to time and Bart always says that I don't really need to tell YOU what I think of him.  He'd be perfectly content if his name never came up here at the blog-o.  ;)  But you know what I always tell him?  I talk about him here because I love him and I think that it's good for YOU to know it too because I think sometimes we get so caught up in daily 'life' stuff that it's easy to forget to hold your hubby's hand while walking in to church or to kiss each other good night before drifting off to sleep.  These things are important and I, for one, LOVE to see other people that are truly in love and aren't afraid to show it and who make their relationship a priority. 

And so, that's why I often tell you about my hottie hubs' muscles or how he brings me flowers almost every time he goes to the grocery store for me.  So today, I hope you'll bear with me (you too, Bartley) while I tell you about some of the reasons why I love my husband like I do....

• He wakes me up every morning with a kiss.

• He can fix just about anything around the house.

• He knows how to dress and look goooooood.  :) 

• He always helps me put my coat on.

• He opens doors for me everywhere we go and even opens the car door for me too.  Such a gentleman.

• He cracks me up when he says goofball stuff and keeps a total straight face!

• We have our annual 'planting day' every year where we go to the nursery and load up on plants and flowers and then come home and plant everything.  He works so hard on planting day....he's the one with the real green thumb and he does a lot of the 'dirty work' that day.  We work together, but he really bears the brunt of the work load and the result is a spring and summer full of blooming flowers that I just love.

• He is an awesome dad to Riley.  (our dog)  He takes such good care of Riley and Riley loves his pop so much!

• He's extremely thoughtful and giving, not just with me but with others too.  With me, he brings home unexpected treats now and then (like flowers or donuts after a basketball game if he's going by Krispy Kreme!) and he never forgets our anniversary or my birthday.

• The man has style!  I like to think that I trained him well in this department (hee!) but the truth is, he doesn't need any help from me these days to pick out some great clothes or accessories (for himself OR for me!). 

• He pays ATTENTION!  This is KEY!  When we go out shopping or whatever, if I see something that I like and mention it, he remembers it.....sometimes for months!  And then one day out of the blue or for my birthday a couple months later, he'll have that 'thing' for me as a gift!  Paying attention.....such a good thing!

• He's so smart and I love that he's such a number head!  OH, and his head "full of useless knowledge" has come in handy on more than one occasion too!  Ha!

• He's so into sports both from the reffing standpoint since that's what he does, but also just as a fan.  I love it when he puts on his K-State gear on game day and puts the K-State flag out in the yard.  (actually, that kinda cracks me up....our flag is tiny compared to the neighbors' rival flag!)  Ha!

• He still takes me out on dates.  8 years later, he still dates me....I just love that.

• He works out faithfully so he can stay in shape and look good.  I appreciate that.

• We sing 'bad' (on purpose) in the car together sometimes and he's not afraid to belt it out to keep up with me.  I almost fall over laughing every time!

• He takes awesome care of the yard.  He loves mowing and such.....it makes me happy that he gets enjoyment out of caring for our yard.  And he always takes the trash out.  ;)

• He fixes dinner lots of times so I can work in the studio after we get home from work.

• He's always there to listen to me if I need to talk something thru or if I need a shoulder to cry on.

• When I'm sick, he takes my temperature and fixes me chicken and noodles......and he prays for me.

• He's my biggest fan and cheerleader.

• When we get tucked into bed, he kisses me goodnight every single night, just before we drift off to sleep.

The bottom line is that my husband is my best friend in the entire world.  There's no one I'd rather spend my time with than him.  He takes such great care of me and invests so much of himself in me and in our marriage.  He has made the last 8 years of my life absolutely wonderful.  Are things perfect all the time?  NO!  Do we ever get in arguments?  Plenty of times!  But ultimately, we both know that our marriage is important so sooner or later, one of us needs to apologize so we can put the disagreement behind us (and preferably before we go to sleep that night!).  ;)  God definitely knew what He was doing when He brought Bart and I together.  I couldn't have asked for someone more perfect for me.  :)

Happy Anniversary, Honey!

And now, a bit about the card I made for Bartley for our anniversary....This one has all kinds of stamp sets on it!  Actually, I used both the Background Basics: Retro set and the Background Basics: Stars set to create all of the patterns.  The 'Happy Anniversary' sentiment is from Damask Designs and I spelled out my nickname for Bart using the Simple Alphabet set.  So much fun!  I don't think I've ever made him a card with his name on it before!  ;)

And sooooo, in honor of all this mushy love stuff, I thought we'd do a little give away.....well, 3 give aways, actually!  I have 3 stamps sets that I'll be giving away to 3 lucky winners. 

Winner #1 will receive the Floral Delights clear stamp set by Close to my Heart:

Winner #2 will receive the Windsor clear stamp set by SEI:

Winner #3 will receive the 3 Step Hibiscus clear stamp set by Kitchen Sink Stamps:

Want to get entered to win??  Just leave a comment on this post telling me about someone that you love!  It could be your spouse or your mom or your best friend....whoever.  But tell me something you love about that person!  Why is that person so important to you?? 

We'll have 3 winners that will be randomly selected!!  You have until Thursday night, March 12, at 7pm CST to leave a comment.  One entry per person.

Thanks Crew!  Have a great Tuesday!  

{Happy Anniversary Bartley Supplies}
Paper: new leaf, dark chocolate, aqua mist, lemon tart, stamper's select white
Stamps: Background Basics: Stars, Background Basics: Retro, Damask Designs, Simple Alphabet
Ink: dark chocolate, new leaf
Other: dark chocolate classic grosgrain, dark chocolate topnotch twill, new leaf classic grosgrain, Basic Grey button, SU! corner rounder punch

Thinking of You (and some baby photos!)

Hi All!  Since I spent most of yesterday out of town meeting my new nephew, I didn't spend much time in the studio.  So I thought I'd share a card with you today that I made a bit ago using Papertrey's new With Sympathy set.  I paired the floral image from With Sympathy with a sentiment from the Faux Ribbon set.  It's a simple little card that you could make in lots of different color combos.

{Thinking of You Today Supplies}

Paper: ocean tides, ripe avocado, vintage cream

Stamps: With Sympathy, Faux Ribbon

Ink: ripe avocado, ocean tides

Accessories: ripe avocado classic grosgrain ribbon, Autumn Leaves buttons, SU! linen thread

AND NOW, for the part of the show where I put on my doting Auntie hat and share lots of baby photos!  Hee!  I'm sorry, but I can't help it!

Meet Malachi Ethan.  (My Grandpa's name was Ethan)  Help me, Rhonda!  Will you look at all that hair!!!  

My Dad was the first one to hold his new grandson once we got there.  Side note:  My Dad is affectionately referred to as "Sugar Pops" by my siblings and I, now that he's a Grandpa.....cute, huh?!  And when the babies are older, they can just call him "Pops"!  You should hear him say to Ally, "Come here and see Sugar Pops!"  It's the ca-UTEST thing!  I can't wait to hear Ally say Sugar Pops one day!  LOL!

This is my brother (Uncle Dave), my mom (Grandma) & my sister (Auntie Glo).

Auntie Dawn and sweetie boy.

Aunt Gracie and little man.

Ally, touching her new brother between bites of cheerios!  LOL!

Auntie Glo and baby cakes.

Ally, sitting with her mama on the hospital bed.  She's playing "Wheeeeeeere's Ally" which is why her hair is all over the place!  She just pulled the blanket off her head.  LOL!

Clapping at something amazing her mama just said.  :)

Mama (my sister, Diann) and her sweet boy.

Don't newborn baby legs & feet just make you smile?  You should have seen the paparazzi of family members snapping photos once the nurse pulled his feet out of his sleeper to footprint him!  Haha!

I think she's gonna be a MAC lover!  She's hooked on the iPhone already!  This was too funny.....she learned how to scroll thru the photos on my phone so she could see pictures of Uncle Bart and Riley dog ("Dot") so when we got to the hospital, she was sitting by Diann and I and all of a sudden, grabbed the phone out of my hand, layed back on her mama, CROSSED HER LEGS and started scrolling thru pictures on my phone!  LOL!  I'm tellin' ya, the whole room busted out laughing!  She looked like she was a little grown up, kicking back to surf the net on her phone or something!  Hee.

The new family of FOUR!

Thank you so much for all of the well wishes and love you've sent our way.  We appreciate your prayers for a safe delivery and a healthy baby and mama.  They're doing great!  What a blessing.  We love our new little man!  Can't wait to see him again!