new every morning

a fresh start... 
       a new name...
                same me...

after almost a year of having a blog, it's about time i start playing with it. never to jump into a project halfway, i thought i'd make it my own...down to the html.  

so i:

·  put some of my new digiscrapbooking knowledge to use

·  realized that i didn't know anything about html...and faking it doesn't work

·  enlisted my techie hubby

·  realized that he doesn't know as much about html as i wanted him to

·  bought a tutorial

·  realized that it would't teach me enough about html to do what i want

·  figured it out on my own (with google)...after many many hours.

perhaps now i'll keep adding to it.  stick around.

my little man...not so little anymore

in celebration of our little man's 7th birthday...

Merry Christmas

merry christmas! (special thanks to madeline for the background music.)


(make sure you press the pause on the music down below before you press play on the video.)

digiscrapping...

it's only taken me four months, but i've finally started playing around with the pictures that i had intended to crop back in september (so that i would have a stress free holiday season-ha!) for my family gift albums.

i've been doing a lot of "research"...getting organized (you know me)...getting ready to get ready.

a friend of mine suggested classes at www.jessicasprague.com and yesterday I jumped right in. after almost the entire day, including 10 video tutorial lessons and 24 pages of instructions this is the end result...


(i think brian is seriously worried that it took me so long to do ONE layout!) the instructors fit so many different techniques into one page that it did seem a little laborious for one page.

i'm happy to say that the learning curve did come into play here for the second page.


this event commemorated my parent's 40th wedding anniversary. it was a special day and worth the extra effort to do the pages (and get ready to do them.)

"now": reunions & reality

we recently (july) spent time in greensboro visiting with friends and family. it was a reunion of sorts because saturday morning we attended the wedding of some friends that we haven't seen in eons and that evening we spent with family celebrating brian's grandmother's 92nd birthday.

it was fun to reunite with high school chums and compare vital stats like jobs, number and ages of children, etc. we found the sparks of friendship were still there and many things never change.

but regardless of our guarding it, time does pass. connorman told me this week that he wanted caroline to stay a baby. perhaps he's starting to realize what a terror she could potentially be the bigger she gets? or perhaps he just loves her so much that he doesn't want her to change? knowing connor, probably both!

we try so hard not to take family for granted. "now" is a precious gift. yesterday is gone, never to return. tomorrow will never get here. now is all we have.

it's a GOD thing!

i just love it when i know for sure and certain that i’m just where God wants me. it doesn’t happen often—with such certainty, complete with God bumps.

i’ve been following angie's blog for quite a while now. she is the wife of todd, singer with selah, and has a beautiful story along with some pretty amazing insight on her blog. angie has decided to do a book club on her blog and she's chosen "crazy love" by francis chan. not coincidentally, this is the book that we had picked out for our life group this fall. we won't be doing it with our life group, but it is going to be just the book that God wants ME to read this fall. perhaps you will join me on angie's blog and read with me.

startling realization

i'm sitting here at the computer and i hear the vacuum start running. i'm the only adult here. how is it that i have a daughter old enough to vacuum without being asked...much less tall enough to work the thing? time is flying by...i'm grateful for every minute.