Saturday, December 26, 2009

Wonderful Christmas Day

We had a wonderful Christmas! We opened some presents in the morning. Thomas actually let us sleep til 5:30AM! He had a great time distributing the presents to Dad and Me and himself.

Then we had to go feed the cows since it was a little chilly. Thomas and Daddy filled the buckets with cotton seed and brought it to the troughs. The cows were very greatful for the food and even let us scratch their heads a bit. I got some wonderful photos of some of the calfs.

We got cleaned up and headed into Corpus for brunch at Courtney's. We visited with Tom's brother and his family and my mother-in-law. It was fun watching Kaiden play with his Christmas toys. He got a 4-wheeler just like Uncle Troy's and had a great time comparing the two.

Then we went over to my sister's house to visit with them and my Mom.

All in all, it was a wonderful day spent with loved ones. Just how Christmas should be.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Merry Christmas Eve!

Well, it's Christmas Eve. The shopping's been done. Almost all the presents have been wrapped and are under the tree. I have a day off from work to get ready for tomorrow.

December has been a busy month. Thomas' school put on a Christmas program at the three churches in Corpus Christi and each week was better than the first. I'll post some photos later. Thomas had a few solo parts on his coronet and did very well.

Mom has come to Texas for the winter and we will enjoy having her here this holiday season. We have to share her with my sister and her family but I get to see her every day which is nice.

We had a cold front come in last night or early this morning so it is cool today and feels a little more like Christmas than the 70 degree weather we had yesterday.

Tomorrow will be spent with my husband's family for Christmas brunch and then we will go to my sister's for Christmas dinner. This is the first year that we haven't had everyone just come to our house. I don't know which is more stressful.

Well, there are a few things I need to get done today so I best get started. Merry Christmas to everyone!

Friday, November 27, 2009

Tired

Well, after enjoying a day of Thanksgiving yesterday, today was an early day as I tried to brave the crowds at stores to take advantage of the Black Friday deals.

I was successful. There was only one thing I really wanted for this Christmas and that was a new laptop for my husband. Wal-Mart had one for $298 so I got up at 2AM and made it to the area store by 3AM. I stood in line for the next two hours but came away with the item I went for. After purchasing my one item I got out of there as fast as I could.

Now, my husband and I have a weekend away planned to celebrate our 12th anniversary. I am ready but hope he doesn't expect me to talk to him the whole way 'cause all I want to do right now is.......SSSSLLLLEEEEPPPPPP!!!!!!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Beautiful Sunny Sunday!

The rain has stopped. The sun is out. And even though my yard looks like a lake it's a beautiful day!

Had to go into town and stopped at JoAnn's to look at some scrapbook supplies that could be used with my album. Bought some paper and a few embellishments.

The album I picked to use is an 8x8 with a cut-out on the front cover. I'm trying to create something to put in that spot. Maybe I'll wait and take a photo of our tree after we get it up and decorated.

Cowboys won! It is a good day!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Wee Morning Hours

Wow! Went to bed last night at a little after 8PM and woke up at 5AM ready to go!

The rain has stopped but we got quite a bit which is good since we were about 16" below normal and have been in a drought for months and months. The earthtank is full again which will make the cows happy. Hopefully I can go get a photo of it today.

Well, I started cutting out my prompt cards. I tried to use a papercutter but ended up really mangeling the paper. So, I decided to cut them with scissors by hand. I started that and realized they were not coming out the same sizes. So, I trimmed them a little more and am thinking of getting some 8x8 Christmas paper and just putting them in my album. I've cut out through the 10th so I need to finish the rest of the cards and then I can focus on what to do with them.

Today, Jessica had some digital Christmas paper for us to download that we can use for our albums. We are to gather the items we are going to use and prescrap what we can. I need to go through my digital stash and see what Christmas stuff I all ready have.

But that will have to wait til later. Right now I need some coffee.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Much Needed Rain!

It started raining last night about 6PM and has rained on and off all night and is continuing this morning. We have had thunder and lightening. I wish I could get out there and take some photos of the lightening but without a tripod there is no way I could get a good picture. Plus, I'm still protective of my new toy (my Canon EOS XSi) and don't think I want to risk getting it wet.

Well, I got my prompt cards printed out for the Holiday in Hand class I am taking at www.jessicasprague.com but I haven't cut them out or thought of how I want to display them. I printed them at the 5.5 square size. I am thinking of puting them in my album on some Christmas paper and have them as part of the album. I'm not sure yet, though, and am still thinking about it.

There have been lots of great ideas at the website but I'm not that creative. So, we will have to see what I can come up with.

Today, Jessica has some sketches and templates for us to download that we will use in creating our albums. I haven't downloaded them yet but will do that today sometime.

I can't wait to get started on this project. I hope it is something we can do together as a family. We will see.......

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Holidays in Hand Day 2 & 3

Our assignment yesterday was to print out and display our memory prompts for the month of December. These are beautiful cards that are either 5" or 8" square. I didn't get mine printed as my printer needs color ink and I haven't made it to the store to buy it. I hope to get to it his weekend.
I glanced through the cards and there are some wonderful quotes, a prompt to journal, an idea to photograph, and then there are two blank lines with the words "Do" and "Make" on them. We are supposed to fill these lines in. Then at the bottom of the card is a memory prompt.
It really is a wonderful way to make December even more special than it all ready is. I can't wait to get started on my cards.

Day 3 assingment is to read the lists that Jessica has posted on the class forum and find ideas for things to add to our cards on the "Do" and "Make" lines of our cards. There was a lot of ideas to choose from and I have only skimmed them so far so haven't really made decisions as to what I will use. But they look to be great ideas for those of us who have a hard time thinking of something to do and make.

So, today, I hope to get my cards printed and start filling them out and finding a place to display them.

Til tomorrow.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

A Nice Chilly Day!

It is starting to feel like fall here. We had a cold front come through yesterday and it knocked our temperatures down to the 40s last night. Great sleeping weather! Today the air has a little nip in it but the sun is shining so it looks like it will be a beautiful day!

Monday, November 16, 2009

Refocus on Holiday Values

So, I am taking this class on Jessica Sprague's website and the first assignment is to put down our values and goals in preparation for Christmas.

What are my values for this Christmas? A good question. The top five are: Family, Spirit, Gratitude, Memorable, and Organization.

My goals for each value are:
Family - Appreciate my family more and spend more time with them.
Spirit - To help me and my family appreciate and remember the true "spirit" of Christmas.
Gratitude - To be more greatful, daily, for the sacrifice that was made for me by my loving Savior.
Memorable - To create memories for my son that he will remember his whole life.
Organization - To organize my life more. From my household to my computer, everything should be put in a place and everything should have its own place.

Now comes the hard part.....accomplishing these things.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

My First Blog Post

Hi!
My name is Jill and this is my first time to post to a blog. I'm not really sure what I'm doing but hopefully I won't sound like too much of a dunce.

I live in the great state of TEXAS and I love digital scrapbooking, genealogy, photography, reading, and watching movies. I am a big Dallas Cowboys fan and love the Houston Astros.

I am married (going on 12 years) and have a 10 year old son who is in the 4th grade.

I hope you enjoy your visit to my little nook. Take a look around and let me know what you think.

Jill