Friday, November 27, 2009

End of November 2009


I hope everyone is having a GREAT end to November!  I want to share some pictures with you of my family across the nation.



My brother LOVES fishing!  He sent me this pic today - love it!  Looks like they are on the East Coast enjoying Thanksgiving.





This is my brother, Eddie.  He's so fun!



Here is my Mama, Sister - Melody, and my Daddy at Melody's house enjoying Thanksgiving.

And here's a pic of our corner of the world from this morning:




In the last couple of days we've gotten probably over 6" of snow.  I LOVE IT!


Enjoy your long weekend.  Don't do too much shopping. ;)  How many of you actually got up in the middle of the night to hit the stores?  So many people do that.  Not me.  I don't even go out on Black Friday.  For me it's not fun when it's so crowded.

Please comment with a link from your corner of the world from Thanksgiving.  I'd love to see it!

Gobble, gobble.... Ho, Ho, Ho,
Janis


Monday, November 23, 2009

Soldier Request


Hey, everybody!

Our son, James, is currently serving in Kuwaiit although he does travel all through Iraq.

He sent me a request and I wanted to pass it along to you.

I know many people want to do something for the military to show their respect and thanks, so here is one opportunity for you.

James is asking for a Care Package.  I asked him what he wanted in it and he said Import Tunner Car magazines and Mustang magazines (the new Mustang, not the old one) and of course some junk food.  Can't get that overseas.

If anyone wants to send a package, he will of course share it with his unit.

His address is:

SPC LEWIS, JAMES T.
2TC, 180 TRANS BN
AP, AE  09366

If you do send a package, please let me know so I can give him a heads up and also so I can give you my personal thank you for showing some love to my son.

You guys are so generous and awesome!

Have a fun day and a fun week!

Gobble, Gobble,
Janis

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Happy November Morning To You!

The snow is on the ground and so beautiful!

Tom, Bonnie, and I went walking through the dripping show showers yesterday.  Bonnie didn't like it blowing in her face too much and had a difficult time walking, but what an adventure!  We made a tiny snowman on a picnic table and just laughed and laughed.

It's still so weird to me to go to bed and wake up and the snow is still here.  And it sure doesn't slow down people driving, school buses picking up children, etc.  So different than South Carolina.

IN BABY NEWS....


Our daughter, Keri, is 27 weeks pregnant now.  She called yesterday saying she wasn't feeling the baby move as much as normal.  I told her to call the doctor and call me back.  She ended up going to the hospital and being put on a baby monitor.  The baby is fine.  Heart rate and everything is just fine.  And then she told me, "But I'm having contractions."  

WHAT?!!!

They gave her some medicine to stop them and that worked out just fine and they sent her home.  6 months pregnant is way too early to have a healthy baby.

With all 4 of my pregnancies, I did the same thing.  Several trips to the hospital having contractions and getting oral meds to stop them, then getting an IV with meds at home where I had to stick myself.  Not fun.  I was not expecting any of my girls to go through this too.  I hope she doesn't continue to have these problems.

Keri is having her first baby shower on the 21st of this month.  I won't be there.  I hope she has a fun time.   Please keep them in your prayers.  I am praying Aaron will get a job soon.  He's put in so many applications already.

If anyone wants to send Keri a card, just let me know and I'll share her address with you.

In Mama News...

Mama is continuing to go to therapy a few times a week and making progress.  She's a little down though because she can't do the things she is used to doing and wants to do - like vacuum and mop and just go for a car ride once in a while.  She can't sit in the car for long periods of time because of the bumps.  They also have limited her liquid intake because her kidneys are having a hard time keeping up and that bothers her that she just can't go get something to drink whenever she wants it.  Please keep her in your prayers too.

In Jimmy news...


Jimmy is able to send us messages through Facebook every now and then.  It's so good to hear from him and know he's doing okay over there in Iraq.  We are so proud of him and so thankful for his service.  He is probably going to South Carolina on his Christmas leave since most of our family and his friends are there.  He feels guilty for not coming to Alaska to see us, but I told him not to feel that way.  Of course we want to see him, but I know he would have much more fun participating in the family Christmas gatherings back home than sitting here and being bored with just the 3 of us.




In Kati News...


Kati is doing well at USC.  She's got a full load and studies or works almost all the time.  But we are also so proud of her for actually studying so hard and making such good grades.  She has done some really cool pictures for her photography / art class.  There is so much talent in that little girl!

Home News...

I may have some good news to share in the next couple of weeks.  No, I'm not pregnant!  I don't do that anymore.  We are working on a project, and if everything works out, I'll be very excited to tell you about it.

Keri said I got a box from Marie V. at the house in North.  How exciting!  Only problem is, I don't know how to get in touch with Marie to tell her thank you.  So, if you are reading this Marie, THANK YOU!!

I'm going to work on a mini album today.  I love the mini albums made from envelopes and tags.  I'll post pics later on after I make some progress.

Have a fun day!!
Janis

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Weekend In Review

No big news or stories to post today.  Saturday we went to see the 3D Disney movie A Christmas Carol.  It was fun!  Bonnie did a lot of jumping and looking over her glasses.  The 3D thing may have been too much for her, but I think she enjoyed it ok.  And then we did our weekend grocery shopping.

Today Tom was going to go on a 20-mile walk, but instead we ended up just chilling together at home.  I talked with my Mama on the phone for a good while.  She's a little down because she says she "can't do anything."  I know it must be frustrating for her.  She wants to vaccuum and mop and clean the house, but she can't.  I told her to just enjoy that someone else is doing it for her. :)  She also would love to ride to the mountains on a day trip, but she can't be in the car josseling around that much.  And she's been to church a few Sundays since she's been home, but an hour of sitting is almost too much for her.  Please keep her in your prayers.  She is doing so much better, and we are all really happy that she is home and recovering.  She needs an emotional boost.

I did several more scrapbook pages Friday.  That is always fun.  I've put that up for a while now until we go off again and take some more pictures, I don't have anything to scrapbook.

We saw some very, very light snow flurries for about 10 minutes today.  Nothing stayed.  Maybe it will snow this week.

Have a fun week.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Beautiful Face


Here's our Bonnie Girl.  She's so beautiful and so sweet.
Just wanted to share some joy with you today.
Have a happy, happy Friday.
We are going to see the 3D movie A Christmas Carol with Jim Carey tomorrow.
We can't wait!  I've never seen a 3D movie before.
I'm excited to see how Bonnie reacts.
I'll probably enjoy her enjoying the movie as much as I'll enjoy the movie itself.
A Christmas Carol has always been my favorite Christmas story.
Jingle Bells,
Janis

Thursday, November 5, 2009

It's Early... I Know

I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but I have my Manhattan jazzy Christmas CD playing.  I love Christmas music. 

When I used to work, I would share "Tuesday Tickles" which were either riddles, jokes, or some sort of entertaining thought with my co-workers.

I got a message on Facebook yesterday that one of my old co-workers said she missed the Tuesday Tickles.  That made me smile.  I miss those guys - they were all so loving and so sweet.

I thought I'd share some of the past Tuesday Tickles with you... maybe there'll be one or two in there that will make you smile today.

  1. Why is Iceland green and Greenland full of ice?
  2. Why do people say the alarm clock is going off when it is really coming on?
  3. Do camels celebrate Hump Day?
  4. Why is it no matter what color the soap, shampoo, or bubble bath the bubbles are always white?
  5. Why do people park on the driveway and drive on the parkway?
  6. Why is comb and tomb spelled almost the same and pronounced completely different?
  7. Why is abbreviation such a long word?
  8. Why do we "do" lunch and "eat" dinner?
  9. Why is "pants" plural and "bra" singular?
  10. Who decided bunnies and eggs would be a good combination for Easter?  Bunnies don't lay eggs.
Got any of your own to share?  Would love to hear them!


Giggle Giggle

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

More Scrapbook Pages

It's been so fun scrapbooking!  For now I'm done until my next Shutterfly order comes in... which could be today!

Enjoy!!













Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Alaska Scrapbook Pages

Here are some beginning pages for our Alaska Scrapbook.  I've included both the pictures with the flash and without.  I figure you can get the idea.


I'm having so much fun using my new DCWV Indian Summer Fall Stack!  I just love all these colors!
I'm not happy my printer ran out of black ink, but I guess the handwritten blurb is ok.  It just takes up so much more space.



Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to get some more pages done.  I'm having so much fun.  Scrapbooking is so theraputic.  :)

Moon



Out our front window this morning at 8:55.

I just wanted to share.

I'll be posting a couple of scrapbook pages I started yesterday in a little while.

Monday, November 2, 2009

12x12 Mini Album


I actually went to Joann's Craft Store yesterday.  I've been here a month and it's the first time I've been to the craft store!

I got a beautiful stack of paper.  DCWV Indian Summer Fall Stack 180 sheets reg $20 on sale $8.  I also got a DCWV little mat stack in Neutrals 87 sheets that's 3.875" x 3.875".  I haven't seen one this size before.  It's textured and colored on both sides.


I thought I'd try making one of the 12x12 mini albums and using this mat stack for the cover. 



Using the little mat stack for the cover is a little larger than I would like, but doable if you don't want to cut and are in a hurry.  I rounded the edges of the album only on the opening side.  I added a little burgandy birdie charm to the ribbon on the spine, and threw some fall stickers on the cover.  It's simple on the outside, and the inside is GORGEOUS!  I love that Indian Summer paper!!