Good-bye 2008!!!

Well, it's been a great year filled with lots of memories! The new year will be here tomorrow and more memories will be made! Here's to a wonderful new year in 2009!

Speaking of memories, I hope to get a ton more scrapbooking done in the new year too! I need to TRY to do something scrappy every day........not sure if it'll happen, but I think I at least have very good intentions! And, speaking of scrapbooking.......PAPER POPSICLES is having an awesome sale in their online store!!

40% off EVERYTHING

Yes, we are having a store wide sale and offering everything but adhesives at 40% off. Our regular prices always save you up to 35% off suggested retail prices so with an additional 40% you are getting whopper deals!!

Wow, sounds like some great deals!! I hope to get in on these too, we'll see!! Well, that's about it for now......

I need to get this house picked up from the holidays and de-cluttered! So, instead of being on the computer right now, off I go into my clutterful world, lol!!

Last Tuesday of 2008

Wow, it's almost the end of 2008! Where did this year go to? So much has happened this year........the best part of this year was that the Lord blessed us with our newest addition to our family...our second little miracle....Baby Rachel, in August. She is such a joy and a blessing......she is such a good baby and she loooves to smile and giggle!! I hope that this trait continues to grow in her! Julie loves being a big sister and TRIES to be helpful, lol, but sometimes a little TOO helpful, if you know what I mean! hehehee!! There is so much that I'd like to do in the new year, I just hope that I'll be able to do it all, or at least some of it! I am definately going to try to keep blogging......I think I have become addicted to it! : )

Well, just wanted to write down a little something for today......tomorrow is the last day of this year and I will write more then. Take it easy!

Monday Madness.............

Well, back to the old routine of things now.......Christmas is over and the daily grind begins again......lol!! This weekend was very busy........sunday some friends of ours renewed their wedding vows and I was the lucky one to do the photography for them!! yay!! That was so much fun! I just hope they love their pics......tomorrow I should go thru and edit them all, then burn them to a cd, and then send it to them! After the renewal ceremony, we went over and got one of our nieces to spend a couple days with us........it's been tons of fun! She and Julie have played and played and watched movies and played and played!! So glad that they love each other and get along so well, even though there is just about 5 years difference between them!

Slowly but surely I am getting the house back into shape, a little bit at a time!! Boy, I didn't think that laundry piled up soooo much during the holidays, lol!! Well, I guess it does when you don't do it for a few days! I am getting there though, thank goodness! Maybe I'll have all my cleaning and organizing done by spring, then I won't have to worry about the "spring cleaning"!! lol!! Oh well, we'll see!

Well, monday is just about over with for this week. Tuesday is almost here! The New Year is almost here also! I love New Year's Eve!! (even though we normally just stay home and such, lol!) That's about it for today.......gotta get some sleep!

Christmas is over!

Wowzers, I can't believe that Christmas has come and gone so quickly!! I wait for it ALL YEAR LONG, and then *POOF*, it's gone just like that!! Well, it was a fairly nice Christmas this year anyhow.......I got my wii fit and Jillian Michaels wii games that I wanted....my vow for this new year is to really get in shape, and let me tell you, I REALLY NEED TO!!! I've already been doing them for three days now, not a bad start I must say!! This was baby Rachel's first Christmas....what a fun time it was to have another child here at Christmas....I soooo love children! I am just so thankful to the Lord above for entrusting us with two beautiful children. I just love watching them grow and learn new things everyday.......maybe I'll try that Ali Edwards everyday scrapping thing this new year.......hmmmmmm...............
Julie had a blast for christmas too.......she didn't get a whole lot of toys, but she got a couple things at least that she really wanted! We even left Santa cookies and milk, and left Rudolph some carrots........Santa even left Julie a "Thank you" note!! She was soooo surprised!! And talk about Christmas miracles.......we've worked thru some of the family problems we've had, and we were able to see our nieces and nephews....Thanks to the Lord above!! God is good, all the time....and all the time, God is good!!
Will try to post more soon!
Peace!

Quiet day

Today was a good but quiet day. Mark and Julie went to church, and I stayed home with Rachel because she still had a little bit of a cold. After church, Mark and Julie went down to see grammy and work on some stuff for the Amvets that needed to be done........I cleaned and picked up some more here at home, and wrapped a couple presents for Julie's christmas party at school tomorrow, fed and played with Rachel for awhile, had supper, and then made some Chocolate Italian Cookies......boy, are they yummy! First time I've ever made them too! Hubby said they were pretty close to what he remembered, so that is a good thing, and there are quite a few of them, so if nobody else likes them.........they are ALL HIS!! lol!! Well, hubby came in a little while ago from snowblowing the loooooong driveway....we are supposed to get blasted with a snowstorm tonite, so we'll see if school gets cancelled tomorrow or not!! Well, time for me to go to sleep tonite.....until tomorrow!
Peace!

So Much To Do!

Why is it there always seems like there is soooooo much to do at this time of year! I just can't get over it, heheheee!! Cleaning, cooking, baking, crafting, decorating, visiting, and all those ordinary household things that we have to do everyday! But, somehow we always seem to get things done, or at least the things that really matter! I guess it can just be overwhelming for a person, but we need to just take things in stride, right?! Do what we can and don't worry so much! I think that needs to be my new motto, lol!! Anyways............ yesterday I finished making some pretzel candies. These candies are sooooo yummy!! Thank you to my friend Alecia at Two Spotted Dogs scrapbooking for the yummy recipe!! Stop by sometime, it's a great place meet some scrapbookers and some great friends!! Here is a pic of the Pretzel candies that I made! Anyhow, lol, tonite I have been busy baking some christmas cookies, FINALLY!! I made some swedish Pepperkakker (not sure of the spelling, lol) and some M&M cookies.........they turned out good and the whole house smells yummy!! I think I may bake some more tomorrow now that I am in the mood, lol! Well, Mark and Julie just got home a few minutes ago from Erie Pa......they went to a wedding and then shopping and Chuck E.Cheese's after that.......Julie had a wonderful time! Rachel and I weren't feeling the greatest, so we stayed home! It's been a great day all around.....I will try to post some more tomorrow!

SNOW DAY!!!!!

Today was a Snow day for just about all the schools in western NY, including our own......Cassadaga Valley! Julie was excited, and so was I! I was hoping to sleep in a little bit, but THAT didn't happen! hehehee!! Julie was WIDE awake this morning and has been all energized ALL DAY LONG!! She filled her day watching PBS kids and a movie or two, working at her craft table, and playing with her baby sister. Mommy got a little time to play on the computer and get things picked up around here some. Baby Rachel just took things as they came along today, lol!! I think she enjoyed playing with her big sister too. They laugh alot together! I hope this continues as they grow older!

The weather today has been pretty bad.........not really alot of fluffy snow, but alot of wet snow and rain that's been freezing. Not a good day to go out and play in it that's for sure!! We are in for a doozy of a snow storm supposedly tonite, sunday, and Christmas eve.........idk, I'll guess we'll see!! We are supposed to go to a wedding tomorrow near Erie, Pa., but if this weather continues, we may not go!

Well, I think tonite maybe I'll finally be able to make some christmas cookies....all the other nights that I've wanted to, other things have come up! Isn't that how it always happens! lol! Oh well, life goes on! I leave you for now, but will have more to write soon!
Later, and........
Peace!

Here is a photo I took of the girls yesterday............they just love each other so much........at least so far they do! hehehee!! I can just imagine what it'll be like as they get older, lol!! But for now, life is good, no, it's great! It's probably going to be a small Christmas, present-wise, but that's okay........we never really had a "big" Christmas......but we always seem to have a "Wonderful" one!! Filled with family, friends, and lots of memories!! Oh, and not to mention, "Good food" too!! hehehee!!
I can't believe that Christmas is only 8 more days, it just doesn't seem possible to me........december always seems to go way too fast for me! So many things I'd like to bake, or cook, or make and I never seem to get them all done, lol, oh well, I guess that happens to the best of us!

Well, baby Rachel is sleeping right now, and I have a scrapbooking mess in the bedroom that I need to clean up, and then I think I'll try to make some cards! Talk with you soon!
Peace!

Christmas is coming soon!

Oh my goodness, only 9 more days til Christmas!!!!!! I better get goin' on things! Cookies to bake, presents to get, make, and wrap........house to clean, groceries to get, laundry to do........isn't this the BEST time of year??? Then why do we always get ourselves sooooo uptight and stressed out??!! Christmas, in my opinion, should not be this way, it should be a time of reflecting on the birth of Christ and His love for us. I remember how much fun it was when I was a kid.....making ornaments, stringing popcorn, the smell of swedish meatballs cooking in the kitchen, playing outdoors in the snow, calling my friend Laurie on Christmas eve to see if Santa had come yet, and going to church for the Christmas eve candlelight service. No worries back then it seemed! I lived with my grandparents, and they always took care of everything......gram always seemed to have things under control and made holidays so much fun! I hope I do the same for my girls! Julie is getting excited now for Christmas......everyday she asks, "Mommy, is it christmas yet?" I just love kids and their questions! Rachel is still a baby and doesn't know about Christmas yet, but when she does, I am sure she'll love it just as much as we do! Here are some pics getting ready for this Christmas!

Saturdays.........

Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh, I loooove Saturdays! I can sleep in for a little bit without having to worry about getting Julie ready for school in the morning! Saturdays are a wonderful day and I am so glad to have that day around! Sundays are pretty sweet too!! Usually the whole weekend consists of spending time with family, going to church, crafting, playing with the kids, catching up on things that need to get done, and relaxing with one another! Today we spent alot of the day with grammy. Daddy had to get some things finished for the Sons of Amvets and grammy helped him to get it done! Bless her heart! She is such a wonderful lady and we are so blessed to have her in our lives!

After we got home around dinner time, we made some homemade pizza! The dough was from Shurfine, and boy, let me tell you, it really is yummy!! (once it's cooked that is, heheee!!) Then I put Julie to bed and daddy was feeding Rachel. Julie and I are in the process of reading her Princess Stories storybook. Tonite was the story of Cinderella's wedding and everything she had to go thru. Cute story!

After Julie was asleep, I found a cranberry sauce recipe. I made some for our church holiday dinner tomorrow after the late service. I hope it turned out okay!!

Daddy went to sleep and the girls are sleeping now too.......it's almost 11pm, so I will be going to sleep here pretty soon as well......early morning tomorrow for church!! Will see ya'all soon!
Peace!

Thursday

Well, baby Rachel has been on rice cereal mixed with her formula since last saturday. She seems to be doing pretty well with it so far! Boy, can she eat fast!! She has been rolling over a little bit more now too, she is finding that she can move around to different places by rolling, lol! I'm sure she'll be crawling around pretty soon too.........that'll be so fun! I love this time when babies are learning how to roll over and such....so fun!!

Last night was Julie's christmas concert at her school...Grammy, daddy, Rachel, and I were all there to see her perform.....we also got to see some of her artwork that she and the other kids had been working on. Before Julie went on stage, we realized that we had forgotten her shoes, all she was wearing was her boots......can't go on stage with a nice dress on and BOOTS!! So, daddy, being the nice daddy that he is, went back home to get her shoes.....good thing we don't live too far from the school! Daddy got back before Julie's class went on stage, only to realize that Julie had the shoes in the truck, and didn't tell daddy! Ooooops!! Oh well, daddy didn't mind! Anyhow, everything turned out great! Here are a couple pics for you to enjoy!

Ho Hum.......

Well, not much going on today, just sitting here at the computer when I should be doing something else, something constructive, hehee!! Tonite is Julie's christmas concert at school..........she's been learning some christmas songs, so we'll be excited to go see her and her classmates perform tonite! She just wanted her baby sister to go see her and not mommy and daddy, but I asked her how her sister will get there to watch her, she can't even crawl yet?!! Julie then replied, "I guess you and daddy can come watch too." heheee!! Children are such a joy, aren't they? I just love mine!!

Well, I suppose I better get going on some of the household chores around this place.....it's not too bad today, but there are a couple of things I should get done! Okay, maybe I'll be on later!
Peace!

Everyday Life

Same thing day after day after day........laundry, dishes, make the beds, pick up the living room and bedrooms, laundry, dishes, take care of baby......lol!! Once in awhile there seems to be just a little bit of time for myself to scrap or play on the computer.......today I got both! I made a "Magic box" from the crop this past weekend at www.twospotteddogs.com ......... it was so much fun to make and will make a cute present too!! Here is a picture of it!
The inside of the Magic box:

The outside of the Magic box:

What a Weekend!

All I can say is......WOWZERS!! Mark and I were able to go see Trans-siberian Orchestra this past weekend in Buffalo and boy was it INCREDIBLE! WHAT A SHOW! I wish that I could've taken some pics, but my batteries were dead for my camera! I was just sooooo amazed at what a great show this was......if you've never seen them, you really need to!! It was AWESOME! It was nice to just get away with hubby for just a little while also......we haven't been able to do that in a long time. After the concert we went shopping for a bit and then went to Wing City Grille for dinner.........it was a very fun night! Today, Rachel has been doing rollovers a bit more! Yay!! I even got one on video! Go baby girl!!!



Friday and Sunday I spent time at www.twospotteddogs.com for their "We wish you a Merry Christmas crop." I got to do some scrapbooking and got a few challenges done. They have some very talented girls on that site, let me tell ya that right now! Everyone is so friendly too!! Stop by sometime if you ever get a chance and let them know I told you how nice it was there! Here are some pics of a couple of the projects that I finished this weekend!

Shot day!

Today was Rachel's 4 month checkup.........she now weighs 14 lbs. 8 oz. and everything looked good for her! Yay!! She can now be on cereal too, another Yay!!! She is sleeping right now, I guess her 3 shots she had to get really knocked her out for awhile! Poor thing, I felt so bad during her shots, I hate to see babies cry!

Well, Grammy J is coming to spend the night so that daddy and I can go see Trans-siberian Orchestra tomorrow........that is sooooo gonna ROCK!!! I cannot wait!! We've told Julie that she needs to be on her best behavior for grammy tomorrow, or ELSE!! hehee!! (Just a little bribery, that's all it takes!) Then daddy has to go back to work on monday, it's been soooooooo nice having him home on his vacation. I am glad that he got to do a few things that he wanted to do as well, like travel to WV and NC. He's a wonderful daddy and hubby and he deserved some alone time too!! He's the bestest!!

Well, that's about it today....Oh, I almost forgot! If you get a chance, stop by www.twospotteddogs.com they are having a Very Merry Christmas crop online this weekend!! It's a wonderful scrapbooking site, check it out if you get a chance!
Just click on the pic above my cookie sheet advent calendar on the right hand side of my blog! Ok, gonna go try to scrap a bit!!
Peace!

Christmas Shopping

Yay, I got to go do a little bit O'Christmas shopping done this morning! Not much, but a little bit..........it's going to be a small christmas this year, as have been the last couple of years, but that's okay......buying presents isn't the real meaning of christmas anyways, right? Anyhow, it was nice to get out this morning without kids in tow!

Now I am thinking that maybe I'll make some cookies this afternoon, then make dinner, and then watch Survivor tonite! LOOOOOOOOOVE that show! I don't know if I could ever suvive if I got on the show! hehehee!

Boy, my house smells sooooooo yummy! My mil got me a couple really really REALLY nice candles the other day.......I got to pick my flavors, so I picked Pina Colada and Hyacinth.........Mmmmmmmmmmm, the smell soooooo good!! I am soooo gonna make sure that I get a couple more before the season is over!! Well, that's about all for today.......catch ya later alligator!!

A Sunshine Day!

Yay! The sun is finally out and shining today......it's soooooo perty out!!

Well, daddy should be home later tonite from his little vacation that he's been on! He went to WV, NC, MD and then headed for home today......boy, we sure missed him!!

I've made some Christmas cards for an online crop that I participated in the past couple of weeks......I'll try to upload a picture!



WoooooHoooooooo!! I did it!! YAY ME!!! Well, now that I know how to do this, I will be posting more pics soon!! Talk with ya'll later!! Have a wonderful day!!
Peace!

YAY, daddy just called an is about an hour away!! He'll be home soon!!!
Wooooooooo Hoooooooooo!!!

Aaaarrrrgggghhhh...........Kids!!! LOL!!!

I sure do love mine bunches, but boy oh boy, can my 5 yr. old drive me nuts!! LOL!! Just one of those days today!! She only had a half day of school today, so she has been non-stop energized since noon!!!! (batteries not included! LOL!) Craziness I tell ya!!! And to think, we have another girl to go! lol!! Rachel is 4 months old, geeeee, can't wait til SHE'S 5!! LOL!! Won't that be FUN!!! Oh well, Live, Laugh, Love!!! Right?!!

Well, daddy called and he's done with his visit at the Fisher's. Glad he got some time to visit with Marky!!

Well, Julie, Rachel, and I are gonna have a girl's night tonite....or at least try to! Rachel did a couple of rollovers from her back to her belly today.....pretty soon she'll be rolling all over the place! She seems to be mesmerized by the christmas tree lights.......she keeps looking over at them. I am ALWAYS mesmerized by christmas lights......just something about 'em!! I LOOOOOOOVE Christmas!! I almost have all my shopping done, but I better get started on a few gifts that I would like to make for people huh?!

We got blasted with snow last night, and have a few inches in the driveway....not too bad if the truck can still drive thru it! LOL! Well, I hope it doesn't snow tooooo much more in the next couple of days!

For those of you that have myspace, just wanted to let you know that I got rid of mine yesterday! Just having some trouble with it, so I didn't want to bother with it anymore! Well, that's about it for today......hopefully I'll talk with ya tomorrow! Have a great night!

Second Day

Well, today is my second day of being a blogger.........I'm kind of liking it!

Not much to say today, I guess I have one of those boring ho hum lives, lol, but I sure do love it!! Well, maybe more will happen when Julie gets home from school! See ya later!!

Nope, not too much happened after Julie got home today..........kind of boring! lol!! Well, I guess we are in for alot of snow and rain tonite........we'll see how bad it is tomorrow morning! lol!! G'nite all! Sleep well and God bless!
Lisa