My New Life

A picture's worth a thousand words. Rarely do I believe this but this is one prime example.

Stinkin' Cute

Lila deserved her own post. I didn't want this adorable picture to get swallowed up in the other Thanksgiving photos! She is wearing a dress I ordered from Mary Walker, who has a sewing business (http://www.madebymary.com/). Mary's mom did the smocking by hand and did it just as I requested. I think Lila looks so sweet in her little Fall dress!

Thanksgiving 2008

My three babies! Lila cannot keep her hands out of her mouth! Hampton, Carson, Hannah, Lila, & Cullen watching the racoons eat. The bunny is not real, though. My mom likes wildlife statues.

I thought this was so clever! Cullen made it out of some pinecones that my mom saved as well as a few other odds and ends he found on the ground.

We started our Thanksgiving celebration a day early this year by driving to my parents' house in Folsom to meet up with my friend Michele and her two boys, Jon and Ben. The boys all had a good time once we stopped trying to keep them out of the river and let them get wet and sandy despite our best intentions. Then my brother, his wife, and their two kids arrived Wednesday night from Mobile. Today we saw most of the Broders family with the exception of my other brother, Leo, and his family. Leslie and Mark even came with their new baby, Cecilia. We had a great time hiking on the trails, riding on the John Deere Gator, and of course eating. We took lots of pictures trying to get a photo worthy of our Christmas card. Above are a few that are NOT contenders for the family card but are still cute. We feel so blessed to have been with so many family members Thanksgiving day and can't wait to do it all over again with the Phillips family on Saturday!

Just some cute pictures

This is what Lila looks like when she fusses at me.

Lila and my firstborn... the formerly evil Macon. He looks like he's about to attack but I promise he's not.

I wanted to post some of my new pictures of Lila. There is no theme except our adorable baby girl. I am not taking pictures of the boys until they get their haircuts.

Lila Has Rolled Over

After working hard at it for a few weeks Lila rolled over tonight. She was actually kind of PO'd afterwards. It was as if she didn't realize that the end result of all of her hard work would entail her being on her belly (not her favorite place to be). She must have missed the memo about the opposite side of one's back being the belly. I am not sure if she will do it again because she was crying quite loudly, hence the lack of photo of the event. After all of Carson's muscle issues and late milestones I am thrilled every time Lila does anything. She already bears more weight on her legs at 4 months than Carson did at 14 months and we feel very appreciative and blessed with this attention hungry girl child with the smile that makes us melt. :)

November Hostess Club

For those of you who don't know this, one of the things I do with my stamping business is have a set group of ladies come over once a month. I have projects for them to do and they place a Stampin' Up! order with me. We always have fun and I love having a chance to visit with "the stamping ladies" as the boys call them. The ladies take turns being the hostess, which entails bringing the snacks for the month and getting the free merchandise that our hostesses get. Here are photos of the projects that we did this month. Both of these card ideas were copied from the presentations at the mini regional conference in Jackson a few weeks ago, although I changed the colors for the ribbon flower card.

Project One: Sunset Card

Punch a circle out of a sticky note and put it on a piece of white cardstock. Sponge Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango, Ruby Red (in that order- lightest to darkest) ink one at a time on white cardstock. Remove the circle, exposing the white area underneath. Dab more of the Summer Sun on the exposed white area. Stamp an image in black on top of this "sunset" background and layer with various colors of cardstock.

Project Two: Ribbon Flower Card

This card is harder to explain in writing. I stamped a snowflake on the back of a small piece of pink cardstock. This snowflake simply served as a guide for punching the holes to thread the ribbon through. We sewed taffeta ribbon through the holes to create the flower; the back looks terribly messy but the front turns out cute! Add a flat backed pearl from the embellishments kit from the Stampin' Up! catalog (adhere with a glue dot). If you need more details for this card please let me know!

Dressing Cheesy for a Reason

There are some occasions that call for one to dress their child in somewhat cheesy clothes. Game Days are one of those occasions, especially game days when your team can use all the help they can get! Lila was wearing her LSU clothes by 5:45 a.m. today. Geaux Tigers!

Med School Here We Come

Carson wants to be a veterinarian when he grows up (he and Cullen already have an arrangement where Carson will treat all of Cullen's future snakes). Since Carson aced his Skeletal System test I am sure he will exceed in Vet School one day as well. I think he may have done better on it than I would have. I am very proud and a little ashamed that all I remember doing in first grade is reading and writing in "script" that I presented proudly to my teacher. It turned out it was really scribble scratch and she was unimpressed. I don't write too much better to this day.

Stampin' Up! Mini Regionals

Me and Linda Hansen, who is famous in Stampin' Up! World! She was one of the ladies in charge of the regional in Jackson.
After a fun afternoon of stamping we had worked up an appetite. A few of us met at Louise's (a hole in the wall south of Jackson) for dinner. L-R Top row: Laura and Erica, bottom row: Tracey, me, and Tanya.

Yesterday I drove to Jackson, Mississippi with several of my downline to attend the Stampin' Up! mini regionals there. About twenty two other members of my group (all the way down to level four downline) were also there. We had a great afternoon listening to some business tips from other demonstrators and the ladies who were there representing Stampin' Up! corporate offices. One of my level two downline, Melanie, presented how to use the new "Big Shot" and did a fantastic job. I also was asked to speak and to share some business boosting tips. It was very exciting to be chosen to talk to such a knowledgeable group of ladies! Most of all I had fun hanging out with other people who enjoy stamping and love Stampin' Up! as much as I do! It was the longest I had ever been away from Lila but Kevin did a great job and even went several places with all three kids. :)