Baby Girl Blog Hop for Lesley

Welcome to our "Baby Girl Blog Hop" for Lesley Croghan!!   The wonderful Lori Turner organized this fun hop so we could throw Lesley a "cyber card shower" in celebration of her baby girl to be :)  Thank you Lori for all your hard work behind the scenes and to Nance for designing our Hop Banner.  I just LOVE being part of the card making community as it is full of many amazing ladies with huge hearts!!  You can check out the post HERE. 

I had the joy of meeting both Lesley and her hubby Corey in person a few years back.  She has a heart of gold, a passion for card making and teaching, and it was wonderful to be able to have a "cyber friend" become a "face to face" friend!

Wishing you a quick delivery, Lesley, and you and Corey many years of parenting joy!!  Hugest of ((hugs)) to you, my friend, and I look forward to popping in the next time we are in your neck of the woods to congratulate you in person and snuggle you bundle of joy!

Cherish

I have never done this on my blog before, but I just had to share this fabulous book with you!!

I had the joy of being both Gary and Lisa's (his wife) friend while we all attend university together.  We shared many great conversations and fun times, and I was honored to be a guest at their wedding.  I watched the birth of Gary's desire to become a writer as he wrote paper after paper in his dorm room, and loved his heart's desire to impact people through his writing.    Fast forward thirty odd years and it has been nothing but a joy to see how God has used his writing to impact the lives of countless marriages, Christian and otherwise.

I have personally read four of his books (Sacred Marriage, Sacred Influence, Every Body Matters, Sacred Search), and my marriage has been blessed because of them!  My teenage daughter is currently reading Sacred Search - a fabulous book about choosing a spouse - and loving it!     

If you have read Sacred Marriage (if not it is another powerful book!) this takes it to another level.  The book affirmed what I knew to be true, opened my eyes to a few things, admonished me in his gentle way of wording things, challenged me to evaluate my level of "cherishing" my husband, and provided some ideas to deepen and grow "cherish" in our marriage.  And provided a wonderful tool/  opportunity to grow as a couple and strengthen our marriage.      

He did not delve into abusive relationships, nor did he say if you cherish each other that would diminish/cease. What he does provide is a gently worded challenge to evaluate our level of "cherishing" our spouse to allow the relationship to grow to a deeper level.    As Gary says: "you can love someone and not cherish them, but you can't cherish them and not love them", "love and cherish never compete - they compliment and even complete each other", and "cherish" is like being the male ballet dance who is grateful to helps the prima ballerina shine more brightly than if she were just dancing on her own and being glad to play that supportive role". 

I will definitely be buying a hard copy of his book and re-reading it with a highlighter in hand.  It is full of powerful words that can dramatically change any relationship, especially your marriage.   Love Gary's mandate for Christian couples:  "Cherish is a simple formula but a powerful one:  preach the gospel to yourself and then live out the gospel.  That is the power to cherish - believing and receiving the gospel in which we are cherished beyond all measure and then living out the implications to cherish each other".   That being said, though written with Christian couples in mind, this book has something for everyone in any sort of a relationship.

A great read I highly recommend!!



 
  

Best of 2016: October - December

This is the final installment of my best of 2016 posts.   Lots more posts this quarter so a few more cards.

 

For some reason I really like this card.  It didn't get a ton of comments, but for whatever reason, I quite like it.

 

Same background paper and colour mix - can you tell I love working with Fall colours ;) 

 

Absolutely adore this little angel image from Verve! 

 

Adore this colour combo! 

 

Had fun creating this wreath from the sprig image.

 

My favorite word up front and center.

 

One of my all time favorite Christmas paper packs and colour combos for Christmas cards.

 

 A bit more "JOY" for you :)  

While flipping through the year, I realized how much my stamping time and mojo was compromised...  It has been the busiest and more stressful year in a long time and it definitely showed in my card making.  Thanks for sticking it out with me :)   Next year should be a lot less busy and stressful and I am already looking forward to more inky time!

See you in the New Year!!

 

Best of 2016: July - September

Back for the third installment of the best of 2016, with July - September.

 

Heart is another favorite of mine to use on cards.

 

Surprise - more flowers ;) 

 

Another favorite verse of mine along with one of my all time favorite paper packs!

 

I don't do CAS very often as it is way out of my comfort zone and I was really pleased with how this one turned out.

Back soon with the final summary post.  Enjoy your day!

Best of 2016: April - June

Trusting you all had a fabulous Christmas!!  We had a delicious prime rib roast cooked by none other than my wonderful hubby, and though we were small in numbers this year, we had a very special time together celebrating the birth of Christ as a family.

This post will cover April through June 2016.

 

Flowers and butterflies - yup, pretty much sums up my favorite things to put on cards ;) 

 

Fell head over heels in love with this new Verve Stamps flower!

 

 One more time - I love it that much :) 

This quarter was insanely busy as my daughter graduated from high school so my card making time was at a minimum.  

Back in a few days with the next installment.

 
 

Merry Christmas

Wishing you and yours a blessed Christmas!!! 

We celebrate on Christmas Eve and had a wonderful time enjoying prime rib roast, Yorkshire pudding, double stuffed potatoes and lots more cooked by my wonderful hubby.  As usual, I was his sous chef and clean up girl - we are a great team :)    Wonderful memories of our evening together and  today we are enjoying a jammie day with brunch, some puzzle making (only time of the year I do puzzles and I love making them so always a highlight for me) and a Wii Sports challenge somewhere along the way I am sure LOL!

Sending you all a huge Christmas ((hug))!!

Blessings!

Best of 2016: January - March

Another year has flown by, and this one has been especially quick for our family!!  So much going on with family, parents and work that we are all very much looking forward to some much needed down time over the Christmas holidays :)

That being said, I am once again doing my year in review; a quick recap of my favorite cards of the year so I can spend lots of time with the family and simply relaxing - aka: family board games, reading, sleeping in, puzzle making (one of my favorite luxuries of this time of year), and creating wonderful memories.

Here goes January through March.

 Love this verse!

Emery is so fun to use on baby cards!

I love my venti, decaf non-fat latte's :)

Love working with Fall colours and orange is such an under loved colour that I gave it front and center with the flowers.

Next installment will be after Christmas!  Wishing each of you a blessed Christmas as you spend time with family and friends.

Blessings!




 
 

The End of an Era

Having a mommy moment today.....this weekend my daughter had her Grade 12 prom night and with it came the closing of an era and the beginning of a new one.  Seems like just yesterday I was registering her for pre-school and now she is a beautiful, intelligent and gifted young woman who will be stepping into the next phase of her life as she heads off to university.

She has grown, matured and gained much wisdom as she navigated those not-so-easy high school years, and those experiences have built in her a depth of character and convictions that will carry her a long way in life.  I am extremely grateful for some amazing teachers who have left their fingerprints on her heart and given her the confidence she didn't always have in herself.  We have been blessed with their being a part of the village raising her :)

Watching her spread her wings and begin to soar is beautiful to watch, albeit difficult at the same time!  My mama heart yearns to keep her close and yet also knows my most important job is to ensure the strings are let out more and more and ultimately cut so I can sit back and watch her become all God created her to be and do for His glory.  SO blessed to be her mom!!    Love you with all my heart sweetheart!!

Unfortunately dad and baby brother had to be at a soccer tournament this weekend so we missed out on family photos this night.  So, to make up for it, we are all going to get dressed up and go out for a wonderful dinner to celebrate :)  Can't wait to see her in her dress again - these pictures do NOT do it justice!!  She got it in Paris last year when she went on a two week school trip to Europe and they hit the summer sales just right!  She got this gorgeous designer dress, cut on the bias and inlaid with lace for 75% off the original price!  It is a classic and I wish I had been there as I would have gotten one in my size for myself I love it that much!!

Two Russian/Slavic girls with high cheekbones :)

 

Dress envy - she absolutely loved her friends pink dress.

 

With her best friend.

 

Two buddies since elementary school.

 

A fellow Manchester City fan - they often wore their jerseys on the same day and always stuck together in supporting their team during the Premier League play offs.

SO blessed to have you as our daughter!!  Love you sweetheart!!

  

Beautiful, inside and out...!

Thanks for indulging me :) 

Graduation Time

Hard to believe my daughter will be graduating from High School this year!!  On one hand, my mommy heart is in denial, and on the other, I am excited for a new chapter in her life to begin!

Many of you have seen these on Facebook, but if not, here you go :)

The graduate!!

Celebrating :)

 

My beautiful, intelligent, caring girl - love her to bits!!

Daddy's girl too!

 

Baby Brother taking front and center instead of the graduate - always the ham!

Proud parents!

 

Having fun :)  Hair still wet - yikes!

 

We needed a photographer for the four of us as my son took this selfie because he has the longest arms!

 

Best friends.

 

Where did the years go??!!  Blessed beyond measure to be her mom.  Love you more than words could ever express, sweetheart!!

The Year In Review Part 4

Here is the last part of my year in review.

 

Made for a dear friend who now lives in Alberta.

 

Love this sentiment as it mirrors my life verse of Philippians 1:6

 

Made for a Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge.

 

Fun tag card.

 

Such a fun colour combination.

 

Love this little wooden reindeer I found in the Michael's dollar bin!

My favorite word front and center.

 

Yup.  "Joy" once again along with my favorite winter image - snowflakes!

Hope you enjoyed the stroll through 2015.  Back on January 1st with the first Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge of 2016!  

Thank you to all of you who follow my blog and for the lovely comments you leave.  The crafting community is one full of very giving and kind people and what a blessing you are :)   I look forward to sharing 2016 with you and wish you all a fabulous 2016 ((hugs))!!