Ohhhhhhhh...

Who could resist this adorable Elmo??? Not me!!! While I was out running errands yesterday morning I just happened upon this cute little guy...and he's BIG--almost 3 feet--and so soft and cuddly. So...I caved, total impulse buy!!! I know a cute little guy that is just going to love him! (Now I just have to get him to Michigan!) :0) Hope Elmo likes to fly!!

S...N...O...W...

This is the view from our deck this morning...we woke up yesterday to a blanket of snow covering everything, and if "George"--our local NBC weatherman-- is correct, we will have more tomorrow morning! The air is crisp and clean, the sky is blue, the ground is soft and white...it's almost hard "not" to love winter! :0)

Holiday preparations...

The tree is "UP", and it's not even December yet...I'm excited to be ahead of the game for once!
(As I said before, this new tree is amazingly easy--love it!!)
Next I will tackle...
Christmas cards,
wrapping presents,
making some fudge and cookies,
finishing my shopping,
and remembering to
take time to enjoy the season!!

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium....

I recommend this movie!! It was so much fun for us to see it through the eyes of K and R...it truly was magical for them! Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman, Jason Bateman and Zach Mills are terrific, and Mr. Magoriums's toy store is every child's fantasy! A very fun way to spend 2 hours!

Tis' the season...

After a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend, and SO much to be thankful for, we are all ready to head "full speed" into Christmas preparations!! These little Christmas decorations (pictured above) are well-known and used in the scrapbooking world, but this is my first attempt at making them. It was so fun to do and I'm happy with the how festive they turned out! I have several other Christmas gifts in various stages of completion, so now I have to get busy and get them finished..
I can't believe how quickly December is approaching! Jim put up our new tree today, and what a joy it was for him! Our old tree was 10' tall and each branch had to be put in individually and "fluffed up!" The new tree comes in sections with the branches hinged and you just put them together, the branches fall into place, you plug it in and "voila"...a beautiful lighted Christmas tree! A two day process was shortened to less than an hour! A reason to smile! :0)
We are taking K and R to "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" this afternoon...looks like a magical way to begin the season!

Guess who's 2 today.....

"Happy birthday, baby L!" It's hard to believe that it's been 2 years since this precious little guy came into our lives! He lives way too far away, but we're all working on that!! We were able to watch him open his birthday presents from us on our computer via a video conference...so much fun, and definitely the next best thing to being there!! He would lean forward and kiss our image on their computer...now that touches a Nana's heart!! Love you, baby L!!

Such a pretty flower....

"Oh the weather outside is frightful, but, the fire is so delightful....!" We picked up this beautiful poinsettia last weekend on our trip to Costco, it's just huge and looks so pretty and festive in the garden window in our kitchen. And..... yes, it's still very WHITE outside...but I'm thinking positive about all this snow and fog....:0)!

The happiest place on earth...

2 little girls

+ lots of Disney charachers

=THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!

Having fun scrapping some special memories of the "happiest place on earth" and not noticing the winter wonderland outside!

Ready or not....

Ready or not, the "S" word struck today....I guess this "white stuff" signals the onset of winter....this is the sight right outside our front door. So, because I promised myself that I would "think positive" about winter this year, I'm happy it's snowing because:
*it makes me more excited and in the mood for Christmas preparations
*you can sit by the fire and drink hot chocolate and not feel guilty that you aren't being
"productive!"

*you can light candles in the daytime and they aren't overshadowed by all the sunlight

streaming in the windows

*Let's see, I'm sure there is more, I just can't think of it right now!! :0) I'm going back to

sit by the fire!

(I need some "blogger" help!! Does anyone else have trouble getting the words to go where you want them to when you publish your post??? I get them looking perfect in my "draft" and then when I publish them the pictures and words just move around wherever they want to!!! Frustrating!!)

A little more time....

Good news....we decided to postpone my calendar class at Paper Pals until Saturday, December 1st, to accommodate those leaving this Friday for Thanksgiving break at WSU and U of I. Bad planning on my part, but hopefully this change will make it "all good!" :0) The calendar sample is at the Pullman store, stop by and check it out!! I hope you can join us on December 1st, 12:00-2:00 PM! When you're finished with the calendar, each month page can be put into an 8X8 scrapbook album. It's 2....2....2 gifts in one!!

Life list....cross one off!!

"After I created my life list, something magical happened. I actually started DOING things on the list." This quote is from my "Life List" blog that I wrote about a month ago....A life list is a list of things you want/must to do in this lifetime, and the intent is to cross the items off one-by-one.

So....after Saturday night I can cross off "Host a wine tasting party." We hosted a wine tasting party at our home and had such a fun evening!!

Hummmmm...what will I tackle next off this list:

Help Jon, Sarah and Landen move to the northwest

Go to an Il Divo concert

Take our grandchildren to Disney World

Go on a “sister’s get-away” someplace fun with Jean

Visit New York City

Have a condo in Phoenix

Sell our present house and build a new house

Go to the Oprah show

Take a trip to Tuscany with Jim

Exercise EVERY day

Learn to play golf

Invite people to dinner more often

Go to more movies

Clean out my closet and drawers and give away anything I don’t wear

Go to Maui again...and again...and again

Stop worrying about things out of my control

Organize all my photos

Find my “perfect’ haircut

Go to visit my friend Linda Hartzell in Texas

Stay in The Venetian again in Las Vegas

Help Jon and Sarah make the move closer to us (listing it twice might help it happen!! :0)

Get new bedding for our guest rooms

Have our master bedroom closet done by California Closets

De-clutter all my drawers and cabinets

See some Broadway plays in New York City

Floss every day

Host a wine tasting party

Plan a family vacation with Jeff, Jamie and Jon and their families

Organize...really organize, my scrapbook room

Spend more quality time with Jim

Learn how to use all the settings on my camera

See Barry Manilow in concert

Catch up on the “yearly” scrapbooks for my grandchildren

Spend lots of the winter in a warmer climate

Take Jamie, Bridget and Sarah on a “girl’s weekend shopping trip”

Get new bedroom furniture

Find the perfect wreath for our front door

Finish my Book of Me including autobiography

Find the BEST wireless internet connection

Eat less chocolate

Spend more time on the deck

Teach our friends to play Euchere

Think only "positive" thoughts

So.......Along with exercising every day, eating less chocolate and thinking only positive thoughts, I'm going to keep "Help Jon, Sarah and Landen move to the northwest" as my #1 priority!!!

Cute little chipmunk...

Here is that cute little chipmunk, with his Mommy and Daddy, that I told you about a few days ago....as someone said, those cheeks are PERFECT for a chipmunk!!! I love you baby L!!

Kate....

A baby girl...

one of the most beautiful miracles in life,

one of the greatest joys we can ever know,

and one of the reasons why there is a little extra sunshine,

laughter and happiness in your world today.

Having fun this afternoon just sitting in my scrapbook room "creating!" I love this picture of Kate...she must have been about 12 months old, and, now she is 2 1/2....where is the time going?!

"FUN" with a captial "F"....

Here are 3 of the 4 reasons we had such a super-fun weekend...we got to spend it with them! Little "K" is missing from the picture, she is at that age when she wanted no part of sitting and posing, but K, A and R were all really good sports and humored Nana by letting me take their picture. (They have been raised with a scrapbooking Nana, so they know the drill!!) :0)

Love those big brown eyes...

This adorable little guy turns 2 this month....oh, slow down baby Landen, you are growing up way too fast!!! Sarah just sent loads of new pictures to Shutterfly, so I have have lots of fun scrapbooking ahead of me!! He was a chipmunk for Halloween last night...we got to do the "computer cam" and see him when he was all dressed-up and ready to go...his little furry tail was so cute wiggling as he walked away from the camera! :0)