Lifesong

Deadlines and Photos

Well, it is finally finished. I am so relieved! As some of you know, I am entering a scrapbook Hall of Fame contest (I tried to keep it quiet, but so many were wondering what happened to me for days on end. I was scrapbooking, of course!). For those of you not in the scrapbook world, it is a BIG deal. It's the top 25 scrapbookers of the year, you win money, scrapbook supplies, your picture and layouts in a book, but mostly it's just the honor of winning. One of the biggest names in the scrapbook world (in my opinion), Creating Keepsakes, saying "Wow, you're awesome!" is quite a reward in itself. It's been a secret goal/wish of mine (not so secret anymore) and something I just really want. I am excited about it. I know my cha nces are average, because there are a lot of good scrapbookers out there, but I wanted to give it a shot this year. It was a LOT of work. You have to submit 10 layouts, 6 of which follow their specific criteria, and four that are my personal favorites. I have thought entirely too much about scrapbooking layouts over the past month or so, but I am happy with what I have accomplished. I have given it my all. So, win, lose, or Honorable Mention, I have done my best, and that is all I can do. Of course, I hope that I win, but if not, I can at least say that I gave it my best shot. My layouts mail out tomorrow, for a February 9 deadline. I'll keep you posted!(Note: Unfortunately, I can't post any of my layouts online because of rule restrictions. But as soon as I can, I will share! :))

This morning I decided that the lighting was perfect in our family room, and Ansley was looking particularly cute, so I tried for a photo shoot. Let me just say that getting a two year old to sit still longer that 30 seconds is a real task (well, my two year old anyway). She would sit down for about 5 seconds, then jump up, run in the other room and bring me a toy. "Here you go Mommy!" and then she'd sit down for about 3 seconds, jump up and start it all over again. I ended up with a large collection of toys, stuffed animals, trucks....but not too many great photos. Anyway, here are two of my favorites. Hope you enjoy them!

Oh, and check out my new quote in the side bar over there <------------------ . I love it. I think it really captures why I scrapbook, and why I so love this hobby of mine. Scrapbooking started out as something fun, a creative outlet for me, but has really turned into a passion, something that I can really put my talents into, and record our lives and memories right now. It's so fun to me, and so powerful to be able to capture these precious, fleeting memories. The Hall of Fame assignments really allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and do layout concepts that are different for me. For example, ALL of my layouts, in one way or another, are about Ansley. What we did, what she's up to, who her friends are, etc. But two whole layouts of the ten are not about Ansley at all! So, just something different, something fun, that I probably wouldn't have scrapbooked about if it hadn't been for this contest. Anyway, sorry to get your interest and then not be able to elaborate, but I promise I will share the layouts if/when I can.

Hope you all had a great weekend, and enjoyed this novel. ; ) (I've had scrapbooking on the brain for far too long, so I guess I had too much to share!) :)

My Matchbox Girl

Ansley just LOVES playing with matchbox cars and trains. Constantly. Every so often, something else will do, but most often, this is what she can be found playing with. She wants to take them with her when we go places, and she loves driving them around on Mommy, Daddy, grocery carts, tables. Here she is this morning, dri ving them on the carpet, and parking them right next to my leg. She has about 10 cars now, and apparently, the more the better. They all get lined up, driven, parked, and sometimes carry Little People to and from the living room to other parts of the house, every day. It's such fun to see what her interests are! I love to see the personality coming out in my girl!

Cousins

John made it back from Germany on Friday, and we had a fun weekend spent with Jon, Beth (my cousin) and their girls, Emma and Sarah. The girls played well together, and had a lot of fun. Here is a picture of the three of them (from left to right) - Sarah (3), Emma (6), and Ansley (2). They played a lot here at the house together, but we also went out for ice cream, took them to Build-A-Bear Workshop, rode the carousel, and went out to dinner. They left on Sunday, and when Ansley woke up from her nap, she asked "Where did Emma and Sarah go?" and she's been talking about them ever since. We all had a fun time! (And Jon and Beth - so appreciate all the help with the photo shoot!:))

I am finally starting to feel better (a very recent thing) but Ansley is sick again. I am just growing to hate this time of year! She has a cold again that could only have come from her gymnastics class, since we didn't go anywhere else last week. So frustrating! I'm just praying that it's mild, and that John and I don't catch it. I have to get some things done - I can't be sick! I am ready for spring weather - please!

Hope you all are doing well and had a wonderful weekend! I will try and post some more pictures from the weekend when I have some more time.

What a week!

John has been in Germany all week (left on Sunday) and I was still not feeling great. My mother in law came in town and was a huge help! We got so much done - she was able to help out with Ansley, cook meals, clean, and keep me company. It was great - I am so glad she was able to come! I ended up going back to the doctor yesterday because I am still not feeling good, and I am on a steroid pack now. He said it would make me feel much better quickly, but so far I'm still not feeling great, or even good. Hopefully it will get better soon! My cousin, Beth, and her husband and two girls, Emma and Sarah, are coming in this evening to visit for the weekend. So hopefully I will be feeling much better for that! And John gets home tomorrow, so we will be so happy to see him! But for now, my house is clean, meals are cooked, Ansley's napping (all thanks to my MIL!)....so all is well.

More pictures and posts to come as I start to feel better! :)

Here's to health!

Ansley and I are on the mend, thanks to antibiotics, and plenty of rest. :) I think the times when you are sick make you really appreciate the majority of the time when you're healthy. I'm so happy to be feeling better, and so grateful Ansley is back to her normal self! A big thanks to our wonderful neighbors for calling, checking up, stopping by, bringing dinner....makes you also really appreciate great friends!

Ansley spent the morning playing with her huge collection of Little People.  She loved it! We set up her entire collection - barn, house, playground, zoo, airport, and many people and cars, bikes and planes. She had a great time playing, sometimes by herself, sometimes with Mommy. She is really at a fun age (I say that at every age!) but lately she has become such a chatterbox. She talks non-stop all day long. While sometimes I may wonder if she will ever stop talking, when she's napping or sleeping at night, our house is very quiet, and I realize I love that little girl chatter. She tells me all kinds of things, and it's so fun to hear what's on her mind. Love that girl!

Fun visit, and then this.

We had a great time with Mimi and PopPop - thought I'd post this cute picture of them together yesterday. I love the look on Ansley's face - to me, it says "Yeah, I'm loved." :) They left yesterday, but it was nice to have them around.

And today we found out Ansley and I both have bronchitis. Not fun.

So, this could be my last post until we are feeling better, just so you don't wonder. We will be resting, drinking lots of water, sleeping and vegging around here. Praying John doesn't get it as well.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

The Aquarium is Awesome!

Ansley's Mimi and PopPop (my parents) are visiting this week, and Ansley is having a blast! Today we went to the new Georgia Aquarium, the world's largest aquarium, for the first time. It was amazing! Ansley loved seeing all the "fishies", but we also saw huge spider crabs (ewww!), a giant octopus, huge whale sharks, beluga whales, hammerhead sharks, penguins, and my personal favorite, the sea otters. Ansley got to touch a sting ray, and see up close many animals that we read about in her books. It was really awesome - we all had a great time! Here are a few pictures of the day:

Ansley doing a double-take with a giant sea turtle; Ansley and John checking out the fish; the cute sea lions, or sea otters, I can't remember (there was a difference); and the huge whale shark, who will grow to be over 40 feet long! This was one of the coolest parts - it's a long tunnel with the tank all around you, and you just watch the whale sharks, fish, hammerhead sharks, and sting rays swim around. Very cool.

We left with a stuffed tree frog (no, we didn't see any of those, but that's what Ansley chose) and a Georgia Aquarium cup with straw (they funnel you through the gift shop before you can leave. Very smart.) If you haven't been, and live around here, you really should go. It was a lot of fun!

Errand Day

Today we had a busy day! Since you're all so anxious to see another post, though, I took my camera along so I could c apture a picture on the way and blog today. (What a committed blogger I am!:))So, here it is! Here's Ansley in the car, coloring her Elmo book and singing "I've got joy, joy, joy, joy down in heart - WHERE?" and then sings "I'm so happy, so very happy, love of Jesus in heart - WHERE?" Car rides are quite entertaining for both of us these days! :)

This morning we had gymnastics, and McKane and Riese have joined the gymnastics class, so now Ansley sees them, and her friends Alex, Madeline and Aidan all at the same time! It's become a really big class, but Ansley is still enjoying it. I think the stamp on her hand at the end of the class is her favorite part!

After the class, we drove to our friends Rob and Liz's house in Roswell to check out a sectional sofa we're considering buying for our basement. Ansley got to play with her friend Carter (we were in a playgroup together when they were babies, but haven't seen them in a little while) and see baby Finn. Carter and Ansley had fun playing trains together. Then we ate lunch with Daddy, and drove back home, where my sleepy little girl is out like a light.

Project Week

I thought I'd share what John has been working on this week, since some of you asked. We have gone from having a beautiful, but empty, room in our basement that we didn't use, to a fully functioning playroom that Ansley LOVES! It is so nice to be able to have a room that is just for her, where she can play and run and go wild (and where friends can come over and run wild in a contained area:)). We had so many toys that they were overflowing the room upstairs (formerly known as her playroom) so we have moved her kitchen, easel, and train table down here, along with other toys and books. Hopefully soon, we will have it all completed and ready to watch movies and relax! John has done all this just while Ansley naps and after she goes to bed at night, so we have still been able to have fun filled days as a family. I'm impressed that he got so much done! All that's left are the shelves and doors, and then we'll have the painter come paint them. Then it'll be done! We have already been using it a lot, and Ansley loves it down here! I'll share more pictures when it is completed. Notice our little Picasso in the picture - she loves to color, paint and draw! You may ask what I've been doing while he works? Scrapbooking, of course! I have gotten many layouts done, and we did get a new printer, so I've been able to accomplish alot. We had a fun, relaxing week while John was off. Today it was back to the routine, so we are adjusting. Ansley has asked "Where'd Daddy go?" many, many times this morning. Fortunately, my parents are coming in on Friday, so I've been able to distract her with that. :)

Hope you all are having a great Monday!