Preaching Brothers !

It's funny, my very first blog post started with me talking about how many preachers were in my family. There are just as many friends who are preachers in our life. Today we spent the day with Nicki's godparents, first at morning service and then again that afternoon with them at one of my bestfriends husband's ( also a preacher ) church. We really have a great time when we get together. I realized to late that today would have been a great photo opportunity ( especially when the three men were up in the pulpit together ), but after all of the wedding pictures from yesterday it did not even occur to me to take the camera today. Thank goodness Nicki had her camera phone. So I present to you Rev. Marc, Rev.Rob, and Rev. Clyde. These "Brother's in Christ" have been friends for years ( at least 10 if not more ) and are there for each other through thick and thin. They try to support each other every chance they can. I hope and pray that its a legacy that will continue on in our children and in their children.

Bells are ringing...

The wedding was beautiful. Especially a very special flowergirl...my goddaughter. Saw lots of friends I had not seen in years. Joyce and Keith were the King and Queen for sure. Congratulations you two on 25 years of marriage. Will update with more details later, right now this old girl is tired from having to get up and meet with my friend at 8 am this morning in preparation for her upcoming wedding. Goodnight family and friends...just in case someone is actually up this late reading.

Dress Sale Buddies are in the House

Well, the girls are back together again. Minus Peggy ( we missed you ). Cass was in town with the girls for a renewal wedding of one of our friends. So the ladies decided to get together at a local Golden Corral for dinner. We ended up closing out the place. But we had a great time and laughed and talked like teenagers. As a matter of fact we embarrassed our girls who told us we needed to use our inside voices before we got kicked out! We also celebrated Sheila, Tamra and Priscilla's birthdays. Anyway, no Dress Sale Buddy get together would be complete without a group shot. Tommorrow it will be Cass, Lula, Diane and me...the 4 Musketeers. It's going to be a wild weekend.

Can You Explain ?

Why I love the water, but can't swim a lick ? Why I love the beach, but can't stand sand in my toes ? Why I love going to Florida but can't stand the heat ? If you ever figure it out drop me a line. I came across these pictures while checking my albums on line. I love these because I took them the day before Nicki's last year of high school. Those are her feet in the picture. I also took a picture of her walking in the sand and watching her footsteps as she moved away from me. It was suppose to symbolize her growing up and walking out on her own. She is proving to be a very independent young lady ( actually from the time she got here she has been that way ).Its funny that we live so close to the water but rarely go. I saw Heidi Swapps family pictures today and it made me want to grab my family and hit the beach. Well, that will never happen because for one TJ hates taking pictures. And Marc thinks wearing jeans is a crime. Maybe the girls and I will take a couple of pictures together before the end of summer ( maybe even after the tourist season has died down ). Well off to a wedding shower . Will share pictures tonight on my scrapblog. I set the tables and decorations for the party, and I am so proud of myself. Sometimes I miss my wedding coordinating days. And everyone knows I love planning theme parties. I must say, this girl has talent (lol). Wonder where that comes from ?

Isn't this the cutest thing ?

Quisha is working part time this summer at the church pre-school ( good preparation for her teacher resume )when she is not at Build-A-Bear. Anyway, she needed a project for the children to do today. She came up with the idea of doing a "pizza" ( no surprise that it was food ) !. She cut large circles out of cardboard and covered the bottom with foil to represent the pan. She is going to have the children color the top with red crayons and then they will add cheese ( shredded yellow paper ) , green peppers ( more shredded green paper ) and pepperoni sausage ( red circles cut out with my Creative Memories Shape maker ). I had to take a picture. Of course you know this will become a scrapbook page. She promised to bring a finished "slice" home to complete my layout. Now, where can I pick up some pizza die cuts ?

What were we thinking !

Ok, decided today was a good day to laugh at myself ! Look what Marc just pulled out of the garage ( yes, he actually got in there ). I told some family members about this a few weeks ago. One day Marc and had nothing better to do and while at Sam's Club we were approached about taking a picture. Needless to say, I must have been insane that day to even agree. The picture was actaully free, just did not think it would be that big and when it came back I promised Marc that if he ever put it up on the wall I would kill him. He actually framed it and had the nerve to put Mom and Pa on it ! No Dorothy, we are not in Kansas anymore !!! I can promise you this is one picture that will never be displayed in the house. But it sure makes for a good scrapbook page.

Additional photos from my trip

That's if blogger will cooperate ! Did you notice my cousin has the cell phone on in every picture ?

Ten Signs of Summer in my House

1) Air conditioning and more air conditioning.
2) Lots of sneezing from grass cuttings.
3) Fried chicken wings and pasta salad.
4) Boxes of Nutty Butty in the freezer.
5) Lots more sightings of kids in the house ( my family hates the heat, so I get to see them a lot more).
6) Lots of closed blinds to block out the sun ( do you see a pattern forming? )
7) Lots of Weddings, Baby Showers and Vacation Bible School annoucements around the neighborhood.
8) Red potato salad and Turkey burgers on the george Foreman grill.
9) Lots, and lots of showers considering I'm a bubble bath kind of girl ( its that heat thing again, can't stand a sweaty body).
10) New Shorts/Capri's and T-shirts from Walmart......with matching purse and tennis shoes from JC Penney's( I love my Keds and this year they came in lots of cute colors).

Lesson learned: Very little if any contact with the outside in the summer, but lots of time for shopping ( in the airconditioned store mind you ) scrapbooking on-line and taste testing! Who needs a tan anyway ?

My Week at Home

Note: Blogger is acting stupid, so it may be a few days before I can add any new pictures.

After the 4th of July celebrations on Tuesday I spent the rest of the week hanging out with my mom ( Marc and the kids went back home that evening ). I also spent time with my big cousin Pat ( Trice mom...see I have a C-Unit also ). My mom and cousin participated in a county wide event at a local church in there area, so on Wednesday we went shopping for new outfits for them. Any one who knows my mom , knows she is not a big shopper. But we kept her out all day just about. And I think if you were to ask her , she would say she enjoyed herself. On Thursday we spent some time cleaning out some more stuff in the house and then that evening we went to the service. Friday morning mom took me into town so that I could take a few pictures of some of the old landmarks from my childhood days. Boy, did that bring back memories. We strolled on Main Street and then to a swing around some of the back streets. A lot has changed, but thankfully a lot of the country life I took for granted as a child still exist.It was a great couple of days. Especially on Friday when I got to hear my favorite speaker ( next to my hubby and my friend Pam ). Friday night Marc came back and spent the night and on Saturday we hung around my moms tell about noon, then hit the road for home. We stopped for a while at my godparents home,, so it was late when we finally made it back home that night. The family has decided to go to Williamsburg the weekend of our home church homecoming. Not sure that Marc and I will make it because of the finances, but there is always a chance Marc will have a new job by August. He did have a interview today and got good news on a few more leads. So we are praying this was a short term thing. My glasses broke a few days ago, needless to say that was something that needed to be taken care of right away. To read that full story you will have to check out : Treasured Creations .

Additional 4th of July Pictures

4th of July was a blast. I think my family honestly enjoyed themselves. So thought I would share a few pics to lighten up the load around here. Please don't ask me about Nicki in the chair. It would take too long to explain. Let's just say my child is a clown !!!!!

For Such a Time as This

It seems as if I have been preparing for this day like forever. For many years now I have had people ask me about doing albums for them, or to teach a class. I have even had people tell me to submit my work to magazines for publication . I just have not had the confidence to step out there and give it a try. But now there are circumstances beyond my control that are urging me to move forward with a few goals. It may take me a while, and I may not succeed. But I keep recalling how many times I have told my children that if at first you don't succeed to just try and try again. So here I am Lord, stepping out in faith believing ( and speaking it out loud ) that you do have a plan and purpose for my life. I am also believing that you have a plan and purpose for Marc's life now that he has lost his job. Many months ago you placed on my heart to share my testimony with others through my scrapbooks. At first I thought that meant just share my scrapbooks and show others how to do it for themselves. From that emerged the desire to learn more about this love of mine. Which had become more of a obsession ( even more so at times then my love for Disney ). From this emerged "Treasured Creations" ( which happened to be a name that was placed in my heart a while ago....as far back as my beginning days as a CMC). Then once I started TC I started thinking of ways to apply the principles I believed in ( spiritually ) as it related to scrapping. I know first hand how important it is to create a visual image of my family's life. The problem I found is that a large number of African American women especially dismiss this craft in part because they think of it as only something our Caucasian sisters "dabble" in. Thankfully that is one thing I see changing in this industry called scrapbooking. There are many women of color who are embracing this special art and it is starting to show in the magazines. Secondly I think we tend to forget the importance of our family legacy in the midst of our daily hustle and bustle. I am just now starting to realize how important it is to know about your ancestors and to pass that legacy on to your children. So many of my relatives have passed on and we missed the opportunity to hear their stories. Scrapbooks offer a way to document the everyday extra ordinary events in your life so that they can be passed down through the generations. Thirdly if I am to believe that God placed me here on earth for a purpose then I must also believe that if I keep my mind stayed on him and what His true purpose for my life is then when I step out on that faith ...even in the world of scrapbooks, that he will provide what I need , when I need it in the way that I need it. So having said all of this...I am stepping out and my goal is to share my love of scrapping with those around me through teaching ( classes ), sharing ( by submitting my work ), and making ( handcrafted albums for hire ). So remember this saying :

Passion= Purpose=Opportunity !

I can't say what it will mean to you , but for me it means my Passion for Christ=a Purpose for my life=an Opportunity to share my testimony.

And who knows, maybe one day you might be sitting in my class and hear it ( or see it on a t-shirt ). That's just how much faith I have in God !

Happy 4th of July

Well, we are heading to my mom's for 4th of July. Its become a tradition for my family to get together at a local park for the day. We barbecue hotdogs, and turkey burgers. I make my favorite baked beans with ground beef ( now with ground turkey , since being diagnosed with hbp ). Add in some pasta salad and some potato salad and you have a great 4th. This year my mom asked if we would come to her home and celebrate. Good thing , since it will be in the mid 90's today ! This will be an inside celebration with lots of AC running (lol). Last week I went to the dollar store and wracked up on some great decorations, and all for only 20 dollars ! We may go down to the county dam so that the kids can rent the paddle boats and take a ride around the lake. There is a beach nearby where there will be fireworks in the evening, but it gets so crowded now, that I am not sure we will go,especially with all of the heat. My mom took the week off, and is singing with a local choir for two services on Thursday and Friday.... so I am staying with her the rest of the week and Marc will pick me up on Saturday. I get to hear my favorite minister ( with the exception of my hubby and my friend Pam ), so I know I will hear a good WORD. Which is soo needed right now. Well, off to make the beans and pack my bags. Happy 4th of July !!!

Mixed Emotions

The last few days have been a mix of good and bad. Wednesday night our pastors wife died. Sister Phyllis will be greatly missed, but I know she is in a much better place. On the heals of this Marc lost his job at the telephone company ( he was one of about 75 people to get laid off ). I know that God has a plan for us, so I am trusting and believing in him. He has brought us out before and I know he will do it again. There were some good news this weekend. One of the members of our church became husband and wife and Marc along with the other three ordained ministers presided over the ceremony. Today Marc and I traveled to our friends church so that Marc could preach for him while he was out of town. In a way , we have been busy enough to not dwell on things too much. So I ask that family and friends who are concerned about us just keep us in your prayers. We are ok, and our family will come out of this stronger for what we have gone through.