Gettin' Scrappy

Pure Evil

The whole marketing scheme is brilliant!! Send the sweetest little girls around to friends and family asking you to help them earn a badge by purchasing these YUMMY cookies. Really, who is going to say no? Again, this year I got sucked in to their sales tactics and now I have 5 boxes of cookies just waiting to be eaten. Luckily, I don't like 2 of them. ha

If you haven't bought any of these evil cookies be sure to stay away from WalMart, HyVee and stores of the like. Those sweet little girls with big beautiful eyes will be sitting at the door just waiting for you to endulge.

Consider yourself warned!

Need I post a verse about self control??? Maybe only for myself.

Creating Cards

Another Artist

When the television and computer are off limits, the creative juices start to flow. Emma created this fantastic piece of art to hang in her bedroom. She says it need something else added to it but the idea hasn't come to her yet. I'm sure it will.

She's Coming... HERE!!!

Is it ok to want to be a groupie? Natalie Grant is coming here in April and I just don't think it's going to work out for me to go see her. I know that sounds like a long time away but it will sneak up on us quickly.

Just in case I get a surprise from the concert fairy :) I'm keeping the date open. ha ha

Ok, now I think I'm done blogging for the day.

It's SOOO Simple

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

~ Romans 10:9, NLT

Nothing more, nothing less. Why risk eternity when it's this easy.

In The Groove

It feels so good to scrapbook again. There's just something about getting into that groove and having something to show for it. Here are four of the seven layouts I did a few days ago. Now it's time to do a few more.


Thanksgiving, Halloween, Great Grandma...this one is my fav and a client layout however it could be mine since the faces are hidden. ha

Monkey Business

Is this monkey just the cutest thing ever? Kristi was so cute thanking me and praising me with my paint job both on the walls and the monkey.

Maybe now I will be inspired to paint Olivia's crown. Every princess needs a giant crown. :)

Gotta give credit to Sandy Wilkie, she cut out this giant monkey head.


Thought for the day:
You were wonderfully and fearfully created. You and everything about you was/is not a mistake. Recognize the good in you and celebrate it!

Celebrating 10 Years

2 cakes for 2 parties

My attempt at a trendy cake... so fun!

Skating at the local crazy rink and then pizza, cake and presents at our house

friend party

family party

We are so blessed to have so much family right here around us.

All Dried Up

Where has my creativity gone? I managed to squeeze out this layout of myself and 3 older generations for my BoM (book of me). Honestly, if I would just clean up my scrapbooking area I just might find my scrappy mojo again. :)
Recent creative jobs:
I finished painting my bedroom yesterday.
I painted most of Emma's room yesterday and today. Just the creative stuff is left
I have photos from 2 clients in my scrappy space inbox.
Next weekend I'm getting more pictures from a 3rd client
Next Thursday I will be painting for a friend in GI.
And I still need to make (or help make) valentines for the girls VD parties on Wednesday.
Geesh, no wonder I haven't had time to scrap for myself. :) No complaining, I love every minute of it.

Have you thought of any random acts of kindness lately? Be nice to a stranger, never know it may be the neighbor you haven't met.

Proud Mama

As their Papa would say, "my grandchildren are talented and gifted." Today was parent-teacher conferences and the unveiling of another report card. Both of the girls are exceeding our expectations in school both academically and socially. It's important to us that our children do their best in school however grades aren't everything. The child that is well behaved will be successful.

Just a toot for Emma and Reagan. Way to Go Girls!!!

10 Glorious Years

Why would my body be aching? It couldn't be that I'm getting older. ??? I do have 3 legit reasons. #1 Could it be the 6-8 hours of painting I did today? #2 Or could be the lack of sleep I had last night. Olivia was up most of the night throwing up. It brought back not-so-fond memories of the first 21 mos of her life. Culprit #3, "sleeping" on a terrible twin bed with a sick toddler. Trying to stay positive here, I did get 3 loads of laundry done last night and in the wee hours of the morning. :) Whatever it takes to get me motivated I guess. ha ha

Yes, I may be getting older but I'm not the only one in the house who is aging! Happy Birthday to my dear sweet Emma. Typically birthday's are a huge deal in this house. It starts before the girls are awake and ends several days later. It's just one of my "things"! Poor Emma got raisin toast and scrambled eggs this morning and that's it. No candle, no muffin, no balloons. And on top of that today was the 2nd day of testing at her school. Wow, that stinks! This weekend will be all party. Thank goodness there's only one sleeping over on Saturday night.

Everyone will be home from church and basketball practice in the next 10 minutes. So off I go to tidy up the house and get ready for another full day tomorrow.

My new look

Melanie 005
Originally uploaded by raabegirls

I guess this isn't really new...20 + years ago I wore glasses. The fact that I haven't worn them since college must explain the reason I haven't read many books in my married life.

Hopefully I will experience fewer headaches.

Somewhere I have some old pics of glasses in JH and HS...I'll post them if I can find 'em.

Tonight we will be heading west. Tomorrow is our friend, Bob's funeral. I ask you all to pray for our safety in travel, the kids are staying home. My other prayer request that is even more important is that the gospel will be shared and that it won't fall on deaf ears. There are so many who don't know the truth of Jesus Christ, tomorrow is a great opportunity to share His love. My assumption is that there will be lots of people at this funeral including many school aged students.

Right now I've gotta get the girls packed to go to Nana's house and hope and pray that I find clean clothes in the closet for Chris and me.

I have some updates but don't have time to share them right now. See you soon.



BTW, Hi Marcy! :)

Life is too short!

Never do I want to pass on a moment that could make the difference in someone's life. This week I was reminded, again that life is a beautiful gift from God and it can end, here on earth in an instant. There is no such thing as wasting time on a person. At the end of my life I know that I will not say, "I wish I wouldn't have cared for him or her" or "I shouldn't have given time to that person, they weren't worth it." However, I may say, "I should have taken more time to show love to those who didn't show me love" or "I should have shared my faith in Jesus Christ with a friend who didn't already live a sold out life to him." Every moment that we live here on earth can be a blessing to those around us (and God) or we can just live for ourselves.

Tuesday a dear friend of ours suffered a massive heart attack and this morning the love of his life had to make the final decision to shut down the life support machines. Oh my goodness, I can't even type those words without tears forming and feeling a deep ache within me. It seems so unfair to have his life ripped from hers. How can a wife or loved one survive that kind of pain? It is true that I have not experienced this kind of loss however I know that our Heavenly Father is waiting for us to seek Him. He wants to be our everything. He offers love, peace, comfort and so much more. Death is not the end, rather the beginning.

Love one another, not just the ones who are easy to love. Share your heart with a friend. You may have known them for 6mos or 6yrs but do they know what (or who) it is inside of you that makes you who you are today? Being a "good" person isn't enough. It's only through faith in Jesus Christ alone that we are saved.

New Scrappy Eye-Candy

I've gotta share a new scrappy line with all my scrappy friends. Hurry go check out this blog!

http://bellablvd.typepad.com/

My scrappy mojo must be somewhere lost outside under the snow. I really need to find it. Maybe this site will inspire me to scrap again.

Love the bright colors for spring. BTW, can't wait for spring. ha

What Did I Do Today?

Please tell me that I am not the only person reading this blog who from time to time gets to the end of the day and asks, "What Did I Do Today?" I hate that feeling. Most days it's one thing right after another and seldom I remember what any of them were.
I love lists. Lists make me feel good. You could say they complete me. ha Often I sit down to make a well thought out list and about half of the stuff gets crossed off. Today I had some high priority duties that I knew I would forget and I got all but 2 of them done. I am so proud of myself that I just had to share this list with you. I don't know if I really should have crossed off laundry because it is NEVER done but I did do 5 loads today. No, I didn't have to remind myself to eat peppermint patties, I had to buy them and take them to school. There was a mint patty emergency. As soon I sign off here I'm going to do my Beth Moore study. I can't wait to see what is going on in Chapter 2 of Esther. Tomorrow taping and painting will make my list again. I plan to cross it off by this time on Thursday.
This is by no way a side note, please pray for our friend Bob who is in the GI hospital. Chris will call tomorrow with more details but the last I knew he was not in good condition at all.

Historic For Sure!

It's so cool to see history in the making. The 44th president of the United States of America was sworn in today, what a site to see. I am proud to see our nation over coming cultural barriers. It's safe to say there are ignorant people out there who are upset about our new president just because of the color of his skin. To be honest, that makes me sick to my stomach! I didn't vote for Obama but he is the leader of our great country and I will be praying for him and all those who have his ear. My hope is that everyone out there who knows we serve a powerful God will do the same. What good does it do to complain? I don't want to hear it and neither does anyone else. Buck up and pray!!!

I added a link to the right side of my blog. If you don't agree with this, fine. I don't want to hear a bunch of ugliness in my comments however if you want to know more, go to the FOCA site. Enough said!

Blessings and Hugs to all of you.

Good Times

My parents, brother Rodger and his wife Laura came up this weekend for a little visit. I have to be honest that I wasn't very excited when I found out that Daisy (boy dog) was coming. It turned out great. Daisy is welcome back anytime...the humans too. We really missed having Eric, Karen and Regina with us. Maybe next time. I'm including a few pictures of our family gathering.

Don't even ask me what time this picture was taken. YIKES! The girls were up so late last night and then right as I was shooing them off to bed they wanted hot chocolate. I caved, after all I was drinking very strong coffee so it wasn't like I was heading to bed any time soon. :)
Anyone seen "Flight of the Conchords - Business Time"? It's just too funny...if you are married. I think that youtube started the stupid videos we had to watch well into the middle of the night. Here's Rodger and Chris cracking themselves up at the computer.
Cow racing on the Wii. I think we may have introduced something fun and new that they will "have" to get in the near future. Or possibly it will draw them up here more often. Rodger I admire you in many ways but your wife kicked your behind on Wii...she's my Wii hero!
Being around my family, I always learn something about myself. No matter what we came from or where we find ourselves today, our family had a significant roll in who we are. Some of us promise to be different and some of us choose to build from that foundation. I am choosing to be the best mom that I can be for my girls and the best wife I can be for my husband by relying on God's love, strength and grace.

Happy MLK Day to everyone tomorrow. The girls and I will be entertaining mom and dad until they head home. Poor Chris has to work and then ref a basketball game. That guy works too hard! Anyway, enjoy!

Paradise is Coming

This week has been so cold it seems like I can't think about anything else but as we are facing the start of a warming trend I find myself being a little more positive even if it's only 3 degrees outside right now. I know it's going to get better. With that said, wouldn't that be a great way to face our adversities? Know it's going to get better...don't focus on the frozen tundra we live in. Paradise is coming.

I have a few little pictures to share. My sweet Reagan has been blessed with her mother's teeth...not a good thing. The difference is that we are staying on top of it and not going to let it get the best of us. You know cleaning, mouthwash, better toothbrush, as well as less sugar and soda. Anyway, I just had to share this sideways smile of Reagan's. She was in good humor after having 4 filings on Wednesday. They were all small but apparently her cavities go from insignificant to major quickly.




My 3 year old loves the Wii too. Here she is this morning trying to keep warm and yet have a little fun. Ok, really our house isn't all that cold, this is what she wore when we took the girls to school this morning and she just couldn't bring herself to take off those light-up pink boots. :)








Who doesn't LOVE Beth Moore? Well, if you've heard of her, you love her. Her passion for the word of God is overwhelmingly contagious. I love it! Tuesday I started the Esther study at our new church with a group of 90ish women. I am so excited to be at a table with 7 other YOUNG women with children. Oh this is what I have needed, both the study and the friendships.

Thought for today: And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God. (from Hebrews)