Family Football Traditions

The November 'Today' Take 10 kit is full of color! In Nebraska fall is still in full swing but my mind has started to wander to winter thoughts. There's frost on the grass in the morning, the wind has a new bite to it and we saw our first flurry of snow this week. The November kit has that hint of winter too! The colors and patterns are the perfect transition from fall to winter.

If you live in Nebraska you're probably a Husker football fan. Or fanatic if you're in my family! And we always have a big game the Friday after Thanksgiving. Some people dedicate black Friday to shopping but in our family the afternoon is for football.

In this layout I documented the year we attended that game. It's not very often that I go to a game with my hubby, especially now that we have 3 kiddos. Attending a Husker football game at Memorial Stadium is one of my favorite things! Especially when we win! :)

I love how these 2 cards turned out together! I combined them to make my football time title with the clock embellishment.

I can't wait to see how you use the November kit to capture fall memories your thankful for. Happy Friday!

Fall Family Fun

 

Hello! This week is really feeling like fall in Nebraska. The mornings and evenings are cool, almost brisk and the days are still warm. This morning had me wondering if we should turn on the heat! But I had some mocha and put slippers on instead. :) I don't know about you, but we wait as long as possible before switching the furnace over in spring or fall. 

Today I'm sharing the second page of my October 2012 Pumpkin patch page with you. This was almost exactly 3 years ago! My little girl is 5 now and this is still our favorite pumpkin patch to visit.

The glam bag was full of cute embellies that I used with the stamps all over this page. And the washi strips are the perfect pop of interest to add on any corner. I also misted some gelato a couple places. I though the white background on the family card was too stark for this page. I love my gelatos! They're so versatile! If you're thinking about getting into any painting or mixed media work, I'd definitely start there!

What's your favorite fall activity? Do you have special family traditions? Enjoy a special treat (pumpkin spice latte here!)? I hope you're using the adorable September Take 10 kit 'Homestead' to document your family fall traditions!

Pumpkin Patch

 Hello! Today I have a festive fall page about our trip to the pumpkin patch to share with you. This month's Take 10 Kit just immediately made me think of fall when I opened it. The purples, reds and cozy feel of Homestead was the perfect match for these pictures from 2012. I finally have all of my pictures from 2012 printed and in my album. Now I'm going thru and adding cards and journaling to complete it. If I get a kit like this month, I'll often jump around to complete a spread that fits. 

This is page 1 of 2 (you'll see the other one next week) documenting a trip we took with friends to a local pumpkin patch. This was my daughter's first pumpkin patch experience and we all had a blast. It was a really windy day but that's normal for fall in Nebraska. She also wore her PSU shirt in support of Daddy's team but only because it was an off week for Nebraska. ;) 

All the embellies that came with the September pocket kit and glam bag really worked to make my page pop! I really love this new take on washi tape! The strips are so easy to use. The 'together is our favorite place to be' is my favorite card in this kit. I love the barn wood look and it made the perfect title card for this outing.

I hope you're all having a wonderful fall! I can't wait to see how you're using your Homestead kit!

Head in the Clouds card

Good Morning! Morning.. right? I don't know about you but fireworks do not make for restful nights at my house. I might need extra coffee this weekend. :) This week our 10th wedding anniversary and my husband had time off work. So while I didn't forget our anniversary, I wasn't exactly prepared. Eek! I needed to whip up a card and fast! So I turned to my Take 10 supplies. 

I used all this from the pocket kit and glam bag (minus the 2 things noted): 

• blue cardstock from my stash (light blue for one of our wedding colors)
• Simple Stories Summer Vibes ephemera
• pineapple vellum that I trimmed
• Citrus Bliss paper (add-on)
• an Evalicious Wood veneer
• Enamel Dots
• Turquoise alphas
• White alphas from my stash

Can you believe it!? All those goodies to make a really cute, well coordinated card! I think my 5 year old is more in love with it than my hubby since it's so bright and cheerful and a little girly. But he loves the personal message and the loving thoughts it came with. :) 

I hope you're enjoying the Breathe kit this month! I've been able to create multiple pages and this card with my kits. Have you come up with any unique projects using your kit this month or are you getting lots of cheerful layouts from it like me? I can't wait to see your creativity. Have a happy and hopefully restful 4th of July! Or just a great weekend if you're not in the States!

Laura's Celebrate Layout: Part 2

 

Hello! Today I have the second page of my baby girl's birthday to share with you! This page incorporates more of the 'Celebrate' Take 10 kit which you can still get 10% with the code 'create10'. I tried to keep this page in keeping with the same color theme as the previous one. The green stripe card incorporates a new color that fits perfectly wit the pink and blues. 

I also used some gelatos again to highlight the 'enjoy the little things' card and sprinkled some gold chipboard pieces throughout.  The chipboard pieces are from the Heidi Swapp gold foil value kit and the cards that aren't from this kit are from the Becky Higgins Strawberry Core kit. The Strawberry core kit is one of my favorites! And the bright colors mix and match so well with the 'Celebrate' kit and the birthday theme.

This page shares some of the faces of our guests as well as the first bites of chocolate cupcake. I laugh remembering the funny faces she made that day! Can you just imagine a whole table of people singing and staring at you while waving fire in front of your face!? And then after trying to avoid getting too much sugar in our baby's diet, we give them a whole cupcake to eat up. :) 

We were so blessed to celebrate with family and friends!

Two Challenge Cards

This week I made 2 cards for the Paper Issues Crop challenge. I love this group on Facebook! Everyone is friendly, inspiring and active in the group. Sometimes a couple simple cards is just what I have time for and still perfect to get in some creative time.

The first challenge was to make a 15 minute card with no stamps. I needed to make a quick card for a family birthday anyhow, so this was perfect. I cut some coordinating strips of paper and pulled out some previously cut flowers I'd never used. I hand-wrote 'happy birthday' and added some silver doodles and swirls. After writing a message on the inside, I let my girls decorate the inside and back of the card. I love it when they can help out!

The second challenge was to make a card with just scraps. I always end up with strips of paper and I just can't bring myself to toss them. So I had the perfect pile of scraps to make a star-burst card! And the large middle burst was left over and in my stash too. I left the center blank for a stamp or hand-written message when I know who the recipient is. It's nice to have a card ready to send out in case I don't have time to create one when I need it.

Baby Girl Millie: 9 months

In these 2 pages, I used the Dear Lizzy Neapolitan core kit and the Baby Edition for Her core kits. This layout records quite the variety of stories in our lives! In this 2 week time frame, we celebrated birthdays, enjoyed the fall weather and said goodbye to loved ones. It was emotional time and the hidden journaling on the rose card took me a while to complete.

1 Peter 1:3-9 says:

 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵ who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

⁶ In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, ⁸ whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, ⁹ receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

When I focus on these verses, that whole week is more hopeful and comes into focus. The focus is eternity, not here and now! If I were to focus on only here, I'd drown in my sorrows and worries. Each day has plenty of troubles of it's own, not to mention reliving past ones. But I am so grateful that Jesus' promises believers, there is more. I have an inheritance, a future that is 'incorruptible, undefiled and does not fade away'! 

Recording even the sad stories is important because it reminds me of the hope that Jesus gives and bring all of life into focus! It gives me strength to be thankful for the hard times and gives me even more joy in the good times.

Chocolate Chip Cookies with M&Ms

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

I just love this recipe for chocolate chip cookies! It's what I grew up with. They're always soft and they freeze really well too. This recipe is from the good old white (because there's another yellow cover version) Bethesda Mennonite Cookbook. All the ladies in the church submit their recipes and you end up with an amazing cookbook full of home cooked goodness and traditional Mennonite foods. I believe it's out of print but you can always find a copy floating around Christmas gatherings. It's a real hot item for those group pick and swap type gift games!

The Recipe:
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup sugar
1 4oz pkg instant vanilla pudding
2 eggs
12 oz chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts, optional
Combine butter, sugars, vanilla and pudding; beat till smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs. Add flour and soda; then stir in chips and nuts. Drop onto baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. For chocolate chocolate chip cookies use chocolate instant pudding. 1 batch = approx 3 dozen.

My husband sometimes asks for 'regular' chocolate chip cookies. You know, the recipe on the back of the bag. That's what he grew up with. These have a cake-ier quality that's good but different than those. But I don't make them very often. I find them dry, crumbly and crunchy after they cool off. But I've heard that if you have a good seasoned cookie baking stone they're better. This particular time I made these cookies was for AWANA Cubbies at church and my daughter really wanted M&M cookies. Because of the possibility of allergies, I couldn't go with my monster cookie recipe so I decided to experiment. So in this doubled batch I put 2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips and 1 cup of mini M&Ms. They're just as yummy! And of course, we tested the M&Ms for quality before adding them. :)

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!

Comfort Food

This is what comfort food means to me...

Onion Gravy & Verenika

Zweiback & Ham

As Easter draws closer I'm getting excited to go to Granny's house again and have these foods. We have basically the same thing at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. And I like it that way!!

The table is always full, and I'm always stuffed. There's barely enough room for dessert!

Thankful... Day 7

Thanksgiving is next Thursday. But I've already been noticing Christmas decorations everywhere I look. The mall is covered in lights and swag. Downtown has up the 12 days of Christmas decor. My neighborhood entrance has their wreaths hung. And Christmas sales are already in full swing. 
It makes me a little sad and mostly annoyed. What about Thanksgiving!?! I realize that Thanksgiving is about family and food and isn't commercialized as much so maybe that's why Christmas seems to come sooner each year. But I love Thanksgiving. I particularly love all the fall decorations. The colored leaves and vibrant colors are beautiful! Thanksgiving feels like the last hooray for enjoying fall. I also enjoying spending time with family. I enjoy this at every holiday but Thanksgiving in particular reminds me to be thankful for me. And Thanksgiving is about football for me! The day after Thanksgiving is always the the last Nebraska football game of the year. So this year, one way I'm specifically trying to enjoy this Thanksgiving season is to share what I"m thankful for in the next week.
Today I'm thankful for my wheels. I took our car in to get a few things fixed, including the breaks which have been setting off a beeping alarm whenever I turn right for weeks now. It was driving me crazy! So they gave me an old school ford Taurus to drive for the day. Wow, not even my Buick regal was this rickety. I am looking forward to having my Passat back at the end of the day!
I'm thankful for the words I get to enjoy spilling from Millie's lips. She has learned how to say mama and dada. And though I know she doesn't know she's calling my name, it's still a joy to hear. I love having conversations with her!

Living Hope

These verses have been on my mind. We used them for Grandpa's memorial service.
1 Peter 1:3-9
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

I'm thankful for friends who send me verses to remind me that they're praying for me and thinking of me. The Word of Truth is the best kind of encouragement!

Why I do love PA

We went to PA the beginning of May to visit Justin's family again. And like always we had a great time! ...

1. I love the landscape in that area. The open gently rolling hills dotted with trees and farmhouses are so picturesque. I would love to have a Pennsylvania inspired home in Nebraska! These pictures are of the battlefields of Gettysburg but this really is what it looks like in the Lancaster area where we visited.

2. I love the food! Grandma Fisher makes the best food for us! - ham loaf with stewed tomatoes, crab legs, stuffing, the creamy-est mashed potatoes ever, ham salad sandwiches, potato rolls - I'd eat anything she makes! That must be a grandma thing because I feel the same way about Granny's food. Grandpa Fisher loves anything peanut butter and so do I. We enjoyed peanut butter ice cream and peanut butter donuts daily. Again, these are the best peanut butter donuts I've had in my life! We even had ice cream fresh from the cows. You could see the cows as you walked in. Of course we had more than one of Joe's steak sandwiches. And we brought home a box of pretzels right off the line.

3. I enjoy all the time we spend with Grandpa and Grandma Fisher. We are blessed to be able to stay with them. We drive all over the countryside talking and hearing stories. And almost every night we stay up late playing Hand & Foot. It's a very fun card game! We always play in teams and the boys usually beat Grandma Fisher and I. I think it's my fault because I'm still learning. And the guys are merciless!

4. This year I loved watching everyone get to know Olivia...

Here's Olivia with Aunt Donna, Uncle Scott & Aunt Robin, Uncle John, and Aunt Miki.

I was actually sad to leave this time. I'm usually the type who is happy to go home at the end of vacation. I really have fallen in love with Justin's grandparents and think of them as my own. I'm sad to say good bye for at least another year. But in spite of the 20 hour drive I'm looking forward to our next trip east! 

Our 2nd Father's Day

We celebrated Father's Day while in Colorado this weekend. It was sort of our 2nd time. Last year a month before Father's Day, I learned we were expecting our first baby. I went to the store hoping to find a creative way to share the news with J. For once I was happy that stores like to get the jump on whatever holiday is looming in the future so they already had the Daddy cards out. So last year I gave J his first Father's Day card and told him how excited I was for him to be a Daddy! :)
This year I went a little cheesy and ordered him a photo mug from Snapfish. J's not so into those types of gifts. But I know he drinks coffee at work and he needs a way to show off his cute little girl!

I also love Father's Day because I'm reminded to let my dad know how much I love and appreciate him. Sometime I think he out does me though! This year I just called to tell him 'hi'. I don't usually buy him anything because more than anything, I know he just likes to know I love him. But he always ends up telling me how much he loves me. It feels like Daughter Day! :) I love hearing him tell me how he loves me and loves Father's Day because he's reminded of how I made him a father.

So HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to my Dad and my husband. I couldn't ask for a better dad for myself or my daughter!

Long awaited Nursery Finale

I promised a picture of Millie's room months ago - about 6 months ago. In December my cousin came over and painted a tree on the nursery wall based on a picture I found online. It turned out beautiful. I added stickers to complete the look.

Bday Cheesecake

We had flock the day before my birthday so I made sure to sign up for treats. While I do appreciate other people making me something for my birthday, I like to pick what I get. This year this Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Bottom Cheesecake tickled my fancy. The recipe is from Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen. Find it here.

And my first cheesecake attempt turned out pretty good! :) I used a spring form pan that I borrowed from Karin.
Here's the final piece...
It took about a week to polish off and I took it to flock and to work. Everyone wanted small pieces because it was so rich. I wanted a big piece! :)


I also received this fabulous purple purse from my siblings for my bday! My sister picks out the best purses! At first I thought it was black and was a little disappointed. I thought now this is just not like her to buy me a boring purse. I expect her to broaden my purse choices. I expect to have to reign her in if necessary. But when I pulled it out of the bag, I realized it was purple! How cool! It's the perfect size and I love it.