My "Top 5" of 2009

My friend Pinky did this on her blog and I thought it was such a neat idea.
I haven't done nearly the amount of layouts I had planned for this year so there isn't a ton to choose from but here are MY personal "Top 5".


#5
Layout of my best friend Carli & I.
BFF's since we were twelve. OMG, 23 years now. WOW!
Still love her more than anyone but my hubby and son. She rocks!



#4
My little guy in pool water for the first time.
I won a contest on Noel C's blog for this layout :)



#3
I just love the color combo on this. And those fat lime green Thickers are to die for! LOL



#2
This one was a re-do of an old layout.
As you can see Caleb is crying in the pics so I hesitated scrapping them but realized you gotta scrap the good AND the bad, right?



#1
A rare picture of my little guy and I.
I love this kid so much. He's my world :)



Thanks for looking! I hope you have a wonderful New Years Eve.

2009 was a horrible year for us.
Let's see:
We tried to avoid it but ended up having to file bankruptcy.
Hubby lost his job and now we are on unemployment which is a third of his former salary.
We found out Caleb probably has Autism. Most likely Asperger's.
The school board here made some crazy changes.. we can't stay in this city. Caleb will not get a good education if we do.
Oh yeah! There's a crazy democrat in office. That should have given me a clue this would be a bad year! LOL

I am SO looking forward to 2010:
My new niece is going to arrive very soon. I can't wait to meet her!
We are definitely moving out of this area. More than likely to Kansas City. Which will mean lots of cousin time for Caleb and oh my God, a BABYSITTER for DATES for Doug and I. WHOO HOO!!! :)
With that move we will be moving to a better school system with early intervention for Caleb.
And I'll finally get to meet one of my awesome scrappy internet friends, Tracy. I can't wait!

I hope you all have a wonderful New Years Eve!
I welcome 2010 with open arms!!! :)

Love,

Forget foreign terrorists....

Our own government is killing us!

My MIL convinced us to rent THIS movie tonight and WOW, I am in shock!
EVERYONE needs to rent this video.. like NOW.
It's a MUST SEE for anyone but especially for those with kids.
Please please rent it.
Thanks :)

Our Christmas

Mimi Marsha is here from Houston until Tuesday. Caleb has helped her make two batches of Christmas cookies and is in total love with her.
We had a feast yesterday for dinner and Caleb got tons of presents from my parents and Doug's family.
We were blessed this year despite our current situation. PTL!!

Here is a little photo collage from Christmas Eve/Day.
Click to make larger:


I hope y'all had a wonderful Christmas and your New Years is wonderful, too. Please keep praying that my husband finds a job. We have three months before we are homeless. Lord help us.

XOXO,

Check this out!

I had asked for the new PSE for Christmas but with Doug losing his job, neither one of us is getting anything this year. We're just making sure Caleb is taken care of, cause HE is what matters, KWIM?

But that won't stop me from trying to win it! LOL

Check out this awesome blog candy from McKMama!
and this from Grammie :)

And have an awesome weekend!

Candy Cane Mice and Two New Layouts

Hey guys :)
Truthfully, I haven't done any scrapping since my all day crop almost two weeks ago. Just haven't felt like it. I didn't even make Christmas cards this year! (shock!)

But here are some candy cane mice I made for Caleb's Christmas party tomorrow at preschool.
They didn't quite turn out how I want them.. I did them spur of the moment and don't have the yarn I need for whiskers but hey, they are still cute, right? LOL



And here are some teacher gifts.
I had to go cheap this year... Like REAL cheap. LOL
I found these cute little buckets in Target's $1 spot and couldn't pass them up. There are M&M's and a candy cane mouse inside :)


And here are two layouts I did last month for the design team challenges over on the rockin' CANDY SHOPPE DESIGNS blog.
This month there are TWO chances to win some awesome blog candy! A $20 gift card to Stop and Scrap and a gift package from Blue Moon Scrapbooking.
These prizes are quite awesome, you don't want to miss out.
So go over and check out the challenges. Can't wait to see what you come up with!!

This is for challenge #1. It's hard to tell in the picture but I used a clear frosty paper from KI Memories. Love it!
I used a sketch on this one (from SB etc mag). I know.. ME using a sketch? Can you believe it!! LOL



And here is challenge #2:


Both of these are from Caleb's first Christmas. How cute was he?!
OMG! It makes me cry just looking at these pics again!

TFL! Hope your weekend is great. We will be cleaning for my mother in law's arrival on Thurs. Fun fun!! tee hee

Love this!

Thanks for the idea, Bethie!

He is my everything...

If you aren't on Facebook, you can view the video here.

Some new work from me...

I went to my monthly crop yesterday with the gals from Not Just Scrappin'.
I had a blast, as usual :)

I admit I had been so sad all week and really contemplated selling off all my scrap stuff and quitting the hobby. But once I got to the crop I realized scrapping truly is something that makes me happy more than anything (except family and God, of course). So I'm not giving it up anytime soon.

My local scrapbook celebrity friend Sarah Mullanix came to crop with us for the first time and we chatted away. I didn't get much done, as usual. But heck, I don't care. Truth be told, I really go there for the adult conversation, tee hee :)

But I did get two new layouts done.
Check them out!



I also have more layouts to share in the next few weeks but I can't post my work until it's up on the Candy Shoppe Designs blog.

I hope everyone is in good health and your getting your C'mas shopping done. I feel SO blessed that we were able to get Caleb's presents before Doug was laid off. That is one plus in this situation. At least he won't go without stuff for C'mas, KWIM?
Anyway, Have a great week!

Sad News

My husband has lost his job of three years.

Our health insurance is gone now, too.
I am still shocked. We knew it was possible but not THIS soon.
Lord help us.
Please keep us in your prayers. We have no savings. We were doing the Dave Ramsey program and finally getting back on track then this happens.
He has filed for unemployment but it pays 1/3 of what his salary was.

He is definitely looking for jobs in other states. He has 11 years sales experience and has been selling million dollar large machinery for the last three years. If you hear of anything, please let me know.

I know God will help us through this. I have faith.
Thanks,