All of me...so far

Happy and sad :) :(

2012-02-26T00:12:00.000-06:00

First sad: My computer died. Well, not dead-died-as-in-gone-forever.....I don't have to buy a new one. But, I did have to reinstall everything and I lost a whole bunch of stuff (photos mainly) that I really would have loved to have kept. Very sad. This just means that if I'm truly going to fill up my second year of Project life....I have some catching up to do in the picture taking department.

And, now happy:
These are pictures that were either still on my camera card, or I've taken since then....all things that make me happy :)

Mica playing basketball. I keep telling her (and obviously, in this picture, she's remembering) that when she stands her tallest and puts her hands up, she's more than 7 feet tall! That's pretty useful in Jr. High basketball.

After-school snack - 4x double stuffed oreos. OK, sometimes after-school snack is much more healthy than this, but on this particular occasion, some of the kids built Octo-stuffed Oreo-goodness.

Nacho-movie night :)

Cale walked to school one day instead of taking the bus, and when he came home he had these as a Valentine's Day gift for me. That boy is Sa-weet!! Love him. And love chocolate!

Waffles with blueberries and white sauce!

Mica & her friend with their Marshmallow and Potato Cannons for their science project. Good times!

We dog-sat Allie again last weekend and this time around, even Soya took to her - teased her a little by sitting up higher than she could get but there was way less hissing and running away this time and way more wrestling.

Can it be?? Snow?? This has been the weirdest winter and it feels like this is the first real snow we've had. Beautiful...and just in time for "winter fun day" at school.

More snow on our street.

I am so thankful for friends (and their handy husbands) who help me out with things around my house - here Gil is installing my new light fixture:

...and my black range hood/fan which now completes the set of black appliances in the kitchen! Yay.

So while Gil worked, Ange & I played - she with her Project Life and me trying to clean off a space so I could make cards. I can't work in chaos and yet somehow a clean space always turns into chaos very quickly.

Last picture of the day, I promise: I've been waffling over whether to paint upstairs and so this picture says that I've decided...and now I'm going for it. This is the primer done on all the trim up and down the hall.

Catching up

2012-02-12T23:00:00.000-06:00

I've been doing a few "crafty" posts recently so I thought I'd jump back in with some Real Life in between. Here are some more of my January photos (for Project Life) - things I love, things that bring me Joy and things that make me stop and take stock of all the blessings in my life:

The Terrific Teal Turtles. This is Mica's curling team. They're young - Grades 7-9 and yet playing competitively in 2 Women's leagues this year to prep for the 2014 Winter Games. We had these fleece sweatshirts made up for them with names on the back and when we entered them into their first Bonspiel, we entered them as the Terrific Teal Turtles. One of the other teams was jealous b/c usually you call your team by the Skip's last name but we're still trying out different positions so we went with something crazy.

Egan's foot x-rays. Yes, x-rays....again. He came home from a birthday party and said he stepped wrong off a log and hurt his foot. I'm so gun-shy about foot injuries after all his history that I took him for x-rays that night. Fortunately, it wasn't a fracture....it was still fun to be there b/c our neighbour/friend was the doctor that night and he got us in and out of there in record time (barely time to play a game of Ticket to Ride on the iPod). He also pulled us into his "office" in the back of Emerge to "help" him read Egan's x-rays.

Egan, in bed, doing homework. Aint' he cute? He so rarely has homework that it is a big event when he does.

I don't love grocery shopping - not at all....but I do love HAVING groceries. I love having a fridge-full of fresh fruit and veggies for us to choose from....grocery day makes me feel very blessed!!

Egan got a djembe for Christmas and wanted to take it to school for show-and-tell but he wanted a cover for it. This is what I made for him. I bought a couple of old bags at the thrift store and cut them apart to make this one that fit the drum. I happened to find one big bag with African print fabric on the front and back - it was perfect.

Yummy - cereal with fruit, with fruit.

I love it!

Sushi date with Mica. I can't think of anyone I'd rather share Sushi with.....yummy!

Wow - can you believe the weather this January?? Unbelievable.

And the dry roads? That is awesome for me!

2/3 kids had sleepovers and breakfast becomes a lively event.....love it!

No....not a cookie.....it's a self-portrait made of play-dough in the Cranium game.

Actually, it looks like one of those mashed potato "Smiles" that we used to eat when I babysat a ton of kids.

OK....now you're caught up!

I'll be back soon with more scrappy goodness and some fun new Clear Scraps!

Have a great week!!

Hot 20 for Clear Scraps at CHA!

2012-02-05T20:53:00.000-06:00

CHA is over for another year and this year's excitement for Clear Scraps included being in the Top "HOT 20" products previewed there! With this new product - the "Send it Clear" acrylic cards!

These cards are SO much fun to put together - the fronts interlock and there are stickers included to attach them to the backs so they make a fun, interactive card that opens up and still has all the awesome qualities of the Clear Scraps acrylic you've grown to know and love :) You can paint, rub-on, emboss, cut, glitter, paper, sew, etc, etc....all on the fronts and backs of these cards - then put them together and send them out to someone who needs a special word from you!

Here are a few of my examples - These were in the Clear Scraps booth at CHA!

Love of my Life - Scallop Send-it-Clear card

Happy Birthday - Cupcake Send-it-Clear card

Many Thanks! - Fancy Send-it-Clear card

(sides attached with CAD-punched holes and ribbon instead of stickers)

Thanks so much - Belgrave Send-it-Clear card

(sides attached with Bind-it-all coils instead of the stickers)

Thanks for stopping by!

Cathy

More CHA sneak peeks

2012-01-27T00:20:00.000-06:00

Another sneak peek - of more of the New Expressions Clear Word Titles from Clear Scraps - both the small and the large words. I made journal covers, wall hangings and album covers with them. Here are a few of my favourite projects.

I used the large Expressions Word "MEMORIES" on the front of this 12x12 top-load album. It was a little too long to fit across the top without getting in the way of the hinges, so cut the letters apart so I could later them slightly and make them fit across the album front.

This large Expressions Word "FAITH" was a special request for the CHA booth. I went with a really simple look - alcohol ink on the word itself and then just a little paint and ribbon to dress up the actual frame that it's on.

This "HOPE" is one of the small Expressions words. I used it here on a small canvas - again coloured with alcohol ink and then a gold leafing pen to outline the edges.

"CREATE" was a fun word to use - this is a small Expressions Word Title and it fit on one of the frames from a Tri-fold Frame set. I used a very large floral sticker from American Crafts to cover the entire word, trimmed the edges off, painted behind the sticker with a different colour of paint and then added a layer of glossy accents to the front of the acrylic word.

For this "WELCOME" Banner, I used the large Expressions Clear Title coloured with alcohol ink and then texturized with Tsukinecko's Goosebumps.

And, my last one for today - "TOGETHER" is a Tri-fold frame with the word holding it in the standing position. I think this would be really cute with a couple's wedding photo in it....or even with a picture of the couple to have standing at the guest book area AT their wedding. I used silver Krylon spray paint to paint the word for this project. There's a little bit of drying time but it works great!!!

So, there you have it - a few more sneak peeks of what's new this year!
If you happen to get a chance to go to CHA this next week.....stop by the Clear Scraps booth and say "HI."

Thanks for stopping by!

Cathy

Clear Scraps BLOG HOP

2012-01-18T23:19:00.001-06:00

Welcome to the New Release For The New Year Blog Hop!!!

If you've stumbled upon this Blog Hop by accident - congratulations :) And Welcome. But you may want to start back at the Clear Scraps blog so you don't miss any of our design team's inspiration!
http://clearscraps.typepad.com/

The Blog hop is going to run January 19th - January 21st
and the Grand prize will be 4 beautiful Send It Clear Cards (to be shipped in Feb.)

along with a set of Clearly Accent Embellishments of your choice!!

There are FOUR ways to enter!!

#1. Hop & comment on all the blogs

#2. Follow the Clear Scraps Blog

#3. Follow the Clear Scraps Design Team Blogs (all of them)

#4. LIKE the Clear Scraps Facebook page! (leave a comment on the Facebook page, so we know)

So, without further ado...
Clear Scraps proudly introduces the new lines for Spring 2012!

"Send It Clear" (a collection of unique and easy-to-create cards)

New "Clearly Accent Embellishments" (including a garden set, dress forms, lampposts, flourishes, a baby set and more)

New mini albums (baby dress and overalls, football helmet, and more)

New large & small Expressions

Here's one of the new "Send it Clear" cards that I was given to make...the Christmas Tree card. I know Christmas is over but in my opinion, it's never too early to start on next year's cards!!

There's a solid back piece and then 2 front pieces that interlock to make the card front. Ingenius! Each card comes packaged with an envelope to send it in and clear stickers for attaching the back to the fronts.

I decorated mine with some patterned paper, some flocking and some jewels. Oh, and yes, the "Send it Clear" cards are made from the same light extruded acrylic that is flexible enough for me to sew through with my sewing machine!!

Thanks for stopping by! Leave me a comment and I'll be doing my own drawing for a little prize :)

Now, there's more on the other DT blogs! Get to hopping!
Here is the complete New Release For The New Year Blog Hop order-

Clear Scraps

Cathy S. <<<<you are currently here

Clear Scraps Facebook Page (Bonus entry)

Sneak peeks of NEW Clear Scraps

2012-01-15T23:51:00.000-06:00

About 2 weeks ago I shipped off a big box of projects to Clear Scraps for their CHA booth.

There was MUCH rejoicing in the house when that box left, let me tell you.

I think the first week of Christmas holidays I barely came up for air.

And now.....finally...the day has arrived that I can finally share some of these projects with you.

We have a big BLOG HOP coming up this weekend so you'll see lots of great projects from our Dt later this week. Details at the end of this post.

For now, I'll just start with 2-3 new projects, to whet your appetite.

Clear Scraps started making these large 12x12 Top Load acrylic albums last summer already and they were (and still are a HUGE hit). The covers are the hard cast acrylic which makes them incredible surfaces to paint, ink, etc. Each album becomes a unique, one-of-a-kind work of art. I used one of the new Large Expressions words (MEMORIES) on the front of mine and since the word was very large, I cut the letters apart and overlapped them so they'd fit as the title of my album. A little vintage lace, some gold leafing pen and some Basic Grey and it's the perfect place to put memory photos.

As a card-maker at heart, this new product from Clear Scraps has me jumping up and down. It's CARDS!! They come with 3 pieces - a back, and 2 interlocking front pieces. Genius. There are stickers included to adhere the back to the fronts and an envelope for delivering your newly created acrylic card. These 2 samples here are...obviously...the Christmas Tree version of the card. The top of the tree is attached to the bottom half of the front. The bottom of the tree is attached to the top of the front and they lock together to form a complete tree on your card front. Did I say GENIUS?

For the card above, I used Gold paint pen to pain the tree, some jewels to decorate it, a sentiment sticker from SRM Press and some older gaffer tape from 7 Gypsies for a border and in place of the clear stickers that hold it together (just for variety).

Below, I used a sheet of adhesive from Glue Arts to make the whole tree sticky. Then I covered it in DCWV's flocking and added more jewels. These jewels are just thin enough to slip through the slot that interlocks the fronts. Anything too much bulkier wouldn't work. Oh, and yes....these are made from the extruded acrylic which is very easy to manipulate - emboss, cut, and even sew through with my sewing machine (see photo).

I can't wait to do a whole big stack of these.

I think....I heard a rumor....that there might be a few of these at CHA as a make & take. I'm just saying - if you're going - you might wanna check out the Clear Scraps booth!!

And speaking of checking things out. Check back here this weekend for a Clear Scraps Blog Hop. All of our designers will be showcasing some of the new stuff they've been working on. You don't want to miss it!! I think I'll give something away on my blog next weekend - it's been a long time since I gave away a prize.

New Years! (for real, this time).

2012-01-10T23:42:00.000-06:00

Now we're talking.

When I wrote my last post, I wasn't feeling to excited about this new year. I think partly that was because, for me....the "new year" doesn't really start until school starts. On January 1st, I'm still in holiday mode and it didn't seem like a new start. But now that school's resumed and I'm back into routine, it really is feeling like a new year. I've got my camera rolling and my Project Life album set out on the buffet. I think I'm ready to live this adventure of 2012.

I'm not going to promise a photo-a-day this year. I'd love to but no promises.

And I have no word picked out for the year. That didn't really pan out last year - I choose JOY as my word, hoping to find Joy in a lot of unusual places....and 2011 totally turned out to be about PEACE for me. Who knew? OK, besides Him, who knew?

SO....no agenda. Good pictures, a great adventure....here we go:

Jan 1: A little bit of snow, and our tent trailer hiding out behind the shed....waiting patiently for some summer adventures. I booked tickets for Sonshine today :)

Jan 2: My ribbon and button collection. I took this picture because my latest assignment from one the scrapbook magazines I design for was to do some layouts with rainbows as my inspiration. This ribbon/button shelf is my rainbow of inspiration.

Jan 3: Mica and her good friend Lissa

Jan 4: The boys were away so Mica & I went out for Sushi. Yum!!

Jan. 5: I drove to Winnipeg today to make cards with some cousins! I love, love, love those ladies. Cards were fun. Being with them was even better.

(of course, grabbed my camera from my purse after one cousin and my aunt had already left)

Jan. 6: This guy. I love him. Tonight, around 9:30 pm we went for a nice walk to get some treats at 1st Choice.

Here's 1st Choice. Our closest convenience store.

Jan. 7: Finally, the Christmas tree is coming down. I should have taken pictures of it when I put it up - it was a little more "done" then....that was before a few weeks of my kitten using it as a nap space.

Jan. 8: Last day of Christmas holidays....lunch at Smitty's after church.

Jan. 9: When I came home from grocery shopping, there'd been a phone call for me and my message got delivered via remote control car.

Jan. 10: Making some homemade beef jerky. Kids' request. Can't wait for it to be done tomorrow morning.

That's all.

Off to a great start.

And, my CHA projects got shipped a week ago. They'll be arriving in Colorado now-ish.

Better yet.....this coming weekend I have permission to start giving SNEAK PEEKS!!

Stay tuned and I'll show you what I was working on over Christmas holidays.

2012

2012-01-01T23:59:00.001-06:00

I woke up this morning - January 1, 2012 - dreading the day, and dreading the year. It was a horrible, sick-in-the-pit-of-my-stomach feeling that wouldn't go away. I wanted to roll back over and go back to sleep but dreaded that too knowing I'd only wake up slightly later with the same feelings of being overwhelmed, exhausted, done. It's bad enough some days not feeling like you want to face a meeting, or a day of work, or an assignment....but to wake up feeling like you don't want to face the year...?

I can feel my shoulders slumping even remembering it.

Normally I'd have some New Year's post about resolutions of mine: to be a better person/mom/friend; to take better photos/make better projects; to blog more consistently/journal more often, etc. But I was feeling a little like, "why bother?" Until, I read a New Year's blog post on Ann Voscamp's blog today where she talks of starting off the new year sometimes like this:

... fear. Fear that I am impotent of change, that new ways can’t be my ways.

What if I will always be this way… (fill in the blank with fear of personal choice: self-centered, overweight, uneducated, unmotivated, debt-ridden, angry, anxious, apathetic, unfulfilled…)

What if our family, this marriage, these children, stagnate, fester, languish?

What if all tomorrows are just more of all our yesterdays?

A thousand times I’ve told myself, “I simply must try harder.”

Try harder to be more organized, try harder to educate our children better,

try harder to be more after God’s heart.

But I know it: trying harder only results in harder trials....

She goes on in more depth, and as always in her beautiful poetic style...you can read the whole post here.

Then, she pasted in a quote. Just a few simple words from a great man:

“God is looking for people through whom He can do the impossible.
What a pity when we plan only the things we can do by ourselves.” -A.W. Tozer

And then I knew.

All my fears about the new year are there because I'm thinking of how I'm going to do it all by myself.

I've been picturing myself as self-sufficient instead of reliant on God.

I've been forgetting about the "village" around me that's going to help me parent my teen and pre-teenagers.

I've been discounting the fact that people around me have gifts that they need to use in my life too - just like my gifts have a purpose in their lives.

I've been neglecting the fact that I am not currently, nor have I ever been, nor will I ever be...in control.

God is.

So, I'm going to adopt a few more of Ann's steps to making New Year's resolutions:

(This is a short version of hers - again, you can read the whole post here).

1. SET BACK TO THE WIND

Set back to the wind, and let His Spirit gently carry when the feet are too weak to carry on.

2. SET JAW TO PERSEVERE

“For we add to our faith, perseverance.”

For, really, what can go awry? The Spirit’s got your back.

3. SET TIMES

Set, fixed, times to make certain tracks each day allows for the wind to move us, for inspiration to surprise us. Sporadic creativity or intermittent commitment generally fails to forge a steady trail. Progress is born out of rhythm, routine, regularity….set times.

4. SET SIGHTS

Every day keep the intermediate goals in clear line of sight.

Set goals into achievable segments, and fix sights on the these midway markers: one pound shed this week, 15 minutes of organization, one date night a week with a child. Set sights close…

5. SET OUT

Simply, finally, take the first step. Again and again.

The wind, hope on its wings, sweeps each new day clean before us, and sweeps over our tracks from yesterday, filling with grace.

She's so much more poetic than I will ever be, but this is what I take from her post: I will let the Spirit carry me this year. When I see where he's leading, I will Go. I will rest and refuel often and regularly. I will keep my goals in sight. And I will take the first step, and then the next first step, and then the next.

No specific goals this year except to listen to the Spirit and go where he leads. I have NO idea where that will be this year. But I know it will be an adventure and I'm excited to start.

Delayed gratification

2011-12-02T07:12:00.000-06:00

When my daughter was little - just learning to speak - we taught her the phrase "delayed gratification" and we made her say it at family gatherings and in other public arenas as her little "trick." It was made even better by the fact that she knew what it meant and could tell you all about it.

Sadly, in my life, for the most part, I am all about the instant.

High-speed internet, drive-through coffee and microwaves.

But there are a few things in this life that are worth waiting for. Worth the "delayed gratification."

One of these things that I'm willing to wait for is Tsukinecko's Goosebumps. Because of the nature of this product, it does not dry quickly on acyrlic's non-pourous surface.....but given a couple of hours....it's a beautiful thing.

Here's a project I did using, butterflies from the Clear Scraps Mini Butterfly Album. This card will be up in the booth in January at CHA. I first used Eggplant alcohol ink and then a quick spray of Goosebumps. When my butterflies were dry, I used a heat gun to soften and curl up the edges of the butterflies' wings. I love how the light reflects off all the glossy bumps from the Goosebumps.

It makes the butterfly a beautiful central image for a card.

I am so looking forward to this month. Even though my calendar is full, there appears to be several completely empty days, and when I say "empty" I mean no-kids-in-the-house-either days. Those days, combined with the big box of Clear Scraps acrylic that just landed in my mailbox yesterday, mean that there will be a lot more crafting going on this month than there has been recently!! YAY!!

The new Clear Scraps - the stuff that I can't even show you yet because it won't be released until January at Winter 2012 CHA - is So. Cute. I'll be working on that so you can see it here on my blog as soon as I'm able to post sneak peeks.

Happy Birthday to me :)

2011-11-07T00:40:00.000-06:00

I threw myself a birthday party yesterday :)

I know...a little weird, but it just felt like the right thing to do. And as much as it was about celebrating turning 40....for me, it had more to do with thanking the people who have been carrying me and caring for me. My significant ones. Investing in them a little. Not paying back - that will never be possible, but at least letting them know that I have appreciated every single one of them this past year in particular.

We had baked potato wedges, pork tenderloin, veggies and breads....and every single food item had an appropriate dip to go with it - I am ALL about the dips :) In fact...I think food in general is a dip-vehicle. We had Kelsey's 4-cheese spinach dip, artichoke dip, dill dip, black bean dip, and some amazing mayo-dip for potatoes. Oh, and the perfect end to the perfect meal: cheesecake. Yum. And enough leftovers for lunch at school tomorrow!!

No gifts, I said...and of course, no one listened so I sat alone, late at night after the party was over, opening envelopes....and wishing that someway I could repay these people for their generosity...and knowing that my only way to do that is to pray that God will do it for me.

This beautiful owl chain I got from Mica. When I came home from the party, she couldn't resist giving it to me early - we are SO much alike....I can't keep a present till the actual day to save my life. I love it - partly because it's silver and an owl....yay....but partly because the story behind it is that she bought it with her own money, at Bootlegger....she saw it hanging there and knew immediately I'd love it - but I was in the changeroom trying on jeans so she bought it quickly before I could finish and come out. Very very sneaky. I love that girl. I forgot to take a picture but the boys gave me their gift today too - a bowl they bought at 10,000 Villages - made in the Philippines I think, out of recycled magazine pages. I'll post a picture tomorrow. Oh, and 3 small stamps they picked up at The Scrapbook Cottage for me. Yay again.

Lynette made me this cute "sucker-bouquet" that says 40 Sucks.

Which, by the way, I fully expect it won't!

Tonight I climbed into bed to journal and read my Bible and I realized the journal I have, I got for my birthday last year....so I decided to go back and see what I had to say LOL.

My life has been such a rollercoaster since then but I can't believe how carried I've been and how much I've grown this past year (fortunately, I'm talking spiritually, not height or weight).

Here's a passage from my journal just about a year ago that struck me tonight as poignant.

November 10, 2010
Hey, I get it. I finally get the passage in Daniel that I love so much.
"If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O King. But even if he does not, we want you to know O King, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."

I've loved this passage - even highlighted it, but today I get it. I know God could rescue me from my current "troubles." He is able. And He will rescue me from this all. Either now, or eventually. He will. He promised to never leave me. But even if He doesn't (rescue me, in the world's view or in the world's timing), I will still praise Him. I still know that what I'm going through is Him rescuing me. This is God saving me; bringing me into a better place; increasing my joy; drawing me to Himself. If those around me think that I'm in crisis and God is not acting....they're wrong. I'm in crisis, and God is moving through this to do an amazing work in me, in my kids and in Trev, I pray. There is never a time in this crisis of mine when God is absent or not in control. This crisis is my rescue. This crisis is proof of His love for me and His desire to draw me closer. The lengths He'll go to to bring me to Himself!! How can I not love a God who wants me so badly.

Letting the sun shine in (warning: picture heavy)

2011-10-29T21:39:00.000-05:00

This week I did something at my place that I've been wanting to do for a long time.....I let the sun shine in.

We live on this amazing street - Evergreen Ave - so named because before it was urban, it was apparently, an evergreen tree nursery. Every home on our street has evergreens in their yard and that's a great thing for beauty and privacy and all that....but after many many years, some of the evergreens are overgrown, some are diseased and the 2 gigantic ones in front of our house in particular were almost completely blocking the view of the house from the street. On top of that, we had NO light in our living room. So...we tackled them this week.

The "before" shot - you can see my garage, the "people" door, the window above my kitchen sink and you can see that there is another window there but not all of it.

Within 1/2 hour this is the pile of branches we'd cut off.

By "we" I mean this guy - my next door neighbour Bob. He's amazing - a superhero on a ladder. He kept saying while he was up there that he was having so much fun and that he loved his ladder. I just kept thanking God for such an amazing neighbour.

After only 1/2 hour of cutting, this was already the change in the scene.

45 minutes in I felt like I had palm trees in my front yard and inside the house was already filling with beautiful sunshine.

Another neighbour/friend came over to scavange some of the boughs for Christmas decorating....and then after she'd brought them home, she came back and helped out for nearly 2 hours - I love you Joyce. You have no idea how loudly your service speaks to me.

My parents arrived (that's my Dad on the left) and my BF Maria's husband Phil came with chainsaws. In no time at all, they had the rest of the trees down (this one with a split trunk, and the single-trunked one beside it).

Here's the video of the first tree coming down:

Once down, we chopped up the trunks in the front yard.

That big pile of boughs was too tempting - of course E had to have a little jump in them!

A nice little stack of firewood to give to another friend who heats with wood.

My parents (Mom & Dad here throwing branches into the back of their truck and Ernie & Joyce's trailer)

Thanks so much Mom & Dad - I am overwhelmed by your support - not just here but always.

Also helping load were Joyce, of course, and Lynette (not pictured - but that's her son in the foreground). Love you guys!!

Today (Saturday), Ernie & Joyce came back and helped me shovel up this trailer-load full of roots and needles. I couldn't leave them there or I'd never have any grass. They loaded them all up, took them to the dump for me, brought me 2 loads of dirt and grass seed, leveled the yard and planted the seed for me. If that wasn't enough - they blessed me with free labour and only charged me for dirt & seed. I gave them a little extra but I'm sure it barely covered their gas. I cannot say it enough times: I have THE BEST FRIENDS in the world. And to have so many friends and neighbours who are willing to pitch in for me - Priceless.

This is the street view after the trees were gone and hauled away (the needles are still there in this picture but can you see how big my yard is?? And check out all the windows I have in my house!!!

This morning I woke up to my boys playing TechDecks in the living room - with the light off...because THEY HAD SUN! It was lovely. I don't think we turned the lights on in the house all day today. Love it.

Thanks so much to everyone who pitched in - you know who you all are.

I adore you.