Whoa!!!

It was never going to happen. The highlight for Event for me was going to be meeting Kah-Mei. Nan, Kay, Melinda, Rhonda, and Lily got to meet her at the airport. Kelly got to go with Jer to get her and take her back to the W. Well, Thurs. night I never did see her. Friday night, I waited in line at the Rave for 10min. once, 15min. a second time, and 5min. another time. Each time more and more people came to do the projects. I didn't need to do the projects, I just wanted to meet her. I realized it was not going to happen that night and went back to my room brokenhearted. But I still had Sat., right?

Saturday's activities came and went. No meeting Kah-Mei. I finally gave in to the realization that it was over. Never going to happen. My chance had come and gone. So, that night I went downstairs to take some pics of Nan, Kay, and Rhonda. Passing thru the lobby going back up to the room, who should be walking in the door with Emma, but Kah-Mei! I got so exicted. I felt like one of those fanatical fans. I hope I didn't scare her too much. She knew who I was! Well, at least she acted like she did. Emma took our picture for me. (Big THANK YOU, Emma.) Kah-Mei asked me to send it to her. Of course I did!

Kah-Mei being silly at the airport.

Glory to God

My husband made it back from Iraq. So many have not and those are the families to which my heart goes. Some of them gave their lives so that my husband may live. Marines are a strange breed. They feel an honor to die for each other. Some day if I can do it without breaking down I will do a tribute slide show of those who were KIA. Though I never met them, they gave me the ultimate sacrifice. They will all have a special place in my heart, as well as their families. Maybe one day they will be able to work through the pain and realize that their Marine, Soldier, Airman, or Seaman died doing what he or she felt needed to be done to support our country. Yes, I say country even though we are fighting for Iraq, because we have always been the Big Brother taking care of others. That's just the way our country is. And I am so very proud to be born an American where as a woman I can worship God any way I choose without persecution, go to college, have a job, free to speak whatever I choose, even to put my thoughts and feelings on this blog without fear of imprisonment or death.

Some may wonder why I titled this entry as "Glory to God. Well, it is very simple. I put my trust in God that my husband would be returned to me safely. Sure there are a few injuries, but none that are life altering. Before he left I asked Him to watch over him. But if he was destined to lose his life, to please help the girls and our families work through the pain. To carry us when needed. I know through scripture that our lives are not over until our mission for God is complete. Obviously, my husband's is not. When it is then I will know that it is God's way and will have Him to help me through it all; just like He is still doing for me with my mother's death as well as other family members.

Our Sunday School lesson was according to the scriptures John 11:1-44. It is all about trusting in Jesus. Lazarus, the brother of Mary(The one who annointed Jesus' feet with oil then wiped them with her hair.), was dieing. Jesus left him to go with the disciples to Judea; doing so would later prove to some Jews that He was the true Messiah. Mary and her sister Martha sent word to Jesus that Lazarus was dead. He had been dead four days in the tomb by the time Jesus made it back to Bethany. This was significant because the Jews thought that the spirit hovered over the body three days and therefore could reenter at any time during those three days. He told both the women, in front of the Jews that had gathered at the tomb to comfort the women, if they believed in Him that Lazarus would rise again. (John 11:40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" ) Then Jesus thanked God and asked Him to raise Lazarus. Jesus then told Lazarus to rise. He came out of the tomb hands and feet bound with graves clothes. His face was also wrapped. Jesus then instructed the women to loose him. This lesson proved to me that I was right in putting my trust in the Lord, even in everyday things. What other choice do I have really?

I think now I understand why my cousin is named Bethany. In Bethany a miracle of the proof that Jesus was the Messiah occurred. Bethany, my cousin, is a living proof as well. It is apparent that Jesus can be found in her heart.

Yes, God is in control of my life and I'm all the better for it. He has proven to me time and time again that He is there when I don't feel I need Him and when I need Him to lift me up from my sorrow. My heart is filled with joy because of the Spirit.

If you are a nonbeliever or have doubts, please pm me over at Scrap Etc. If you do not have a Bible, let me know, I will get one to you. If you have questions I will try to answer them as best I can or find the answers for you.

May God be with you all today.

Melinda

So sweet, quiet, and reserved. She is the reason I have most of the pictures from the Event(besides the ones I snatch from other people's blogs.) I've been trying to figure out which picture to use for Melinda all day. Not that she has many alone. She was behind the camera so much it's slim pickings which brings me to why I chose to use this one. Melinda was getting her picture made in front of the "Inspire" letters. Well, I had to be a camera hound and zoom right in there. Sorry, Melinda.

I wish I would've gotten a picture of her with her hot pink daisy flyswatter that she brought to use on Nan and Kay if they started acting up in class. LOL!

Chickens Gone Wild

This is the proof that those darn chickens got a little too wild at the W. Stacey said there was a mess of empty bottles strewn around the min fridge. Bad chickens. Bad chickens.

Got oil?

Well, Cyndi sure didn't have it when it was needed. She was suppose to have the annointing oil ready when some people needed it. LOL! Her wonderful husband, Mark aka Preacher Man, drove her and their daughter, Nicki, all the way from Virginia. They stayed with friends in B'ham so he could spend time with their friends. I don't think he wanted to hang out with all of us. Poor little Nicki even got scrared from the beginning. From then on out Nicki was shy and quiet. lol. Love these girls! Thanks,

Preacher Man for bringing her to her friends.

Have to post this...

Allison, Christina, and Stacey.

I have to post this picture because I love it of CP. Even with a plastic tube up her nose she is beautiful and sexy. That girl could make even a plastic bag look good. LOL!

Teacher's Pet! Teacher's Pet!

Kay is the Teacher's Pet! I swear Robin Johnson took to Kay in a hurry. It was so funny. It was like they had some kind of bond that only long time friends share. Robin just loved her. But of course we all do. Robin is just a great judge of character. It was so sweet.

How FUNky is your Chicken?

Honestly, I don't know how this got started, but it is hilarious by now. Stacey brought along her rubber chicken and her travel buddy, Cindy brought along her fluffy white chicken. They buckled them in for the long adventure. I was also informed that these two chickens got a little wild and passed out sometime over the weekend. Could they have gotten into the minibar? Wonder how much that hotel bill was. LOL! So...how funky is your chicken?

Stacey, Me, and Cindy

The chickens hit the road.

Me with my FUNky chicken made specially for me by Michelle Sanders. I had to watch my chicken because by the next day it was starting to get a little wild. It was trying to get NAKED in class! LOL!

*Road Chickens and My Chicken pics were nabbed from Stacey's blog.

Serious Talent

Stacey Fike Christina Padilla Michelle Sanders

Hopefully, your computer will not explode while looking at this picture or if you are lucky you will absorb some of the creativity. In this one picture is more talent than anyone person could handle. Their scrapping styles are different but somewhat similar.

Sweet Lily

She came all the way from Costa Rica to the Event. I wish I could've been there with Nan, Kay, Rhonda and Melinda to meet her at the airport. I would've loved to have seen and heard when she tasted her first sip of sweet tea. lol.Seriously, I don't think there is a mean bone in this lady's body. It was a very emotional trip for her. She got to meet her friend Charise(from Scrapjazz) who she'd been talking with for over two years. That was a meeting that took just too long for this child. Then her meeting Christina Padilla was priceless. Unfortunately, I missed that but saw the pictures. CP is to her what Kah-Mei is to me. Lily, you are just so precious.

Rhonda

This is Rhonda. She has been Kay's friend for many, many years. I hope my best friend Amy Blech and I can be like them in 20yrs. Their whole families take trips together.

Rhonda is such a sweetheart. She is so caring and loveable. So sweet. My life is all the better for having met her. And DANG! does the camera ever love her! Just look at that smile.

Online Friends

It is amazing how close you can become with you online friends. These are three that I am so lucky to have in my life.

First there is Nan. She is fun loving, caring, and good grief does the woman ever love giving "happies". LOL! She is like a sister. I love her with all my heart.

Kay is like a momma to me. That's a good thing being that my momma was my best friend. Kay is the type of friend who will drop everything to come running to your aide. She knows exactly what to say or do and when to say it. She knows when to say nothing at all. Her looks can speak volumes. I love this woman and am so blessed to have her in my life. (That's her waiting for Lily at the airport.)

Sally is so sweet, fun, and drop-dead gorgeous. She is the piece of me(the fun) that has gotten lost somewhere along the way. The realationship she has with her mom is great. Hopefully one day Rylee and I will share the same. (I say Rylee because Ryann is a daddy's girl.)Thanks, Tex, for being my friend.

After seeing her in action this weekend I see why all the doctores kept asking me if I was depressed. Maybe after all the dr. visits, hospital, needles, passing out from pain, and drugs; I really am depressed and didn't know it. Hmmmm.... maybe I should ask the doctor for some good drugs like Monique. LOL! I'm sure running 4miles everyday like Sally would kick in all those endorphins too. lol. Can any of you really see me running 4miles? Haha, that's funny. Maybe walking, but certainly not running. I'd wind up covered in bruises from falling so much.

It was a great weekend spending time with these wonderful women.

HAMBLY Screen Prints...

As I was thinking about what to write about the Event, my mind wondered to Hambly. I thought to myself, "Dang! I could write up a whole enty about Hambly alone." So this is my feelings about beloved Hambly. (Thank you Allison Kreft for designing this wonderful product.)

Happiness.

Joy.

Discovery.

Smile.

So ornate, so me.

Smellilicious.

Scrapdelicious.

Simply put...YUMMY!!

For those of you who do not know what Hambly is, you are missing out. This stuff is to die for. It is clear transparencies with designs. Simply ingenious.

I saw Allison at the Scrap Etc. Event but was too shy to go up and meet her. Even though she was looking directly at me, I just smiled and went on my way. I know those of you who know me, can't believe this but it's true. It would be like going up to Michael Angelo and introducing yourself.

One of my goals for the Event was to have my picture taken with the Hambly Design Team (HITs, I call them. Hambly Inspiration Team) and Allison. Well, it didn't happen, but my wonderful friend Michelle Sanders photoshopped me into this picture. Thanks, Michelle.

For Deborah...

This is for Deborah. (BTW, this is what we made in Heather Preckel's class. Only it was suppose to be a clipboard, but I needed it to be a page.)

Told you so!

To all those who didn't come to the Scrap Etc. 2007 Event. It was so unbelievable. I am still trying to deal with all the emotions that it stirred up.

I got to meet up with my message board friends. That was totally amazing!

Heather Preckel is just the sweetest, most lovable person. In her class I used Nan's Crop-a-dile. Nan laughed at me, because before I caught myself, I said, "Wow!" in amazement at the thing I held in my hand. It really does cut thru even a clipboard like "buttah"(just for you Gretchen).

Kristina's class was awesome. Of course, any class with Hambly in it is going to be out of this world cool.

Stacy's class was great. The Finish Line class was really stressful for me. I didn't even have time to pick up a ruler. For those who don't know how I scrap, this is a really big deal. I still didn't get it finished. I will work on it later. The book I am doing is for the girls. It is of them and my husband. Maybe when he comes home he can do a little bit of journaling in it for them.

Robin's class was cool too. I found out that I did do the balancing thing right. And that I am more organized than I thought. All but the things from childhood, I would've found in probably less than 5min.

Allison's class was the best for me. This was the one class I had waited for and it was last. The cost of the Event was worth it for this one class alone. I started crying from one of the pictures posted at the very beginning. It was a mom holding her baby but the dad was over the mom's shoulder looking down at the baby. The emotions in the dad's face is what got me. Wow! That was a powerful picture for me. I seriously need help with photography so this was the icing on the cake.

That is until later that night when I finally got to meet Kah-Mei(owner of Fontwerks). I will post a picture and the story later. If I start talking about it now, I will seriously get to bawling. A really emotional experience for me. For Monique it is Heidi Swapp. For me it is Kah-Mei Smith.

I missed my girls the whole time. That was really difficult for me. It was the first time I was away from them for more than 12hrs.(most of that being sleep).

I've got to send out shout out to Sherry. Hi! I didn't realize she read this thing until she told me at the Event. Good grief did that ever blow me away!

There was so much more that I have to say but just thinking about the last two things has brought tears to my eyes and now I must close.

Take care all. I will post again about the Event in a couple of days.

Am I the only one...

that gets down right po'ed when I am told I am really sick? That is the worst thing the doctor could tell me. Yeah, I know I don't feel well, but seriously! Rrrrrrrrr! At least only one shot of steroids and no oral this time. So that was a blessing.

Wow, time's been flying by. It will be March 15th before I know it. Am I ready? Of course not.. I will get there though, if not I'm not gonna stress about it. Instead of doing this post, I should be uploading more pictures and ordering them. LOL!

Speaking of pictures, I found some lost but not forgotten ones yesterday. I found one that I LOVE of my daughters hugging my best friend's tummy when she was very pregnant with her daughter. I started tearing up it was so sweet. And then pictures of another friend with my girls got me to really missing her, but when I lost my phone, I lost her number. Booohoooo!!!! Then some I had forgotten about when the waves were high in Hawaii. Wow that was a treasure trove that I found. I have two more discs to look thru sitting in front of me. Guess I need to get busy, huh?

For all those that were struck by the tornadoes, my thoughts and prayers go out to you and your families. May God be with you all.