His First Prom

My son was invited to his first Prom. He was so handsome in his suit. The name of his date is Aspen. She is a very pretty girl. The prom was held at her school at Arickaree, which is located south of here. He had a great time.

Don washed the Jeep inside and out. We let Sam drive, but I sat in the backseat, since he only has his learner's permit at this time. So when we got to the school and I left to go back home, I was a little teary eyed.

He is becoming such a good looking young man.

His dad taught him how to tie a necktie but when it came time to go, he just didn't like the way it looked, so his dad helped him get it just right. While they were doing this I was getting a little tear in my eye at this time too. I just remembered those days when he was little and we would go to Baby Gap or to some other children's clothing store. Don would take him into the dressing room to try on the clothes and then they would come out to show me how it looked. And here they were, his dad helping him to get dressed again. Wow, where did all of those years go, they went by much to fast, faster than I expected.

It did make me feel good that he gave me a little hug before I left them at the school.

Reception Card

I finished the Reception Card I was doing for a friend of mine. I hope her daughter likes the card since it is for her graduation. I distressed each card (tag) then I stamped each card with 3 different stamps, I then stamped the tiger stamp and cut each one out, then I placed the tiger and the ticket (not all of the tickets say the same word) on the tag with pop up dots. I hope you like it too!

I also went to Rocky Mountain Memories Scrapbooking store on Monday for an interview with Cheryl, the owner. I'm not sure what will come out of that but I had a fun time visiting with her. She has a beautiful store. Next time you are in Estes Park make sure you look her up. Her store is next to the old theater in the middle of town.

Happy Birthday To My 16 Year Old

I have been doing a countdown on my Facebook Page. It was a countdown for today - today my son turned 16!

Sixteen years ago on this day a miracle happened, the miracle of life, and I praise God everyday for this miracle, for this son of mine!

Wow, how these 16 years have flown by. I do miss those toddler years seeing him explore his world. And now I am very proud of the man he is becoming.

I love you my son!

The Tiger Stamp

I just ordered and received this tiger stamp. I'm making 35 invitations to a reception which is following a graduation. It is for a friend mine, for her daughter.

I ordered the stamp from Amazon.com. I didn't even know they sold stamps on their website. But when I typed 'tiger stamp' in Google's search bar they came up first.

Are you wondering why a tiger stamp? Well the trial reception card that I made to show my friend had a bird on it. (The card is actually a large tag) She said she liked everything but the bird because the mascot of the school is a lion. So I had to start locating a tiger stamp to replace the bird. I really like how the card is coming out. I will post pics of the card when I get them done. I've done 18 now only 17 more to go! and they have to be done by tomorrow!!

The Beauty of the Plains

Sometimes this high plains desert gets a little tiring with the high winds (sometimes hurricane force winds), dust coming through every little crack,and with the lack of rain and moisture. But then you drive into your drive-way and what do you see? This beautiful herd of deer. There are 9 in the herd. They have been in our front yard for the past 3 days. It is so wonderful to watch them. When it gets dusk they jump over the fence and go into a stand of evergreen trees across the road.
Even amidst a hard day, amidst stress, and all the other things that cloud up our day, I think God just wanted me to slow down and see that there is beauty in this harsh world.

Happy Anniversary Card

A friend asked if I would make an anniversary card for a friend of theirs. This is what I came up with. I went to the member's gallery on Two Peas in a Bucket and found something similar. It was so pretty I thought I would try to duplicate it. It isn't exact, of course, but I do like how mine came out.

I just used scraps that I had in my studio. I love the butterfly punch, it is from the Martha Stewart Collection.

Hope you enjoy.

Rocky Mountain Memories

I have an interview this month with Cheryl Grigsby, owner of Rocky Mountain Memories in Estes Park. I am so looking forward to meeting her and seeing what could be in store for us.

I also have two scrapbooking jobs that I need to get started on right away. One is an invitation card for a college graduate. And the other is a high school graduation album. Two albums to be exact. That is the big thing here in Yuma. If you have a son or daughter who will be graduating you must have an album made for all your guest to look back over their school years.

On Tuesday of this week we went to Scottsbluff, NE. Don had been invited to speak at the Chapel Service at Summit Christian College. He was scheduled to speak Wednesday morning, so we drove up a day early so we helpfully could see some sites. The college provided a wonderful room for us to stay the night.



Unfortunately the Scottsbluff National Monument was closed by the time we got there so we went and got some supper and had a wonderful family evening.

The next day after Chapel (Don did a great job speaking!), we went to the National Monument. What a beautiful spot! The history of this place is unbelievable. If you ever go, be sure to see the little movie. It gave so much more information on the Oregon Trail than I had ever heard before. At this site back in the 1850's the western pioneers were just beginning to see the Rocky Mountains. What an awesome feeling comes over you as you stand where they crossed the plains. I highly recommend stopping by to see this beautiful monument to those brave travelers of yesteryear.

Hospital Visit

Last Friday night I went to bed with a headache, I then woke up at 1:00am with such a severe pain in my stomach. At 9:00am I was so weak from being sick all night long (every 10 min) that Don was getting very worried so he got me up and off we went to the Clinic at the Yuma District Hospital. Once there they sent me straight to the ER. I spent the next 7 hours getting hooked up to IV's and they were giving me anti-nausea medicine all day. After a cat scan and some much needed sleep (induced by the medicine), I was finally able to hold down some jell-o and juice so they let me go home. I really don't remember a lot of that day or the next day I was still very weak and still under the drug's effects. It wasn't until Monday evening that I finally began feeling like myself. The doctor had a suspicion of what was going on but I need to go back for more test to be sure.

I've been admitted into a hospital before for various procedures but that was my first time in an ER. From the moment you are placed into an ER bed you loose all sense of dignity. All you want them to do is to get you better and you do not care what they do to get you to that point. I had two very nice and sweet nurses (the perks of small town is that they know you personally) and the Dr. was so good to me too. You could tell that they were trying their best to figure out not only what was wrong but what kinds of medicines and procedures that would help me feel better.

I was watching a TV reality show that showed the lives of Doctors in an ER setting and what kind of cases that come through these big city hospitals. This one particular Dr. had just saved this man's life and he said that he believed in God and that God sends miracles down to us every day but we just don't seem to see them. He said that someone had once told him that the Doctors dress the wounds and God heals them. I saw that happen on that day I was so sick. I thank the nurses and Doctor for being there to help me and I thank God for healing me.

Rearranging of the Furniture

I had posted on my Facebook a few days back that I rearranged my dining room and kitchen. My son said when he say that post that I had changed around the refrigerator and stove and the kitchen cabinets.


















I know he was teasing me but I thought I would go ahead and show you a little of what I did. I took out the big pine cabinet I had in the kitchen. (It held the microwave, toaster and some metal bowls, etc.) I then took my dining room hutch apart and put the table (the bottom half) in place of the big pine cabinet. I turned this into a desk. I love the way it looks. The dining room looks so much roomy and there is so much more room going from the kitchen into the dining room. I had fun rearranging but it took all day long. I didn't think it would take very much time to move two pieces of furniture but once you get started on a project like this you realize just how dirty things are. The things that are behind and not seen on a day to day basis. My next big project will be my scrap-booking space. That is going to be a huge undertaking. I need to go through everything and purge!

Chocolate Pumpkin Mini-Muffins Recipe

(makes approx 48 mini muffins)

1 box chocolate cake mix

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin

1/2 c mini chocolate chips

2 egg whites

2 Tbsp water

Preheat oven to 375.

Grease the insides of your mini muffin liners, otherwise the muffins will stick to the paper. (I used vegetable oil and a small brush for this. I know this is a pain but it does work. If you don't do this your muffins will stick to the paper. I got tired of doing it and the muffins that didn't get oiled did stick.)

In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites until a little foamy. Add in the remaining ingredients and stir until well blended. Use a tablespoon to fill prepared baking cups. Bake for about 13 - 15 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pans and let cool.

This is a very simple recipe. They didn't look like much when they came out. I guess you could put some icing on them to help their looks but I didn't have time to do this.

I was wondering if you could mash some bananas and use them instead of the pumpkin. Just a thought.

Our church has begun a new ministry called "He Brews" Coffee Ministry. Immediately following church service a table is set up in the back and we have coffee brewed, hot water for tea, and some goodies to eat. This is great time for everyone to stop and fellowship a little after service. Kind of a get-to-know-you time.

We are trying to get people to sign up for the goodies which could be anything from muffins to fruit. I signed up for last Sunday so these muffins are what I took. I heard there was a couple of guys who were popping them in their mouths one right after another. Good to know they were delicious.

If you have a recipe that would be quick but good for our ministry, let me know.