My Latest Layouts

Weekend Stuff

Ok, so today I was chatting with some of my gals from FSSCG (For Scraps Sake Critique Group) and all of us were comparing notes about our scrap goodies we snatched up over the weekend. So we decided to load pictures and drool over each others goodies. I got all of my stuff from the LSS I work for. Friday night I worked the midnight crop and several of the ladies had those totes from All My Memories. I thought the were so cute so I decided to get me one. Then I went through the store and just picked through a few punches, flowers, brads, Bazzil cardstock, ribbon, and adhesive. The t-shirt is from my employers who had just returned from CHA. Very excited about that! Anyway, all next week the new stuff will start to ship into the store and I am sure my check will continue to dwindle down like a sinking ship!!!! One cool thing I recently learned is that one of my co-workers is the sister of the man who owns Bazzill. She is the coordinator of all the instructors and of course an instructor for Bazzill. Ok, enough of all things scrappy...I have been tagged for this questionare so here goes...

A: The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.B: Each player answers the questions about themselves.C: At the end of the post, the player then tags 3 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

10 years ago: I was caring for the 3 month old son, living in Bossier, Louisiana, stay at home mom, and pretty content.

Things on my to-do list today:
1. clean up the gameroom
2. stay in my jammies
3. scrap (complete the challenge for my critique group)
4. wash clothes
5. RELAX

What I would do if I were suddenly made a billionaire:
1. Never work again
2. give to my family
3. give to the Needy
4. Build my dream house with a huge scraproom and hire an interior designer
5. Travel

3 of my bad habits:
1. Spending too much money...Shhhhhh don't tell my husband.
2. Hate folding clothes ( they sit in a basket entirely too long)
3. Oh and did I mention spending too much money???

3 places I have lived:
1. The Woodlands, TX (present day)
2. Monroe, LA
3. Morgantown, W.V.

5 jobs that I have had:
1. Grocery Store clerk
2. Phlebotomist (draw blood)
3. Social Director for a retirement community
4. ER Tech
5. Substitute Teacher

5 Things people don't know about me:
1. Coffee is my drug of choice...can't start the day without it.
2. I am a momma and daddy's girl...they are my heros
3. I am extremely easy going...but if you P**S me off, watch out!
4. I have never done drugs...my daddy was and is a cop so I was too scrared of getting caught.
5. I am extremely loyal to my friends...I will be there through the ups and downs.

Ok, one more thing...I have to brag on my kids! I took Abigail to a Kre8tive Kids class (she loves to scrapbook) and she made two layouts from the kits provided. Now the instructor walked them through the process but Abigail put it together all by herself. Like Mother Like Daughter!!!! Also, Landon came home the other night from his track meet and had placed in all three of his events!!!!! Yeah Landon, I am so proud!

My Love

Duane and I met 13 years ago this month. He and I were both in college, but he was my teacher!Duane was finishing his Master's degree and had to teach a class as a part of his program. How funny is that. I will never forget the first time we went out...he is so brillant (he would disagree), I was captivated by his thought process and his amazing blue eyes. After some of the losers I had dated in the past, it was so refreshing to carry on an actual intelligent conversation with someone who used his brain. Duane is a rare character...he is an old soul. He sees things in such an idealistic way and believes a man's word is his honor. When he and I met, my son Landon was only 3 years old. When you have been burned the way I have, you tend to have all kinds of walls built up for self preservation. I had to protect my son!!!! But for the first time in a long time I felt safe and sure that I had met someone really special.
Duane and I married quickly, and we have had a lot of ups and downs but it just gets better every year. He is my best friend, my lover, my soulmate, my everything!!!!!! I can't imagine life without him in it. I am so thankful that God saved him just for me. I believe that God has someone chosen just for you and if you wait and not settle for less, than they will suddenly appear. My mom used to tell me that love would come when I wasn't looking for it and viola, she was RIGHT!!!!!
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and as much as I LOVE my children, I truly LOVE my husband too. I read once that if you keep the relationship between you and your spouse a priority than everything else will fall into place. Remember, when the kids are gone, this is the person you will spend the rest of your days with. Keep the fires burning and never forget what made you love that person in the first place.

This is a redo of my 1st layout. Duane and I were posing for our engagement pictures. I love this picture and was so pleased with how this turned out. Gosh, we looked so much better back then. I sure am glad he still loves me with all the lumps, bumps, gray hairs, and a few early signs of aging!!!!!

Date Night...LOOOOOOOVE date nights!!!!!

Here's a layout I did of me and dear hubby. We actually celebrated 12 years of marriage in August but since it's almost Valentines Day I decided to break out and scrap a "LOVE" page for my honey.

My Mother, My Friend

I was thinking last night about my mother. Here in the last week she has been having blood pressure problems. This is a hard pill to swallow because my mother is invinsible (at least in my eyes). It really scares me to know that she is having problems like this. Studies always say that women are now at a higher risk for heart attacks, strokes, and high blood pressure due to the enormous amount of stress they carry. Why is it that we as women just can't let things go. We carry the weight of the world on our shoulders through out the day and cannot even turn off or tune out at night when trying to get a "good night's sleep". My mother has worked since I was a child but it never stopped there. She worked outside of the home and as soon as she would get home she would immediately switch from "working woman" to "homemaker". I don't think she ever sat down, much less took time just to RELAX. Now that she is in her mid fifties, I would love to see her take life much easier. She has definitely payed her dues as a wife, daughter, and mother. I think that a woman's work is never done. God made us such unique creatures with such a load to carry...an awesome responsibility but hard none the less. I adore my mother, she is my Hero and my best friend. She is a shining example to follow and I hope that I will grow more like her everyday.

Here is a letter I presented my mother on Mother's Day 5 years ago! Wow...time goes by so fast!!!! I love you Momma...please take time to enjoy life, slow down, you deserve it!!!!!!

Dear Momma,

As I thought about what to give you for Mothers Day, I also thought about what kind of card I could get or what I could possibly say to give you honor on this day. I wanted to remember all the reasons why you are so special to me. Then I wondered...what would my kids say about me when they are grown and have families of their own? What will they remember about me? Well, I hope it goes a little something like this because this is how I remember you.

As a child I can remember you always being there. I remember the clothes that were hand made or all those home cooked meals that were always on the table. I can remember days when we would play outside, exercise to Jane Fonda or sit and talk for hours around the dinner table. You were always there to take us back and forth to after school functions and even though you were a working mom I can always remember you just being there when we needed you most.

As a teenager...what can I say? You just loved me!!! Through the good times and the bad you loved me unconditionally and you never made me feel less than what you knew I could be. You never recalled past errors, instead you were merciful and kind, always looking forward and never looking behind.

What I really want you to know is what you have meant to me for the 30 years of my life. When I think of a hero or a role model to follow after, it has always been you. You are the person that I want to be like. If I can have half of your strength and an ounce of your courage then I will have accomplished a giant task. If I could show the love and compassion that you have shown to me and to others than I can say that I am complete. If I can become the mother that you were and still are than I will be the woman you raised me to be. Every good thing that you see in me is because of you. One day you told me that I have a gift because of the relationship that I have with God, but can you see that our steps are ordered by God and He sent me to you. He knew that you would mold me into half of the person that He had called me to be...the other half was left up to Him. So, can you now see that you are the one that is special because he knew how much love you would give to me and you will be blessed for being the instrument of God.

I can remember back to the time that you were fighting your biggest battle of all and you know what that is. I remember telling God that if He was going to take you home than please just come back and take us all. I just could not fathom the thought of living in a world without you in it. I believe He spared you because there is still work for you to do. As hard as I try there are still no words that can compare to my love for you. So on this day, May ll, 2003, I want to tell you Happy Mothers Day. You are by far the greatest Mother in the world and I thank God all the time for giving you to me. Do you remember the day of my wedding? I know that you still feel bad about not being there to help me with my dress. Well, that moment is not what is most important. Do you remember the song I had them play for you? That song says exactly what I still think and feel about you today...You are The Wind Beneath My Wings.

I Love you always...Your loving daughter...Kimberly Dawn

Happy Birthday My Precious Daughter!!!!!!!

Tomorrow will be my beautiful baby girl's 8th birthday. I can't believe time has gone by so fast! It seems just like yesterday I was bringing her home and holding her in my arms. She is my last baby and the only girl, so needless to say, she is rotten. Although we spoil her with lots of love, she is not only beautiful on the outside but also beautiful on the inside. Abigail is full of love and compassion for others, always eager to please, and carries a constant song in her heart. She has taken on her mother's love of scrapbooking but can play rough with her brothers just as if she were one of the boys! Happy Birthday my precious girl...you make me so happy!!!!!!




















This is a layout of Abigail making her Gingerbread house at her school. I thought she did a pretty good job...She's so creative!!!!!


























Pulled this idea from an old scrapbook magazine (can't remember which one). I liked the design because it gave me an opportunity to use more than one picture. This was back in June while we were at a swim meet with my oldest son. Good thing there was a park near by because there is always a long lag time between competitions.

Just dropping in...

I have recently joined an awesome group of ladies in critipue group on scrapbook.com. They are smart, sassy, fun, and extremely talented. Check them out at my links For Scraps Sake. Anyway, I did this layout for BreweryGirlMel to help her out of a scrapbooking slump. So we all decided to scraplift her to help bring back her scrapping mojo.


























Here is one I did for my daughter. I just loooooooove Prima products so I am really pleased with how this one turned out. Plus, I love that song "I hope you dance" by Leann Womack, so I was really wanting to do a page that expressed my love for my daughter.

Trying out this "Blogger Thing"

I thought it was key to start my first blog off with this layout because it goes along with my theme, "Living in the Moments". This was a pic of my son, Caleb and daughter, Abigail. They are the younger 2 in the family and are only 18 months apart. They fight like nobody's business, pick, scream, and aggravate the fool out of each other but as my journaling states, "there are still moments when you are the best of friends. These are the moments I live for."

Obviously since I am a mother of three, I would have to introduce my oldest son, Landon. He is my teenager and another reason my life is so blessed.

Lastly, I could not complete my inner circle without paying tribute to my dear hubby, Duane! I put up with his quirky traits and he puts up with my scrapping obsession! It is definitely a trade off. We have been happily and unhappily married for 13 years now. Now honestly, who can say they have been totally happy with their spouses all the time? No, we have had our ups and downs but yet we can only attribute our success to our faith in God and our unconditional love for each other. Who could ask for more?