Thankful Thursday

It has been so long since I have done a Thankful Thursday post. For some reason, Thursdays seem to slide right past me and it is Friday before I know it. This week, there are many HUGE things to be thankful for . . .

Who is so great a God as our God?
You are a God who works wonders.
Psalm 77:13-14

These are just a few of the wonders I have seen God work these past few days. If you don't care to read them all, then scroll down to the last one. It's worth it, I promise! :D

I am thankful for our church's grand opening of the new facility this past Sunday. To say it was amazing would be an understatement. There were probably about 4,000 people present, a huge traffic jam and all kinds of hoopla. Somehow in the middle of all that, all I noticed was God's presence and the worship was incredible. A friend joined us. I hope that she was as moved as I was. But the most wonderful thing about it was that Linzi actually went happily into the preschool room for the first time EVER!!! It did help that she had her favorite little friend with her. But still!!! She hardly looked over her shoulder at me and came out gushing over how much fun she had! And for me, it was the first time in almost four years that I have been able to sit, undistracted, through an entire service. This was huge for us. :-)

I am thankful for amazing friends who surround me. This past week, my friends have been a huge presence in my life. I love each and every one of them for the unique and beautiful people that they are. I appreciate the diversity and I appreciate the way some certain friends have challenged my views lately and made me think with an open mind. :D

And my greatest gratitude this week is for a playgroup friend and her brand new daughter. It has been a long, tough road for them. They left for China a few weeks ago, against their agency's advice. Their daughter has a heart condition and she had gotten sicker and was hospitalized. The doctors here looked at her medicals and said she may not even be able to fly home. It truly was a life threatening situation. Her agency was concerned that they would not be allowed to see their daughter while she was hospitalized and strongly advised that they wait it out until they got word that she was out of the hospital. They went to China anyway, fully prepared for the possibility of an extended stay, perhaps even surgery in China and not even knowing if they would be able to see their daughter at all. All they knew is that their daughter needed them and they would do whatever they had to do once they got there. Talk about FAITH! Well, they did receive her on the originally scheduled day. Thank goodness they followed their hearts and not the practical advise that was given! They had a long and difficult trip because of her health issues, they almost didn't fly home. At the absolute last possible minute, they were granted oxygen so that she could fly home. They came home last week. Last Thursday they received the news that her heart could actually be repaired, something that they weren't sure was possible. On Tuesday, she received the surgery she needed and she is doing WONDERFUL!!! The surgeon came out of the operating room smiling. This family's faith and perseverance is such an inspiration to me. Their daughter is beautiful and perfect. And now she has a full and healthy life ahead of her. But most importantly, she is cherished and loved by one of the sweetest families I know. The verse above was shared by this same friend. She says it is these words that gave her strength during the some of the most difficult (and scary) times. God truly has worked wonders for this family. It just doesn't get any better than that!

So on that note, have a wonderful day!

Of all the fabulous things Linzi got for Christmas, her very favorite is this simple little travel sized doodle board. She had a bigger one and it got lost or broken, or something. Then one day Ally came over with hers and Linzi just HAD to have one. She said so many times. So I made sure Santa put one under the tree. Well, let me just tell you, that was the best bang for $7 bucks! She takes this thing everywhere. She even sleeps with it - not kidding. :D AND she is using it to create some amazing works of art. She has also been using it to practice writing her letters. This weekend, she even wrote her name for the very first time. We are so proud of her and she was even more proud of herself! She squealed and jumped up and down with pride and then wrote it all night long - even after night nights and tuck in. :-)

Just proves that sometimes, the simplest toys really are the best!


Yes, my sweet girl really does say these kind of sweet little things every. single. day. I really don't deserve the kind of love she showers on us! And since I have two big kids who are way too cool to show their affection these days, I also know these sweet days won't last forever, so I soak up each and every precious moment!

I put a new song up. Nothing says it better than this song. I have been so busy with daily stuff and digital scrapbooking, I never got around to posting our snow pictures from last week. I know it doesn't look like much if you live in the north, but to us, this was huge! We had such a great time.

So, tonight I was looking around on Shabby Princess and I found a link to the most amazing scrapbook collection that benefits Love Without Boundaries and Half the Sky. It is called Journey of the Heart and it is at OScraps.com. I purchased the $10 set and then I noticed there is another Asia add on set for $7. It also has banners from other Asian countries besides China. It is truly is beautiful. If you are digi scrapping, then you absolutely MUST have this set!!! I immediately had to create something. Then I remembered that Kim at 3 Peanuts had blogged about this poem last summer. I loved it so much that I have never forgotten it and knew I had to use it somehow. This picture was taken of Linzi while we were filling out our paperwork on our Family Day. The paper and elements are from this collection. I have only scratched the surface on what all is in this set.A few people have asked me how I did my signature. No Debbie, I don't have a bamboo, but thank you for giving me one more little something I have to have! :D I had never heard of one, so I googled it and How Cool! I got my signature off of this website: mylivesignature.com You don't need to set up an account, just proceed on through, create your signature the way you want it, then right click on it and save it on your hard drive. Then you would upload it to your blog just like any other picture.

Heart Smiles

This is a conversation I had with Linzi this morning:

Linzi: "Mommy, will you be my best friend for a reason?"

Me: "Of course, I will always be your best friend. What is the reason?"

Linzi: "Because you make my heart smile."

Is there any greater gift? Thank you God for this amazing little girl who loves me back the way that I love her! These are the little moments that make my life so incredibly blessed.

In case you are wondering what is up with all the pink & black. I am redecorating Mandi's room. We are doing a very cool pink, black and white theme. It is very bold and still very feminine at the same time. I am so happy with the way our ideas are coming together. But when I sit down to do a scrapbook page, I find myself drawn to these colors and patterns because that is where my mind is. The good news is when I print January's scrapbook pages, they will all match. Maybe I will do some sort of theme for each month. hmmm.....

Snow!!!

The weather man warned us. We laughed, we didn't believe him. After all, the last time it snowed here, my big kids were little kids. Just to prove it, here is a picture of them the last time they played in snow in their own yard. Linzi was not even home yet - I was still stalking the mailman for our I-171h. It was January 2004.

But not only did it snow last night, it really came down for a while and stuck long enough for the kids to play. This was Linzi's first snow. I had to wake her up from a very late nap to see it. At first, she was not impressed. She did not want to even look out the window. But once her grogginess wore off and she saw how much fun the big kids were having, she decided to give it a try. She LOVED it! I only wish she could have had more time to play. And in case you are wondering if I send my child out in the snow without bundling her up - she is dressed in 2-3 layers of sweaters & sweats. She absolutely refused to wear her big jacket and gloves. It really wasn't that cold either and we only let her play for a few minutes. :D

I loved watching my way too cool teen and tween act like they were 6 years old again. It's amazing what a little snow can do for family morale - we were all pretty hyped up last night! :D Sadly, the rain came behind it about 9:00 and the temperature did not drop low enough. By the time we woke up, there was still a trace of snow left, but the roads were clear and school was in. Now the weather man is saying there is a chance of "wintry mix" on Saturday. I am thinking a trip to the mountains is in store for us this weekend - surely there will be some snow up there for tubing, sledding or building Linzi's first snowman. We'll see. . .

Quite possibly the best toys ever. . .

My new camera, digital scrapbooking software to learn and no fail subjects to work with!

I have been playing around with digital scrapbooking. This is my first page with this software program. The tree in the background is a picture that Mandi took and I really wanted to use it because she was so proud of it. But because of the tree, I wasn't able to find a embellishment that really worked and the top left corner seems a little bare. But I am having so much fun! I am on my way to the bookstore to get a magazine to give me some ideas of layouts. It's going to be another late night on the computer while I play some more! :D

More "Linzi-isms"

No, her feet are not really that big! She is wearing an old pair of clogs from my closet.

My funny girl never lets a single day go by without making sure I laugh out loud hysterically at least once or twice! I really wish I would have written each one of these moments down - I am sure I could have compiled them in a bestselling book to make you smile or as material for late night TV comedians. So, here are a few from just the last few days:

• As we are walking out of the restroom at B*arnes & N*oble, a girl with blue and red hair, all punked out and wearing goth black clothes walks in. Just as she is brushing past us, Linzi points to her hair (the girl is close enough to touch) and says "Wow! Look mommy, she has very colorful and pointy hair!" I laugh, the girl laughs and then Linzi says "I wish I had colorful hair like that too. Can I have colorful hair mommy?" How do you answer that when what you really want to say is "Sure honey, we can color your hair like that on Halloween" :D and the girl is so close, she is part of the conversation?!!! I am just glad Linzi was so enthralled with the hair, she never noticed the safety pin piercings!!!
  
• Linzi was playing one day and says "I can do whatever I want to do". So Alex, being the all knowing big brother - who must pop her happy little bubble, says "Sorry, Linzi. But you can't do just anything you want to do." And Linzi response - "YES, I CAN! (in a very indignant and superior tone). I CAN do whatever I want because my mommy says I am special and wonderful!" am I creating a diva here?!!!
  
• Certainly one of the funniest moments lately - We were in a store, in a very public place, surrounded by people. Out of absolutely no where, Linzi says very sweetly and innocent, but loud "Mommy, I love your big b**bies." Bahahahwahhhhaaa Everybody around us was stifling their laughter and one lady couldn't hold it back. She nearly choked and then everyone else around burst out laughing. It was one of those moments that you just want to be invisible. Oh, and lately, she tells daddy that he has a big tummy. He's actually pretty fit, but I do get a secret little evil chuckle when she tells him. Only because she hasn't noticed mommy's tummy. . . yet. ;)

New Year's photo recap

Thank you Connie!!!

Well, my blog is still under construction, but thanks to Connie and her endless patience with my kazillion questions, I am learning. I am not completely happy with the design and color choices, so I will probably change it a few more times until I am happy. My biggest problem is that I can't seem to get the header to fit properly. But it is late and my eyes are bugging out of my head from sitting at the computer all night! :D Maybe tomorrow. . .

So many questions!!!

I don't think I have mentioned that Santa brought me the camera that I have been wanting forever! I LOVE it and am having a blast trying to figure it all out. Part of the reason that I haven't blogged in a while or completed our Christmas and New Year's posts is because I am hung up on a few things. First of all, I want to change my blogwear. Connie? Debbie? Anybody?!!! I love what my blog fairy did for me, but it has been a year now. I am ready for a change and I want to figure out how to do this myself. Do I need to use scrapbook software? I really am clueless! And speaking of digi scrapbook software - which one do you recommend? I know fotofusion is great for collages and such. But in reading reviews on software, Scrapbook Factory Deluxe seems to win the prize. And then there's Photoshop Elements. I know I want to get this program to edit my photos but I have so much to learn on it. How difficult is it to learn - maybe I can use it for my scrapbooking as well?

When it comes to video editing, I am very proficient, but I know NOTHING about HTML and my brain is on overload trying to understand my new camera. Help!!!

In the meantime, I'll leave you with a few photos from our first photoshoot. Since I am so far behind, I am not even going to bother with the Christmas photos - I'll start my digital scrapbooking with those.