Some pictures of Millie...

I'm finally posting the sweet pictures of Millie that Jessica took when we stayed at her house. Aren't they adorable?? Tyler hates the naked baby pics, but I LOVE them! So...he's just going to have to get over that one! :) The dress she's wearing is the dress she wore to the baby dedication on Sunday. A friend of mine from twinstuff sent it to me after her daughter outgrew it. Her mother made it...I can't thank her enough for her kindess!!


Layout uses Traci Reed Sketch & Misty Mareda's Raining in Baltimore papers.


Storyboard by Tina (lilpickel)

Here's a layout I did...

using the storyboard I made. I resized it to an 8x8 so it would fit in my album, but I wanted you to see the storyboard "in action." Pics by Jessica Hollis.

Want a free storyboard??

I wanted to try my hand at storyboards and thought I'd share it with you!! I haven't even used this one yet myself! :) Please credit me if you use it! Thanks!

Go to http://download.yousendit.com/81A1B35F762889F8 and download it! I'd love to see what you do with it...don't forget to leave a comment if you take it! :)

Our fun, busy weekend!

Whew!! It's only 6:30 and I'm wore out!! I have lots to blog about, so this could get long...I'll try not to ramble too much! :)

We left on Thursday to take Tyler to the Master's men retreat and the kids & I went to stay with the Hollis family in Sesser. On our way down, traffic was rerouted off of the interstate at the Dix exit and we had to go about 10 miles to drop Tyler off in Mt. Vernon. It took us 2 hours and 45 minutes to go 10 miles!!! We were moving inches at a time...it was horrible! The poor kids were not very happy! The tow truck passed us and we saw the results of the wreck on the interstate. We were no longer frustrated with our wait because we knew by looking at the vehicle that there's little chance anyone survived. Come to find out, a mom of 3 passed away in the accident. That family has been on my heart and prayers a lot here lately!

We finally dropped Tyler off and then the kids and I went to Mt. Vernon Wal-Mart. I doubled over in severe pain while I was there and didn't know what to do. I started feeling a little better and then the pain kept coming back...I'm sure I looked like a crazy woman bending over my stroller! I got so sick there at Wal-Mart...this was not turning out to be the best day!

We finally got to Sesser and had so much fun! We got to hang out with Johnny, Jessica, Maddie Kate, and Ava! (Those girls are growing up way too fast!) Kylie, Molly, and Jennifer came over and we all watched survivor. It was so nice getting to hang out with friends. I really miss getting to have girl time! Jessica & I stayed up way too late messing around with photoshop and just talking that we were so sleepy the rest of the weekend. Mason loved getting to see their puppies, had fun when Maddie Kate drove him around in her Barbie Jeep (I'll post pics soon...they are too cute!) and loved it when Johnny took him out on the 4x4. He definitely is an outdoor kid! Jessica took some really cute pics of the kids (again...I'll post them soon!) I hope we get to go back soon...I really miss seeing them!

Today was our church Homecoming. Corey, Stephani, Lily & Libby were up & Corey was our speaker today. I was in back with 12 kids (ACK!!) so I didn't get to be a part of the service, but I hear it went really well! :)

Today was also our NICU reunion. It was so much fun to see everyone!!!!! We miss all of our NICU nurses (although we don't plan on ever having to use your services again! haha) I'm so thankful for the love that they have for our family...we love them, too! And for those of you NICU nurses that stalk the blog...(Kaci, Elena...) leave comments so I know you visited! :) You guys need blogs, too!! Mason had fun riding a pony (and the pony pooped all over the back of my pants!!!!), sliding down the inflatables, and hanging out with our NICU buddies (so good seeing you, Cydney & Ean!) Again...pics coming soon! :)

Well, I didn't win the picture contest...not even close. It was at www.sweetdreamsshoppe.com I honestly was kind of bummed out...actually, quite bummed that I didn't even place top 4. I don't know why I took it so personal, but I did. I think it'll be awhile before I enter another contest...I didn't realize how much emotion I invested in it. But, I still made a cute book for Mason that I'm proud of. (I know...you all are playing your air violins because of my whining...)

This week looks like it's going to be another crazy week...at least I'll have lots to blog about! :)

The fingerprints of God...

Hello! I want some honest feedback from you! I've made this little book for Mason for a contest I'm entering and want to know what you think. What works...what doesn't? What would you change, etc.? Don't worry...I can handle the criticism! :) I just want it to look its very best before I enter it! :) Thanks so much! (Just click where it says comments below this post.)

Pictures from the park...

Here's some pictures of our evening at the park on Thursday night. We went to Spitler Woods State Park and enjoyed playing on the little playground. Mason loved going down the twirly slide. He thought he was big because he could do that one by himself! My little independent guy is growing up fast! Millie sat happily and cooed and slobbered while Mason played. She has found her fist, so she is rubbing slobber EVERYWHERE! :)


I used Jen Caputo's Sketch, Retrodiva's Splendid Freebie, and Debbie Fisher's Alpha


I used Robin Cabana's Sketch, Nancy Rowe Janitz's Sunny Daze Kit, Shannon Carlson's Crocheted flower, Katie Pertit's word art, and Lyndsay Riches' arrow

And...for those of you that are curious about digital scrapbooking, I put some resource links on the side. Just watch out...it's addicting! :)

What a fun day!!

We had such a great day today!! We all got up and went to garage sales this morning (didn't find much, but we enjoyed walking around and breathing fresh air--well, as fresh as Decatur air can be!) Then, we had lunch at the Dockside restaurant on the lake. It was yummy! After lunch, we strolled along the lake and then walked through a park. Millie was sound asleep and I couldn't bear to take her out of her seat for pictures. I'll have to take her down there sometime again soon. Mason LOVED the waterfall at the park. He splashed and splashed and was soaked when we left. He cried getting into the car because he didn't want to leave. We came home, changed his clothes and he took a much needed nap. After he awoke, we spent some more time playing outside. He loved throwing the sidewalk chalk and tried to be daddy's helper while picking up the garage. I took some pictures today and scrapped them when the kids went to bed tonight. Enjoy! :)


I used Kim Hill's multi-photo frame & Anne Langpap's Citrus Freeze kit

ok...you twisted my arm...

Well...because you asked so nicely, I reuploaded my sketches. Please, please leave me a comment if you take them. I love to see who's going to use them! But better than comments are links to your layouts! I'd love to see them in use! :) Please credit me if you use them! Thanks!!

Click on the links below the sketches to download that sketch. These are layered TIFF files. Good luck and Happy Scrapping! :)



Funky Swirl Sketch:
http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=C4D031972C3653E2



Funky Circles Sketch
http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=CEDA03905EA980E9

How about a few more??

Here are a few more Mize family photo layouts. And guess what?? I actually FINISHED the Mize heritage book this morning! I got it done in time for Grandma's birthday! WOOHOO!! I can't wait to see what she thinks of it!

This is my mom when she was a baby...doesn't she look like Jeremiah?


Here's Grandpa, his mom, and a few of his sisters (and a couple of their kids)


Here's Grandma, her dad, and her siblings shortly after the death of their mother.


And Amy...I'm going to have to go and hunt for the file with your mom's picture! I took it off of my computer after I had it printed...and I have a stack of CD's that it's on one of them. I'll post it soon!

Welcome to the world of time-outs!

Once upon a time there was a sweet little boy who never got in trouble...




Ahh...yes, that cute chubby little boy has reached toddlerhood. And with toddlerhood comes lots of time-outs! He is learning he isn't the boss and can't throw fits...it's just a long learning process!!

It's hard to believe that last summer he was so little and now he is huge and does so many funny things! He loves to say "Pray...Amen!" He gives the sweetest kisses and hugs and is so complimentary of my cooking "mmm....yummy!" (Even if I'm only cooking him a hot dog! haha) He's fascinated with lights/fans and loves dogs. He also loves sleeping with his bear and is rather attached to it for awhile after he wakes up. He also loves to play outside, says "wow" to the cars and anything he finds interesting, and splash in puddles. Here's him splashing in the lone puddle at the church sunday school picnic last week. He loves to say "Water!" and then proceeds to splash! You should see how wet our bathroom is after he takes a bath!


Little Millie is really starting to put on some weight. She is really easy going and loves to smile and coo. She gets so excited when she's trying to talk! A couple of nights ago...she actually slept through the night! I'm hoping we're getting close to actually getting some solid nights of sleep! The poor thing keeps leaking out of her diapers though...I hate Luvs! I think if it weren't for the stupid diapers then she might actually sleep!


We've enjoyed this week...Aunt Ruthie was in town visiting Grandpa and we loved getting to see her. It's like having your own "Paula Deen" around! The week went by way too quickly, though!

Some Mize Heritage layouts to share...

I'm about 5 pages away from having the Mize Heritage album finished!! I have several more pages that I need to share with you...but here's a few to keep you busy! :) My goal is to have this done by Grandma's birthday and that shouldn't be a problem...I've been a scrapping like crazy! Unfortunately, Mason went from 2 naps a day to 1...that seriously cuts down on the scrapping time!

This is a picture of my mom on Easter Sunday...wasn't she cute?


Here's a layout of Grandma & Grandpa for their wedding. Aren't they gorgeous?


This is Grandma (second from left) and her siblings Betty, Naomi, and Kenny.


Here's Grandpa's Navy picture...

Some Malone Family Heritage pages...

I wanted to share with you some of the pages from the Malone Family Heritage book that I've been working on! I need to get these printed so Grandpa Malone can see the new ones I've made. He really seemed to like the pages I've done so far!


Ok...This first page is from when Grandpa pastored at Bear Point Church in Sesser, IL. I think if you click on the picture you can get an enlarged version of the pic and the journaling will be a little more legible! :)



This layout is of Grandpa (on the left) and his brothers with their horses on the farm.


This layout is of Grandpa and his siblings...Doesn't Jack remind you of Clark Gable?