I Heart Faces - Autumn Beauty

(be sure to click the above button to see all the entries and visit this awesome blog where you can enter too AND learn something about taking better pictures!)

So there is a neat story behind this photo. I had said I wanted the kids to be oldest to youngest, and pointed along the side of the stairs (assuming that they would all be standing). I looked down to change the settings on my camera, and heard my oldest daughter telling everyone where to be. When I looked up, I saw this and loved it SO MUCH, that I had not the heart to tell her that is not what I meant. This turned out being my favorite shot.

Even neater, when we got home, and she saw the picture, she said "Oh I am sorry. JJ should have been up and in more." WOW!! She realized that ALL ON HER OWN!!! I am so proud of her. Of course to me, the fact he is NOT where it would look like the typical shots makes it even that more special. JJ was being all boy and being in and playing with the leaves - caring less about photography. :D

Clicking on the picture will take you to it on Flickr, so you can see it bigger if you wish.

So there it is, my first ever entry into iheartfaces. I hope you like it!!!

P.S... I will be taking a blogging break for a little bit. I will be leaving for NY on Friday for my Aunt's memorial service. Brian will be here alone with the kids. I am sure he would appreciate your prayers. I will be getting my house in order for him while I am gone. Then when I get back, Thanksgiving, and the week after, Brian has off from work (so I will most likely be enjoying time together with my family, taking advantage of my husband's time off). See you second week in December.

And PLEASE remember to VOTE FOR ME in the PenScrappers contest!

I made a layout for a contest and would love it if you would go and vote for me. PLEASE share with your friends. You can vote for other layouts you like too. This contest is based on VOTES (i.e. more on popularity than on technique or skill) so the more people who vote for me the better. THANKS!!! To vote, click on the image above. Next to the layout (which has the pictures from the princess photo shoot I did - THANK YOU REBECCA!!! I never would have had good pictures for this kit if it had not been for you!) is a VOTE tag/button. Click on that! THANKS!!! And again, feel free to pass on the link asking your friends to vote too!! THANKS!! :D

Please Vote For Me!!!!

I made a layout for a contest and would love it if you would go and vote for me. PLEASE share with your friends. You can vote for other layouts you like too. This contest is based on VOTES (i.e. more on popularity than on technique or skill) so the more people who vote for me the better.

THANKS!!! To vote, click on the image above. Next to the layout (which has the pictures from the princess photo shoot I did - THANK YOU REBECCA!!! I never would have had good pictures for this kit if it had not been for you!) is a VOTE tag/button. Click on that!

THANKS!!! And again, feel free to pass on the link asking your friends to vote too!! THANKS!! :D

Another Layout - Homeschooling

I just LOVE homeschooling! This layout is from pictures taken during one of the best homeschool days ever! We were at a local park and there was a river nearby. The kids did observation drawings, MM caught a ladybug, and JJ was all boy running around and playing in dirt. It was a GREAT day! Be sure to click the image for close up and credits.

Another Layout - MM in Service

When I was taking pictures for Foto Friday: Motion, MM was being so sweet and thoughtful and selfless that I just HAD to scrap the moment so I would not forget it!! Click on the images to see them bigger and for credits! :D

Me DONE!

We sweet little boy. He was drumming and I asked him if he was my little drummer. "ME LIKE NOISE!" he replied in typical boy fashion. I HAD to capture that moment and scrap it! But it turned into something much much more. This is the story of this layout.

Click on the picture for credits and to see larger.

Photo Gifts

OK, so these would be SO GREAT for Mother's Day or Father's Day or Grandparent's Day or Christmas ... Well you get the idea. Trust me, follow the links for some GREAT ideas on how to use pictures you take for AWESOME gifts!

Photo Tile Coasters
I.D. Badge Holder Mini Album I LOVE this idea!! GREAT little brag books for grandparents!
Mini I.D. Badge Calendar
Christmas Ornament Tins
Magnet Tins
Photo Puzzle Cube I recently posted about finding great tutorials (at the bottom of this link), you can also google and find out ways to make this even better quality! :)
Photo Mobile
Photo Magnets these are NICE and SOOOO cute!
Photo Necklace oh my goodness this is SUCH a great idea and SO inexpensive! And it looks SO GOOD!
Altoids Tin Accordion Gift Album LOVE this! You can also do scrapbook pages instead of just pictures!

Far and Away

Oh it feels SO GOOD to be scrapping again!! It is a way to be creative and artistic as well as capture memories. This is my little MM. Everytime I see her smile, look into those sparkling eyes and see those golden curls, I am taken away! My husband took this AMAZING picture. He took some of JJ too (which are equally amazing and I hope to scrap soon). As always, click on the image to see credits. :) Thanks for looking!

Printable Holiday Gift Tags

These gift tag templates are not your ordinary gift tag templates! You can put PICTURES inside of them making them personal! Grab them while you can! WAY cute!!!

Missing Out

The other day I was on the phone with a dear friend whom I rarely get the pleasure of talking with. I heard giggles in the other room and promptly ended the call saying

I have to go. I hear giggles in the other room and I am missing out!

How many times do I get busy and miss out on enjoying my children? It is no wonder so many parents don't see children as a blessing. They are probably missing out on the joy children bring because they are busy with other things.

Maybe most parents would try to quiet the kids down, or leave the room so they could carry on the conversation.

What would matter most when I am on my death bed? That I put my kids aside so I could finish an edifying conversation with a friend, OR that I enjoyed time with my kids? I am creating a legacy with them every time we laugh together! And what a GREAT legacy!!!

I think there is something special to the phrase LAUGH OFTEN!

This layout below is an older one, but one I felt went perfectly with this post. It is from 2006! It is amazing to look back and see how TINY they were, and how even my then 3 year old, now 5 year old looks so much older!

image is clickable

Side Note:

You have to have to HAVE TO take just 2 minutes and go read Best Prayer!

Summer Fun

Image is clickable

Man, the days of summer are coming to an end. But not before grabbing some GREAT shots of the kids enjoying it!! Hey, if you can't get all four kids faces to look great in a photo, go for the feet, right?!?! :D

Fear Factor for Kids

Image is clickable

I LOVE this picture of JJ! We enjoyed some of the last of the days of summer here (yes, autumn comes quickly in Colorado and the days of summer are too short). I showed JJ just ONCe how to drink out of a water bottle and he picked up on it right away! Look at those lips - perfect placement!!! Too bad there is not a drinking water Olympics, my JJ would win for best lip placement in the 2yr old category! LOL!!

But MAN, look at those floaties in the water!! LOL!! My husband commented that it was fear factor for kids drinking water like that! I thought it was so cute he said that and so ICK JJ drank that!! UGH! :D

Looking Up

Click image to view text and credits.

I never realized just how small my girls were until I saw this picture EE took of me. The angle of her looking up at me to be able to take my picture really hit me. I always thinking of them as SO BIG when they are really just so SMALL!!

It really makes me want to take some more time to truly treasure this time while I have it. I know they grow up fast. I have seen it (having four children, you look at your youngest and then at your oldest and you see it!) and been told it by COUNTLESS well meaning women whose children are grown and gone.

It was just very powerful to me to see how small my girls are. I guess it just gave me a realization just how fragile they are.

Friday's Fun: Enjoying Raw Cookie Dough

Click to enlarge and for credits.
Want to know how I made the layout? There is a wonderful tutorial in the newest issue of The Artisan Notebook

This was about 6 months after JJ was released from the hospital. It was so good seeing him eat so well and so happily! 

I know that my girls love not only helping in the kitchen, but licking the spatula, scraping the bowl (not with their hands like JJ is in the picture - too CUTE!) with spoons and the like. Sometimes it is easy to be the adult and forget the fun I had as kid licking the spatula. So tonight we make cookies (gluten free and egg free) and everyone enjoys being a kid (me too!) :) Who knows, maybe we will add some small raw cookie cough balls to the ice cream! There is a benefit to so many allergies you know, no raw egg!! :)

Elements of Time

I LOVE going to Living Historical Ranches. It is a dream of mine to actually STAY on a working ranch near Williamsburg (learning to hand quilt, milk cows, get eggs in the morning and all that FUN STUFF!!) while visiting the living ranches there. Anyways, my girls LOVE saying "the old time way" whenever there is anything from before 1930. :) They are too cute. Here is EE doing laundry "the old time way."

Elements of Time - Artisan Notebook Challenge

Click for credits as to make larger

Forever Sweethearts: Forever I Do

Tomorrow, August 3, my beloved and I will have been married for 12 years! WOOHOO! Two years ago, before all the medical issues with JJ, I held a contest where other people scrapped my wedding photos. I never got the album finished or printed, so now that things are finally going well, I am finishing it up to print it out!

Here are some layouts I did:

(Click images for credits and to enlarge)

Front Page/Cover?

Will You Marry Me Forever?

Her Mother And I Do

Our Wedding/Marriage Verse


Bri and Mom Dance

Live

Live in this moment, for this moment is your life.

Click image for credits and to read journaling.

Saturday Sweethearts: Pictures of Love

I LOVE taking pictures of my beloved. Unfortunately in most of them, he is a goof! LOL! But that just captures the joy he brings me and this family EVERY DAY! I recently made a layout to let him know just ten of the things I love most about him.

Click image for credits and to enlarge.

Side note to my readers: A LOT you are also photographers. While you might not be into digital scrpabooking, or even paper scrapping, it would be so nice of you to make some sort of collage and frame it as a gift for him. To let him know just how much you love him!

Beautiful You

Usually my 8yr, while precious and very beautiful, is not very photogenic. Sad but true. But on this day, as she observed a dead butterfly (she is fascinated with nature right now and I love how she gives God the glory and credit for it all!), she was so photogenic that I could not stop taking pictures! Here is my favorite shot from that day.

Click image for credits and to make larger

Digital Scrapbooking

Oh how I love love LOVE digital scrapbooking! You can see lots of info about it by clicking the Digital Scrapbooking link under this post.

For those of you who want to advance and become a better scrapper, there is a WONDERFUL site called Digital Scrapbook Artisan Guild. A friend of mine, a true Christian, started up the site and WOW! You really don't want to miss it.

You do not have to become a member to access the awesome tutorials as well as just look around.

But if you want more bang for your buck, join the Guild. It is a paid membership, but what you get with the membership is worth SO MUCH MORE than just under $6 a month you pay for it. I cancelled my subscription to the digital scrapbook magazine because I get so much MORE for my money with the guild membership.

The kits are awesome, but I must admit that my favorite, and what I cannot find anywhere else, is the Artisan Notebook. This magazine is JAM PACKED with more information than you would get in a $30 class from most places! AND there are challenges to help you put into practice what you are learning. Try to get that from another magazine! :) PLUS there is usually a freebie download (sometimes TWO). :)

Head over now and sign up at least to look around. That is free. (Use my username lvg4him). But I do hope that you will see the value in what is being offered at Digital Scrapbook Artisan Guild.

Here is a layout I made with last months kit:

Click for larger image and credits.

Layout: Blessed

Click the layout for credits and to see it larger.
This is from the month of our hospital stay. A very sad time,
BUT God can use all things for HIS glory! And while this was a very
stressful and sad time, we are thankful for all that happened because it
has brought us to where we are today. If it were not for the misdiagnosis
we received in the hospital, we would not have sought out specialists.
JJ is now thriving! Glory be to God! We are so blessed!