A Multitude of Thanks!

Thanks to Auntie Susan and her mom, Ruby who came over to see Isaac within the first week of his life. Susan spent a lot of her visit shuttling the baby and I to Dr. appointments, just to make sure all was well with Isaac! We actually made one run in a HUGE downpour...quite the adventure!

Auntie Becca spent 5 days here helping me. It was heavenly to have my sister here for that long....(and hey! she didn't get a sore throat on the way home the way she normally does.)
Grandma Jennie helped so much...from the middle of July until August 7th. She was amazing during the delivery. It was a blessing I cannot describe to have a mother willing to come and help with whatever needs to be done...especially when it is baby #7.

Sandy...do you see that face??? We LOVED the Dilly Bars (a whole dozen!), and the run you made for lunch goodies at Costco was such a blessing. You also are talking Stampin' Up! products upto other people, and I'm getting calls for product! You rock!

1st Day of the 1st Grade (and 2nd, 5th, and 7th)

Today is the first day of school for my 4 oldest kids.
We've made it a tradition to take pictures outside the front door for the past couple of years.
Here are today's pictures:

Thomas--ready to go in his Humuhumunukunukuapua'a shirt from friends that just moved to Hawaii, the Petersons (Jeff and Dawn). It really is his 1st day of 1st grade.
Nathan's he's feeling pretty comfortable and confident even though he is usually very shy in new situations. The sun was bothering his eyes a great deal this morning, so he moved to the shade. He too is in his authentic Hawaiian shirt.
There's Emily...an official 5th grader. Holy cow, how come I feel so much older with a daughter in 5th grade than I did with a son? Her best friend, Zoe Kasten, is in her class, so we're hoping for a really great year for her.
Stephen has been told over and over that 7th grade is the hardest grade in the middle school. His schedule is not overly intense, and he seemed excited about the year ahead. He'll be taking keyboarding and become an awesome typist, I am sure. He'll also be taking band and playing the drums for the second year in a row. He missed the drums this summer, as he would drum on the table and couches with his hands. It will be good for him to have a schedule for playing regularly.
Even though Bekah won't go to school until next Tuesday (torturous for both of us...I know), she still wanted to get ready this morning. She and I took her school supplies in and dropped them off in her classroom today...I felt that it would be easier today since my sister is here and stayed home with Isaac this morning. Tuesday I will have Isaac and Samuel and be dropping Bekah off, and I wasn't sure how it would all work, so now we have all supplies delivered, and I will just need to get Beakh there on time next week.
Have your kids started back to school, or have you? Do you have any desire to learn something new?
It's the perfect time of year to set new goals!

Look alikes?

Thomas with Isaac (2007)
Thomas with Samuel (2005)

We've had lots of people say Sam and Isaac (Zekie) could be twins.

I'm inclined to say they look like brothers, but Isaac has a lot less hair.

What do you think?

Introducing....

Our current caboose!

Born 07-30-07 at 1:18pm.
Weighing in at 9 lbs. 14.2 oz.
21 inches long.
We were totally fooled by this little boy...all of us were sure it was a girl...even though the ultrasound never showed anything definite.
We've named him Isaac...which means "he laughed"...and we feel like he did a good job pulling a practical joke on us.
We think it's one of the best jokes we've ever had played on us.
Total labor time: 7 hours
I am feeling very good...and home from the hospital.
I'll be taking it easy for a few days, but I'd love to hear from you.

You just have to love those cheeks.

Climbing the Walls

Friday afternoon I was crabby...literally feeling like I was "climbing the walls" (a lot like Nathan up there) playing the waiting game for this baby.

So, I sat in my craft room and made card after card with all of the cardstock that was already cut in half.

Here are the results:

This card features paper piercing with a "classy brass" template to get the circles at the top of the card.

These next 3 are colors I don't usually work with, but since they were already cut, I used them. I also used some of my new stamps (a hostess set) that I got from my party on July 19th.

It was a fabulous party, and I earned LOTS of new stuff!

This was my first time using a "jumbo wheel", and I LOVE how easy it is to get a nice, finished card with it.

I'll be using it a lot.

I love the colors in this next one.

I used a "double rectangle punch" to make the holes to thread the ribbon through at the bottom.

I also love the silver brads and the sentiment on this one.

This card was already mostly put together.

My upline gave me a bunch of cardstock, and this card was partially finished.

I added the stamped image in the center and the ribbon and buckle, along with the sentiment at the bottom.

It's one I really love too.

This card uses one of my favorite new sets in the Stampin' Up catalog...called "Baroque Motifs". I worked with the "In Colors" and came up with this card.

I'm pleased with the results.

I cut so much paper for my workshop, that I had leftover cards to make after it was over. This is one I changed a little from the original that I showed.

This was close to the original that I showed at the workshop.

I was focusing on chipboard and two-step stamping.

Oh, yes! Finally, the thank you cards I made in large quantities...for after the birth of this baby.

Three colors, and a nice size that fits in a regular letter size envelope (2 3/4" (approx.) x 11").

So there you have a good run down of all of the creativity I have employed in the card department over the last few weeks.
It truly has helped me stay focused on something other than the impending birth...which is a good thing.
Do you have a favorite? Would you like to come stamp with me? I'd be happy to share my craft room with you....c'mon over!

Thursday Already?

I'm having a hard time believing that it's the end of this week.
By this time next week, we'll almost certainly have a new little one here.

I've been nesting...gotten most things knocked off my mental list...and finally got 2 lasagnas and 2 chicken enchiladas in the freezer this evening.
The kids had to clean EVERYTHING this morning before any tv, computer, etc...could go on.
It took most of the morning, but the efforts are well worth it.
(Not that the house looks clean still, but you can tell it's surface dirty and cluttered and not the more major stuff.)

So, just in case you were wondering, no baby yet.
I'll keep you posted.

Harry Potter Haze

It's everywhere...
Few have finished...many are still in the "haze"...
just waiting to see how Harry Potter #7 ends.

I finished today.
I wasn't disappointed with the story.
I was saddened by the cursing throughout the book.

What did you think?