Good stuff and open roads for dreamin'.

 

Our family just marked another year gone by since the tragedy that claimed Teagan's life and altered us forever occurred. It has been 12 years now. I think one of the things that stood out most to me this year is just how much Teagan will always be a part of our life story~ no matter how much time goes on. The memories of that day are so vivid and clear to me, and I doubt they will ever fully fade. There was so much trauma and weeks of hospital and intense concern surrounding all of our injuries and recovery, that I am sure would take a lifetime to forget. I do know that it sometimes still feels like it all happened yesterday, and the ache of the reality that Teagan is truly gone doesn't ever diminish. The hole she left in our hearts and lives is still the same size as it was the day she was taken off of life support. We have done lots of living between then and now, but who she was and how she changed our lives for the better from the moment she was born will never change.
And for that, I am grateful, and I will always thank God for sending such a vibrant, sweet, beautiful girl into our lives.
I am glad that we didn't get stuck in that place of grief and sorrow that threatens to consume and overwhelm one's life in the days and weeks following death. There was so much pain and darkness in that pit of sorrow. I was so angry to be in it at times, knowing how amazing and pleasurable life had been before being thrown into this place unannounced. I was angry that life for our family was being defined by such an ugly event, and I was angry that our joy had been ripped from our hands without giving us a choice or chance to do anything about it. That was a hard place to be, for sure. All I wanted was out of there, and yet as our injuries and Wyndham's challenges became our new way of life, I realized we would never fully 'escape' the pain and grief.
Chip and I struggled with how to move forward through those early days. I spent many of them weeping and struggling to even catch my breath through my sobs, as my physical pain hurt and my broken heart hurt and life seemed only dark and daunting. I didn't believe we would ever be 'whole' again. I didn't believe there would ever come a day when we wouldn't feel sadness. I felt like all of life was tainted and the only thing I wanted back was a small taste of joy.
I didn't know how that could happen though, because our whole world was pain- from the  nightmares I woke up from in the night, to Brock's post traumatic stress syndrome, to Wyndham's injuries and meds and Chip's broken bones...it was all so painful. We didn't even come home from the hospital for 3 weeks. It felt like an eternity. It felt like our nightmare would never end.
In our sorrows and grief and heartache and pain, Chip and I knew we wanted something more. We wanted to be able to live again! We wanted days filled with laughter and fun and happiness. We were living in darkness and we wanted so much to believe that there was Joy for the taking somewhere in the world again. We made a vow to fight for that together. We cried together for what we had lost and for what our "new normal" looked like now. I knew I needed Chip to be by my side- but fully understood how marriages fall apart in those dark valleys of life. I am glad that as hard as some of the days and months and years have been, that after 12 years of hardship, we are still together. We have had ups. We have had lots of downs.
We have had miracles happen.
We have loved deeper and more easily.
We have looked for ways to make new happy memories.
We have fought for joy and laughter.
We have been blessed beyond measure.
We still miss Teagan everyday.
We still lean on God as our source of strength, comfort and Joy.
He is our Rock, our healer and the One who has held us together and carried us through it all.

Our family has grown in number and there have been days that have overflowed with joy and happiness in our life in the past 12 years. I never could have imagined ordinary days being able to be full of happiness again. But we have lived them, so I know they exist. The journey of grief is long and hard and I don't wish it on anybody. My heart goes out to everyone touched by loss of a loved one. Something as simple as going to Despicable Me 2 can be a simple pleasure. Having a healthy family and opportunities to watch my kids grow and learn and to make memories together as a family are the very things that make life so worthwhile. Seeing beauty in the smallest things shows just how merciful, gracious and loving God is. That He cares about all the details of our lives is amazing. It's humbling. That He would reach down and enter into our hurts and cry with us and guide us out of the valley of darkness and death into the fullness of life again is the miracle in our lives everyday.
I sometimes get lost in the place of pity and heartache much more easily than I ever did before our tragedy. I am so thankful that God doesn't allow me to sit and wallow forever.
I am so glad that He put in me- in Chip- the desire to want to live a life of joy again. Even in simple things like baking homemade chocolate chip cookies and dreaming of what lies ahead in life. I am glad that little things- like piles of laundry and noisy kids- are sometimes my biggest reminders of what I love and care most about- the special people in my life are my greatest blessings. The Hope of heaven keeps me going.
If someone had said I would have 6 kids, and be on a scrap team and blog and smile when I use a pink vacuum, and riding carts at Target would all be a part of my life at this time in 2001, I never would have believed it. But I am so glad that they way I imagined life playing out versus the reality of how it actually does look are so vastly different, that I hardly recognize the 'old life' anymore. I am holding on to the good memories as tight as I can. But I am ever grateful that my heart and hands were opened to embrace what God has placed back into our lives. It's pretty great, and I am so blessed to be able to say so!
In case you happen to like the scrap goodies you see in the pages I made here as much as I love them, you can get them for yourself starting tomorrow at Cocoa Daisy.com. It is a truly wonderful thing to me, to be able to use my hands and create something- just for the fun and joy of it. I never thought that would happen in my life ever again. And now I do it every single month! And lots of times in between too! God is a God of miracles. I take one look at my life as it is now and I know that it is true.

I don't travel much, but I love this 80 Days kit!

Here are a few sneak peeks of Cocoa Daisy's August kit called, "80 Days". I am serious when I say I absolutely love everything in it and about it! It is travel-themed in regards to the papers, stamps and embellishments, but I am telling you that there is so much versatility in everything that I want to scrap it for so many topics! I managed to even put a cute Minion on a page this month. That's how fun and lovable this kit is! =)
I wore makeup and hung out scrapping one day too, because honestly I let myself go far too many days in a row in the summer. well, um, I do that in the fall, spring and winter too. But anyway, I took two minutes to actually put a bit of makeup on and I hit my scrap room feeling on top of things. Which is my favorite way to scrap! Clean house? Check. Dinner easy or ready to go? Check. Kids minding business and happy? Check.
Commence scrapping.
That's how I roll. =) So I now have a couple of pages I love and another Day in the Life page to add to my growing album too. Tomorrow night is the full reveal and you are going to want to get your hands on this one. You have my word on it! www.cocoadaisy.com That's your link to scrap happiness this coming month. Hooray!

Kindness is a wonderful lesson to teach.

 

My boys aren't naturally kind. Not to me. Not to their dad. Not to their siblings. Sometimes not even to themselves. These guys look so cute and innocent. Some days they wake up all snuggly and sweet and within seconds their moods change and it is all down-hill from there. To be fair, my other kids aren't naturally kind all the time either, but they are several years older, wiser and mellower when it comes to being nice. Being kind to others is something we are all working on every day at my house. It is like a never-ending life lesson, that sadly, as we see and hear in the news, isn't necessarily taught or lived out in our world around us as often as it should and could be. On any given day we all have opportunities to be kind or to respond in kind ways. Even if we don't feel like it, or of we have to create those opportunities up all on our own.

These two little guys, Teague and Crew, are at that age {2 and 4} where they are still growing and learning and soaking in way more than we think they are at times. Today they got a lesson in kindness and hopefully it is just one of many that they see and soak in and hopefully put into practice all their own in the years to come.

This little lesson in kindness started back a couple of weeks ago when Chip and I took a quick walk one night. We waved to a neighbor out in his front yard and Chip nodded to him and offered a word of sympathy in the recent death of his wife. He walked over toward us and shared a thank-you to us for acknowledging his sorrow and recent unexpected grief. He went on to tell us how hard it was to live alone now, as the two of them had shared many years of marriage and had their daily routines down- which added to the obvious void in his 'new' daily life. I extended my condolences as well, and asked if he likes home-baked goods as I do lots of baking in the summer. He smiled and said, 'yes, my wife made a wonderful banana bread and she put pineapple in hers". That simple statement was immediately tucked into my notes in my head and at one of my trips to the grocery store last week I intentionally stopped by the canned pineapple aisle and picked one up knowing it might be just the tiny unexpected bit of kindness that our neighbor man might need in his time of grief.

We have walked and ridden bike by his home several more times in the past few days, and we have exchanged waves, but that has been it. With the anniversary of our own tragedy just days from now, my heart is always more heightened to the beauty of everyday, ordinary life...but with that reality of how precious these very days are. So with all of that in my heart and mind, I browsed Pinterest and looked up some of "the best banana-pineapple bread" recipes until I felt confident I had one that was a 'sure thing'. Next, I pulled out some very ripe bananas and that can of pineapple I had bought for just the right bread and I got to baking. Here is the recipe I used- minus the coconut since someone ate the rest of it in the bag I thought I still had left. It was delicious anyway.

I told the kids the story. I told them how our neighbor misses his wife every day. I told them how it is so easy to be kind, but sometimes you have to listen closely to find out ways you can show your kindness and that sometimes just doing something at all is still a nice thing to do. I told them how I had bought pineapple and tried a new recipe just because it would show how much we listened and cared that much more. They tried out the muffin version of the bread, and a couple of my kids declared it "the best bread ever".

Our next task was to deliver the bread to our neighbor. The kids were all so excited to be a part of "showing kindness". They nearly fought over who would get to carry the bread. In the end, I carried the bread and they rode bikes, trikes and scooters. =) We walked down to the end of the block- the bread was still warm. But unfortunately our neighbor wasn't home at the time. So we brought the bread back and wrapped it up and the kids went on 'look-out' a few times until they spotted his garage door up and they excitement started all over again. 'Mom, he's home now!"

They were so anxious to deliver the little loaf of bread. This time he answered the door and even gave hugs to us for being so thoughtful. I told him how I had to look up a recipe and that I was sure it wasn't even close to how good a bread his wife used to make, but that we had been inspired by her and were happy to try a new recipe. He had that look in his eyes that I know from my own experience. That look where outside you are beaming, but inside it is a ball of emotions because the tug at your heart from the memory and missing of your loved one is so strong. I was happy to be able to tug at that heartstring, because honestly, anyone who is a friend of grief knows how special it is to be reminded at any time in life just how special their loved one still is.

I am a lousy mom far too many times in life. I am not a teacher by nature. I am not all that patient; I am still learning lessons that I feel unqualified to pass on too! But, I can tell you that teaching a lesson in kindness is a win-win-win for everyone involved. I was blessed by being a blessing. Watching my kids get excited to share and be kind and thoughtful renewed my belief in the goodness of little hearts. They DO want to love and be loved and niceness isn't just something to do because it's politically correct. I was blessed in the return hug I was given out of a simple gesture of sharing a little loaf of bread. The neighbor man didn't even need to taste the bread and I could tell it had meant so much to him even so. He blessed my kids by his kind words of thanks. I hope we blessed the memory of his wife as we tried to replicate a favorite recipe.

But above all, I hope that the kindness we shared will be a lesson that my kids and I want to repeat over and over again. It is the kind of life lesson that just gets sweeter and better the more you do it. That is a lesson I hope we never forget.

Cabana Time!

I am popping back in to let you know that Cocoa Daisy's Cabana kit and extras are available for purchase right now. It is such a fun kit for scrapping summer pictures, especially. The graphics and bold colors and little details make it easy to make pages and memories look good! I especially love the new Day in the Life kit and the letterpress cards that they have been adding to the kits. You can't go wrong. Every month it is such a wonderful thing to get a box of this kind of goodness on the front doorstep! I already got a sneak peek of what is to come for next month too. So if you are thinking of getting a subscription, I am here to tell you that you are in good hands if you choose Cocoa Daisy! For sure!! Happy Summer scrapping and memory-making!

Coke Float Day. Then and Now.

It was an amazing day yesterday on many levels. Life has so many ups and downs and twists and turns. Sometimes several rollercoaster rides occur even before noon around our house! It is a tricky thing to find some sort of balance, but never more so than when it comes to grief and living with the loss of loved one, and holding onto those memories, but not letting them suck the joy out of the life you still live even though they're gone. We've been riding this coaster for years now and it is still a process of growing and learning for me. I think it always will be.
So yesterday was a special day for our family. It has been an extra special day since June 30, 2001. That was the day that Coke Float Day was set in motion. We just wouldn't know that until a year later when we made it official. Here is the story behind the original photo of Chip and Teagan. It was 11:00 at night and Teagan always stayed up late to have her Daddy time. She was a Daddy's girl through and through and a night owl too, which was a lucky thing for both of them because he worked late and long hours especially in the summertime. But she still had energy to dance and laugh and listen to Larry Lizard stories with Chip at bedtime. This night Chip came in, changed clothes and grabbed a cold can of Coke out of the refrigerator. Teagan was right on his heels. She wanted some pop too. "Please, Daddy?!" and those big blue eyes! How could a daddy who had spent his day with golfers coming in and out of the Pro Shop, say no to cute, big blues eyes like that...and a beckoning smile to go along with them? Well, the answer is that he couldn't. Not that night anyway. I was ready to crawl into bed, exhausted from home keeping and taking care of Teagan {4}, Brock {2} and Wyndham {just 6 months old} at that time. I wanted no part of Teagan drinking a sugary, caffeinated cola at that hour, I do remember that. However, not that many months earlier we had lived through the scare of our lifetime when Wyndham was just 3 weeks old and having trouble breathing and eating. I had found her turning blue and called 911- this after she had visited the ER 3 times already. Her subsequent trip by helicopter downstate to Hurley Hospital turned into a 5 day stay where the doctors had saved her life and we had been given a second chance at happiness with 3 small children again. Chip and I knew we had brushed death with Wyndham and that incident had given us a new perspective on life. Even when it was 11 o'clock and kids should be tucked into bed by that time of the night! In light of our heightened appreciation for the moments we had with our kids and how precious even the tired moments could be, we did something a little different that night.
Instead of me rolling my eyes and getting upset with Teagan for not wanting to settle in for the night or me grumbling at Chip that he should have waited to open his soda after she was in bed, I went to the cupboard and pulled out a couple of malt glasses. I pulled some vanilla ice cream from the freezer and the next thing you know happiness and delight filled the kitchen as Teagan realized she and Daddy were having a special date night and on the menu were Coke Floats! I remember her smiles and excitement so clearly. She had a way of lighting up a room and add a Coke Float and let's just say the happiness was palpable. Teagan and Daddy sat at her little table; I grabbed the camera. I had no idea that snapping a couple of photos of this simple moment in time was going to turn into anything bigger than the feeling we had of goodness and happiness at that shared moment in time. I knew I was happy that we were ending the day on a positive note. I was thankful for how we were living with intention about making the most of the time with our kids- which is why we were sipping Coke floats at such a late hour. I was glad to know that whatever I had done "wrong" that day as a mom was forgiven with such  ease as making a sweet bedtime treat. My heart was full that night knowing I had done something right and it was so well-received.
I couldn't have known that those few moments in the kitchen would turn into a memorial day for our family. I never dreamed that something as simple as a late-night Coke float would be one of the tickets our family has needed and used year after year, on which to build new happy memories and pull ourselves from the pit of sorrow that consumed us when Teagan died so suddenly exactly one month to that day later. I have written about how I was glad I didn't know what our future held for Teagan and our family back then. It most certainly would have brought dread into moments like these that we did have with Teagan in her final days on earth. We didn't know then, but we know now.
We know now that life is even more precious than we realized it was back then. We have learned that life is a gift every single day. We have learned that life with a Teagan-sized hole in our hearts can never be filled, but it can be recalled and celebrated and still enjoyed.
Anyone who has lost a loved one can tell you just how hard the first year is- every big and little thing that you miss about your loved one is magnified and the loss is felt in new ways over and over and over again until you feel you will run out of tears from all the sorrowing. The ache grows bigger and the hole feels larger as the reality takes hold and grips your heart and mind. Teagan was never coming back. She would never hug us or laugh or sing and play with us again. She would never stay up late and sleep in til noon. She was simply going to be missed. Every single day of the life we had left without her. That reality filled my heart and life with dread so many times. I have written about how I grieved her so much as I just tried to wash and fold a load of whites and her days of the week underwear were no longer in the pile to be folded. I spent hours looking through photo albums of the life we had shared with her and luckily captured on film too. The date stamped on the corner of those pictures sometimes just made my heart ache more. It was so stark in front of me that her life and come and gone and things we had loved and laughed and enjoyed with Teagan became a list of things in my heart I never wanted to do again because they would only make me miss her more and hate the reality of the life we were handed when she died.
As I flipped through the photo album and came upon pictures like Coke floats with her my heart ached. But I also had learned that hard lesson before she was gone that these kind of moments were so precious and the very things we wanted to enjoy in life! I knew in my heart that as much as my grief wanted to drown me and steal all the joy life held that I couldn't let that happen. And not because of me, but because I was still wanting to give Brock and Wyndham the life I had wanted to share with them and Teagan before she was gone. I knew that striking all the fun, happy things out of our life because they caused pain wasn't going to bring me more happiness, but instead they would bring more sorrow. More hurt.
That is how Coke Float Day was born. It didn't come from a family looking to be an inspiration to anyone. It didn't come from Chip and Jody thinking we could turn something so hurtful in our lives into a day of laughter, fun and special memories. It was born out of a sorrowing that hurt so deeply that we didn't want the pain to cut any further, so we looked for ways to make it stop. Even for moments at a time.
This year Coke Float Day was our most amazing one yet. With the ease of social media, like Face Book, it was simple for us to spread the word of our family's tradition of this day with others. Chip's golf club sent out a notice to all their pool and golf members that they could come to the club and enjoy a Coke Float in honor of Teagan's memory. I sent out an invitation to everyone of my friends on FB and gave a head's up about remembering to add soda pop and vanilla ice cream to their grocery lists. Our family spent most of the day at the club pool. We ate cheeseburgers and fries and drank our floats out of plastic cups. They were creamy and delicious. The sun was shining. The sky was blue. We were all healthy and happy. Watching other people walk up to the food service window and walk away with a Coke Float and a big smile on their face made my heart swell. Not in a prideful way at all. But in the bittersweet, humble way recognizing how God heals wounds in time and so painstakingly hard at times, but seeing the depth of our sorrow now putting joy and happiness on the faces and in the hearts of others brought me to tears. This time the tears on Coke Float Day flowed not out of pity or hurt our heartache, but out of the joy that I was glimpsing the way that God does make all things new. He has turned our sorrow to joy in even small ways. I sometimes don't see the joy or feel it long or hard enough. But I glimpsed it and tasted it yesterday. It was in the skip of a little red-haired girl in a yellow polka-dot swim suit. It was in the frothy mustache dripping down my own Teague's chin as he sipped his float. It was in the photos and notes and kind words shared by hundreds of our friends on Face Book yesterday. Each time we were tagged in some way I knew it was God letting us know that although this journey has, and continues to be long and hard, we are not alone. He is there. Friends are there. Strangers are there. Love is there. Teagan's memory lives on. Her life still brings joy to the lives and hearts of people around the world. Then and Now. My heart is blessed to know that although her days were short, her love and joy were so big that they still reach others. That is a gift that only comes from God. Teagan was and always will be our extra special gift!

I wish it could be summer every day.

I really am amazed at how quickly the dog days of summer go by, and we don't even have a dog! =) The nicer the days got, the busier they became the past few weeks. There has been so much fun and just added activity to our home life that the truth is my blog is the last thing on my to-do list- even though I love documenting our stories and pictures and sharing them this way. I am going to have lots of gaps in the stories, but thankfully we are making some memories that hopefully will last as my kids grow up and reflect back on their childhood.
The memories aren't all fun and perfect and thrilling all the time, but we do have some happiness tucked into our days- often more than we plan or expect. But with a two year old and four year old and extra-special needs 12 yr old, in addition to the 'big kids' {9, almost 11 and 14} it is tricky to have everyone happy at the same time. In fact, I don't even try to have that happen anymore. We just do what we have to do and sometimes that means there are meltdowns and drama happening as we try to make a fun, family memory down by the waterfront. Or out at Chip's club by the pool. Or just playing with the neighbor kids. Or even having popsicles on the front lawn. There was a meltdown over a new 10-pack of underwear at our house tonight, which I still am clueless as to how that can be. But tween girls have their moments too. =)
I grabbed a small snapshot of what life has included the past few weeks, and realize that even on the hot, sticky, fussy days there is still so much to love about summer! The visits to the park and the local carnival that went through here. The times with Daddy- even though we often have to go to the club or Chip brings kids with him to hang out at work. We are lucky that he can do that and the kids can swim and golf now. We have had meals outside with the neighbors and are enjoying the pony they gave us as they prepared for a yard sale this week. There has also been lots of cleaning and organizing and lawn re-doing as we put our house back up for sale and had an open house and a couple of showings too. We would love to be closer to Chip's work- which is about a 30 minute drive right now. If it doesn't sell we are staying put, so there isn't a pressure on us this time. Just a huge desire in our hearts.
There has been scrapping and paper crafting time for me, which I enjoy even when it's summer. Being busy with kids means that I have to plan my time a bit differently, but I still like a bit of space and the chance to scrap and create and have fun with all the goodness that comes in my Cocoa Daisy box each month. This month's kit {which is revealed tomorrow night on the Cocoa Daisy website} is called Cabana. It is bursting with bold colors and summer flair. The Day in the Life kit is a relatively new kit for them and I got one of those this month too and love it! There is a great 3-month subscription special if you have ever thought about scrapping the Project Life style way. I love how quickly the pages come together and yet there are still endless possibilities for how to put your pages together. I am loving it all and so glad to be on the team now for coming up on my one year anniversary there. The girls on the Design Team have been so great and truly are friends. I just want to meet them in person sometime!
Life for the Ferlaaks is full and loud and there is more fussing than I would like, but also more hugs and good food and just hanging out letting summer happen going on too. If I could, I would bottle up the relaxed feeling of life right now- even though there are still mountains of laundry and groceries to buy and things to pick up- and I would save it for when there are going to be quiet days and the kids are all grown and doing their own busy thing for the summer. I am soaking this time up. Every minute of it! I am scrapping some of it to look back on during those future mellow days too. =)

Hello Summertime!

As of yesterday at just before noon, our family is officially on summer vacation! The kids all did SO GREAT in their studies and growth this year. I am proud of each of them. Lots of hard work to get on those A/B honor rolls, but they are proud of their efforts too and hopefully we will find lots of simple ways to enjoy the next 3 months of downtime and break from structured routines. There was a lot of happiness as we collected their last few items from their classrooms, hugged friends goodbye and headed home to start the more relaxed, lazy days of summer.
I love waking up whenever we get up and going, not rushing around making lunches and changing diapers and buttering toast all practically at once. It gets overwhelming so many days in a row with the kids at their different ages and stages. So this mom of 6 kiddos at home is happy to take a breather.
We already went to Chip's workplace- which besides a lovely golf course and clubhouse, happens to have a great pool/kiddie pool and hot tub as well. We are looking forward to turning our kids into little fish for the summer. They have enjoyed their first night poolside and if the summer weather cooperates, I foresee lots more memories made at the pool for sure! I am so glad that I got back into scrapbooking last year, and with the recent Cocoa Daisy Candy Shoppe kit and the Project Life stuff that I have added to my collection of cute papers and embellishments, I am excited to scrap lots of happy memories and summertime events the next few months too! Cocoa Daisy has such a great variety of items in their kits each month. I always have way more than I need and it is a fun thing for me to do and share with my kids too. So we'll be cutting and gluing and stamping, in addition to swimming and splashing this summer too! We will miss being so close to family and friends and all the fun things we did with them last summer. But hopefully we will find ways to stay busy and not think too much about what we're missing.
What do you love about summer? What are your plans for making the most of the months that fly by so quickly? I still miss all the fun and excitement that Teagan had when it came to the fresh air, outdoors, flowers and chasing butterflies. She is always in my heart and mind and I am thankful that I enjoyed so many special moments with her while she was here on earth. Happy summer to all of you!

Where do the days go sometimes?!

It's so hard to believe that three weeks flies by so quickly at times in between blog posts. There has been lots of wet, chilly spring days during the past 3 weeks, but at the same time, there has been a lot of activity going on too. These photos are all snippets of that.
There is almost always scrapping going on around here. It is still my fun and pleasure and definitely breaks up my monotonous days of waking kids and making lunches, doing laundry, changing diapers and all the other tasks that stay-at-home moms do around the house all day long. I am very excited about Cocoa Daisy's June kit~ Candy Shoppe, which will be revealed tomorrow night at 9est. It is always fun to see what all my other design teammates create using the same stuff I get too! This month I even found a way to scrap some nature onto a page. We are trying hard to grow a new lawn and had it seeded- only to have a week of downpours and rain. Our poor baby grass! But it will hopefully start to fill in and it will get another seeding again soon.
I also got to be the guest designer for Webster's Pages new Plum Seed line. I have been doing more of the Project Life-style pages, but not scrapping chronologically or daily/weekly pages. Instead I just scrap using all the cute pieces that work so well in the plastic sleeves. There are so many great new products just for this type of page. I love that! Cocoa Daisy has monthly Day in the Life kits that you can get as a subscription now too. It is a fun way to use your scraps differently and my album is starting to fill up quickly this way!
The kids have their last 4 days of school this week. It has dragged for part of the year with the stress of a move in the middle of the school year. But in a way it has also flown by and it is hard to believe I will have a kid in high school so soon! It has been a year of lots of changes and growth in all our family. The girls just wrapped up the Girls-on-the-run program last week and ran a 5k early on a Saturday morning with Chip. They were all so proud when they got home to tell me that they ran it in about 33 minutes and especially proud that Bella- who had not wanted to even go to the event- ran the whole thing and beat her fastest time by far! We are hoping to get in better shape and have a healthy active summer as a family. One way we plan to do that is by visiting the golf club swimming pool as often as we can. None of the kids are all that great at swimming, so hopefully being in and around the water so much and getting some private lessons will change that in a hurry too. In one of the photos posted today they are all hanging out in Chip's office. I think they would all live at the golf club if they had that option. They must think all Chip does is have fun there! He does work hard, but they see the games and the fun and food and to them their Dad has a pretty great job. We are very thankful for his job and hope the summer is a great success at the club! I'll still make sure to find some time to scrap. And if I am really lucky and motivated, I plan to get back on my bike several times a week too. As long as the rain isn't pouring. =)

Enjoying the view.

Last Saturday night Chip came home from working all day at the golf course and announced that we were going to do something fun as a family. We quickly changed diapers or clothes and whatever else needed to be done to get ready and then it was out for pizza at our local favorite spot, Fricanos, and then a stop at another local favorite place, Dairy Treat. It was the most goregous night out as far as spring weather is concerned. A light breeze, no bugs, beautiful setting sun and boats and people watching for as long as we cared to sit on the waterfront.
I am struggling to still find a purpose for us having to move back here to Michigan. But I am trying to enjoy the view while we are here. It is pretty amazing at times.
And now...the winner of the previous blog hop/prize pack is: Katy Young. Please send me your mailing address at nitty.grittyjodyatyahoodotcom and I'll get your goods in the mail! Thanks for all the nice comments left. I hope you all had fun seeing all the different bags and maybe got inspired to do some crafting of your own. Here's to some more spectacular views in life too- wherever you may be!

Hip Hop!

 

Hello and welcome to my stop on the Cocoa Daisy Day of Inspiration Blog Hop! You should have come from Jaime Warren's blog (www.jaimewarren.typepad.com ). If you’re just starting here, be sure to go to the Cocoa Daisy blog and check out the rest of the team’s bags!

Above are a few pictures of my interpretation of the Maya Road hip bag. It is not my strength to alter things, so this was a bit of a challenge for me. But I had a blast doing some simple sewing and playing around with the color scheme and patterns and textures on this bag. In the end, I used some vintage fabric that I had saved for a few years from back in SIStv days, plus I added some new items from recent Cocoa Daisy kits. A bit of pom-pom trim, some felt ric-rac and a handmade felt bow and this cute bag is ready to house my daughter, Wyndham's iPad as she gets out and about. It's the perfect size for that and it looks cheery now too!
Seeing everyone's version of the bag was so fun for us as a design team. We hope it is fun and that you get some great ideas for yourself too!
I’m going to be giving away the scrap goodies and Cocoa Daisy stamps you see in the last photo here, so feel free to leave a comment and if you LIKE the Cocoa Daisy Facebook page and let me know, I’ll enter you a second time in my drawing! I’ll be closing the drawing on Monday the 6th of May at 8 AM EST. I’ll announce the winner here later that same day. Good luck and thanks for being a part of the Cocoa Daisy fun today. Hopefully we'll see you around the message boards, or loading things to your galley there for us to see too!
Now it’s on to Kim Stewart's blog for some more hopping inspiration!
{Here is a master list of the whole Cocoa Daisy Design Team if you started in the middle of this blog hop:}

~ Alissa Fast: http://alissafast.typepad.com
~ Anna Bjorkland: http://mymessyspot.blogspot.com
~ Ashley Calder: http://www.ashleycalder.blogspot.com
~ Denise Morrison: http://kookaliciouslifeisyummy.blogspot.com
~ Emily Pitts: http://emilypitts.blogspot.com
~ Jaime Warren: http://jaimewarren.typepad.com
~ Jody Ferlaak: www.jodyferlaak.blogspot.com
~ Kim Stewart: http://happylikeyellow.typepad.com/blog
~ Lisa Saunders: http://scrappyfairies.blogspot.com
~ Mandie Pierce: http://lemonstolimes.blogspot.com
~ Mandy Koeppen: http://mandykoeppen.blogspot.com
~ Mandy Kay Starner: http://heyheymandykay.blogspot.com
~ Sharmaine Kruijver: http://skruijver.blogspot.com
~ Stephanie Wheeler: http://lrfloor.blogspot.com

Record Label...so much to love!

Happy May Day everyone! If you are somewhere and it is snowing or you have snow in the forecast, my sincere condolences to you. How terrible that nature is still dragging her feet with spring in some parts of the country. At my house today the windows are wide open, the breeze feels amazing and the sun is out in full strength. It feels like the perfect spring day and I am enjoying every minute of it!
I am posting on my laptop as Teague and I sit on the front step to take it all in. Love this kind of weather! I had to pop here on my blog to share the news that this month's kit- Record Label- is now available for purchase and it is a hot seller! So if you like what you see in these pictures above and you want your hands on some of the fun too, get to Cocoa Daisy quickly, because these kits are a favorite among so many. Our Design Team loved this kit so much and I have gone so far to say it is my favorite kit I have gotten to scrap. The gallery is SO inspiring and awesome this month...check it out for yourself here! I am still creating with it- there are lots of pieces in it and such great papers. I am thinking about getting a second set of everything! =)
I hope your day is off to a great start too. My Bella left for nature camp for the next few days with her 5th grade class. I hope she has a blast and I am sort of wishing I could have chaperoned the event. It's that nice!
I will be beack to share some exciting details about a little thing called Inspiration Day at Cocoa Diasy this coming weekend too. Stay tuned for that if you love scrapping, games, prizes and good-ol' fashioned fun!

A day in the life.

It's Friday. Fridays are mixed emotion days for me, because while I love that the weekend is just around the corner, Friday nights have taken Chip away from us and leaves me with the 6 kiddos at home. We have come up with some things to fill the nights with fun and activity, but my inner/better mom still feels guilt that we "never do anything fun" as far as going out or doing anything exciting. Last Friday was another one of 'those nights'. Chip actually took Brock, Crew and Bella to work with him though. Brock got to hang out and bus some tables {and he managed to make some good tips too!}, and the kids always like to visit the club, eat dinner and play games in Daddy's office. It gave me a bit of a break with just 3 kids to entertain at home. I grabbed Happy Meals and shakes for the three that stayed behind so that they had some fun of their own.
Then that picture of Wyndham is a peek into the rest of our Friday night. I asked Wyndham if she wanted her picture taken on the iPad. She loves taking pictures of herself. My jean jacket just happened to be out on the arm of the chair she was in, so I put it on her and brought her next to the window in her room for the last bit of evening natural light. She is the one who started to pour on the charm and big personality. She was playing air guitar and doing silly faces and just making a big deal about her impromptu photo session. I was happy to get a front row seat to her show. =)
As I have been thinking about the way life goes sometimes, I was realizing this week just how awesome and lucky and special it can be to GET to stay home and do nothing. Sure it gets boring for middle schoolers and kids who want more of an active social life, but truly, as we hang out and play games and pop popcorn and laugh while answering random life questions around the table together, it is a pretty amazing thing all it's own. I know we are still making some wonderful memories to look back on. Even if we never leave our home. And that's  something you can't put a pricetag on. Even when it's considered "boring" to some. I am trying more and more to simply embrace the place we are at, the limited things we can do sometimes, and to see the spectacular in the typical day-to-day life we live. I sometimes wish it was more hyped up and exciting. But I am seeing more and more how it sort of is all that.
This week I have been scrapping Cocoa Daisy's May Record Label kit. I am so thankful each month to be on such a great team and to get to scrap such great stuff all the time. I love that it 'forces me' to put the memories and pictures of our lives right now down on a page. I am having a blast with the cool designs and funky bits and pieces in this new kit especially. I scrapped Wyndham's picture already and look forward to taking more pictures of our "boring Friday nights" and other exciting days in our life to scrap too. Here's to making memories- no matter where you find yourself having fun!