Hi all,
Seems like it's been forever since I blogged....well...it has. So much going on here with life in South Dakota. Kids are all getting ready for school to start and I am still winding down with some health related issues. Many of you know that I have been going through a series of tests and appointments due to my dentist discovering two rather large tumors in my lower mandible. Bob and I spent two full weeks down in Houston at MD Anderson with various doctors to determine the seriousness of these tumors. They are bilateral and are pretty close to identical to one another. To make a long story short, they appear to be benign and a biopsy cannot be done of them because of their proximity to the nerves that control my lower mouth and jaw. If these nerves are severed I will not have feeling, etc. Removing them at this point isn't a good option because it would neccesitate bone grafting, extensive dental work, and plastic surgery...so we are taking a wait and see approach to this whole thing. We will be monitoring them and rechecking them every six months. I completely trust the oncologists at MD Anderson for a few reasons. First, because they are the best in the US, rated above any other cancer facility including Mayo. Secondly they actually have DDS MDs in oncology whereas the other facilities do not... highly specialized. Thirdly, they see 100,000 patients a day and only come across a few cases like mine, where as other facilities have never come across something like this.

I told you it's a long story.... The bottom line is this... God is good! HE is in charge of my life, not me, not the doctors, so I place my trust in Him. If I hadn't waited and trusted the people God has put in my path during this journey I would now be jawless...and in need of several surgeries. But in God there is peace, direction, and hope....I am now awating to get an appointment down in SF for an MRI check of my left breast...I had a mammogram done and there is some concern that needs futher checking... I figure that dealing with the second concern is much easier than dealing with possible bone cancer. God is good.

Being away from the kids for so long really made me home sick. It also made me look long and hard at my priorities and direction of my life. Bob and I had some great quality time alone and after twenty years of marriage I can honestly say that I am blessed to be married to such a wonderful loving man. Soooo... now that I am home, we are getting ready to take Megan off to school, get her all moved in to her dorm, get boys' settled up at the high school, order curriculum for the school year, and get the house ready for the parade of homes which is in less than two weeks from now. It should be an adventure. Thanks again for all the wonderful prayers, notes, emails, and cards. I love you all.

In Christ
Mary

It's been forever since I posted. so sorry.

Well, Meg's grad party is over and all our out of town guests are gone and things are starting to get back to normal... whatever "that" is. This morning I went to Wal Mart to develop some film and while I was there I picked up a few grovery items and a cool summer dress. I don't like clohs shopping and rarely buy for myself. I hate malls and crowded centers. After coming home I decided that I need to reload xp onto my personal computer and the next few days are going to be spent trying to get everything back on the desktop where I feel comfortable where it is. Gosh, all this work simply because I can't remember my password...urgh.....

Well, hopefully I will be posting more in the next few days. So much to do around here and so little time. Hugs!

Mary

Just a few of Megan's recent Senior Photos. Isn't she so pretty? Thought you would like to see these. We have about 250 other shots...lol

May 1st can you believe this.... time has flown by so quickly. We are busy around here getting ready for Meg's graduation. She picked up her announcements today so please be on the lookout for your invitation to arrive shortly. We have been trying to get some major and not so major things done around the house. Not major would be planting flowers and getting my veggie garden in along with reinforcing my herb garden. I am going to plant a wider variety of basil this year since we all love it so much.
Major would be the undertaking of the front porch. We have hired Mike Farthing to replace the entire veranda...all 800 square feet of it! While Mike was tearing up the old cedar planks he was able to remove that ugly faux brick siding that surrounded the front door...and guess what? under that ugly siding we found the original slat siding from the 1800s. We also had him remove some boards that had been covering up the transfer window above the front door. Now we get to wait for Mike to finish the porch and then we will be painting the old siding. It's really exciting to be able to see what lies beneath the ugly siding.. I guess it wasn't so ugly forty some odd years ago when it was first put up there. I will have to post some photos a bit later.

Such a busy weekend. We spent our weekend at home, just the seven of us, reading, watching old movies, baking, cooking, drawing, painting, scrapping, and doing a little work around the house. I really enjoyed our weekend of rest. The kids all wanted to stay put. No one asked to go anywhere, which is a rarity around here. Meg did get to the movies with Stephanie. I worked on a few layouts for upcoming calls and finished some projects for Cut the Crop. I finished another layout and three cards for the site.

Love working with Dream Street Design papers. They are so much fun and very versitile. I am really enjoying these paper right now.

Well..... Here we are, April 5th and we still have snow.... God really has a sense of humor. It snowed on April Fool's day and it's been here ever since. I guess we are going to have a wintery Easter. We are going to spend Easter here at home with just us in our little world of Liberty Hall.
Bob and I are going to have to hide the eggs inside. We have decided to skip the candy thing. The kids are all for this. I am amazed. They all requested that we do books instead. Just shows you how nerding the kids are. I think I will pick up a couple classic movies for them as well.

well, I have to run. Hope you have a wonderful day.

Busy crazy day. It's snowing and I want it to stop. So tired of the snow and really really want spring to stay put. There is something good about being reluctant to venture out into the snow and that's having some time to scrap...that is after I did a bit of house work. My floors look great, by the way. Just sent some images to Cut The Crop for the Month Kit Designs. This is a really cool kit because it actually comes with some really cool Drawers that you can alter. This is

what I did with mine. I really love designing for Tove. She's super nice and always very encouraging. I love her kits because they include some really fun supplies. I also made a fun "Mom" wall plaque and have it hanging in my scraproom. So easy to put this together using some fun supplies. Love brads right now, tomorrow I may love buttons, or clips, or a combination of all

I think what also makes designing a lot of fun is pushing myself to create some fun different layouts using specific papers and supplies. Lots of fun. With Megan graduating this year I find that I need to get all her photos scrapped so I am not running around like a chicken with my head cut off next month getting ready for her celebration. Well. That's about all for now.

Seems like a long time since I took a few minutes to post. This past week has been a whirlwind. I cannot seem to even think of what the next few weeks will be like.
Rob and Megan just finished "Peter Pan" and that puts a close on Megan's High School Drama Career. This was her last play that she will ever do as a high school student. The play was pretty good. Lot's of crazy colorful costumes and great makeup effects. Rob had a good role and had quite a few lines. He was so handsome and looked so tall on stage. I cannot believe that he is only 15. Megan did his makeup and gave him a five o'clock shadow making him look about 25. When we saw him just after the play I couldn't help but think that he is going to be an extremely handsome man.

Bob took the kids, Max, and Nick, to see it again last night and they all had a great time. Max was a little on the scared side until he saw Robby close up and realized that he wasn't a real pirate.
Belle came down with a tummy virus so I stayed home with her last night and all of today. Bob took two of the boys to the Scout oh rama and then to set up for a pancake feed for tomorrow. He just walked in the door from taking the kids to see some Chinese Acrobat performance at DD Miller. It's been a busy day for him. Rob competed this morning in Jazz Choir and will find out how they did on Monday. Megan worked for a few hours at the coffee shop and I took care of Belle all day.

Well..... I feel like my writing is a little on the confusing, no focus, or continuity, side and it's driving me crazy. I know that I will look at the post tomorrow and will alter it. lol. I came across another scrapper's blog and was reminded of the important things... it's these daily adventures that we encounter that really gives excitement to our lives. It's seeing the ah ha moments. It's hearing the little voices of the kids as they communicate with one another in the next room. It's all about these little minute, seemingly mundane tasks and events that we overlook all too easily. I love my life and where I am right now at this very moment. I love being a mom of six kids. I love taking care of my family, doing laundry, washing dishes, and making meals for them. I am blessed...blessed because I have a loving family who loves me in return. I am going to run down stairs right now and tell them just how much I love them... Good Night.

Just thought I would post before hitting the sack. It's getting late and the kids are all tucked into their beds, hopefully sleeping away. We spent the past few days marking milestones. Bob & my 20th anniversary, Andrew's 14th Birthday, and Anabelle deciding she wanted to sew on her own without mom helping at all. Yes, this is a milestone. She is only 7 and loves to create things. I think she gets this from Megan. So this evening Belle comes into my room with a pink sweater in hand, a spool of thread and a needle and climbs onto my bed preparing to sew down the huge collar on her sweater. She hates big collars and asked if I would cut it off. If I did that, the whole sweater would unravel... so, she did the most logical thing in her 7 year old mind... she sewed the collar to the inside of her sweater. It's a little bulky, but I am not going to undo it. It's her creation and she is so proud of it. I will praise her when she proudly wears it to church in the morning and I will not undo and resew it. She would know. Looking at the sweater and the big stitches reminded me of something. You know how often we make sure that we repair things in our lives, whether it be a sweater or hurt feelings, or some other faux pax that we have created, with small stitches so it's not so apparent or visible to others? I do this. I want things solved with the least amount of attention. When I watched Belle sew, I thought of my silliness in trying to hide or minimalize things. I was reminded that it's ok to see the imperfections... that's what makes each of us beautiful, original, and flawed. Being flawed is a good thing... well, knowing that we are flawed and recognizing those flaws is good because we can never better ourselves if we think we are perfect. ha... there... that's the whole lesson God gave me today.. I am NOT perfect, I have flaws, and it's ok. Now to celebrate them, to embrace them, and to work a bit on them... that's the task at hand. Love you all! Blessings Always~ Mary

Today is Bob & My 20th Anniversary and he's away on business....he'll be home late tonight, though. I have had an incredible day. Memory Makers Magazine is putting out a book. Memory Makers 601 Great Scrapbooking Ideas...and....... they have asked for one of my layouts for publication in this book. This is really really really exciting for me. I am totally blown away. I was feeling kinda sad yesterday when I realized that Bob was going to be gone and that Creating Keepsakes isn't making their Hall of Fame calls til Monday and then I got the email. I guess it just goes to show you that good things do happen when you least expect them. I will post more later. I have to go make dinner for the kids.

I will start today's post out with a photo that was taken several weeks ago of Robby and Megan while they were on a theatre trip to Minneapolis. They had a great time. Isn't Rob getting tall?

What a fun weekend we had. Bob and the kids spent a lot of the day clearing out ice and melting snow chunks out of the driveway and off the sidewalks around the house. There was so much snow. There is still a lot of it left. I have been thinking of some interesting things lately. I was thinking of how wonderful my life is right now this very moment. The kids are all healthy. Dave is doing great in San Diego with his job and is gaining a lot of experience and responsibility with Smart Drive as a Field Service Supervisor. Megan is getting her things together for college in the fall. She's so excited that she will be studying theatre at Northwestern. Robby is busy with his piano lessons and "Peter Pan". Andrew, too, is busy with piano and Boy Scouts, as is Nathaniel. Anabelle has met two new friends who have moved into the house across the street. They seem to be really nice girls. I still can't let her go and play at someone else's house without me there. I am not ready to let her go. She isn't ready either, which is good. She is growing up too fast. Where are the breaks? She needs to slow down. Bob is healthy and is keeping busy with his job.....and me, well, I am here at home taking care of all the things that moms usually take care of and... I am loving my life, so Life is good.

As I was sitting with Anabelle this evening I looked at her and thought that I really wish my kids could stay at this point forever. I wish they would not leave home and not grow up, but that we could live in this perpetual state of March 12, 2007. Dave is proof that time flies. Megan is as well. I think of the next few days and all the different directions our daily lives are taking us and I am reminded that I really need to stress to my family that they are loved. Bob is heading down to Huron for meetings and won't be home til Wednesday night. Wednesday is our 20th wedding anniversary. I can hardly believe that we have been married that many years. Time just goes so quickly.

Well... it's getting late and I am thinking that I should go up to bed. I love you and send lots of hugs and warm wishes.
Mary

I have been thinking that I need to start posting some photos and maybe get some inspiration from them for scrapping.. soooo here is my photo of the day.... Guess who this is???

It's Friday the 9th and it's been a long week. Hopefully this weekend will be nice and quiet around here. We have been working like crazy helping Megan fill out all her scholarship information, school questionaires, and trying to get some regular home schooling done at the same time. Megan did receive a small scholarship in the mail on Wednesday from our local American Leagion for her oratory that she gave on the Constitution. She used part of the money to buy a beautiful had quilted comforter that she found on clearance, for college. Other than that, she has been pretty frugal with her funds. She is looking for a good computer to take to school with her.

I have been working on more layouts for submitting to various magazines. I am still plugging away. I am amazed that there are so many calls out and so much wonderful talent out there. I have met a few ladies on 2Peas that are really very helpful and encouraging. I am really enjoying getting to know some other scrappers who are busy moms just like me.

Calls for Hall of Fame are not going to go out until the 19th instead of the 16th so I will be waiting three extra days to see if my scrapping is good enough to make it. If not, that's ok. I did give it my all and I have some really really really cool scrap items that I made to enjoy for years to come.

Well, I am getting tired and am heading off to bed. Love you all!

Mary

Well, the snow is finally melting a bit and the streets are getting cleared a little bit more each day. I am still amazed at the pile of snow that is still sitting at the top of our driveway hiding the Bravada beneath a huge white blanket. It looks so soft and beautiful, but it isn't. Looks can be deceiving. The kids have enjoyed their time outside building snowmen, forts, igloos, and making snowballs galore with a snowball making thing that Bob bought for Nathaniel's Birthday. He made 242 snowballs the other day and stored them up for a battle the following day. He won! Well, I should sign off for a bit. I think I am in need of a nap. All the snow makes me want to bundle up under a big fleece blanket and just dream away. Have a great day! Mary

Ok..... so it's really snowing badly outside and we are homebound... That is a good thing and it's so much fun to know that we can't get out our own driveway... This isn't too bad. School has been cancelled for two days and the town is virtually shut down. All banks and stores are closed, as if I could go shopping anyway.. hehehe.... wait... I could be ordering online!!!!

Meggie and I are really enjoying our time away from the rest of the family. Meggie has a head cold and feels awful and I am just cold, so, we are tucked away in her bedroom with a big fleece blanket, a bowl of popcorn and "Roman Holiday" in the DVD player... yep.. we are set.. all I need is a glass of wine.

Love you...

Meg says I need to make it a bottle..hehehhhe

Ok... I just want to post a few photos of our driveway and all the snow that we have been getting around here. These top photos were taken yesterday before the big storm hit. It only stopped snowing yesterday afternoon for about an hour. It is still coming down right now.


Check out the difference in the level of snow by the garage. You can tell how much additional snow we have gotten because of the level it is on the left trash container. The kids are in 7th Heaven, and Bob has been tinkering outside....Me....well... Meg and I are keeping warm watching them from a distance. hehehehe


Can you see the Bravada?? It's there... somewhere. Isn't Belle the cutest???

This is a little brief. So much happening around here. As you know, Meggie has decided which college to attend and has filled out the financial information. She will be attending Northwestern in the Fall and is so excited. The initial financial stuff has the year almost paid for, so this isn't an obsticle for her. I love the way the admissions people work with her and have reassured her that they do not want funding to stand in the way of her being there. Her Official major is "Theatre".. dugh.lol she will also be pursuing Urban work ministering to inner city youth. How fun will this be? It's so up her ally. I have to let you in on a little known fact here. Megan has been sewing her own creations for several years and she has had many people request purses, shirts, etc. from her. We are thinking that maybe she would do well to start listing some of her creations on ebay. I don't know. There are some other "Indie" sites that would be great for her to look into. Well.. That's about all that's going on in my snow covered corner of South Dakota. Love you!
Mary

BIG NEWS!!!!

I know that you have all been waiting to hear how Megan did with her college applications and would like to know where she is in this process.... here it is... every college that she applie to has accepted her, including Northwestern!!!! This all sounds wonderful, but this is where the hard part comes into play. She now has to decides which school to go to. She really wanted doors closed so her decision would be easy, but now she has to make up her mind.
There are positives and negatives with each school. Grace is offering almost a full ride, UNO is a full ride, USD is partial, and we don't know what Northwestern is offering yet. The thing with Northwestern, though, is that they are the best theatre school in this region and is very famous for their theatre department. I think the deciding factor is going to be where she feels God calling her. SHe really really really loves theatre and that has been such an incredibly big part of her entire life, but there is the money issue. But, then again, if she's supposed to be at Northwestern the money will be there. It is quite a bit more expensive than the other schools. Grace wants a commitment by March 1st and they will throw in an additional 2,000 per year if she commits. So... my request from you all would be to please pray for her and send good thoughts.. Please, please, please, though, don't call her to persuade her one way or another. This is something she needs to really pray about and come to a decision about on her own. Just thought you would all like to know what's going on.

Mary

what a crazy busy, fabulous week!!
We just finished our first week's run of Blithe Spirit and it has been an incredible week. All shows were sell outs and Friday's show received a standing ovation. I, obviously am not an actess. I am an artist...so... I did what artists do... Makeup, Hair, and Costuming. Megan and Rob are helping backstage doing special effects and general stage help. They love every aspet of theatre. This is actually my eleventh play to work on and it has been, thus far, the most challenging. I actually transform two actors into ghosts...lots of fun. Connie, who plays Elvira, is so easy to transform because she has incredible bone structure, which makes shadowing and highlighting of her cheekbones so much easier than one would think. She really has looked fabulous. the second gal is more difficult because she has a very full face and it's hard to highlight her cheekbones, etc. I also get to age two men and three other actresses.. Iwill posts photos as soon as I find the time. Right now, I am exhausted and am heading off to bed as soon as I finish posting this. just wanted to let you all know that the show has been a blast and has done extremely well.. Night night... love you all!
Mary

Ok...... I know it's winter, but getting up to -10 is getting a little old here. Bob woke me up late this morning. Really late. He let me sleep til 8:00. Can you believe that? With Meg and Robby down at the State One Act Competition school starts a little later than normal for us. Rob is usually up by 6:30 and out the door by 7:15 for chorus and Meg is up before him, but spends time in her room reading. She loves to read. This is something I haven't had time to do in several months.
I read short things, but she is reading novels for her Advanced Lit class and I am jealous. I love to read. I love the English language. I love seeing words on a page that envoke emotion, thought, and amusement. What do you think? What do you love to read? Do you have an all time favorite book? I don't think I could pick just one. I LOVE Toltsoy, Joyce, Elliott, Hawthorne, Cather, and even a bit of Hemingway. I think I love these authors becuase the deal with the condition of the human spirit. I didn't realize that connection until just now. We could discuss the various aspects of each author, but that would take months, so I will not bore you with that.

Subject change:
The kittens are such a crack up. They are so intelligent and fun. Patch answers the phone when it rings and the kids have to run to beat him to it before he knocks the receiver off the hook. He also comes to the kitchen and stretches up the front of the dishwasher and paws at it when he is thirsty. He meows at the doors when he is wanting us to open certain rooms up for him to investigate. He is just too fun to watch. One never knows what he will do next.

Pepper is more predictable. Pepper is our petite lady kitten. She is more refined and doesn't have all the time or laid back personality that Patch has. She has taken to loving popcorn and tries to steal carrots that are destined for the rabbit. She actually eats carrots! Anabelle told Mrs. Weisenstein, the boys' piano teacher, that cats eat carrots so they can see in the dark. I didn't have the heart to tell her that cats normally don't eat carrots and we just have a vegetarian cat.

And there's the queen cat, who will never be dethroned, Snuggles. We can't omit the happenings in Snuggle's life; now can we? With the weather being so cold Bob has been bringing Barney inside at night and he sleeps in the basement. Last night he brought him in and the three felines were lined up in the mudroom. Patch sniffed Barney and walked away, Pepper freaked, passed gas and ran to hide behind the upright piano, and Snuggles just sat there, unmoved. Barney had to walk around her. It was so funny to watch. After Bob took Barney into the basement Snuggles followed them down. She stayed down there for about an hour and then came back upstairs. Barney followed her up and she just casually sauntered up. Their personalities were so evident in this little encounter and we had a good laugh, except when Pepper gassed us.

So that is what is happening in my little corner of the world where even the antics of kittens can bless us a little bit.

Love you!
Mary

Well, I guess it's official.... I am on a real design team... Cut The Crop is an online store and they are featuring some of my creations for a term of six months. How fun is this. The owner, Tove, sends me a package with scrap book supplies and I in return, make different layouts, cards, tags, and altered items for her to showcase the product. I am really enjoying being involved in something so fun and fulfilling. I was up last night working....well, actually playing, with some of the supplies she sent me last week. You are going to love the mini album I created... so fun and funky... But, I am going to make you wait a few days to see it when it's all finished.


This "Card LunchBox" was made with Daisy Ds Girlfriends Collection papers.











Birthday card also using DDs Girlfriend Collection. I made the Candle Embellishment using a velum tag, metal frame, fastenator staple, and broken rhinestone flower petal for the flame.







Megan keeps trying to get me to make up business cards and take orders for different things, but I just can't bring myself to part with the things I make...well, other than to send as gifts. My SIL has a birthday at the end of the month and I think she may like the lunch box. What do you think, Mom?? I know you are reading this...lol..

This is really an exciting time for me with getting on the design team and having Memory Makers Magazine contact me about a layout. I think I will keep my fingers crossed for a while longer. Have a fabulous day!! Blessings! Mary.. wait.. I made a journal and entitled it "Blessed Beyond Belief" and I was thinking that I should change my blog name to that... what do you all think??? Hugs!