Good Morning - Two Page Good Friday Scrapbook Layout

 Well 2020, was one of the strangest (and more memorable) years in my history. Our company was shut down (like most of the country) during Easter. I work for Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company. We insure churches and related ministries across the company. Many of us are Christians. The company decided to hold a "drive-in" Good Friday service in the parking lot! We thought this was one of the coolest experiences ever (but also strange).

Of course, most of us rolled down our windows and we were able to hear the message given by one of our fellow employees, along with some great Easter music. It was a pretty day (but also cold and windy). What a great morning, though!!

What a creative way to see each other's faces (through the windshields) and celebrate Christ's resurrection together (but not too close together). I think we were directed to leave an empty space between cars (vehicle social distancing 😀). It's kind of funny when I think back, but none of us knew what we were dealing with, so the company was playing it safe. 

The paper and all the embellishments came from a pack of paper from Echo Park. You may think it is strange that I scrapped these Covid memories. I try to capture all the memories (the good, bad, and strange).

Enjoy your week!

One Page Layout - "New Family Tradition"

I have just one sibling..an older brother. He lives about 3 hours away in Michigan. Our parents are both gone now, so we only have each other as far as our core immediate family. Last year, my brother and sister-in-law joined us for dinner on Christmas day. We had already celebrated with my kids and their families. We had a great time. They just came for the day, but it was nice to have a quiet day catching up with them.

We were in the process of moving the week after Christmas, so this is one of the last formal photos inside our old dining room. The tree on our table was the only tree we had because it just didn't make sense to put one up as we were in the process of packing. It was a crazy time for our family!! Moving is not my favorite!

Since then, my brother and his wife have separated. I'm not sure how that will turn out. Personally, I think they're a great pair, but I have to trust that God will work that out between them. My brother came for Christmas day again this year and we enjoyed his company. This time he was able to spend the night in our guest room at our new house and spend a little more time with us. We loved having him!! I'm sure I'll be scrapping that event in the near future.

I hope that my brother will come down more often now that we have guest space ready and waiting. We are looking forward to hosting family and friends as much as possible! 

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

One Page Layout - "Blessed"

I try to do life with an attitude of gratitude, but I certainly don't achieve it most of the time. Even though I have so much to be thankful for, I sometimes get stuck focusing on the small negative things.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday for that very reason. It's a reminder to focus on all of our countless blessings. It's a day to hangout with family, eat yummy food that we typically don't eat the rest of the year, and to thank God for all that he has blessed us with.

This family of mine is by far my biggest blessing. We're not perfect, and we don't always see eye to eye on everything, but we are always there for each other. The lists of wrongs are kept short, and love rules the day. Each of them bless my heart in countless different ways, that they're probably not even aware of.

This layout is from the last Thanksgiving meal we shared together in our previous home. That home holds many fond memories, and we'll never forget bringing our babies home and raising them in that special neighborhood. We're so grateful for the blessings of being able to buy it, make it our own, and enjoy it for 28 years! We're now in our new home and the blessings just keep coming. The new memories are stacking up, and we are trying to use it for God's glory in every way possible.

Thanks for stopping by today. Take time to count your blessings, even though you may be going through some rough times. Being grateful can and will change your attitude and rub off on everybody around you.

One Page Scrapbook Layout - "You're a Hoot"

This little girl is our granddaughter!!!!  She brings so much joy and fun to our lives!! If you're not a Grandma yet, you have so much to look forward to.

These pictures were taken at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants with my cell phone so they are a little blurry.  She was dressed up, and just being silly. When you're this adorable, you can be as silly as you'd like and get away with it. :)

The chipboard owl elements are from K & C Company and were created for a Smash book. I adore owls, so I decided to use them with my traditional method of scrapbooking. It was designed for the owls to flip open to the journaling tag, but I cut them apart. The title is from Cricut's "Hoot N Holler" cartridge. I used an SU scalloped border punch for the strip along the top edge, and the ribbons and  flower were hanging out in my stash.

At first I thought the colors were crazy together, but I'm super excited with the way it turned out. Thanks for stopping by my blog today!! Enjoy your day.

4th of July layout and wreath

Summer is the time for projects! We have a project going on at our house. I love seeing the progress made, bit by bit. Yes, I'd like to see the finished product!!! Now!?!? ? Okay, so I'm more than a little impatient with projects, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. My poor husband and son are working their tails off. They are putting up Hardie shingle board siding (looks like cedar shakes, but lasts for all eternity...We hope). The trouble comes in when they have everything off the side of the house, and a pop up storm comes through....Frustrating to say the least, and they both work 40 hour plus each week at jobs where they actually get paid. I'm sure they are even more tired of this project than I am.

Along with summer house projects, comes all of the fun patriotic holidays where we burst with pride for our country and honor our service men for their courageous sacrifices. One of our favorites is the 4th of July. It's always fun to make a special meal with the family, and watch the fireworks in town. Last year on the 4th, our grandbaby was only a few months old. We went to the fireworks, but parked way down the road so they wouldn't be too loud for her little ears. I got the cutest picture of her, and came up with this one pager.

Yes, I even broke out the glitter. The Stand and Salute cartridge has great patriotic images like this title and fireworks. I struggled with the color choices since Scarlet was wearing pink, but I wanted to pull in the traditional red, white and blue. The light blue seemed to help. Isn't the expression on her face, just priceless? =)

I don't have many patriotic decorations, but I made this wreath for the door last year. It's very easy and inexpensive to make. Click here for the instructions. I thought it was worth sharing again.

My bandana flower came uncoiled in storage, but a few dabs with the hot glue gun took care of that.

I'm thinking about making a patriotic banner to hang inside. Not sure if I will get to it or not, but you'll be the first to see it, if I do.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. Let me know if you have any patriotic projects to share.

Have a great week!!