Richard Marx - One Page Scrapbook Layout

 We don't normally do much for Valentine's Day. Guess we just prefer to stay in, especially when it's chilly outside. But a few years back, my sweet Hubby treated me to a Richard Marx contest right here in town. It was so much fun!! He puts on a great show and, of course, I LOVE his music. It was a great evening together. 

This beautiful paper is so pretty!! Full of pink, red, lacey doilies and all things L.O.V.E. I didn't need to add very much, except my pictures and some journaling. I matted the photos in gray, and double matted the photo of me and my Hubs. I wish I would have used my Cricut to journal, but it's at least legible! Why didn't I wear red or pink? 💕

Hope you enjoy your Valentine's Day with those you love! Have a great week!

Two Page Scrapbook Layout - "Future Mrs."

My husband and I were born and raised in Michigan. Most of our remaining family still lives there. We decided to shower my future DIL with a celebration up there so that our MI relatives could join in the fun. My wonderful sister-in-laws helped with all of the planning, food and décor.

 Katie's Mom was able to join too. We had a great time and she received some great gifts. My two daughters-in-love, pictured there on the love seat, are amazing young women. I have a lot of respect for them and I pray that our family will continue to grow together and love each other. We have a ton of fun. I think we spend as much time laughing together as we do eating together.

 And then there is my most adorable granddaughter!! She and her brother are the light of our lives! She can be a stinker sometimes, but I'm not surprised since I raised her Dad. 😂

 There's a lot going on with this layout, but I love all the heart garland, doilies and gemstone brads. Most of all, I love all the smiles and great memories from that day.

My family has my heart and I'm so grateful for the bond we share. Both my husband and I have already lost our parents. That means he and I are now the ones working on building and leaving our legacy to our children, grandchildren and future great grandchildren. I pray that we will leave a legacy of love, laughter, and a strong faith that will pull them through all of the tough times.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!! Have a great week!

Two Page Scrapbook Layout - "Hugs & Kisses"

These two little munchkins have my heart!! I can't believe I haven't shared this one before now. I must have blinked because now they're 4 and 6 years old. 

 These two are the most adorable and precious handful EVER! This Grandma gig is truly a joy!

 This was Valentines Day 2015. I created special treat bags for them both. Scarlet's was an owl and Sawyer's a fox. Sissy seems to like Sawyer's cars in this picture as much as she liked her pink unicorn.

I raised two boys (no girls), so the pink lace, washi and other feminine touches were pretty new to me at that time!! 😍They'll never get old!! Poor Sawyer will just have to deal with it, I guess. And who knew how cute it would be to just fold over some ribbon or ball fringe and attach it randomly to a page.Except for the sweet faces, it may be my favorite part of the layout.

Happy Valentines Day!! Go squeeze somebody you love! Pamper yourself and your loved ones! ❤❤❤

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

 

Two Page Layout - "Tomorrow will be..."

Last fall was a very bittersweet time for our family. The bitter....My Mom was in the end stages of her battle with Parkinson's disease. What a horrible thing to watch your Mom just waste away. It's a very slow and painful process to watch. She didn't seem to be in pain, thankfully! The sweet...my son was getting married to his forever love and we were all super excited and blessed for her to join our family.

The hardest part was that these two major life events collided in one weekend. My Mom passed away on Friday October 13, the day before my son's wedding. My brother called to give me the word as we were pulling into the venue for the rehearsal dinner that we were in charge of. Well, you can imagine the rush of emotions and anxiety knowing that I had to pull myself together in order to be ready for the rehearsal dinner guests.

 Some how, by God's grace, we pulled it off. The venue looked cute and the food was yummy, and really that's all anybody cares about anyway, right? I was riding on my happy emotions and was able to let joy rule the day and the rest of the weekend.

 As happy as I was/am for these kids of mine, I knew we were becoming empty nesters. I was experiencing the feeling of being parentless and childless all at the same time! My kids and all of the family visiting for the wedding helped me push on through the sadness.

 The wedding was beautiful! I'm working on their album now and will start sharing those layouts soon. I do love this layout, but it still brings tears to my eyes as I remember the roller coaster of emotions that were going on inside of me that weekend and for weeks afterwards. I really didn't have much time to actually grieve. Remember...we were building a home, getting ready to sell our home, pack all of our belongings, and move at the end of the year. I was literally too busy to think about my emotions for very long.

Yes, there was loss, but I also gained a daughter-in-love who is beautiful inside and out! Yes, my youngest son left the nest, but they are very happy together and a Mama can't hold on to her babies forever. That's the way God intended it to be. There have been many changes for my husband and I since last fall, but we are so very happy in our new home and enjoying all of the settling in and decorating.

Whew...longer and more emotional post than normal, but thanks for reading. Have a wonderful weekend!

In Memory - Flashback "Treasure"

Hello friends! I am sorry for the long time since posting last. It's been a whirlwind.

We took a mini getaway to western MI for a weekend and had a great time with together. We got home a week ago last Monday. Tuesday, we packed my youngest son up for college. Wednesday we took him to Ball State University and helped him get settled in his dorm room. That night, we got home late, went to bed, and were awakened by a phone call. My husband's father passed away in the middle of the night on August 18. He was 88 years old and the pillar of his family in every way. He had been in and out of the hospital with congestive heart failure. He was so ready to go to his heavenly home! He took off all of his monitors and his oxygen and left this world very peacefully. We miss him so much already, but we rejoice and know that he is finally home!

We've been with Mark's siblings in Michigan since then. We enjoyed our time together, even though it was really hard. We laughed, and we cried together.

Mark's Dad was so proud of his family, I wanted to re-post this recent layout of Mother's Day 2011 in his honor titled "Treasure".

We love and miss you! Thanks for setting such a wonderful example of faith and family!

Treasure

I'm havng a ton of fun with Blogspot issues this week. I had saved a post, but now can't get back into it. A tiny bit frustrating, so I will now start over.

Here is one last layout of Mother's Day with most of my husband's immediate family, and our new grand nephew, Ethan.

The patterned paper is all from Cloud 9 Design. I just love the rich colors! I found some great antique doilies at my parents home recently for future use on a scrapbook page. I thought this was the perfect page to use them. Here, I cut one in half and tucked both pieces under the edge of the pictures.

I cut these cute layered flowers with my Cricut, but now I'm not sure which cartridge I used =). Maybe my SB buddy will reply here and let me know which cartridge I borrowed from her. The title "Treasure" is Graphically Speaking. The antique looking brads are from StampinUp. I just love the closeup of my sister-in-law, Sue, snuggling with her Grandbaby! The bottom right picture is my father-in-law laughin' it up with Ethan. How cute are they???

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. Hopefully this will post properly. Is anybody else having any problems with Blogger?