Washington DC

Dalton left for Chicago today and will be heading for Washington DC in the morning .He gets to go with his best friend and his family...... Hoping they have lots of fun!

(Above: The Smithsonian Castle-picture by Stellas mom's http://www.flickr.com/photos/lithuania2008/2891628336/)

Random Thought:

YFC Camp 2009

That's roughing it?????
This years summer YFC Camp (Youth for Christ) was in Lake City, Michigan.

My kids have just returned home safely with no broken bones this year! Dalton signed up to

go, but then was having second thoughts-- alot of them, he didnt want to go after all....this was his first time at camp. Needless to say, he loved it, thanked me for making him go, and wants to go again next year. Kelsey (his sister) has went several times already and thought he would enjoy going ..... so she is the one that got him into the program.

Its very costly to go and we could not have afforded one let alone both kids to go, but the church

supports its youth and worked to get scholarships for them. The kids also did their part and held different activities to help earn money for the trip. So, from the bottom of my heart I thank the people who have sponsered the youth. Its a great environment and an experience that I'm glad they were given the chance to have.

Dalton also said the food was great and they could have as much as they wanted. LOL

Ok, back in the day when I went to camp they were barely above Health Department standards & you never ate the food until you had too! So,I was just Wow'd by the "resort like " camp, the friendly leaders and good food !They are still talking about all the activities and the fun things they did at camp, including the challenges they faced. Both of my kids had a wonderful time and will have lots of good memories to carry with them.

So, again I thank you all .... hearing about the testimonies and experiences they shared at camp was chicken soup for my soul!

(Above: The last night at camp was a semi-formal dinner night)

The Bloomin' Garden

Record lows this week! The garden is still blooming, but its good knitting and tea weather. I'm getting my Christmas list ready for the knitted items I would like to get done. I'm still pretty slow at knitting, but I've started a new illusion scarf project. I choose a musical theme and school colors for my daughter that's in show choir. ( Shhhh--it's for Christmas!) I have lots of other projects to get completed, but am taking things one project at a time! The ladies at our local knitting shop are helping me along and providing encouragement and inspiration, which has been much needed.

I just finished reading "Hanging by a Thread" by Monica Ferris, a needlecraft mystery.

It was a good read and I'm looking forward to getting more of her books. The setting of her needle craft store was great! The store in the story seemed warm and welcoming, but had its quirks too. It includes a colorful group of women and people from her town, and all the different projects they are working on. In this book it was focusing on fall and christmas holidays which was great timing to get me in the mood for the upcoming holidays here in the real world.

Above:burgundy and pink hibiscus from my garden &

Tea cup and rose pictures by: silicapathways
http://www.flickr.com/photos/silicapathways/377472920/ .

Our Anniversary - July 16th, 1994

This cross stitch wedding sampler was finished about a month before we got married. Loved the colors and style of the old fashioned accents. This one took about eight months to finish. Working on it in the evenings. Since then, I havent really worked on any large projects. My cross stitching technique has improved greatly since then and am looking forward to working on my next large piece.

The picture above was taken on our honeymoon. Gatlinburg ,TN.

Lilies in the Garden

Happy July 4TH !!!

Oh, say can you see,
by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars,
through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets red glare,
the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night,
That our flag was still there,
Oh say, does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

I Love Lucy.....

http://www.lucystore.com/index.html

Owl ATC's (Artist Trading Cards)

I've been working on the owl ATC's for a while now and have just hit the half way mark. YEA!
The swap is for one Owl ATC for each month of the year.
Four different partners are assigned for each month.
January - June is pictured at the top .

ATC's are made with a sturdy background card thats 2 1/2 x 3 1/4 inches (standard size--fits into baseball card collection pages). I like to use the ones you can buy pre-cut. From there, you just decorate with scrapbooking papers and things that pertain to your theme. I tend to use alot of rubber stamps,colored pencils, ribbons, glosses, glitter, metallic mists,paper punchces,brads, ect... the more mediums and embellishments you use the better. You can also keep them simple if that is the style you prefer. There are many examples that can be found in search. The more art inclined people make their cards with water colors or drawings.There's some real talent out there! The possibilities are endless.

Pictured below is one of the more challenging themes I've done.
"Art Doll ATC".
The idea was to make a doll ATC, you could only use hand drawn or stamped images for the body. The next challenge was that the body had to fold behind the card so that it could be stored in a regular collection page. For this one it was an open theme as long as you met the requirements of the swap. I had alot of fun with this one and it has become one of my favorites:)

I'm also on flickr.com as valentines69.