Germs and word art

DH and I picked up EB from the sitter yesterday.  Right now she is fascinated with chap stick, blistex, lip gloss, anything like lipstick.  I had let her take an almost empty tube of lip gloss (lipstick type) to the sitter with her because he lips were dry and she picks at them to the point that they bleed.  I also figured this was so empty that there was little to no way she could make a mess at the sitters.  She informed me that she was good with the lip gloss, she did not get it on anything and that she did not share it with her friends.  She then informs me that we do not share lip balms with anyone because of germs.  I reinforced that yes, we only share them within our family, but with no one else.  She then continued the conversation with “we really don’t share them with boys, because they have really icky germs”.  I really reinforced that one. Yep, baby girl, keep on thinking that boys have really icky germs until you are about 30 – that will make me and daddy really, really happy!

One of the scrapbooking forums that I am part of is having a word art challenge. I have attempted word art in the past, but it is really hard and I have never been very happy with the results.  This month the topic is “Daddy”, in honor of upcoming Father’s Day.  Here are 2 that I came up with.  I was fairly pleased with them. 

 Fonts used in this one  are Cooper Black,  Times New Roman, SF Comic Strip Shaded, Batman Forever Alternate, Rockwell Extra Bold, Waltograph UI, and Tempus Sans.
 

Fonts used in this one are Scriptina and Tempus Sans.
 

 Hope everyone had a terrific holiday weekend if you are in the States.  We have a get together on my father’s side of the family on Memorial Day weekend.  So I have a batch of photos to get scrapped about that gathering!  I am getting farther and farther behind!  I had a whole layout done last night, and was just getting ready to save it when the power went off!  Big bummer.  I was too tired by the time the lights came back on to re-make it, so I may try to get at that tonight.  It was the last page of my little Rock Star group.  Have a great day, everyone!

 

 

 

 

Memorial Day

Memorial Day in the States is to remember those that have served our country.  It is also the unofficial kickoff for summer.  My mom’s family used to celebrate this day with a cook-out with all the cousins playing a rousing game of kickball – they usually let me play, but I was never any good.  But my favorite memories were of my Grandmother.  My mom would pick her up somtime during the weekend and we would go out to the cemetery to put flowers on the graves of my grandfather, and then stop to find the graves of my paternal grandmother and other relatives.  I think the reason that I thought it was so special was because it was a tradition that had certain steps involved.  She always brought an old mayonnaise jar full of water for the flowers.  That would be carefully tucked in the floorboard of the backseat of the car.  It was my job to make sure nothing happened to it.  Then we would head out into her yard and pick the flowers.  We would take “flags” or irises – the big old fashioned lavender ones that had a heavenly scent.  Then we would pick peonies.  If the ones in her yard were not blooming, we would stop at my aunts house and raid her huge row of peonies.  They also had a wonderful fragrance, though I never thought much of the ants that liked to take up residence in them.  We would then head to the cemetary where we would clean off the headstones, fill the urns with water and arrange the flowers.  Then we would stand next to the graves and offer prayers for them and for all the souls of the departed.  As I sit here typing I can almost smell Gramma’s lotion, hear the buzzing of the insects in the woods next to the cemetary, hear the flapping of the flags that lined the road, and feel the warm sun.  It has been years since I have gone to the cemetary – I no longer live in my hometown.  I will have to make an effort to get out there the next time I am in town.  The girls need to experience the simplicity of those traditions, to be taught that death is nothing more than the completion of a life and nothing to be afraid of.  They also need to hear the stories of those that are buried there and celebrate the lives they lived.  Happy Memorial Day!

My little gymnast

These were photos taken back in March (before the cast), when JB was in gymnastics.  She loved it and always looked forward to her class. I am always amazed when I look at her pictures, how someone so tiny can have such long legs!

Credits for the layout:

Kit – Sadie Jane by Genevieve Sass and Vickie Stegall
Template – Doubles Wave by Teriann Hanks (modified)
Front – Kristin ITC

Class play

Last night was JB’s class play.  The play was written entirely by her kindergarten class.  They painted the sets and created their own costumes.  They had stage hands and props and everything.  It was absolutely adorable.  JB was the announcer – she greeted the audience and introduced the play, then afterwards she thanked them and invited everyone back to the classroom for snacks.  She actually wore a dress (it was one that a dear friend brought back from Hawaii for her) and sat like a little lady throughout the entire play.  When it was time for her to speak, she spoke slowly and clearly.  I foresee a lot of plays in our future!  I can’t tell you how proud of her I am!  EB went with Mimi and Popaw and picked out flowers for JB, and then gave them to her after the play. EB also was the photographer for the evening.  She got some wonderful shots of the actors. 

Later in the evening EB put some things together about her adoption that I did not expect at her age.  It was an emotional evening.  JB went in the other room for a few minutes, then came back and whispered to me and EB that she had just prayed that Jesus would send an answer to something that Ellie was asking about.  JB has such a good heart.  I look forward to seeing how her prayer is answered.

I hope to carve out some scrapping time this weekend.  I will post them as soon as I can.

This morning, JB and DH were having a difficult time getting along.  Still reeling from the news of SCC’s daughter, all I could think about was his latest song.

Midnight comes often unexpectedly, and many times too soon. The little irritations in life aren’t worth getting upset about.

How does one cope?

This story   from The Tennessean.com really touches all parents, the adoption community and the Christian music community. As we were waiting for both of our girls this man’s music was part of what kept us going – especially his song “When Love Takes You In“.  Please pray for the entire family.

Steven Curtis Chapman’s daughter killed by car in driveway

By KATE HOWARD and LINDA ZETTLER • Staff Writers • May 21, 2008

Steven Curtis Chapman’s youngest child died Wednesday evening after being struck by a car driven by her teenage brother in the driveway of the family’s Williamson County home.

Maria, one of the Christian singer’s six children, was taken by LifeFlight to Vanderbilt Hospital, which confirmed the death, according to Laura McPherson, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The 5-year-old was hit by an SUV driven by her teenage brother, she said. Police did not give the driver’s name.

The teen was driving a Toyota Land Cruiser down the driveway of the rural home at about 5:30 p.m. and several children were playing in the area, McPherson said. He did not see Maria in the driveway before the vehicle struck her, she said.

“It appears to be a terrible accident,’’ McPherson said.

No charges are expected, she said. The accident was witnessed by two other children; the entire family was home at the time, McPherson said.

Singer/songwriter Chapman, who recently was inducted into Music City Walk of Fame, is one of contemporary Christian music’s most recognizable and most awarded names.

He and his wife Mary Beth have long been supporters of international adoption, having brought three girls from China into their family. Maria was the youngest.
The couple is so active in the cause that they formed an organization, Shaohannah’s Hope, to aid families wanting to adopt.

With his latest music tour, which came through Nashville in November, Chapman started a campaign called “Change for Orphans”. He asked audience members at each stop to bring spare change to the concert, where it was counted and given to a local family to aid in their adoption process.

“I don’t know of anybody who loves his children more than he does and is so committed to the adoption concept, and to lose one, no matter what the circumstances, is heartbreaking beyond all comprehension,” said John Styll, president of the Nashville-based Gospel Music Association.

“He talks about his kids all the time. That’s his life. His kids are more important to him than music, that’s for sure.”

The tragedy was announced during Wednesday-night services at Harpeth Hills Church of Christ, which the family attends. Maria had just graduated from the church preschool.

And word spread throughout the tight-knit Christian music community on Wednesday evening.

Styll got the news not long after Maria’s death.

“I’m confident I can speak for everyone in the community to say we will do everything we can to support this family, as we would do at any time, but especially at a time like this,” he said.

Most of the Chapman family was at Vanderbilt children’s hospital after the accident and could not be contacted. The long, gravel driveway leading to the home west of Franklin was blocked off by Williamson County sheriff’s deputies.