School Holidays.........

........are almost over here in Victoria and I have really enjoyed them and it has been so nice and relaxing. The kids have been good and even though we didn't go away (we usually don't) we all survived. Lance and Grace went on a church camp the first week and caught up with all their buddies from right around Australia. All the kids had a great time and none of them wanted to come home but as the saying goes all good things must come to an end....and so camp did as well. But they are constantly on MSN chatting to all their mates and it has been a real juggle between all of us to grab some time on the pc's.

So what else is new....well Lance got his plaster off both his arms yesterday. They are both fairly fragile still and he is not allowed to do any sport or anything that could be just a little to aggressive otherwise as the doc said he will break them again. So the next month will be interesting as he didn't stop skateboarding even with 2 arms in plaster....mind you I did mention that to the doc yesterday too....typical teen hey, and they are NOT invincible like they think.

Tonight we went out for tea and that was nice. My sister shouted us chinese and it was so yummy. It was so nice and it was great to get out for a couple of hours and enjoy each others company.

Tomorrow we decided that we would treat the kids to the movies..BUT!!!! oh yeh there is a BUT.....lol as they are getting older and further apart in taste and style no-one can decide on what movie to see so I can just imagine all of us getting there and going our separate ways into 6 different cinema's what a laugh!!!! So somehow we will have to at least decide on 2 movies perhaps one Tim can see with the boys and then a chickflick for us girls.

I have a new kit available over at PBP called Sweet Alice.



You can check the kit out here

Yep I have been busy scrapping a few LO's as well. Here are just a couple and then I'll post some more over the next day or 2, otherwise you could be here all night and not that I wouldn't mind at all. I also finished my secret OTP project for PBP which is awesome.....shhhhhhh not telling and got some more work done on Tim's album. In fact it is finished bar the journaling and the covers so woohoo!!! and it looks awesome. I will post pics of it but no doubt that may not be till next year now as I can't now just in case he reads my blog in that time.

On to the LO's

This 1st LO is my son Lance when he was about 15 months old and when digital camera's were not around at all. This was done for this months quote challenge 4th -30th of September by Annette over at PBP. You can find more details here



Credits:
September Quote Challenge by Annette Farrelly, South of the Border Kit by Shabby Princess, Michelle Coleman Brish Strokes, Atomic Cupcake Stitches, Ribbon from Heck Ya Kit by Holly McCaig and Manda Bean and Button from Holly McCaig's Austin Blvd's Kit.
Fonts:
LDJ Jilly Nilly, LD Note Pad and Arial Narrow.




And here he is at the age of 15....PHEW where did that time go?! Of course you are aware my son broke both wrists trying out a new trick on his skateboard a month ago (plaster off both yesterday), and here is a LO I did. I thought the title was quite fitting for this LO.


Journaling reads:
: skateboarding
: 2 broken wrists
: 4 weeks of plaster
: still skateboarding despite breaks
: still skateboarding despite doctors saying NO MORE SKATEBOARDING!!!

Credits:
Foster Kit from TracyAnn Robinson's Artlines collection, Keep You In Stitches with Templates by Julie Mead, Atomic Cupcake Office Scraps and It's a Guy Thing Kits and Altered Fragments Numbers by K Aicken.
Fonts: Quick Type and Nueva Std.

Next LO is of my DD Steps.




This photo was taken recently in the park. I love how Steps can behave silly and then be very mature and all at the same time. She informed me that in 6 months she was going to be 13 and then realised herself what she said and I quote her words " oooh that's scary" I can't believe it myself.

The labels read:
Never selfish, Love you for just being you, Always happy, Love your quirkiness, Very photogenic and Love that silly behaviour.

Credits:
Serendipitous Days by our very own DebF (avail here), heart charm and brad from McCaigbeans Mean Girls, staple from Old School Kit by ScrapFX and Twisting Pixels B+W filter.
Font:
Century Gothic
Special Thanks:
Atomic Cupcake for chipboard action and labelmaker.

Well guys I think I will leave it there until next blogging oh and BTW I haven't been blog hopping for a few days so I promise I haven't gone MIA or AWOL just distracted with kids home from school and having some deadlines to meet. So when all is peacefully quiet next week..................ahhhh can you here that........silence and bliss.......... I will get about then.

Ciao for now!

Tag your it!!

Yep I've been tagged by Jodie.....lol girl too cheeky.

If you could build a house anywhere, where would it be?
Out in the bush with no neighbours but close enough too town so we can access everthing we need to.


What's your favorite article of clothing?
I love wearing skirts you know the gyspy look ones...all the rage this year and I do have my fave pair of jeans I seem to live in.

Favorite physical feature of the opposite sex?
Definately his eyes. Alot can be "said" through the eyes.


What's the last CD that you bought?
Il Divo...just adore these guys!

Where's your favorite place to be?
At home with my family all snuggled up.

Where is your least favorite place to be?
Outside in the cold and wind.

What's your favorite place to be massaged?
My back and the back of my neck.

Strong in mind or strong in body?
Definately the mind

What time do you wake up in the morning?
Usually as the sun is rising and just before the alarm goes off.

What is your favorite kitchen appliance?
Hummmmm..........fave um well can't go past my kettle....lol

What makes you really angry?
How long you got?! I would have to say the absolute unfairness of this world and how so many people are NOT treated as equals because of where they come from and who they are, and how is it that the politicians of our own country have no idea what is involved in raising a family!

If you could play any instrument, what would it be?
Well thankfully I can play an instrument and I play the piano, but I would if I were much younger love to learn.....the drums and the bass guitar and the saxophone and clarinet. I have a clarinet but never got round to learning professionally.

Favorite color?
I simply don't have a fave colour as I love so many of them.

Which do you prefer...sports car or SUV?
SUV

Do you believe in an afterlife?
Yes I do but perhaps not the same way most do!

Favorite children's book?
Hummmmm honestly I don't have one!

What is your favorite season?
Spring as I love what this season brings, new birth, growth and colour in the garden.

What is your least favorite household chore?
Do I have to just chose one......lol I hate it all but I can't stand ironing!

If you could have one super power, what would it be?
Don't all mums have super powers *wink*. But on a more serious note to be able too breathe under water with no aids...yep just like a fish!

If you have a tattoo, what is it?
No tattoo

Can you juggle?
I sure can. I'm a mum, a wife and I have 4 kids so I am very busy. I juggle all that I have to in life.

The one person from your past that you wish you could go back and talk to?
My best friend Pamela Brown. I would love to say how sorry I was for never saying goodbye when my parents moved when I was 10 to another planet ( well at least it seemed that way at the time). I miss her so much even after all these years and I never got a chance to say goodbye because I came home from school one day and we were all packed ready for a new life. That was unexpected and so much agony!

What's your favorite day?
Thursday I love that day as it is not quite the weekend yet!

What's in the trunk of your car?
Gas tanks x 3 as we are duel fuel, spare tyre and bracket, basket that we take with us all over the joint, and 2 picnic blankets.

Which do you prefer, sushi or hamburger?
Sushi.


So who to tag next....let me see.....ok these gals Jo, Lee and Annette

HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY
MADDISON!!!!

Wow can you believe this...another birthday and this time my youngest son Maddison turns 11 today. Gosh how the time flies and they all grow up so quickly. What an amazing journey it has been for all of us.

I can remember being quite shocked when we found out I was pregnant with you. I always wanted 4 kids but having been so very sick with all the others I was hoping that you would arrive when Stephanie started school....just to give me and my body a breather and once again God had different plans and you were concieved somewhat 4 years earlier....lol

I knew you would be my last and so I hung onto every precious moment more with you in some ways then was even possible with your siblings before. I cherished breast feeding you and was quite successful and proud that finally I could accomplish this, what seemed to be the most painful time with all the others was the most unpainful and rewarding experience with you, and the fact that we managed it for almost 2 years was even better.

I tried to keep you as a baby longer but somehow that didn't work as here you are today and all off 11. What a journey. I can remember when you were first diagnosed with the horrible visual impairment you share along side your father and your sister Stephanie.

Best's Vitelliform Dystrophy..... a rare macular dystrophy of sorts that is genetic, degenrative and has no cure and nothing can be done for it. The fact that it is also fairly rare and you had been the youngest at the time of your diagnosis in the world according to all the research at the time. What a shock it was for us to take you for your 3.5 yearly assesment at the maternal health clinic and as Shirley was testing you and you said you could not see anything out of your right eye I knew there and then what was happening and even though I tried to prepare myself with all you kids I was still in shock.

Urgently we got you off to the specialist who knew us well and she only confirmed what we already knew and then I was in tears. I could not believe that you could not see as well as me and that you never would and that the condition would only get worse over time and you would have blind spots in your central vision which would only progress and you would see less and less as the years would pass.

But with all the help through the RVIB (Royal Institute for the Blind, now known as Vision Australia) and God's grace and mercy we have managed and come a long way. You have your own strategies on how to deal with things and work around what you can and can't see and we have never stopped you from doing anything you think you can manage. Yep you have it tougher then many peers your age, and so many people just don't and can't understand your visual impairment thinking that if you wear glasses you will be fine, little do they know the glasses do nothing and as you are longsighted, the sight you have left is being corrected with the many glasses prescribed and worn since you were 3.5 years of age.

But you know what I have always said and alot of the time it is what gets me through.....there is always someone out there that is worse of than us, so even though I have 3 visually impaired loved ones I need to be eyes for, someone else has no-one.

Life is too precious to dwell on what one can't do, grab life with both hands and live it fully, dwell on everything you can do despite the odds and if along the way you need another pair of eyes to help see with......I am here.

Have a great day Maddi, all my love mum xxoo

HAPPY 15th BIRTHDAY
LANCE.

Today my eldest son Lance turns 15 and as I sit here blogging I am just amazed that these past 15 years have come and gone so fast. What has happened to all that time inbetween and what has happened to my little boy. It seems you have grown up so quick and despite all the incredible upheavels in your life I love you more and more with each passing moment. I can remember being told I couldn't have children and if I did fall pregnant that I would never carry to full term but my prayers to God did not go unanswered and 2 months after we found out this devasting news we found out that I was pregnant with you. It wasn't an easy pregnancy as we soon found out with 3 threatened miscarriages, lots of time in bed and being quite sick with it all but 9 months later after the most difficult and traumatic birth you entered into this world of ours and we were so proud and so full of love.

In the past 15 years you have had more challenges and difficulties then most kids your age as the full impact and reality of the difficulty of your birth and the circumstances surrounding that time when both of us were dying has taken it's place in our lives. But despite the hurdles and the rollercoaster ride we have had and will continue to, we are so proud to be your parents and we love you more then you could possibly imagine. My heart cries for you often when I see the pain you are in mentally and emotionally, sometimes you seem to be in control and many times you are not. So today is a proud and wonderful moment for me as without Gods intervention you would not be here and nor would your siblings and I cannot possibly imagine my life without any of you because you are so much a part of it.

Today you turn 15 so my son I am wishing you a truly wonderful birthday and I pray that God will keep you as he has all this time, safely in his hands. We love you so much and want you to know that no matter the day, some are good, some are bad and some I wish we could start over, we love you dearly and will always be there for you. xxoo


BTW check out the t-shirt Lance is wearing *wink*....I just love it.

Life is short so enjoy every moment.

This past week has been a most strange week with tragedies all round. We lost 2 of our Aussie icons both in tragic circumstances and both doing what they loved. Steve Irwin also known as the "crocodile hunter" and Peter Brock our very own racing car legend. They have left loved ones to carry on without them and my heart goes out to them all. Then of course yesterday (our time) was the 5th anniversary of 9/11. An absolute tragedy that changed the entire world on that dreadful day. I still get teary eyed when I turn the tv on and watch the news of the special programs bringing to us that day and how people were affected by it and how 5 years later people are moving on but how it still affects each and everyone of us. I watch the odd documentary here and there and each time I do I am moved to tears and then I look at my hubby and my kids and I am so thankful to my God for keeping us safe and that we It'shave never had to endure these types of hardships. We do live in a very blessed country and I am so very grateful and thankfu do need to be thankful for that.

Well onto more happier things......PBP has been open for 7 weeks. Can you believe that!!!!! The time has gone so quick, we have lots of members and growing and the talent in the gallery is amazing. But the thing I have enjoyed about this journey the most is the friendships I have made. That's what scrapbooking does it creates wonderful and incredible friendships and I am so overwhelmed by the many I have and the new ones I seem to form almost on a daily basis.

So with having said that this week is the last week to be able to snag the last part of our mega awesome kit that we have been giving away over the past 7 weeks.

This weeks contribution is by Poppy Monkey Designs.



















And it is just a gorgez kit. So pop on over to PBP and grab this awesome kit while you can and just in case you missed out on any of the parts of this multi kit they are available in the shop for a very cheap price.

OK NEXT

Over at PBP we run challenges not just with the scrapping part of things but also with our photography skills and I don't know about you but I could do with all the skils I can get.....lol. Not that I don't take a good photo but there is so much more to a camera then just point and shoot... iykwim!

So our 1st photography challenge is under way over at PBP run by the wonderful Annette, and is a silhouette challenge that has been running since the 21st of August and ends on the 17th of this month. I took the photo a couple of weeks ago and finally got around to throwing it into PSCS2 and just by using the magic wand and the levels a touch, this is how it turned out and I am so stoked with it. The original is on the top and the silhouette is on the bottom.


































My DD Stephanie (yet again....lol but she is the only one happy to co-operate) just in the front yard and the photo was taken with the sun behind her purposely so the shot would come out a little silhouetti then just a little adjustment made in PSCS2 and voila this is what you get. So that's another new technique I have learnt.

OK NEXT







































Well this was not suppose to be a novel this post but the last thing I wanted to show was my new paper pack and alpha set now selling over at PBP.

Alpha Here

Paper Pack Here

Lemon Noir is a softly shabby and worn kit in blacks and soft lemons with a touch of elegance and charm.

The pack includes:
6 patterned papers
2 solid papers

All 12x12 and created in JPG format and at 300dpi.

The alpha includes:
The perfect alpha set to go with my Lemon Noir Paper Pack. Uppercase letters and numbers are embossed. Lowercase is pewter and symbols are a mix of both.

Set includes:
Full uppercase
Full lowercase
Numbers 0-9
Symbols !&()[]{}:;?

It's the perfect alpha set to go with my Lemon Noir Paper Pack. Uppercase letters and numbers are embossed. Lowercase is pewter and symbols are a mix of both.

All created in PNG format and at 300dpi.

So go on over and check it out and until next blogging keep smiling and I'll catch you all later.

Ciao Chris

This weeks contribution to our mega kit.....

.....is Lis and I am so sorry cause I forgot last weeks as I was so sick and laid up in bed but here I am with Lis's wonderful part to this mega huge and very awesome kit.




















You can pop over here and snag it.

I am amazed at the talent I have seen in the gallery over at PBP with all the awesome LO's there using not only this mega kit but everything else that is around.

NEXT

So you heard the news about me being on Faer Oaks CT and to get things underway for our CT info page we decided on an AMM (All About Me) LO. Now don't laugh as I don't like to scrap myself at all so this was a very big and bold step for me but I bit the bullet and did it so my kids would have some LO's of me, their mum.




















Credits:
It is what it is by Faer Oak, KateF 2006 Month Stamps, Staple from Old School Kit by ScrapFX, Atomic Cupcake Office Scraps Kit and labelmaker for the labels and Alys Vintage Photo action.
Font: Artistamp and my own handwriting.
Special thanks to Atomic Cupcake for chipboard action.

Well there you have it a little about me.
And that's it for me today.
Catch you next blogging and ciao for now
Chris

Woohoo!!!

I am so excited
and this is the reason why -------->

Yep as you can see I have been accepted as part of Faer Oaks CT and I am sooooooooo excited about it. I love this designers stuff her style is just awesome and I get to play with it all in creating wonderful LO's using all Faer's kits. Thankyou so much Faer for this wonderful opportunity.

Now here is her newest kit called Rosemary's Garden and as you can see it is fantastic and I so enjoyed using this kit for 2 of my LO's
Take a look (below)



And you can find this beautiful kit here at PBP.

Ok so here is my A4 I have created using Rosemary's Garden.




Journaling reads:
Everything about you I adore you are so easy to deal with...(most of the time) and no matter the situation you are always there too put a hand on my shoulder to let me know that all will be fine.
Credits:
Rosemary's Garden by Faer Oak, Alys Vintage Photo Action, Cross Stitches by Atomic Cupcake.
Fonts: Arial Narrow
Special thanks to Atomic Cupcake for frayed fabric action.

and this one as well



My gorgez 13.5 DD Grace on a recent bus trip and me trying to take some photos. Well as you can tell Grace just wasn't very co-operative. I mean what's a mother to do but ignore her wishes and snap away merrily.....lol

Credits: Rosemarys Garden by Faer Oak, Stitches mine, Font: Chumbly BRK and Arial Narrow.
Special thanks to Atomic Cupcake for torn paper action.

Ok so onto the next topic which will just be my ramblings and venting for the day. would you believe I had already created this post last night and as I am getting ready to submit this entry the power goes out in the entire street and I loose the lot so here I am re-doing this entry so enjoy it well.....lol

Anyway Lance and his 2 broken wrists are doing well. He tried school yesterday and apart from the fact he was in pain and didn't cope as well as he wanted to he managed but he isn't going back for the rest of the term and that is only another week and a half away. Kids can be so cruel and all his mates did nothing but stir him and pick on him so he decided he wasn't going to endure that everyday and no more school. Can you blame him....I don't think so the poor kid. One of his mates decided to start all this joking and he is hurt by it. I kinda figure they aren't his mates to do that too him and I think he realises full on that as well. Like I said kids can be so darn cruel and the impact on what they say about or to someone can cause alot of hurt.

Ok so Grace goes on her snow trip tomorrow. Half her unit are off to Falls Creek for 2 nights and 3 days so she is going to have a great time and I look forward to all the photos she is going to snap...and boy does she snap madly.....hehehehehe

Thursday night while they are there they have a formal dinner and dress to the nines so she has her new outfit and jewellery and they are glaming it up. I so hope I get some really nice photos of her so I can scrap them. My daughter Grace doesn't wear dresses at her age at all she is not the girly girl she was so I am really eager to see her all dressed up.

Now that's one child down 3 to go......lol

Anyway I think I will leave it there and say ciao until next blogging. Meant to have a crop night tonight with a couple of gals (paper scrapping) so need to finish off some stuff before they arrive in an hour of course thinking they haven't forgotten and if they have then that's ok as well cause then I can do my AMM CT LO for Faer's CT page.

Ok till next time keep smiling and stay happy.
Chris