ok another plug for a chance to win :)

Win a $250 Speesees organic cotton baby or toddler wardrobe from Nature's Child - Wholesome Goods for Mothers and Babies
This one is because this places clothes are hellacute!!! Go check them out!

Ok...this is so photo-intensive that it isn't even funny....but all y'all know me, I can never just post one or two pics and be "ok" with it :D, but for all your time and trouble I might just have to come up with some sort of li'l blog gift this week...hm...maybe....
:) Also, these pics are not in any certain order, it is just too darn hard to arrange them on blogger and I always forget to upload them in order right.....

Here is Tink in her favorite outfit with one of her favorite "babies" (a stuffed skunk of all things lol)....

This is one of my favorite pics of her at the moment :)

on her new tire swing (shaped like a horse) that daddy hung up on her swingset for her :)


Elijah's 10th birthday party :) I thought Eli was picking his nose, but on closer inspection he is giving the peace sign...I think....he might actually be going for a double pick....hm....

The boys had been trying to act all cool by looking "gangsta" and making the "west syyyyde" sign....Tink didn't quite get the concept, she just knew they crossed a couple fingers and did something with their arms....sigh

This is her "yay I am so excited" sarcastic face :) (note the mercer mayer...i think...Little Monsters shirt! can we say "early eighties"...she picked that out at her favorite place to shop, Goodwill on 99Cent kids clothes day lol)

Lane jammin on the porch after Tink's birthday party...

lol ok, I have never claimed that my kids are not dorks.....Elijah is fabulous at proving it! This was at his birthday party...

Not sure who he was blaming or what he was blaming them for...just wanted to reiterate the whole "dork" thing....they get it from mike's side....

Elijah is ALWAYS bugging my uncle for catfish...my uncle fishes nearly every night of the week, so whenever we go to my mom's house, Elijah calls Uncle Joe and asks if he has any catfish in the freezer....so that is what he got for his birthday, approx. 5-6 lbs of catfish hahahahaha he LOVED it....

but of course, every kid's favorite gift....moolah.....

Elijah kept saying he wanted a "giant hamburger" instead of a cake....so being the wonderful mom I am (uh hum) I made him a hamburger using 3-4 lbs of beef and a hawaiian loaf bun lol...

He desperately needed a haircut at his birthday party...here he is after his cut! I love love love the way he looks with shorter hair!


For Tink's birthday she wanted to be a "REAL" princess...she wanted a crown, but at 16 bucks a pop for the cheapest, we opted for pipe cleaners and pony beads and made our own!

yes, even 4 year olds love money...and acting like dr. evil from austin powers....

Eli & Tink...:)

My li'l brother Levi (USMC) and Tink

Tink & Lane

she was excited before everyone started singing, then she just got embarrassed lol





This is her at preschool...her new teachers aide "ms dara" as Tink calls her, is James' mom (see pic following the one below)...Tink is convinced that since the first day back after the blackout was her birthday that the school hired Ms Dara (Darla) as a birthday present for her...sigh...Tink is the one tied to the 4 birthday balloons ;)

THIS is tink with James...her first true crush...she loves carson but they are just best friends...she LOVES James lol...he is one of Lane's best friends...

More Princess Birthday Pics...



This was on her actual birthday we just had a mini cake :)

Lane now plays quads in the highschool band...he is too cool for pics....

Tink on the sticky wall at church during the Kidstuff kickoff ;)

sigh, they start so young now days....

Eli rolling OFF the sticky wall ;)

watermelon....yummmmmm

finally a smiling pic of lane

tink as the big bad wolf on her birthday at school...

her actual birthday, she wanted to wear her little "crown" (her tiara that she has had for ages)

eli guzzlin' at sonic lol


ok if you have made it this far, bless your heart!....no freebie yet (hopefully by the end of the week)...
Hurricane Ike hit us HARD (yes, I live in OHIO OHIO OHIO...near Cincinnati) we had wind gusts over 80 mph! Over a million homes without electricity for DAYS (it went out on Sunday the 14th and didn't come back on at our house until the evening of Wednesday the 17th!) They projected we wouldn't have power until Saturday, but praise God, we got it back Wednesday as we were heading out the door for church. AND (praise God again) it landed smack dab between my 2 babies' birthday parties...Eli's was on the 7th, Tink's was on the 21st lol.
There was so much destruction, but blessedly we didn't experience anything more than having to spend part of the bill money on groceries that we didn't have to cook & that didn't need refridgerated. The friday before I was talking to Carla Phillips and she was warning me about the gas prices going up to near 5 dollars a gallon and stations running out (in NC) so just to be safe, I ran to the gas station to fill up the car, went back with the truch and our gas cans (thinking we would get rain and need the gas for the mower). Well we got not a drop of rain, but we have a small generator that we had to use during the Blackout so those cans of gas were a Godsend! And when the blackout occured people started panicking and as soon as ONE gas station opened up, they flocked there! Lines were hours long and gas was running out quick, yet we had 2 full tanks of gas and 3 gas cans because God loved me enough to bless me with friends who give me the "heads up" when I need it ;) LOVE YOU CARLA!
Because of our financial situation here at home, we also qualified for the disaster relief fund that was set up and now have enough groceries to last us a month! Which is a whole other blessing since mike lost a lot of work time due to the winds/blackout (he is a cable installer and they more or less get paid by what TYPE of job they do and they spent a week just rerunning lines which is the least paid job!)......so God continues to take care of us, love us, and just be blantantly caring and merciful towards us!!!...and by "us" I mean ALL of us (you included ;)...look around you, I am sure you will see how many ways you are blessed!...if not, email me, I am sure I can point a few out to you)
We are also flu-free now! (the bug "flu" around our home the entire week before the storm ugh)
hm...so how has sept been for YOU so far?!

Chance to win.....

A $25 gift certificate for BellaScraps Magazine is going to be given to TWO lucky people on Holly Vanderburg's blog! (and she even gives you THREE chances to be one of those 2!!!!) :)
All you have to do for your first chance is to go post a comment HERE
Normally I don't do these kind of blogs, but I did this one for 2 reasons...
1. I would LOVE to win the g.c. and this gives me another chance....
2 (and most importantly) she is a fellow Christian, and I am always up for giving notice to a Sister's blog!

So jump on over there and leave a comment! Hurry, she is picking the winners tomorrow!!!!!

**Check back tomorrow (Monday), because I have birthday pics to show you!!! My Eli turned 10 on 9/1 and my Tink turned 4 on 9/18!!!! So I have pics pics pics!!!!!.....**

Not only that, I have a HUGE testimony to share with you!!!!

If only in my dreams.....

Hello my blog buddies :) long time no blog huh? (seems to be a recurring theme with me this year :( )....Just wanted to let everyone know that I (and the young'uns and the hubb) are all alive and mostly well lol (nasty flu bug/allergies/colds)...Have all 3 kids and 2 nephews back in school so my house is much quieter during the days and much more hectic in the evenings, so I guess it all evens out in the end lol. Lane is in 8th grade this year, Eli is in 4th, and Tink is in her 2nd yr of pre-k. She and Carson are in the same class again and this year she actually likes going!!! What a difference a summer makes lol...
I wanted to announce that I will be designing again very soon :) probably not en masse but at least lil bits now and again :)
I also wanted to point out a kit that is absolutely gorgeous and goes for a good cause....Most of you know my thoughts on "charity" kits (I don't buy unless I am absolutely confident that the people involved are 100% legit). Well, I can tell you that I back this one 150%...Levi (my baby brother) spent Christmas in Iraq, and although we sent him stuff there were many in his platoon that did not get so much as a card from home saying "we love you & miss you".....so run over to The Scrap Orchard and get a headstart on your Christmas cards/layouts/gifts....or honestly this kit is versatile enough that you could do fall layouts (or any layout) with it....








This is for Kami...it was a photoscavenger hunt for "pics you already have in your stash"!.....I had every single one except a stinkin diet pepsi can!!!!! (I had to stretch a bit for the red door and the yellow car, but that was as specific as they were lol.....so i have a red CAR door and a yellow icecream car hahahahaha....most of these categories I could have posted 10 pics for (even the green hair one!)


A photo of a man in a tuxedo *hub & his best friend (mike bryant & mike bryan) at mike bryan's wedding....me & hub before my jr. prom ...wow really told my age there huh?*

A photo of a child playing in the mud *lane & elijah were in the middle of "painting" each other, that is why he is laughing so hard (b/c they got caught before they were done...they wanted to "surprise" me)

A photo of a sleeping animal **my zoe girl and my sadly missed zeker**

A photo of a VERY BAD hair day **tink last year...every day is potentially a very bad hair day with that girl**

A photo with a yellow car in it **yellow ICE CREAM cars count right?...my li'l brother and lane when lane was about 2**

A photo of someone on top of something very tall (or high) **lane & tink at the climby thing at the park.....Tink's first time on "planktons plunge" at King's Island (I have some pics from up in the eiffel tower replica there but no good ones lol)**

A photo of a serious fashion "DON'T" **my mom's cousin Sally & her hub John....hot pink sombrero....'nuff said**

A photo with a red door in it **my cousin heather & my tink...does a red CAR door count?**

A photo of someone wearing a blue dress **me from a time long ago and a memory far away :P...my jr. year homecoming dance lol**

A photo of someone with green hair **go vikings! Lane & Eli all done up for the kick off parade for their school football season back in 2003 (i think)**

A photo with at least 15 people in it **Women of Faith Conference '08, Columbus Ohio...I am pretty sure there were more than 15 people in this pic :) did you say 15 or 15000?**

A photo of someone who REALLY didn't want their picture taken **papaw's fly was down and he thought my mamaw took an "embarrassing" pic of him lol**

A photo with a diet pepsi can in it (ha!!! does anyone drink diet pepsi!?!)
A photo with a famous person in it
**my kids with the Contemporary Christian group Avalon! and my li'l sis and I with....duhhhh, Abe Lincoln (doesn't get much more famous than THAT) **

A photo with two or more people wearing matching outfits (team uniforms don't count!)
**2 of my great aunts were often dressed alike lol....that is my papaw in the back, he looked thrilled there too huh?**


**Remember today to pray for those who lost loved ones 7 yrs ago today....pray for our nation, the upcoming elections (no matter which side of the party line you will be voting from), pray for our troops, and pray for each other.....we were all changed in some way or another by those attacks, never forget it.**