Catching some ZZZZZ's

Aubrey got to come into mommy and daddy's bed this morning and catch some extra Z's. There wasn't much room for mommy, so she got up and took this cute picture :)

In case you're interested......

If you're interested in trying out some digital scrapping on your own, I thought I'd give you the info. I have a program called Broderbund's Creating Keepstakes Scrapbook Designer Platinum. I think it was like $40 at Office Depot. They probably carry it at Wal Mart too. I also found these two great websites for freebies shabby princess and cottage arts. I haven't downloaded them all and just found these on Sunday, but both seem to give a lot of freebies. With the ones I've worked with so far, I just import the papers as an image into my scrapping program and work with them from there. Here are some things I made with just the program (none of the downloaded scrapping stuff).

Digital Scrapping

So, I've been tinkering with my digital scrapping program for a while now, but I didn't really like the backgrounds or art elements. I'm not a "real" scrapbooker, so what it did worked just fine for me. Yesterday, I decided to try to download some freebies from the digital scrapbooking sites. I was very pleased with the different papers and various elements that I could get for free. (Justin says they're free now, but won't be for long because I'll start wanting more and buying them :) ) For now, I'm pretty satisfied with what I downloaded. Check out the cute thank you card I made.

Life is good!

So far, we've had a great start to a wonderful weekend! Last night Aubrey and I went shopping at the outlets in Tulare with Grandma Kim and Uncle Kurt. Aubrey was such a good girl while mommy went shopping and just played with her toys and the coasters when we went out to dinner. I got 2 shirts and a skirt for $33 at Banana Republic-- they were having FABULOUS sales! Then of course, Aubrey got spoiled by Grandma Kim and I. Grandma got her the GLAM sunglasses she's wearing in the pictures :)
Aubrey got up once to eat in the middle of the night and then slept in till 7am....much appreciated :) This morning, Justin got up early to work in the yard, which he has looking GREAT! Then he went over to our friends, Brent and Julie's, house to help Brent work on putting up some crown moulding in their nursery. Although that proved to be a little more complicated than he remembered it being, I think he had a good time. Aubrey and I walked over ( they live around the corner) to see them at lunch time and had fun talking with them and Julie's parents.
The weather has been beautiful all day, so when Justin got home, we went for a walk and we all wore our shades. The house is clean, our girl is happy and life is good! What else could we ask for?!

Toothy smile

Check out my two teeth!

....and my two chins :)

Bummer!

...or should I say "Bumper". Our day started off on a sour note. I didn't pull my car into the garage last night, so this morning when Justin was attempting to squeeze past my car without hitting the side of the garage... OOPS he hit my car :I So now we have two cars with damaged bumpers. Justin was REALLY upset about it, but it didn't really bother me. That was probably because it's usually me who causes the damage to our cars and this time it wasn't. I guess I also am counting my blessing. It is much better to have this kind of accident than a real one. You know what they say, don't sweat the small stuff :)

Mmmm, Mmmm Good

Aubrey has just started eating cereal on a regular basis. In fact, this morning she was so excited about it that she was whining for me to bring it to her as I was mixing it. I cannot believe how quickly she's growing. She finally cut her first tooth today. YIPPIE! We could feel it just barely scraping the surface for a couple of days now, but it FINALLY made it all the way through.

It seems like it was just yesterday that she would lay on my shoulder as I burped her, still in her deep newborn sleep. In reality, it's been 6 months, HALF A YEAR. It makes me sad! I mean I've enjoyed every moment of it, but I'll never have it back. It makes me question whether I really enjoyed every aspect of the first 6 months. Should I have held her just a little more? Let her sleep with us one more night?... Of course I know that even if I had, she would still be 6 months and I would still feel like it passed too quickly. Although I'm in no hurry for her to grow up, I really am savoring each milestone. God gave us the perfect gift with Aubrey. She's like the gift that keeps on giving and everyday I get a new surprise. Who knows what tomorrow may hold :)

Oh what a beautiful morning, Oh what a beautiful day...

Today it was beautiful outside. I think the high is 82*! My friend Alicia has her nephew on Tues. and Thurs. so we made plans to meet at the park. It was great fun! Brogan's a little to young to climb everything alone, but he still loves playing outside. It was so fun that both kids conked out on the way home :)

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Helen A. McNulty
March 4, 1924-April 13, 2006

By far, the most difficult thing I've had to deal with in my adult life was my Grandma Helen passing away last year. Even now I have the coat, blouse and skirt she was wearing on the day she went to the hospital hanging in the closet. Occasionally, I reach in and smell it because it still smells like her. We were always close with Grandma. I lived with her when I was in Kindergarten and spent the majority of summers during my childhood split between her house in Pennsylvania and my dad's house. My grandmas was about the most stubborn Ukrainian lady you'll ever meet. I think it was her strong will that helped her survive another year and a half after her massive heart attack and triple bypass. Or maybe it was just God's will. God granted us another year to be close to her after she moved here to Bakersfield so we could take care of her. Christy and Jed (bless their souls) allowed Grandma to move in with them after a whirlwind of "care" facilities proved that they really didn't care much for their patients. She struggled with her Congestive Heart Failure, but wasn't about to let it change her. She ate salami, pierogies (with a ton of butter and onions), and pickles despite doctors orders (we even found a jar hidden away in her room after she passed away). She craved independence so she figured out public transportation for the disabled and had them pick her up 3 times a week to go to Bingo for countless hours. She loved little Mikie (what she called Brogan) more than anything and he loved her too. She even loved Suzie (Aubrey) even though they never met. She hated these "new" names that people called their babies so she created her own names. Usually when my grandma knew she was getting sick she would have us take her to the hospital, but make sure the doctor knew she needed to make it to Bingo the next day so she DIDN'T want to be admitted. At the end, God was calling her and she wanted the doctors to admit her. She knew it was time. In the ICU she told us she saw her mom and would stare toward the roof like she was watching the angels. Although our hearts were breaking as we watched her drift from this earth, today we celebrate her birthday and know that she's having a party in heaven with God. I've sure she's playing Bingo :)
Happy Birthday Grandma!

Love,
Barbie, Christy, Justin, Jed, Mikie and Suzie

Family

Yesterday, I went to my cousin Lisa's bridal shower. As always it was so great to see her and her older sister Michelle, who lives in Portland. I don't get to see them often enough. On my way home I was thinking about all my cousins on my dad's side of the family and how it always feels like we pick up where we left off. We can go years without seeing... or for that matter talking to eachother... and yet when we're together, it feels so comfortable. I started thinking about families and how important they are. As adults, they become even more important. Our siblings and parents become our best friends. Aunts, uncles and cousins are staples in our lives who really know us... and love us despite what they know about us :) And the memories of our years growing up together are a treasure that seems to unite us forever. When I was at my grandmas over New Year's, I was looking through the albums and it was great to relive all the camping trips, holidays and summer vacations. It makes me want to have at least 3 kids so that my grandchildren won't miss out on all the fun with cousins. It really makes me want to have more family reunions where we can take on the role of our parents and talk about the "olden days" when we were kids. I sure wish we could live closer and spend more time together... but until then, I'll enjoy the memories.

Little Lisa is the sweet blond behind me.

Shell, Me and Christy with Grandma in Bowman, ND.

Christy, Me, Michelle-Fam. Picture:)