Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Happy 70th Birthday Nana!

Doug’s mom Ruth turned 70 on Sunday.  What a joy it is to get to watch our girls with her. Each girl has a very special and yet very different bond with Nana. We know that these are the days that make for treasured memories.

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We look forward to celebrating many, many more birthdays with Nana!

Friday, September 25, 2009

My OWN Blog Design!!

I finally figured it out! I created my own blog design! YIPPEE!! If you love my blog background, let me know.. if you don't well don't burst my bubble :)

I am working on web design. My website for that is under construction.

Also, I have lots more fun stuff in the works. But only one victory a day.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

A handmade box and a set of cards for Thankful Thursday

100_1594 Large Web view Yesterday I had the opportunity to have lunch with a friend who is an inspiration to me.  I wanted to give her a little something, so this is what I made.  To bad I didn’t get it finished in time for lunch, but I’ll drop it by for her today :)  Isn’t it wonderful to have good friends!  I am so thankful for friends for which we can share our lives.

I made the box using Tresa Black’s Card box tutorial.  I really like how simple and easy it was to make! The papers and color scheme come from Close To My Heart’s Caprice papers.  I had some of the stickease leftover from scrapbook pages and think that decorating with these is a breeze!

The card designs and stamps are from CTMH’s Everyday Celebration, the September card kit.  I LOVE this set!  And I love how great it looks with other papers and colors.

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This was a pretty simple project over all to make, maybe I can make some of these for myself soon :)

Friday, September 18, 2009

ABC’s for a baby shower

100_1574-1 So remember the family that got the baby boy to adopt and then it looked like they might not get to keep him… well, they have him and everything looks like they are his forever family!! So we are having a baby shower for them tomorrow at my house.  I wanted to do something fun and special, so I made this set of ABC’s.

The mom, Amy is an elementary teacher, so I figure she will appreciate the letters and can come up with something to do with them :)

Each letter is on it’s own piece of 6”x6” chipboard and I thought would be great as a wall hanging or clipped together with rings or something.  The backside of each letter is covered with paper as well.  They come together as a great mix and match album type thing. 

Originally I was going to have all the guests sign each letter and use it for a sign in sheet at the shower, but after all the work and since they are just so cute a friend and I decided that they were too cute for people to mess up! So now I still have to make the sign in page.. oh well.

Materials are mostly from CTMH’s Animal Cookies line.  I LOVE these papers!!  I did add in a couple of other papers as I needed more pages. The alphabet is your standard teacher pop-out letters.

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See and you all thought I was just taking it easy not doing anything!  I have decided that crafting with a 4 week old, a 4 year old and a 9 year old is really hard and will probably happen only in the middle of the night for quite a while.  

I do have lots of in-progress items that I am hoping to finish soon, but man am I tired! I have to remind myself to take it easy and enjoy these precious moments with baby Kylie because in the blink of an eye she will be 4 years old and not need me to hold her all the time.

And just in case you all needed a sweet Kylie Faith fix…100_1538-1 here she is at 4 weeks.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

A Note from Maddie: Why supporting kidney research is important!

Hello! My name is Maddie McLemore and I am nine years old and I have kidney disease. maddieOn June 4, 2006 I went to the doctor because I was really sick. That was the beginning of a summer of doctors and tests. I was so sick all I did was stay in bed. Finally I got better but we still didn’t know what was wrong.

That was the beginning of a new life.

In February 2009, I finally got the news that I was diagnosed with two kidney diseases.

I will hope you will sponsor me in the kidney awareness walk.

Maddie McLemore

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As you can imagine, kidney disease has become an important factor in our life.  If you had asked me about kidneys and how they worked and why they were important and things like that prior to Maddie getting sick, like most people, I would not be able to tell you.  However, today, kidneys and their impact on daily life is a well known topic in our household.

Because of this, our family has chosen to participate in the 4th Annual 2009 DaVita Kidney Awareness Run/WalkTM to raise awareness about kidney disease. We need your support and encouragement!

Over 26 million adult Americans have CKD and 90% of them do not even know it.  By raising funds and awareness at this event, we are supporting The Kidney TRUSTTM (this year’s event beneficiary) in its mission to provide rapid kidney disease screenings at no charge to thousands of people, many of whom would not have discovered this silent epidemic until it was too late.

Together we can make an even greater impact.

What can you do?

Give. Make a donation to our fundraising campaign by clicking here.

Join Me. I would love to have you join me in this event. Advance registration for the run/walk is free, and we can even get screened for kidney disease by The Kidney TRUST at the event at no charge. Register today.

Spread the Word. Help us raise awareness about kidney disease. Even if you are not registering for the event, you can still create a Fundraising Page. You can then send an email to your friends and family educating them about kidney disease, and giving them a chance to donate too.

Thanks again for your support!

The McLemore Family

Friday, September 11, 2009

Kylie’s Birth Announcement

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Today I addressed envelopes for Kylie’s announcements.  It’s a really good thing that I started making them back in July as she is three weeks already and I’ve only had a few minutes at a time to glue on the pictures! 

I really like how the announcement turned out!  The template is from CTMH Originals book.  I adapted  it to fit a standard sized envelope.  All of the supplies are C TMH as well.  I just love the Emporium papers!!

These are pretty stout little cards, but surprisingly they mail with just one stamp!

I made 40 and am all out.. next batch mat half to just be computer printed cards.. :(  Oh well, we can only do so much..

Next week I am going to start crafting again, I am having withdrawal symptoms!  Maybe it has something to do with the fact that my new stamps will be here next week…

Have a great weekend.

Emily

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Thankful Thursday: Growing Children and Families

I have so much to be thankful for!  I don’t post very often, but with so  much wonderful in life, I need to remember to be thankful each and every day!

I can’t believe Kylie is 3 weeks old!  She weighs 10 pounds and is adorable! Her sister’s still hover unmercifully, but I know that will end sooner or later.

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Our  house is also finally getting well!  Last week everyone but me was on breathing treatments, 2 are currently on steroids and their 2nd round of antibiotics, and then we even had a bought of stomach virus mixed in for good measure. But as of today, I think we might just survive!

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And then there is Hudson to be thankful for!  My sister Libby, her husband Mike and their daughter Abby arrived home with new son Hudson just last night!!

Here they are in a park in Korea.
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Isn’t he precious!

Wow, so much for which we have to be thankful!

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Mommy and Baby pictures.. help me decide which ones to order!!

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Yesterday Kylie  and I got our pictures taken at DP Studios.  I love the pictures!!  These are all unedited proofs, so the ordered pictures will of course be clear and all that jazz.

I can’t order all of them, so please help me out.. which ones do you like best?

Emily