Happy New Year

It's almost 2010. . .

It's a New Year here in a matter of just a few hours and I'd like to WISH all of you the most AWESOME NEW YEAR . . . EVER!!! May it bring much Joy and Happiness to you and yours!

Benjamin's ABC Picture Book

This is the post I wanted to post before we headed to Florida but I had to retake the pictures because somehow my husband lost them when he was updating my computer. No worries though because these pictures turned out better anyway.

I had lots of fun making this ABC Picture Book for my Grandson this year for Christmas. I have yet to give it to him as we were apart during the holiday but I will be giving it to him in the next few days when I see him. I know he's going to love it because he love's books and looking at pictures too.

The idea for the book came from a scrapbooking type blog I came across a few months ago now. She had taken the pictures that coordinated with each letter of the alphabet and made a scrapbook page for each letter. She used at least one picture on each page. Then she decorated the pages with paper and stickers before laminating each page. Then the holes were punched and the book was bound with either ribbon or metal rings, I can't quite remember. This was such a great idea and it really resonated with me. I hope you enjoy it and remember that you can file it away for a special birthday or next Christmas. I'm sorry I can't give credit where credit is due, but if you had the idea and you happen across this blog post feel free to let me know and I will make sure to link your post about it. It's an awesome idea!!!!

I've made a few books on my MAC and I love the results as you can see from the pictures below. You may use any of my IDEAS for each LETTER in making your own book or just customize the letter to your own children or granchildren's lives, pictures, and experiences. I LOVE taking pictures so I had a lot to choose from for most of the letters and only had one picture for some of the other letters. I was lucky to have the majority of pictures that I used already taken and only had to get a picture or two from my daughter (the mom).

Benjamin's ABC Book
(Front of Book Jacket Cover)

A is for my Auntie Kenna & Auntie Ariel.

B is for Benjamin.

C is for Christmas and Candy.

D is for Dirt and Dinosaurs.

E is for Easter Eggs.

F is for Father's and Families. They are Fantastic.

G is for Grammi & Grampin. They are really GREAT!

H is for Hats and Haircuts.

I is for Ice Cream. I love ice cream!

J is for Juice. The kind Grammi makes.

K is for Kora. My sister she is.

L is for Love. I LOVE to Play!

M is for My Mother. She's the Very Best!

N is for "Grammi" Noodles. Nummy Num Num!

O is for Outside. I love to be Outside!

P is for Pirates. Arrrr Matey!

Q is for Quilts that Grammi makes for me.

R is for Remembering that Families are Forever!

S is for Scary Spiders. I'll save you Kenna & .....

T is for Tinkering, Toys, & Trains.

U is for Uncle Mark. I love hanging out with him.

V is for a Velociraptor named Benji-Raptor.

W is for Water. Way Wet & Wild Fun!!!

X Marks the Spot on My Map.

Y is for YOU and I definitely LOVE YOU!!!

Z is for Zoo. I LOVE the ZOO!!

The END!

Back of the jacket cover.

49...

It's my birthday today and my daughter's as well.

I'm another year older and wiser too! LOL!

Birthday Wishes to All of You with December Birthdays!!

I've been so busy this holiday season and I want to apologize for not blogging much but I want you to know that I've enjoyed keeping up with all of your wonderful holiday posts. Thanks for sharing.

We're headed to Disneyworld tomorrow to celebrate our birthdays and enjoy the Christmas Season together. Everyone is packed and ready to go. It's really going to be hard to get to sleep tonight with all of the excitement.

I'm going to stay up late tonight and do a few posts before I leave tomorrow. They will pop up this week sometime so, keep an eye out for them.

Late Night Update: I was going to do a few other posts before I left but my husband upgraded the operating system on our mac to Snow Leopard and then he decided to uninstall the program. It's complicated, anyway, I don't have access to the current pictures I was going to blog about. So, that means this is my last post until I get back. Sorry about that.

Merry Christmas to all of you!!

The Best Gift Ever!

If I could give each of you a gift for Christmas this year it would be the "Spirit of Christmas." If you watch the attached video you will understand my thoughts and feelings at this special time of year.

Get some tissue before you watch it though, it's a touching message and a sweet reminder of the meaning of Christmas. I also, want to send my love and best wishes for each of you. You have inspired me, taught me, made me laugh, given me comfort, encouraged me, supported me, and I have felt your friendship through the comments you leave. Thank you for always being positive and sharing your goodness. I strongly believe that we can help each other and support each other through our kind words and our kind deeds.

I was talking with a few co-workers today and I shared a few life experiences that have helped me become a better person (I'm still becoming). We were talking about life and not being judgemental. I believe that we all have enough challenges in our lives and so instead of passing judgement on one another we should take the higher road and give each other a hall pass and ask how can we help instead of turning our heads in judgement.

This is how I see it in my head . . .

Envision yourself standing on the edge of a cliff

You look over the edge and it's so far down that you know you wouldn't live if you were to fall.

Now imagine feeling the panic that would come as you feel yourself teetering on that edge.

You SCREAM for help and are relieved when you see someone coming to your aid.

Then suddenly, the person that comes to help you actually tries to push you off the cliff instead of pulling you away.

Have any of you ever felt this way? I have and it's so sad to feel someone judge you incorrectly instead of seeing past your differences and loving you anyway.

Well, I've told myself and reminded myself that I want to be the one that pulls a person away from the edge not the person who pushes a person over the edge. This holiday season let's all try to be more mindful of what we can do to help each other along our journey in life because as we go along the path we will find ourselves and others that may be hanging in the balance.

Remember there are. . .

Those that need a word of encouragement, not judgment.

Those that need a hug, not a shove.

Those that need lifting, not dropping.

Those that need a bit of sunshine, not a sour attitude.

Those that need a kind word, not criticism.

Those that need LOVE not HATE!!

Let us all be more Christlike this Christmas Season and into the New Year. Let's see how it can change our lives and the lives of those around us. May you have a joyous Christmas and Holiday Season with your family and loved ones.







P.S. Life has had me near the edge of late (too busy) and I'm managing my stress by hardly blogging and doing very little sewing. Just keeping things in perspective and enjoying the season. I hope you all understand my pathetic blogging lately and I hope to be able to make a few other posts before next week when we head off for the holidays with our family. I'm looking forward to the time away with my husband and my kids!!!