YEAH I'm home

It was a great trip. Emily was a blast. CKU was so much fun. LOVED Ali's class! It rocked. And of course loved the Tim classes. Everything was great. The hotel is the biggest I have ever seen as far as walking and the gardens were just beautiful! Our dorm placed second which was fun! I thought we did a pretty darn good job. Emily won over all on the layout contest AND the album cover! She did fantastic!

I got home to find a comp book of Scrapbooking and Beyond Fall 2007 and lordy was I shocked to see my layout on the COVER!! Can you believe that! I had to pick myself up off the floor!

Been trying to unpack and of course had to go back to work today. Back to every day life. Tuesday I start back on Physical Therapy and Wed I have a dr's appointment. I've not really talked with anyone about it....to scared to I guess....but...I have a place that I am worried might be skin cancer. I am praying so hard that it is not. I really didn't want to say anything to my hubby until the dr's appointment is over. Just scary ya know. Anyway....here comes my pumpkin off the bus......

have a great day!

another weekend

at nanny's cleaning.
Yesterday I inherited my dad's dark room equipement for photography and my great grandmothers art/drafting table :) Now to build a room for it all.
Today I managed to save a desk chair from 1896 from the dump :)
It's been hot and exhausting but very rewarding with lots of fun memories.
Now to get ready and packed for CKU!!

so much going on

today my internet friend Rachel is flying in from Oregon! I will pick her up and bring her to the house. Then tomorrow we can spend a little time together before she goes to her hotel. And then just a few days left until Emily flys in so that we can head to CKU :)

I am in the bottom 4 this week at Scrappers Bliss for So You Think You Can Scrap. I will be scrapping for my life. Results will be in tomorrow. Kinda nervous. I thought I had did okay this week but I guess not. And the next challenge layout....well it might be a ...either you like it or you don't :(
So this might be the end of the road for me. Sure would love to be a Bliss Girl but not sure I can make it to the final end.

This weekend will be our next round in nanny's house and the store. So much still to do.

Today is round 2

of working in Nanny's house. Hard to believe she has been gone over a week now. We started cleaning her house yesterday. We really didn't make a dent. My nanny was a collector...hmmmm I get it naturally then....but she LOVED glass. She had depression glass, Carnival glass...OLD avon glass...she collected liqeuor bottles from the 1800's and yes some still had liqeuor in them...gross...she had a huge 8x8 window in her front house that was FULL of glass bottles. Cobalt blue :) Love that stuff....to green...to pinks...you name it. she had it.Churns...old butter churns...about 8 of those and that is just the beginning of them all. We took pictures of each one and then boxed it up. Put the picture out on the front of the box....that way when they family goes thru them we can just look at the picture and request that bottle, etc. We boxed up 26 boxes yesterday.
She had paintings that were from my great grandmother (I requested one of these...I hope I get it). Quilts....sewing galore. I even found cards that my kids had sent her when they were 5 and 6 :)
My mom took all the genealogy stuff...there was TONS.
But we still have a long way to go...I worked 7 hours there yesterday but my mom and 2 aunts worked about 10. Today we will do some more and also work on thank you cards.
It was hard going there yesterday. And yes we all cried going thru her things but we also laughed...which I think is very important. first we laughed at how crazy nanny was to have all this stuff...lol...but then we laughed at how special these things were to us and the good times we remembered.

Hi There

first I want to thank everyone for the hugs, calls, emails, cards and prayers over the last week. I can't express enough how much each and every one of them meant so much to me. It's never easy losing a loved one...never ever...but to have friends who think about you and your family and care...it helps ease the pain a little. So thank you. And my family thanks you.

this weekend was busy. Everything that we had been putting to the side had to get done. My aunt, myself and my cousin all loaded up with about 3 dozen roses from Nanny's sprays.....and took them to Fort Payne Alabama on Saturday. We found a 74 year old lady that makes necklace beads from roses. So when we are done....we will have a necklace that will mean more to us than any other piece of jewelry. It should be a few weeks from now. I promise to show you a picture when they are completed.

Thursday...I scrapped. I needed to. I did a page on my nanny. Just a sweet page I thought....and on the advice of my hubby...I submitted it to a mag....and they liked it too :) for me...this is a great way to honor my Nanny as she loved art and loved to see us grandkids be artistic. I would always tell her about my pages and she loved to hear about it. I think she would love this too...don'tcha think :)

last night was tough.....

man was it hard. All the family (tons of us) gathered in the room to watch her picture video. Pictures from 1920's all the way up to this past Christmas. Such wonderful memories. So many of us were laughing...then crying...remembering....it was a wonderful family moment. We spent so much time in there watching the video that we almost missed our private viewing time.

so many people were there. People that new me from a little squirt. People I didn't know. Friends from work. the flowers were beautiful. She so loved flowers.

There was a very special moment.....my dad's friend David. He came up and gave me a hug. He told me a long time ago.....31 years ago..after my grandfather's funeral....a few days later...I came up to his truck and looked up to this "over 6 foot" man and said "Where is my pawpaw"...he looked down at this little blonde headed girl and told her "He's not here darlin...he's with Jesus."......so yesterday when that grown up blonde headed girl hugged that still very tall man...I looked up to him and said "Where's my Nanny".......and he looked down at me and said...darlin....she is in the same place. Rejoicing with Jesus.

A little bit of heaven

is tons brighter today with its new addition of a special angel.
I love you nanny.
We will miss you soooo much.