Faith in a Seed

Deb, at The Dapper Doxie, has out a new springy kit call Secret Garden. The kit has some really lovely garden graphics and she will have it on sale for a very limited time this coming week, along with the rest of the products in her store. I haven't scrapped any of my heritage photos for a while and decided the kit would go perfectly with this picture my mom found last time I was up at their place. This picture is of my grandfather, (a couple of years before he passed away), with my mom and my aunt. It looks like they were all enjoying a task many of us do at this time of the year, getting the garden ready for planting. The quote I used is from Henry David Thoreau, "Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders."

Faith in a Seed digital kit credits: Secret Garden from The Dapper Doxie
Fonts Used: Rockwell and Jacki's Hand

We are having a nice long weekend. The weather has been lovely so far and the fire ban in the county was lifted, so we've been able to have a fire in the backyard the past couple of days. Raquel had an extra day off from school and was thrilled when we sent up the tent for her. Both girls have been having fun playing in it, although it is still a little too cold here by the mountains for Raquel to be sleeping in it yet. She tried it out last night and ended up coming in around 11:30 PM with a cold nose. We plan to get a little work done around the yard tomorrow and get the camper ready to go for some excursions. Monday is suppose to be cool and rainy so the last day of the long weekend might have to be spent inside. Hope you are having a terrific Victoria Day weekend. Thanks for dropping by my blog!

What Lies In Your Heart

What a beautiful day it was today, lots of sunshine and the high was 9 C. Quite the change from last Thursday, when it was so cold the school bus didn't run. We also had about a foot of fresh snow last week, (a lot of which melted today). The warm temperatures are supposed to last for most of the week, Chinooks are terrific! Rather the opposite of the adage "In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb". That phrase though, apparently has nothing much to do with the weather. It is a 19th century English proverb, based on traditional weather patterns. Actually it refers to the relative positions on the horizon, of the constellations Leo and Aries, at the beginning and end of the March. Either way, warmer temperatures are just around the corner and it is difficult, to believe, it is already time to spring the clocks ahead this coming weekend.

Deb, at The Dapper Doxie has out a charming new kit, with an interesting color palette; blue, green and orange. Orange is not typically one of my favorite colors, but I did manage to work a little bit of it into this page. Raquel likes how it turned out, but she figures that I could have put more on the page. I had to laugh at her a bit, as I was trying not to clutter it up. The quote is from a book by Dr. Rallie McAllister called Riding for Life, "Your horse holds you accountable only for what lies in your heart."

What Lies in Your Heart digital kit credits: Country Lane from The Dapper Doxie
Fonts used: OCR A Extended & Tagettes.

It will be another busy week at our house with swimming lessons and no school again this Friday. We are taking advantage of that and Raquel is going for her semi annual eye exam. She doesn't always use her glasses and I am hoping eventually she may not need them at all. Now that it has warmed up, Ayden & I are planning to spend some time outside. I think Ayden has cabin fever, she sure has been temperamental lately. She is sure going to enjoy spring this year. Thanks for dropping by my blog, enjoy your week!

P.S. I love you!

February is Heart month, if you are interested, you can check out the following links to find out more ways to keep your heart healthy, the Heart & Stroke Foundation and The Heart Truth. Of course, February's most celebrated holiday, Valentine's day, is also around the corner. So remember to wear some red on February 14th to show your support of the Heart & Stroke Foundation.

Deb, at The Dapper Doxie has a lovely new kit in her store this month, that is just perfect for romantic occasions (and it's on sale for a limited time). I decided to do another page for my heritage album, because I love these old shots of my mom and dad. They have been a couple for over 40 years and I really admire them for that. These pictures, of my parents, were taken before they were married. My dad was quite proud of that Comet Capri, as it was his first new car. The journaling reads: Barbara gave Eckhard this picture while they were engaged. She wrote him the little note in the locket, on the back of the picture. These pictures were taken in the spring of 1967.

P.S. I love you! digital kit credits: Parisian Rose from the Dapper Doxie.
Fonts used: Mutlu, Porcelain & Whisper Write.

We had a fairly quiet week this week. Ayden is getting much better at floating and blowing bubbles in the pool. She is getting a lot more confident in the water, although I'm not totally sure that is a good thing, as she is such an independent little person. Raquel had a winter carnival today at school this afternoon, to finish off the week. She had a good time and especially enjoyed the fact that there were no classes pretty much all day. We went and did some shopping the other day and I got myself a new external hard drive. I found a good deal on a terabyte that I couldn't pass up. So I spent some time cleaning out files and rearranging them this week. Hopefully now my desktop will perform better, as it's memory was almost full. We are supposed to have another mild weekend, which will be so nice. Hope you enjoy your weekend also!

The Dance

Happy New Years!!! It's been rather busy at our house with everyone home over the holidays. I think Raquel's actually looking forward to school starting again on Monday, so she can go and hang out with her friends. We took our tree down the other day, so we could set up the "inside bouncer" the girls got for Christmas. This cold weather has certainly been keeping everyone indoors. It looks like we will finally be getting a break from the cold weather we've been experiencing. It will be nice to have some milder temperatures this week, maybe Ayden will get a chance to go outside and enjoy the snow for a change.

I decided to do another page for my children's heritage album. My maternal grandparents were married in Saskatchewan and soon after moved to British Columbia. Although Mike & Lena shared a life filled with many new experiences, their time together was relatively short. Lena passed away from an extended illness not long before her 36th birthday. Leaving Mike alone with their 3 young children to raise by himself. I imagine it must have been a very heart breaking and difficult time for the young family.

The journalling reads:

In 1942, shortly after Metro (Mike) & Lena’s marriage and subsequent move to the interior of British Columbia, they had this professional wedding portrait taken.

Together, Mike & Lena had four children, Peter, Joyce and Barbara, as well as an infant daughter who predeceased them in 1947.

The couple was married for 13 years, until Lena passed away in 1955.

The Dance digital kit credits: Wedding Dreams from The Dapper Doxie (some items colorized).
Fonts used:Papyrus, French Script MT and Edwardian Script ITC.

Wishing you health, prosperity and happiness in 2009. Have a nice weekend!

Moments

There are all kinds of moments in life. Some we wish we could forget and some we will always treasure. Memories can fade over time, but the moments captured in pictures can not be changed. Perhaps that is why it is said, "A picture is worth a thousand words."

This is the only picture I have of my father with my grandfather. (I love the little details, like the toys my dad and uncle are holding.) Not long after it was taken, my grandfather, Karl, returned to service and was later declared missing. The journaling reads: "This picture was taken on Karl's final leave home during WWII. (left to right) Hans Joachim, Elfriede, Eckhard, Karl & Arno. Shortly after it was taken, Elfriede and the children fled to a refugee camp in Denmark. The Russian soldiers ransacked their home in Penkun, Pasewalk, Germany. The marks on the picture are from their boots. Relatives recovered the picture and returned it after the war."

Family Moment 1943 digital kit credits: A New Beginning Digital Scrapbook kit & freebie from The Dapper Doxie
Fonts used: Kunster Script, Narkisim & Pristina

This week at our house was rather a long one. Ayden, Raquel and Vern have all been sick. Raquel stayed home from school most of the week, but was starting to feel better Thursday. Ayden finally seems to be feeling better today and more like her sweet little self. She REALLY dislikes taking any medicine, so it's pretty hard to give her anything to make her feel better. We had a pretty good snowfall earlier this week, but the temperatures are supposed to be mild, so most of it will probably melt away before we get more.

Thanks for stopping by my blog, I hope you have a nice weekend!

From this Moment On

Deb, at Doxie Designs joined in the Digi Shop Hop Crop this month, and the theme was Weddings. She made this lovely kit, called True Love, to go with all the other designer kits. Each kit is only $2.00 for the month of November, so hurry over and get hers.

Deb gave me the opportunity to play with True Love and make up a couple of quick pages, that she is offering as a posting bonus. These pictures were taken at our niece's wedding. Andrea was such a beautiful bride. Thank you very much Andrea for letting me use your pictures.

From this Moment On I & II digital kit credits: True Love from Doxie Designs
Fonts used: Porcelain, Monotype Corsiva & Dolphin

Ayden & I spent the week running around getting winter boots and vehicle maintenance done. Just in time, it would seem, as we woke up to a beautiful blanket of snow yesterday. It was probably about time, but it wouldn't have hurt my feeling much if the snow could have stayed away for another week or two. Vern started sheeting the roof on the house, he is currently building, this week. So he wouldn't mind if the snow stayed away either. Ayden loves stopping by the job site to check out all the changes and explore. Every time we go to town she figures first we should get Raquel from school and then we should be going to check out the progress. Raquel finally got her school picture proofs. (She was sick on the original day and had to wait for retakes.) But it seems waiting was worth it, as she is quite happy with them. She has a long weekend coming up and is really looking forward to the time off.

Hope you are having a nice week!

Think Pink

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. This is one of the causes I always support. You can check out the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation site if you'd like, for more information or to find a way to show your support. The girls and I went shopping today and found DVDs for the Cure. We picked up The Princess Bride, (actually it's the 20th anniversary edition). It's always kind of been one of my favorites, good old Wesley saves his lovely Buttercup, after overcoming all those formidable odds. I thought, I would share this tag I made, just to remind everyone to THINK PINK.
Deb, at The Dapper Doxie is having the grand opening of her new store, from the 1st through the 12th of October. All Digital Scrapbooking supplies will be marked down 20%. Deb has her newest kit, A New Beginning, available in her shop and on her blog, she has an add on freebie, for a limited time. So what are you waiting for? Get over there and shop!

This is one of my favorite pictures, from this summer, of Ayden with her daddy. She loves to go see Vern on the job site. If he is working close to home, we will occasionally take daddy some coffee, so she can have a quick visit and check out the progress.
Strong & Gentle digital kit credits: Baily digital scrapbook kit from The Dapper Doxie (some items colorized).
Fonts Used: Windsong, Porcelain, Mutlu & WhoopAss

We had a beautiful Indian summer last week and spent quite a bit of time outside getting to know the new baby horses, we got at a sale last weekend. Mickey & Jewel are gradually beginning to accept us. They are only about 6 months old and are adorable. Both Raquel & Ayden love them and we are planning for Jewel to be Raquel's horse in a couple of years. Now we are up to 8 horses. Things should be getting back to normal around here, as the house Vern has been waiting to frame, is ready. This will mean more job site visits for Ayden, as it is not too far away.

My dad found some more information regarding that wedding picture from 1939. I've rearranged the page a little and added some names, if you are interested you can look at it here. The gentleman seated next to the groom is my great grandfather and I think most of the other people identified are great uncles and aunts. Thanks dad, for finding that information for me.

Thank you for stopping by my blog. Hope you have a good week. Take Care!

The Hearts We Leave Behind

My friend, Deb is planning her grand opening at The Dapper Doxie for October 1st. Deb is planning to have at least one new kit available in her shop. I'm looking forward to seeing what she creates next. Deb's kits have such an elegant, soft vintage feel.

I decided to do another couple of pages for my heritage album. During the early years of my mom's life, she lost several immediate family members. Joyce, her older sister, died unexpectedly at the age of 13. My mom told me, that she gave me my middle name, after her sister's. These are the only pictures I have of Joyce by herself. There don't seem to be any baby pictures of her. The quote I used is by Thomas Campbell from Hallowed Ground.



The Hearts We Leave Behind I & II digital kit credits: Day Dreams from The Dapper Doxie.
Fonts used: Chopin Script, Porcelain, & Kayleigh.

We've had frost the last couple of mornings and it's been a cool week. I'm looking forward to seeing all the beautiful colors of fall, although I hope summer isn't quite finished yet. It is definitely more peaceful at home, with Raquel back to school. Raquel says she had THE BEST first day ever, I hope she feels that way about the rest of the school year. Ayden is definitely keeping me busy, without Raquel here to help amuse her. One of her favorite outside activities in bouncing on the trampoline. We've also been taking Lady out during the day. Ayden loves helping me lead Lady around and occasionally gets to have a little "ride" . Anything to do with the horses is a highlight to her day. It's so sweet to see her standing on the fence calling them to come in from the field. But soon we'll be spending more time inside and I've been thinking maybe it's time I put together my own kit. We'll have to see what happens with that....

Have a great weekend!