HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

We are back home and back to our regular routine. Santa was very good to my family! 2009 was a great year. New home...new baby boy. Little girl is busy playing with all her goodies she got for christmas. I have been busy trying to make room for all her goodies...ha! We are so blessed.

Now on to New years resolutions. I'm usually good at keeping mine. I have just a few for this year.

As for now...i'm just going to coast for awhile. Now that the hustle and bustle of the holidays are over it is time to sit back and enjoy my family and play with the kiddies. And maybe sip some coffee or hot chocolate along the way. :)

Happy New Year!

Tis the Season..................

I LOVE THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS!!! All the festivities, food, desserts, family, friends, decorations...i just love it all. But i woke up this morning with a new love.....i love seeing my babies in their footed Christmas Jammies! So very sweet. I love taking my little girl down the stairs in the mornings only to here her say....TREEEEEE. And point to all the ornaments she sees. Oh how it warms the heart. I can't wait till she gets up Christmas morning and sees what Santa has brought her. I can't wait till she has Christmas with all our family. Grandparents, Great Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins.......

Family Rules..........

I found a tutorial for a Family Rules Canvas HERE. It is so lovely...i can't wait to make my own.

1. Obey Your Parents

2. Be kind always

3. Sing silly, dance crazy, hug often, snuggle much, say I love you

4. Forgiveness is mandatory

5. Have fun, ask first, no fussing, no whining

6. Always tell the truth

7. Encourage your siblings…share in their joy

8. Husband hug your wife daily & wife always be on his side

9. Never follow an apology with a but…

10. Keep your promises

11. Use your manners – yes, please, thank you

12. Always give to others first

13. Too much TV is bad…too much reading is good

14. Use nice words…ignore dirty ones

15. Bless your food, be grateful, eat together, clean up after yourself

16. There is no such thing as “mine” in this house…it is all God’s

17. Say your prayers…thank God for this family

1. get a huge canvas. nicole's was 30" x 40". mine is a little smaller, but not much. get it on sale please. Paint the canvas (you see the paint on the border and on the sides). its best if the canvas is wrapped all around the edges rather than the exposed wood. just paint it sloppily - no need to be perfect, just make sure all the edges are covered.

2. Spend a whole lot of time at the paper store picking out paper you cannot resist. nicole felt some of her papers, although she loves them, were maybe a bit to dark or had too much contrast in them for the final writing to come out really clear. so remember: less contrast, not too dark. got it?

3. Write your rules. Be careful of what you put. My kids often refer to the canvas. My favorite is…”Daddy, hug mommy”. A rule is a rule, ya know? I should have put HUSBAND- MASSAGE YOUR WIFE’S BACK DAILY. check out the links above to the blogs. they also have a few suggestions for rules. i think i will steal most of mine, but add in things like, "tummy to the table".

4. Now, cut that beautiful paper into strips. I varied the widths, used “torn” scissors, scalloped scissors, and so on. Use glue, mod podge, or spray adhesive to lay it out on the canvas. i would definitely recommend mod podge the most on this.

5. I then went on to the computer and typed all the rules in different fonts. I am a font junky thanks to lindsey’s sister, Jennifer, showing us how to download free fonts. Do it…get hooked! It is easy and wonderful! just google "free fonts" and you'll get more than you'll ever need.

6. I printed them and “eyed” or copied them onto my papers with black and white paint pens.
and here's where all the questions come in: "the canvas is obviously wider than standard 12 x 12 paper. how did she fit this in the printer/get the words on?" she cut her paper in half - it's not actually one long strip. you can kind of see it in the pic below where it says "forgiveness is mandatory". maybe she taped them together in the middle? i've done that a bunch, and if you are really careful it will work and you can still carefully take the tape off when you're done. just make sure to change the settings on your computer for your page layout before you print to allow for a larger paper size. when she says she "eyed" them, she did just that. she'd print out the rule in a font she wanted on plain paper, then look at it and copy it with a paint pen directly onto her fancy paper. most of us can't do that. she's just good. but i would still print it on one long strip of paper and go over it again with a paint pen just to thicken up the font's lines. just a thought - i think that's what she did.

***edited to add!!!: do a layer of mod podge on your canvas, add paper, smooth out, then let dry. then add another layer of mod podge on top to seal. let dry, then add another. it will still probably be a little bubbly.****

7. Cover that baby in mod podge and make your man hang it! do a couple few layers of mod podge. did you know there are different sheens of mod podge? i think nicole prefers matte, but there are also ones with more gloss to them.

ALWAYS TELL THE TRUTH

HAVE FUN, BE KIND, ASK FIRST, NO FUSSING, NO WHINING

BE CREATIVE AT ALL TIMES

ENCOURAGE YOUR SIBLINGS...SHARE IN THEIR JOY

HUSBAND-HUG YOUR WIFE DAILY & WIFE- ALWAYS BE ON HIS SIDE

OBEY YOUR PARENTS

NEVER LEAVE ANGRY

SING SILLY, DANCE CRAZY, HUG OFTEN, SNUGGLE OFTEN, SAY I LOVE YOU

KEEP YOUR PROMISES

USE YOUR MANNERS- YES, PLEASE...NO, THANK YOU

ALWAYS GIVE TO OTHERS FIRST

TOO MUCH TV IS BAD...TOO MUCH READING IS GOOD

USE NICE WORDS...IGNORE DIRTY WORDS

BLESS YOUR FOOD, BE GRATEFUL, EAT TOGETHER, CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELF

SHARE EVERYTHING EXCEPT BAD IDEAS

SAY YOUR PRAYERS...THANK GOD FOR THIS FAMILY

Isn't this just the sweetest thing.........

I mostly copy and pasted the tutorial.....word for word. Just wanted to put that out there since i hate it when people try to say they made something when they just copied other people. I try to let everyone know when i copy something.

Can't wait to make my own....and when i do i will be sure to post! :)

M.I.A.

I know that i have been M.I.A. for awhile now. Well over a month...almost 2 months. I took a break from the computer all together to focus on my family. My new son...he is such a blessing! What a joy it is to have him in our life. His sister loves him so. Every morning for the past week she gets up and comes in the room he is in and waives at him and says "Hi Brother"...and gives him a kiss. My heart melts!

I have also been getting ready for christmas. Shopping for gifts, wrapping paper and new ornaments. Hobby Lobby has the best wrapping paper this year! Of course i bought mine when it was 50% off. I not only found cute christmas paper...i found this black and white Damask print paper for other gifts through out the year. CUTE!! Can't wait to start wrapping.

I have also been working on sewing projects/gifts for various family members. Can't wait to have those completed. Lots of work and love is going into those.

And I have also been working on the house. Still lots to do. But yesterday i finally picked out paint color for the kids rooms. I knew what color....but picking out the right shade of those colors was difficult for me. Baby girl got a new bedroom suite...and pink walls. :) So very girly! I love it. Baby boy's room is on the vintage side. I made his bedding and now i'm in the market for vintage airplanes to finish his room.

I can't believe the Holidays are here. I can't wait to see baby girl dive in a rip open her gifts this year. She is old enough now to really get into it. On Santa's List: Play Kitchen, Pots and Pans, Dolls and an Inch worm riding toy. And lets just say mommy bought way to much other things...hehe!!! I just couldn't help myself this year.

Don't have the tree up yet....but that will happen hopefully VERY soon.

Family Trip........

We are leaving today to go see family. Can't wait for little miss sunshine to see her Aunts, Uncles, Grandma's, Granddaddy's, cousins, and everyone! I'm ready for a vacation!

Sunscreen, Check. Bug Spray, Check. Toothbrushes, Check. Hours and Hours of DVD's, Check!