It Never Rests

Jackson's pump failed tonight.

New pump won't get here until Saturday morning.

Please pray for us.

This sweet little boy shouldn't have to endure this horrible disease.

I AM still here!!

Hello there .. been a while since I have been here blogging.  Jennifer has been scrapping and blogging up a storm this summer.  I have been going from swimming lessons to riding lessons to day camps and back to the pool for some fun.  Rachel is having a ball and passed her Level 2 swimming in her first session of lessons.  Then she started another session of lessons this week and is learning how to do the front crawl - SO cute.  Looks a bit like a spider swimming and I am amazed that there are only actually 2 arms and 2 legs in the splashes!!

The weather here in NS has been awesome - a little wet from time to time but awesome none the less!!  Daddy gets here on Sunday and Rachel is SO excited to see him.  And I can't say I blame her - I can't wait to see him either.  Can't believe that we have been here for a month and that there are only 19 days left here in Canada - time flies when you are having fun!!

This weekend is a horse show and both Rebecca and Eliza will be riding.  It will be fun to watch.  Rachel is spending a few days alone with her NaNa before Jason gets here and she is very much looking forward to that.  She has been packed and asking when NaNa is coming since 9am this morning!!

I leave with a few pics of the fun we are having.  I am going to be one busy little scrapper when the fall is back!!  

Rachel is the little person on the left in this top one and there she is with her badge in the bottom one ...

Happy Scrappy Day

So I busted out the door this morning to get the big boys to Creative Arts Kids Camp at church without making my daily message board run. And I knew today was the announcement for the new DT for http://www.4scrappysisters.com/, but honestly, I didn't think I had a chance. I mean, she had 35 applications. When I finally got home and popped online, I discovered to my happiness that I am a new Full Kit Designer for 4 Scrappy Sisters!!!! I am very excited and I can't wait to get my first kit. The thing that really drew me into this incredible site is the heart for God that these women have. I so love the devotionals posted in the message board as I believe He cares about ALL aspects of us, even down to our paper and tape runners. It is just a place to be lifted up, supported, and share the crafting talents we have with other women. Enough chatting with me, head over there, sign up, tell them JustJen sent ya and grab yourself a big kit of scrappy goodness! They are drool-worthy!

Online scrappy weekend

So in between picking Kenny up from his week at camp and keeping this house from falling down with 3 little boys, I am hoping to get some scrappy time. There are 2 great crops this weekend - the first at www.scrappinmojo.com for our block party crop. If you get over there, the challenges are great and pretty easy too. You can probably get in on the action before it ends tonight. The second is at a site I am fairly new to, but really like - www.coordinatescollections.com 6 wonderful challenges that are all due tomorrow night and some fun door prizes too. I am crossing my fingers for some time later this evening to get my scrap on! Won't you join me?

A mini little house

When Maya Road came out with these little mini houses and accordian books, this mini book lover knew I had to have one. I didn't really have a plan for it, but I knew I wanted it to be about how our house is more than 4 walls and the stuff inside. It is about the 5 of us, no matter where we live. I haven't journaled yet, but I will get it done soon. I used Heidi Grace's family line and Sweetwater embellies to put it all together.

xo, Jen

Summer Camp

Right about now our oldest kiddo should be arriving at church camp for a week's worth of fun, games, fellowship, and basking in the beauty our Lord has provided in nature. Which means he will be laughing and giggling and getting really muddy! LOL! He gets to sleep in a covered wagon and he is pretty excited about that too. This mama was a little nervous last night as I was helping him pack his bags and get everything ready. He said, "Mom, stop treating me like a baby." I had to take a step back and put it all in perspective. He IS almost 10 and I forget that sometimes. He has always been an independent little soul and never really "needed" me the ways the other boys do. I think I am OK with that. I didn't even shed a tear as he drove away. He ran back and gave me a hug and told me he loved me. I do secretly hope he misses me more than he would let on, but this week will be good for all of us. I am crossing my fingers for just one or two good pictures from that little camera I sent with him. :D

xo, Jen

A little short, but that's ok

We sent in the final donations for the Walk to Cure Diabetes last week and the officials totals are in - Jack's Pack raised $7,738.40 for this year's walk. I am honestly amazed because on the day of the walk we had less than $5,000 turned in. Late donations are SOOO much better than NO donations, don't ya think? Thank you to all who donated and walked with us. We already have plans for video letter for next year's walk. Thank you for your ongoing support of our little guy and his struggles. God Bless!

Don't wait

I feel like I have been punched in the stomach.

Pretty much everyone knows that I am not a chronological scrapbooker any longer. I let go of it awhile ago and have never looked back. However, I don't want to "screw up" the important stuff so I sometimes hold on to photos and mementos waiting for the perfect inspiration. Without going into detail, tonight I am telling you, don't wait. It may be too late. I have lost what was one of the single most important memory boxes in our family and I can never get it back. I was saving these items for just the right time and now I will never have it.
I am sad.
I am crying.
I want to hit someone.
I will probably never get over it.
But I will learn from it.
I will be able to sit down and write our history in the pages of my scrapbooks even when it is hard and I am not sure I am ready. Maybe I will have pages covered in tears or ones that don't have a perfect design to them, but they will enter my books rather than waiting inside a box for "perfection" of emotion and inspiration that can never be achieved. Thanks for letting me vent.

xo, Jen

A little scrappy goodness

Here are few of the projects that have come from my organizing spree and some late night scrappin' around here. It's pretty much the only time I get anything done anymore, LOL!

Here is Mr. Jackson "helping" Natalie to see how one should look at scrapbooks. ie only look at pages with Jackson on them.

And a play on our last name for a 4th of July page. Just kinda fun, huh?

And finally one for Jackson's school book - his Open House theme this year was construction. So here is our little "Jack the Builder" He wasn't feeling well this day and had to miss school so we went at the very last part of the Open House when everyone else was mainly gone. It was still wonderful and he was so proud!

really good.

So in my quest for Photo Freedom (which I have fully embraced) I tackled the towering stacks of layouts yesterday afternoon. WOW! I purchased 12 or so albums awhile back thinking that should get me organized with empty albums waiting in the wings when I needed them. Boy was I wrong!!! Just this afternoon I filled my 10th album!!!! OMGoodness! That is the craziness that was my layout organization. It is somewhere around 400 hundred layouts. Does that sounds right?

Yep. I just went and counted again. HOLY COW!!!! So I placed another order with the Scrappin' Grannies this afternoon so that this NeVEr happens again. But now my 4 current albums are all nice and pretty with little tags tied on with ribbons and the other volumes are organized according to the same 4 themes. I am jazzed about the possibilities I see with this system on the layout side of things. I will get a picture soon. It is good. REalLy Good.

For example, I take lots of pictures at Halloween and I LOVE making pages from them. Think, more than 6 pages from last year and I still have a few more pics I might like to get on pages too. Hmmm... I feel like busting some of that out. I digress, I see that Halloween will eventually take over its own volume in the "things we do" category of layout books. Then we can look at all our Halloweens over the course of time whenever we want without going through an album for each year. It is so much fun and I am excited to see how our family history unfolds as I continue to document "US". Again with the Good.

It is still hot here, but not in the 110's. That is good. More than GOOD. I am planning some crafts for an upcoming crafty night at my house later this month with my mom's group and organizing some handmade cards to sell. (I have a ton so if you need any, let me know) I have gotten into a really good habit of making cards from my scraps after I have made a few pages and it feels like I am in a groove now.

I am off now to play wii. My trainer is kicking my tail, but it feels good. REALLY GOOD.

xo, Jen

BONJOUR from Canada's Ocean Playground

Well we are here and we are having a GREAT time!!  Rachel is loving hanging with her cousins Rebecca, Eliza, William and Abigail.  Along with some other cousins and friends too!  We have been swimming, playing with baby kittens that Rebecca and her mom are fostering from the SPCA, watching baby mice grow at an exponential rate and many other fun things.  Last weekend was spent out at Great Oaks farm with Jason's parents.  Rebecca had a horse-show and so Rachel hosted a sleepover with her cousins William and Eliza.  This involved making cookies, lots of freezies, bubbles and wands, a scavenger hunt and tractor rides with Uncle Peter!  Will be sure to add more pictures soon!

Just had to make a quick SHOUT out to my girl JENNIFER.  She has been published in a special edition of Simple Scrapbooks magazine.  Can't wait to find a copy here in NS and check out her mini album!!!  YEAH JENNIFER!!!!

Celebrating our Independence

I love it when the 4th of July lands on a Friday because it means we get to start the weekend early and it feels sooo much longer (and we get an extra day with Daddy). We did some yardwork yesterday morning and then headed to Chuckchansi Park for a Grizzlies game last night. The Grizzlies lost, but the fireworks were great! (NO good pics because we were honestly too close to where they were shooting them off) It was a fun day with our family in celebration of our country's independence. In other news, we booked tickets to go home later this summer for a wedding and a quick visit with our family in Wichita. We actually get to fly out of Fresno this time and I am super jazzed about it!!!! For now, here are a couple of pics from last night that I already have uploaded to Costco to pick up tomorrow to get scrapped this weekend. I can't wait!

Feel Like A Kid

Ken and I are always being accused of being big kids. Well, not me as much, but I don't want him to feel bad, LOL! So I admit it, as I am sitting here going through message boards and blogs this morning, I am eating a Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tart and drinking Diet Pepsi. Ken doesn't even make fun of me because he loves them too. I think it reminds me of my childhood. We always had tons of choices for cereals in the cabinet above the stove in my house, but not always Pop Tarts. I think Mom only got those when she had a coupon AND they were on sale. We were more likely to get the store brand at Grandma's house so I knew these babies had to be special. So now I buy them for myself (not so good for Jackson's blood sugars, who knew these babies have a whoppin' 37 g of carbs per piece?) and I enjoy them as a big kid. It makes me feel young and happy. I challenge you today to find something from your childhood and buy it, do it, whatever! Embrace your inner child!