on the third day of Christmas...

sweet Elizabeth made for us...

I pause this announcement to give a
HUGE
THANK YOU
to our fearless wonderful lovely hostess, Elizabeth, who IS the mostest!!!

...back to our regularly scheduled blog post...(which HAVEN'T BEEN REGULAR!)
Elizabeth created a magnificient work of art using materials she already had! She created some amazing sun tatooed fabrics and used vintage fabrics and lovely antique buttons to create...

day number 3's work of ART

THANK YOU AGAIN!!
now on to day 4!!!

HUGZ til then!

on the first day (and second day)...

of Christmas...my true loves gave to me....

Back a couple of months, sweet Elizabeth, posted if anyone was interested in participating in a 12 days of Christmas swap. Time has flown by and we are now in day 2 of our 13 days of Christmas! 13 because we were blessed with an extra participant..and who can say no to one more sweet giftie!!! Besides...13 makes us UNIQUE!

Here are all the gifties under the tree, waiting patiently to RIP into them!!!

The pressure was on....I WAS DAY 1!!! So I wrapped my gifties (because I couldn't stop at one...lol)

Inside my little box package was:

a glass snowman globe...

and...

a snowflake fabric cuff! (they also fit around a starbucks cup...lol)

day 2 (which I got to open on the same day as 1 because I was watching Lavender and Logan when the whistle blew signaling the opening to commence!)

Day 2 was lovingly created by Mary Zimany! I actually got to meet Mary IN PERSON for REAL in October at Art-is-You!!!

She created this LOVELY ornament...so many details...(my photo does not do this justice!!! It's a little tin embellished with inks, images and so much sweetness...filled with sparkly goodness it IS peace on earth!!!

here is the ornament on the tree!!! (all the ornaments on this tree are handcrafted...over the years!

I made this Christmas greeting for Maddy and Maxx

...and here are Logan and Lavender...on a Christmas card I created for them! They are getting so big!

and here are Kaleigh's boyfriends three little ones

..this is Kaya

this is Lydia...

...and this is Mason

...and of course Xander, Maxx and Maddy!

Hoping everyone is taking time from the rush and stress of the season...to enjoy the moments!

HUGZ til next time!

GET THYSELF OVER TO....

JENNY AND AARON'S

A.S.A.P.!!!!
They are giving away....yep FREE....a cuttlebug!!! (now since I REALLY WANT TO WIN IT....) you don't actually HAVE to sign up...but I GUESS in the spirit of all's fair in love and cuttling...go ahead...(you can just send it to me...if you win) Muhahahaha.....I'm in a really evil mood today...lol...must be the season...and LOOK...LOOK LOOOK...I'M actually creating a blog post just for this!!! (hmmm....only after TWO MONTHS OF ABSENCE!!!)

HEAD on over...there....(casting that MOM GLANCE that throws FEAR INTO THE HEARTS AND MINDS...of my kiddos...)

MWAH..AND HUGZ TIL LATER...

ALMOST TIME!!!

funny....when i typed in the title above...and began....ALMOST....it popped up a finishing word to the line...and it read..."ALMOST SUMMER" where the heck did it go? summer that is...how do i let time slip away....and trying to remember is not as easy as it was....say....yesterday...lol...

heck...STATE FAIR IS HISTORY (that was always the signal for the new school year for me)

The kids are readying themselves for school...Maddy will be in FIFTH GRADE!!! and Sirr Maxx will begin...4K...and Xander will be in FOURTH!!! wow... I know many of you have watched them grow up on here...such technological kids... This begins the ONLY YEAR they will be together in school....for their school career... Guess that means no little brother "bothering" her...lol...or creating havoc drooling over her friends...

or perhaps...

how could he BOTHER..her...look at that "innocent smile" HA!

Maddy is coming down from a summer where her team won the West Allis championship fastpitch softball league! The got to play at the Brewers Miller park in a little league stadium where the original county stadium was.

and robbie was a volunteer assistant coach for her team..thinking he ENJOYED the championship dousing...lol

This friday is Maddy's 10th birthday...TEN YEARS...she wasn't even a month old when 9-11 happened....seems like forever...and then again...seems like a blink....

She keeps climbing to new heights..

...and maxx keeps racing along...

with his medical issues....heading in for an EMG/NCV test..on Sept 8th...it involves ALOT of "shocks" (shots) so they are sedating him...prayers needed.

Maddy and Xander will be starting a new bowling league..in september..so we went to practice a bit..

"big buddy" and fav uncle, Robbie has volunteered at the bowling center to coach the younger teams! So he came along to get a jumpstart on coaching...he is AMAZING with teaching kids...

Just over a MONTH til I head to ART-is-YOU in Connecticut!!!

..and with THIS post...THE NEXT POST WILL BE 400...and someone who has posted from the last post til the next will win a OOAK halloween art doll!!! So leave me some love...

BIG HUGZ til next time...

just not..feeling it today...

..but this does count as another post...moving toward that 400th...and the giveaway...
i try to be upbeat on here....and a happy camper...(NO THAT DOES NOT MEAN I'M LIKING CAMPING...for the record...lol)
but....
just when you gather a bit of wind beneath your wings....a truck goes by..and sucks the air...right out from under them....and CRASH....down ya go....

life isn't playing fair right now....at all....

hugz til next time....