Time to enjoy some CAKE

It's July and that means the height of summer festivities, including Independence Day. This month's CAKE (create a kit event) at Digitals will be sure to fuel your muse for creating those special summer pages. The colors of this month's cake are perfect for Patriotic layouts or just those fun summer pictures that are begging to be transformed into memorable scrapbook pages.

See all of the pieces of cake here: 

http://digitalscrapbookpages.com/digitals/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=333_340

A Fun Family Weekend

Well, we had a pretty good time this weekend. On Friday we simply went out to eat as a family. This was nice because it was something that we really haven't been able to do lately.

Then on Saturday we went to a friend's house that we've known for years, but we don't get to visit with nearly often enough. This wonderful family was all in our wedding eight years ago, Mom was a bridesmaid, Dad was a groomsman and son was our ringbearer. It was actually quite amazing to see them again because their son has just finished sixth grade and it turning into quite a handsome young man (I'll have to remember the camera for the next time we go up there). It's hard to believe that his voice is starting to change now when I remember him as a toddler that would stay up all night long dancing to music. Paul absolutely loved it because he doesn't get to spend enough time around boys.

Today I did a little bit of scrapping and fiddling around on the computer before we went to Mom's house so that the kids would be allowed to go swimming. They love going over there because of the pool and their three cousins, but the girls actually didn't get home until we were getting ready to leave. It is okay though because they did get to enjoy some quality time with Nana.

And my product of my weekend's work is this fun layout with pictures that I took of Paul and Tom on his first Mother's Day. Tom really wanted to show us the reason that he believes overalls were invented.

Yes, Paul and I did take some pictures together on his first Mother's Day, but he has always been a Daddy's boy and Daddy couldn't help but show us all the reason that he thought overalls were invented.

For my layout I used That's My Daddy by Cindy Ritter.

This Week

This week has actually been pretty quiet around here. I didn't go and get the kids because their Dad said that they could stay with him and we are actually pretty tight on money so I really couldn't afford to do some of the things with them that I really want to do with them before school starts in the fall.

So, instead, we spent some time keeping the house clean and also going over to Nana's house so that we could go swimming. I've also been dedicating some time to getting rid of things that we really don't need, like our third vehicle (looks like it is headed for the scrap yard, it needs work and I'm not getting any interest on Craig's List). Tom's moped (since he got his VW bug back) and also other various things that we don't need here anymore. I'm determined to get us out of our financial mess one way or the other. It will only be at that time that I will really start to feel better.

Oh yeah, and Father's Day was really a pretty quiet affair around here. We did end up going to the store to get some things that we needed and also bought the kids a new game for the Xbox. And ended our day out with dinner at Logan's to celebrate Dad.

Here are some pictures that I took of Kathryn and Paul with Daddy on Father's Day:

Despite the fact that for the past year it has been difficult for Tom, he is feeling better now and Kathryn and Paul are really getting to experience what it is like to have an awesome Dad.

For my layout I used That's My Daddy by Cindy Ritter.

Welcome Summer

Well, summer has offically arrived on the calendar, but I think it has actually been here for a couple weeks now. It has been hot, hot, hot which means that we've been spending a lot of time at my mom's house in the swimming pool.

And during the day when I don't want the kids to get too much sun exposure, I've been scrapbooking while they've been playing video games and watching television with some bike riding and playing with their toys thrown in somewhere too.

This is a page that is full of wonderful summer memories when my friend Erica's parents still lived in Lexington and we would get together during their summer visit to let our kids all play together. Grace and Kathryn got along wonderfully despite the nearly two-year age difference. I love seeing how cute they were together. We haven't gotten to see Erica and her family in almost three years and her family has changed a lot since then. She now has six children instead of the three and expecting (she ended up having twins) that she had the last time we were together. I miss her a lot, but we still do talk to each other regularly via facebook and I'm hoping that next year we will be able to make a trip to visit her family in Texas.

Kathryn with Grace (the oldest daughter of one of my best childhood friends). Though the girls seldom got to see each other, they always had a great time when they got to play.

For my layout I used Vintage Spring Garden Club by Tammy DeYoung.

The eve of Father's Day and some CAKE

This year, I believe that Father's Day is going to be something really special for Kathryn and Paul because this year it is like they've gotten their Father back after he'd been gone for a long time. In just the last month it really is like Tom is back with us even though he has been here with us in body every day. I don't know that we will have a gift for him, but we will all be spending some time together and I know that I will be taking some pictures of the kids with their Daddy on Father's Day. I'll also be picking up some of the Digitals CAKE pieces to scrap some of those pictures with.

Be sure to check out the sale:

Tomorrow is Father's Day, so what better time to scrap the important men in your life with the masculine June CAKE (Create A Kit Event) pieces on sale for $1.50 a set now through June 19.

This is your chance to build your own custom mega kit with these manly and outdoorsy colors. Choose from tons of different papers, elements, clusters, quickpages, word art and more, all in coordinating colors. We have lots of styles to suit your personal taste, and lots of general designs that you can use in almost any type of layout.

Be sure to pick up a bundle at the low price of just $1.50 per set! And look for our next CAKE featuring patriotic colors starting July 14.

Kids, cancer and a little bit of scrapping

Well, June has been quite an adventure here at Casa de Winburn. It started out with Tom having his six month follow-up appointment with Dr. Hayslip (six months out from his lymphoma treatment). On the day of the scan he got a call back from the oncologist's office letting him know that his PET scan looked good. However, they saw a change in his kidneys that they did not like and they were adding a kidney CT to his scheduled CT the following week. This led to a lot of anxiety for us while waiting to hear those results.

In addition to all of that stress, my roommate also ended up having to serve some jail time for a probation violation (long story short, she is not a bad person at all, she made a mistake that a lot of people made regarding check scams and her difference was that instead of depositing one of the scam checks into a checking account, she cashed it at a convenience store and they prosecuted her instead of the scam artists). So, when that happened, I was left with her three wonderful children through yesterday when they went to spend a few days with their step-father. Let me tell you, going from two children that I take care of on my own and three that she took care of was quite a change and very stressful for me. It made my life for over a week all about kids and about having not a moment of time that belonged only to me.

Well, then we had the oncologist appointment and I'm happy to announce that Tom is cancer-free at this time. This means that he doesn't have to see his oncologist for the next six months and he will be able to have his port-a-cath removed next month. We could have had that scheduled sooner, but I wanted to make sure that we would have childcare for the procedure.

And of course there has been keeping the kids entertained. This could be something that would be very expensive, but I'm lucky that my mother has a pool in her backyard and that will keep all of the kids entertained for hours. We've been at her house nearly every afternoon and when we haven't been there it has been because Paul had his last few baseball games of the season.

This is the one page that I've really been able to create this month so far. Rayne is one of the three children that I've been taking care of while their mother is away. She is a very special little girl and I do love her to death, despite the fact that she does have a fiery red-headed attitude.

This is one very special little girl. She is the daughter of my best friend and so beautiful and photogenic.

For my layout I used Vintage Spring Garden Club by Tammy DeYoung.

Why I Scrap

Through the five years that I've been digital scrapbooking I've heard a lot of different reasons why people choose to use this medium. For me, I know that the reason that I do it is many fold.

The first reason that I chose digital scrapbooking is because it is really easy to fix a mistake, whereas with traditional scrapbooking, this really wasn't something that was possible and I was scared to death that I would ruin a picture when I was working on a page.

However, more importantly to me, the reason that I scrapbook is because I want my children to know the who, what, when, where and why of the pictures that I've taken of them over the years. For me, I have to say that most of the pages that I create have a lot of journaling on them. As I think this is one of the most important parts of scrapbooking.

The page that I'm sharing today, however is a rare journal free page from me. It is one of my favorite pictures that I've ever had of Kathryn and the beauty of the picture negates the need for journaling in my opinion.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Kathryn when she was younger.

For my layout I used Bundle Sweet Castle by Pati Araujo.

Summer is just around the corner

Summer is really sneaking up on us quickly this year. It really doesn't seem like there should only be two days of school left in the school year, but that is the case and when school starts back in the fall I'm going to be sending both of my kiddos off to school. Kathryn will be in the fourth grade and Paul is going to be starting kindergarten.

As far as summer plans go, we really don't have any. I would like to be able to take a vacation, but that isn't something that we are going to be able to afford this year. So, instead I hope that we will have the opportunity to make some day trips to different attractions around here.

And then there is the fact that my youngest niece is going to be having her first birthday this year. She was born in July of last year and had to stay in the NICU for about two weeks after she was born because she had jaundice and also some difficulties breathing. However, now she is a happy, healthy and plump ten month old. She has just cut her first two teeth and is crawling really well now. I suspect that she will be walking before we know it.

This is a layout that I've just done with some of her pictures from when she was a month old. She has been a very expressive baby from the start and I afraid that is going to mean problems for mom and dad somewhere down the line.

For this layout I used Bundle Sweet Castle by Pati Araujo

Through Sickness and in Health

As the day gets closer that Tom is going to have to have his six month follow-up PET scan and his follow-up appointment with his oncologist, I am starting to feel a bit of scan anxiety (for those that haven't ever had a loved one go through cancer treatment, that is anxiety that the scan will not be clean.)

In going through that, I've realized that being married is not always what we really think that it is going to be. You think that all of the times in your relationship are going to be as happy as the day that you were married and this is simply not the case at all. In this past year I've seen the entire gamut of emotions in my marriage. There are the times that we are closer than we've ever been and then there are the times that I feel like I just want to give up, but I won't because that isn't what a marriage is. On those days that are the hardest for me, I will work on our wedding album, that I still haven't gotten done, despite the fact that we are only two months away from our 8th anniversary. This creation is one of the pages that will be printed in the final book, whenever I get it done.

A couple of my favorite wedding pictures with some of the lyrics from the song we used for our first dance "From this Moment" by Shania Twain.

For my layout I used The Orient Express by Nini's Notions

My Crazy Life

This month has been crazy busy for me so far. First of all, it started with a baseball game for Paul and spending time with family. Tom has had a doctors appointment this week and goes in at the end of the month for his six month PET scan (please pray for no light ups).

We are also nearing the end of the school year so that has meant more school activities as well.

Paul lost his first tooth on the 30th of April, making him official five and a half before he lost his first tooth. 

Oh and who can forget iNSD. I was able to get a lot of scrapping done during those events and I had a blast as well. It was one day that I can honestly say that I really spoiled myself.

Today's layout is about my birthday celebration last year at a local Japanese restaurant. One of our family traditions is to let the birthday girl/boy pick what restaurant to eat out at. I love Japanese food so this was my natural choice. Does your family have any interesting birthday traditions? I'd really like to know so leave a comment if you like.

Some pictures from my birthday celebration last year.
 For my layout I used The Orient Express by Nini's Notion.

Sometimes it is Too Much

Sometimes it feels like we are able to live our lives on an even keel and then other times it starts to feel like the odds are not in your favor. That is pretty much where I am right now. Yesterday I found out that my mother's dog, Sarah, who has been a part of our lives for the last fourteen years passed away.
I've also been dealing with a lot of pain from my TMD and that has been making it impossible for me to get a full night of sleep. It is wearing on me quite rapidly.

But still, there are things in my life that are very valuable to me and things that do make it possible for me to go on when it feels like the odds are quite against me. I'm lucky to have my two very beautiful children and my husband that does try my nerves sometimes, but is good to me overall.

I love thinking about those great times in my life when I'm struggling because that is the best thing that I can do to get through those dark moments. Easter is one of my favorite times of the year and that is why I choose to scrap pictures from Easter just after I found out that I was pregnant with Paul and when Kat was just three years old.

You were so cute during our Easter egg hunt this year. With every egg that you discovered, you had to run and show it to Nana.

For my layout I used Spring Pretty by Michelle Pieters.

One Year Ago Today

It never ceases to amaze me that our lives can be completely and irrevocably changed in just one minute. It was exactly one year ago today that we got the call from a surgeon that changed the lives of everyone in our family forever. It was the call where the surgeon called to let us know that the preliminary biopsy results from my husband's lymphectomy were back and they showed Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

This set into motion a series of events that I really wish that I could wake up from and realize that they were a bad dream, but that just isn't something that is possible. The only hope that I keep these days is that he is able to stay in remission and cancer will just be a part of our past. Financially, we've been almost devastated and our relationship has really suffered as well. But I know that we are both stronger people because of it and there isn't a day that I'm not thankful to get to spend time with Tom and the kids.

Those happy, carefree moments aren't something that we are really able to enjoy all that much now though because of the constant fear of cancer returning and having to go through it all over again. That is one of the reasons that my scrapbooking is so very important to me because it allows me to relieve the carefree moments and forget about our struggles for a little while.

My newest page is of some pictures that were taken five years ago of Paul and I on his first Mother's Day. I believe that the colors in Amanda Thorderson's Wax Nostalgic were perfect to go along with the mixture of feminine and masculine in my layout.

A couple of pictures of Paul (and me) on his first Mother's Day.
For my layout I used Wax Nostalgic by Amanda Thorderson

Kathryn

I really don't think that most parents are as lucky to have a daughter that is as wonderfully special as Kathryn is. She is nine years old now and wise well beyond her years. She does have her moments when she seems like your typical nine-year-old girl, but most of the time she seems like a young woman that is stuck in a little girl's body.
She is really into music and is learning to play the violin right now (she won't be old enough to start in the school orchestra until next year). She is a member of Girl Scouts of America and she is also an aspiring vet. I just know that she is going to have an amazing life as she continues to grow up.
The pictures in this layout are some that I took last week at the park when I was taking some Easter pictures of the kids and also my friend's kids as well. They really are the perfect images of her because they show that she is hard and soft at the same time.
For my layout I used Wax Nostalgic by Amanda Thorderson.

Easter thoughts

The Easter bunny came to visit my kids on Sunday and I certainly hope that he visited yours as well. Not only did Kathryn and Paul end up with an Easter basket loaded with toys and lots of candy, they also go to have an Easter egg hunt with A's kids at my mother's house. I think that Easter was a great success for all seven of the kids.

You see, spring break and Easter this year were hectic for us because I invited A's kids to spend all of spring break week with us. That meant a very noisy house for a family that is used to just the four of us being here.

On Good Friday we took all of the kids to Jacobson Park so that we could get some Easter pictures of them and the picture in my layout is the best one of Kathryn and Paul.

For my layout I used Spring Pretty by Michelle Pieters.

Thinking about those who are no longer with us

Since I was fourteen years old, March has always been a really difficult month for me. The reason for that is that my father passed away on March 2, 1995 after having spent nearly a month in a coma following a massive heart attack.

So, having a heritage type of scrapbook kit to work with this month has been a great form of therapy for me. Not only have I lost my father, I've also lost all of my grandparents, some friends and two children to miscarriage in my life. Thinking about all of these loved ones is something that has a tendency to bring me down.

Though we never lived really close to my grandparents, I was very close to my grandmother, Mary and I feel very lucky that she had the opportunity to meet both of my children (two of her oldest great-grandchildren) in her life. The day that we brought Paul home from the hospital she was able to hold him. It was less than a short week later and she was gone, but she had the opportunity to meet him. My grandfather passed away when I was just twelve years old, so I don't have quite as many vivid memories of him, but I do remember that I certainly did love him.

Some pictures of my maternal grandparents taken over the years.

For my layout I used Memories are Precious by Joyce de Jonge

Spring and Weddings are in the air

This week has been so beautiful outside that I've not been spending a lot of time at the computer. It is almost impossible to stay cooped up inside when the sun is shining and the birds are singing.

However, yesterday I did have to stay inside because my wonderful son attempted to set our house on fire. Luckily, all he lit was the bag of toilet paper and it was right by the fireplace so I could throw it in there before any damage was able to be done. He is still grounded today, so I'm inside again.

So, the spring season is traditionally thought of as the wedding season and that is when my parents were married, 34 years ago. I decided to scrap a page with their wedding picture using Joyce de Jonge's wonderful kit, Memories are Precious.

My mom and dad on the day that they were married along with the lyrics to their first dance song.

For my layout I used Memories are Precious by Joyce de Jonge

Happy St. Patrick's Day

May the luck of the Irish be with you. I hope that you remembered to wear your green today so that you don't get pinched.


Kathryn and Paul found these cool St. Patrick's Day shirts at Wal-Mart the other day and they both absolutely had to have them. I love the fact that they decided on matching t-shirts and they fit both of their personalities so well. I think that they are rockers stuck in bodies where their mother is more of a country girl.

I've also been doing some scrapping today. I dug out these old pictures of Paul when he was just over a year old. I'd scrapped them before, but that was when I scrapped everything in an 8 x 10 format. I changed over to 12 x 12 a little bit over a year ago and when I find the right kits, I've been rescrapping my old pages.

I absolutely love The Most Wonderful Place on Earth: Wild Mouse Scraps by Glenda Ketcham and find it really easy to use despite the fact that neither I nor the kids have ever been to Disney.

When Paul was little, he was convinced that slides were for climbing up, not sliding down.
For my layout I used The Most Wonderful Place on Earth: Wild Mouse Scraps by Glenda Ketcham.

Hope you are all having a wonderful St. Patrick's Day Weekend

Spring has Sprung

I don't know how the weather is in your neck of the woods, but here in Lexington, it has been wonderful this week. Temperatures have been in the mid-60s to mid-70s and that has meant that I've been able to get out of the house without a jacket on.

It reminded me of our first trip to the park four years ago, just a few days after a large snowstorm.

I created a page with some of those pictures:

Some pictures of the kids playing at the park during our first park visit in 2008.For my layout I used The Most Wonderful Place on Earth: Wild Mouse Scraps by Glenda Ketcham.

Snowwoman

You know, we've had pretty rough winters here for the last couple of years. Thus, this winter when it didn't look like we were going to get any snow was a treat.

Of course, my loving snow for a day or so really did want to have one of those snowfalls where I could send the kids out in the white stuff to play and build a snowman. I got the perfect snow this past Monday. We got four inches of incredibly wet snow that closed schools down for the day (and I did send the kids out to build a snowwoman).

The best part of the snow, it was 65 degrees on Tuesday, so it lasted long enough for a little bit of fun, but on Tuesday I could send Paul up to Sammy's house in his shirt sleeves.

I present to you a lovely layout made with materials by the incredibly talented Paula Yagisawa showing our short-lived snowwoman.

After a winter with very little snow, we had the perfect snow to build a snowwoman this week. The snow packed beautifully, but it didn't stay cold but for one day.For my layout I used Put A Verb in It! Bundle by Paula Yagisawa at Digitals.

It's Been a Long Time

I know, this blog was all but abandoned, but life and depression got in my way over the last couple of years.

I've given up my career as a designer for right now and I'm concentrating on scrapping as that truly is my passion and my therapy. You see, this last year has been filled with a cancer battle for our family as Tom was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in April of 2011.

I'll be sharing some of my scrapbook layouts, some anecdotes from our life and I might even be venting on here from now on.

But today, I want to share one of my newest scrapbook pages:

To celebrate my best friend's daughter, Star's birthday, she got a hotel room so that the kids could all play in the pool.

For my layout I used Put a Verb in It! Bundle by Paula Yagisawa.