Serendipity gift cards

I promised to have a gift bag ready for a MOPs auction today and I have procrastinated terribly. As I was, um, researching (ie checking out blogs) this am, I found this post and came up with a great idea!! I made a little set of gift cards in a bag with serendipity, a new paper pack from CTMH that is available from mid December through the end of January. Super paper...very versatile!! TFL!!

Parenting with PeeWee Herman...

OK, so you know I am having a bad day when I resort to using Pee Wee Herman as inspiration in my parenting (can I be arrested for that...). My five year old is very high energy. I had a sleepless night and on my way to pick her up had an incredible and sudden sneezing attack. Trying desperately to keep the car on the road, I made it to the pick up line. She got in and gave the Kindergarten attendant who helped her a sweet little smile, almost as nice as the one reserved for Santa (see attached photo). Once safely buckled in she spun her head around 360 degree and spewed forth vile words and demanded I take her home. I decided right then it wasn't going to be a good day. That was confirmed when the peace offering cheese stick I tentatively handed her became a missile, narrowly missing my head, sigh...And then things got difficult. I managed to feed her some lunch and got a movie on. My sneezing finally subsided (What was that!!) and I had a little relief when she got stuck in the Close to my Heart catalog boxes that she had just ripped through. I debated the consequences of letting her stay stuck while I perused my new catalog, but decided against it when she started crying she had to go to the bathroom. That is when the Pee Wee Herman inspiration came. She wanted me to dance. OK...I did Pee Wee Herman's Tequila. She loved it. We found it on You Tube and she is now practicing it. I have posted the original You Tube here for your nostalgic pleasure and hope to have the Tina version sometime in the future...if not, its back into the boxes for her!!

Birthday Blues :o(

I found this card challenge on a blog today and I loved it! Here is my take on it. It is a birthday card for my DD who officially became a teenager today :o( We can all have a little pity party for me. Why didn't it feel like this last year when my son turned 13...I guess its the same reason I feel I should send a blanket apology letter to the parents of all the girls in my son's school, sigh...but I digress.
All the pp, cardstock, stamps, ink, and die cuts are from a soon to be released paperpack from CTMH called Serendipity. I also used stickles and machine stitching. Serendipity is a special pack available beginning next month until January.

I INKED!!

Yes, I know it sounds bad, but its a good thing. I always feel better with ink on my fingers. It comes from having parents that ran a silkscreen business most of my life!! Just a few cards, but I hope to actually complete a layout prior to ringing in the new year! I want to document on our new home...YES! We should close this week sometime. We closed in PA last week (thanks sooooo much Jack and Cathy! We love you!!) I have attached a sneak peek photo of the house though--the sweeping prom staircase photo (home requirement #841). The layout will give you all a better idea of the new Murphy digs...we are living on the soccer field!
One of the cards is a BOO card we made when we BOOed our neighbors. I guess we do Halloween BIG here (you know what they say about Texas!!) The house down the street has an enormous spider on her lawn (not to confused with the big snake that was living on my balconey, but thats a story for another day!!) Right now we are just enjoying this cooled down to 50 Texas fall (or as Nathan says, "like a nice PA summer day ;o) Its Fall, Y'all!!

The Power of a Praying Parent

I am sooooo glad I found this site. This is one of my favorite parenting books...basically because she puts it right out there...we can't do it without Him. I love The Power of a Praying Wife and have given it to more than one new bride (hey, sometimes the Honeymoon ends a lot faster than we would like, but that doesn't mean the marriage should!!) So, I am going to blog a little about this journey...there is a link back to the site where the study is being hosted...A Frog in my Soup (I bet there is a story there...)
This weeks chapter is Chapter 8 - Attracting Godly Friends and Role Models
I always felt this to be an important chapter. I remember too clearly how important peers were in influencing my behavior, and see that tendency in at least a few of my children. I have been guilty of being one of those parents that think that by carefully monitoring the kids and all their interactions, I could minimize any damage. Allowing them to attend public school when we moved here to Texas has been an absolute leap of faith...I must let go. I cannot control who they will meet in their life. All I can do is pray that they are led to peers who will bless thier lives...Or at least that they will learn to listen to that inner voice that says, "this isn't what I believe or want to do." Better now than later...

Why I do it....

My Grandma didn't do it...I know my mom misses her every day. I remember her death, at an early age, which took so long in her otherwise healthy body. So much I would love to ask her now...why do you do it?

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

Happy Tax Free Holiday...

and other strange things that go on in Texas.
This past two weeks or so have been a major blur...lost a house, found a house, lost a car (moment of silence for my dearly departed truck :o( found a new car...lost a house. Sigh...But it wasn't without its moments...
I got to scrap!! I went to a crop at the Scrapbook Pad in Colleyville for a crop with Donna Downey. What fun!! I had a great picture taken with Donna that I will post when Josiane sends it to me (forgot my camera of course!!) The look on her face is priceless. I was saying I was going to post it on my blog while I told the world that Donna Downey called me a fat pig!! What she said was that I have a heavy hand (noted when I had trouble with an exacto knife)--heavy hand, fat pig...whats the difference, right!! And everyone thinks she is so nice, LMBO!! Just kidding, Donna, I love you (we Catholic Yankees need to stick together!!)and the class was fantastic. As soon as I finish it I will post and then it will be going to work with Shawn as his anniversary gift. Yes...once again, poor Shawn gets a delayed gift :o( He did buy me the car though and we are buying a house, so even though it is our 20th anniversary (you may applaud now!!) we didn't do individual gifts...but he gets to bring our "bloomin' family" to work to remember what his kids look like...
And he will need it. Poor Shawn is working all the time, and the kids are growing so fast. We took them school shopping (even though we don't have a school...they WILL be going!!) during tax free holiday here in Texas. What a trip...It was like Black Friday with no heavy coats!! And we saved over $600...Shawn was not impressed!! He asked how much do you have to spend to save over $600...men just don't get it :o)
I took some pics here of the kids in new outfits in case they grow out of them before we find a school for them to attend. The first is with our new van. The second is in front of our new church...St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Keller.