Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Holiday Blessings

I won't be posting for a few days, just wanted to reach out and extend a heartfelt Christmas blessing to everyone. I pray God's love and peace in your lives.

Today I lost my dear friend Glinda, she was ready for glory and I know she is at the feet of our risen King and I rejoice in that knowledge. Yet, I miss her.

Glinda leaving this earth during the celebration of Christ's birth reminds me of why we are here. The Son of Man became flesh and was born in a lowly manger, He came to reconcile us to Him...so that when our time to leave this earth comes...we can live in eternity with Him. He loves us so very much and I love Him.

Thank you Lord for living amongst us, ultimately saving us so that we may also be at your feet someday. Praise be to your holy name.

Merry Christmas!

Teresa

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Waterfall Christmas card

It has been a few weeks since my last post.
This one is for my friend Glinda....she is dear to me and is a wonderful friend...also she is my stamping buddy. We have a great time stamping, trying new papercrafting techniques, and just hanging out.

In recent weeks, Glinda has fallen ill, we are trusting the Lord to heal her.

Glinda is a loving, caring, and giving friend who exemplifies the love of Christ. I miss our long conversations where we discuss all kinds of topics. She is a rock for me...helps me stay grounded, focused on what is important and living a life pleasing to the Lord.

These are my small but heartfelt gifts for my friend...love you Glinda.





















Sunday, November 30, 2008

Photo Christmas Card

I just read a blog that went on and on about proper blog etiquette, not fun. Sounds like this person has a concern about her work being posted on other sites without permission. While I can understand it is reasonable and proper to ask permission....several lengthy paragraphs on the subject was a bit much.

So, instead of reading all of that....I decided to post a newly made Christmas card that utilizes a photo I snapped this summer. Easy peasy to make, fast, fun, and wonderful. My inspiration came from a card class I attended at Archiver's in Castleton. The stamps are from Hero Arts.
The photo...my husband Mark, and grandsons Elias and Ezera. That is Elias, the inquisitive one looking back.
Blessings and don't forget to ask for permission instead of forgiveness.
Teresa

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Thanksgiving Blessing

Hello,

It has been a long time....sorry.
I wanted to share this with you...
O God, when I have food,
help me to remember the hungry;
When I have work,
help me to remember the jobless:
When I have a home,
help me to remember those who have no home at all;
When I am without pain,
help me to remember those who suffer.
And remembering;
help me to destroy my complacency;
bestir my compassion,
and be concerned enough to help;
By work and deed,
those who cry out for what we take for granted.
Amen.
by Samuel F. Pugh, A Thanksgiving Prayer

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Halloween Theme Invitations

I've been busy....traveled to South Bend for a meeting, attending grandchildren sporting events, and working. In the midst of all of that activity.... I managed to squeeze in a few cards. This is how I unwind and de-stress.

The attached are cards that I made as invitations to a Girl Scout gathering that my granddaughter Victoria and her mother are hosting. I posted a few of them because of the slight variations. The stamp set is from Gina K. The papers were in my stash and scraps...not sure where they came from. The scalloped circle that says "Ghoul Scouts Rule" is Stampin Up. I made the sentiment with MS Publisher. The ribbon was acquired at Cord Scrapbooking in the day. I also used Cutttlebug's "Boo to You" dry embossing folder.

On down is a couple of "sleepover" invitations I made for my grandson Joshua. I had all of the materials at home (I really need to use what I have before buying more, if you know what I mean...wink, wink!)

I don't know why...but I think Halloween cards are just too cute.

Later tater,

T












Monday, September 22, 2008

Revised - It's a great day at Carolyn King's Blog

They are Speechless at Carloyn King's Blog!

With good reason...read on.

Don't we all just love blog candy.....I know I do. I think it is the chance that makes it fun. Something that makes blog candy even more enjoyable is when it is offered in support of a great cause.

That is what is going on at Carolyn King's Blog. There is a blog candy offering that boggles the mind...it is GINORMOUS...really! All offered in support of the Alzheimer's Association.

It is also very heart warming to see so many generous kind hearted people and companies stepping forward to support this great cause.

Follow this link for all of the details....Blog Candy for a great cause!

I am sending this card to support this effort. The sentiment reads...Be The Change you want to see in the world. Pretty fitting don't you think? The paper is SUs Ginger Blossom,

the butterfly comes from the 2004 Flower Garden SU set, the sentiment came from Michael's.

The tri-fold card instruction came from Splitcoaststampers. It is called Joy Fold Card and was posted by Beate Johns.

Blessings!

Teresa

Friday, September 19, 2008

Halloween Cards


I love Halloween cards....not sure why except they are cute. I usually don't make Halloween cards and I have never sent a Halloween card to anyone.

I like how these turned out...the first card is made with Gina K's Haunted House stamp set. All papers, brads, etc. came from Archivers. No SU on this one.

The second card was stamped with SU's Halloween wheel. The background on both images were created using Tattered Angel's Glimmer Mist. The punched out bats were created with Martha Stewart's Halloween bat punch (I also use this on Batman items. I used a lot of Diamond Stickles on both cards.

Later Tater!

Teresa

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Being a grandmother is a true blessing...unbelievable!


Grandchildren - They are so wonderful....as my friends know our family grew very quickly with Michael's children, Elias, Ezera, and Emersyn. Then Mark got married and we were blessed with Joshua and Victoria. We already had our sweet Garrett and Jessica, so we have been incredibly blessed.

Elias and Emersyn share a birthday, their mother and I sat together and made their invitations. Since the children share a birthday, there is one party with two separate themes. This is what we came up with...

Emersyn's birthday theme is "Strawberry Shortcake" and Elias chose "Power Rangers".

Now for their birthday cards....
I'll start with Elias.
Again I used Penny Black stickers, however, I also used Penny Black "Zoophabets" to create Elias's name. The stickers and stamps rock. The paper is a shimmery orange cardstock from Archiver's. The layered paper is from a Creative Memories set called "Rockin Rainbow", and I must say it really is rocking. The colors are vibrant, the non-designed paper has two colors on each side, one being very bold the other is a softer shade of the same color. I really like that.
The paper is pretty old, I'm sure of it..too bad it is really nice.
Meet Elias....just look at the smile on this child's face, isn't it wonderful to see kids enjoying their time? He is a treasure, we adore him.

Emersyn....this is her card, I was up until the wee hours of the morning working on this.
This image didn't turn out as I had hoped, but
Em's card is supposed to be a flower garden.
I used diamond stickles on the wings.


Now, I saved some of the best for last....look at my sunshine. She was laughing with such joy today. You will never know what a blessing that is to this grandma's heart.


Happy birthday sweet Emersyn, we love you!
Teresa

Thursday, September 4, 2008

One last vacation post - this one is for card lovers!

While at Pike's Place Market, Alice and Pastor slipped away and bought me a prize...and you know I do love prizes! Of course it was easy for them to give me the slip because my head was going back and forth like the fuzzy dog ornament in the back of my father's old pink Desota. (He really did have one, it really was pink, and he kept it parked under the Mimosa tree, which just so happens to have pink blooms.)

Just look at these beautiful cards! Aren't they awesome? I just love them and they will be a constant reminder of the great time we had in Washington with our lovely friends.

These cards are very unique, they were stamped by local Seattle artist, John Sollid. All of the designs are block printed with linoleum, wood, or metal in Seattle. The colors are vibrant and crisp, no smudges...very nice.
I would love to see the stamps used to make these cards.
What a treat!


















Saturday - going home

Sometimes I just forget to share the coolest stuff! Flying into Portland we were fortunate to be seated on the side of the plane that provided a magnificant view of the mountains. We couldn't take photos because we had checked our cameras.

Believe me, we were not so silly coming back and once again we were blessed with an incredible view.

Pretty incredible...don't you think?



Friday, August 29, 2008

Thursday - We are sleepless in Seattle

Wow, we are really getting around in
the great Pacific Northwest...a few hours drive along beautifully scenic highways with noses to the windows and we find ourselves in Seattle.

The city is bustling with lots of activity. Pastor and Alice are a few hours from the best tourist attractions the Pacific Northwest has to offer, and oddly enough they go north, south, east, west. So we have been all around...literally.




THE SKY NEEDLE

You can't go to Seattle and not get a photo of the Sky Needle, so here it is.


















PUGET SOUND

About Seattle, one of our first sites is Puget Sound. The real estate in this area is a little pricey...OK VERY pricey. Like cough, a million bucks. And these are not super fancy, pieces of property. In Indy the same would cost a fraction of this amount.

So here we are at Puget Sound with the Seattle city scape behind us.






SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE

Next stop....Sleepless in Seattle. The house boat Tom Hanks "lived" in is actually in a house boat community. I didn't know such a thing existed. I did not get a great photo of that particular house boat but did find this one with the beautiful entryway. This photo shows the water around the house.



















LUNCH AT IVERS - HAVE I MENTIONED THAT ALICE HAS GOOD RESTAURANT RADAR?


On to lunch at Iver's, wonderful fresh seafood on the water front, yummy. Clam chowder to die for. And an audience...sea gulls as large as chickens. We are talking very well fed birds that love french fries and make it known to all that are in ear shot.

Truth is...I had fun feeding the birds as did Alice.
THE MARKET

On to downtown Seattle to the market. OK this was one serious bustling area, really people everywhere.

The market has many beautiful arts and crafts, but what really stood out to me is the flowers. The bouquets are huge, the flowers TOP grade and very vibrant, grown in the area and cost $5.00 a bunch. Win Win Win!!!



There are arrangements that cost more, like $10.00, but they are vast. My head was spinning at the endless row of beautiful flowers, delphiniums, dahlias, asters like I've never seen.


PIKE PLACE FISH COMPANY
At the market we visit the world famous Pike's Place Fish Company and with perfect timing we arrive for the noon time "show". Fish flying, people smiling, good time.




THE ORIGINAL STARBUCKS

We stuck our heads into the original Starbucks. Here you see their coffee bean pig. Not a great shot but it was suspended over my noggin in a very crowded room, my apologies, but this is as good as it gets.

Until tomorrow!

Teresa

Wednesday - Taking it easy

Wednesday - Slow down the pace...just a bit.

I had typed this up earlier and Blogger ate it, hope my memory serves me well. There is a slight rain and the temperature is mild, feels very good to me.

We don't have an agenda today, Pastor and Alice need to go to the church and work. While they are there, we tidy up the house a bit and do a little laundry.

We met with the Pastor, Alice, and several people from the church for lunch at Taco Time, a franchise operated by a family from the congregation. The food is yummy and all ingredients fresh. Here we met Rita who answers the phones while Pastor and his staff are in meetings each Wednesday. I have already met Ruth, the children's minister and terrific scrapbooker, and Diane, Pastor's administrative assistant and talented computer repair technician.

In the evening we have dinner at the church...this was most impressive. Every Wednesday, a few of the ladies cook up a nutritious meal, complete with dessert for $5.00. How convenient is that? We dined in the company of Barbara, a lady of seventy that is raising two great-grandchildren, Jesus please bless her. And we meet Cheryl and her husband, Cheryl is a stay at home grandma, her husband works in the timber business. Cheryl has a ministry called "Apples of Gold", here they teach the ladies what I would categorize as home economics, i.e., cooking and household tips. The ministry encourages women, especially young ladies (I would imagine) with household issues and duties. They also have recipe sharing, which really appeals to me. If I lived there, I would be attending this class, the fellowship/relationship opportunity here is exponential.

At 7:00 we are off to Bible Study. I am a little anxious, after all we are new and haven't been to Bible Study for a long time. Our schedule just doesn't allow it, so I am not only anxious, but also excited because Mark and I have an opportunity to study together. Here we meet Ann, she has five children. She and her husband both come from very large families, if I remember correctly she has eleven brothers and sisters, her husband has twelve. We meet Louise, her eyes sparkle with life. We also meet Rev. Thurman and his wife. I detect a gentle and loving spirit from them.

Class was led by Mac. Mac taught from 1 John, chapter 1. This passage tells us about Jesus and who he is...and it also tells us about redemption. Interesting thing is, Mac shared with us...a personal situation that had occurred in his life and how he needs and loves his church family. Here he is so transparent, it makes it effortless to relate to him and to draw closer. Mac touched my heart and I learned we both have empathy toward people that find themselves in dire straits due to bad choices. And it is here, the grace of Jesus comes through and our Redeemer gives His mercy.

At class we also met Robert, he is wonderful. I saw a childlike love and reverence for Jesus shine through Robert. He had his purple cross and his baseball cap with "MFJ" on the front, which he explains to me means "My Friend Jesus".

Mac talked about things he and Robert had done through out the week and it is during this conversation that I realize, Mac and Robert are friends and that Mac is there for Robert. He looks out for him, makes sure he can get around, is there if he has a need. Mac loves Robert...and Robert loves Mac. The dynamics of this friendship touched my heart and I pray they both have a long lasting deep friendship serving the Lord all their days.

This post is post Wednesday and I am back home. Since my return I have been listening to Pastor's series called "Home Improvement". This series directly addresses what is up with us...meaning you and me. What are the issues we deal with continually that concerns us...separates us from God? Pastor teaches us the scriptural responses to these real and pressing problems. Earlier in this post I said my schedule didn't allow for Bible Study with Mark...and it doesn't. BUT, that does not mean I can't reclaim my MARGIN and get into one myself. I have resolved to do just that!

It refreshed my soul to spend time with God loving people and I feel renewed, ready to pick up the cross and press through, just like Mac. Thank you brother for your testimony and keep on being transparent, your testimony is powerful and encouraging, it exemplifies the grace and mercy God has for us....just for the asking.

Mt. Saint Helens

Tuesday - Today Pastor and Alice are working at the church in the afternoon. Joel is preparing to leave for college. Mark and I will be exploring alone today. First Alice and I take Pastor to church, then we go to the grocery, rush back to the house and prepare food for a cookout. We had a delicious meal and was visited by a humming bird. Now to the mountain...

Mt. Saint Helen's is approximately 1.5 hours away. We travel up Highway 5 to Johnston's Pass. We see a sign that says "Blast Zone", then drive for many more miles up the pass. The area the explosion affected (destroyed) is vast. Everything beyond the "Blast Zone" sign is new growth since the volcano erupted in 1980. Hard to believe it was that long ago, seems like it happened only a few years back.

Mark and I spent the day on the mountain and were in absolute awe of the enormity of what occurred here and the beauty that has emerged since that time. Several new species of plants have emerged since the eruption.

Speaking of the eruption, the volcano didn't erupt as we may typically think...i.e., spewing up, then flowing down. Instead, there was an enormous side facing explosion that blew out the side of the mountain. There was an initial blast, followed by heated gases that were 1,500 degrees, followed by a rock and mud slide, then lava.

Since this event occurred in modern times, scientist have been able to gain much knowledge regarding this type of volcanic eruption.

The semi-circular lookout is inscribed with the names of those that perished that day.

There are trees on the top of surrounding mountain tops yet today that show the direction of the blast. They look like matchsticks.


While the mountain looks rather close, it is actually five miles from where we are standing.

You can see the indentation in the middle of the mountain where the cap is forming...and growing.

We hiked a while today, there was a slight breeze and the temperature was cool, which makes hiking comfortable. It felt good to get some much needed exercise.