Vanessa's Birthday

Vanessa's birthday was Monday September 25th. I asked Vanessa what day would be better for her to
celebrate. She said Sunday night, the day before. We had fajitas and all the fixings. And of course I made my famous chocolate cake.

There are 4 candles on the cake only because I wanted to use all the colors and there were only four. Vanessa said each candle represented 8 years 😉

The day before, Kennedy came over with a friend who had spent the night. They helped me make the cake.




They thought that was great fun!

Kennedy's friend McKenzie getting her turn at mixing the batter.

Mixing more ingredients.

McKenzie's mom came to pick her up before we got the cake frosted.

Blowing out the candles.

While preparing for the evening meal. Korin brought Grammer a Hidden Picture book. Here's the video.



Korin's birthday was Tuesday September 26th. She turned 3. Vanessa is having her party on Saturday September 30th. I will share that later.

Have a good one!

New Joint in Town

Hole in the Wall Grill & Bier Garten opened September 9th. It is a part of the Brazos Market & Bistro in downtown Mineral Wells. The owners are friends and fellow church members.

Doyle and I went down to help support this new venture. The idea was if they did well on their opening night they would open two nights the following weekend. It was a success! Now they are opening on Friday and Saturday nights from 6-10pm. Occasionally they have live music. It is a fun relaxed atmosphere. The food is great too!

Some of the other wonderful entries you can order!

Hanging out with friends!

So, if you're in town or if you are coming to the area, I highly recommend this as a place to be on your list to go to!

Have a good one!

Flag Football 9-23-2017

Kashton is playing flag football. He is in the black and silver shirt with the #2.

On the line.

A little coaching from Dad on how to block.

This picture is not clearly in focus but his eyes are still intense!


Have a good one!

More Birthday Cards

I had fun making this birthday card for a lady in our church.

I created the background using water color paper, Distress Oxide Inks and water. I took several different inks and smudged on a non-stick craft map. I spritzed with water. I used a stamp from Unity's August 2017 KOTM "Never Be Afraid". I used two different leaf stamps. I stamped in the ink that was spritzed with water and stamped onto the water color paper. One leaf I stamped, heat embossed and cut out to add foam tape to bring dimension. I really love how it turned out! Better yet, so did the recipient! She loved it so much she shared it on her Instagram account! I count that a success!








I made this card for a boy in our church who just turned 13.

I loved the paper which I used for the background and I love the stamp set! It is Unity's July 2017 Sentiment Kit called "Hugs, Kisses & Birthday Wishes". I think I've shared this one before. I love this kit and have used the sentiments multiple times already!

I colored the image with Copic markers and cut out the image. For a little more "pop" I put glossy accents on the balloons. I also added "googly eyes" to the owl. I added foam tape to give the owl some dimension. I liked how this turned out so well that I made another just like it!

I made this card for a little girl in our church who just turned 4. In fact, she and Kashton are in the same class at school. I have blogged about this stamp set before. I love it! A Unity Stamp called Finally Here by artist Tierra Jackson.

I was so excited to break this stamp out. I made this card for a lady from my church using Unity's June 2017 Sentiment Kit called "She Never Says Never". I used a background stamp from this set to create the background using Distress Ink Tea Dye. Using my Misti I stamped it multiple times to cover the card. I colored the girl with Copic markers and cut out. I also cut out the sentiment and used foam tape to make it stand out just a bit.

Do you see what appears to be some black marks above the girl's head? I dropped my ink pad!! I decided to send it anyway.

I posted it on Instagram with the caption "Perfectly Imperfect. It wouldn't be handmade if it was perfect". For me to do that is really a big accomplishm😉ent in conquering my perfectionism! Yeah me 😊

This card is for a man at church. This image is a Stampin Up! You're shocked right?! 😊 The sentiment is Unity though.



It sure is a good thing our church isn't very big. There are 15 September birthdays! Not counting some family and friend birthdays. I think I've made 20 cards for September alone!

Have a good one!

Playing with Captain 9-21-2017

After the passing of the kids dog Kajen (the yellow lab) they have wanted to get another Lab but they haven't been in a hurry. They got a small dog for Kennedy they named "Classy" the 1st of February.

An opportunity arose for them to adopt a black Lab puppy from a Lab rescue on Labor Day weekend.

The evening of 9-14 tragedy struck when Classy had gotten out of the yard and was in the driveway when Vanessa pulled in not seeing her. Vanessa and Kennedy were terribly upset. Although Captain can't replace Classy, he has brought some comfort after such a tragic event.

The little ones really enjoy playing with him. They brought him with them when they came over one afternoon and they took great delight in calling him from one side of the porch to the other. It made me smile and giggle. I think it will you too 😊



He has a sweet disposition but nearly all Labs do. He will make the kids a great dog.

Have a good one!

Friday Night Football 9-15-2017

September has been a pretty busy month for us. School is in full swing as well as football. Kennedy is on the cheer squad at the Christian School she attends and Kashton is on the "Spirit Squad".

The school had its first home game Friday September 15th.

I got a picture with Korin (after several attempts I might add).

Vanessa has a friend who made t-shirts for the family. The front says "It's Game Day Ya'll" and their last name on the back.

She is too cute for her own good!

Sharing nachos with brother.

It was a fun evening.


Have a good one!

Ground Breaking Steel Freedom Ranch

Doyle told me about a groundbreaking he wanted to attend in our part of town Saturday September 9th

The groundbreaking was for a property that had been vacant for years. I always loved the place. Years ago the people had a couple of horses.

The property was purchased by a non-profit organization called Steel Hope. They are dedicated to

helping others. Their ultimate goal is to restore hope and touch lives one person at a time.

The property was purchased with the intent of using it as a place where individuals can recover, rediscover and rebuild their lives.

They had BBQ, live music, provided Monster truck rides and Air Evac helicopter was there.

Doyle visited with the air crew.

Doyle was there as a representative of the city. This property is also in the ward that he is councilman for.

Praying over the founder Josh (grey shirt and blue long sleeves) and his wife Crystal (black t-shirt).

It was delightful to meet these people and their board of directors. I can't wait to see this place renovated and put to use. If you'd like to learn more about this project go here.


Have a good one!

Look Who Came to Visit 9-9-2017

When Dad and I talked last week he had mentioned coming to Texas to help with the Disaster Relief in the Houston area so I wasn't surprised when he called Thursday September 8th to tell me he would be at my house on Friday night.

He went with us to Kashton's first flag football game.

It took Korin a little time to warm up to GGpa.

But it wasn't long before she was playing along. In fact after the game they came to the house to visit a bit longer. When he left she asked "Where's Grandpa?"

I didn't get any pictures of Kashton because he didn't play. He wasn't having a good day and wouldn't even sit with his team.

Dad got a hold of Taylor and Destiny and was going to meet with them before he drove on to his destination which was Texas City in between Galveston and Houston.

Have a good one!

View From the Back of a Horse 9-12-2017

I have one video in this blog and links to three other videos from the same ride. WARNING, I did video from horse back which makes for a jumpy video so if you get motion-sick easily you may not want to watch.

Last week we had pleasant riding weather. I loaded up a horse and headed to the State Park to ride what is called the "Cross Timbers" Trails. I rode Fancy. Once we got to the main part of the train 2 different times I heard rustling in the woods. I assumed it was deer although I didn't see. Then I saw something that I thought was a deer cross the trail ahead of us but didn't get a good look. Then I saw a doe come out of the thicket onto the trail. She stopped and looked at us but before I could get the video going she darted off. I did however video a little bit.

Unlike Diamond, Fancy doesn't poke along. She did however whinny a couple of times looking for her buddies.















We get a little farther down the trail and Fancy stops because she hears something. I start scanning the area to see what it is. I then spy turkeys. I could see the turkeys but you can't see them on the video. You can see that video here.

Going on down the trail, Fancy stops dead in her tracks again. I wait a minute and then I hear it too. A rustling in the leaves just off the trail. The longer I listen I realize it's an armadillo. I finally spot it but unfortunately you can't see him on the video either. You can watch that video here.

I get to my favorite part of the trail. You can see it here. Hope you enjoy.

I could tell that the trails had been mowed but the other low water crossing was covered up by weeds! I just had to ride through them.

This was one end.

Here is the other end.

It was a great ride!

Have a good one!

Cheers to You Card Challenge

The current card challenge over at Cards in Envy is "Cheers to You". We are to create a card for any type of celebration whether birthday, graduation, retirement, anniversary. You get the idea.

I made a birthday card for a member of our church who also likes horses 😊.

I used a Unity Stamp by Phyllis Harris called "Felt with a the Heart". The sentiment is from Unity's sentiment kit called  "Hugs, Kisses & Birthday Wishes".

Thanks for taking a look!

Have a good one!

More Birthday Cards

I think I have told you before that I decided early in the year to send handmade cards to my church family along with friends and family members.

I found that there are LOTS of September birthdays! Mother's being one of them! Her birthday is September 3rd.

This is the card I made her.

This card was so fun to make. The image is a Unity Stamp from their "Uniquely Unity" collection. I colored it with my Copic Markers then cut it out. I put foam tape behind it to give it dimension. The sentiment I stamped and cut into a banner. The background I made using Distress Inks Black Soot, Tumbled Glass and Salty Ocean to create a night sky then spattered with Distress Stain Picket Fence and sprayed with Perfect Pearls Mist.




This card is for a family friend who attends church with me. He turned 37. I am very good friends with his mom. He was 10 when I started attending church there. He has long blonde hair. I've shared several cards I've made with this stamp. It is a Unity by Phyllis Harris called "Strong & Courage". My stamp is actually a girl but I think I successfully turned it into a young boy. You can get the "boy" version here. I colored the image using Prisma Colored pencils.

The background I created using an embossing folder. It's called basket weave but if you look close it looks like small crosses.

The sentiment I created using my friend Teresa's Alpha Stamps by Ken Oliver. The clip together. I thought that was cool. I may have to have these!

I made this card for a lady who runs a coffee business on our church property. I buy a coffee from her once a week. She has horses and shows them. Her family raises horses too. We have become friends. She has even helped me out a few times with my horses when I have had health questions. Her birthday is September 7th. I made this card for her. It is a Unity stamp by Phyllis Harris called "And For a Moment". This is a very large image and takes up most of the card space (which is a A2 - 4.25 x 5.5). I created the sky background using an Impressions Obsessions. I cut out the image and placed on the card. The sentiment is from another Phyllis Harris stamp set called "Felt With the Heart".

My Uncle Philip's birthday is September 9th. I haven't sent him a card in years but decided to this year. This may seem a bit girly to give to a man but this image reminds me of when I was a little girl except I never worn a dress when I was around horses. Heck I didn't wear a dress unless my mom made me! So I thought it worked to give to him. This is a new release from Unity by Phyllis Harris called "Simple Places".

There will be more cards to come. Vanessa and Korin's birthdays are this month and so is Doyle and my anniversary!

Have a good one!

Hummingbirds in East Texas 08-28-2017

I went on my annual scrapbook retreat last weekend (Aug 24-28) with my buddy Teresa. Things were a bit different this time. There are usually 6 of us but 2 of the spots went unfilled. The leader of our group husband ended up in the hospital a week before the retreat and didn't get out until after the retreat so she didn't come. There were only 3 of us.

The retreat venue quit offering wifi and cell service was all but none! That was hard with me being the weather buff I am and Hurricane Harvey on the verge of landfall. I had the TV on The Weather Channel to keep up.

I also didn't take pictures like in the past. I'm not really sure why.

The picture of the bottom right came about because of the devotional we had for this retreat comparing our lives to diamonds.



We made TWO trips to the little scrapbook store in the middle of nowhere just outside Mabank called "Country Scents". The owner is called "Miss Mae". She is a real sweet heart. She had several boxes of new product come in that she hadn't opened yet. I helped her check in a lot of it so we could buy some of it.  It was SO worth it.

I wish I didn't live so far away I would go to work for her!

As we were leaving the store the second time there was this gorgeous moth right outside the door. I've never seen a moth colored like this!








I tried to get prepared for this retreat by picking papers, cardstock and pictures to put together. That's how I got so many pages done last year (over 100). I did do that but I wasn't as prepared as last time. However I still completed 65 pages and that's nothing to sneeze at!

I spent some time porch sitting watching the hummers. There were more than I have ever seen in previous years. It was fun to watch.  The loud sound of wind blowing is a fan the owners have on the porch to help circulate air. You could still hear the hummers. Enjoy!




Have a good one!

Birthday Party 08-19-2017

The grands had a birthday party they were invited to. Keannon and Vanessa had gotten an opportunity to go to a Cowboys pre-season game and sit in the box seats provided by the company he works for. Vanessa asked if I could take the kids to the party.

It was a swim party for a 4 yo. Kennedy and Kashton swam but Korin was not interested at all. Which was really a good thing considering the pool was an above ground and if Korin had wanted to swim I would have had to go in the water with her. Instead she had fun chasing a loose chicken!

We also made friends with this beautiful Great Dane. This one is at least 4 inches taller than our Gracie but because Korin has been around ours she wasn't the least bit afraid of this gentle giant.

















It was a Unicorn themed birthday. Kashton proudly wearing his horn.

It really was a great turnout and party even though I didn't know very many people. The kids had a great time

Have a good one!