First Day of School:

Last Day of School:

The clothes are the same, although there is quite a bit of fading after 9 months of wearing them. The shoes are the same, although it’s a new pair, a size larger. The smile is the same, although maybe a little leaner. The boy is the same…. oh, but no he is not!

Samuel has grown SO much during this first year of school. It’s really quite amazing what they teach kids in Kindergarten these days. He knows how to read, he can add simple figures, he sings at least 100 more songs now than he did last August. Confidence-wise, I’d say he’s grown ten inches. On the second to last day of school, we went to their Kindergarten program. Over 100 kindergarteners singing us a few songs. And our son? He was the one doing the MOST AWESOME air guitar solo during the “School Is Cool” song. The kid… he has some moves! (And he’ll be happy to tell you all about it sometime too!)

Besides all the increased confidence and new moves, his focus is better… his writing is better… his speech is better. He’s still got some hurdles to overcome (especially in the focus department), but he is meeting each challenge with the innocence of youth, and he isn’t aware yet that there are areas in which he might fail. I’m not going to think about what first grade might bring in that way. For now, we’re just going to enjoy our summer break.

We’re going to read together, and sing together, and teach lil Allan funny dances together. (And maybe an air guitar solo or two).

Oh, and next week, Samuel and I are going to FLY together! We’re heading off to see some family and friends in Nebraska for a few days. Just him and me, on an airplane, in two airports – flying a few states away. Even a few months ago, I might have been concerned about how it would go, how he would do, would I need a leash to keep him by my side? But now? With my big FIRST GRADER accompanying me? After watching him accomplish and finish Kindergarten in STYLE…. yeah, we’re gonna be JUST FINE.

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Thought I’d share a photo from Mother’s Day. Honestly, it is SO hard to get a decent picture with these three kiddos. I mean, they are adorable, and one of them always looks at the camera (usually lil Allan, wonder if that says something about him) – but we can never seem to get ALL three to look at the camera at the SAME time.

But, this was still a good picture, and it makes me happy.

Just look how BIG Martha looks! Sigh… she’s inching her way to toddlerhood already! And I love that Samuel is cuddling with her, even if he’s not looking at Daddy or the camera. (The light, oh, it was TOO bright for that boy). Lil Allan of course has his smile on! Ok, I’ll quit gushing now – thanks for looking!

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If you have an idea for a Photo Friday post, please send me an email at char@digiscrapchat.com. I’m working on a schedule for guest posting, and I’d love to fill in the spaces for the summer! (And if you have an idea for any OTHER post, you can let me know that too). I’ll be finalizing all my guest posting plans by the end of this month!

Happy Friday, folks!

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I’ve been reading her blog(s) for a little while now.  I’ve been enjoying photography tips and her beautiful photos (often of cowboys), recipes, stories about ranch life (pics of cowboys, mmhmm!) and other miscellaneous chatter.   

And just in case I’m NOT the last person on earth to have discovered her, I thought I’d mention her here for Photo Friday.

While I’m not a huge user of PS (I use PhotoImpact, but I do own and occasionally use PSE), I AM in awe of what Miss Ree can do with her software.  And the fact that she gives away her actions for FREE!

I’ll keep this post brief, because you will need the rest of the morning (or afternoon, depending on when you are reading this) to read through the posts on her photography blog, to download her actions, to play with your own photos and to go back to her blog to read a little more. 

I promise she is that addicting.  And if you aren’t really into photography and Photoshop and actions (well, you’re probably reading the wrong blog if you aren’t into them a LITTLE), but if that doesn’t really float your boat, then you can always click over to her cooking blog.  I can personally vouch for her Cinammon Rolls recipe – yes, oh yes, I can!  (Only I used vanilla AND cinnamon in my frosting, because I’m a bit of a rebel and like to tweak recipes, just for fun).  (And I know, you’re not supposed to put cinnamon in the frosting for cinnamon rolls – but did I mention the part about being a rebel?) (And it was GOOD!) (So there!)

Just a word of warning, if you do head over to the cooking blog, make sure you have tissue.  Not for tears, but for the drool.  Although I suppose some of the recipes could induce tears.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Happy Photo Friday, everyone!

(And, isn’t that funny – I think I MAY have talked more about food than photos in this post – oops!)

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(I live in Las Vegas, of course I knew what my odds were!)

(Not that I actually gamble at the casinos or anything).

(Ok, sometimes when my husband and I go to the movies, we stick a few bucks in the mega-bucks slot machine – but only because it’s conveniently located outside the lobby of the movie theater, which is conveniently located IN a casino).

(Because you know, if you ARE going to gamble, mega-bucks is the one to try for).

(Why am I talking about gambling? Right… back to the book review! And the fact that I gambled on my giveaway with Donna’s book).

And as it turns out folks, I was SO right! Donna Downey’s “A Photos-First Approach to Designing Layouts“ book arrived yesterday, and I spent an hour devouring it.

First, let me say that it is primarily written from a paper scrappers viewpoint, and written FOR paper scrappers. HOWEVER, it would still be a fun and useful book for digital scrapbookers. If you are a digi-gal, you can just skip over the part about printing pictures, and move on to the meat of the book, which consists of 25 fabulous sketches.

And these sketches are fun, easy, and versatile. For a reason! The first page of the book sums it all up with the title, “reuse, recycle, repeat”. Donna’s strategy in this book is to offer up sketches that can be reused over and over again. In discussing the PILES of pictures that need to be scrapped, she says, “The best solution I’ve found for getting my photos out of my stacks and into my scrapbooks is to rely on trusty formulas”. She compares the idea of reusing layouts to the gourmet chef who has a “can’t fail” recipe.

She goes on to say, “The sketches include in this book are like those “can’t fail” recipes. You start with a basic formula, add a few different ingredients, and watch as the magic occurs”.

She is so right, and she proves it too! Each sketch comes with four sample layouts, showing the versatility of the sketch. And there are 25 sketches, with multiple photos. If you have been wanting to scrap more photos on a page, this is definitely the book to get. Donna shows how to scrap four, five, six…. all the way to TEN photos on a page – and she shows how to do it WELL. The samples are fabulous, and I found myself anxious to sit down and scrap some of those more photo-heavy layouts that I’ve been avoiding – like birthdays and Christmas. You know, Martha’s first birthday? With all the “eating her first cake” pictures? There are several sketches in this book that will work perfectly with those photos.

So, after 25 sketches with samples, you’d think the book would be complete, but no. Donna includes a 2 page spread with SIXTEEN additional sketches to keep the creativity going. That’s a lot of sketches, folks. And again, they are all multi-photo sketches, with plenty of room for adapting and letting the “magic occur”.

To sum up, it’s a 2 thumbs up for Donna’s book, and I’m so excited to be giving it away to someone! Whether paper or digi, or a mix of both, this book is sure to get your creative juices going and make you excited about scrapping those stacks (or hard-drive) full of photos!

If you haven’t already signed up for the Bloggy Giveaway, click on over and do that now. And check out the other three giveaways too – Giveaway #2 is ending this evening, and #3 and #4 go until Saturday afternoon/evening.

And in case you can’t wait to see if YOU are the winner of the giveaway and want to get this book NOW, here is a link to Donna’s site:

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What do YOU do when you “take a day”? I don’t know about you, but I think I’m going to wear my pajamas all day. (As opposed to just half a day like usual). <grin>

Oh, and just a quick tease – next week is going to be HUGE!! Seriously… HUGE …around here. I will have the first of our Designer Showcases interviews, and at LEAST two, but maybe FOUR, big giveaways. It’s Bloggy Giveaway week, and I’ll be joining in. So, if you like to WIN BIG, you should consider coming back on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday… well, every day! Next week will totally be worth it, I promise!

Happy Friday, everyone!

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Oh, and because it’s Photo Friday, here is a picture of my kids on Easter morning… this is basically what happens when we try to take a picture of all three of them together!

They are adorable, even if NONE of them will look at the lady with the CAMERA!

Happy Photo Friday, folks!

P.S. OH, be sure to scroll down one post to see all of the Thrifty Thursday links. Many of the links are good throughout the weekend, so there’s still plenty of time to do some thrifty shopping.

P.S. #2 And because I feel bad because I’m not going to spend time wandering around the digi blogs today, I think I’ll do A GIVEAWAY! Leave me a comment, and sometime this weekend (probably Saturday afternoon), I’ll pick ONE person from the comments section to win a $5 gift certificate to the DigiScrap store of their choice!

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Samuel is now 6 years old, but wasn’t he a cute 10 month old??

And here he is at about 1 1/2:

And 2 1/2:

Moving on up to age 5:

And here is age six – I’ll be scrappin’ this one soon:

And moving on to lil Allan, here he is in his Daddy’s arms, at age 4 days:

With his Mema:

Wearing Granma’s scarf:

and Messy Marker boy:

Credits for these (and a lot more layouts) can be found in my gallery at www.bellajoy.com/gallery

Happy Photo Friday, folks!

[tags] photo friday, digital scrapbook, layouts [/tags]

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I plan to scrapbook these pictures WITH the STORY in regular 12×12 format soon, but I just had to use these brag book quick pages too. It took about 35 minutes to clean up (mostly lighten, cause my photos are always dark) and put all these pictures together in the quick pages – yep, that’s why they are called QUICK!

So, please indulge me for a few minutes… but isn’t she just the prettiest one year old princess?? (And we took the first couple of pictures in her PINK room. It was definitely a PINK, PINK day, as you can see!)

Fun? Thanks for looking!

Credits – “Happily Ever After” digital scrapbook kit/brag book quick pages by Mary Fran (NitwitCollections.com) and Kay Miller (kaymillerdesigns.com).

I guess I probably should mention my other two kids on this blog at some point? Maybe next week, I’ll post some pics of the BOYS! (No princess quick pages for THEM!)

[tags] digital scrapbook, quick pages, brag book, pretty princess, 1st birthday, photo friday[/tags]

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I am a consultant for Heritage Makers, and I just have to share a quote by Dr. Sharon Murdoch, the founder of the company. She says this, “pictures without stories are memories lost”.

My folks were in town last week for Spring Break, and my dad brought a box full of pictures from his childhood, and the early years of his parent’s marriage before he and his siblings came along. My dad spent a few hours putting all the pictures together in chronological order, and my husband is going to scan these for him.

Once scanned, I plan to digitally scrapbook the pictures, while visiting with my dad and his siblings about the stories behind the pictures, so that we have plenty of journaling to go with the pictures. My dad has copies of all the pictures, so he can ask his mother for details on the stories he is fuzzy on – especially those from before he was born.

So, here’s the thing – my grandmother (his mother) has Alzheimers, and while she still is able to look at pictures and answer questions, there will come a time, probably far too soon, that she won’t be able to tell the stories anymore. And my grandfather (his dad) is nearly blind, so looking at pictures and recording memories is difficult at best. If we don’t get these stories written soon, they will be lost forever, and the book we’re putting together will be pretty – with lots of pictures – but it will be memories lost.

Do you have photos in a box somewhere, memories that are getting fuzzy? Stories that you’ve lost because a loved one is already gone, and that loved one was the last link to those stories? I don’t mean to be morbid or depressing – but rather I want you to stop and think.

If you are a scrapbooker – digital or otherwise – be sure you are recording the stories with the pictures. Your children, and your children’s children will thank you some day.

I recently had the chance to listen to Dr. Sharon Murdoch speak, at a Heritage Makers training. She blew me away with her intensity, her passion for story, and her vision. I came away that day with a whole new appreciation for what HM does, and my passion for wanting to help others save their memories has deepened ten-fold. If I can help YOU preserve your memories, please let me know. Yes, it’s a business – but, it’s not ALL about business.

“Pictures without stories are memories lost…”, and I want to keep that from happening in every way I can.

[tags] Heritage Makers, preserve memories, photo friday, dr. sharon murdoch [/tags]

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So, did you know it’s my baby girl’s birthday? Today? She is ONE! Thought I’d share a couple of pictures to celebrate, and I’ll come back with more pictures after her Princess Party (or I’ll be back in a week or so, when I recouperate from the six extra people in my house… wait, did I mention that already, nevermind).

Ok, moving on…

Look at our baby girl, one year ago…

And today…this is the best I could do this morning, folks. The girl, she is on the move, and taking pictures is not her favorite thing. In fact, she has learned the art of NOT looking at the camera until steam comes out of Mama’s ears. It’s SO fun!

Sigh, the year went by SO fast. It’s been full of highs and lows, happy and sad, lots of joy and a few really tough days. And we honestly don’t know what we’d do without her. I’m so thankful to have this baby girl, there just aren’t words to describe it.

Now, if she could just get some HAIR already – life would be fabulous. So many bows and clips, so little hair…

Happy Photo Friday, everyone (on Saturday!)

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