Copic Coloring Classes!

Hello Friends!

I hardly know where to begin, things have been so busy with my family. It's been an absolute joy to share in the milestones of my children's lives with Fifth Grade Finale and High School Graduation, band, choir and Accappella concerts and all kinds of banquets, events and grad parties!!!

Check this guy out:

With school being done, I'm off of work and that means more time for family, friends and stamping!!! :)

Recently, I was contacted by Tonya Weakly of Peddler's Den in Somonauk, IL to teach some Copic coloring classes and I am incredibly excited about this opportunity! Tonya already has all of the details up on her website http://www.creativedesign1.com/classes.htm

My first class will be July 11th from 1-3 pm and will be an Introduction to Copics. The class will be hands on with lots of time to play with Copics as well as 3 card projects for you to complete. I am really looking forward to sharing my love of Copics with you!

Warmly~ Patti

Happy Happy Holidays

Look at that happy little face! That's my nephew Aden! He's looking adoringly at my daughter, Sarah while they are unwrapping gifts at their Great Gram's house on Christmas eve.

It's tradition to go to my Gram's house on Christmas eve and this was Aden's first. My sister and her family live in Alabama and this was their first year up since Aden's birth. He'll be two in April. We so enjoyed sharing in Aden's delight of Christmas, family and gifts. It was a special evening at Gram's, as always.

Christmas eve was followed by a Christmas day drive to Powell, Ohio to spend time with Chris' family. His parents, 3 siblings, their spouses and a total of 11 children, ranging in age from 10 months to 17 years filled Chris' brother's home. It was two days of non-stop fun, including Wii, guitar praise, eucher, talks of politics and religion, family pictures and a birthday party for three!

We are truly blessed to have such wonderful family to share in our celebration of our Savior's birth!

Chicago Trip

Made it through the "bug" and I'm feeling a lot better today. Thank you for all of the birthday wishes you sent my way. You are all so very sweet!

I enjoyed spending the day with my family in Chicago. We took the train and then a water taxi to Michigan Avenue. I recommend the water taxi as it gives you chance to take in some of the architecture and it's only $2 a person.

The Magnificent Mile was pretty intense. The pace of things had me feeling kind of rushed. But we did have a fun time at the Lego Store and the Hershey Store and we even stopped in Tiffany's!

After shopping Michigan Avenue, we took a walk to a stamping store called Stamp On In. Let me just say that 20 "city blocks" are NOT the same as 20 blocks in good ole DeKalb. Sarah and I are pretty sure we walked about 5 miles! lol The store was a lot of fun though and I picked up few goodies and even got 10% off because it was my b-day.

From there, we took the bus (again, well worth it as it had AC) back toward Millenium Park. At the park, we took in the Cloud Gate which was amazing and Crown Fountain which we thought would be a nice treat for our feet, but Sarah and I ended up getting drenched by some very obnoxious children who were kicking water. Fortunately, the warm breeze had us dried off in no time.

By then we were all starving and landed at Giordano's Pizza for a very delish stuffed pepperoni pizza Chicago Style! By the time we ate and chatted about our day, it was nearly 8pm and we needed to head back to the train station.

We missed Buckingham Fountain due to the Taste of Chicago and decided to wait on the Sears Skydeck because it was such an overcast day. All in all it was a great day, but I have to admit "there's no place like home", especially when you realize your not a "city girl". ;)

Thanks for stopping by to share in my trip! Smiles~ Patti

Faith and Family

Last Friday, I said I'd be back to share about the baptism of my husband, Chris and our two younger children, Jacob and Sarah. It's been a busy week filled with lots of wonderful things, including track, band and choir banquets, but I do want to take you back to last Saturday because it was a lovely ceremony that filled my heart with sheer joy!

Chris' testimony brought me to tears, as he spoke of his parents and the wonderful Christian home he was raised in. He shared how he turned away from the church during college and made his way back when we married "for the sake of our children". He went on to tell how that turned into a longing for a personal relationship with Christ. Jacob was next, saying that he wanted to be a true follower of Christ and live with Him in heaven someday. And Sarah finished by sharing how she had accepted Christ while talking and praying with Chris and saying how much she loves Jesus.

I praise God for His faithfulness and love and thank Him for the gift of salvation He offers us through His Son, Jesus Christ. I am so blessed to be a child of God. There is nothing better in this life than to be His and I am so overwhelmed with joy that my children call him Father too.

My heart's desire is for my children to grow so deeply rooted in their faith that nothing can move them from their relationships with our Lord. When growing up, my family went to church in spurts and then stopped when I was a teen.

It wasn't until my daugther's death and moving in with my aunt, that I started attending church again and began to realize how much I needed God. When Chris and I married, we agreed that He needed to be an important part of our family. Early on in our marriage, it was challenging getting to church on Sundays. I worked retail, which required me to work every other weekend. Chris was a real trooper, faithfully taking our 2 little guys every Sunday, even when I couldn't go.

Eventually, moving out to DeKalb allowed me the privilege of being a SAHM, which was a good thing because at that point, we had 2 more little ones. After settling in, we found a home at DeKalb Christian Church. Pastor Tom's sermons touched my heart and began to remove the layers of guilt that I had carried with me over past sin. I was baptized at DCC 7 years ago, and through God's word and Spirit, I discoverd that I had worth and that He loves me. I learned how to forgive. I learned how to love. And I learned the value of passing on my love of our Lord to my children.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope it's as beautiful and sunny where you are, as it is here. I'll be back later this weekend to share some projects. In the meantime, enjoy your day! Blessings ~ Patti

Prom 08

As promised, here's a picture of Josh and his friend Amy all decked out for prom. They made such a handsome couple. Amy's dress was the brightest pink I've ever seen and Josh was a little worried he'd have to sport a pink tie, but we found the perfect match...it's got black, burgundy and bright pink stripes. It was great paired up with his black pin-striped suit and light grey shirt.

This year's theme was Hollywood, so when Josh asked Amy to prom he used a director's scene board that he found at Factory Card outlet. He wrote on it, Scene: Prom Take: 1 Cast: You and Me? It was very clever!

I'm told prom was a lot of fun despite the fact that it left Josh feeling very tired the next day. Prom, coupled with Post Prom, didn't get over with until 3:30 in the morning! Although I didn't wait up, Josh woke me when he got home, gave me a hug and we mutually decide to get some sleep and talk about all the details the next day.

It's pretty cool to be the mom of teenagers! Although, there are challenging moments, there are so many awesome things going on that make for great memories.

He Drives!

We fit alot into our busy week, but one of the most fun things was seeing our oldest complete his driving test and take off on his first solo drive! Josh has proven himself a great driver. He did his student driving during some of Illinois' harshest winter weather and even did a lot of night driving. He's really in tune to what's going on around him, making him a good defensive driver. He was definately ready to take off on his own!

For his first solo drive, Josh picked up his friend Amy and went to get his hair cut. Tonight is the DHS Jr.-Sr. Prom, so he wanted a new look. I'll be back later this weekend to share Prom photos.

In the meantime, I'm off to do laundry and clean house. (My mom's coming up tomorrow. ) Josh, Justin and I are taking her to see Les Miserable for Mother's Day! A treat for me too! :)

"Fly Check" in NYC!

Back to share a little bit more about Justin's trip to NYC. This is the DHS guys a cappella group, "Fly Check", in Central Park. Justin is in the front row on the far left. The guys spent most of their first day in Central Park roaming around and playing frisbee. Must be a guy thing. ;)

If you're interested, here's an article from our local paper about the boys http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2008/04/14/features/learning/learning01.txt , a link to some great photos of their practice and performance at Lincoln Center http://gallery.rossmedia.com/FlyCheck08?page=1 and a very complimentary recap of the competition http://pitchperfect-thebook.blogspot.com/2008/04/icca-finals-now-with-jazz-hands.html.

Can you tell, I'm just a little bit proud of him. Justin has a passion and gift for music. He's been a percussionist for 5 years, has taught himself how to play piano, guitar and a bit of trombone and just this year has discovered how much he enjoys singing. He's in madrigals, guys a cappella and the varsity choir at school.

I love this photo of Justin and his bud, Brett at Lincoln Center. They've been friends since the fifth grade. Brett is an outstanding trombonist and has been the inspiration for our youngest son, Jacob, who started the trombone this year. More importantly, he's a great guy and an awesome friend. I'm so pleased that Brett and Justin got to share in the experience of performing in NYC. Congratulations guys!!!

Weekend Fun

Whew! What a weekend! It started for us on Thursday morning as my husband and I sent Justin off to New York City to perform at the National a Cappella competition at Lincoln Center. Who knew it could be so exhausting just wondering what your 14 year old was doing each day for 4 days in the Big Apple. Naturally, I made my daily texts and calls to check on him.

Justin made it home safe and sound today and of course, had an amazing time. The guys, "Fly Check", placed 3rd in the nation for best high school a cappella group! Outstanding! While in NY, Justin went to see Spamalot and Young Frankenstein and visited Central Park, Times Square and Ground Zero.

While Justin was away, I was busy entertaining girls. We had a half day of school on Thursday, so I took my daughter Sarah and her friends Macie and Savannah for a girls day out of craft shopping. We had a blast going to Joanne's, Michael's, Archiver's, Hobby Lobby and Target Greatland. We bought, paper, stamps, bling, flowers, chipboard, beads, more beads and even more beads and some girly pedicure goodies. We finally stopped to eat at about 7:45 pm and it was then that I realized how sore my feet were. lol These girls know how to shop!

We didn't have school on Friday either, but I had a couple of hours of conferences with my teens' teachers followed by a lunch date with my oldest son. My big guys are so busy, it's nice to squeeze in a little one-on-one time. I spent Friday afternoon cleaning house in preparation for an evening of entertaining on Saturday. Our guests- six 10 year old girls.

My daughter, Sarah (far left in the photo), spent months trying to decide what she wanted to do for her birthday this year. We don't always have a party, but since she's going double digits, we thought we'd do it up big. After weighing her options, Sarah finally decided on a Build-a-Bear birthday. We spent a couple hours decorating our family room with streamers, balloons and paper lanterns in a variety of bright colors. The girls arrived for a pizza dinner and then we left for the mall. Imagine being in a van with six giggling 10 year old girls singing along to the soundtrack from Wicked for 4o minutes. ;)

At the mall, Build-a-Bear was a big hit, although we didn't build any bears. We brought home 4 dogs, a cat and a bunny with a variety of outfits including soccer, skater, doctor, police officer, jean & t-shirt combo and bathrobe. After BAB, the girls rode the carousel in the middle of the mall and then we returned home for gifts, cake and ice cream, nail painting and a movie with popcorn. The last girl fell asleep at about one. And today, I took an evening nap. ;)

I did find a little time to stamp this weekend, so I'll be back tomorrow to share a card. See you then! ~Patti

Happily Ever After

I love this picture my daughter took of Chris and me. Every now and then, Sarah gets the urge to play paparazzi with the digital camera. ;) This is one of her pics from February of this year.

My husband Chris and I met 13 years ago when we were both working at Venture, a retail department store. I was the customer service manager and Chris was working in the electronics department. It was his third job. He was also working at two museums during the day.

Chris has a passion for history and has received multiple awards for his fantastic work on programs and exhibits. He's an incredibly intelligent man with an amazing gift for teaching. In addition to history, Chris enjoys keeping up on politics, discussing religion, reading, occasional blogging (http://www.pattishub.blogspot.com/), being a Scout leader, serving at church and spending time with us. He's such a loving husband and father. Which is why I love him so much.

When Chris and I met, I wasn't interested in starting a relationship with anyone. I had been divorced for about a year and half, had tragically lost my four year old daughter the year before, was a single mom to two little boys and was in the midst of a custody battle with my ex-husband. The timing just wasn't right for me. However, I quickly learned that God's timing is always perfect and a year later Chris and I were married.

Chris is the love of my life! We are celebrating 12 fabulous years of marraige today and we are incredibly blessed to have four amazing children, wonderful family, a cozy home, great friends and jobs that we enjoy. Our life together is proof of God's amazing grace, and it's my happily ever after. I hope you're on your way to your own happily ever after too. Enjoy your day! :)

Weekend Fun!

What a weekend! It began Friday night with our homecoming game that went on until almost midnight. It was an emotionally charged game and ended sadly with our loss.

Saturday, I awoke early to attend a World Cardmaking Day event hosted by a couple of stamping friends of mine. Great projects and a fun time! (I'll try to make some time later to show off a few of the projects.) I made this card to swap at the event. It features the SU! Wanted set. If you're on the fence about this set, jump off! It's so worth it!

After stamping all day, I stopped by the grocery and the florist and then went home to make cookies and a salad and help my older boys get ready for the homecoming dance. This was a first for both of them. Josh (our Jr.) was going with a date and two other couples. They had plans to have a steak dinner at the home of one of the girls and then head over to the dance. I went and took pictures of all of them and then went back home to a house full of freshman boys.

My son Justin and 6 of his friends were sharing a pizza dinner at our place before going to the dance. The dance ended at 11 and we stayed up until after 1 listening to stories of the evening's events. A fun time was had by all!

All I Ever Wanted

I adore my husband. Chris is the love of my life and everything I could ever want or need in a partner. He's been on my mind so much this weekend. Chris has been having problems with his lower back since May. He hurt it chopping wood at work. It seemed to be doing better so he went back to his usual routine, but in reality it wasn't healed and the result has been months of pain, sleepless nights, medication, physical therapy and an MRI.

Chris has been diagnosed with a degenerative disk disease and tomorrow morning he is going to see a neurological surgeon for a consultation. I trust that he is in the Lord's care, but am still concerned for him. Chris has insisted that it isn't neccesary for me to go with him to the consultation tomorrow. He can be stubborn sometimes. ;) I'm going along with his wishes, but will be leave this card in his car for him to find as he heads off for his appointement. I need him to know how much I wanted to be with him.

Details:
All products are from Stampin' Up!, unless noted otherwise.
Stamps: Wanted
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Handsome Hunter, Natural Ivory, Outlaw DSP
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Handsome Hunter
Embellishments: Chocolate Chip grossgrain ribbon, buttons, brads (from Archiver's)
Punches: Ticket Corner, 3/4" circle

Meet Jacob

I love this picture of my son Jacob. It's so him! Notice the big smile and expressive eyebrows. He wakes up that happy almost everyday. It's so delightful!

Jacob is 10. He's our easygoing guy. With 2 older brothers and a younger sister, I guess he figures he better just go with the flow, and he does.

One of Jacob's favorite things to do is go camping with his Scout den. He loves looking for insects and collecting sticks and rocks and such. I think it's his love of science that makes him such a great explorer. Jacob also enjoys building things with legos, playing video games, sword and lightsaber dueling, reading research books and telling jokes. He has the best laugh too! I love it!

I'm such a blessed mom to have four wonderfully unique, totally awesome children!!! I hope you've enjoyed hearing a little about each of them. I've certainly enjoyed bragging on them. ;)

Meet Josh

My husband and I are the first to admit, we are not athletic. Despite that fact, Josh loves sports. Football, basketball, baseball, you name it- he's up for it.

Josh is our oldest, a Jr. in High School and plays on the vasity football team. He tells me he prefers playing defense. I'm just praying he makes it through the season without breaking any bones.

In addition to sports, Josh enjoys playing his guitar, bowling, going to the movies, eating and hanging with friends. He's a well rounded young man, has a terrific sense of humor and is a fantastic big brother. It's hard to think of him going off to college in a couple of years. Maybe if I ask nicely, he'll stay close to home. *wink*

Back to School

Well, I warned you. We are back to school and I have not touched a stamp in over a week. I am, of course, going through major withdrawl. Hoping to get in some stamp time over the long weekend. :)

In the meantime, here's a picture of my kiddos on the first day of school. Jacob and Sarah are in the front row and Josh and Justin are behind them. I have to brag on them...not only are they adorable, but they are really good kids and I'm so proud of them.

Our first week of school was a bit unusual. We had some severe weather, including a tornado warning, flooding and school being cancelled on our second full day. Thankfully, this week has been much better and everyone is settling into a routine. We're looking forward to a fantastic year filled with lots of wonderful new experiences...our first being Driver's Ed. ;)

Meet Justin

I was right, the drum corp show last night was a blast. I think I've mentioned that my son Justin is a percussionist. He's taking a liking to the Rockford based Phantom Regiment. They placed 2nd in last night's show, which featured 5 Division 1 corp teams.

Justin's sleeping in this morning. It's his birthday...he's fourteen today! Incredible!

Before I get all emotional about my babies growing up way too fast, let me tell you more about Justin. He's our second oldest son and we are so proud of the young man he's grown to be. Justin is an honor student, a fantastic percussionist, a track star, an avid reader and an all around great guy.

Justin's also a major Harry Potter fan , so we're off to see The Order of the Phoenix, for the second time, this afternoon. Have you seen it? Justin thinks it's the best one yet!

Meet Sarah

Wanted to take some time today to introduce you to Sarah. Sarah is nine and the youngest of our four children. She's also the only girl and thus, she's the Princess. Of course, she's no ordinary Princess. You won't find Sarah wearing a tiara or dress. She would much rather throw on a tank top, a pair of her brothers hand-me-down shorts and her baseball cap and take off for a bike ride or shoot some hoops.

Sarah's a bit of a tomboy and free spirit. Which is why it's no suprise that she has a passion for horses. Ever since she knew what a horse was, she has loved them. She's been riding now for 15 months. Seeing Sarah atop a 16 hand high horse, controlling him with the sound of her voice and the push of her leg...it's amazing! One of my greatest joys is seeing my children pursue the things that they enjoy.

Sarah tells me that someday she will have her own farm and several horses, that her father and I will come live with her, and that she will teach me how to ride. Sounds wonderful!!!

Meet Jack

Good Morning! I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Independence Day with your family! Ours was very relaxing.

I thought I would take a few minutes today to begin introducing you to my family. So, without further adeu, this is "the best dog in the world", Jack. Jack's a 3 year old Black Lab-Norwiegan Elkhound mix. We adopted him from Tails, our local humane society.

Actually, Jack was at our local Farm & Fleet the day we went to see him and his three brothers. We had just moved into a new home and I had seen an ad about their Tails event. We seriously needed a break from unpacking, cleaning, painting... so we went to have a look at the puppies. On the way, I told the kids that we were "just going to look" and I very matter-of-factly stated "we will not be getting a black dog". (Too much shedding black hair to clean up.) Well, our visit with the puppies was like much needed therapy and after two hours of playing with them, Jack came home with us.

Jack stole our hearts as he instantly became the center of attention in our home. He's the first one to greet each of us in the morning and each night as my husband and I tuck our children in, he makes the rounds to see that they are safe and sound and to ensure that he gets one last hug or pat on the head. He's a playmate, a confidant, a friend, a snuggle buddy and therapy at the end of a rough day.

The shedding black dog hair? It's a never ending battle...but it's worth it when you have "the best dog in the world". And Jack is!