Who ever knew that posting a Pop Up Card on my blog would help me make a new bloggie friend?

Paul Stickland visited my blog!

Mr. Stickland is the creator of over 50 children’s books,

including Dinosaur Roar, Ten Terrible Dinosaurs, The Christmas Bear…

the list goes on and on!

Mr. Stickland sent me the following email:

And there you have it!

Be sure to check out his new Pop Up Blog by clicking

HERE

________________________

xoxo, Christie

I couldn’t wait another minute…

I had to thank you.

Thank you for your amazingly supportive comments and personal emails.

You have uplifted me and helped me to have the strength to find the answers.

I apologize for being a “downer” on my last blog post but I am so grateful for the hand-up you have gave me when I reached out.

It’s almost as though Parker knew that I needed a break today.  He’s been so sweet and more like himself.

And then there’s you.  Thank you for your love and support.  I feel so blessed for your friendship.

Big Hugs,

Christie

There was a day last year when my father told me that I was the happiest person he knew.

Always smiling and positive.

For some reason I find myself arriving at my happy place but I just can’t stay there.

Lately it’s been so hard for me to stay positive….

And now, I find my feelings spilling over onto my blog.

Maybe this is just me

reaching out?

I’m not sure.

I pulled Parker out of school last Friday.  He will be staying home for the last few weeks.

Being Autistic and becoming a teenager has started to take it’s tole on me as a mother.

I’m exhausted.  Mentally.

He’s been so angry.  Defiant even.

And I’m at my whits end.

Where did my sweet boy go?

He’s in there somewhere, he’s a good boy.

I know he is.

I love him so much, more than words.

He’s just struggling.

And lately I feel helpless…

Like a bad Mom.

I never knew raising a teenager could be so hard.

I’ll figure all this out…I know I will.

It is the middle of the night.

The house is a total mess…

but it’s silent.

And I can’t sleep.

Life has felt so crazy and fast paced lately.

Here in the dark, in the quiet…everything slows down and stands still.

All that I feel now is gratitude.

I feel so grateful for my family, for my home, for my health and for my friends.

I am grateful for each one of you, who silently support me through reading my blog and also for those of you who read and then leave me sweet and uplifting comments.

You accept me for who I am.  I am not a writer and have many typos in my posts but you read on anyway.

I sure do love to craft and share my creations with you and I am grateful for the time you spend here.

I am grateful for each moment I am here among you on this beautiful earth.

For new life.

And for the wisdom of those who have been here much longer than I.

Hello Friends!  I’m home!

I loved my little break from the Idaho snow and really enjoyed all the GREEN in California.  It’s so beautiful there right now.

We had a little birthday Party for Parker while in CA last Friday night…he turned 13!   I can’t believe that my son is a teenager!  Watch out world (or maybe it’s just me and my hubby that need to watch out)!

It was so fun to visit family and friends.  I really needed to see each and every one of them.  My cup runneth over.

We drove into our driveway last night and the snow was gone!  This morning I awoke to the sun shining through the window, it’s fabulous…must have brought home a little California sunshine.

I have lots of projects and California photos to share, I’m sure they will fill more than a few posts…for now I thought I’d share a couple of cards that I made with my leftover Cosmo Cricket paper, both simple but both say “Spring” to me.

I’m looking forward to catching up on all of your blogs!

Thank you for stopping by, I hope you have a wonderful day!

Hello Happy People!

While I’m waiting for some sunshine to appear (I need light for good photos), I thought it would be fun share just a few of my favorite places to visit while browsing the blogsphere.

First, you must visit Mamma Talk

It doesn’t matter if you have children or not, Michele’s “Mamma Talk” blog is so fun to read.  She is so clever and such a good writer.  I aspire to be as witty as her.

Then, stop by Chanteuse Chérie

Ah Patrice, I love everything about her blog.  Patrice took a long hiatus from blogging but she’s back now and has renamed her blog Chanteuse Chérie the Reawakening.  Patrice has an eye for everything beautiful.

And Last for today, visit Rebecca Sower

I’ve been visiting Rebecca’s blog since I first discovered “blogs”.  I’m a HUGE fan of Rebecca’s and have been for ages (way before bloggy land). Rebecca Sower has always inspired me, she makes the most beautiful creations.

I love Mondays.  You probably don’t hear that from many people, right?

Monday is the one day of the week that I have set aside specifically for crafting. I don’t have to work on Mondays, the kids are in school and the house is quiet.

Weekends tend to be filled with family time and household chores.  I rarely find a moment to myself when I am surrounded by the ones I love.

But today, today will be filled with hearts and flowers.  I can’t wait to dive in and get started!

My kids and I took a trip to the Dollar Store.  They LOVE the dollar store. I basically have to drag myself there.

Don’t get me wrong, I always find something.  For instance, these heart shaped paper doilies:

I strung them together and made a quick garland using curling ribbon.  Simple and fast.  My husband helped me hang it an the wall…

I also tied a doily to one of my apothecary jars and filled it with Valentines candy.

Instant Valentine’s Day decorations.

The kids and I are having fun decorating the house for Valentines Day.  Izabelle thought of some more ideas for the doilies.  She wants to hang some little ones from the ceiling and chandelier with some curling ribbon…I think we’re going to have to get Dan and Parker on a ladder for the ceiling decorations.

Right now Izabelle is making pancakes (while wearing her little chef hat) the house smells fantastic! I’m watching the snow fall through my windows, it’s so peaceful.  I’m feeling very grateful for all the love and beauty in my life.

I FINALLY feel like getting ready for Valentines Day.  Decorating my house, baking cookies and making valentines with my kids.

I work during the day and sometimes I feel pretty darn exhausted by the time I get home.  On occasion, my kids get to witness a mother that is less-than-enthusiastic-about-the-upcoming-holiday.

I enjoy my children so much and I really do try to make the most of our mornings, nights and long weekends together. So naturally, I feel a bit guilty if I don’t have fun projects planned and get sidetracked by piles of laundry and dishes that need to be done. I’m feeling a little like I need to “make it up to them” for being so busy and distracted lately.

I like to decorate my home for the holidays throughout the year.  Although, I don’t always feel like decorating.  I have to wait until the inspiration hits, then, I take joy in it.  I often wait until I have a morning off work and the house is quiet. The kids are usually in school, or out on a errand with their dad (what a sweet hubby I have).

Today, when I felt inspired to decorate the house for Valentines Day…to make our home a place of joy and fun.  I really wanted to let the kids help, even though it might not look “perfect”.  I want them to be a part of the joy that I am trying to create.

Valentines day.  A holiday specifically set aside to concentrate wholeheartedly on telling those we love just how much we love them.  What a great opportunity for me to help my children feel how special they are to me. I want them to know, really know, that no matter how much I work, how tired I am, how many craft projects are due or how much laundry I have waiting, that they are so very important to me.  That they are special. That they are loved. That their opinion matters. And that I appreciate their help.

Some photos from today…

My beloved Graphic 45

I felt so honored to spend the evening with my Graphic 45 friends tonight.  Diane Shultz and her daughters Aimee and Sharee are such fabulous women.  I am so blown away and in awe of all of them. I feel so blessed to be on their design team and play a part (however small) in their amazing company.

I was also lucky enough to meet some of the other amazingly talented women on the Graphic 45 design team, Candy Rosenburg, Nancy Burke, Stacy Cohen, and Susan Dupre.  Wow, what an evening!  I was so blown away at how special each and every one of these women are.  What an amazing company and an amazing design team!

Crafty Secrets

I met Vicki Chrisman today at the Crafty Secrets booth.  What an creative and fun woman!  Vicki was so, so sweet and TALENTED!  She designs for Crafty Secrets and Tattered Angels (among others) AND she designed a new die-cut for the AccuCut Machine (the lovely project she is holding).

Some beautiful Heidi Swapp Tags:

I

Speaking of Heidi Swapp…I saw her yesterday.  My mom noticed the totally cute necklace she was wearing.  We thought it might have been designed by Miss Ruby Sue.  Heidi caught me staring at her [necklace] – she smiled and said, “Hi”.  I swear I wasn’t staring at you Heidi, it was your necklace. But you are really darn cute too!

One of my all time fav’s, Teresa Collins:

Teresa was another designer that I embarrassed myself while meeting.  I totally gushed over her and told her that I read her blog and love her product…and think she’s a great mom…and love how she loves her family…and she’s so pretty….and (you get the picture).

Mr. Tim Holtz:

I must say this: Tim Holtz is the most patient man I have ever met.  I watched as he shook hands, taught make and takes and posed for photos with hundreds of adoring “Tim Holtz” fans.  Wow.  Double wow. Poor guy didn’t get a moments peace and kept smiling the whole time.

I was too chicken to ask to take his photo…so I just snuck one in:

Yep, I’m that kind of fan…

…the shy kind.