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Sally put this together for our followers to use with scrapbook pages!

THANKFUL for FOUR YEARS

THANKFUL for FOUR YEARS of living in the same home.
We redecorated our dining room in celebration of our four years, at one home, same address! A lot to be thankful this Thanksgiving, November 2009. It marks the first time we, Warren and Colette and family, have celebrated four Thanksgivings (or any holiday) in one home, at the same address – in over 20 years! In celebration we bought a new light fixture and hung drapes, and the whole room feels cozier! I ran across the drapes at a garage sale a few months ago – and they match perfectly! We cooked our meal and celebrated together! We took a photo of our house, sent them off to Grandma – and she already put together a lovely digital page for us to remember our special occasion. I am thankful for a place to call home and to not be moving this year! Come and have a cup of tea with us in Alpharetta, Georgia

Digital Vs Paper Scrapbooking

Sally made this page the old fashion way...with paper. This was made four years ago as Colette and Warren had their new home repainted. The page on the Thankful post above was done digitally. What do you think? Digital vs Paper?

Bernie Saves The Day

We have a soft coated Wheaton Terrier that will turn four in a December. Smart and special are two words I would use to describe our beloved pet Bernie.

This morning I woke up early, not feeling well. I decided to make breakfast for everyone and when I was done – I could smell gas – like I had left the gas stove on too long. I didn’t think give it much more thought – but was really tired and went back to bed.
It wasn’t long till Bernie was whining and running from person to person. I finally got up and tried to figure out what Bernie was trying to tell us. He was up and down the stairs – whining and sniffing. Bernie even stood up several times and sniffed the air. The house smelled like gas and Bernie had alerted us. We opened the windows and called the gas company. The gas company came out soon and told us we had not one, but two leaks. Bernie was persistent and clever the way he communicated with us. Reminded me of a lassie story. Bernie was a handful as a pup, chewing up everything he could get his teeth on, including brand new shoes, toys, wallets, etc. Bernie has mellowed out a bit and has been a constant companion for the children and I. Bernie has been our watch dog as Warren works overseas more than he is home. We are thankful for our sweet, smart, soft coated Wheaton Terrier named Bernie.

Colette's Thanksgiving Post 2009

I am thankful for Peter, Pumpkins and more

While this is an baby picture and older page of Peter, it draws fond memories. My mom, Sally, took Peter to the pumpkin patch and then used her creativity to put the page together. Peter is now 14, tall, very smart and handsome. We have moved a lot since that picture was taken, and yet we are back in Georgia, not too far from where Peter was born. Luke was born in Georgia too and is now 11, almost 12. Our optimist daughter, Anna-Kate, was born in Texas and is seven. We lived in Denton, Texas, for three years, then Christchurch, New Zealand, for three years and are thankful for the friends we have in Texas and family and friends in New Zealand. We have been back in Alpharetta, Georgia, for four years. Four years is a record and a milestone for us. I am thankful we have been in our current house for four years. That might not sound much to you, but this is the first time in over 25 years, that I have lived in one home for four years. I am so thankful to have been in this one place, for four years, this warm home with central heat and air! This cozy house on a cul –de- sac, near quaint downtown Alpharetta. I am thankful for our friends and neighbors here, our church, and our good public schools. While we won’t be traveling anywhere for Thanksgiving and don’t have local family to spend the holiday with – I am thankful for my three healthy children and a place to call home. I am thankful Warren is home, safe and in-town (not working overseas this week). I am thankful for a mom that is so creative and has lovingly made so many scrapbook pages for me and my children. Hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving and take time to count your blessings!

Giving Thanks in the midst of pain

"In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." I Th 5:18

How do we give thanks in the midst of tragic pain. Losing my 18 year old grandson Stephen is painful for me but even more is the pain that I carry for my daughter and her family. And yet, God says IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS.

I GIVE THANKS to God for the 18 years we had Stephen.
I GIVE THANKS for the witness his life was and how he touched so many people.
I GIVE THANKS for God's Grace and comfort that has sustained my daughter, Cathron and her family.
I GIVE THANKS for all the good that has come from this tragedy.
I GIVE THANKS for my other eleven grandchildren and
I GIVE THANKS for my wonderful daughters; Colette, Cathron and Emily.

All Nature Praises the LORD

For over 10 years I have looked forward to the coming of Easter when I find evidence of nature praising God. The new growth of a particular pine tree, in Florida, shows it's praise in the form of crosses at the tips of each branch. It makes my heart want to join them in Praising the God who made all.
I have never been able to get close enough to take a picture. These are tall pine trees. This year I found some, not too tall, and I borrowed my daughter's camera and her son and we went picture taking. John-Thomas did an awesome job taking the picture in the above page. Then he selected the background paper and I did the rest of the page.
One of my favorite pages because it has been simmering in my heart for over 10 years. I hope you enjoy it.
Easter is all about new life. The new life that Jesus gives us through His blood shed on the cross and through our acceptence of his sacrifice to cover our sins.
New Life comes through the crosses on pine trees and also comes from chicks pecking out of eggs. I have been decorating eggs at Easter for over 50 years. Two of the quail eggs on my tree are 50 years old. Some are over 40 years old and some are just days old. I had fun this year making glitter eggs for the first time. .

I'm on a roll! Another page and done in record time. My Granddog, Bernie, lives in Alphretta, GA. He is a BIG, sweet dog with killer eyes.

Slowly but Surely

When I download freebie digital files they come zipped. I have literally tons of zipped files on my external hard drive. This past week I have been nursing a cold and haven't felt like doing much of anything so I have been unzipping files. Seeing the great digital items inspired me to make a couple new scrapbook pages of two of my grandchildren and one granddog.

The 4th of the 4th.

I have been tagged by the Photo Tag team. Forging ahead without further instructions, here is the 4th picture in the 4th photo folder. This was taken last September right before Elise was ready to go to her first ballet class.

Planning Ahead

Last year, a few days after Valentine's Day, I went shopping at Target and bought a bunch of small Valentine heart candy boxes for 10 cents each. Each box had three pieces of chocolate which I ate! I purposed a year ago to save the boxes and through the year, gather together valentine type stuff, and be ready this year to decorate the boxes for my precious granddaughters. Some of the trims I have had for over 40 years.
Click on the photo to see a close up of the boxes.

Candy Hearts

I was Blog hopping this morning and found this site, http://www.acme.com/heartmaker/ where you can make your own digital candy hearts. Fun!

I will restore what the locust has eaten.

I have a dear frend of almost 30 years. She writes The Loving Gathering blog.
She now lives in Georgia but distance and time doesn't dappen our friendship. Her testimony makes me ashamed for ever complaining about anything. She has had many tough mountains to climb with her children. Her youngest child, Michael, loves the Lord and is the process of starting his own Blog. Below is the design I did for him...for Him!

Luke's Poem

It always amazes me when someone takes 'words' and turns them into songs, stories or poems. My grandson, Luke almost 11 (Feb 2) amazed me with his poem and imspired me to make a page for him. Way to go Luke!