Welcome and Merry Christmas **Updated with pictures :D

Ok if you were here earlier thanks and sorry this wasn't a complete post! I decided it needed some pictures! First thank you to Maggi at http://katamommydamacy.blogspot.com/ for hosting this blog hop. This is my first so thank you for your guidance and patience! And in appreciation I am adding this photo of my two favorite ornaments that stay in my scrap room ALL THE TIME! The white bear was is a cherished gift and the smore I HAD to get (duh) as it is the scrappin' smore. lolI must say that Christmas is my second favorite holiday. (Halloween is first because I love to dress up and pretend though I am a scaredy cat. ) I spend months planning. I always make a list that changes at least five times before I am done shopping. I always promise to stay in a budge and always go over. I spoil my children way to much on this holiday and always get irrtated at myself as they would rather play with the boxes then the actual gifts I spent MONTHS planning. Even with that irritation I still love it. Even before I had children I had a groups of friends who I spent more on then my parents. We would always try to out shop each other. Not in regards to money spent but on how well we could purchase and choose the perfect unique gifts. I did ok but my friend Heather ALWAYS out did us all. And she was/is an athiest. Funny how that works out.

Here is the give-away I have decided to send. I will randomly pick someone who leaves a comment to mail to. So check back and see if it is you. Or if you have a link in your name I will contact you. :D It is some christmas things but also some random papers because you never know what you can creatively do and make with any old peice of paper!
Anyway... I so hope you guys leave comments! And to help with what to write I encourage us all to take a moment and do a shot out to the person or people who made the holidays (if you don't do Christmas it can be Thanksgiving or Halloween, birthdays, etc) special for you.

For me....

My Dad only shopped for my mom and maybe one gift for me. I am an only child so I was pretty spoiled. but we almost always knew what mom's present was because it was shaped like the item. A skillet would be wrapping paper taped haphazardly around the skillet. Not only visibly seeing the skinny handle but all the way down to the circle flatness of the bottom. It is so comical.

He also provided me with the most memoriable Christmas holiday moment ever. It was right in the middle of the Cabbage patch doll craze. I wanted one SOOOO bad. And there wasn't one under the Tree. I pouted so bad but what could I do Santa didn't bring me one. Then about an hour or so later. My dad called me into the living room to tell me it looks like Santa accidently put one behind the couch. IT WAS MY CABBAGE PATCH DOLL!! A girl with dark corn colored hair. (see picture above) her name was Ginger and I LOVED her. But I will never forget how he tricked me into thinking I wasn't getting one. It makes me so happy now how cool my Dad was to play a trick on me. And I didn't care (or realize at that age) because she was here.

I had to add this photo as this is a picture of our Shetlend Sheepdog Pepper when I was a child. We LOVED him so much. I was an only child and him and I would play outside in the snow every winter!

Now my Mom I want to give a shot out because she grew up very poor and always made a point regardless of how wealthy or non wealthy we were to have an awesome birthday cake for me. She always told me how important the cake was because growing up she may never have gotten a present but she always got a cake for her birthday. It is those family traditions I think are so awesome and show how as a parent we want to build on how childhood experience and make them better for our children or hold on to those traditions.

One last thank you goes to my Grandparents who took me to church every weekend and taught me that Jesus is the reason for the season. I try hard to make sure my boys realize this. Especially growing up in the USA we so take things for granted and I try to make sure my boys do not.
My grandma and Grandpa... Grandpa I miss you but I know you are watching over me!

Here is three layouts I did with all the stash I found the other day organizing and cleaning. This was one of the things that sidetracked me from my day yesterday but scrap time is usually so worth it!


So thanks again for stopping by and this is lacking pictures but I wanted to post early and the day otherwise has gotten away from me. Does it for anyone else??

So the above was posted yesterday and now I have photos so YAY me! lol... But still do you get distracted way to easily?? I totally DO!

Oh and I feel like leaving with just one more picture... thanks for indulging me but I LOVE decorating the christmas tree. This one is from my Childhood 2nd grade... Hmmm... is my Cabbage Patch dolly under there? HAHA