Tuesday, December 23, 2008

The "W" in Christmas

This is my Holiday Message to you, my digi friends!  This is a precious story about what some would seem like a mistake, but God had other ideas.  Isn't that true of each of us?  Some see us as just a mistake, or just a chance...no big deal.  But Gods word says that he knows us and has a plan for each of us!  We are so special to Him he sent his only son, to humble himself, lower himself, to come to earth as a baby, born in a manger, to die on a cross for you and me!  Please, Open this wonderful gift of Salvation if you have not already!  Its wrapped up in holiday, we call Christmas!  Peace and Blessings to you and yours!  His, Teri

 

Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience.  I had cut back on nonessential obligations -- extensive card writing, endless baking, decorating, and even overspending.  Yet still, I found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious family moments, and of course, the true meaning of Christmas.

My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year. It was an exciting season
for a six-year-old.20For weeks, he'd been memorizing songs for his school's "Winter Pageant."

I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd be working the night of the production.
Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher.  She assured me there'd be a dress rehearsal the morning of the presentation. All parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then. Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise.

So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in ten minutes early, found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down. Around the room, I saw several other parents quietly scampering to their seats. As I waited, the students were led into the room. Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song.

Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday as Christmas," I didn't expect anything other than fun, commercial entertainment - songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer. So, when my son's class rose to sing, "Christmas Love," I was slightly taken aback by its bold title.

Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens,
red sweaters, and bright snowcaps upon their heads. Those in the front row-center stage -- held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title of the song.

As the class would sing "C is for Christmas," a child would hold up the letter C.  Then, "H is for Happy," and on and on, until each child holding up his portion had presented the complete message, "Christmas Love.

The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her;
a small, quiet, girl in the front row holding the letter "M" upside down --
totally unaware her letter "M" appeared as a "W."

The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at this little one's mistake.
But she had no idea they were laughing at her, so she stood tall, proudly holding her "W." Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together.

A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen. In that instant, we understood the reason we were there, why we celebrated the holiday in the first place, why even in the chaos, there was a purpose for our festivities.

For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud and clear:

" C H R I S T W A S L O V E "

And, I believe, He still is.
Amazed in His presence...
Humbled by His love.

May each of you have a Merry Christmas as you reflect on His Amazing Love for us.

Hope you all have a wonderful Christwaslove holiday season.

 

Monday, December 22, 2008

Want something for nothing?

Ok, I have a great friend in the digiscrapping world.  Her name is Shannon and she is from Scrappy Shannon's.  She has been so instrumental in helping me with my designing....I would not be designing if it were not for her for sure.  Well she is doing the coolest thing....she is going to start making custom handwriting fonts!   I love them....and the best thing is, right now, she is offering this service for FREE!  Yep, FREE to the first 50 people who send her there handwriting, she will make you a personalized font for you to use on your journaling, or letter writing!  How cool is that?  If you are interested, go to her blog and hurry and get them to her!  Here is the link!  Merry Christmas!  His, Teri

Saturday, December 20, 2008

To all my Digi-Friends...

Here is a little gift from me to you!  Another on of my Alpha Tile names....I love these...they make such cute unique gifts or just a cute layout for your digital scrappin'.  All you do is put your photos behind the letters...You have to be a litlle creative with some of the letters, and you will have to crop some of the photos to make keep them from overlapping.  This one says "FRIENDS"  but if you want to personalize your own names or words I sell the Alpha Tiles at both Pretty Scrappy and Digital Arts Cafe.  Enjoy!

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Give Us Clean Hands....Give us Clean Hearts...(and a clean Kitchen)

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I love that song....about asking God to give us clean hands and a pure heart....this week as my daughter and I began "Operation Clean-Up" (as my family has come to call it) we started in the kitchen.  Now, we have lived in the same house for 31 years, and the house is a family home... it was my DH grandmother's house.  I love this home, but it has become too big for just my husband and myself...but anyway... because when Grandma Mayo built this house she loved closets and wanted lots of storage space.  You are saying, "Man, I wish I had more cabinet space!"  And I am saying there has to be a happy medium.  I even took pics to show my family, because they have never seen my countertops cleared and the panty so organized!  Take a look at what I have been doing and you will see why I have not been able to post any freebies.  Check these out and then read on.....

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Here is my pantry!

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Ok so that's enough of  what I've been up to.  In cleaning out and throwing away all the clutter, unwanted items I thought about my spiritual life.  How in need of a cleaning it is also.  As I commit to making sure that I do my best to keep things clean and put in its proper place, in my spiritual life, I need to do the same.  As the Lord shows me things I need to get rid of, replace, throw way, maybe even clean up so that it is in a proper condition to be used...I want to commit to keeping my Spiritual Pantry clean and ready for use by the Lord....Lets not get so busy we forget about the Lord and His desires and plans for our life.  I will do my best to give you guys a surprise later tonight.  Until then....Blessings and Grace to you and yours....Teri

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Apples and Aprons Blog Train

 

Here is my part of the Apples and Aprons blog train....Hope you can get some use out of it!  Looks like someone has already gotten use out of it!   LOL  Most of my recipe cards look like this... all stained and worn.  Be sure to check out all the other goodies. 

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BB's Blue Button http://claysmommy.blogspot.com/
Baby Yaks http://babyyaks.blogspot.com/
Brittney Ferguson Designs http://brittneycreations.blogspot.com/
Creations By Rachael http://creationsbyrachael.blogspot.com/
Designs By Angel http://scrappingwithangel.blogspot.com
Designs By Mel http://designsbymel.blogspot.com
Dorothy's Creations http://dorothyscreationss.blogspot.com/
HeartPrints by Design http://heartprintsbykc.blogspot.com/
Inspired Mommie Designs http://inspiredmommiedesigns.blogspot.com/
Just Passin Thru http://justpassinthru.wordpress.com/
Late Night Scraps http://jrzgrl189.blogspot.com/
Mariscrap http://mariscrap.over-blog.com
Pretty Scrappy http://prettyscrappy.blogspot.com/
SandraK Designs http://sandrakdesigns.blogspot.com/
Scrappy Shannon http://scrappyshannon.blogspot.com
Share Joy http://scrappysolano.blogspot.com/
Share Your Moments http://shareyourmoments.typepad.com/
Teri's Thingomyjigs http://www.teristhingomyjigs.blogspot.com
Lady V DZines http://ladyvdzine.com="ladyvdzine.com/

Here are the previews for this great kit!  Cant you just smell it now?

ApplesandApronsPreview

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Wanna try something new?

They are having a CU challenge at Pretty Scrappy.  If you want to try to make an ornament for others to use, come on and join the fun.  This was my first attempt, so dont say you cant do it!  I didn't think I could either.  Any way go check out the info at  Pretty Scrappy.  AND if you participate... you will get everyone's contributions for the challenge too!  There are several challenges...see what you can come up with. 

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Saturday, December 13, 2008

Camo Couture and A Freebie for you!

OK I know I have been a bad blogger...but I have been designing!  I actually have 4 new kits that are in Pretty Scrappy and at Digital Arts-Cafe.  You can click on either to go to the stores.  I have really been stretching my skills and I hope you will be pleased with my progress.  Here are the 4 new kits.  And if you scroll on down, you can snag your freebie to go along with it!  I am sure you are busy with all the holiday festivities, but for our family, the holiday season means "HUNTING SEASON" too!  So, I designed this kit with them in mind.  I had a blast doing it and have some more goodies I plan to  make to go along with it.  What do you think?

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Here are the other 3 new kits that I have made....Blessings for Boys is the counterpart to my Annies Blessings kit, only for that little boy in your life.

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He Loves Me is a cute, whimsical kit that will be sure to make you irresistible! It is also one that you can use to scrap for any little girl who likes pinks and chocolates! 

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And finally, "burr baby.....is it cold out there?"  a soft, wintry kit great for those snow photos, New Years pictures and it is a great kit for a little boy too! 

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And finally, here is your freebie....Hope it makes you want to come get the whole kit!  Enjoy...His, Teri

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Wednesday, December 10, 2008

....and a Pheasant in a pantyhose?

Ok..what the heck am I talking about?  Well grab a cup of cocoa and let me tickle your funny bone...this is a true story and for those of you who know me, you know that I could write a book about all the silly, crazy things that happen to us.  This is a story about a Pheasant that would not die.....ok so my husband gets an invite to go hunting in the Texas panhandle..with 2 of his best buds..last week.  They go goose hunting the first day and are going to hunt pheasant the second and third days... well he had never goose hunted before and that in itself is a little different...they woke up at 4 am..to get out to the peanut field where they were going to hunt and they ( 17 full grown men...LOL ) begin to DIG holes for themselves to lay down in!  Can you picture that?  Grave diggers?  LOL so they dig their (graves) holes and then put out about 2000 goose decoys...  and then they get in their graves ( holes ) laying down and cover themselves up with plywood and cover the plywood with dirt and straw and then they have to cover the top 1/3 of themselves with some lightweight thing and lay there......waiting until the guide yells at them to let them know that the geese are landing... and then... all 17 men throw the cover off and come up shooting!  Can you imagine?  The picture I have in my mind is hilarious.  And these are grown men...most of them sane...LOL...ok so that was goose hunting. Then, they go pheasant hunting. There you have what you call "walkers" and 'blockers"... some men walk the fields and the others block at the other end and then they turn and do it all over again.....like the first day he walked about 4 miles up and down a field and the second...maybe 6 miles!  Ok, so they have a successful hunt and he calls and tells me how beautiful the pheasants are... So, I suggest he kill one to have mounted.. All the others ones were already cleaned by the guides.  So he and several others on the last hunt kill some so bring home to mount.  Well the way they preserve them is to put them in a pantyhose...that way the feathers stay nice for the taxidermist.  Ok so, his is in the pantyhose in the cooler and they travel halfway home.  When they drop off one of the guys.. they open the ice chest and lo and behold, Toms bird is still alive....it has pushed its beak through the panty hose!  So not wanting him to suffer...they knock him in the head...put him back in the cooler and come home....So now the bird has been in the pantyhose in the cooler in ice for a day and a half....he gets home...and...guess what?  HE IS STILL ALIVE.....so now what is he to do?  I come home and we take him out of the panty hose, thinking he has to be near death, and Tom smooth's his feathers out...many are rumpled and some are broken, so now he will not make a pretty mount.. and there he is stroking the bird he had planned on mounting in my living room of all places!  I am trying to fix supper, so I am running some water and Tom decides that the bird has to be thirsty after this ordeal, so I cup my hands and that dad gum bird, starts to drink out of my cupped hands!  So, now what are we gonna do, I had said all along..you have to kill it,  But after that, letting it drink out of my hands, I don't have the heart to do that either.  So we put him in a cage in our back yard and the bird just starts preening himself!  He is alive and well and has moved up to a 10 x 10 dog run in our back yard!  Can you believe this?   SO, help us name our Pheasant!  He is beautiful.........and we want to find a sanctuary for him!  What a turn of events this bird has been through!   I hope you enjoyed this little look at a day in our lives!  I have a little goodie for you!  Here is a freebie from the Pretty Scrappy Collab Changing Seasons....The store is up and running again so grab this freebie and go check out my things HERE at Pretty Scrappy or at Digital Arts-Cafe HERE.  To snag this freebie just click on the preview.  His, Teri

QP Preview

Thursday, December 4, 2008

We're Done! Lets finish up these Calendars....

Well here you go!  The last thing you need to finish up your 2009 Calendar!  I thought it would be cute to do like a year end review and put that on the cover of your Calendar.  I made these to be printed on your home computer at the standard 8.5 x 11 size....but you can have them printed like at Costco, or a place that prints 12x12 and let them crop it to the 8.5 x 11 size if you don't want to print at home.  Please make sure you are happy with the print size before you print them.  There is no margin for professional printing, although I am sure you can just slightly make the .psd file smaller if you want to have them professionally printed.  Just preview to be sure.  Like I said, I printed mine at home on my handy dandy Epson printer and was very happy.  I also planned on using my bind it all to bind them.  I haven't tackled that yet!  You can take them to Kinkos, or a printing place to bind them or use 2 rings to hold them at the top and add ribbon to the rings... Just use your imagination.  And enjoy!  I usually sign off saying His...but I saw on someone's blog... "In His Grip" and loved that so....In His Grip, Teri  :)

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Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Pretty Scrappy Train is Changing Seasons....

Here is a sneak peek at the latest Collab kit from Pretty Scrappy.  Its called Changing Seasons and as soon as the store is up and going it will be available.  This is a VERY versatile kit and will help you transition between seasons, from Holiday to Winter!

 

Here is my part of the train....Hope you can use it!

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Allison http://on-allisons-time.blogspot.com/

Baby Yaks http://babyyaks.blogspot.com/
Brittney Ferguson Designs http://brittneycreations.blogspot.com/
Claudia http://cantinhodacindy.blogspot.com/
Creations By Rachael http://creationsbyrachael.blogspot.com/
Creative Apples http://creativeapples.wordpress.com/
Designs By Mel http://designsbymel.blogspot.com
Dorothy's Creations http://dorothyscreationss.blogspot.com/
HeartPrints by Design http://heartprintsbykc.blogspot.com/
Inspired Mommie Designs http://inspiredmommiedesigns.blogspot.com/
Jaydensmama Designs http://jaydensmamadesigns.blogspot.com/
Just Passin Thru http://justpassinthru.wordpress.com/
Kenna's Designs http://kennasdesigns.blogspot.com/
Lime Scrapped http://limescrapped.blogspot.com/
Lynn http://themathematiciansassistant.com/
Mariscrap http://mariscrap.over-blog.com
Pretty Scrappy http://prettyscrappy.blogspot.com/
Sarah http://iamsimplysarah.blogspot.com/
Share Joy http://scrappysolano.blogspot.com/
Julie http://shareyourmoments.typepad.com/
Teri's Thingomyjigs http://www.teristhingomyjigs.blogspot.com
ScrappyShannon http://scrappyshannon.blogspot.com
Jessica http://jessicadixon.blogspot.com/
Designs by Angel http://scrappingwithangel.blogspot.com

Monday, December 1, 2008

A Different Kind of Christmas Poem

As I sit in my warm, safe home I am blessed by all the young men and women serving our country while I reap the blessings!  They are a true gift here at Christmas!  May we never forget them in our hearts and in our prayers!

ATT1

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

'What are you doing?' I asked without fear,
'Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!'
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said 'Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night.'
'It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,'
Then he sighed, 'That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers.'
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.'

'  So go back inside,' he said, 'harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right.'
'But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
'Give you money,' I asked, 'or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son.'

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
'Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.'


PLEASE, would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many
people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our

U.S service men and women for our being able to celebrate these

festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people
stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.


LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq