New Family Photos

What a day! We had a 9:00 appointment at Portrait Innovations to have new family photos taken. I set it so early so that we would beat the crowd and Kaden wouldn't be overwhelmed by the chaos. But, it backfired on me. We needed to leave by 7:00 in order to get there on time, so I set the alarm for 6:00. But, I apparently forgot to turn it on! Ryan woke up at 6:40.

So, we frantically got everything together and rushed to Wichita. We had planned to have our pictures taken in cowboy hats. I didn't have one, so we were going to stop somewhere before our appointment and pick one up. We didn't have time. So, that was disappointing to start with. Then, we get there, and Kaden suddenly decides he is hungry and cannot sit still or smile. We ended up only getting the advertised special package and one other photo because there literally were no good ones to choose from. It was so frustrating. It wasn't the studios fault, just our bad luck.

Anyway, here's what we got. I've done some major editing to this first photo. Too bad the actual prints aren't edited. I had some major bags under my eyes and there was some weird black splotch on the background originally.

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No editing necessary here. Just pure cuteness!

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Luckily, the rest of the day was not a dud. We actually had a GREAT time the rest of the day! We met some friends at Chucky Cheese and our boys (all 4 of them...heee...heee...) had so much fun. Kaden just loves rides. He also enjoyed the arcade games. Anything with a wheel to turn, gun to shoot, water to squirt, or a hammer to pound with caught his eye! He's definitely all boy.

Here's a picture of Kaden in his Chucky Cheese bib with his good friend Noah. Aren't they the cutest?

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And here's Kaden on a ride. Ryan was just thrilled to death about this one!

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Is it really November 6 already?

I haven't even adjusted to the fact that it's November yet, and it's already the 6th! Yikes! Life has just been such a whirlwind lately. Kaden and I are both very sick and that takes all our energy away. It seems like I haven't had time to do any scrapping or blogging since I spent the weekend in bed.

I hope everyone had a great Halloween. Kaden had a lot of fun. He figured Trick or Treating out right away. He watched us knock on the door, saw that someone would come with a bowl of candy, we'd ask him to pick one out and put it in his basket, then we'd say Thank You and leave. After a couple of houses, he was going up to the door, pounding on it until someone answered, getting a treat, then flashing the homeowners a smile while trying to sneak a 2nd piece! The bad thing is, he's so darn cute that they'd usually say, "Oh, he can have another piece. That's okay." Then I'd have to be the big mean Mommy and tell him, "Only one!"

Hopefully I'll get all our Halloween pictures scrapped soon. I've created two Halloween-themed quickpage albums, you'd think I'd have time to plop the pictures into some of them! The problem is that my pictures are on my laptop, and the albums are on my external hard drive which is hooked up to the desktop computer. One of these days I'll get organized now that I have my desktop computer back. It's on it's last leg, so I need to get everything important that I didn't lose when it crashed, off of it and onto the external hard drive. Then I need to wipe the slate clean on it and use it only for games and internet. That means the laptop will be my scrapping computer, so I need to get the scrapping stuff on it! So much to do, no time to do it.

We'll in the meantime, here's a cute picture of Kaden on Halloween. Stay tuned to see it scrapped!

I've got a job!

I got a job designing quickpages for Randi Oh and Danielle Corbitt. It's so much fun and a great way to make a few extra spending dollars for scrapbook supplies.

Kaden is growing and changing in so many ways these days. Today he learned how to say Ye-In. Ye-In is an exchange student from South Korea and she is living with my parents. We've had so much fun getting to know her and Tina, a girl from Germany that Mom and Dad are also hosting.

I made this page of the two of them using Randi Oh's "Chalked Flowers" available HERE.

Chalked edge overlay by Nancie Janitz.

What a great free day!

I have the most wonderful husband in the world! Today he had to drive all the way to Kearney, NE to pick up a part for work. He took Kaden with him so that I could have a day to myself. I spent the majority of it cleaning (uck!), but did manage to get two scrapbook pages done.

This one uses the kit "Connemara" by Kalanice's Designs available at Scrap-Shop.fr.
Template by Dunia.

If you'll recall, I always do a monthly review using this template by Jen Caputo. As you can see, I'm a few months behind! I created this review with "Douce Mandarine" by Kalanice's Designs also available at Scrap-Shop.fr.

What do you do when you child won't nap anymore?

Kaden has decided that he no longer needs naps. His attitude, however, begs to differ. What do you do when your kid won't sleep any during the day anymore? And, he STILL gets up at 4:30 or 5:00 a.m. wanting milk and won't go back to sleep until he gets it. Ugh!

Well, I finally got around to scrapping Play Day pictures. At least I'm staying fairly current even though I've got a lot to go back and do including his birthday! Yikes! Some pictures are nearly 6 months behind!

Anyway, here's my Play Day LO. I used "Sky On Earth" by Kalanice's Designs. It's available at Scrap-Shop.fr. For full credits click HERE.

Some New Scrapbook Pages

Well, despite my computer disaster, I got a chance to do some scrapping this weekend. I hooked my regular computer monitor up to the laptop and am basically just using the laptop as a keyboard. It's taking me awhile to learn to scrap with the touchpad mouse, but I'm getting there!

Here's my latest pages. This first one features a beautiful paper pack by Kalanice's Designs called "Fauves Paper Pack." You can get it HERE.


For full credits click HERE.

The second page was done for a challenge at The Meadow. Everything is by Gina Huff except the blue and tan papers which are by Heidi Williams. Both sell at Weeds & Wildflowers.

Okay, So I LIED....

In my last post I said I would not be applying for anymore CT positions. I LIED! Little did I know that one of my all-time favorite designers, Gina Huff of Weeds & Wildflowers, would have a CT call the very next day after my declaration. I just couldn't resist. I had to apply. I probably won't make it onto her team, but if I am lucky enough to get on, I will definitely be able to make time. She only requires 3 layouts a month.

I'm already working with 3 amazing designers, so I would be about the luckiest lady in the digiscrapping world if Gina accepted me too. Wish me luck!

And the magic number is....

THREE! Yep, I've been accepted onto another CT! I am happy to announce that I am now working with Kalanice Designs. I am very excited to work with her beautiful kits. As soon as I get past these computer woes, I will be busy scrapping. She's been super understanding about my hard drive problems.

I definitely will not be applying for anymore CT positions! I think that 3 is my max. Hopefully I will have some great new pages to share with you soon. And, if I get the time, I might even try my hand at designing some freebies again. We'll see!

Computer Woes

I'm in the middle of a computer crisis. Somehow, all of my documents have "disappeared". They are no where to be found. I am hoping someone better with technology than me can save the day, but am a bit skeptical at the moment. I backed the computer up in June, but I have so many scrapbook pages I've created since then and haven't printed any of them. I learned my lesson. Backup, backup, backup and print hard copies!

A great website for clothing!

Someone over at the Holt Korea web forum that I am a part of posted a website where you can get great clothing at closeout prices. Because they are closeout items, not everything is available in every size, but you can get some great deals. It's called Classic Closeouts. I spent $50 and got everything you see below plus FREE shipping! Check it out:

Another Halloween Layout!

Check out this new kit, "Trick or Treat" by Randi Oh available at Digi Scrap Boutique!

Here's a page I created with it. A little birdie told me you should keep checking my blog. This page could be YOURS for FREE in the near future!

Some More Scrapbook Pages

Are you ready for Halloween yet? Then pick up this funky, fun "Witch's Brew" kit by Danielle Corbitt at SOTB. Plus, she's got a great add-on for FREE on her Blog!


See full credits HERE.

I also had fun last night playing around with a kit by The Scrappin Hillbilly. This is a scraplift of her page. Isn't it cute?

Another Scrapbook Page To Share

I'm having a lot of fun being on Danielle's CT! Here's my first page designed for her. Aren't these bunny stickers adorable? They are available at SOTB and the kit, "Little Rascals" is available for FREE on her Blog. Doodles by Debby Bradley and font is Pea AngeDawn.

Wohoo! I'm on another CT!

In addition to creating layouts for the talented Randi Oh, I am very, very happy to announce that I am now a member of the Star Studded Creative Team for Danielle Corbitt! Danielle sells her gorgeous designs at Scrap Outside the Box and you can also check out her Blog. Soon our newly formed Star Studded Creative Team will have our own blog as well. Just click on the link from Danielle's Blog.

To tryout for her CT, we were given a beautiful kit to create a layout with. Here is the page I submitted. All credits to Danielle Corbitt!

Sick Today

I very rarely get a fever, so when I do it hits me hard and keeps me down. I woke up this morning feeling like my face was on fire. I had a temperature of 102. My eyes have been burning and watering all day. I have no idea what could have caused this. Other than being tired and feeling drained, I'm not really feeling sick.

So much for the huge To Do list I had planned for today. Not sure how the house is going to clean itself before small group tomorrow night. -Sigh-

Cutest Baby Contest

If you live in our area, be sure to stop by Alco during the month of October and vote for Kaden in the Cutest Baby Contest! Ten cents equals one vote. The baby with the most votes wins. All the proceeds go to a local charity. So, help out a good cause and vote for Kaden!

Facebook Anyone?

I've joined Facebook! If you're a member, add me as a friend. If you're not already signed up, come join the fun!

A Digi Scrapping Milestone!

I am way behind in my scrapbooking. I have had some kind of a "creative block" since about May. But, I am slowly getting over it. Last night I created what I believe to be my best layout yet. And, best of all, someone else thought it was good too! My layout was the first one listed in the Digi Shop Talk "Gallery Standout" thread. I was so excited! The recognition really made my day and helped me gain more confidence and "mojo" to keep scrapping! Here's the magical layout:


Here are two other recent creations:




Hopefully I'll keep cranking them out and have more to share soon!

Trying out for another CT

I am applying to be on a Creative Team for Kalanice's Designs. She provided everyone with a kit to create a page with using only the items in the kit. Here's my submission. Wish me luck!

SALE & Blog Party!

I know a lot of my readers are not digi scrappers, but if you've ever thought about taking up the hobby, now is the time! You can get an amazing HUGE kit for FREE from the designers at DigiScrap Boutique. They're having a blog party!


Collect pieces of the following kit at each blog:


You can start by hopping over to my friend Randi's Blog and picking up this beauty:


DigiScrap Boutique is also having a big sale. But hurry, it ends Friday!

Back From Branson!

We had a great vacation in Branson, Missouri. We met Ryan's parents there. They were such a big help with Kaden. He absolutely adores his Mam Maw and Pap Paw, especially Pap Paw. He is a Grandpa boy!

Here's a picture we had taken on Kaden's Gotcha Day Anniversary, August 31:



Kaden LOVED riding the rides at Celebration City and Silver Dollar City. I think we have a future rollar coaster finatic on our hands:




There are a lot more photos and video clips at DropShots. Send me an e-mail if you need the password.

Home 1 Year Tommorrow!

Oh my! Can you believe it? A whole year already. Where has the time gone? So many things have happened during this year, I couldn't even begin to summarize it all. Just scroll through this blog for the highlights!

Tomorrow we are going on our first family vacation to Branson, Missouri to celebrate Kaden's Gotcha Day. We are so excited! Here's a little trip down memory lane to that special day a year ago:

Pic of the Month

I can't seem to get this picture posted correctly in the sidebar (it's always "stretched"), so I'm going to post it here until I get it figured out!

Here's the September Pic of the Month:


Background paper by Jessica Gorny and Fence by HD(?).

A cute picture of Kaden

It's been awhile since I've shared any pictures, so here is one of our funny little boy. He is such a camera ham! I actually have taken a BUNCH of pictures lately. I was really, really bored Friday afternoon and took almost 100! I didn't post them all on Drop Shots, but I did post quite a few. Hop on over there and take a look. If you don't know the password, e-mail me. It is case sensitive.


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We finally got a SS#!!!!

We have been trying to get a social security number for Kaden since he finalized back in March. Everytime we called, they told us they were waiting on verification from USCIS. So, a few weeks ago, we contacted our lawyer and Congressman Moran's office and asked for their help to "prod" USCIS along.

Well, it worked! We got Kaden's card in the mail today. Yeah! Now he can get a job. (Ha..Ha...Ha) We can finally get our taxes finished. It will be great to have a number to fill in at the doctor's office and other places rather than always putting N/A where SS# is asked for!

Update on Kaden

Kaden saw a Pediatric Infectious Diseases doctor yesterday. The doctor had two doctors-in-training sitting in on the appointment, and Kaden put on quite the show! He did all his cute tricks and had the two young doctors doing their best not to laugh the whole time.

Anyway, the specialist said that Kaden has MRSA. It is a bad strain of staph that is very hard to kill and keep under control. Kids with eczema, like Kaden, are more prone to MRSA. He said that this infection is becoming more of an issue across the country lately.

We have to put medicine in Kaden's nose for a week for the next 4 months. We also have to bathe him with surgical soap to try to kill any bacteria living on his skin. This is fine for now, but I have a feeling it will make his eczema flare up this winter. :(

But, all in all we are just thankful that Kaden does not have to be hospitalized or receive antibiotic intravaneously again. He did not have a sore to culture yesterday (of course one popped up today), but the doctor sent orders on to our local doctor to do a culture when one is available, so we'll probably take him in Monday to do that.

Thanks for your prayers and support!

Please Pray For Us

Well, ever since the big psuedamonas incident, the doctors have been telling us that Kaden's sores he gets each month are just simple staph infections. All along, I've known in my gut that they are not.

Last week, Kaden got several sores at once which has never happened before. We got him into a dermatologist and after pleading with him, he finally did a culture. We thought he would culture the sores (that's how they found the psuedamonas last time), but instead he cultured his nose. He said that's where staph lives so it would tell us if Kaden was infecting himself or if we needed to find an outside source (still going on the assumption it was simple staph).

Well, not surprisingly to me, the culture results came back and showed that Kaden does not have staph growing in his nose. He has three, much, much worse strains of bacteria. It's bad enough that we are seeing a Pediatric Infectious Diseases Doctor on Thursday (who we've been asking for a referral to see since April).

So, we would really appreciate your prayers. I'm afraid Kaden may have to spend some time in the hospital or at least do outpatient IV treatments again. We'd hate to see that happen, but also want to do whatever necessary to get him well again.

Did you think I disappeared?

I can't believe my last post was on July 22nd. Yikes! We have not fallen off the face of the earth, we've just been really, realy busy. Plus, we've battled some illness over the past few weeks, so that's taken me away from the computer too.

But, to be honest, what has taken most of my time lately is my attempt to become a digital graphic designer. I love to digitally scrapbook and got to thinking, "I wonder if I could make this stuff myself?" I have a LOT to learn, but I'm having fun and have created my very first kit called, "Splash Time."

I know not many of my blog readers are digi-scrappers, but here's a preview of the kit I've created. If you would like to have it, just click on the link below the picture. It will be available for 1-week or for 100 downloads, whichever comes first. I can always add it again if time and/or downloads expire. Just e-mail me and let me know.



Sorry, download has expired. Check back later though. I plan to offer it again!

New Cute Things From Kaden

I swear, Kaden just keeps getting cuter and cuter every day! He has done some really sweet things this past week. Saturday morning, I was reading Kaden his "Who Loves Kaden" book that has pictures of our family in it. He pointed right to the picture of my dad, said "Grandpa" clear as day, and then kissed his picture! Grandpa has been his favorite person lately.

Then, Saturday night, he melted my heart with another act of cuteness. It was a very tiring day because we put up approximately 600 ears of corn. Kaden was a big helper most of the day (see pictures on Drop Shots and one below), but when it came time to put him to bed, I was exhausted and wanted to go to bed myself. I kind of rushed through the motions - read stories, give him milk, sing lullabies, etc. I started to put him in his bed and he began to shake his head "No". I thought, "Oh great, here we go. It's going to be a bedtime battle." Then I looked down and realized that he had interlaced his fingers and was holding his hands in the prayer position. I was so tired I had forgotten to do his bedtime prayers before putting him in bed. He couldn't sleep without praying first. Leave it to a 14-month old to remind me of the importance of prayer. You can never to be too busy or tired to pray!


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Wheat Harvest is OVER!

Finally, after a full month, wheat harvest is over. It's been a very long month and both Mommy & Kaden are ready for Daddy to be home more. Before we know it, he'll be off cutting corn!

Kaden is growing like a weed these days. The romper I put him in this morning seems like it's fitting a big snug. I need to measure him and see how tall he is. As of May 14, he was 29 1/2 inches, but I think he's probably over 30 now.

Kaden has been learning and doing new things each day. He loves to copy us when we cough, yawn, or sneeze. He thinks that is hilarious. He is also adding new words to his vocabulary. One of his favorite books is a Veggie Tales book, so he picks it up and says, "Bob". His favorite DVD is a Sesame street video that features Elmo doing a top ten countdown. Just before Elmo starts the countdown, Kaden shouts out, "Ten!" Finally, every time Kaden gets near the fireplace I tell him, "Don't touch that. It's hot." It's not really hot, but I want him to stay away from it this winter! He looks at me, nods his head, and says, "Hot." We think he is working on other words as well, but we can't quite make them out yet.

Once Ryan is home some more, we need to get some video clips of Kaden talking and doing his other new "tricks". He can now interlace his fingers to pray and he loves to do the actions to "If You're Happy And You Know It", especially the part where he gets to stomp his feet. He continues to learn more body parts and will point to them when asked. His latest is his toes.

One of these days we'll get a chance to get more video and pictures taken. In the meantime, this video clip of Kaden taking a bath is pretty funny. Enjoy!

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone enjoys their Independence Day celebration tomorrow! I remember our 4th of July picnic two years ago. It was definitely a day of celebration because we filled out our application to adopt that day and then mailed it on the 5th. Hard to believe that was 2 years ago. Look at us now!


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Another Moving Video to Share

Okay, so the video of Paul Potts I shared with you a couple of posts ago made me cry. It required 1 kleenex. This video, on the other hand, required an entire box. Until watching it, I hadn't really realized that I'm not totally over my struggle with infertility. Don't get me wrong, Kaden is the light of my life and I love him so much, but there is still a part of me that wonders what it would be like to have a life inside of me. Anyway, this is a powerful video and I think it would a great one to show at crisis pregnancy centers. She sings words straight from my heart:



(P.S. Click on the small play button, not the big one in the center)

A Day at the Zoo!

We took Kaden to the zoo for the first time yesterday. We went with our friends Todd, Tisha, & Noah. Despite the heat and horrible humidity, we had a great time. I think the boys enjoyed seeing the animals. They both fell asleep while we were there, but they got to enjoy the petting zoo and the penguins. Those are always fun!

To prepare Kaden for the zoo, I had been telling him that he was going to get to see the "real" animals that are in his Noah's ark set. The ironic thing is that he fell asleep just before we got to the Africian exhibit. So, he didn't get to see the elephents, lions, or zebras! (The animals in his ark.) Oh well, we'll be sure to start with them next time. At least I got some good pictures for him.

Speaking of pictures, here are just a few of my favorites. As always, you can see all of our photos by going to Drop Shots.





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Can you believe it's been a year?

I never got a chance to post on the 20th, but can you believe it's been a year since we first saw Kaden's sweet face? Click on the "It's A Boy!" link below to take a stroll down memory lane to June 20, 2006 and our announcement of our wonderful referral of the cutest boy alive!

IT'S A BOY!!!!

Muppet Personality Test

I found a fun website with lots of different personality quizzes. I took the Muppet Personality Test. Here's my results:

You Are Scooter

Brainy and knowledgable, you are the perfect sidekick. You're always willing to lend a helping hand. In any big event or party, you're the one who keeps things going. "15 seconds to showtime!"

The Muppet Personality Test

Well, we gave the kiddie pool another try today, and this time Kaden had a blast! The older kids at the pool took turns pushing him and around in his inner tube. He got plenty of attention and had so much fun for a full hour. I'll have to try to get some pictures or video clips next time.

Speaking of video clips, I ran across this one on another blog today. It really touched me and I thought I would share:



Have a great day!

Happy Father's Day!

This was a great first Father's Day! Here's a card I created:

As Promised....

Here are some of my recent scrapbook pages. You can see the rest (and the layout credits) at Drop Shots. The account is password protected, but is the name of my son so it should be easy to figure out! For 2007, I am putting each month's pages on the last day of the month. So, to see all of May's scrapbook pages, go to May 30. My next big goal is to get the birthday party pictures done!





In other news, our little guy has yet ANOTHER staph infection. Ugh! We thought we were over this. We've all 3 been using the nose ointment for 2 weeks now. We have 1 week left. Hopefully that does the trick. Meanwhile, we are treating this latest outbreak with a topical antibiotic. Hopefully the sore will go away soon.

Not much to report

It's been awhile since I blogged, but that's because there's not much to report! It's life as usual around here. Harvest should be starting soon, but other than that things are boring, boring, boring.

After a bit of a creative "block", I have finally started digi scrapping again. One of these days I'll get around to posting the new ones to Drop Shots and I'll post them here as well.

Have a great week!