Doggone Good Life

Here are my girls doing what they do best...

Lounging on their blankets and enjoying their treats.

Created for a challenge using Mustard Moon paper.

The challenge was weaving, so here it is.

Aren't they cute?

Random Acts of Kindness matter............

Psalm 55:22 --- you really need to read this.
"Friends are God's way of taking care of us."

This was written by a Metro Denver Hospice Physician:

I was driving home from a meeting this evening about 5, stuck in
traffic on Colorado Blvd., and the car started to choke and
splutter and die - I barely managed to coast, cursing into a gas station,
glad only that I would not be blocking traffic and would have a
somewhat warm spot to wait for the tow truck. It wouldn't even turn
over. Before I could make the call, I saw a woman walking out of the
"quickie mart" building, and it looked like she slipped on some ice
and fell into a Gas pump, so I got out to see if she was okay.

When I got there, it looked more like she had been overcome by sobs
than that she had fallen; she was a young woman who looked really
haggard with dark circles under her eyes. She dropped something as
I helped her up, and I picked it up to give it to her. It was a
nickel.
At that moment, everything came into focus for me: the crying
woman, the ancient Suburban crammed full of stuff with 3 kids in the back
(1 in a car seat), and the gas pump reading $4.95.

I asked her if she was okay and if she needed help, and she just
kept saying " don't want my kids to see me crying," so we stood on the
other side of the pump from her car. She said she was driving to
California and that things were very hard for her right now. So I
asked, " And you were praying?" That made her back away from me a
little, but I assured her I was not a crazy person and said, "He
heard you, and He sent me."

I took out my card and swiped it through the card reader on the
pump so she could fill up her car completely, and while it was fueling,
walked to the next door McDonald's and bought 2 big bags of food,
some gift certificates for more, and a big cup of coffee. She gave
the food to the kids in the car, who attacked it like wolves, and
we stood by the pump eating fries and talking a little.

She told me her name, and that she lived in Kansas City. Her
boyfriend left 2 months ago and she had not been able to make ends meet.
She knew she wouldn't have money to pay rent Jan 1, and finally in
desperation had finally called her parents, with whom she had not
spoken in about 5 years. They lived in California and said she
could come live with them and try to get on her feet there.

So she packed up everything she owned in the car. She told the kids
they were going to California for Christmas, but not that they were
going to live there.

I gave her my gloves, a little hug and said a quick prayer with her
for safety on the road. As I was walking over to my car, she said,
"So, are you like an angel or something?"

This definitely made me cry. I said, "Sweetie, at this time of year
angels are really busy, so sometimes God uses regular people."

It was so incredible to be a part of someone else's miracle. And of
course, you guessed it, when I got in my car it started right aw ay
and got me home with no problem. I'll put it in the shop tomorrow
to check, but I suspect the mechanic won't find anything wrong.

Sometimes the angels fly close enough to you that you can hear the
flutter of their wings...

Psalms 55:22 "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain
thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."


Here is the prayer:

"Father, I ask You to bless my children, grandchildren, friends,
relatives and email buddies reading this right now. Show them a new
revelation of your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You to
minister to their spirit this very moment. Where there is pain, give them
Your peace and mercy. Where there is self doubt, release a renewed
confidence through Your grace, In Jesus' precious name. Amen."

SECOND PLACE - WAHOO!!!!!

I entered this layout with Dave and the cats taking a nap. I won second place at LSS. $10 in store credit, bet I can make good use of that LOL
http://www.treasuredmemoriesandmore.com/

New creations..............

Here are some more of the fun layouts I have created for design team contests and other contests.
I am on the running for a slot at a LSS. There were 15 and I made it to the top 6, will know soon if I make it to the top 3 slots....

I got a big girl camera!

A couple months ago our computer took a digger. We had a maintenance agreement on it and took it back to CompUSA. Well it was one of those special deals that if you signed up with AOL for 12 months you got a complete system for $299.99. Since it would cost more to fix the thing then it cost, they gave us a gift card.
We went ahead and bought a Dell computer (which we love) so we had the gift card.
So we went a bought a brand new digital camera - yeah

I took a class at CKU about photography and now I can apply what I learn to this camera. I can adjust things and have a great time. Uh oh photography is about to become my newest passion. Watch out world LOL
Say Cheese
Faye

More Balloons Today!!!

Well as you can imagine, 4:00 a.m. came quite early and boy was I tired. We were joined by our friends Steve and Marian Webb along with Thomas their 8 year old son. Thomas was able to ride in 2 balloons that were doing teathered rides. We finally got home around noon and a Sunday afternoon nap was definately in order.
Enjoy the pictures, it was a ton of fun
Faye

Where in the world have you been?....................

I saw this on my friend Mellie's website http://melodeelangworthy.typepad.com/candid_thoughts_/ and it looked fun. Create your own, it is a fun way to see how much or little of the world you have seen. Thanks Mellie for sharing.
Faye


create your own personalized map of the USA

Balloons are everywhere

The Great Reno Balloon Race is this weekend and the sky is full of great shapes and colors. Dave volunteers with the Aeronauts and enjoys working with the pilots and the balloons. I went with him on Thursday for Media Day and got these shots in this layout plus 100 more. I am going back tomorrow morning, have to get up at 4:00 a.m. for the Glow Show and Dawn Patrol. Only half the balloons took off on Thursday so tomorrow promises to be full of fun. I did this layout for a contest on a website owned by my friend, Tina. www.scrappinwithgrace.com
I will post more fun pictures tomorrow. Enjoy!!!! Faye

Contest Creations

I have had a great few days, creating layouts and such for contests or design team applications. I thought I would share a few pictures of the things I have created the past few days.

A box altered to use for gifts: I created a stack of 3 for that perfect birthday / shower gift.

A card for someone special : I actually won a package of embellishments for this one

A page layout using the title of a movie, I did 2 just for fun

Will post more later..................

Thanks for looking at my creations, I had a lot of fun

Faye

Life sometimes can be so hard.............

There are days when I just wish that I could throw the covers over my head and be a nobody. I would like to hide from the world and sulk in silence because the pain is too much to deal with . Since June, I have fractured 3 ribs and my left shoulder. I try to go through each day and be the best wife, daughter and big sister, trying to be uplifting and always there to lend a helping hand. I try to stay up and not let the pain or frustration show. (though I am sure it does) My husband gets so frustrated because I wait till the final minute to take the pain meds, he understands that I don't want to get addicted but he hates seeing me in pain.
Recent doctors visit has shown that I possibly have fibromyalgia on top of the lupus, vasculitis and neuropathy. Yikes, God what else.
I have had to battle the past few months with self image and self worth. Having an occasion where I have had the things that I beat myself up most about, thrown in my face and then to continually be berated behind my back only confirmed to me that I was as worthless as I already thought I was. I get frustrated that I don't always get things done in a timely manner and at times run late. I never fail to meet a commitment, but at times my body or my life put me a bit or a lot behind. It happens, I don't like it but it happens.
I guess if you don't see my world and understand that my family is the most important thing in the world to me, you wouldn't understand that I will drop anything to help them out. Though I may get out of bed around 10:00 (cause I stay up way too late), it takes me till after noon to pull it together enough to face the world.
If I have to get out sooner then it is only with the assistance of narcotics.
Lupus sucks, neuropathy even more.
As you can tell, I am having a pity party sort of. I don't hate my life, I hate the parts of my life that cause me grief. (don't we all ?)
I don't ever like to fail anyone, I like to be the one who is happy and willing to jump in and take care of the situation.
The verse "Be Still and Know that I am God" is one of my favorites and it hits me like 2 x 4 every once in awhile ...............because I forget to let God have control.
I am tired of feeling so badly about myself and need to realize like I said before "God is big and people are small" He is working on me daily, my prayer will be that God will provide the strength and comfort you need each day to feel good about yourself and your life. He is definately doing that with me.