Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Thats a corny picture from last year :) Today we will be celebrating Thanksgiving on my side of the family at my parents' house. Micah has to work today so he will be taking his lunch break to eat with us.

Then tomorrow, we will be cooking Thanksgiving for his side of the family, right here in our home! Right now we dont have great grass in the backyard as it never got finished with winterizing, and our kitchen chairs are only half stained, but you know what? I am not going to stress it.

This is a time for our family to enjoy each other, not what the house looks like. And for that, I am thankful. I am thankful to have a house during these hard times of a tough economy. And I am thankful for my husband who works hard *even when he is sick and hurting* and my two sweet boys.

So what is on the menu for you? We are doing the traditional meals both days. Last night we had our annual Thanksgiving eve "feast" at my parents' house, where the rule is "Eat as much as you want and whatever you want, but don't complain about a stomach ache later". The boys were amazed and in awe of the table spread!

Enjoy eating a lot and whatever you do, DON'T read MSN's article about what a Thanksgiving meal does to your body. You don't want to know how many calories you are intaking and how much weight gain that entails. That way, while you are enjoying that very nonfattening meal, you will not feel guilty, because no one wants to have that on their concious!

Shhh! I have a secret to share!

Check out the link on the right.....something about an Etsy shop?

Ok here's the story.

Back in February, I had opened up an etsy shop called "Glitterbecks".....welllllll, I got too scared to post anything so I put it off. When I decided to dive in, I realized I needed to stop bouncing between names and stuck with Sparklinbecks. I set everything up and started out small.

Here we go! If there is something you want that you don't see or something different that you do see, let me know and we can talk! Just email me and i will get back to you! (Really, I will!)

New Craft Space

A long long time ago, my husband and I each had our own room to do what we wanted with. I had a craft room and he had a music room. Then we had a sweet baby boy, and combined both of our rooms together. Then we had another sweet baby boy, and we both lost our room and moved our separate ways. He went to the garage and I took up the utility room.

Everything was ok. I worked out in the living room on the floor or in our bedroom on the floor. Sometimes the kitchen, but I like to keep the kitchen clean, so I am usually not in there too often..haha, even if that means cooking. Just jokin' :)

So a couple of weeks ago, I needed to get a scrapbook down from a shelf in the utility room, and when I took it off the shelf, the whole unit came down on top of me. I felt like a cartoon where you can see it coming but you are frozen in place!

We took everything ok and stored it all over our bedroom. For two weeks now, our bedroom was a catch all of mail, clothes, and randomness....and oh yeah, we would sleep there at night.

My brilliant amazing awesome husband had a brilliant idea to transform that crazy little utility room into a usable work room. We also had the house set up for a sink in there when we were building it, so he wanted to install that too.

At first I wasn't too keen on the idea. I mean, a sink?! Thats valuable space I need in there! And work in there?! In a tiny room?

But then it started coming together and I couldnt be more happy with it! We spent way too much time at Home Depot over the last week, but we got it all set up yesterday!

I have a sink now! I can wash clothes and paint brushes in it! And when I am not using the sink, I have a workspace/desk!

Here's what it looks like now:

My new peg board! It was only 51 cents at Home Depot! I found it in the scrap pile. It was originally white with a green streak across. Nothing a little pink spray paint couldn't fix. Look at all the room I have left on it!

Here is the washer dryer set up. One side of the cabinets is laundry stuff, and the other side is craft. I bought photo boxes and spray painted them pink. Micah used the old shelves and moved them over the washer and dryer.


Craft side open: (That big crate is stampin up paper. its a beast. the bags on top is scrap fabric until i buy a couple more crates. There is a third one up there too you can't see from here)

punches, glitters, paints, watercolor pencils and crayons, etc.


Then I sewed simple little curtains. I am still going to add tie backs and applique on the curtains. Its Heidi Grace fabric, so I might add some birds on. I sewing the pink rick rack on the top and then used tension rods so that they can easily be removed.

New Sink! And great storage underneath still. Nothing is crammed and all is easily accessible.


The top part... I seriously can not believe how much room I still have. I would like to keep it this way though.

Then my work space. I have room to add hooks all the way up, but I might keep it bare for now. The pink compartment bin was spray painted after we got it from my father in law. And he was also so generous in giving us that smoke Plexiglas for the top of my "desk"! I added matching fabric to the button jars, and the lights came from my sister in law Shannon, when we traded the lights for crosses at our yard sale. I have been wanting to add them to the lights on our pot shelf, but I think this is a lot more practical!


So thats that! I am pretty excited about my small little corner in the house. Its just what I needed and I am so grateful that Micah did it for me. It took the shelves falling down and having to gut the room to realize that it was totally possible. *and you should have seen how much I got rid of!*

Speaking of my sweet husband, he woke up today with a kidney stone. After we took him to urgent care, we also found out he has bronchitis too. Its kind of a blessing (and he would even say this) that he got the kidney stone, otherwise he would have not gone to the dr about his chest congestion until it would have been even worse. He has had this cough for about three weeks now. He's finally getting some rest after not sleeping well for a few week. I don't know what he would do without pain killers right now. It's awful!

Monday Morning Thoughts

This weekend was a difficult one. Sometimes it seems like there is this unknown timeline of when a person should be done grieving. But then it seems like the more we get back into the "regular" routine, the more we grieve.

Yesterday, our very dearest friends lost someone very close to them. She was young, it was extremely unexpected, and now her husband and three children and family and friends are left trying to wrap their heads around everything. Although we didn't know her personally, we see that same face of grief on our friends' faces that we have seen personally for two weeks now.

Did you know grief has a face? A very distinct look. Its hard not to recognize it once you have seen it.

Life can be so ...hard. This is the third loss in the last six weeks of someone close to us. There are so many hurting around me. Unexplained pains and illnesses that doctors can not diagnose. I can count 6 off the top of my head that I know of. 6. in the past three months. 6 illnesses that can not be figured out. Shouldn't doctors have the answers? It doesn't seem possible that this can happen so frequently.

Through the pain, the hurting, the grieving, there is a great Healer. If it wasn't for my faith in God; His comfort, His hope... it would be so impossible to go through these trials. Yet, I know that God can heal the brokenhearted. That we can feel His arms around us. And it gives me peace. Psalm 147:3-5 says, "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite."

I know that my blog hasn't been full of crafty fun lately. And for that, I apologize. I have several things going on here that I will be posting soon (and still hoping to launch the Etsy store before Friday). Don't bail on me now! And I have a lot of ideas spinning around in my head. I will talk about Thanksgiving menus, Christmas gifts, my new craft "room" set up, great inspirational emails from friends that thought of me when they read them, and scrapbooking projects, but today, I just want to think about how short our lives really are. How you spend your time is what matters most. What your focus really is.

Thank you friends for being here for me. For your comments you leave me, for the emails you send. For the texts and phone calls, and just for letting me know that you care. You mean so much to me and I appreciate everything. I hope that you know that I am here for each and every one of you if you ever need anything. A shoulder to cry on, a hand to hold, prayers lifted up, and an ear to listen. Even if we don't know each other face to face. I am here!

...so, thanks. :)

Twilight Movie!

Last night I had a great opportunity to seeTwilight! My mom (Happy Birthday!!) and sister and I all went and tagged along with Michelle, Amy and Sandy as well as other enthusiastic fans!

There were even prizes and vinyl I heart Twilight stickers! Sadly, our group didnt win any of the great prizes but I did get a beautiful necklace from Michelle! Check out her blog for more info on how you can get one too! :)

Christmas Trays

One of the things I was working on last month was some new trays. I made two Christmas trays and filled them with the epoxy like I did this one. You can use these for serving, or Christmas cards (or anything else you feel like using them for :))

Epoxy (resin, whatever you call it) is a beautiful thing, but it is also a very unpredictable medium--and very permanent! Once you pour it, thats it.

So, I was very disappointed when the epoxy seeped under the paper in both trays. I am thinking it also had something to do with the modge podge I used.

Materials used:

vinyl
cricut
chipboard
patterned paper
acrylic paint
modge podge
epoxy

One was supposed to be gold. I dont know why the paint wasn't more metallic. Usually Making Memories metallic paint is great (I love the copper!) That same tray was also the worst one with seeping. That's a shame.

You know how hard it is....

to not share here what I am making for Christmas gifts? Really hard!

I haven't done anything in a couple of weeks, but I have been doing a little here and there before and now its about time to get into the full swing. We would like to do all handmade for Christmas this year, but it will be "mostly" handmade instead.

I think this is a lot of people's theme this year, as the economy is struggling, and handmade just means more. I have also noticed that sometimes, it can be more expensive to make than to buy, so its not always the cheaper option, but it always means the most.

I will also be opening my etsy shop VERY soon (think in the upcoming week). This has been a long time coming. I started the shop back in February but have been too nervous about posting anything. I think its about time to go for it! Whats the worst that can happen, nothing sells? ok!

With the Holidays coming up, also consider having a family portrait or child(ren)'s portrait done. I do locations with natural light *that can include your home* and you receive the proofs on cd in addition to pictures digitally designed.

Catch ya on the flip side! I am off to take preschool portraits! ...only the cutest thing ever!

He makes me laugh

ok ok, I know I keep posting Jaden pictures, but its so hard not to! :) I just liked how this picture turned out. It was shot in color and converted to b&w.

My boys really are my "son-shine"-

Today was the funeral... no, thats not the right word for her ...celebration of the life of Grandma Eloise. Now, it seems that our worlds are supposed to resume back to "normal". Our family has to resume back to jobs, homes, and life that was going on before. Normal from last week though is no longer the normal for us.

The boys (Jaden, Jackson and Cousin Deacon) have all been such rays of sunshine through this. Seeing their beautiful smiles and love for life really puts things into a different light.

How can you not smile when you see this guy?

A very difficult week.

On Tuesday, our family lost someone very very special to us. Someone that did more for us than we ever could have known. Micah's grandmother, Eloise, went home to Jesus with her family around her.

She was one of the happiest sweetest people I have ever been blessed to know. She loved everyone. Her kids, her grandkids, and her great grandchildren miss her so very much. Most importantly, she loved God and had the strongest faith. She was inspiring in everything she did in life.

This has to be one of my most favorite pictures ever. This was taken the day that Jackson was born. Jaden loves all of his grandmas, and he made sure he let Micah's grandma and my grandma know at the same time.


Even though we know she is in a place with no more tears and no more pain, we miss her so so much. I wasn't going to blog anything, because I didn't even think I could do justice to how amazing of a person she was, but I just wanted to say, even though no words can say what it is that we feel, that we love you Grandma.

Stories in Hand

Yesterday began the Stories in Hand class taught by Jessica Sprague. I am super excited to begin this, but am kind of feeling overwhelmed? Anyone else taking this class feel like that? Maybe because there is a lot already going on inside and outside right now and I feel like I am "behind" because I haven't gotten to dive in yet. And its TWO weeks long!! How cool is that?

Either way, when I do get to begin it, I am excited to learn how to write my stories down and maybe I will share some as I go along :)

New Crayon Roll

Last week I made a bunch of these up for the boutique and Jaden wanted his out:

I guess the little gnomes came and got it because I can not find it anywhere, so I made him a special one. This one holds a box of 48 and opens flat next to his project and rolls up nicely to take along. If I did this size again, I would probably add two ties to it, but for this one, I think 1 will still work.

I believe in nurturing your child's creativity...

...but not like this.

He didnt know I was standing there watching him. Too busy creating, maybe? Covering his body and face in purple paint?

My carpet definitely didn't approve either.


Its funny, we have always called him Harold from Harold and the Purple Crayon. He looks like the little guy and always has a writing utensil in his hand. What an appropriate color...and you have to appreciate the orange and blue he threw in.


But gosh, how can you get mad? He's just exploring his creative world.


A boy after my own heart. I think I'll keep him.

Boutique Reminder!

This Saturday come join us for a great Holiday Boutique! I will be raffling this fabulous apron!


Check out Devine Memories for more info!

sweet moments

Tonight I wasn't feeling well, so I was trying to take it easy before a very busy day tomorrow. The boys had been a little crazy and ended up going to bed earlier than normal. Well, they weren't too happy about it. This is when it can go one of two ways. It can either be frustrating and tiresome, or it can turn into one of the best moments a mommy can have.

Jaden was crying in his bed that he wanted his water (something that he gets every night, but I wasnt moving fast enough for him this time). When I went in to give it to him, his little arms shot out and he said "Mama, I need a hug." Normally, I retuck him in, give him lots of hugs and kisses and then leave, but tonight was different. I don't know if it was because of feeling bad, the tone in his voice, or just a mother's instinct of realizing he needed me at that moment, or maybe I just needed him, but either way, I pulled the covers back and crawled in next to him.

Jaden is not a touchy person. He never has been. He has never been the type to crawl up in your lap and go to sleep, or take naps together, or just wants to cuddle unless he doesn't feel good. But tonight was just different. I crawled in, tucked him in better and quietly asked him to close his eyes. Instead of fighting it, or making it a game, he closed his eyes, and then didn't open them again. He was a little wiggly but slowly, as we faced each other and I gazed at my first baby boy, and rejoiced at this gift that God has given me, I heard his breathing steady and he was soon fast asleep.

As I laid there, I kept thinking about so much. I thought about how fast the boys are growing, and how these moments are treasures that I hope to keep forever. Things I never want to forget or take for granted. I thought about how I try to be the best mom I can, and how much they teach me too. I ran my fingers through his silly hair that grows forward and marvelled at his long thick eyelashes and the way he still sucks his tongue in his sleep. He has grown so much in three years. Watching his videos just from one year ago, makes you realize just how fast time goes. I just want to put the brakes on. I want to freeze time, wrap my arms around his teeny little body and never let go.

I may screw up a lot in life as "rebecca". I may make stupid mistakes and do dumb actions that I can't take back. And I can get down on myself for it all...but at the end of the day, these miracles show me how to take ME out of the picture and see that I am not here for me. They show me how to love, how to give, how to teach, how to be patient and kind, how to rejoice in the little things, how to see something for the first time. They show me compassion and beauty, joy and hope. They help me to focus on God more as I try to raise them to be the God-fearing men that He gave them to me to be.

3 weeks old...
1 years old


The day before I had Jackson


2 years old.
3 years old.
Jaden saying his prayers at 2 years old:

Vote Today!

Everyone has different views and opinions about the next president of the US. I dont want to discuss that. Regardless of who you are rooting for, make sure you vote today if you haven't already!

Vote today and many places are offering FREE products! I know of these:

• Krispy Kreme is giving away cool star shaped donuts with red white and blue sprinkles
  
• Starbucks will give ya free coffee
  
• Ben and Jerry will give away 1 scoop of ice cream in any flavor!
  
• Some Chik Fil A locations too will give away a chicken sandwich (but you have to turn in your sticker, I dont know if you do for all of these places...)

Go excercise your right to vote! And get a full tummy while you're at it...for free!

How cool is this?!

Thanks Heather at YMBD! This made my week!

http://ymbd.blogspot.com/2008/11/gallery-find-11208.html

Happy Digital Scrapbook Day!

Check out two peas for FREE kits today! Thats where I got the frame and blue/white polka dot paper! The other accents are free from Urban Kiwi at Shabby Princess :)