~Count Your Blessings~

This is my 100th Post!! I was about to write a new post and I realized this was going to be number 100!! Should I do something fancy? Do a little dance or something? Nah :).

I have been SOOO blessed lately, and I just wanted to share a few things that have been making me happy :).

The biggest thing that happened, a while ago but I haven’t mentioned here, is that Chris was given an award at SAIC!!! He has been recognized a lot lately for several important projects he has been involved in, and it has culminated in this very special award. And the best part is that it is not something Chris asked for or even knew existed – it is a complete gift from God. I am so proud of Chris for all the hard work he does, but we both know that everything we have comes from God alone. Chris has these two verses on display at his office:

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24

Proverbs 16:3:
Commit to the LORD whatever you do,
and your plans will succeed.

He has made a real effort to live these verses out, and I think that God is rewarding him for that.

OK, now that I’ve shared that news, all the little things that are making me happy lately are going to seem silly, but sometimes the icing on the cupcake really makes you smile, you know?

For one thing, I just found out today that I have been chosen as one of the design team members at my local scrapbook store, Once Upon a Scrapbook! Yay – I am so excited to start creating with the latest goodies they have over there!! And this morning I had another happy moment as I enjoyed a YUMMY piece of homemade coffee cake that Lettie had brought over yesterday. Thanks girl, you’re the best! And Cheryl emailed me the other day to tell me that she picked up some impossible to find puma sneaks for me from a supplier near where she lives – thanks my friend, you’re TOO SWEET! And I also recently got nice mail from Laurie and Judy. And Teresa gave me one of her gorgeous digital scrapbook kits for free!!! There is something about a random acts of kindness that make you feel so good inside, isn’t there? So I took a few pics of some AWESOME stuff that I’ve gotten in the mail recently:

1&2: My lovely sis, Sarah sent me the BEST package!! Everything was contained in this beautiful box by Midori – divine! Inside there were so many happy things: like a great custom made “Best Of” CD with vintage ads as cover art, a cute onesie for Gabe, lots of hand cut hearts, a piece of her original artwork, oh and CANDY :)!

3: The people at Scrapbook Max sent me their scrapbooking program totally free so long as I mention it or review it on Scrapbook Ideas. Cool, thanks.

4: Right before that I had gotten a postcard from Kathie, with her new address. Kathie is one of those dear family friends who you know you will always be close to no matter where either of you go.

5: A little while back I got a TOTALLY random package in the mail from my uncle Jim. It had 2 carefully mixed “Best Of” CDs (Sarah style) plus a well thought out program. And some great pics of the family too! It was neat and unusual surprise that injected my day with fun!

6: OK, it has been FAR too long since we got this last one for me not to mention it. But the reason is because this little guy is going to have a whole post of his own, I just haven’t gotten to it yet. Anyway, don’t you just LOVE this handmade sock monkey my mom made for Gabe??? Gabe loves it too! There is something about his happy face that just makes everyone smile. Thanks Mom!!! More to come on that one…

So, there are many many more things making me smile these days, but there’s a sampling for you. The ones in the photo are all in some way related to creativity or artistic people. I have been so artistically inspired lately. I think that happens most when I am feeling truly blessed, like I am right now.

How’s that for post #100?

~Two Cuties~

Yes, these are more pictures from the Botanical Gardens. No, they are not all from the same day :). Yes, I will post part two of Gabriel’s eighth month, but I don’t think I’ll get to it until after Easter. Speaking of Easter, I hope you have a wonderful one!

~Gabriel’s Best Buddy~

I love this photo of Gabe with his best little buddy! My friend/neighbor, Lettie, takes the best photos! I’m so jealous. Check out the awesome one of her and her husband Alex that’s on their website right now (click “Jackson’s Parents” to see it full-size). They took those photos themselves! Imagine how much it would cost to have photos like that done by a pro??

~Let Your Blessings Grow~

~Tate Farms~

Ahhhhhh….Fall is in the air! Last night the heat came on in our house for the first time this season. Gabriel and I got to enjoy the cool fall air when we went on a walk with Lettie and Jackson today, it was beautiful outside! This month is busy for us, but we are determined to enjoy the fall weather as much as we can. Last weekend we took Gabe on his first trip to the pumpkin patch with Lettie, Alex and Jackson. He wore his “Mini Aviator” Halloween costume (so cute!). Tate Farms was a little pricey ($8 each), but it was worth the cost – it was an autumn wonderland! I can’t even begin to list all of the great attractions they had. We all went on a hayride to a huge pumpkin patch, then we walked around a little bit in the corn maze (check out the aerial photo – amazing!) and lastly, we went to see a long row of sunflowers bordering the patch. Here are some of the many pics we took:

The sketches used in today’s posts are by Suzanne Walker.