Sentimental Sunday

For 15 years I ran a day care in my home. It was the BEST JOB that I ever had. Especially my first families! They truly are my heart and soul. I love watching them grow into amazing adults and start families of their own.

Recently I had a sweet visit from little Beau. Beau is the baby to Kelly & Dustin. Kelly was the reason I quit my part time job at a retirement facility (third shift - I hated it), but I loved every day with the kids.

This is a photo of Kelly and I about 26ish years ago

I am so proud of all my "kids" that came through my home. Every child was prayed over and I love seeing how many of them are following the Lord. 

You can probably imagine how thrilled I was to get a special visit and meet Beau.

Thanks for stopping by!

Christi

 

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Sentimental Sunday

Are you a Scrapbooker?
I started scrapbooking in 1996 when our youngest son was 10 years old. 
I went gang busters for many years, but once I started making cards I LOVED that so much that my scrapbooking when on the "back burner" - Oh, I still worked on my scrapbooking, but just not as aggressive, and I even stopped taking as many photos.
Looking back I kind of laugh because I have created MANY pages because I wanted a certain page so I went out and took pictures to create it!  Especially when I was doing day care - those kids were a great subject!!
I mean... just look at these kids!!
I put together specific albums just for all the kids I watched and then, one by one as they graduated from high school I gifted them one album. (approx. 17- 8 1/2 x 11 albums)

 Riana, Lake, Kelly & Kyle just a few of my "first" kids that I watched

 Kelly

 Riana and Kelly

 Kelly

Gracie

Fast forward to a few years ago when several ladies asked me to have a scrapbooking day when I picked up my scrapbooking on a semi-annual basis.
Fast forward to present day -
My sweet mama passed away in October  last years. After everything was done I took 2 days to scrapbook all the photos surrounding those last 2 weeks.  It was so very therapeutic for me.
Over the Christmas and New Year weeks I  had no card classes planned so I pulled out all of my photos and papers and set to work. I did have a set goal and am happy to say I reached it, and then some.
What I wanted to say right from the start is that you might think that scrapbooking is a waste of time and money, but as I was working on these photos I came upon some pictures that I took on Super Bowl Sunday. My first thought was "Why do I need to scrapbook Super Bowl Sunday?" BUT...then I ran across a picture of Mom watching the game along with the guys. I was so glad to have those ordinary photos. We also took Mom and Dad to a Music in the Park event and out to ice cream, and I snapped just a couple photos - but I was so glad to be able to see my Mom in some of her good days.

I hope I didn't ramble on too much - but just to encourage you to pull out those scrapbooks and document your memories.

Have a wonderful Sunday!
Christi







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MY 'Kids'

It's hard to believe that only four weeks ago we were hectically trying to pull the final touches together for Joey and Melissa's wedding and now here they are, back from their honeymoon to Grand Cayman Islands and settled back into the routine life of work and every day responsibilities.

One of the biggest treats for me was that three of my former day care families attended the wedding and it was so great to catch up with them.

Kelly was the first baby that I had and she is the one I quit my job to care for.  Now, look how grown up and beautiful she is!  She even caught the brides bouquet!!  Must be all that Softball experience she has.

 Left to right - Kelly, Auntie (me), Joey, and Lake

Lake and Kelly are brother and sister - you can probably tell by their 

strawberry blonde hair color.

When Lake was little we would say "what color is your hair, Lake?" 

and he would say "orange"  But the way he said it came out so cute.

 This is Kelly and Lake's mom, Jenny, with our grand daughter, Gracie. 

Gracie and Tyler also hold a great fondness for these families.  

Kelly has even been a baby sitter for Tyler and Gracie once or twice.

 Lake and Joey (we affectionately call him "little Joey" because our Joey was "Big Joey")

are only 14 months apart in age, but Lake is big for his age and Joey is small for his age.

 But they are still the best of buds!!

 

Lake is just a 'hair' taller than his dad already at age 13, well, 13 and 3/4!!

This is little Eli.  He was one of the last crew to be at Auntie's house.

and ironically enough - he is the son of Melissa's cousin, Amber, who was such a HUGE help to me when kids like Kelly, Lake and Joey were in my care.  When our Joey had a ball game, Amber would come and stay with the kids until the parents came home, and ended up being a babysitter for those families as well in the evenings.  I always called Eli my 'second generation' child care even though I never cared for Amber in a day care capacity, but we sure did spend a lot of fun times together.

Thanks For Stopping By!

Have a Blessed Day!!

Christi a.k.a. Auntie

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Day Care Re-visited and New Classes

You asked for it??? You got it!!

I have heard your requests and now I am putting them into action !!

Starting in March, I will be adding one more class per month and each month will have a different theme. I will try to keep the cost at $12.00 (what you are used to paying for a Stamp A Stack class), but there may be occasion to increase it just a tad depending on the theme that month.

So here is your list of classes and dates to add to your calendar...

MARCH - BOW MAKING CLASS!! THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 7:00 PM This is probably the biggest request so I thought I would do it first.
If you would like to purchase the Double D Bow Maker that we will be using that night please give me a heads up so I can get them from my friend who makes them.
Cost is $7.50 for the Bow Maker Plus the cost of class $12.00. And that will include a link to a video tutorial as well, so if you forget what I showed you in class you can go to that, but I am not allowed to give out that link without a purchase.

APRIL - ALL FEMININE CARDS - APRIL 19, 7:00 PM
With Mother's Day coming in May This is the perfect opportunity to make a card for Mom as well as stock up on cards for all occasions from baby to sympathy to everything in between.

MAY - ALL MASCULINE CARDS - MAY 24, 7:00 PM
Next on the list is Father's Day in June so this will be your chance to have a card ready for Dad as well as stock up on cards for all occasions from baby to sympathy to everything in between.

JUNE - ALL KIDS CARDS! JUNE 28, 7:00 PM
This is probably the second most requested class, but I put it off until June so I could get the Mother's Day and Father's Day in there at the appropriate timinig. We will go up through approx. the teenage years. Will see how the spirit moves when I plan the cards.

JULY - With our son's wedding coming in early August, I will be skipping a July special class, but will plan to have one in AUGUST - Have any special requests for a class? I am open to your suggestions.

*PLEASE REPLY TO EACH CLASS 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE OF THE CLASS SO I CAN PREPARE

*SAME AS ALWAYS PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN ADHESIVE TO KEEP THE REASONABLE COST AT $12.00

LOOKING FORWARD TO SOME MORE FUN NIGHTS AHEAD!

A few weeks ago we invited two of my previous day care
families to join us for dinner.
It was fun to see the boys back together again.

Remember Charlie?



Well, he has a new baby sister now, meet Alexis (Lexie)

Remember Parker?

You can see he is going to be a big brother real soon too

By the end of the evening Uncle Dale had Parker engaged in a drawing game

I loved all the hugs and kisses they gave me when they came and when they left
but when it is all said and done, I realize I made the right decision to retire.
They are all thriving in the new child care provider homes
and I am so happy for them all.
I will always enjoy keeping up with how they grow up,
these were some of the very best years of my life.

Thanks For Stopping By!

Have a Blessed Day!!

Christi

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Baseball

Baseball season has been in full swing for a couple months now and as a family we enjoy watching the Detroit Tigers play. In fact, we have plans to go to a game next month. This year Tyler is in his second year of machine pitch and Gracie is in her first year of tee ball. When their season began I made these cards for the kids to wish them a fun and successful season.

Then one day Charlie and Caleb both came to Auntie's with baseball themed shirts on...

When the kid's season came to an end Julie asked me to make thank you cards for their coaches.

I love having cards on hand. All I had to do was change out the "grand son" to "coach"

For Gracie's coach I made a card that had her team color (orange) and added pink hats and bats. Silly me, I forgot to take a picture of it.

Tyler and Gracie are already looking forward to next years season.

Have a Blessed Day!!

Christi

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Birthday Invitations

If you saw yesterday's post you would have seen Parker who just had his second birthday. They chose to have a golf theme for his birthday party this year as golf is Parker's favorite sport. I guess he even has his own set of REAL golf clubs sized perfectly just for him.

His mom asked me to make the invitations for Parker's party.

I started by creating the invitation on the computer, then sponged the grassy area with
Garden Green Classic Ink and the sky with Bashful Blue Classic Ink

Now time to pull out all the punches to create this golf themed invitation.


Here are the pieces I used to create the golf cart and flag

Wheels: 1" Circle Punch in Whisper White and 1/2" Circle Punch in Basic Black
Seat: Word Window Punch cut down to 1 1/4" in Whisper White
and a Small Heart Punch in Basic Black

Word Window Punch was used for the side pieces that
attach the roof to the cart and for the steering wheel.
More how-to on the steering wheel below.

I used the Top Note Die and the Big Shot to create the golf cart body


You can see how the Top Note comes out with a perforated edge. I just trimmed that off.

I was able to get 2 golf carts from 1 Top Note
I created a pattern from scrap paper so all I had to do was go to town and cut them all out.


For the oval area of the "green" I cut out a Scalloped Frame Oval Die and used the inside as a template to sponge So Saffron Classic Ink.


I also used the Scalloped Oval Die (the inside piece) for the top of the golf cart


and trimmed them to approx 1/2"

I chose to use So Saffron Card Stock and then I sponged it with Garden Green Classic Ink.

Here is how I made the steering wheel...
First I punched 'this much' using the Word Window Punch and Basic Black Card Stock


Then I measured 1" from the side

Re-inserted it and punched again to get the same rounded edge on both ends


Now just assemble
Here is the finished invitation again

(I hand cut the flag and pole and heat embossed the number 2 on the flag
with Craft White Ink and White Embossing Powder.)

Hope you will give this a try.

Have a Blessed Day!! Christi

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Happy Birthday Parker!

Parker's "cheese"y grin

Today is Parker's 2nd Birthday!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PARKER!!

To say this little guy likes to eat Fishy Crackers is putting it mildly so I thought this was a fun idea by Diana Jacobs using the Sweet Treat Cups and some colorful Goldfish Crackers.
(which, by the way, they have every single day for their morning snack -
at least on the days Parker is here)

MENU:
SS: Very Puny (retired), Sweet Centers
CS: WW, More Mustard, Taken with Teal (retired)
INK: Rich Razzleberry, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, More Mustard
Accessories: Sweet Treat Cup, Small and Large Oval Punches, Non SU Embossing Folder and decorative scissor.

Click HERE if you would like to purchase any of these products from me

Have a Blessed Day!!

Christi Pin It Now!

May Stamp A Stack part 1 Graduation Cards

May is definitely Graduation season!!

This is me w/Dan getting a BIG hug

See the last two days of posting to see the cards/gifts I made for Dan
(and why he is so special to me)

At our Stamp A Stack Classes this month we made 2 different cards for graduation
(although the ladies could choose to use any sentiment they wanted.)


This card uses one of the new Stamp Sets in the Summer Mini called The Open Sea,
and the layout idea came from our Stampin' Success magazine.
CS: Not Quite Navy Textured, WW, Nautical Expedition DSP
Accessories: Baker's Twine Early Espresso and White (#123124 $2.95),
Antique Brads, Dimensionals, Paper Piercer and Mat
The HAPPY GRADUATION stamp is from the Teeny Tiny Wishes Stamp Set.

Card #2 is a pocket card


MENU:
SS: In Wilderness, Lovely As A Tree, Happy Grad (retired), Sanded Background
CS: Always Artichoke, Bashful Blue, Naturals Ivory, Naturals White
INK: Early Espresso, Always Artichoke, Bashful Blue, Versa Mark,
More Mustard & Crumb Cake Markers
Punches: Wide Oval, Designer Label
Accessories: Linen Thread, Distressing tool, Sponge, Clear EP
The Eagle was heat embossed with Clear EP - Twice - it really made the Eagle stand out.
Inspired By: Pamela Sue Koenes on the Stampin' Connection

Have a Blessed Day!!

Christi

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