Chicken Scratch

December Daily - all caught up!

So with the busyness of the holidays, I got a little behind in blogging and sharing my December Daily pages. I just finished up the last few ones this week so here they are. Since I have so many to share, I'll just post the photos in my blog and then you can view the products used and journaling here in my Scrapfreak gallery. Thanks for looking!

Day 11
 

Day 12
 

Day 13
 

Day 14
 

Day 15
 

Day 16
 

Day 17
 

Day 18
 

Day 19
 

Day 20
 

Day 21
 

Day 22
 

Day 23
 

Day 24
 

Day 25
 

And the cover
 

I finally completed this project! The past two years... well, the first year I never got started and last year I took my photos but only (paper) scrapped the first 4 pages. Digi is DEFINITELY the way to go. It's alot easier to sit down to digi scrap each day than paper scrap... no printing photos, dragging out supplies, etc. ;) Much more time efficient when you're trying to scrap each day and not get too far behind. :)

So tomorrow is the last day of 2009. I say it every year, but man, where does the time go? We're having family over tomorrow evening to celebrate. I need to finish cleaning up the house, run to the store tomorrow for food and champagne and party hats, and do some laundry. Hope your last day of 2009 is a great one and have a safe, fun evening tomorrow!

December Daily - Day 10

supplies:
papers, number: December 2009 Collection by Crystal Wilkerson; frames, stitching: November 2009 Collection by Crystal Wilkerson; scallop border: September 2009 Collection by Crystal Wilkerson; buttons: August 2009 Collection by Crystal Wilkerson - (all found at www.jessicasprague.com); fonts: CK Ali's Hand Official, Century Gothic; Sketchy Thursdays blog 12.3 sketch

Mommy Moments

I hate those blindside-you-Mommy-Moments. The ones that sneak up on you and make your heart hurt and the tears flow. When you catch your breath and squeeze your eyes tight and wish time didn't fly by so damn fast.

I had one of those moments tonight.

Today is my Nanny's birthday. She would have been 69. She lost her battle to breast cancer 2.5 years ago and I miss her terribly. Tonight while I was putting Kaleigh to bed and she was saying her prayers, she told God to tell Nanny *Happy Birthday*. I was listening to her and watching her and wishing Nanny could see the beautiful and sweet (and so smart) little girl she is today. I wish Kaleigh could grow up with Nanny in her life like I did. Nanny loved her family so so much and always put them first. She was always there for us anytime and for anything. Kaleigh's life would be so richer to have Nanny in it. Now before I go off on that tangent about Nanny and cry some more I'll get back to my Mommy Moment.

Normally after Kaleigh says her prayer I'll tuck her in, turn on her CD player, turn off the light, kiss her good night, and leave the room while she goes to sleep. Tonight I was in the mood to lie with her until she fell asleep. I rubbed her back and sang to her as she dozed. There are 4 different songs that I used to sing to her at bedtime when she was a baby. As I sang them tonight I had flashbacks to when she was a baby and you moms know what that's like. It hurts. And I laid there with her and cried.

Don't get me wrong... I love the little girl she is today. She's sweet and beautiful and smart and creative and her mind amazes me all the time. I love the girl time we have... crafting, shopping, talking, singing. Each year does get better but why does it have to go so fast? Why in one moment am I rocking my baby to sleep and the next I'm dropping her off at school, watching her walk away into a world without me? Why are the days so long but the years so short? Why does being a Mommy have to be so hard?

Whew, sorry for the heavy stuff but that's what's on my heart tonight. Being a Mommy is the most rewarding, amazing, awesome thing in the world but it's the most emotional.

Time to up my Lexapro. ;)

December Daily - Day 9

supplies:
papers, number, reindeer: December 2009 Collection by Crystal Wilkerson; frames, stitching: November 2009 Collection by Crystal Wilkerson - (all found at www.jessicasprague.com); fonts: CK Ali's Hand Official, Century Gothic

December Daily - Day 8

supplies:
papers, number: December 2009 Collection by Crystal Wilkerson; buttons: August 2009 Collection by Crystal Wilkerson; template and flourish embellishment by Jessica Sprague - (all found at www.jessicasprague.com); font: Century Gothic

December Daily

I've been participating in a project called December Daily by Ali Edwards and just realized I haven't been sharing my layouts on my blog! So here they are! :)

Day 1
 

Day 2
 

Day 3
 

Day 4
 

Day 5
 

Day 6
 

Day 7
 

(For more info on supplies used in each layout, visit my Scrapfreak gallery here.)

Thanks for looking!

I know I'm biased...

...but my daughter is the CUTEST!!! :D She gets more beautiful every day and it's a joy watching her grow all the time. Here are a couple pictures from this week. The first one was taken Monday in front of her new school. She was so excited for the big day. And the second one was taken this morning when we woke up to unexpected snow (a light dusting but still fun to play in for a few minutes before school).

 

 

And I promise you I do not pose the child. That is all her doing. She's got natural sass (and PLENTY of it! LOL)

And a few more photos of our snow this morning...

Writing a note to Mommy

I love her sweet little heart...

Catching snowflakes on her tongue
 

I hear we might get more snow on Friday??? We'll see!

Hello from Our New Home

Whew! We FINALLY closed on our house and officially became first-time home buyers! We couldn't be more happier... or pooped! Last week was a whirlwind... we closed, moved, my mom had surgery, Thanksgiving (which we moved all day anyways), my hubby had to drive to Kansas on Friday and back Saturday for his grandfather's funeral, and all the while we both had sinus infections. Needless to say, we're so tired but so excited and loving our new home. This is my first time to plug in my laptop and try and catch up a little. I've gotten ours and Kaleigh's bedrooms unpacked and did the kitchen today (minus decorating). Tomorrow I have errands to run and hope to get the tree up in the evening. Sadly I won't be going full out on the Christmas decor this year. Just too much unpacking and settling in to do to pull all that out. So it'll be the tree and our stockings but that's okay. Next year I'm going all out on the fall and Christmas decor. ;)

Anyways, just wanted to share a few pictures of our new home (excuse the crappy shots with my point-and-shoot camera). These were taken the day we first saw it and put in the offer. I'll start sharing pictures of my decorating projects as I complete them. I've got lots of ideas and big dreams planned. ;)

Two-story, with a two-car garage with separate doors

Love the big front porch!

From the front door looking into the living room and the breakfast/dining area. It's hard to tell in the picture but that fireplace hearth is HUGE! That mantel is taller than me (I'm 5'3"). LOL

Again, the breakfast/dining area and the kitchen.

The kitchen.

Staircase.
 

Our house is just over 2000 sq. ft. It has 3 bedrooms (our bedroom, Kaleigh's bedroom, and my studio), 2.5 bathrooms, 1 study (which will be my Premier business office and a guest bedroom), and a game room (we're making it a media room). It has a big backyard with big oak trees and plenty of room to put in a deck and pool one day. ;) We absolutely love it and couldn't be more blessed. Thanks for looking and sharing in our joy. :)