Digital Scrapbooking

My first attempt at digital scrapbooking...

Look How Far You've Come

So today was the big day... I turned 30! Wow. Since I've been old enough to know I should have pictures of my childhood, I had yet to find them. I started to wonder if I even had a childhood. Then when cleaning out a closet Sunday night, there was a box that had "Pictures" labeled on the side. It was a box my mom must have put together after my grandma passed away. So I opened it and started sorting through them all. There were lots of pictures of my childhood. Believe it or not, there was even one of my First Birthday. So this is where it all began...
Happy 30th Birthday to Me!

The Laughter of A Child...

I absolutely love when Madison laughs. I love to hear any child laugh. It warms the heart and makes me smile. So turn up your sound and get ready to smile!

Madi and Daddy

Make a Smilebox greeting

Enjoying Signs of Spring

My Girls

I love my camera...

A Day at the Spa... well sort of.

Okay ladies, which one of you wouldn't love an afternoon of complete pampering and relaxation? Be honest... you know just 1 solid hour of "grown-up" time is bliss! Well, I'd love to say that I was the recipient of such treatment, but alas I was not. A well relaxed husband is a happy husband. John has been working really hard at work lately and putting in extra long hours. It has definitely taken a toll on him physically and mentally. So I decided to give him a chance to sit back and relax....
The main ingredient.


On loan from Madison.



John? Are you in there?

Ahhh. My dear sweet hubby relaxing in our tub.

Share and Share Alike

No matter what time of day, no matter if she has just finished a meal, if you have food or drink Madison wants to have some too. John's weight gain shake was no exception. In an effort to maintain his calorie intake for the day, John drinks a high calorie, high vitamin milkshake. There isn't anything in it that would be harmful so who was Daddy to deny his little girl from a sip or two or twenty?

Having a seat...

I'm ready to share!

Maybe I should stand for this...

Mommy! Put the camera down!

Bitten Once Shame on You... Bitten 3 times Shame on Me!

Well, as I have previously posted our little Madison was bitten at daycare back at the first of February. This past Thursday she was bitten again. Friday... she was bitten again. After her bite on Thursday John and I discussed finding a new place for her to go. Friday morning before he headed in to work he went to 2 more centers and checked things out. He called me with his report. He had found a place that we think would suit us much better. The security is A LOT better both inside and out. As you know if you've read along... car broken into back in February too. If you missed the big post, you can read it here. We moved Miss Madison to her new day care on Monday. I must say that I could not be happier! She is loving it. The teachers there are super nice, along with the directors. They have made every effort to see how she is adjusting and how we feel she is doing. The write the coolest notes home everyday. Its not the boring Xerox sheet that is distributed to each kid. It is a personal hand-written note from her teacher letting us know exactly what they did each day and how she is doing. We do get the basics too (what she ate/how long she napped/diapers...) but it is separate from her "notebook". Another awesome thing for us is the curriculum that is actually taught. Starting from the age group she is in now, they actually have a lesson plan for the week. It is also a Christian based child care center so she will get to learn about Jesus too!

Poor Madi the evening of the first bite. Her face is so grubby because she wouldn't let us hardly touch her to clean it.

These are the scratches that accompanied the bite. This is her right cheek, she has matching set on her left cheek as well. I was absolutely furious. A quick bite is one thing, but the child that did this was latched on pretty tight if they couldn't break the contact.

Arrow of Light

I previously mentioned that I would update our Just Us post with pictures of Ian's ceremony. Instead I decided to devote a post to Ian and his accomplishment.

This excerpt was taken from Wikipedia regarding the Arrow of Light Ceremony:

The Arrow of Light award is the highest award available to Cub Scouts. In addition to the skill and activity requirements of the preceding ranks, the Arrow of Light requires Scouts to learn the Scout Promise and Scout Law, and visit one meeting and one activity of a Boy Scout troop, in preparation for advancing to the Boy Scouts. The Arrow of Light award is the only Cub Scout award[note 1] that can be worn on a Boy Scout uniform. Both Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts wear the badge below the left pocket. Adults wear the square-knot version of the badge above the left pocket.

We are so proud of him. Here are a few pictures from the evening.

This is Ian crossing from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. Another part of the ceremony. The boys walk across the platform as to symbolize the true crossing from Cub Scouts (aka boys) to Boy Scouts (aka young men)

Below:

Table Decorations, Ian with his Grandparents Ed & Becky.

Above:

Ian at the head table for the boys receiving the Arrow of Light award.

Mommy and Ian. He actually let me take a picture with him while his friends were around!