New Kitties & a New Sawmill

Yesterday we realized that we hadn't seen Ma-Lady all day & figured that she must've had her kittens. We knew she looked like she was ready to pop & said that we bet she'd have them this week. So, Michael & Alli took off down to the barn (that's where she ALWAYS has her kittens) & sure enough...they were back up the hill in no time saying that she had 6 babies in an old tire down in the barn.
Nothing like a neighborhood project for the men...LOL. The old sawmill roof caved in this past winter with all that heavy snow we had & so they are in the process of rebuilding now.
Below are Skippy, Clay, Mason, David & Paul

Takes alot of gabbing to get a project done around here, ya know!

Ashley, Alli & I went for a walk this afternoon. It was really windy today, but still nice.

Between their gab sessions they did manage to get some work done today.

'You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You.'

~Isaiah 26:3~

Bunny Ears

My two girlies sporting their brand new Bunny Ears!

Shopping & Starbucks

The girls & I headed out yesterday for a little shopping. Ashley was needing to find an Easter outift...Alli already had her dress. We hit the mall first because I had to return a pair of shoes for Clay then we met up with Maw, Sarah & the kids for a little coffee break at Starbucks. Yum! After Starbucks, we headed across the road to Target. Found some really good bargains while we were there yesterday. Ashley found her a dress for Easter, I got a pad of scrapping paper for $4, some Target brand granola bars....some for Chris to take back to school & some for the food pantry at church....49 cents a box & best of all was the first two seasons of 'I Love Lucy' on dvd that I stumbled across for only $15! Ashley was SO tickled. We all love Lucy & she had been wanting to find a good deal on the seasons to buy. So, this made for a nice early Easter treat. As we were getting ready to check out at Target I got a call from Clay. He & the boys had decided to make a trial run of sorts with the boat....just going to Monacan Park...not too far away. Anyway, he noticed the truck was overheating & was able to pull over.....on the side of 29 right before they got to Amherst High School. Thank goodness he caught us right before we left & I was able to pick him up some antifreeze & water. What an adventure.....when we got there & he poured water into the truck, he was able to see that a hose had busted. So, off we go....BACK to town to get a new hose......then back to sit on the side of the road while he fixed the hose.....all this with cars whizzing by us at 70 mph!



Finally got the hose fixed up & then we followed them home to make sure they made it safe & sound. I tell ya.....what an ending to our day! It was nearly 8pm by the time we ate some supper. Always need a little adventure in your life to keep things interesting...LOL ;-)

This layout of Charlie was done for Jen's Lift Challenge. Should've posted the original here too, but I forgot. Alli took this pic of Charlie...love the expression on his face.And this one of Anna & Daniel was also done for a challenge. Patti's Recipe Challenge. We had to use 3 patterned papers, 3 embellies & a 3 word title.
This 3D Christmas tree was lifted from the Feb. 2010 issue of Scrapbooks etc. Thought it was perfect for this pic of them in front of their tree.

My latest Scrapiness

Over at Cookin' Up Creations, I signed up for the 'Telephone Tag' challenge. Patti usually starts things off by choosing a LO & sending it to the first player who lifts that LO & then sends it back to Patti. She then sends THAT LO on to the next player & they lift it & so forth & so on. When we're all done she will post the original LO & then all the others that have been lifted along the way. It's really cool to see all the different elements that get copied from LO to LO. Here is the layout that Patti sent me...............
And here's my take on it.

Just a photo of my Brother-in-law with his new little son, Eli. I snagged this pic from his facebook & just HAD to scrap it. Can't wait to meet Eli in person!!

This was done for my BOM challenge this week.....I still need to add the title & journaling.

The challenge was to do a LO about the People Who Have Influenced Me....and I don't know of any two people who have influened me more than Maw & Pop. I loved this pic of them taken at the fire tower above Dutch Creek back in Oct. 1966. Playing with my new scanner again....I enhanced the colors & cropped it a tad. Love how it turned out!

PineCone Press

Here are my most recent DT creations using the awesome 'Garden Party' line from PineCone Press.I love these pics of me in my bikini when I was 18 months old. I didn't want to scrap the originals so I played around with my new scanner. Scanned & enhanced the old photos (really helped to bring out the color in them....they were pretty faded) then printed them out & used the copies on my page.
Gibbs & her siblings just chillin' on the afghan. Loved all these cute little punch-outs....the frame & title & the flowers & journaling spots were cut out from another piece of paper.

I used the wrapper off her big ole chocolate bar as background paper on this LO. This child is definitely my 'chocoholic'. ;-)

Loved this cute little trifold card base that came in our kits. I totally copied this card from the little idea booklet that was included in our kits. Such cute, cute ideas!

One of the two birthday cards made for my twin niece's that just turned 18 yesterday.

Happy Birthday

Brittany & Christie!!

Cleaning & Worship

I corinthians 10:31- .....whatsoever you do, do ALL to the glory of God!

This verse came to mind today as we have all been on a major cleaning mission getting ready for Chris to come home on Spring Break tomorrow afternoon. I was dusting here in the dining room & had the tunes cranked up cleaning & worshipping.......

The Lord reigns, let the people shout

He reigns in righteousness

Let the heavens be glad

Let the earth rejoice

The Lord reigns, let the people clap their hands

Angels shout, "the redeemed have come to dance"

To celebrate, to celebrate

He reigns

The Lord reigns, the Lord reigns

The Lord reigns, we will sing and shout

You reign, You reign

You reign, forever King of all

Let all the people sing of

Your awesome power in all the earth

Let darkness tremble at Your name

Why do the nations rage when

The King is on His throne

Now and forever You will reign

A little early......

Just ran across this picture this afternoon....from Aunt Linda & Uncle Dale's wedding reception.March 23, 1968

Me...I was the flower girl

Sherri & Lisa Ward.....Uncle Dale's sisters.

Wishing y'all a Happy Anniversary just a tad early!

March Goodness

For the month of March... the Cookin' Up Creations Design Team is proud to create lots of "lovely goodness" with products from not one but TWO very generous Sponsors!!! Please be sure to check the forum and blog OFTEN for new reveals.

We are also thrilled that there will be TWO live chats and everyone is welcome to attend (access to the chat room is given upon a quick site registration).

**The first chat will be with Shelly Maxwell of Sweet Tooth Scrapbooking. This chat is scheduled for Thursday the 11th of March at 9:00pm EST

**The second chat will be with Debra Jennis of Pinecone Press. This chat has been scheduled for Wednesday the 24th of March at 9:00pm EST.

PLEASE come join us at Cookin' Up Creations for these chats. They're fantastic, fun, and FREE... What a great way to get to know more about these products, not to mention the inspiration and ideas that you will also gain!

23 Years Ago....

I married the most awesome guy in the whole world!! He was off work yesterday & we were able to go out to eat last night for our anniversary dinner. We went to Red Lobster & did a little bit of shopping at the mall...mostly just looking for shoes as Jon needed a new pair & of course we had to hit Walmart on the way home to get boat/fishing supplies because well, it's that time of year, ya know. What a romantic end to our date night. LOL!! When we got home last night this is what we found........
The girls had decorated the kitchen.....hand-painted banner, hearts, cards & even a puffy balloon made from aluminum foil. Ashley wrote the sweetest note in our card about how glad she was that we were still in love...especially with so many couples splitting up these days...& how she prayed that one day when she was older that she would find someone to love her like Clay & I love each other. Talk about making me cry!! What a precious, precious girl! And if all that wasn't enough....they had coffee waiting for us too! Do we have amazing kids or what?

And BTW.......I love you, Clay-Baby!!

That Thing I Do.....

This week's 'Book of Me' challenge at Cookin' Up creations is all about 'Those Things That You Do'. Whether it be a hobby, sport, shopping, eating, whatever!Of course I chose to highlight my hobby of scrapping. I NEED to do a page also about my crocheting...maybe I can squeeze a second LO in this weekend. And what I LOVE the most about this LO is the fact that I used my new scanner/printer......took this photo just this morning with this LO in mind...stuck my memory card into the scanner/printer & printed my picture right then & there. How awesome is that?! I KNOW Ashley & I are gonna enjoy this new 'toy' of ours!! Gotta love that hubby that bought this particularly with US in mind.

Card Challenge

Just a quick little card I made for Jan's Friday Card Challenge over at CUC.

Trying Out...

the new scanner....just a few of my most recent creations....Chris' 21st birthday celebration at Maw's house. I just realized that I cut the top of the layout off.....There's a big '21' up there in the right hand corner.
Family photo shoot this past Christmas.

Gibbs all cozied up on the wood pile in front of the wood stove.

Alli right after she got her ears pierced & 6 weeks later when she got to take the studs out & wear her new silver hoop earrings that she got for Christmas.

Maw's Surprise Party

OK, finally a few pics from my camera. I didn't end up getting very many good pics....it's so hard to visit & welcome guests & try & get all the photos I wanted to get, so I finally just gave up & let Ella, Charlotte & Aunt Linda do the official picutre taking. Hoping to get CDs from them so I can put together a scrapbook for Maw & myself. Below is just a shot of my Friday night preparations the night before....Mexican Dip anyone?Aunt Linda made the beautiful cake & it was yummy as always!

Can you see the look of surprise on her face? It was really hard to get a good shot here.....inside against the glare of the door & all...

The kids enjoyed themselves...

Dillon, Michael, Jesse, Daniel, Ashley, Cori & Alli

Laundry

Can I just say how much I 'don't mind' doing the laundry now that I have my new washer! You just wouldn't believe what a difference it makes all the way around. It saves on water, time, electricity not to mention that the drying time is a snap now also. With the spin cycle petering out on that old washer....it was such a pain to have wring the clothes by hand (especially the ones at the bottom of the barrel) before throwing them in the dryer. And then it still took forever to get them dry! This is just a PLEASURE & such an answer to prayer! I can whip out our laundry in NO time now! And I'm a much more pleasant mommy to boot. ;-)

Happenings....

Sunday afternoon was SO nice...mid 50s outside. I actually sat out in my chair & read a bit...in short sleeves & flip-flops......at the same time watching the kids sledding on the big hill across the creek. It was so weird...for it to be so warm & yet still have enough snow on the ground for the kids to be sledding! What a nice surprise we got yesterday morning. Clay came home from the PO with several packages that had been down there waiting for us. And one was this awesome flower press sent to us from Sandee! As you can see, we put it to good use right away! This is science class, you know. ;-) Alli stuck her sneakers on & flew out the door right quick....she said she knew where the perfect flower was. So, we have officially pressed the first dandelion of the season in our new flower press! Thanks a heap, Miss Sandee....you're the BEST!


And the big news of the day yesterday....Charlie took a trip to the vet & lost his 'manliness'. Clay had called out there the day before to see how soon they could schedule us & they just happened to have a cancellation for yesterday morning at 9:30am. Of course everyone was up to give him love & see him off....Alli & Michael rode out there with Clay to take him.

Things really well & he was home by supper time. He seemed fine....just maybe a tad loopy still. LOL! The weirdest part was that he'd lay down like he wanted to go to sleep, but we got so tickled because he WOULD NOT close his eyes! Poor buddy. Evidentally he settled on down after we all went to bed....Alli came down about 6am to check on him & said he was snoozing quietly on the back of the couch. So, that was our learning experiences for the day..... flower pressing & a field trip to the vet's office.

Driving Lessons

I thought the kids had gone off sledding this afternoon when I peeked out the kitchen window & saw Jon & Ashley on the scooter. He was riding behind her teaching her how to drive. It was just one of those 'Mom moments' that made me run grab the camera because I wanted to remember this. Again....to me this is one of those 'Unschooling' moments that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. He was patiently spending his time teaching her & she was a willing student....how perfect!
I have to back up to yesterday though & tell you the story behind this......what I KNOW prompted this little driving lesson. Was chatting with Valerie Graham at Maw's party (more on that later....with pics!) & she asked Ashley how old she was & of course being 16 brings about all the driving stories. And Valerie proceeded to tell Ashley about how her dad had taught her to drive on their tractor. How he'd let her drive all across the fields & even how she almost took down the fence once when she was out practicing by herself & couldn't the thing out of reverse! LOL! Anyways.....just a little slice of Bunner Life.



Speaking of these 'Unschooling' moments that I love so much.......the other day Alli was in here drawing on the computer. I was in the kitchen doing the dishes, getting ready for supper. Then in walks Jon.....he takes a peek at what she's doing & proceeded to tell her what she needed to do differently so her building would be more in perspective. At first she fussed with him & told him to leave because she was just messing around & didn't care. But Jon just kind of kept hanging around. I started to jump in & tell him to leave her be, but I just kept quiet & watched. He kept telling her this & that & showing her what she could do differently & I realized after her first little outburst at him, that she really began to listen & pay attention. They spent a good 20 mins. or so working on her drawing together. Now, isn't this just learning at it's best?! First of all, Chris is majoring in Graphic Design & he passes down what he learns to Jon (as most of you know, Jon is quite the artist & loves all this that Chris is teaching him!!) & in turn, Jon is teaching Alli. How cool is that?! Siblings spending time together....sharing with each other....bonding & learning from each other. You can't get that from any textbook!

Valentines & Girly Day

We had a really fun time at our Homeschool Valentine party at Maw's house on Thursday. And can you believe that I didn't even take a single picture? I'm ashamed of myself!! We also fixed cookies & treats for my college 'boys'......notice I said 'boys'....plural....I do believe that we've spoiled Chris' friends/room-mates just a tad with our home-made goodies. When Damian fell & sprained his ankle it was brought to my attention that some of Ashley's peanut butter cookies would most certainly help his ankle feel MUCH better. LOLWe don't make a big deal about Valentine's around here......Clay says our anniversary is always just around the corner & he'd rather celebrate big on our anniversary...which is fine with me. He did surprise me though by bringing me this bag of sweetarts (my favorite) & the Dr. Peppers.

Yesterday, We had a 'Girls Day Out'. We did this last year when the Twilight movie came to the Dollar Theater. We did lunch, got our hair cut & then went to the movies. So, we've been anxiously awaiting the day when 'New Moon' would hit the Dollar Theater this year (because I REFUSE to pay the regular theater prices). First thing we did yesterday was Great Clips....Ashley got her bangs trimmed & I got my hiar cut. Not really cut, just a good inch trimmed off the ends & shaped up over-all. Then we met Maw, Sarah & the kids at La Carreta for some Mexican food. That's one of Sarah & David's favorite places to eat. Clay had taken me there once & I really liked it, but the girls had never been. Ashley was really impressed by the amount of food you get for the price. We SHARED a chicken fajita lunch special & it was WAY plenty for both of us!! Not to mention the baskets of warm tortilla chips & salsa they bring to the table while you're waiting for your food. Yum! In between lunch & the movie we piddled around Target for a while. Found some After-Valentine specials.....I picked up a couple of treats to put away for next year & also two really cute plastic plates with hearts on them. AND....I bought Alli's Easter dress. She had looked at it a couple of times already & I was afraid to pass it up. So, she is good to go for Easter now...maybe just a cute new pair of spring shoes to complete the outfit. ;-) Met Ella & kids at the theater to see New Moon. Perfect ending to a fun Girly/Mother-Daughter Day. Now to plan our Girly sleepover & then a Scrappy Day.

Here's Mine

Sorry the pics are kind of dark, I took them last night. I was just so anxious to show y'all my completed project. This took NO time at all to make. I crocheted hearts off & on during the day & then sat down with Clay to watch NCIS & put them all together. Ashley wants me to see if I can make a Springy one with flowers maybe.
I know it's pretty darn close to Valentine's Day now.....but if anynone would like to place an order ($5 per garland) for one of these adorable garlands to have on hand for next year.....I'd be more than happy to oblige.

Crocheted Heart Garland

I found this adorable little heart garland on a friend's blog this morning & I can't wait to give it a try. The directions are HERE if you want to give it a go yourself. Enjoy!!

Liberty Baptist College Campus

Check out this old post card I found.....not sure exactly what year it is, it doesn't say....but it was BEFORE Clay & I were there because he says there are no tennis courts over by the Schilling Center & they were there when we were there. And for all you locals.....look across Wards Rd. there....NO Target, No Walmart....just some ball fields!

Clue

Over at Cookin' Up Creations we are in full swing with our month long Clue game. Lots of cool challenges & clues being handed out. Just thought I'd share a few of the layouts I've gotten done so far. The Teasing Bandit was done for a challenge to scrap a photo that would be a 'mystery' to others if they didn't have the clue of your journaling to tell the story. I ran across this old pic of Ashley & thought it was perfect. She was dressed as 'The Teasing Bandit'.....now what exactly that means, I'm not even sure. All I know is that she was 11 & teasing Chris....need I say more?
This one of Daniel playing Rockband 2 in Old Navy was done for a sketch challenge. And besides using the sketch we were supposed to use approximately 6 (the number of suspects in the Clue game) Green (for Mr. Green) embellishments. Fun, I tell ya!

This Layout of Anna's 8th birthday party was done for a challenge about family/friends doing something together. We also had to use 6 mini brads & our journaling had to be done on strips.

Happy Birthday Chris & Maw!!

We ended up having ourselves a totally impromptu party last night. Maw wanted to know if I thought Chris would like to come over & eat supper with her & have BD cake that Aunt Linda had made. Well, I got to thinking that since Clay was at work & we'd probably be snowbound today that we should just pile in the van & go too. So we did! I had deer burger sitting out to fix tacos for supper, so I just threw everything together, baked Chris a chocolate cake & we headed off to Maw's house. David was at work too, so Sarah & the kids came down to join in the celebrating. Tacos & pizza can make ya kinda goofy!
OMG...only we could come up with a cake like this! Ashley said we needed 91 candles for the cake...since Chris was 21 & Maw was 70.....91 candles. Ummm-yeah! We had a hard enough time scrounging up 21. If you look closely we started with a number '8' candle & counted from there....six ancient Crayola crayon candles, 4 chunky little red candles & 3 votives....that all adds up to 21. LOL

Happy Birthday Chris & Maw!

Clay was sad that he didn't get to see Chris last night & celebrate with him & kept wanting to know if we could take him out for breakfast....before the snow got really bad. So, since classes were cancelled already late last night, we planned to get up EARLY & go get groceries...we left home at 6am, went to Walmart (That's a whole nother story all it's own!) Then picked Chris up a little after 8am & went to IHOP for BD pancakes. We drove on campus & I tell ya...I've never seen that place so quiet! Not even in the summer time when all the students are gone. I guess everyone was taking advantage of no classes & sleeping in. Chris said there was NO ONE moving on his hall this morning when he left to meet us.

This is right in front of Buddy & Ena's house on our way home. It was really coming down by then. Bad enough that we weren't able to get up the driveway. I had to get out & walk up & get Jon to go down on the scooter & help Clay haul groceries up the hill. Between last night & this morning's adventures...I sure hope Chris had a memorable 21st BD. He still has some celebrating to do with his friends. They were all supposed to go to Macado's tonight for wings but everything was closed. They will try either Sunday afternoon or Monday evening.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAW & CHRIS!!

I love you both big bunches!!!!

Big Mama's Big Sister

Back when Clay & I were in our early 20s.....we got a HUGE snow in Feb. Clay was due to drive up from NC anyway to be with me for Valentine's Day & so he was even more thrilled with the thought of getting snowbound in VA with me. See, he grew up in Fla. & had never really seen much snow at all. He was like a big kid......sleddding, taking walks in the snow at night & so the next day he set out to build a HUGE snowman! She was about 7 ft. tall & named Big Mama. I really need to scrounge up the pictures I have of her. Will try & do that later. But anyway....the kids have heard all the stories...especially with all the snow we've been having here recently....and so Jon & Alli decided they were gonna build a Big Mama too the other day. This is Big Mama's Big Sister. And I HAD to laugh last night.......got so tickled as Clay was telling Michael & Alli about that first night when he got there in the middle of that snowstorm & wanted to go out sledding. He thought it was SO cool that Maw came out with us. Thought that was cool for an OLD lady to come play with us & was worried that she might break a bone or something. The laughter really grew after we did the math & figured out that Maw was just MY age at the time!! OLD LADY, my foot! The kids just loved that! I love stories & giggles at night. That's what memories are made of!!