Our busy day...

Hi everyone and welcome!!

Sorry I haven't blogged and I know some of you are awaiting some photos of our busy weekend.. LAST weekend I had my niece and nephews and we celebrated my sister's birthday. That post is below. This is what we need the next day, Saturday June 23, 2012.I took so many pics I thought it would be easier to do a couple slide shows. Plus, as slow as blogger is.. I'd be sitting here for hours uploading them. :) Enjoy!!!

So, my son had a T-Ball game and we all went to that first thing bright and early.. he was super excited all the kiddos were able to come. 

Then, we went back to the house so lil man could change and we went to Stephensburg Days. It was a lil community type "party" that included a car show and lil games for the kiddos. Each of the boys picked their favorite car and took a pic beside it.  It is awesome how individualized their taste in cars is. There were a couple vendors there as well. This was WAYYY smaller than usual. My oldest nephew even participated in a paper airplane contest and got 2nd place!! 

Stephensburg Days ; KY - how to create a free slideshow

Then..we went and had lunch and off to a "Surprise" location..

Saunder Springs!!  Lots of trails and creeks to walk in. The water was soo cold but refreshing!! We all had a blast. Colton did great walking up all the steps and the trails.

Saunder Springs - Slideshow

We all had such a great time and the kiddos were POOPED when we got home!! Such a great day with my wonderful family!!

Thank you for dropping by.

Till next time.....

Hugs,
Tanya

Photos of my sister's Birthday party we had for her..

Hello there and welcome to my blog. The kiddos have been with us a couple days now and we have been so busy and I haven't had time to sit down.. much less blog about anything. 

Today I am posting photos of what we did on my baby sister's birthday. The kiddos had a GREAT day and certainly want to CELEBRATE every year. They are such strong lil people and I couldn't be any prouder of them. I know my sister is super proud as well. This post will be SUPER pic heavy, but hey.. gotta live a lil right?? hehe...  

This is the BEAUTIFUL cake we had made for our party!! Isn't it gorgeous??  The Walmart bakery made this and did an awesome job!! It was super yummy too!!!

(below: closest to furthest) My daughter, Candace, niece Taylor, Nephew Troy, son Colton, Nephew Trevor. They had a blast swimming and soaking up the sun.

Later, we went to the cemetery to send off balloons to my sweet baby sister in Heaven. These are her babies, Taylor, Troy, Trevor.

My sister's kiddos, my kiddos, and me. Getting ready to let them go. We synchronized with our family in Michigan to let the balloons go at the EXACT same time.. 5:47pm.. the time my sister was born.

Then we went to the house and the kids all made their own pizzas. They LOVE doing this!! 

After we all ate.. we sang Happy Birthday and the kids enjoyed the beautiful cake!! 

Then.. we all wound down with a lil fishing at my neighbor's pond. The kids love going there and always catch something. Colton was the first to catch a fish.. on his lil SPIDERMAN pole, nonetheless. hehe ( The first photo is my nephew Troy)

My niece Taylor above.. 

 

 Colton has a big one..

Colton ended up catching 3 catfish!! He was so proud.

Taylor caught a lil blue gill.. hehe

Trevor joined us a lil bit later and decided to try his fishing skills out. 

Well, I had one more thing to do.. I bought a lil light to take to the cemetery. The kids didn't want to go.. really they didn't want to stop fishing... So this was my opportunity to go alone and have a little time alone at the cemetery. 

So.. even thru the tears that fell from my face all day.. I found the strength to make this an amazing day for the kiddos. They LOVED the plans and want to celebrate this special day the exact same way every year. I know this day will forever be on their minds and in their hearts. I am so blessed to be able to share these very special moments with them and look forward to each and every day. 

Saturday we had a big day as well.. so watch out for another heavily loaded post. The kids had a blast!!  

Thank you for stopping by and remember.. those whom we have lost will always be in our hearts. I know it isn't always easy to remember, they are always there. 

Hugs, 

Tanya

Happy Birthday Stacey Jean

So.. welcome to my blog... today was suppose to be a Paper Hoarders post, but I couldn't make it thru the tears to make something... Thank you to the DT for understanding. We truly have the best ladies ever!!!

 Today is my baby sister's birthday and she would have been 33 today. As some of you know, she joined our LORD on Dec 6, 2011. Yes, too soon and while we should be blessed for the time we did have with her... the pain of losing her still really PISSES ME OFF!!!  Why in the world would my sister do that?? Why the HELL did I not see it?? Why couldn't I help her? Why couldn't I SAVE HER????  I ask myself this all the time and get no where.. really fast. I have tried to be strong. Strong not only for my family, but for the 3 kiddos she left behind. I think of them and curse her.. why the HELL would you leave your babies?? You were the strongest person I know. Who will take Mae to go shopping for her prom?  Who will do all the girlie things? And what about their graduations?  Their weddings.. and the grand children that won't know how wonderful their grandma is. Thinking of all of this angers me more!!!  

I have spent the past couple weeks thinking about her birthday. I use to call her and say :  " Happy Birthday Hootichie. I love you"... and she would say : "thank you Hootchie. I love you too" ..  These few words have melted me so.. My sister did NOT like being the center of attention. She hated flowers and enjoyed the little things in life. She worked her ass off every day and felt like she got nowhere. She had lots of friends and us, her family, who loved her so much. We would always say about our birthdays.. " It is just another day to me"  Or.. " I'm only 29.. AGAIN"..  :)  We have spent many years being " ONLY 29".  So, what do we do today? Do we mourn her death or celebrate her life? Do we have the party she never wanted or not? Well, I am choosing to CELEBRATE!!!  While the tears won't stop rolling down my face, I know her 3 babies need a STRONG Aunt Tanya right now, just as I need them. I ordered balloons and a cake and we are going to send the balloons to HEAVEN and whether she likes it or not.. she WILL celebrate with us. :)  ( yes, I'm the bitchy big sister and always will be.. hehe)  The kids don't know what my plans are as of yet, but I am sure they will LOVE the idea. 

I won't promise tears won't roll down our faces, but I WILL PROMISE these kids will have me for the rest of their lives!!!  The proms and graduations and weddings and babies.. ALL OF IT!!!  They have said many times how I remind them of their mom. How the little things I say or do is how she would say or do them. This warms my heart so much to know they DID listen.. even when they thought they weren't. I will remind them how much their mom loved them.. and remind them that I will ALWAYS be here through good times and bad... I will always have a listening ear when they find they need to talk or cry or yell. I AM going to reassure them that they ARE WORTHY and their mom is smiling at them every day. 

Having said all of this... I ask you ALL to be close to your families and the people you care about. Learn the signs of DEPRESSION and SUICIDE. Leave the mean words behind and know everyone has feelings and you never know what they are dealing with. My sister killed herself and suicide is so common an escape. Please remember that words cut deep and can't be taken back. Some people seem to have hard skins, yet inside they are hurt so deep you don't see it. We, her family, could have handled her death in a different manner had it been a car accident or something. Suicide leaves alot of whys unanswered. We will only get those answers when we pass on and join her. Her passing has left a void that has not been filled. We only hope that her kids will have a happy and fulfilling life in spite of their loss. I remind them.. " Mom is ALWAYS there."  

Here are a few photos : 

This is a photo of my sister. Isn't she gorgeous!! Oh I miss her so.

These are her beautiful babies.. 

This is my sisters, mom and I.. we had a great day. 

US.. Sisters and brother.. yep, we were young.. 

Happy Birthday baby sister!! We love and miss you sooo much. We know you will enjoy your party and the love notes we will send to you. Rest peacefully sweet ANGEL of ours. Please watch over us all and keep us safe. 

Love you more today than yesterday and more tomorrow than today. 

Your bis sister...

Tanya

Paper Hoarders Father's Day/ Summer

Hello and welcome to another Paper Hoarders DT day!!!  You may have noticed we are posting on Monday instead of Friday... well, we have all been busy with graduations and weddings and such and thought it would be best for our whole team to give us a few extra days. 

The "theme" for this post is Father's Day/ Summer. There was also a sketch with this post. Remember that sketches are only "guides" ...  they offer a lil direction. 

Here's the sketch from page maps: 

Here is my tag and I also made a lil card to go with it. 

The CUTE lil boy is from The Greeting Farm. I LOVE this lil guy!!  My dad will as well!! 

Boni

Pam

Kimi

Robin

Christina Skinner

Lisa

Christina Whited

Patty Taylor

Thank you all for visiting!!  Be sure to go visit the blogs by clicking their names. A couple do not have a blog so don't fret when you don't go anywhere :)   Thank you ladies for all your hard work. 

Happy Crafting!!! 

 Hugs, 

Tanya

Are YOU the blog hop winner??

Hi everyone!! 

I know my previous post said 5pm EST, but a storm is brewing and I didn't want it to make me LATE posting the winner... Seems like my internet goes out when it wind blows!!! 

First let me thank you all for taking the time to comment on my project for the blog hop. It means alot to know people ARE seeing what is out there. I'm tickled by the comments and love each and every one of them!!  I hope you were able to go through the hop and maybe click a few links for added inspiration. I love checking out new products and blogs!! 

Anyways... The winner of my Graphic 45 blog hop candy is...

ANNIEBEE !!!

Annie.. I will email you. You have 7 days to reply ( I'm sure you will WAYYY sooner than that) 

Thank you all for your kind words.

Here is what she won!! 

Thank you all for your kind words.. 

Till next time...

Happy Crafting!! 

Hugs, 

Tanya

Friends... Canvas

Hello ya'll... If you are looking for the It's A Wrap Blog Hop Click HERE  .. You have until 5pm EST to leave a comment for a chance to win the Graphic 45 paper stack!! I LOVE this paper sooo much!! 

Now, onto my newest canvas.. 

I have been LOVING playing with different mediums and just letting my mojo flow.. As most of you know, Tracy Weinzapfel has inspired me to try something new and I'M LOVIN IT!!! She does a Monday night show on Ustream at 9pm EST ( check for your time zone).. Here is the link >> USTREAM

Well, here is my latest canvas. I'm still learning so be gentle :) 

So.. what do you think?  If you need a lil inspiration, a laugh, or a get away for an hour and a half..  click USTREAM above. I will be there so be sure to say hi!! 

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit the blog hop post and leave your comment for a chance to win!! 

Until next time...

Happy Crafting!!

Hugs, 

Tanya