This weekend I had the best time taking classes taught by Donna Downey. Marzee and I took the Heidi Swapp Mini album class on Saturday and it was so much fun! And today, Sunday, I took the Love Letters class. Donna is one of those people that never meets a stranger. It was like having an old friend come in from out of town for a visit.

I was so lucky to be asked by Amy J to put together a gift basket (bucket) for her. I had the best time finding things and it gave me a great excuse to design a new card just for her. I get so busy doing business stuff with Little Fingers, Little Toes I don't have time to create and I have so many ideas I feel like I am going bust! So being able to make new things for someone as great as Donna made me HAPPY!

Although I must admit I was a little nervous. I mean this is Donna Downey the scrapbooking queen. Who is great friends with Cathy Zielske, who actually inspired my idea to make my scrapbook style birth announcements. So this was a big deal !

So anyway I think Donna was happy with her bucket. That is Amy J holding the bucket.

After the fun we got down to business. And made a really great mini Album. You can see Donna's album here. I haven't gotten my finished yet.

Donna doing a little demo

The high light of the evening was Donna doing the demo of the drill. I must say we learned a lot! ;)

Amy knows her stuff when it comes to drilling!!

Sunday we took another class . We made Love Letters. Very COOL!

Amy working hard on her letters

Here I am covering one of my letters

Angie going through her scrapbooking paper.

My Love Letters in progress. I still have a little more to do before they are finished.

Group class photo!

What Fun! It was a great weekend and Donna it was so great to meet you. Come back and see us soon!!!

Being a parent means that many times you just have to take a stand. No, I don't mean that you ride in on a large horse and are not willing to give like Custard did in his Last Stand. I mean that sometimes parents have to be willing to stick up for their families, their children and their beliefs. You have to say this matters to me and I fully support it. As of late it seems I'm having to take a lot of stands about a lot of things. When I feel my children are being treated poorly by a teacher, I take a stand and go and talk to the teacher about it. If I believe my girls are naive about Internet sites or going to places alone after dark, I take a stand and make rules that protect them. If my husband's a little too strict about something, I have to sit him down and help him see that everything is not black and white, but gray areas do exist. I've decided this is why God made moms. Moms are willing to take a stand.

When I was busy lobbying for children's rights in the state of Tennessee, we often told parents that they had to advocate for their children because no one else would. This is definitely true. No one else has the same interests in a child's well being than his parents, but I think moms are more in tune with their children and what they need and don't need. Moms are willing to go the distance for their children and will take on anyone who gets in the way.

When I was pregnant I definitely felt a deep connection with the child that I carried inside of me. I dreamed of the life I wanted for her. I knew that I would do whatever I could to make her life beautiful and I was willing to take a stand against anyone who prevented this from happening. I think most moms are like this. Moms make decisions each and every day that we believe are best for our children. We may take a stand and say our child must eat vegetables or they have to be home by 10 o'clock on a school night. Sometimes moms aren't the most popular people in the house. I tell my girls that I take my job as a parent seriously and only make these rules because I love them. As you can imagine, this statement is not always accepted with gratitude, but its true nonetheless.


Mother's Day will be here in a little over two weeks. As you think about your mother you may be surprised to find that she stood her ground for you many times. I suggest that you take some time to write your mom a little note thanking her for caring about you and the many things she did to make your life better. She'll be happy to know that you remembered. She'll know that some of her unpopular decisions were of some benefit and that maybe you finally know what parenting is all about.

Happy Mother's Day to all those moms who go the extra mile and are willing to take a stand! ~ Marzee

If you ask people that know me they would tell you that I have two children. But I really have three children. Yes that is right three. I have Camille, Griffin and Sadie. Sadie is my third child. A year and a half ago we added to our family and got a Labradoodle puppy. I fell in love with this breed when I was looking for a dog that does not shed. I was told that they to be part of the family not just the family dog. But a third child?

Sadie has become part of the family and we all love her. Even though my family won't admit this she is my dog and has to be with me most of the time. And sometimes all three of my children fuss to see who gets to sit next to me on the couch and there has been many a night when all three of them end up in bed with me.

Sadie has a lot of toys. She is very good about playing with her toys and not Camille and Griffin's toys. Every once in a while, just like any younger sister, she gets a wild hair and decides to grab one of their toys and take off running. Usually either Camille or Griffin is running after her. So of course it is a game for Sadie.

Sadie, just like Camille and Griffin, has a favorite toy to sleep with. Camille has a goat that her Aunt Terry gave her from a trip she took to Alaska when Camille was 18 months old. Camille lovingly name her goat "Omni" no one knows why she name it this but it stuck.
Griffin takes naps with "Woody" from Toy Story.

Sadie sleeps with a monkey named "Monkey" that once again came from Aunt Terry. Now when I say sleep with, she actually cuddles with this monkey. I have seen her fall asleep sitting up while chewing on it. And she carries it everywhere with her.

I don't think Sadie knows that she is a dog. Should we tell her?
Nah... I will just let her keep thinking she is my third child and hope we never misplace "Monkey"
~Wendy

Spring is my favorite time of year. I love the first of spring when the flowers start popping up through the ground, the tiny buds start growing on the trees. The sounds the birds make, the smell of grass getting it's first cut of the season. Everything is so fresh and colorful.

Most of all I love plants and I love the smell of dirt! Right after Christmas I get excited because in Wal-Mart, they take the Christmas decorations down and start putting the outdoor and gardening tools in their place. It always smells so good! Then in March when they start putting the plants out it is all I can do to wait until the last freeze to buy them. If you come by the Boutique you will see how much I love plants. I had a new flower bed to play with this Spring.

This weekend Brian and I started a vegatable garden. We got the ground ready, removed all the grass and turned all the dirt. Camille and Griffin helped us by making sure the worms where removed from the clumps of dirt before we removed them. Next weekend we will plant tomatoes, peppers, squash, beans, cucumbers and sunflowers. This is the first year we have had a full veggie garden and I can't wait to see how it grows. ~Wendy

Easter is on it's way!

When I was taking my children to school this morning the Easter bunny came up in conversation. At my son's preschool they are having a real bunny visit the class. Griffin was telling his sister that the Easter bunny was going to be at his school today. And I heard Camille tell him that the Easter bunny was like Santa Clause and that he sent an Easter Bunny helper out before Easter to visit because he was too busy getting ready for the big day.

Hearing all this brought back memories of my own childhood at Easter. One year my parents and I went to our lake cabin for Easter weekend. I was so worried that the Easter Bunny would not be able to find me there. Our lake cabin was more like an old lake trailer that we had way out in the boon docks. It was old and musty but so much fun. Anyway my parents were quite confident that the Easter Bunny would find us out there and tried very hard to put my mind at ease.

Easter Sunday when I woke up I found my Easter basket on the kitchen table full of goodies and beside the basket were footprints of a rabbit that had stepped in some flour mom "accidentally" left on the table. You have no idea how excited I was to see those foot prints and know while I was hunting Easter eggs that the Easter Bunny traveled a long way to find me.

One Easter the Easter Bunny left my basket on the front porch. When I went out to get it there was a real baby bunny in the basket. I think it was too scared to jump out.. But having it outside made the magic of the Easter Bunny even more real.

So now the Easter Bunny comes to visit my children. I look forward to seeing what goodies he leaves behind and how creative he will be. Although this Easter has seem to sneak up on me. In the car this morning listening to my children's conversation it dawned on me that Easter is in 5 days... and I haven't even thought about the visit from the fuzzy fellow.

So Easter Bunny if you can read this please bring something really cool to our house this year!