Totally Photos

This layout was created using only photographs. No BG paper, no embellishments, just fun photos and journaling. I love the way it turned out and how I was able to incorporate so many photos to tell the story of my son learning to ride his bike.

Family Pictures

It seems like such a big production to get our family dressed and ready for professional family pictures (maybe that's why we did not have one taken from the time Porter was 3 months old until the time he was 7 years old). We decided to have our pictures done in January 2007 and scheduled an appointment at Walmart Photo Studio. I should have known...pictures at a bargain studio...bargain photo results. All that work to get everyone ready, and when we got the pictures back, our faces were GREEN! Needless to say, they refunded our money, and I came home and changed the photo to Black & White on the computer so we could at least have photos to share with our family and friends. Next time I think I will hire a professional!

Our 3rd child just turned 13, so now Mom and Dad are officially outnumbered by the teenagers in our home. Our children are great kids and are making good choices for themselves and doing well in school, so we certainly can't complain. I just can't believe I am the mother of 3 teenagers! (Wasn't I just a teenager myself?)

Time Has Flown By

It has been almost a year since I started this blog and almost a year since I posted to it. Life has been very busy. I have not done much stamping lately and have shifted my focus to scrapbooking my digital photographs and learning more about Digital Scrapbooking. I love the options it gives me and enjoy learning new techniques. I bought a book called Digital and Hybrid Scrapbooking and Card Making with Photoshop Elements
and would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn Digital Scrapbooking. Here are a few of my latest creations...

The Best Cinnamon Rolls in the World!

INGREDIENTS
1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup margarine, melted
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS
Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.
After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

Candid Shots

You never know what will be happening in our home from one minute to the next...but with 5 children, 2 dogs, 1 cat, 2 chinchillas, 7 rabbits, 4 chickens, 50+ pigeons, and soon to be 3 pigs....there's bound to be chaos! It all keeps us on our toes, but life is great and I wouldn't want it any other way!

Meet Our Family

Our family loves to spend time at the Oregon Coast. We finally talked Dad into coming along with us last year, and now he is hooked and can't wait to go back again. Being at the beach definitely gives us some much needed relaxation and peace!