Doodling can Help your memory!!!

Can you believe that? I read a blog on Yahoo (http://health.yahoo.com/news/healthday/takenotedoodlingcanhelpmemory.html)

The article says that, "...subjects who doodled while listening to a recorded message had a 29 percent better recall of the message's details than those who didn't doodle."

So go ahead doodle on those scrapbook pages!!!

MIA...

I don't know if anyone missed me in the last two weeks. My laptop was off getting fixed. I've been having a lot of problems with it, and a friend a church said "let me take a look" well he's got it running pretty good now, and he even ordered a new keyboard (my number buttons are not all there...lol) and so it will be gone again when he gets that in, shouldn't be as long though.

Claudia A. Palmer

Hello friends. I got the phone call that the grave stone I purchased came in. My great aunt died when she was 15 months old. My grandma always talked about getting a stone to place on it, there was one there but it got ruined. So after years of planning on getting it, I finally got it. I decided that I would use it as my photo of the day for project 365, here it is...

The only bad thing is that my uncle (my father's brother) will not let me put it on. It's really weird he says it's not my place to put it on. It was a big fight and haven't spoken to him since, and he has complained to anyone who would listen. But I have it, and it's beautiful. It makes me happy yet sad.

After the snow fall. (Project 365)

Well, we went to our local park to play on the sledding hill. They have a little "village" of old buildings. This church was built in 1888, and they have all these other old buildings. I've taken pics of this before but I thought I would try black & white with the snow.

I don't know, what do you guys think?? I think it's a perfect photo for the Project 365.

Also, today while we on our way home we saw a hawk... totally cool! So I snapped a photo of it. It's not very upclose but hey it's pretty darn good, because it was perched on the tallest tree and it was in the middle of the field. Well you all have a very blessed day!

Baby it's cold outside!

Today has been one of those days that, as I am sitting here at 5:30 pm, I am thinking where did the day go? We were woke up this morning to a text from our good friends & neighbor. Her husband works 3rd shift and on his way home from work he hit a deer. She didn't know what to do and her hubby was pretty shook up, a car these days are like priceless diamonds.

My hubby left to help and they've been gone all day. They came back with the damaged car...(opps didn't get a pic!) and then left to get the loaner... (opps didn't get a pic!) and then the left. My hubby left with them and then went to his uncles to help on a garage door...haven't seen him since he left. :-(

The kids and I went outside with Tucker.... (opps didn't take any pics!) Tucker was so cute running after the kids, sticking his nose in the snow and walking around like he was searching for something. LOL Our little snow dog! Now the kids are playing in their rooms and I am relaxing until the next load of laundry gets dry.... so I thought I would snap my pic for the day... FINALLY, this is what it looks like out my front door right now.

Happy New Year!!

Well, Happy New Year friends. I know I haven't been around lately...but we've had a lot going on here in Michigan. As you know we are foster parents...and we've had another heartache. Well we are kind of have mixed feelings about the whole thing. Our kids we have placed with us for the past 3 1/2 years are being reunited with their parents. Like I said it's kinda bitter-sweet. On one hand I will miss them and my heart will ache for them, but on the other hand a family is being reunited, it's so hard to go through. My husband got a new job, he was a self-employed trim carpenter...but here in Michigan construction and remodeling isn't at the top of people's lists of to-dos. So he got a job down state (about 2 hours away) working at an apartment complex in maintenance. It's sort of in the same lines of carpentry so he likes it. It's a big adjustment for everyone, we are so use to having Marty home at 5 pm, being able to go have lunch with him or having him home on his days off. And now he gets up at 6:30 am and gets home at 7pm, we get dinner done and it seems like the it's time to get the kids off to bed and then we sit down to watch TV and by 9 pm he is falling alseep in his chair.

On the scrapbooking front.... well I haven't had the time to scrap anything. But I've decided to do the Creating Keepsakes' "Project 365." I can't get the kit, because it's out of stock, but I've taken on the challege to take 365 photos this year and let my creativity out of the box. You know take photos of things I normally don't take pics of, that will also help me keep up on my blog. LOL

Here is my first 9 days of photos, and a little journally to go along.

Jan. 1 - Yep that was Midnight, we all sat up and watched "Facing the Giants." What a GREAT family movie!

Jan. 2 - Our flag, couldn't figure out what to take.

Jan. 3 - Icicles hanging on our front porch.

Jan. 4 - My dh and his sister Pam, she lives in Mississippi and we don't get to see her often.

Jan. 5 - Animal footprints in fresh fallen snow. I wanted to get out and get a pic of my grandma's grave for this, since Jan 5th is her birthday.

Jan. 6 - Maggie & Tucker our dogs playing. Well, ok Tucker trying to get Maggie to play.

Jan. 7 - My memorial cross in memory of my daddy, I miss him so much!

Jan. 8 - My covered swing in our backyard, my favorite place to read in the summer time, gosh I wish it were summer!

Jan. 9 - Ok I was letting the dogs out this morning to do their business and in my lilac bush I found this little bird, isn't he cute? I just thought it would be a great pic of the day.

Well everyone have a great day....and be blessed!

Friday's Blessings...

1. Wonderful friends that are there for me, and are on my side - and tell me when I'm wrong.
2. A loving and compassionate husband who only wants me happy.
3. Two awesome kids that really want to work on being a "family."
4. Neighbors that are like family.
5. Insurance
6. Washing Machine & Dryer that work very well... even though I hate doing laundry!
7. A Home...not just a house with walls etc...but a peaceful, calm HOME!!
8. Memories of my parents... the good is now overcoming the bad!

Thanks for checking out my blog. Things have been very calm and peaceful here...and we heard from our foster son...he is doing well and we are going to see him soon.

Our Great Sadness...

Our oldest foster son has left. It's a long story that I can't share...but our lives will never be the same...and my heart hurts.

Quote

Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next door neighbor. Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting. - Mother Teresa (1910-1997, Albanian-born Roman Catholic Missionary)

....pressed on every side....

2 Corinthians 4:8 (New Living Translation)

"We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don't give up and quit."

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Well, since my last post in September. Life has been crazy. I've had some major things happen with our foster kids. Hopefully some things will slow down soon.

The first weekend in October, my neighbor Lacy and I went to my ladies groups "Advance" (it's like a retreat). It was so much fun. We went to Youth Haven Ranch in Rives Junction, it was so peaceful and relaxing. The place is a charitable organization dedicated to meeting the emotional and physical needs of today’s disadvantaged children. All children attend Youth Haven free of any charge. We stayed in the Hayloft Conference Center, it was so beautiful.

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On another note... How come some people say they love you. That they will be there for you, and be honest with you. THEN they ignore you, they don't take your phone calls or better yet they get their phones turned off. When they do see you they treat you like you are just a "casual acquaintance" not their COUSIN, not their NEICE, not their AUNT, or even better NOT THEIR SISTER!!! Yep I have "family," blood family.... they've hurt me. What do you do when your FAMILY doesn't want you around or they LIE to your face and then go behind your back and say mean hurtful things, what are we in 5th grade?!?!?!?!?

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As most of you know I've had a lot of loss in my life in the last year...and I don't have time for people that are like the above mentioned. I will not be a door mat ANY LONGER! Love me or hate me... I could care less. I would rather have people say they hate me, than have them say they love me to my face then be two faced behind my back!! If there is ONE thing I've learned from the losses I've had in the past year.... LIFE IS WAY TOO SHORT TO BE WAITING TO BE LOVED BY STUPID PEOPLE THAT DON'T DESERVE MY LOVE IN RETURN.

Look, I'm just venting here. This is where I can do it, without screaming... because I'm NOT in 5th grade!! If you want to be my friend, okay I have no problem with that... just don't go behind my back or use me to watch your kid or do stuff for you..... be my FRIEND!!