A poem by dear TJ

I am

I am a boy who likes computers
I wonder why people curse alot
I hear alot of insulting
I see people getting insulted everyday
I want the madness to stop
I am a boy who likes computers

I pretend to be a leader on video games
I feel angry when I get insulted
I touch space as I move around

I worry about pollution in the air
I cry when someone dies
I am a boy who likes computers

I understand that people make poor choices
I say respect anyone and everyone
I dream for the hatred to stop
I try to be a leader on games
I hope to see no wars in the future
I am a boy who likes computers.


This is a poem my oldest son wrote for an assignment for school. When I read it I cried. He has had problems with a couple boys in his class bullying him. Calling him names, just saying mean things. He has always been so sensitive. I am truley grateful to have my kids. They are good hearted kids. Just thought Id share because I am so proud.

If you had one wish!

Meet Shane



Shane Bernier is a courageous seven-year-old boy from Lancaster, Ontario who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia when he was only five. On June 6th, 2006 Shane and his family received some unfortunate news: Shane experienced a relapse after completing 108 of 130 weeks of treatment.

However, despite the bad news, Shane has managed to keep a positive outlook on his situation and has made a heart-warming wish... He hasn’t asked for money or toys or anything of the sort. Instead, his birthday is on May 30th and he would like to break the world record for the most birthday cards ever received. His goal is 350 million cards. With every card, Shane’s courage grows. Something as simple as sending a birthday card could be enough to help Shane find peace and joy in his current circumstances.

Please take the time to send a card to Shane and make his dream become a reality. Share his story with your friends, family and co-workers. If at all possible, get your youth groups, church congregations, employees, neighbours or communities to set aside a few minutes to write a thoughtful note to Shane.

With every card, Shane’s smile grows...

To send a birthday card click here for info. Or drop off your cards to Devine Memories no later than the 20th of May and we will send them out for you.

Lets make Shanes Birthday one to remember.

There is Hope

HOPE. In this world today sometimes that simple word gets lost. But today while watching Oprah I found hope again. Not so much for me but for the world in general. Hope that there are truley GOOD people out there who show unconditional love for people they dont even know. For babies and young girls in trouble. This woman Debbe started an organization 10 years ago called project cuddle A nonprofit organization ran out of her home commited to saving abandoned babies and helping scared mothers who for what ever reasons felt alone. Her organization has saved over 500 babies. My eyes just filled with tears. What a feel good topic. What an inspiration. This is the role model I want for my daughter. For my sons.

Im playing

Please excuse my blog. Im trying to improve but have seem to have lost stuff. Thank goodness I have computer guys in my house.

HOT HOT HOT

Boy its hot here. I think it got up to 95 degrees yesterday. Yikes. Summer is coming at us fast. Living here in Az the best way to cool down is to jump into a swimming pool. Well since we dont have one of those, we substituted this baby pool to help keep the doggies cool. They LOVE the water. Especially Luke. We have to keep him out of bathrooms when people are showering or he will end up in there with them:) Heres a quick picture. The pool is a little small we realized but they still had fun.




Off to do some cleaning for a few hours so I can create some fun new things tonight.

Oh My Goodness!!!

What a GREAT weekend at Mesa CKC. Our booth was hoping and I LOVED all the ladies who took my classes. You all were awesome. If you missed "Sparkling Elements" I will be holding it at the store on Saturday May 12th at 10-11:30am and again on Tuesday May 15th from 6:30-8:00pm. Class fee is only $25. All class materials are supplies. Just bring a wet glue such as scotch tacky adhesive, a hole punch, and distress ink. Call the store (480-813-2093) to reserve your space. Seats are limited. If you cant make the class but would like a kit, I have a few to sell. Cost will be $30 which includes shipping. Instructions and pictures will be included. Just post a response and I will get one to you. Paypal is the preferred payment. If you are local, you may pick it up at the store for the $25.

Also a special thank you goes out to The Paper Element gals, Lisa, Beth, Lisa, and Jolene for all your hard work and help. Check them out at CKC Nashville coming up soon.

Have a wonderful week. Im off to catch up on sleep.

CONVENTION CONVENTION CONVENTION

Can you guess what Ive been doing and what Ill be doing for the next week. You guessed it. CONVENTION.

I have a class at Mesa CKC. "Sparling Elements" on Friday and Saturday. I get to use the brand spankin new Paper Elements paper. This paper is so new its not even in stores yet. But We will have it in our booth. LUCKY us!!! (We have an in with the owner) hehe. Here is a photo. I believe there is still space. I hope to see you there.


Also after convention, join me in a day of scrappin' or a Scrap-a-thon. Thursday April 26th I will be holding my fabulous 20 page class. We will work from 9:30am until 2pm and finish 20 12x12 layouts. 10 single layouts and 5 double page layouts. This is a perfect class to get caught up or to even get ahead. Class fee is only $74 and includes all supplies. There is limited space so call the store today (480-813-2093) and sign up. As an extra bonus, there will be a goodie bag included valued at about $10. This doesnt happen often so take advantage.

On a more serious subject my dear husband gave us scare this weekend. He had been feeling tired and lousey for a couple days and went into work on Thursday thinking he was doing a little better. Well while at work he noticed his leg was red and swollen. His boss told him to come home and go see a doctor. So he did. I drove him to our family doctor, waited for about an hour for them to fit him in, and saw the nurse practioner. She took one look at his leg and said go directly to the er. Ok SCAREY!!! by the time we got to the hospital his temp was at 104 and he could barely stay awake. Not good. Well they ended up admitting him overnight and for the majority of the next day just pumping heavy duty antibiotics in him. They came up with cellulitious as a diagnosis. hmmmm. We have no idea how he got it but not fun!!! Hes home now and feeling much better but we still have to see results from all the mega amounts of blood they took. Hopefully they wont find anything to serious. I dont like those scares. Throws my life upside down. A HUGE thanks go to my friend Kim for having an extra daughter on her Birthday. What a great friend she is.

Heres hoping for a better week.

A HUGE THANK YOU goes out to all of those that participated in our atism fundraiser. You rock!!!! I cant beieve how many more people are learning and becoming aware of autism. This was my goal. To help in any way possible to spread the word and get awareness out there for this puzzling disorder. I am only one but with all of you miracles will happen. We ended up raising over $2000 for Autism Speaks and continue to raise even more through out the month. I am so blessed to have great customers and friends that support this cause that is so close to my heart. We will be selling puzzle piece necklaces at CKC Mesa along with $1 donation puzzle pieces so if you didnt get a chance to come to attend our fundraiser but want to contribute visit us at our booth this coming up Friday and Saturday at the Mesa Convention center, or at the store.

Until next time.

April 7th- A priceless class

Check out these sneak peaks for Saturdays Autism Awareness class. There are two different times to choose from. 10am-12pm and 1-3pm. The cost is a mere $15 in which 100% of the proceeds goes to Autism Speaks. Call and sign up today.

Also dont forget about the Gala event starting at 5pm. For $15 you will receive 2 raffle tickets, food from Olive and Ivy, 2 free make in takes(one from Rusty pickles Kristian Palacio and one from our design team member Brit Smart). Again 100% of proceeds will go towards Autism Speaks.

15% of all sales at the store will also go towards Autism Speaks. So if you need a good excuse to shop Saturday April 7th is the day!

Supporting autism

When I saw this in my inbox my eyes filled with tears. Techniques Tuesday is awesome. This stamp set and fundamental pieces will help make a differences in research and education for autism. Please take a moment to read. These awesome pieces will be in store April 7th for the autism gala. Technique Tuesdays will be donating 50% of proceeds to Autism Speaks.

To learn more about autism please visit Autism Speaks website.

Layouts Layouts and more Layouts

Lately I have been doing kits galore for classes and convention, I mean tons. So in doing all these kits I dont take time out and scrap for myself. If you have ever taught a class you somewhat feel limited due to supplies and styles of the the students. Thats not a bad thing but you dont just completely open up and scrap. So I thought the other day I would do a couple pages just for me. Heres what I came up with. They are 9x9, which I love, especially since I usually only do one photo.






Im back to kitting and hopefully scrapping for myself a page or two. Have a good relaxing day!

My little model

Ok so the other day Jenna wanted to do a photo shoot. We had 15 minutes before we had to pick up the boys from school so I grabbed the camera and off we went. I told her to pose how ever she wanted and here are some of the photos we came away with.

She is a natural!

CKC Convention

"Sparkling Elements"

Join me April 20th and 21st at Creating keepsakes scrapbook convention in Mesa. Here is a sneak peak at our project. The accordian is made from wood and can be used as an album or a home decor piece. We will be using the brand new paper elements line, diamond dust, lil davis glitter paint, heat embossing, and more. This will be a fun fast paced class. Register today at creatingkeepsakes.com- here.

Come Play

Join me and Kim in a friendly game Tuesday march 13th of Follow the Leader scrapbook style. Class fee is only $16 and you will walk away with 2 12x12 layouts. One created by the Kim and one by myself. We look forward to seeing you!

Creative Albums

Join me on this Saturday March 10th 10am-12 for Creative Album. This 5x7 album has a wood cover and backing and is covered with the new paper elements "sweet" line. Class fee is $32. All supplies included. Call the store today to reserve your spot.

MEEZ

Thanks to Kim Kwan heres my meez.
Looks like me huh!!!! hehe. That was fun. Click on the photo to see me dance.

Peace

Badges

So yes there are now 2 amazingly cute boys with badges. One is Jaden my little boy, not so little anymore, and the other is my nephew Jakob. Jake for short. Thanks for taking a minute to look.
With autism you usually feel so helpless. This is something we can do. Try to raise money for education and research. If you would like to learn more about autism or have concerns for your own children, please visit Autism Speaks website. Read the facts, watch the "Autism everyday" video, and educate yourself. Because education and early intervention is key.

If you want to do more please join the devine memories team for the autism awareness walk sponsered by autism speaks and cure autism now being held in November in Tempe, Az. Join here.

Also keep your eyes open for our autism awareness events in April and September at devine memories. Great classes, make n takes, raffles and more.

I DID IT

ok so Paul helped. I created Jadens badge and Paul helped me put it on the sidebar. Thank goodness hes a computer geek or I'd be up all night. But I did finally figure out the link thing. I know I'm way behind. Ill post more later. Im computered out:D

So Much FUN stuff

I never really know what to say on my blog. Who really reads it anyway? A few close friends? Well thy already know pretty much everything in my life already. So Heres heres a recap.

We got back from CHA a couple weeks ago. I had such a blast. I went with my mom, my sis Jen, Kim and Amy. We all get aalong pretty well so it was so much fun. Disnayland was different without having kids there. I felt so guilty at first but then realized how nice it was to just enjoy!!! Heres a couple snapshots of me and mom on the roller coaster Thunder Mountain. I must say thats one of my favorite rides. and then one of me and Jen just cause.



I started getting good at taking our pictures by the end there. People probably thought I was weird but oh well.

All the different products we saw were amazing. But I have to say that Fancy pants is still my favorite. They amaze me. And Mr. and Mrs. Fancy pants are a hoot to talk to.

I dont think we got to see a third of everything that was there but what we saw I loved. We are pretty broke now. or will be when the new stuff starts rolling in. We already received Sassafrass, and Cosmo Cricket.SOOO cute.

AUTISM EVENT

We decided to reschedule our annual Autism awareness event until April 7th and then again in September. April is National Autism month so we are going to spend Saturday the 7th fundrasing for Autism. We will start off the day with a progressive album class made with 4x4 puzzle pieces, with 5 different teachers doing a page. The cost is $15 and the entire profit will go towards autism research. Two classes will be held. One at 10 and one at 1. Same class. Then that evening we will be holding a gala event. Yep, a gala event. It will be a $10 cover charge to do some fun make n takes, eat delicious food from Olive and Ivy, thanks to Chris and Amy, and be entered into some awesome raffles. The event will go from 5-9pm. With all that going on 15% of the stores sales that day will go towards awareness. Last year was such a success we know this year will be even bigger.

Then we will hold our 3 day fundraiser in September. We are working on getting some great guest teachers so keep your ears open for more news. The walk will then be in October or is it November. I forget th exact date but if you want to join our team and walk or just donate go here. More info will follow as the time gets closer.

CLASSES

This week I have one class going on. All about me album. I rarely find myself scrapbooking or documenting anything about my life or who I am. I think alot of us do that. So I am doing a monthly class to create that album all about me. I want my kids to be able to see who I am, what I like, what my fears are, and just see me. Not just as their mom but as an individual. So get ready to show YOU! Join me on Thursday Feb 22nd 6:30-8:30pm. Its only a $15 class fee. You will be able to choose from 4 different sizes. 8x8, 9x9, 8x12, or 8 1/2 x 11. If you want to buy your album that night it will be 20% off for students only. This class is not a "copy" class. You will make it your own, I will just be a guide. Hope to see you there.


Ok. Last thing. This post is a mile long. These past 2 weekends Devine Memories has been lucky to have the all talented Kim Kwan guest teach at our store. She is amazing. Such a fun personality who knows how to get you inspired. LOVE her. She has agreed to come back probably in April and hopefully on a more regular basis to teach more. So look out. You wont want to miss a single class.

Ok. Just going to leave you with a few cute photos. The one of jenna is a self portrait. She really has a talent with the camera. Have a great week.






Peace out

Classes

So this will be a semi boring post just updating on classes.

Thursday February 8th from 6:30-8:30pm I will holding my "Love album" class once again. Just in time for Valentines day. This 6x9 1/2 chipboard album is filled with glitter, ribbons, diamond dust, and bling. Perfect for showing that someone special how much you care. Class fee is $26 and includes all materials. Basic tool kit and adhesive still need to be brought to class.



There is limited spaces so call today. 480-813-2093

Follow the leader is also around the corner. This month Kim and I have created fun layouts using transperancies, hand sewing, paint, and more. Join our friendly game of follow the leader scrapbook style Tuesday Fbruary 13th 6-8pm. heres a peak at my layout.




Ok here a better peak at the upcoming convention class in Mesa April 20th and 21st "Sparkling Elements". I will be using a fun new paper line The paper element. I LOVe these paper. We will be using the fruit line along with all my favorite bling embellishments. Glitter paint, jewels, diamond dust, embossing, and more. Class fee is only $19. To register head over to creating keepsakesand register today.




Later tonight or tomorrow Ill post all the fun stuff we saw and did at CHA last week. Thers so much. But my little diva is calling and who can refuse that sweet little voice

My class samples FINALLY!!!

Here is my "Altered door" class being held this Saturday morning at 9am. You will be able to pick your door color and quote. Class fee is $75 and includes all supplies except hinges. However they are available at an additional cost. Thursday the 11th is the final day for signups. I know thats today. Not a whole lot of notice. Im trying to be better. So call the store ASAP to sign up. The class is limited to 6 (3 spots still available) due to classroom space.




"You can qoute me"
I held the first class tonight and the outcome was amazing. You girls are surely talented. There will be 3 qoutes to choose from. 1- about art 2- about friendship and 3 about family. You will be able to choose that day. You will also choose your paper and colors and embellishments. I also changed the next class date to Thursday the 18th at 6pm. Call the store today. 480-813-2093



Also registration for CKC Mesa starts January 17th. Check out the 3 Devine memories classes. Samples will be up soon.


Kim, heres my word. MAKE

1-time for my family
2-time for my sanity
3-art
4-myself organized

I hope I can keep up on it.