Sometimes.....

.....you just have to make your own rainbows!

1. Happy Easter, 2. Goodbye Easter, 3. suck up! :), 4. Points in a Sea of Color, 5. bookshelf spectrum, revisited, 6. A Vibrant Glow, 7. Pick A Color....Any Color, 8. A Rainbow of Fruity Flavor, 9. When I'm sleeping, I slow down my breathing...Living in dreams, dreams that come true...thinking of the color blue... ZZZzzzzzz..., 10. Colorful Rainbow Balloons 114/365, 11. Like a circle in a spiral, a wheel within a wheel...., 12. in a dream..., 13. Flower Power, 14. Firework Blue, 15. Running ahead of oneself, 16. fruit salad, 17. Daisy on Blue.., 18. tulips, 19. http://flickr.com/photos/89461400@N00/439868604/, 20. make a Stop, 21. RainBoW BigFooT, 22. Bright and funky pair of sock monkeys, 23. star dust and rainbows. 156:365, 24. Happy Girls Under a Rainbow

Ever had one of those weeks......

• Where you don't feel great.....an ear infection pretty much has my left ear plugged, so I feel really run down and like I'm speaking inside a tin can. Makes it really fun to teach.
• Where you have worked really hard for something and it just didn't turn out like you had hoped. So you question all the time and energy you invested into it in the first place. I really hate second-guessing my decisions. Such a waste of mental energy.
• Where the big issues at work that seemed to have been taken care of weeks ago all raise their ugly heads again....all at the same time, mind you.
• Where you feel as if you are stretched so thin in so many different places that you're failing miserably at everything you do.
• Where you just feel like you can't get enough sleep.
• Where you try to shake your funk, but you can't seem to, no matter how hard you try.
• Where you just ache for spring and grass between your toes.
• Where all of your winter clothes seem blah and you just want to break out the summer clothes and wear them....and stay in flip-flops until next December.
• Where you know you're kind of in pity party mode, but you want to stay there just a little longer?

OK, so that is my state of mind right now. I think I'm really just ready for spring break! My spring break begins next Thursday, so just a few more days. Thank the Lord that He gives us the daily gift of a new morning and a new beginning and new mercies each and every single day. I think I really need it!

We're Back!

The kids had Friday off school for mid-winter break, and Matt was going to a football clinic....so, after work on Thursday, we headed north to the Cadillac area to spend a few days with my parents. We arrived Thursday night just in time to have a snack and settle into cozy beds. My mom is very good about the little details like colorful quilts and cozy nightlights in the bedrooms, so it always feels so cozy and warm and welcoming.

On Friday, we slept in a bit and then spent most of the day playing out in the snow and napping a bit and just have a relaxing day. My sister, Kendra, and her husband, Dan, came in the late afternoon. The kids helped Grandma make Bubble-Up pizza for dinner....Yum! It is always fun to watch my kids work on a project with their grandparents....so much love goes into teaching and guiding and creating, this time with very delicious results! After dinner, we started playing a game called Rummy Royal. We used to play this growing up (for chips, of course, not for cash!) and I have not played it in a really, really long time. As usual, we had lots of fun and fierce competition and laughs!

After the games, the kids decided they wanted to go home with Aunt Haley to spend the night. So off they went to her bachelorette pad, leaving me with a quiet night and morning to sleep in! The kids had so much fun sleeping over, going out for breakfast, taking a walk to frozen Lake Cadillac to walk on the ice and see the snowmobiles and icefishing shanties....they really didn't even want to come home. We then made the trip back to GR and are getting settled in for the night. It's funny how just a day or two away from routine can be refreshing for the soul. Now, off to bed....my one ear is completely plugged--I've never had a ear infection but I'm thinking that's what it is--so I hope to be able to hear again by morning. Otherwise, I may be forced to head to the doctor for some good antibiotics....I prefer divine intervention and healing, quite frankly! But I'm not holding my breath on that one!

Evolution of "I Love You."

Today was a bittersweet day for me. We were driving along, and my son told me that he loved me. He does this quite often just out of the blue...he is just thoughtful that way. But what got to me was how he said it.

For the longest time, when Hayden first started talking, he would say "Ah-Ba-Boo" which was "I love you"....it was just the cutest thing, and I can still hear his little voice in my mind and heart saying it. I hope I never forget how that sounded.

Then, as he got to be three, he started saying "I wub you." He had a lot of trouble enunciating his L's, so this became the endearing way that he told us he loved us. So sweet. "I wub you, Mommy."

Today was the first time he clearly said, "I LOVE you." His L was perfect, no "wubs" about it. It made me stop in my tracks. Look in the rear-view mirror at his precious smiling face.

My baby is growing up. He is growing and mastering and becoming his own little man.

It made me think about the fact that while his words have changed and gotten more mature and more perfected, the heart behind his words has always been the same.

I love you, too, Little Guy. And I wub you, and Ah-Ba-Boo. More and more every day.

Welcome International Readers!

Over the past week, I have been so EXCITED to see my international readership grow. It was one of my goals of 2008 to expand Table Scrap readership into all continents, though I was really uncertain whether there would be people scrapping in Antarctia (wouldn't all the adhesive freeze solid? LOL!).

As you can see from the world map tracker, I have had hits from some amazing places including hits from Europe, South America, and Asia, 2 new continents for me! And there have also been additions from New Zeeland, as well as additional areas in Australia and North America....and one fellow American from the beautiful state of Hawaii!

So a special Table Scraps WELCOME to you all!

Now, how do I get the word to Africa??!!

A New Week.

So where did this weekend actually go? It seems as if it was just Friday morning.....and now it's somehow Monday.....I really needed a few more days in there. It is always nice to travel and have a change of routine, but the coming back to work part is always a bit hairy...catching up and returning messages and catching up on grading....hopefully, by the end of this week, I"ll be caught up and on tops of things again.

Speaking of time passing quickly....where is February going? Wasn't it just Christmas? As I have gotten older, I have become more and more aware of how important it is to embrace each and every moment as a gift, for it slips very quickly by.

Well, the Round 3 design team search project is submitted...now the waiting begins. Regardless of the outcome, I really was pushed creatively and genuinely love what I was able to create through these challenges.

I'll share more close-ups of the projects as I am able......I basically demonstrated some innovative uses of an artists' painting supply.....it was lots of fun to push myself to find creative uses of this medium.

In other news.....we had a partial flooding of our basement yesterday in the big thaw. My husband was gone when I noticed it, so I waded out into the 8 inches of standing water in our backyard and attempted to dig a trench. Yeah, right. Thankfully, we were able to divert the water to the back field, so now we are just waiting for the carpet to dry.....no water in my scrap room, THANK GOODNESS....so all is good.

It is starting to snow again here....snow warnings for today and tomorrow. The water that melted in the spring-like conditions yesterday is now frozen into ice. Spring, we need you! I'm trying to savor winter, but enough is enough.....

Happy Monday!

Saturday To-Do.

Last night brought "Daddy-Daughter" and "Mommy-Son" dates. Matt and Kennedy headed off to a Griffins' hockey game with some of the dads/girls from her Brownie's troup. They had a GREAT time and even got to see a hat trick.....I don't know what that is, but Matt was all excited that Kennedy got to see one....can you tell that hockey isn't one of my preferred sports??!!

Hayden and I headed to the mall for his favorite dinner--chicken and rice from the Chinese restaurant at the food court--and a viewing of "Alvin and the Chipmunks." I must admit that I was DREADING this movie, as I anticipated lots of squeaky voices and overdramatic humor; but I was pleasantly surprised....it was really cute and funny and endearing. Now Hayden has the cutest "I'm the LOVE MACHINE" impersonation....what a Ricko Suave!

This morning, I sent Matt and the kids off to Uncle Fred's for a day of sledding and ice skating and snow fun. I am sorry to miss it, but also grateful that I will get concentrated, uniterrupted time today to work on Round 3 of the design team competition. The project is due tomorrow, and I have to develop and demonstrate a "unique technique".....I already know what I'm going to do, so today is all about getting the project down, taking photos of all the steps and readying it to be sent tomorrow. I'm sure I'll be able to share the project next week, but suffice it to safe that my palette is looking very colorful and textureful at the moment.

Do something creative today....and enjoy the sunshine!