Happiness Is Handmade

Ground Hogs Day Cookies

2010-04-14T14:07:00.012-05:00

I saw these on Tip Junkie and just HAD to make them myself! My brother, Vaughn, was born on Ground Hogs Day - so I always feel it should be Celebrated much more than what most people do!
I did change them a little bit from the instructions on Tip Junkie - because I nearly always change things from whatever the original is. I guess I'm just always trying to make things a little better - from MY point of view.

To make these cookies you will need:
Cookie dough: sugar cookies, chocolate chip, or peanut butter - choose ONE - which ever you like best - all would work.
"Grasshoppers" or a similar store bought cookie that is covered in Chocolate (Girl Scout thin Mints would work well too).
Small marshmellows, chocolate chips, Hershey's chocolate Kisses, peanut M&Ms (or gum drops), dark chocolate icing and green icing.

So here's how I made them:
I was short on time, so I bought cookie dough. For the base - they suggested sugar cookie dough , but I like chocolate chip cookies much more, plus, since it represents "the ground" I figured the color was better and the chips could be rocks or whatever in the dirt. The instructions said to form the ball of cookie dough around a Hershey's kiss (unwrapped - OF COURSE!!), so I used a little more dough than you normally would have and did that. As the cookies bake, this leaves a lump or "hill" in the center of the cookie, which is the groundhogs den or hole. Bake the cookies according to the normal directions, being sure to leave plenty of room for them to spread out as they bake (2 to 3 inches).

HOWEVER, BEFORE you put the cookies in the oven, do this next step, because you need to have these ready when the cookies come out of the oven. I would have said to do this first, but you wouldn't know how many to do until you see how many cookies you can make with the amount of cookie dough you have. So count the number of "base" cookies you have made. Take that same number of "grasshopper Cookies" (or whatever you have choosen) and cut a small semi circle out of one side of them with a paring knife. I wish I had a picture for you - it looks like a small bite has been taken out of the cookie - which would be a faster way to do it than using a knife - but not nearly so sanitary!!! I guess if you were ONLY making them for yourself - you could do it that way!!!! (teehee) Anyway, when you have prepared the Grasshoppers, then go ahead and bake the "base" cookies. And Yes, you can eat the "bites" - because we won't be using them for anything else!

When the cookies come out of the oven, let them cool a few minutes, but not completely. Then push the Grasshoppers into the cooling cookies - bite-side down - at the back of the "hill" in the cookie. The Grasshopper cookie should "stand up". If it falls over when you let go of it - the cookies may still be too warm. Simply hold the Grasshopper cookie in place for a few minutes as the cookie cools a little more and it should stay. If that still doesn't work, you can put some icing behind the cookie to help hold it up - but I did not have to do this for any of mine.

Now it's time to turn the Grasshopper cookies into Ground hogs. I added the noses first because if you add the eyes first - you might not have quite enough room for the noses. I used dark brown Peanut M&M's for the noses, becasue I thought they looked more like noses than the gum drops on the original cookies. You could also use regular M&M's or any other candy you might choose. Attach or "glue" them in place using the dark brown icing. Then add the marshmellows for the eyes - also attaching with the brown icing. Then add the ears - AGAIN - attaching them with the chocolate icing. The flat part of the chocolate chips, face forward, to become the ears. The final step for the Ground Hogs is the centers of the eyes - using the brown icing and a #4 tip, give the eyes pupils. Have fun with this, you can give them expressions and personalities by how you place the pupils. They can be looking to the right, or left, up or down, even crosseyed!!!!

The final step is adding the "grass" - I used what I call the "grass or fur tip" - it's #233. You can add a little or a lot, depending on what you want. If I had had more time, I might have added a little flower or two for fun as well.

Someone asked about the color of ground hogs - I always picture then a much lighter color and after I made these I wondered about using a Ginger Snap cookie as the Ground hog and Carmel Chips or even Cinnamon Chips for the ears. My ex-Mother-in-law makes fabulous homemade Ginger Snaps, They're a TON better than store bought - which I'm not at all fond of- and I bet she would be glad to share the recipe!!!

I want to Thank Gormet Mom on the Go for sharing this idea. Check out her blog, she has a great tutorial for these - with pictures of the steps - and lots of other cute ideas as well!
Try making these - they're really fun and your kids would have a wonderful time making them too!!!

Winter Play

2009-12-29T11:06:00.026-06:00

For Christmas, Mike got me WARM clothes for playing outside in the snow! We had planned to go to Idaho, to visit my parents, for Christmas, but those plans were cancelled at the last minute due to our bank account being "compromised" and emptied by someone. The bank was very good about it and we did get all of our money back - but it took some time. Anyway, so we stayed at home for Christmas, but went up to play in the snow the day after!

Here I am, just before we headed up to the mountains, I'm wearing my new ski jacket, ski pants, boots and gloves. Barry and Bonnie gave me a hat, scarf and gloves set and I'm wearing the scarf from them too!!

My new ski gloves are "Kore" Brand, but it's in cursive and looks like "Kare" so I am going to add an "n" and then they will say "Karen". (tee hee)

I fixed my gloves today !!!! 12/29/2009 - Seemed like a good thing to do !!! Now my name is on them if I should loose or misplace them!

Here I am - surrounded by snow.

We drove up to Shafer Lake, just 45 minutes to an hour away.

There was lots of white stuff to play in.

There were a lot of other people up there who had the same idea as we did! It's nice to be able to drive up to the snow in a short period of time - but not have to deal with it - or the cold - or the road conditions on a daily basis.

Mike loves the cold. There I was in long johns, a thermal shirt AND a sweater, ski pants, ski jacket, gloves, headband, scarf, and hood; while Mike had on a long sleeved t-shirt (I had to talk him into long sleeves), jeans and a jacket. Oh, and he did wear gloves while we were playing in the snow.

Mike hid behind a hill to throw snowballs at me. The snow was so dry it was not packing together, so the snowballs wouldn't stay together.

Mike made several pretty good ones but he never hit me because I was too far away & they had fallen apart before they reached me.

HELP !!! He's after me !!!!

Now it's MY TURN !!!!

In all my life I have never had such a hard time trying to make a snowball. The snow was just so dry that it wouldn't stay together at all. I tried and tried, but never dit get a decent snowball!

I sure had a lot of fun trying though!

After any fight, it's always important to "Kiss and Make-up" - even if it's just a snowball fight! So here we are smoochin' in the snow!

It really was a fun day and we had so much fun together playing in the snow.

It was so beautiful up there, you could have taken a picture everyfew seconds. It was just one picturesque scene afer another as you rounded corner after corner! The snow on the trees, and the views were just gorgeous!

Heading home, the sun was just starting to set.
Here is Shafer Lake. Isn't it pretty all rimmed with snow !

The Wedding Pictures

2009-11-17T15:12:00.025-06:00

When we got to the Church to set up for the wedding,

my son, James, was there with his family.

Tiago and Tiffany looked so adorable and were so excited

to be there. They ended up being the only grandkids there,

so it was extra special to have them.

Everyone pitched in to help get things set up and decorated.

My cousin ,Ellen and my sister-in-law, Renee really worked
hard to get everything looking just right.

I hadn't had time to do my hair yet and we only had about an hour until the time for the wedding - so I asked Renee, at the last minute, if she would finish decorating the cake for me by putting the roses and babiesbreath on it. She is a fabulous artist and Interior Decorator and so even though she doesn't do cakes, I knew she would do a fabulous job. And, of course, she did!!
Thank you, Thank You, one and ALL !!!!!
Doesn't everything look nice!!!! Everyone got their flowers and things were ready
- but my hair wasn't finished yet!

Mike was ready! Here he is with my Mom and Dad,

Bert and Carma Garner.

Meanwhile, I'm in the bathroom getting my hair done!

I knew exactly how I wanted it to look,

but I couldn't do it by myself.

My sister Ellen, had never done such a thing before,

but with a few tips from my cousin, Ellen,

she did a Fabulous job!!!!

I really appreciate everything she did for me and for my wedding!

My hair has never looked so elegant before!!!

And so finally, everything and everyone was ready!

The ceremony was sweet and simple.

My Dad and Mike's brother, Dan, were the witnesses.

The Kiss!

It's Official Now!!!!

Here we are - the new Mr. and Mrs. Micheal Walker.

Bishop Crouch, who married us, is off to the side.

We were (and ARE) Very Happy !!!!

We had a little party afterwards to celebrate.

Cutting the cake.

It was homemade carrot cake, very yummy, and yes, I made it.

Doesn't it look good!!!!

I was soooooo brave!

(We were both very nice to each other!)

Layne and Renee sang "The Circle of our Love"

They both have such gorgeous voices!!!!

My cousin, Ellen, me and my sister, Ellen.

I'm in an Ellen Sandwich!!!

Both of them have been such a huge help and support to me.

I am so lucky to have them in my life!

Mike with his brother, Dan.

Dan was the only one from Mike's family who was able

to attend the wedding,

due to some last minute emergencies,

so we really appreciated them being there for Mike!

Here we are with Dan and his wife Debi.

Derrick, Ellen, Karen and Micheal.

There was visiting . . . .

eating . . . . .

dancing . . . . .

I believe a good time was had by all.

This is my cousin, Louise.

She came all the way from Phoenix to be there.
We were so happy to have her share this special day with us.

She knew us both when we were teenagers!

It did get a little wild for a few minutes there!

We had a lot of very good dancers in attendance!

Ellen and Derrick in a lovely dip!

Layne and Renee always look so happy together!

Here they are dancing too!

James, Cecilia, Tiago and Tiffany
James was my only child who was able to attend.

It meant so much to have them there.

James also did the music for the wedding.

Thank you James!!! And Cissa too !!!

Ellen and Jerry.

Ellen, Jerry, Allison (baby), Blair, and Amber.

They all did soooooo much for me that week!

Thanks guys!!!!!

Dad, Mom, Karen and Mike.

My parents came down from Idaho.

It was so wonderful to have them there!

Karen's Immediate Family

(those who were able to attend)

The whole Gang!!!!!

Thank you to everyone who helped make this such a special day for us. For the many friends and family who wanted to be there, but couldn't, we thank you too. Your love and support means the world to us! We love you all!!!

Passionately Pink Apron

2009-11-06T08:39:00.007-06:00

Close up of Apron front and pocket details.

This is the apron I made for the Passionately Pink Apron Swap

to benefit Breast Cancer Awareness.

I was really pleased by how it turned out.

I did the detail work at the top and on the pockets

with ribbons and rick rack.

Don't you love the huge flower buttons?

I added smaller buttons in the center to make them match perfectly!!!

Pre-Printed Apron

2009-11-06T08:37:00.003-06:00

This is the pre-printed Apron I bought months ago at Hobby Lobby.

(I LOVE that store!!!)

I think it turned out pretty cute!

I left the straps at the waist as wide as possible, instead of doubling them over,

I like them much better that way and would have liked them twice as wide!!!

Strawberry Apron

2009-11-06T08:21:00.011-06:00

This is the Strawberry Apron I made for Mike's neice, Haili,

for her Betty Crocker Costume.

I thought it turned out really cute!

Making Aprons

2009-11-06T08:02:00.004-06:00

Lately I've been making aprons. I was checking out my daughter's blogs one day and happened upon a blog about Flirty Aprons - I can't think of it's exact name right now - but they were having an apron swap to benefit Breast Cancer Awareness. I have been planning to sew some aprons, I had bought a cute pre-printed version some time ago and brought that with me to CA. Plus I had some adorable apron fabric I had also purchased but never got around to sewing up. All the aprons I already have are still in Texas in storage - so I really do need at least a couple for when I bake or decorate cakes. I also have a sister-in-law who is currently going thru radiation and chemo treatments and she is constantly on my mind. So I decided this apron swap would be a good way to get me started and going again on creative sewing. Before I could start on my "Passionately Pink" Apron for the swap (I had purchased the fabric) Mike and I went on a trip to Idaho (to see my parents) and Utah (to see his family and my son James). While in Utah, one of Mike's neices mentioned that she needed an apron for her Halloween costume and couldn't find what she wanted. It was so coincidental that I was going to be making aprons as soon as we got home, and she needed an apron, so I voluntered to make an apron for her. So these are the 3 different aprons I've made, so far!

I'm BACK!!!!

2009-11-05T14:03:00.002-06:00

As you can easily see, I haven't posted anything here in an extremely long time. During the years of my divorcee status - it was very hard for me to think of positive, uplifting things to share. What I really felt like I needed was a group of women who were in similar circumstances to my own. But somehow it just didn't seem right to start or join a group called "Angry Mormon Women" or "Mormon Women Who Are Divorced and Extememly Angry About It" or "Mormon and MAD (Mad About Divorce)". Actually I kind of like that last one!!! Anyway, I felt like my entire life had been totally wasted. I felt like I had followed the teachings and admonitions of my Church and dedicated my life to my husband and children - and suddenly I'm all alone - as if all those years were nothing. Not to mention that I'm now old, with certain health problems, instead of young and beautiful. I had expected to spend these years sewing baby quilts and babysitting Grandchildren, not starting a new life all alone, with nothing to show for 30 years of marriage, no education beyond High School, and no prospects for the future.
Actually, not much has changed, but as they say "Time heals all wounds." and with time I have come to accept at least part of my circumstances with a happier heart. The biggest change is that I have recently married. So, in the days to come, I will share wedding pictures, and some of the things I have been doing with my time. I look forward to being more active here and to keeping in closer touch with friends and family. Love to all of You!!!

Menopause ..... Or ??????

2008-04-08T11:33:00.010-05:00

So here is the funny story. My only Sister, Ellen, turned 40 last summer. Since she is 12 years younger than me, I felt it my duty to send several funny cards to commemorate the occasion.
A few months later she called me up and asked what it was like when I went into menopause. I responded that I hadn't gone into menopause yet, I was probably pre-menopausal.
Her response was, "Oh, Oh!"
I told her to tell me what was going on.
Upon hearing her "symptoms" I suggested that it sounded to me like she was pregnant. She said;

"I CAN'T BE PREGNANT !!! . . . . . I'M 40 YEARS OLD !!!"

During the remainder of our conversation, she kept repeating this same phrase. It was really funny !!!
Nine months later . . . this is the result . . . . . . . .

10 lbs 1 oz. (OUCH!!!) 21 1/2 inches long

Daniel Shawn Herbert

He was delivered a week late, by C- Section (DOUBLE OUCH !!!).
He is healthy and happy and Ellen is recovering, slowly, but surely!!!
Grandma Garner (our Mom) is flying out to help tomorrow and I'm so glad for both of them, that they will have this next week together!!! ( And just a little jealous that I can't be there too!)

Huge Congratulations go out to the Entire Family!!!

The really good news is that with older siblings ranging from 4 yrs. old to 16, they will be a huge help to Mom and Dad as they raise this big surprise.
(You can't really call him a little surprise - can you???)

Purple Birthday Cake

2008-03-29T17:16:00.002-05:00

This is the adorable Birthday Cake Sharon made for me. My Birthday is in February, so it was purple, like my birthstone!!! This is so cute and simple and would be great for any age girl from 2 or 3 ( if she likes to walk around in Mommy's shoes) - up to adults. When I came home and it was sitting in the center of the table, I was absolutely thrilled!! It was just so FUN !!!! She just bought a pair of the little girl dress up shoes and a couple of strings of purple beads . Simple, sweet, and perfect!!!! (Don is always teasing me about all of my shoes!!!!!)

Don and Sharon

2008-03-28T20:14:00.002-05:00

These are my friends, Don and Sharon, who I live with. They are so kind to invite me into their home. They are more than generous. They were originally friends with my parents, before they left Texas and moved back to Emmett, Idaho. After that we became closer. Sharon and I both decorate cakes and we found that it is usually more fun to do big cakes, like wedding cakes, together. We have another friend, Lynn, who we got started doing cakes and the three of us have had some good times together.

Me

2008-03-28T00:24:00.010-05:00

I am the most un-photogenic person on the planet and therefore HATE having my picture taken. However, here are a few - so you will know who I am.
This is me with my Grandpa Garner, my Dad's Dad, and his favorite horse, Robin.
I'd guess I'm about 5 here. Grandpa always had candy corn in his pocket, he used it to train his horses, his dogs, and his grand children. It seemed to work quite well for all of the above. I can't see Candy Corn without thinking of him. He died when I was still a newly wed, so he's been gone over 20 years now. I miss him! He was a wonderful man and always good to me.

This is me with my dad, Bert Garner, last May (2007) at my niece, Nicole's, wedding in Denver
Here is me, my Dad, my Mom, Carma Garner, and our friend, Sharon Erland, who traveled all the way from Houston to Denver with me to help me do the wedding cake for my nieces wedding. I also am currently living with Sharon and her husband, Don (not pictured).

Here I am holding my newest grandchild, Samantha, at the hospital the day after she was born.

This is Laurie, Me and Lisa, making silly faces for Bonnie

on Easter Sunday, 2008.

(Is it weird that Laurie and I each chose the same silly face???????)

My Family

2008-03-27T23:58:00.004-05:00

This is my family, posted in no particular order.
I was blessed with a total of 6 children, 3 boys and 3 girls. I had 5 miscarriages and my second child died of crib death, so my children are especially precious to me. My Doctor once told me that most women, whose bodies do what mine did, have no children, so I have always felt incredibly lucky and blessed to have each and every one of them.

In chronological order they are:
James is the oldest, but I'm not actually old enough to be his Mom, we adopted him when he was 10 years old.
Laurie is my first born and I was so excited she was a girl because I grew up with 8 brothers and didn't get my only sister until I was 12. My sister, Ellen, was 8 when Laurie was born, so she is closer to Laurie's age than to mine.
Tresa is my second daughter and she died of SIDS at 6 weeks old.
Barry is next, born exactly one month short of 3 years after Laurie.
He is followed by Lisa, 2 months shy of 3 years later.
Scott "brings up the rear", 5 years down the road.

Scott in Bunny Ears

2008-03-27T23:22:00.009-05:00

This was taken on Easter Sunday, April 23, 2008. It is my youngest son, Scott, who is 21. Doesn't he look cute!!!!??? Laurie took this picture after I put the ears on him. They looked so nice with his tie!!!

Scott is my third son and youngest child. He is 5 years younger than Lisa, his closest sibling. He was a bit of a surprise baby, I had had 5 miscarriages and figured I'd been through enough but he had other ideas. He has kept us all young. He was the joy of our lives and his siblings all adored him so much that they used to come home from school and fight over who got to hold him, or play with him. There were times when he was the only one in the family that EVERYBODY liked !!!!!! He has always had a charismatic personality. He is also my most athletic and most competitive child. And considering his siblings - that's saying an awful lot in both cases.

Scott has just returned from a 2 year Mission for our Church. He served in Richmond, Virginia.

He loved his Mission, worked very hard and had a wonderful time. He matured and grew a lot over the last 2 years and I am so incredibly proud of him. We are all so excited to have him back home again. He is my baby, although I never dare to call him that!

He played football, basketball and ran track, was a hurdler. He was born making growling sounds (Barry made car sounds), and like his brother Barry, he loves music and sang in the school choir. He has a flair for showmanship and didn't mind dressing up in a coconut bra and grass skirt, or in a woman's dress, to put the show on! He's really been fun to watch grow up.

It's so hard to believe they all grew up so quickly. During those long, sleepless nights, with a screaming baby, (or 2 or 3 or 4) it seemed like they would never sleep through the night, or be out of diapers, but then suddenly, before you know it, they're all grown up, moved out and on their own, and they don't need you any more. They each have their own distinct personalities from birth and are each so completely unique and wonderful.

James and Cecilia's Family

2008-03-27T13:32:00.006-05:00

This is James and Cissa with all of the kids last summer. The kids are, from left to right;
Taige (now 12), Tiago (now 5), Tegan ( now 10) and Tiffany (2). The two older children are from James' first marriage and they live in Florida, with their Mom.

This is my oldest son, James and his wife Cecilia (we call her Cissa) and their 2 kids, Tiago (5) and Tiffany (2). This was just taken on Easter Sunday, 2008. They live in Utah, so I don't get to see them very often And I miss them a lot.

James is adopted. We adopted him when he was 10 years old. At that time we already had Laurie, Tresa, Barry and Lisa. (Rhyming unintentional - but kind of cute - don't you think???) So he was actually our 5th child, but is the oldest. He was my husband's sister's middle son (or our nephew) and she decided to put him up for adoption. We thought he should stay in the family - rather than ending up either with strangers or in the Foster Care System, so we adopted him ourselves. There were a lot of adjustments to make in our family, and not all of them went all that well, but I have never regretted adopting James. It completely changed the birth order of all of our children, for those who have studied Birth Order and it's effects on personality and etc. Of course the biggest adjustment was for James. We had an entirely different life style than what he was accustomed to. Over all, I think he did amazingly well. He was an excellent student, my neatest child and only cleaning fanatic. He is also an incredible cook. He was Captain of the Swim Team in high school and was an Eagle Scout at age 13. ( Both of his younger brothers followed that example and did the same.) James loves music and is a D. J. in his "spare time".

Cissa is from Brazil. She and James met at Church, at a Brazilian Ward in Salt Lake City. James served as a Missionary in Brazil for 2 years and so is fluent in Portuguese. Several years after his divorce, he was attending the Brazilian Ward to keep up with his Portuguese. When he met Cissa, he was smitten - but then, who wouldn't be!?!? Cissa is beautiful, sweet and loving. She is also very determined and saved her money from the time she was very young to be able to come to the United States to be free. She came here legally, when she was 19, she is now an official citizen. I admire her very much. She is also a wonderful mother.

"Tiago" is "James" in Portuguese. Tiago has Cissa's coloring, with almost black hair and deep, dark brown eyes and that lovely tan skin. He is so fun. He loves airplanes and is currently into Transformers. He is bi-lingual and Grandma can't always understand everything he says, but he gets his message across. We always have a lot of fun on the neighborhood play ground too.

Tiffany is as light as Tiago is dark. I was present at her birth and the Doctor had asked all of us what color hair we were expecting. We all kind of laughed and said "dark brown", assuming she would have Cissa's coloring, just like Tiago. When she crowned the Doctor said, "That's not brown hair!" When she was fully delivered, he turned and looked at me and said "She looks like Grandma!" Of course he didn't know that there is actually no blood relationship between James and I, but it was sooooo fun!!! Tiffany is still blond haired and blue eyed. All of Cissa's Brazilian friends were just amazed that she had this blond baby!!! It was really fun!!!!

James first son, Taige, was born on my 41st Birthday and was my very first grandchild. That was certainly exciting and turned a very boring Birthday into the best one ever. His sister, Tegan, was born just 3 days short of exactly 2 years later. She was my first Granddaughter, and therefore, holds a special place in my heart as well.

Barry and Bonnie's Family

2008-03-27T13:18:00.008-05:00

Barry is my first born son, but became second oldest when we adopted James. He is the only one of my children who has my coloring and therefore sunburns too easily. (Sorry about that, buddy!!!) He was also my sweetest child. He was the loving and nurturing one. He was so sweet to Lisa and would always let her tag along with him where ever he went.

One of my favorite memories of him was when he was about 4, Lisa was learning to crawl and she would try to follow him around the house, because she adored him so much. Of course she couldn't keep up with him, so he would get down on the floor and crawl next to her rather than leave her behind.

Later on, when they were old enough to go play with friends down the street, he would always take Lisa with him and never run off and leave her behind. He was always very careful with her and took such good care of her. All of the other Mom's in the neighborhood would ask me how I got him to behave that way. I always had to explain that it was nothing I was doing, it was just his personality!!!

Barry is very tall, about 6'5", and loves basketball!! He is also very good!!! When he first started playing, he would apologize when he fouled someone, that's how sweet he was! Of course he out grew that, now days he has even been know to INTENTIONALLY foul on occasion - if you can believe that!!!

His is married to Bonnie, who was one of my 4th year girls at Girls Camp when she was 14 and we have had a special relationship ever since. I was so surprised when she and Barry started dating. I would never have paired them up, but they make it work and are wonderful together.
It is really fun to have a daughter-in-law who I have known and loved for so long.

They have a 2 year old son, Jordan Michael (named after Michael Jordon - Barry's "hero") who is active and adorable and already a great shot! He's just a little bit older than Laurie's son, Drake, and is learning to talk up a storm. He says "Billy" almost perfectly - it comes out "Bee-lee" and is soooooo cute. He can't say "Lisa". He calls her "Ha Haus". Lisa has always prided herself on being a bit of a "Haus" ( is that how you spell that????? "Hoss" maybe????) plus she is funny - so she's cool with that.

Samantha is Barry and Bonnie's daughter, and currently my youngest grandchild. She's about 5 months old and is totally adorable. She is chubby and cute and darling. She has the biggest smiles and is starting to laugh out loud. She is my 3rd granddaughter and 9th grandchild. They lived the closest to me so I get to see them the most often and I absolutely love it.

Laurie and Tresa (1977)

2008-03-27T12:01:00.016-05:00

This is me with Laurie (20 months) and Tresa (5 weeks).

Tresa is my second daughter and she died of Crib Death at 6 weeks of age.
This is one of the few pictures we have of her.

I was so excited for Laurie to have a sister to grow up with, since I grew up with 8 brothers and didn't get my only sister until I was 12. Unfortunately they only had a very brief time together.

Lisa and Billy

2008-03-22T18:05:00.009-05:00

Lisa is my third and youngest daughter. She always insists that she is my favorite and that she is also the funniest. She is my athlete and the cutest quote from her was when she was 3 years old and Laurie was 9, she said; "I'm not a SISSY, like Laurie !!!"

When she was in elementary school, we used to have major fights every Sunday morning because she wanted to wear jeans to Church and I insisted on a dress. After years of angry Sunday mornings, we finally compromised on a denim skirt, which finally appeased her.

Growing up she was very close to her brother Barry, who is almost 3 years older than her. She adored him and wanted to be just like him. She went through a stage where she would get up every morning, go into Barry's room and put on his clothes. It was very cute!! She's been a Tom Boy from the very start. I was a Tom Boy when I was young too, but I've always enjoyed girlie dresses and etc. as well.

She is married to Billy, who treats her very well and is patient with her. She thinks I like him more than I do her, but she's wrong about that!!! But Billy is great and I love him! They compliment each other very well. Now that all of my children are grown, I am probably actually closest to Lisa. We even shared a best friend at one point.

Lisa and Billy have not chosen to bless me with any Grandchildren yet. Lisa claims all sorts of reasons, my theory is that since Laurie has all boys, Lisa figures she'll probably have a bunch of girlie girls, and the prospect terrifies her!!!!

Laurie and Jason's Family

2008-03-20T18:59:00.009-05:00

This is my first born, and eldest daughter, Laurie, with her handsome family.

Laurie is my "girlie girl" which explains why she was blessed with three sons. Of all my children, Laurie is actually the one most like me ( she'll probably deny this) in many ways, even though she has always looked the most like her father. She has always been fun, enthusiastic, determined, organized and very much "in-charge". My favorite quote of hers was, when she was only about 3 years old, she said "No body is the boss of me, but me !!"

She is married to Jason, who I adore. (I have been very blessed with both sons and daughters-in-law who are just wonderful!!!! I love all of them and count those blessings every day!)

Jason is super smart and a wonderful provider for his family. It is so nice to not have to worry about their safety and support. He recently won a nation wide award from the company he works for, for being the person who had helped improve the company the very most this last year. He is a mechanical engineer, but he is also a computer whiz and he created a computer program which made their work much easier and more "user friendly". We are all so very proud of him!!!!

Laurie and Jason's first born is Davis, 9, who is also very smart ( gets it from both of his parents) and who loves to draw and has already won several awards for his art work.

Dylan is 7 and is the nurturer in the group. He takes especially good care of his little brother, Drake. When ever I talk to him on the phone he spends most of his time talking about Drake and his latest accomplishments, rather than talking about himself. Dylan is so sweet and cute, he just adores his baby cousin, Samantha (5 mos.)too and loves to play with her and talk to her and hold her, It's so cute!!!!

Drake is 2 and full of energy and fun!!! He's at that adorable stage where he is learning to talk, but can't quite say everything yet. He does his best to keep up with his older brothers and definitely has a mind of his own.

Laurie has her hands full and overflowing, but she does an incredible job, I'm very proud of her.

She's also the one who started this blog for me - so I could "get with it". Lisa has helped me a bunch too. Laurie is by far the most avid photographer in the family and puts me to shame in that arena. I am forever either without a camera, forgetting my camera, or have my camera but forget to take any pictures. Laurie is always taking pictures and scrap booking them and sharing them. She is wonderful. She was the head photographer her Jr. and Sr. years of high school and it is still a hobby she loves. I am blown away by her creativity and business sense. She really makes me proud.

Girly Cakes

2008-03-20T18:36:00.003-05:00

This was Sharon and Don's 25th Wedding Anniversary Cake. It wasn't as yellow as it looks, it was more cream colored.
This was the cake we had at Lisa's Bridal Shower - it had charms inside it for the Bridesmaids to pull out.

This was the Cake and Camoflouge Grooms cake, that Lynn, Sharon and I made for Annette's brother's wedding in San Antonio.

This is the wedding cake I made for my neice Nicole last May, 2007. It was very different from what I usually make. The next picture is me working on the top layer.

Laurie posted this and the following pictures for me, of some of the cakes I have made for her and her boys over the years. Since I am currently living with some friends, I don't have my files or my pictures and etc. on hand. Nearly everything is in storage. It was fun to see some of these again. Cake decorating is fun and easy, although a bit time consuming. But it is always wonderful to create a thing of beauty, and if it tastes great too - all the better right???

Baby Shower

2008-03-20T18:35:00.002-05:00

Kid Cakes

2008-03-20T17:53:00.011-05:00

Laurie's 2nd son Dylan's first birthday...