My Sweetie on our Anniversary

Wow, where 5 years has taken us........We've seen a wedding, three children, an 18 month deployment, 3 college degrees, a Congressional Campaign, a Presidential Campaign, 4 Design Teams, 4 houses, and tons in between! How out lives have changed in 5 years and I never would have guessed it! I learned really quick that never tell God YOUR plan for your lives, because that is exactly the opposite of what will happen!LOL! I'm so excited to see where the next five years will take us?

To My hubby:

• Thank you for asking me to marry you
• Thank you for giving me three beautiful girls
• Thank you for protecting our freedom
• Thank you for playing in the floor with the girls
• Thank you for getting up at 4:30 each morning for work
• Thank you for setting an example for our daughters
• Thank you for being romantic after 5 years
• Thank you for supporting me in my creativeness
• Thank you for giving me mommy-only-time
• Thank you for being the spiritual head of our home
• Thank you for treating me like a princess

and most of all....

Thank you for loving me!

Happy 5th Anniversary Nathan!

Brief Rundown

So about the laptop, we did get it back yesterday. The SHORT story of it is that someone traded it or a car (cheap $500 one) and the guy who sold the car was afraid the computer might be hot so he had a friend do some looking around on the harddirve to make sure it was legit. Well that guy found hubby's info on it and said...hey I know that guy? Didn't he run for congress last year?? So he gave us a call and turned the computer into the police. Of course it was returned to us and the guy who turned it in ....and also happened to be a computer tech....ran the software on it to retrieve all the deleted files! Praise God! Definitely a God moment when not only do we by chance get it back but the person who called the police also is a computer tech who could fix it for us??? So Nathan is a happy camper right now with all his emails, political documents, and online banking!

Vacation was wonderful. We stayed at Snowshoe Mnt WV, which is a ski resort in the winter and a State Park in the summer with lots of trails and mountian biking. It was breathtaking beautiful. The resort was built on one of the mountian ridges so on each side of the resort was another mountian range. Unbelievable. We had a beautiful condo with a fireplace and a wooded view. Most of the time we just chilled out...with only a baby there with us. We also rode the ski lift down the mountian side into the valley where there is a natural lake. So beautiful. Of course we had to also visit a near-by Civil War battlefield as well. Yes....my name is Mandi and I am a Civil War junkie! Admitting is the first step!

So today is filled with scrap'n. It's the end of the month wich means...DEADLINES!! Yep, I work best under pressure. Just joking it's called not enough days in my month. I hopefully wil have lost of new projects to post tomorrow. I will also hopefully have pics from vacation as well. I still need to download the software to my new camera before I can upload pics.

Have a great Thursday!

Auction Results

WOW! We did it!!! We raised a total of $430.12 (before ebay's fees of course.) How wonderful! I never thought we would get that much! but we did! GREAT JOB everyone! Thanks so much for helping out and bidding those items up! Now to get everything boxed up and shipped out so I can get that $ to Jen! I have been getting emails from fellow scrappers and companies that wish to donate additional items to be auctioned off for Jen's family. So I will be listing these items as they come in hopefully over the next week. I will post on the board when an auction goes up. Once again THANKS!!!!!!

I'll post vacation pics and ramblings tomorrow......

Oh...we got Nathan's laptop back today...also will post the not so small miracle on that as well! :D

~Quotes~

Not too much to write about today. The auctions are up and bids are flying!!! As of this morning we have over $230 and still 6 days to go! Just a bunch of running around today while getting ready for our vacation this weekend. I'll leave you with a few quotes that either made me think or just plain old laugh out loud!

"Some people are like slinkies; not really good for anything, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs." -Glenn Beck

"I am a conservative, but I am not a zombie." -Glenn Beck

"Political Correctness doesn't change us, it shuts us up." -Glenn Beck

"Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed, there are many rewards; if you disgrace yourself, you can always write a book. " -Ronald Reagan

"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors." -Plato

"The hand that rules the press, the radio, the screen and the far-spread magazine, rules the country." - Learned Hand, Memorial service for Justice Brandeis, December 21, 1942

"When people settle in a foreign country with little or no intention of abandoning their native culture, or, increasingly, no intention of abandoning their native language and native political allegiance, the correct word for the process isn't "reverse assimilation." And it isn't immigration. The correct word in the English language is "colonization." - Because that's exactly what it is." - KC McAlpin, Executive Director,ProEnglish

Benefit Ebay Auctions are up!!!

So here is the post I made on 2peas this afternoon about the auctions....

Well after a crazy delay from the theft of my camera......the auctions are finally up and going! (thanks Alicia - gumpgirl for the use of your camera)
I started all auctions at $0.99, hopefully to intice more bidders! So everyone, check them out and BID THEM UP for Jen and her family! All of the $$$ made goes to them!
There are a lot of awsome items up including Scrapologie Kits, Kin-n-Kaboodles Kits, Heidi Swapp, Making Memories, Prima, Albums, Paper, Cards, Mini Albums, Altered Items, and TONS more!!!!! I think there are 13 auctions total??? And yes, I will ship them over seas!

http://search.ebay.com/ws/search/SaleSearch?sofocus=bs&satitle=&sacat=-1%26catref%3DC5&fbd=1&_trksid=m37&from=R6&nojspr=y&pfid=0&fswc=1&few=&saprclo=&saprchi=&fss=1&saslop=1&sasl=mandi4245&fls=4%26floc%3D1&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D0&salic=1&saatc=1&sadis=200&fpos=44903&fsct=&sacur=0&sacqyop=ge&sacqy=&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&sabdlo=&sabdhi=&saaff=afdefault&afcj=&afmp=&fsop=1%26fsoo%3D1&fcl=3&frpp=5o


This is definitely for a good cause (see about Jen Gallacher and the loss of her 12 yr old son to cancer in posts below). So check them out, bid them up, and help a family in need!!!!!

Very Scary Day

***edited***

Praise be to God! The neighbor found my diaper bag ditched in her back yard!!! So in it was my empty wallet (yes they took the time to slide my driver's lisc out of the little plastic sleeve!), my keys, and my coupon holder!!! See, this couplon holder is full of labeled enveloped with cash in each one. We do the cash only budget (Dave Ramsey) so twice a month we pull cash for the next two weeks. Well I had just pulled a few hundered on the 15th. But since I had about 100 in my actual wallet for something different, I guess they figured that was it and the other thing was just coupons??? So our neighbor called and said she had it and that the police took it to investigate it. So on Monday we will find out exactly what was all there, but she did say that there was some cash in the coupon thing! Why would they take some and not all of it??? Praise God for the little blessings! He's so good! Our insurance said that they will give us replacement value for the items...who-hoo new camera again. They also will replace up to 200 of the cash. So basically in a couple of weeks we'll have our stuff replaced it will then just be a matter of my hubby's lost info on his laptop and the lose of feeling secure in my own home!



So we had a lifechanging experience today. Nathan got up for work like normal and on the way out the door he went to grap his laptop. Well, he couldn't find it. So I got up at like 5:30am to help him find and and it was no where? So I started looking around and my diaper bag (which also has my wallet and such, basically my purse) was also gone? So I then saw a box of misc old papers...family history documents....opened up and rummaged through in it's normal spot in the living room??? Then it hit me....we'd been robbed!!!!!! Yes, someone came into our home while we were sleeping upstairs and stole form us! So far we have found missing Nathan's laptop, my wallet, keys, cash, ring and Maddelyn's bracelet inside my wallet, cell, and my camera!!! Yes my beloved Nikon D-50 is gone!!! Today has been an Earth shattering day. Totally unbelievable!!!! To think someone came into our home with us there! Very wierd feeling! So praise God we are all ok and our insurance will be covering all the items and some of the cash stolen. Even though the items will be replaced it still changes your life forever. Kinda like the feeling after 9-11, you just never get back to that innocence and you always feel like someone has invaded your PERSONAL space. Please just be in prayer that the insurance reimbursements come soon so we can get back to normal!

Oh...and because I don't have my camera, the benefit auction for Jen Gallacher will be postponed until I can borrow my Mom's camera next week to get the auction up. Another frustrating thing!

Thursday's 13 and an Book for Ebay

So here is just a quick shot of a book I listed tonight. It's an altered tab chipboard album. If you want to see the inside pics...just click on the link to my ebay lisitngs inthe post from yesterday ......>

On to the randomness of my life...

1. What is up with Melinda being voted off of Idol? I so thought that she had an easy shoe in for the winner! What has America come to??

2. I've been working like crazy in my scrap room this week both getting some things on ebay (extra $ for our get-a-way) and working on some DT deadlines and personal commitments

3. Did I say that we are GOING AWAY for our anniversary??? Yet big f-i-v-e years this June 1st! So we are going to WV to stay in a condo at a state park/ski resort woo-hoo! Just us...and Caroline time! She gets to tag alog since we are nursing! Lucky her!

4. Pirates of the Caribbean AND Oceans 13 are both coming out in a few weeks! It's going to be a good June!

5. I got a wonderful surprise today. I helped out neighbor widow with her mulch last weekend and tonight she sent over a potted gerber daisy! I LOVE gerber daisies!

6. I love when the weather gets nice and you start seening a change in the produce section at Walmart! Yep....sweet corn for dinner tomorrow! Ahhh....Summer is near!

7. My husband says I'm wierd because I quick clean sweep for my own family when they visit...yes family reading this I do (even my parents!) Nathan is like duh! They raised you...they know what you're like and could careless about our house. But honey....I care! LOL! Once again the OCD in me!

8. I am so not crafty in any other means besides scrapbooking! I mean I see all these wonderful layouts with sewing and such...not me! I can't sew, paint, knit, I can't even cook! LOL! I think the crafty scrapooking gene was a fluke! Somehow I lucked out with that one!

9. My husband has corrupted me! Not only did we watch the SC Republican debate last night...but even after he went to bed I still watched the after commentary on FOX! Yeah I'm corrupted with the political junkie bug I guess ?

10. For Mothers Day my Mom got me another pot of flowers for my front porch! Woo-hoo! I LOVE flowers! Nothing better than seeing pretty blooms when your dragging kids out the door trying to get everyone loaded up because once again your late!!!

11. Yeah, we are a late family! I hate it to much. I have no idea how it happened or when but I think it might have something to do with 3 girls 4 and under??? Besides that my OCD keeps me busy just trying to accomplish one more thing before we leave and then...shoot...we have to leave RIGHT now we're late! Story of my life!!!

12. My best friend is probably coming to visit with her new baby in July! YEAH!!! See that smile???

13. Emma was dry all day today! Yep....we're potty training full swing now! Panties-r-us baby! So she stayed in the same pair all day including nap time! I'm so proud! Hopefully I'm not jinxing anything for tomorrow!?!?

Mother's Day Pics and Ebay Stuff

Well here are some adorable pics of my "Mommy Day" as we say here. It's nice to have gotten a few of the the girls and I. It always seems that I'm the one BEHIND the camera instead of infront of it! I just hope our girls look back on their childhood and realize that they actually had a mom who raised them even though there's not pictures to prove it! LOL!!!

And one more picture....yes.....that is actually Emma FREAKING out over something adventurous! She was actually scared to ride the 4 wheeler! I guess there is a first itme for everything? Maddleyn believe it or not actually loved riding it while my dare-devil Emma was scared! Whoda thunk?

Also...I have some ebay listings up if anyone wanted to check them out. It says that there are two seller's names, but it'a all my stuff. Had to borrow Mom's since I'd be lisiting the benefit auction stuff later this week as well. I didn't want my stuff on with it. Here's the link http://search.ebay.com/ws/search/SaleSearch?sofocus=bs&satitle=&sacat=-1%26catref%3DC5&fbd=1&catref=C5&nojspr=y&_trksid=m37&from=R6&nojspr=y&pfid=0&fswc=1&few=&saprclo=&saprchi=&fss=1&saslop=1&sasl=mandi4245+gbhartz3u5i&fls=4%26floc%3D1&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D0&salic=1&saatc=1&sadis=200&fpos=44890&fsct=&sacur=0&sacqyop=ge&sacqy=&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&sabdlo=&sabdhi=&saaff=afdefault&afcj=&afmp=&fsop=1%26fsoo%3D1&fcl=3&frpp=50

(hate that blogger doesn't have an imbedded link option and I have to link a paragraph! Huh!)

(Late) Inspiration Friday

Ok...so I know it's Monday but better late than never! It was a busy weekend around here so I just now am getting to this! Sorry! So the lucky lady this week to be my Inspiration of the Week is....

Tania Willis

Tania is a fellow 2peas member and is also on the Karen Foster, Pinecone Press, and Daisy D's Design Teams. I have been inspired many times before as I have stumbled upon her layouts in the gallery. I have really gotten into this kick of using scriptures and song titles on layouts and this of course is a great example --------->








Beautiful job Tania! Here is a link to her gallery on 2peas http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/userprofile.asp?user_id=102951


Sorry for the short post. Hopefully tonight or tomorrow I will be uploading some ADORABLE mommy day pics! Oh, and say a prayer for me....not only did I overdo it with the landscaping and pull a few muscles and get a nasty sunburn, but then silly me fell yseterday and spained my ankle. It could have been alot worse though because I was carrying Caroline and fell on our concrete steps out front. So....Maddelyn has been my little helper today getting house work done. It's amazing how much a 4 year old is willing to help when you promise $$$$! LOL!

Oh, and be sure to check out http://www.scrapinstyletv.com/ as they have their grand opening tomorrow! It looks Fab!!!! (by the way Tania is one of their new designers! woo-hoo!)

Spring Pictures

Well just a few pictures that I took at Kingwood Center this week. We had a taken a picnic lunch along with us to see all the flowers and of course had to take some pictures! Poor little Caroline didn't get any pictures because there was really no way to do it unless I layed her in the grass and of course she didn't like that very much.

Nathan and the girls took me out for Mother's Day last night (since Nathan has Guard all weekend) and I picked out flowers and mulch to do our landscaping. So...today is planting flowers and mulching! Fun-Fun! Have a great weekend and a Happy Mother's Day!!!

Benefit Auction Sneak Peaks!!

So I promised I'd post a few! I kinda cheated and only am going to be posting the ones that already had pictures on the web! Yep, cut and paste! :D I will take some additional pics of the rest of the adorable items...just not tonight. I told you that WONDERFUL things were showing up in my mailbox! Remember.....the auction goes up May 19! I'll link it here! If you want to send donations, you still have until the 16th. So here they are!!!

Mini Album by Gigi Kennedy

Altered Bracelet and Jewlery Box by Charity Hassel

Cards by Charity Hassel

Mini Summer Chipboard Album by Patty Schaffer

Kit-n-Kaboodles Kits from Nieka Apell

La-Dee-Da's of the week

So busy, busy week here in the Martin household. Nathan preached again tonight in Willard and tomorrow night is church softball. I have been creating out the wazoo in my little scraproom, but of course none of it is downloaded! Figures! I'll have to get that done later tomorrow. So for now just some more....Thursday 13 random facts! :D

1. I actually put black paint all over Emma's hand today...yeah by choice! I could just see the glow in her eyes as I was of course creating using her hand as a stamp! (all you special mommies in our lives will be seeing the results soon! :D )

2. Is it wrong, or considered un-normal to have the yearning desire to scrap and not leave your scraproom. Partially, because you know if you do you'll see that the house actually DOES need cleaned and you should be doing that instead???

3. I got showered in Mt. Dew last night at the Mexican resteraunt. Yep SHOWERED!!!! LOL! Let's just say cold---wet---sticky! Uhh. I did feel bad though for the waitress who baptised me. She looked like she felt aweful!

4. I'm getting donations in like crazy for the benefit auction! Woo-hoo!

5. Emma has always called my mom "Bobbie" instead of Grandma Bobbie. Well this week it's just "Bob!" LOL!!! Emma, dear Emma!!!!

6. We're going away for the big F-I-V-E year anniv. over Memorial Day! Ahhh...hear that??? No kidos!! Well besides those attached (literally).

7. Why is it that we go from waaaay too cold to be outside weeding and mulching my landscaping to waaaay to hot to be outside weeding and mulching my landscaping? In Ohio I just never win!

8. I finally found dairy free icecream that does not involve... soy nuts...or....rice in anyway. Yep, mini heaven in a ice cream bucket! Haggan Daas Sorbet! It might cost as much as a 1/2 gallon for a pint, but it is worth every spoonful for a dairy-free icecream nut!

9. Why does laundry seem to divide and multiply cells while in the dirty hamper??? Did we really go through that much in one week???

10. I love Spring flowers! They just make me smile and know that no matter how long the winter...Spring will come! Hmmm? Kinda sounds like a devotional there huh? No matter how long the rough seasons in your life last....SPRING WILL COME! Maybe I will just have to write that one up and do a layout on it to submit to Selah Scrappers. (Terrific site by the way if you have not checked them out.) You get this really cool devotional and scrapbooking layout in your inbox! How sweet! http://selahscrappers.blogspot.com/


Well so much for 13 facts...Caroline decided that 10 will be enough for tonight! :D

New Layouts and NSD

I know it's been a while...but I have been quite busy over the weekend. You know it was National Scrapbooking Day on Saturday??? Yep and I celebrated by going to a 13 hour crop! Woo-hoo. But, little Caroline had to tag along to nurse so mommy was only able to complete the pregnancy album I had been working on, plus one additional layout. I always get very little done at crops. Nathan teases me because I spend all evening the night before packing and planning and then do nothing but talk! LOL! But hey...when you are home all day with toddlers...it's worth it just to have ADULT conversations!

Lots to do this evening before bed....still trying to play catch-up from last weekend. So, I will make it short and leave you with my newest creations from the kit I received for my 2 Sassy Scrappers Design Team. These are from the Carolee's Freckles Kit.

Inspiration Friday

So today's inspiration come totally from random 2peas gallery hunting!! So I was casually looking through the layouts tonight and these 2 different projects just JUMPED right out at me, and sure enough, they are done by the same person!!! So today's inspiring scrapper is...

Collette

You can check out the link to her wonderful gallery here: http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/userprofile.asp?user_id=25439

I just love the way each item in her gallery just pops right out at you!! Such bright, fun layouts! Here are just a few of the wonderful things of her!(The second picture is the inside to the adorable mini album.) Such beautiful work Collette!

Exciting News

Woo-Hoo! So that little email I mentioned the other day was..... >>>

I am happy to announce that I have been asked to be a Guest Design Team member for Mary Croppins! I will be on for the months of May and June. You'll have to check me out at http://www.marycroppins.com/ I will be hosting challenges as well as adding layouts to the gallery. There is already one there under "scrapalot278" in the design team entries. That's all for not...busy day ahead of me as usual!

A Little Soapbox from Me! :D

I have some exciting news, but until I have all the details on it I need to keep a lid on it. I will tell you though that it has to do with a guest design team spot. Those kinda emials just make me smile!

Nathan preached/taught at my home church in Willard tonight on politics and one's civic/Christian responsibilty. Which reminds me, tomorrow is the National Day of Prayer. This is a VERY important day not only to come together to pray for this great nation and it's leaders, but becuase a bill will be brought before Congress tomorrow. Bill HR 1592 (the Hate Crimes Bill) which you can read more on the actual wording of the bill here - http://www3.capwiz.com/afanet/issues/bills/?bill=9668611 So the base of this bill is to make it that if you commit a crime on one of the listed "protected" groups of people, you would receive a greater punishment. So not only does this bill state that hurting/killing/whatever some people is more important that doing the same act to other people, it also opens the grounds for thought crimes. Which means that a person is punishable for thier "thoughts". This is a very scary thing because included in this is not just actually commiting a crime aginast one of these protected groups of people, but also speaking slander against these people. Can you see where this could cause problems? Let's say a minister gets up on a Sunday and speaks out against one of these protected groups (yes sexual orientation is one of them). Then what? Can they be charged with a hate crime? Based on other countries who have passed such laws...yes! So I guess I stand back at this point and say...so if someone commits a CRIME which is punishable, why is it now a HATE CRIME just because who is was commited against?

So now you see why it is crucial to be in prayer about the passing of this bill! You actually can go to the website above and click on a link to see if your local representives are for or against the bill and write them on how you feel they should vote. I just thought this was way too important of a matter to let it slip under the table as so many of these bills do.

Yeah, I know this post is quite political. Yes, many of my readers are scrapbookers, but I figured this is me. Why worry about offending someone reading my blog? If they are reading my blog, they probably have figured out that I am married to a right-winged guy and politics and conservatism is a regualr dinner conversation in our home. That's who we are so why shouldn't my blog reflect that?? LOL! But don't worry....much to Nathan's dismay I'm not turning this into yet another political blog! HaHa! It is still just ramblings of our life with a few layouts and pictures of the kids.

Joey/Auction Update

To everyone's deep sadness, Joey passed this last weekend. I know thatI asked for everyone's prayers before, but can you please remember this family as you go through out your week? They have just been through the unimaginable of loosing thier 12 year old son to cancer. Being able to host this auction has made feel like I am doing at least a little somethign to being some relief to this family. Here is the auction update I posted on 2peas today.

Things are really picking up with donations to the auction!! Yesterday I recieved my first package of donations in the mail (thanks Charity H.!)

Here is a lits to date of donations promised:

-Scrapologie Kits
-3 Disney Paper Bag Albums
-Karen Foster Clikit and tips
-Handmade Cards
-Altered Jewlery Box and altered necklace
-6x6 Chipboard Baby Boy album Basic Grey Oh Baby
-Scrap Items -Altered Scrapper's Idea Book/Journal
-Mini Chipboard Summer Album
-Altered items
-Idea Books
-other items not yet pomised but I don't know what they are sending

Some people have been sending pictures in of the items and I can't wait to share! Such taleted ladies!! Thank you everyone who has offered to donate items to help out in raising funds for Jen and her family. I'm sure that every little bit helps. If anyone is interested in helping out, there is still plenty of time! I just ask that the donations be to me by May 16th so I can get the auction ready and up on the 19th. I will link it once it's up! You can email me at glassslipper02@yahoo.com for any more info or for my address!