Wake Me Up When September Ends

Just recently, we took down our white picket fence
and put up a gorgeous stone wall.
I had #3 pose for a photo
a couple weeks ago next to the wall
and all I could hear in my head
was the 1970's song by The Stylistics,
"I'm Stone In Love With You",
which translated means,
I am crazy in love with you,
which I am with all my girls.



Songs to me, are the very essence of my being.
Every memory I have,
can be traced back to a song,
playing in the background.
Where I was, who I was with,
it's all in my head
intertwined with music.

Sadly, the Green Day song,
"Wake Me Up When September Ends"
will now remind me of this chapter
in my daughter Ryan's ongoing battle with cancer.
Eight weeks ago, she had her 18 month post-chemo CT scans.
We were originally told that everything looked great.
Unbeknownst to me,
my husband was told that there was a "spot" found on her lung,
it was very small, but it was there.
Lord love him, he kept this news to himself for 2 whole weeks
(he didn't want me to worry unneccessarily)
because they couldn't retest Ryan until 8 weeks later
to see if it would grow, we didn't tell her.
So the two of us put up this united front throughout the summer,
knowing what lay ahead come September.
As it turned out,the "spot" has grown, not alot,
but enough to warrant a concern
because of Ryan's history.
She is scheduled to have a lung biopsy in 10 days.
Any good thoughts and prayers you can spare,
would be greatly appreciated.
So...wake me up when September ends.
-Jody

Sunkissed

I was feeling creative last night
so I made this page with some photos
of #2 at the beach last month.
It's amazing what the right photos
along with the right papers
can be such an inspiration.
That doesn't happen very often,
for me at least ;)



#2 is the only one out of my 3 girls
who tans, my others have such
porcelain skin that burns so easily.
She is at the beach right now
and her mama is hoping she is taking some good photos ;)

Have a great weekend!
-Jody

My Girly Little Secret

Hi everyone!
Does anyone remember me telling you
that I have been busy with a project
for the last 6 weeks or so?
Well, I can finally let you in on my secret!

I was approached by the fabulous Ella Publishing Co.
to make 4 layouts for an incredible new eBook called
"Ella's Essential Guide to Scrapbooking Girls."

"Got girls?
This handy-dandy guidebook is here to help you
make sure you capture all the essentials
of who they are—the facets of their lives
and personalities that matter most
—in between all the holiday and event photos
that describe what they do.

We invited five moms of girls (and only girls)
to brainstorm a list of 20 essential “girly” topics
and create stunning layout examples for each.
They offered up their best ideas
for making their girls’ layouts
meaningful, authentic, and unique.
And with 13 daughters, ranging in age from 3 to 16,
these women know a thing or two about
buttons and butterflies,
princess costumes and prom dresses.
Let's get girly!

I am so excited to have had a part
in making this amazing eBook!
Both Angie and Wendy have been so great to work with!

Have a great day!
-Jody

The Same

Guess what?
I made a new page of one of my favorite photos
of our beach vacation and it is the featured layout today
over at Two Peas in a Bucket! :)


Yesterday we spent the day at my parent's house.
The same house I grew up in as a child.
We had visions of relaxing by the pool all day,
laying in the sun in between refreshing dips
into the the same pool I swam in as a child.
But Mother Nature had different plans.
It rained and rained and then it rained some more.

So my girls played the same piano that I played at their age:


and they played the same song I played at their age, "Chopsticks":


and they played with the same dominoes I played with:


while eating the same chocolate cake recipe that I ate as a little girl:


all the while being loved by the same woman who loved me:


You know what they say...
the more things change,
the more they stay the same,
which is just the way I like it :)

Have a great Monday!
As always, thanks for stopping by!
-Jody

What's Up With...

Hi everyone :)
I'm going to sound like a broken record
and say that life is so crazy/busy here
that I haven't had a chance to blog,
much less think in the past week.
Let's see...

What's up with #3:



She (finally!) learned to ride a 2-wheeler!!!
We put off teaching her for so long,
that by the time we bought her a new bike,
she just climbed on and taught herself. lol
I took her and her 2 best friends
to her 1st drive-in movie.
Fun was had by all!

What's up with #2:



We refer to this one as our traveling gypsy,
she has really come into her own
during the softball season
and has made so many new friends.
She is on the go all of the time
or the friends are here, good times!

What's up with #1:

Just a couple things,
as you can see she passed her driving test!
And we got her a car!
She is beyond thrilled
and there is not a teenager
more deserving of a car than her.
She has been through so much in her 17 years.



Yes, I said 17...today is her 17th birthday!!!
I can't believe that on this day,
I would never know love quite like this again:



That was my Dad holding Ryan
on her 1st day home from the hospital.
:::sigh:::

I made a very simple page today with #3,
who turned 10 earlier this summer.
She is such a sweet girl,
truly a perfect 10:



One of these girls can also be found
on page 90 of Creating Keepsakes Magazine!
Can you guess which one?



Ok, I'm off to bake and wrap #1's gifts!
I hope you all have a great weekend!
Thanks for stopping by :)
-Jody

These 4 Girls

I have made possibly
my most favorite layout to date.
Kraft paper + a black & white photo +
aqua/red colors + a sweet quote =
a happy Jody



These 4 girls were such a joy to have on vacation.
They were in an allstar softball tournament
which kept getting rained out shortening
their vacation time with us.
They were troopers in the end (they lost)
but came down late to spend 2 fun-filled days with us.
And the best part was my #2 was so happy!

Here are some fun shots of them in action,
wave jumping:


group hugging:


lifeguard chair posing:


and finally just being girls:


Thanks to T., K. and S.!
I loved being the mom of 6 girls,
even if it was only for 2 days :)

Thanks for stopping by!
-Jody

Can't Beet It!

I have hoarded this BasicGrey paper for awhile now,
and knew I wanted to do a "beet/beat" theme for the title.
And when I saw this recent photo of #1,
the colors went perfectly.
She is only going to be 16 for a couple more days,
she recently got her driver's license (!)
and she is fully enjoying her summer!



Thanks for stopping by and
have a great day!
-Jody

As Promised

Over at Write.Click.Scrapbook the theme was 4x6 photos
and to show how we like to use them on layouts.
The page I created was my favorite photo
from our recent trip to the shore.
It is of #2 and I truly think
she has never looked more beautiful!
I still cannot believe she is 13!



Thanks for stopping by
and have a great day!
-Jody