A weekend get-away!

Hi everyone!  Today I would like to share some photos that I took at Arrowhead Lake a couple of weekends ago.  It was a girls get-away weekend, and was so serene, beautiful, and a wonderful time to share with my family and best friend, Barb!

We have been invited to Barb and Jimmy's cabin at Arrowhead Lake for years - ever since Katie was a little girl - and have always had a wonderful time there!  This weekend was no exception!!

Barb has decorated their cabin and it's surroundings with so many wonderful and whimsical touches - here are just a few:

Barb welcomed us with a wonderful (and healthy!) snack:

Anne wanted to ride her bike, and Barb has bikes there for everyone, 

so off we went:

I always love that smile!

The area by the pool was so pretty, and it was a beautiful day: 

Here's Anne, Karen, and Barb:

Karen caught me doing what I love - taking lots of photos:

 . . . and the scenery we enjoyed was absolutely gorgeous!

The next day we took a little walk to the stream behind their cabin:

Can you see the trout?

and we visited the new lodge at Arrowhead Lake that was just built:

And here we are, just relaxing:

What an amazing time we had.  It was just what Anne and I needed!

Afterards, I wanted to scrap a photo, so I picked one of my favs!  I used Heather Landry's newest sketch as the basis for  my page:

And I thought Color Me Scrappy's latest color scheme was perfect:

So . . . without any further ado, here is the layout that I created:

You can get a free digital template of Heather's sketch and see more of what her design team created at her blog - check it out here!

And if you are interested in winning a prize and having some fun, head over to Color Me Scrappy for their current challenge.  The twist this time is to use mists or paint on your layout!

Thank you so much, Barb, for having us at your cabin!  I can't tell you how much Anne and I enjoyed it!  And thank you, Karen, for always being the best and most wonderful sister, aunt, and friend!  We had a wonderful time!!!!!

 . . . and thank YOU for stopping by my blog today!  We are having cooler weather, but it is supposed to be sunny today.  YEAH!

Happy Mother's Day!

Hi everyone!  I just got an e-mail from our adoption coordinator - the woman who was our social worker when we were adopting Anne from China.  She sent a beautiful message about moms and it prompted me to want to write this post today, in honor of all the mothers, aunts, Godmothers, and caretakers in the world!

Here is the quote that she sent in her e-mail message yesterday:

"A mother is one with the heart and empathy to see in us our greatest strengths and hopes while supporting us in difficulty and recovery." Mother's Day is a time for us to reflect on the support our mothers have given us over the years, how their impact on our lives have made us who we are today."                               ~Dr. Weil

My mom was amazing and brought up twin girls (me and my sister) along with my older sister and younger sister without even batting an eye.

Here she is holding my older sister, Cathy:

Here she is at a party - she is pregnant with my sister and me!  My older sister is standing in the front of the photo.  This was at her birthday party!

 . . .and here she is holding us:

Here is a favorite photo of my mom holding me (I broke my leg at age 3) with Cathy and Karen in the foreground.

Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of my mom holding my younger sister, Patty!  She came 12 years after Karen and I were born!!  But here is a favorite family photo of all of us:

(Can you guess which one is me?????)

And the photos I shared last Mother's Day - one of my holding Katie on her baptism day, and one of me holding Anne when she was first placed in my arms in Changsha, China!

Katie, Anne and me  - taken on Mother's Day 2011:

And a more recent photo, from 9/2012, of my girls, Aunt Karen (who is a second mom to them!) and me:

In conclusion, I would like to share a layout that I made yesterday featuring a photo of a daffodil that I took!  Spring has finally sprung here in eastern PA and I am so very happy!

And I am leaving you with a Mother's Day miracle!  I planted a bleeding heart last year that I thought didn't make it!  I absolutely love bleeding heart plants and is a favorite memory of my mother's garden growing up! I found a small plant smiling at me yesterday! YAY!!!!!

Thank you all for stopping by my blog!  I really appreciate your visits and friendship.  Have a wonderful day!

Color Me Scrappy!

Good Morning!  Today I would love to share Color Me Scrappy's current challenge with you, and it is an awesome one!

Here is the color palette:

and the sketch: 

Fun, huh?  I decided that I wanted to scrap photos from Easter this year.  I used the beautiful Prima Sunrise-Sunset collection for my background paper.  I thought it was perfect for these colors!!

Here are the photos that I took during the egg hunt of Anne and her cousins:

And my completed page:

Some close-up shots:

 These crystal flowers are from the Hydrangea Hippo!

If you love this color palette like I do, and are in the mood for a fun challenge and a chance to win prizes, head on over to Color Me Scrappy! The current challenge runs through May 14, 2013.

It looks like it is going to be another beautiful spring day here in eastern PA!  I hope that you are all having a wonderful day, and I want to thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and visit my blog.  We are headed up to Penn State to bring Katie home for the summer.  I can't even tell you how excited we all are!!!!!