Miracles Momma Designs Sketch/Template #20!

Heather's sketch this week is amazing! Here it is:

If you have a chance, go check out her blog at http://miraclesmommadesigns.blogspot.com/!  You can see all of the layouts the design team created there.  Awesome job everyone!!!!  I love how there are so many different interpretations of the same sketch!!  I really like them all, so much. 

Here is my take:

I love this photo of Katie as she was getting ready to walk in to her high school graduation ceremony.  I still can't believe that I am saying those words!!!  But believe it I must, so I decided to use Heathers amazing sketch to preserve this wonderful memory for Katie.

If you have a minute, head on over to Miracles Momma Designs and take a peak at the layouts Heather made (both digital and traditional) along with the rest of the design team!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Thank you SO MUCH for stopping by my blog.

Your Smiling Face

One of my favorite songs of all times is "Your Smiling Face" by James Taylor.  We (my husband, my friends Barb and Jimmy, and my sister, Karen and her husband) went to see him in concert at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia in 1997 . . . and he played that song!!!  Karen and I were thrilled.  WOOHOO! 

Here is a layout that I made using this song as my title:

I was inspired by a layout I saw on scrapbook.com made by Debbie Weinhold entitled Wild Flower!  I found out that her page was made for the design team at "My Creative Sketches," so I went to their blog and found this fun sketch for the month of June:

They have monthly sketch challenges - if you are interested in participating, check out their blog here!!

But the biggest inspiration for my layout is that great big smile of Anne's!  Isn't it contagious?  The pictures were taken at school as part of their "Spring Portraits" and I think they did an amazing job!  My school pictures at that age were not so great . . .LOL!!!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today . . . . . . . . have a great Tuesday!

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I just found out that my layout was featured at My Creative Scrapbook sketches!!!!  What a wonderful honor!!!!! Thank you so much!!!!!

Graduation Party

Katie's graduation picnic was last weekend.  I think that I am still recovering from all of the festivities in the past month!  And all of the emotions, too!  I loved the song "Graduation Day" by the four Freshman and have been singing it all day today.  Katie is off to her friend Ryan's grad party - I am feeling so many mixed emotions - very bittersweet day for me.

We are lucky and blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family who came to Katie's party last weekend to help share in our joy and happiness!

Here are some pictures that I would like to share with you:

We got an enormous pinata:

The big kids and younger kids enjoyed it!!!

Here's Katie with all of her friends:

Being silly:

Family and friend photos:

Pool pictures:

Graduation bubbles:

Graduation gown:

After pool pics:

Yummy treats made by Grammie and Aunt Bernice:

Thank you all so much for your support of Katie throughout the years! 
Thank you Aunt Karen, BA, and Kim for sending me the wonderful pictures that you took, too!

Families With Children From China Camp!!

I have some pictures that I would like to share with you!!!

Anne and I recently went on a weekend camping trip and had an amazing. It is sponsored by Families With Children From China in NJ.

 For more information about Camp FCC, go here!

Arriving at camp:

Anne and I  got there just in time to have dinner and to see the Chinese dancers:

Beautiful costumes:

The next morning, we got up for breakfast, then each group met their counselors:

Awesome demonstration from the local zoo:

And the moms did some rock climbing again - wow!!!!!

Here's Julia!  She climbed TWICE!  Now that's what I call dedication!

and Barbarann:

Do I look scared?????

And our friend Lisa made it to the top - WOOHOO!!!  Way to go, Lisa!!!!!

After all of the climbing excitement, we rested while listening to an amazing talk by Dr. Jane:

(who is Kim's and my new hero, by the way!)

After lunch, we got our swim suits on, but first, did some painting and tie-dying!

The girls had a BLAST swimming.  It was hard to get them out of the sand and water!!!!

We did not forget our crocks this year:

Just look at the slide they had and opened up for the kids to have fun on:

After a quick shower (yes, luckily they had showers with hot water!!), we got ready for dinner and the evening festivities:

The girls enjoyed the camp fire and making S'mores.  (Once again, it was already hot, so the fire was not my favorite thing, especially for someone with hot flashes!  Ha-Ha!)

Anne ready with her head light on:  (this lovely photo was taken by BA!)

Here are all of the moms enjoyed our evening!

Next was the most "funnest" DJ ever:  Here we are doing a dance with just a piece of paper:

And Camilla LOVED the hula-hoops so much!!!!!

But her favorite thing was making her own special sculptures with sticks and rocks.  Here is an example:

The next morning, we all got up for breakfast and bingo. 

 Camilla loved to lead the way - she was very good at it, too!

A very yummy breakfast:

And on to BINGO: 

 Anne enjoyed helping with bingo.

 The first in our group to get BINGO!

It was sad to leave especially after having so much fun and bonding with old and new freinds!

 Bye, Camp FCC!

Bye friends!

 It was so nice to see old friends from last year and to meet new ones this year!  As Julia put it in her e-mail: "Such extraordinary times!"

I hope to see everyone there next year!  (I hear that Ro, Danny, and Julia are going to practice wall climbing so they can get to the top next year - I can't wait to see them do it!)