Tuesday, January 7, 2014

One Little Word!

Good Morning everyone!  I cannot believe our extreme winter weather here in Nazareth, PA! Our wind chill this morning is minus 22 degrees and our actual temp is 1 degree F!!!!


Brrrrr . . . . . . . .

And I am here today to show you the latest challenge at Challenge YOUrself'!  



This  month, we are featuring "One Little Word."  Each of us on the design team picked our word for the year and made a layout with US in the photo!  If you have not heard about "One Little Word," you can check out Ali Edwards' blog to learn more about it.  I had not heard of it and after reading about it, absolutely love this concept!

Here is the layout that I created:



As you can see, I picked "believe" as my one little word for this year.  Our family has been through so much in the last months of 2013, that I want to believe that everyone will get well and be healthy in 2014!  My mom's condition after breaking her hip in December of 2013 has been deteriorating, but we are trying to be positive and take one day at a time for her.  Seeing her in the intensive care unit has not been easy, but we know that ultimately all things are in God's hands.

Okay,  here are some close ups of my layout:



I stamped the word "believe" using an old stamp that I had in my stash that was given to me years ago! The photo is of me, Anne, and Karen right after we decorated our Christmas tree this past December.  I also used lyrics from Josh Groban's wonderful song, "Believe!"

" . . . believe in what you feel inside, 
and give your dreams wings to fly,
you have everything you need, if you just  . . .
believe."


So please check out Challenge YOUrself to see the February challenge, the wonderful prize you can win, and most importantly, to join in on the fun of scrapping YOU on your awesome layout!  I can't wait to see what everyone creates with OLW!

And now I would like to share some photos with you taken on January 1, 2014.  I took these at a good friends' home:  Barb and Jimmy have been having my family and Karen and Tim over to their home every New Years Day for many years now, and it has become a beloved tradition for all of us!

Barb's home was decorated for the season:






 One of their adorable cats was just relaxing:

 Their tree was beautiful!  As you can see, Santa made a visit to their house, too!


Katie and Anne enjoyed the day, so much!

Katis says: "Thanks, Santa!"

Here's Anne testing her new harmonica:


As always, thank you so much for visiting my blog today.  Please stay warm and safe today.  And have a good one!!!

27 comments:

  1. Love love love your lo!! Gorgeous photos and loving your OLW!! And loveeeeeee your Christmas photos! Looks like a great time!!!!!

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  2. A beautiful layout and lovely OLW. Love the lyrics of the song and always enjoy your photo's. Wishing your family health and much happiness for 2014
    Mary

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  3. Sharon what a great layout and what a beautiful photo of you and your family. Your post really moved me and I am now copying those song lyrics onto my desktop.... great word.... Believe!

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  4. Sharon what a lovely layout, the colors and the picture are perfect I really love it. Your word is fantastic BELIEVE keep us alive and going on, so with your word all the bad things will go away. Send all my love to your family and some warm weather from Chile!!

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  5. Wonderful layout! I like your word for the year! Hopefully things turn around soon for you!

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  6. Beautiful LO and pictures! Believe is a great choice. I've picked Enjoy for 2014. (2011: Balance, 2012: Celebrate, 2013: Try).

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  7. Great LO- I love the word you chose!
    Stay warm, my friend!
    (and thanks for visiting my blog!)

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  8. I'm so glad to see Katie! Awesome layout, word, belief. It was -7 when I went to work this morning. (Warming up tomorrow!)

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  9. Brrrrr! That is cold....love your Chrissy photos & that believe stamp is gorgeous, even if it is old !!!!!!! I'm so not good at those one little words!!!! But I'll hopefully give it a shot:):) love ur page...got a lovely vintage feel to it:):))))

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  10. Hi Sharon, Here i am sitting in such warmth and there you are with such extreme cold.. that temperature even sounds cold.. love the idea of the challenge.. I really should put it on my to do challenge list for the month!! Love your layout and love your word too.. If only we would believe I think God could do so much more in our lives.. speaking for myself..! and your christmas photos are gorgeous.. love the wreath. and no wonder you use wintery ornaments with your colder climate! have a good day.. keep warm!!

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  11. Happy New Year to you Sharon! I can't believe all the crazy weather so much of the US is experiencing and I do hope things warm up quickly, soon for you all! Such a beautiful layout about your word, which is also such an encouraging word too. Looks like you've had some cherished memories over the holidays. Stay well!

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  12. Oh my Sharon, I love your colors there in your layout! So soft :)
    Great layout, just great <3

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  13. I love to see all your holiday photos. Your layout is amazing. I believe with you for your mom's recovery. I love all of Josh Groban's music.

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  14. Your layout is beautiful!! I love Ali's OLW and I am on my fifth year of participating!! So awesome that you commit it to a scrapbook page :)

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  15. I love your layout and your word! Super cute pics. Happy 2014, my friend!

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  16. Happy New Year Sharon, it was freezing cold here too. Today is finally warm and the kids got to back after 3 extra days off due to the cold. I'm enjoying the warm sun and quiet house today.
    I'm so glad you have a OLW and I had this word 2 years ago, still love this word. I hope good things for you and the family this year.
    So sorry to hear about your mom, that must me so hard on all of you. Hugs and prayers sweet friend. My poor grandma is sick and still weak from it, I had to help her get dressed the other day and she is always so cold now. Poor thing. Keep us posted on how she does please.

    Sharon, I love the layout with your word, super cute picture and just love everything about the layout.

    Hope it's getting warmer there too. Thanks so much for the visit and excitement over my new bookcase. I just bought a couple more new things, hoping to really organize my space and make it pretty. WHo knows I may even start scrapping again, lol.
    Take care !

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  17. I hope you guys will warm up soon. Those temps are just beyond my comprehension. I was whining because we dropped down into the teens as our low. Your layout is just beautiful and I love your OLW. I'm keeping your Mom in my prayers.

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  18. Ooooh..your layout has such a warm and cosy feel! :)
    I hope that you and your family are healthy and happy in 2014 my friend.

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  19. Love your OLW! Your layout is gorgeous and I love the vintage feel! Hope things have warmed up and your mom is doing better!!

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  20. I love all of your photos! Beautiful memories. I hope your Mom recovers completely and that your OLW will make 2014 happen. Beautiful LO Sharon! And love the meaning behind it.

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  21. Happy New Year Sharon! Your layout is beautiful, and so is your word - believe. I wish you all the best in 2014, and hope your mom feels better soon! Hugs!

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  22. Great page and great photos! The photo of the glass wreath in the window creates a really neat perspective. Sorry to hear that your mom has been so unwell...sending you hugs.

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  23. Such a beautiful layout and I love those photos too, fun!

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  24. sooooo wonderful picture my friend happy new year and creative year!!!!so sorry that your mom feeling not good I hope she will feel soon better !!!
    about your design This layout is absolutely BEAUTIFUL love so the layers !!
    Big hugs carla

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  25. Such a gorgeous word and such a fabulous page to match! Love it! ;-)

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