A Stamper's Perspective...

Sorry that I've been away so long...

Dear friends,

My sweet hubby and I just returned from 3 glorious weeks in Hawaii at about 12:45 am on Friday. At 9 am Friday, I got a call that my dear, sweet aunt had a heart attack the night before. She passed away that night. The very next day another one of my aunts (on the other side of my family) passed away, so I got back on a plane on Sunday night and I am back in St. Louis again...for the third time this year.

As soon as I get home and get back into a routine, I hope to get back to stamping and and give my blog some much needed attention. I do appreciate your patience and prayers in the meantime.

Blessings beyond measure, Lauri

Happy 27 Years Darling!

Wow! Where do the years go when you are having so much fun? It's hard to believe, but it was 27 years ago today...the first day of spring, that I married my sweetheart. He's been the biggest blessing to my life and we are still madly in love.

A special note to my wonderful husband...Thank you for being such a wonderful husband and father, for being my rock when I need you, for comforting me through difficult times, for letting me vent when I am frustrated, for bringing so much happiness and joy to my life, but most of all, thank you for being the very best friend that I've ever had. I love you!

Here we were 27 years ago...oh to have that skinny little body again.

Here we are now...a bit older, a bit heavier, but totally happy and still in love!

Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to hug the ones you love today!

Big hugs to you all ~ Lauri

February Was a Long Month

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your patience with me over the past month. My dear Nana took quite ill and I ended up taking two trips to St. Louis spending over half of February there. The first trip was to go see her with hopes of her getting better. The second trip was to go be with my family as we laid her to rest. It was a difficult month, but she is no longer in pain and she is with Jesus and my beloved Grandfather.

I have been doing some stamping and have some fun things to show you.  However, I have a few commitments that I need to fulfill first and then I will actually be so happy to get back to "blogging" again! If you recall way back in January, I mentioned that I had been hired by Sherrill Graff (my upline) to make some projects for her...well, I'm behind schedule due to my trips to St. Louis, so I need to get going in full gear for that project and get ready for stamp clubs this week. I hope to have some time to get out my trusty camera and get some things up for you real soon.

Have a blessed day! Lauri

I'll Be Out for Awhile...

Just a quick note to let you know that I'll be gone for awhile; I have no idea how long.  My dear Nana is not doing well, so I'm traveling 14 hours to St. Louis with my parents and one of my sisters to go see her. We leave tomorrow morning. I will have very limited access to the internet and no access to anything stamp related. I covet your prayers for my Nana and for safe travels.

Blessings to you all ~ Lauri

Happy Birthday Melissa!

My oldest 'baby' is 25 years old today! Wow! That means I'm starting to get a little on the old side.

Melissa, Dad & I hope you have a wonderful day today. We're sorry that we aren't able to be there to celebrate on your actual birthday, but I hope these photos bring back some fun memories for you.  I love you! ~ Mom

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

My baby is 19 years old today! Wow! Where did the time fly?

Happy Birthday Crystal...my world is a better place because of you!

Love, Mom

My baby back then...
 

My little artist at 3 years of age...

My beautiful daughter now...

What a Summer!

Let's face it, summer always seems to fly by, but when you add an out-of-town wedding, Stampin' Up! Convention in Salt Lake City, and packing/moving your baby to go off to college, it was worse than usual. We just got our daughter settled in her apartment last week, so we are now "empty nesters".  It's been a very weird transition. The house is so quiet and the only messes to clean up are the ones that we make. There are no more guests staying until late hours of the night and no one coming in late at night. After raising 3 children for the past 24 years, I'm starting to adjust and actually like my quiet house. Besides, when I need the noise, laughter, and fun, I have a 2-year-old grandson to fill in the gaps.  :)

Please forgive me for falling so behind in my posts.  I haven't stamped much with everything going on and I'm actually taking on some huge house projects now that the kids are all gone. I did just start hostess clubs again last night, so I'll post projects soon. My camera is at my daughter's apartment (oops!) and I'll be retrieving it this weekend.

I leave for Georgia next week to see my awesome friend, Jennifer in just one week! I have so much to do before I leave, so if I don't get much posted, you know why. I'm working on a project for a friend, that I'll be sharing with you when I get back from my trip in late September.

As always, thanks for stopping by.  Blessings beyond measure, Lauri

What An Awesome Father's Day!

Anyone who knows me, knows that the only hiking that I usually like to do is in the mall! It's one of the things that my dh loves to do and I don't go with him very often - he doesn't even get away to go very often.  He's always doing something kind or special for me, so I really wanted to make Father's Day, a day that he would enjoy.  You can all see where I'm going now, can't you?  The kids had their Father's Day with him on Saturday due to their work schedules, so I told him to keep Sunday open for a special day.  We drove our Camaro up to Estes Park with the t-top off - Oh! it was an absolutely beautiful day!  Here are a few photos from our special day - and YES!  I really enjoyed the 3.4 mile hike and I'm looking forward to the next one...just as soon as my body stops aching!

Yes, we were near the edge and it was a LONG way down - but aren't the views just breathtaking?

 

We had lunch on these rocks right alongside a quaint little lake.  It was WONDERFUL!

Now, this photo is just NOT nice. Yes, I fell asleep on the drive down from the mountains. I just couldn't keep my little eyes open any longer. Notice that I'm sportin' my Brighton Shades!

Thanks for stopping by, I hope to get some more of the great stuff we stamped last week up in the next few days.  Blessings beyond measure ~ Lauri

Windsor Tornado

We live about 2 miles from this awful storm that hit our town yesterday. Many of our friends are suffering great loss or the loss of all they had (their homes and businesses).  The power is still off in much of town and much of the area has been closed down due to gas leaks.  Please pray for the people that were hit and those dealing with so much loss. Anyone wanting to help is asked to call the Red Cross at 1-970-226-5728.

My Mother's Day Gift - WOW!

This past Mother's Days has to be one of the best yet!  On the actual day, all three of my children (they're grown, so I feel funny calling them children :) came to celebrate the day with us.  My son, Anthony, brought me the most gourgeous coral color roses.  My oldest daughter Melissa, her husband Brock and my little grandson Ryan brought me some precious cards and "coloring".  My youngest daughter Crystal, gave me a beautiful card and promised me a present when she was finished with it.  It was just a beautiful day and so nice for us all to be together! 

Well...a few days later, I came home to this incredible likeness of Crystal on my kitchen table.  This self-portrait of Crystal is what she made me for Mother's Day.  The next day, I called my dear friend Pam and asked her to meet me at Hobby Lobby to find a frame and an easel.  Isn't it perfect?  The red in the frame really captures the red in the photo.  Thanks Pam! The frame was easy, but I couldn't find an easel that worked anywhere.  I wanted an easel to display this portrait at Crystal's graduation party on Sunday evening.  It was so frustrating to not be able to find what I had pictured in my mind.  I really wanted Crystal to see how very special this gift is to me.  This was all happening while I was trying to run all of the last minute errands to be ready for all of the out-of-town company and the party. 

The night before the graduation, my dear friend Carn called, and she had found one at Pier 1.  She went there on Sunday morning - the day of the graduation and brought it to our house before the party started!  Isn't it perfect?  She was my angel this weekend!  Thanks Carn!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your day is filled with blessings beyond measure! ~ Lauri

 

 

The Carpet Came Today!

It's hard to believe that the carpet was installed today.  I've waited for over 11 years  to get carpet in my master bedroom!  If that's not patience, I'm not sure what is.  We've had carpet scraps and an area rug scattered over the OSB flooring.  My feet are so excited that they can hardly stand it.  LOL!  Here's the carpet in the Family Room.  Notice the little curtain that I made for the entertainment center.  There's not good way to add a door, so I made this curtain.  I'll take some more tomorrow, if we get some good daylight - it's supposed to snow again tomorrow.  :(   Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you wonderful mothers out there!  Go have the day that you deserve!

This is one of my favorite photos of my mom and me when I was young!  Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Remodeling Update

As you can tell, I haven't done much stamping lately.  We've been doing a ton of painting and touch-up painting.  The vinyl for by the door arrives tomorrow and the carpet is scheduled for install on Monday...cross your fingers, toes, and eyes with me.  :)

Here are a couple of photos for you to see the where we're at. Stan has completed the "floor rising" and we're just waiting for the carpet to cover up the boards.  What a difference!  WOO HOO!

Thanks for the sweet comments that I've been getting. Crystal graduates one week from this Sunday and it looks like we'll only be lacking the trim work - that works for me!

Thanks for stopping by! ~ Lauri

Let's Give A Shout Out to Stan!

Those of you in my hostess club, know what a pain it was to have that one step going down into the family room.  Take a look at this!  My wonderful hubby,Stan, has been building up the floor, so we won't trip up OR down anymore. LOL!  The next step is primer on the walls, then paint on the walls, then we'll finish the floors!  WOO HOO!

I actually made a cute little project yesterday.  I hope to get it posted for you later today!  Thanks for stopping by!  Until we stamp again ~ Lauri

Under Construction!

It's been an interesting week around here.  We are in the process of remodeling the dining room/family room, which is where I had the majority of my stamp stuff and hold my classes.  It's been a chore to move all of my "goodies" during this process.  They've ended up in three different rooms due to having so much fun stuff. 

My next hostess club is in June, so we're "hoping" to get most of this done before then.  We may be lacking new carpet, but we hope to have the walls painted and the floor built up so no one will trip on that half-step anymore!  WOO HOO! 

Here are some photos of where we are currently.  I thought those of you who are in my hostess clubs and those who've been to my house, my want to follow along in the process.  Thanks for stopping by ~ Lauri

Take a look at the stairs - ALL of the ugly holes and glass blocks are gone - YEAH!                              

As you can see, the only items of mine that remain, are my bulletin boards, a few shelves and my tables/chairs.  The rest of the stuff is for the wonderful guys working on drywall for us!  They're also doing some work in our bedroom upstairs.  It will be so nice to finally get this done!

I'm still working on paint colors, but I'm leaning towards a nice tan (a little darker and richer than Creamy Caramel) with an accent of a moss green (somewhere in the neighborhood of Mellow Moss). I'll let you know when it's done!

Why You Haven't Heard From Me

My dear stamping friends,

For the past several months, I've been experiencing headaches in my left eye and I started seeking medical attention about a month ago.  This past week has been a long and difficult week for me. I'm still not doing well as I write this letter, so it will be short.  Last Saturday I got one of the headaches and it turned into a migraine that ended up lasting over 60 hours and had an ER visit part way into it.  I've never had this happen before.  (I have a deep sympathy for those of you who struggle with these on a regular basis.)  I've had an MRI on my brain and we're thanking the Lord that everything is okay.  They think that I just have migraines and are putting me on some meds to try and prevent them.  I am having to make some lifestyle changes/eating habits that make me sad (no caffeine is the big one), but in the scheme of things, life is beautiful and I'm so thankful that caffeine and some food items are all that I have to give up.  I'm currently on some nasty steroid drugs (tomorrow will be my last day - yay!) and I'm dreadfully tired still.  I'm still a bit light sensitive, so it's time to get off of the computer. 

On a lighter note, I do have some lovely items that some of my dear friends have stamped for me that I've been dieing to share with you.  When I'm up to it, I'll post them.  Thanks for stopping by.  ~ Lauri

An Extended Stay in California

...I don't usually babble on about personal stuff, but this was such a wonderful trip that I had to document it. 

As I mentioned, in my previous post, I am finally home.  The conference actually ended on Jan. 12.  On the 13th I flew to San Jose and met my hubby, who was there to take a training course.  I took that time to relax, shop, and update my blog.  We took one afternoon and went to a charming little town called Half Moon Bay.  We walked through the shops and then went to a cute little lighthouse. We walked around the grounds and had an incredible view.  It was ashame that we didn't have more time.  There was a path to a lovely little beach that was just crying for company.

This photo turned out SO COOL.  If you look to the right of the photo, you can see Stan's and my shadows on the cliff below us!  Isn't this little beach just dreamy?

Here we are together.  Awww.

Stan purposely planned for us to have dinner in a restaurant overlooking the ocean at sunset.  We ate at a place called Sam's Chowder House.  This was the lovely view that we had during dinner.