and that's what you missed ooonnnn GLEE!

Anybody been scrapping lately? I love this pic of Sarah and it just makes me so sad that she is growing up so quickly!This pic of me and my sister CRACKS me up! I did this layout for the Scrapping the Music Challenge. I think it turned out really fun! I used December Studio Calico's Orchestra kit. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Studio Calico?
A Must See

Do you watch it? Do you LOVE it? Oh my goodness, every week it just gets better and better. I though last weeks was SO real and touching when the "no baby" secret came out. Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester) did an AMAZING job with that scene. SO real!

This weeks episode was the finale until APRIL and everything about it made me smile. You HAVE to watch it. April can't come soon enough!

I am so happy everyone in our house is FLU FREE and feeling 100%. John never got sick thank goodness cause he was a GODSEND when I was sick. Love him!

During all of that sick time we managed to get our holiday pics done. My friend Kelly Noel did a wonderful job as usual. Here are a few of my favs!

My sister and her family and us

me and my sis

Sarah with her cute cousins Aidan and Emma

Sarah - isn't she cute??

me and my LOML

us :)

There are so many more awesome ones :)

Enjoy your week!

Catch up!!

Hi blog, I'm Erika, remember me??

A few pics to catch up.. not many words.

Check out this AWESOME cake my sister made for Sarah's 5th bday party. She is so talented! Love you Les!

Halloween:

Camping:

Feast at school - my little pilgram

The flu.

That's what we have been up to.. how about you????

Happy Scrappy

I've been pretty scrappy lately! One of those most exciting thing in my scrappy life were 2 emails I got from Scrapbook Trends Magazine saying they wanted to PUBLISH 2 of my layouts. OH YEA BABY! I can't even believe that I little ole me will have 2 layouts in print in a magazine. Exciting right?? The magazine will be published in March 2010. Thanks Scrapbook Trends for making my day!

My final layout for my Guest Design team work at Scrapping the music was really fun to make! It came together to easily. don't you love it when that happens. Thanks STM for the opportunity to be a part of your Amazing DT even if just for a month! Come over and take the challenge!

Finally in my scrapping life the November Kit at Studio Calico is available for purchase now. **sigh** I love SC. I know I have said it before but the owners, staff and design team are amazing. Plus the online community and support are top notch. Check it out! You can get $10 off this month by using the code FF720. Don't let THAT $10 go out the door!

Here a a couple more LOs I have done lately!

For the previous Scrapping the Music challenge GDT:

I LOVE this old pic of my nephew!

and look at my niece on her first B-day! So precious!

Me.. as Octomom

My friend Kelly had an adult only Halloween party for our Mom's group! It was SOOO much fun. The costumes were hilarious and clever! John and I went as Octomom and her sperm donor. Lovely huh?

lots more to update you on but thought you would enjoy a peek at our craziness!

Life.. it's precious.

In Memory Of Julia

Tragically last year, my friends Jackie and Bob lost their 18 month old daughter Julia. Her cause of death was never discovered therefore putting it in the category of SUDC (Sudden Unexplained Death in Children).This weekend I was part of an amazing event honoring Julia's life. Jackie, Bob her family, friends and my (and her) Mom's Group organized a 5K race and 1 mile family fun walk called Julia's Run for a Reason to raise funds for SUDC. The amount of people that came out to support the cause was overwhelming. 352 registered racer/walker - WOW! We raised over $15,000 for the SUDC. The race went off without a hic-up. It was just wonderful to be a part of such an amazing event honoring a wonderful little angel and her family. Here is Sarah with her metal she won for being one of the first 60 kids to cross the 1 mile finish line. She was so proud!

Let's talk about Scrapbooking. First off, as you know I am the guest designer at Scrapping the Music this Month. I Love this weeks song! You are the Best Thing by Ray Lamontagne . HOW FUN! Here is the LO I created

Guess what the man in the Brown truck delivered to me on Friday?? My October Studio Calico Kit. I have been swooning over it so excited to dig in and get started! Here is the first LO I created using it also for the BASB challenge this week!. I am in LOVE with this month's kit. I think the craft envelopes are my FAV!

Scrapping the Music!

Hey all! Come see me over at Scrapping the Music this month where I am the Guest Designer! This is my first time being a Guest designer anywhere. I am honored! Thanks for thinking of me STM Design team. The weeks Song Inspiration is Gilligan's Island Theme song. Here is my interpretation. Come play along!

Time keep on slipping....

I mean really, where does it go??? I have been super DUPER busy lately. My husband just got back from a "guy's" hiking trip in North Carolina. He encountered 12 black Bears! Whoa! Scary if you ask me! He hiking to the top of Gregory Bald and said that it was a difficult hike.. the hardest he's done. He had fun.. I am most envious of the beautiful weather he got to experience. high 60's during the day. low 40s at night. For me, I was still in HOT Florida :(

A few weeks ago 16 of my Mom's Group friends and I rented a House on Anna Maria Island for 3 nights. I had so much fun! I can't remember the last time that I laughed that much. You know, cramp in the side, cheek hurt kind of laugh. It was something I REALLY needed!

In scrappy news, The layout on my last post of John and I titled You and Me made it into the Scrapping the Music Hall of Fame! I was SO excited. Then I got a message from Mary at Scrapping the Music that they wanted me to be their Guest Designer for October! I said yes of course and WAS tickled pink to have been asked! I can't wait to show you the LO's I make inspired by song Lyrics throughout the month! WOO HOO!!

Here are some layouts I have made in the last few weeks.. mostly using the Studio Calico Sept Kit Cotillion. What a great kit and I have LOVED using it! The first one was for THIS Studio Calico Blog Challenge.

If it's free its for me!

Last week was a wonderful week of FREE entertainment! It was super fantastic!

First off I won tickets to see Disney Princess on Ice - a 4 pack. Since I was already headed to my monthly Pokeno game, my lovely husband took Sarah. Her friend Gabriella and mom used our other 2 tickets. The girls had fun watching the princesses. at least that is what I hear since DH forgot the camera in the car - UG

The best freebie (for me anyways) was one ticket to Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure. That's Chrissy, Faith, Laura, me and Kelly. They send one every year.. one per household...

Lots of my other friends got the free ticket also. We decided to have a ladies day at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. No kids, no husbands, just us. No strings attached. We went on Sunday and man oh man was it a jolly good time! There we NO lines at either park and we were able to enjoy both parks without pushing a stroller, stopping to pee 1000 times or be responsible for anyone else but ourselves. It was Wonderful! We rode the coasters, stopped for a sweet treat, ate lunch at Margaritaville. I think my fav rides were the Hulk and the Mummy.

And back home by 6:30pm. It was a dream day!

Since my last post I got my Studio Calico September Kit Cotillion and been having a great time playing with it! Here are some layouts I have made using the kit. The first layout was for the Scrapping the Music challenge. Hope everyone is doing well! Have a great day!

Family, Friends, FUN!

This weekend was spent making lots of new and fun memories!

Saturday: Scrap, clean, repeat :) College football on in the background. I finished the Lo of my nephew for the title challenge on the BASB blog. And made a yummy salad! Lovely day.

Journaling reads:

When Aidan came over one day, we decided it would be hair day. He decided on a Green Mohawk. Pretty fitting for a boy whose last name is Green. He thought he was the coolest ever!

Tomato Chicken Stack Salad (photo and recipe courtesy of Publix Apron Meals:

Ingredients12–15 fresh basil lea

ves (rinsed)
4–5 fresh It

alian parsley sprigs (rinsed)
1 small shallot (rinsed)
4 large red a

nd yellow (or heirloom) tomatoes (rinsed)
1 Deli chilled

rotisserie chic

ken (plain or flavored)
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup extra-

virgin olive (or avocado) oil
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup crumbled feta, goat, or blue cheese

Steps

1. Slice basil into thin strips; set aside. Chop parsley coarsely and shallot finely. Cut tomatoes into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
2. Remove meat of chicken from bones (discard skin and bones). Chop chicken coarsely (wash hands); measure 2 cups (reserve remaining chicken for another use).
3. Prepare dressing by combining in medium bowl, vinegar, oil, Italian seasoning, pepper, parsley, and shallots; whisk until well blended.
4. Arrange salad on serving plates, alternating tomato slices, chicken, basil strips, and crumbled cheese. Drizzle with dressing and serve

Sunday: Day trip to Manatee Springs State park where we spent some time strolling through the campgrounds, marking down our favorite sites for reference for a future camping trip we may take there . We watched the canoers and kayakers enjoying the beautiful day paddling the Suwanee River. Other park visitors spent time in the cool Manatee Springs on the hot summer Day. Sarah also finally "swung" by herself on the swings at the park playground. She FINALLY got the "bed your knees, straiten your legs while leaning back rhythm and she was a-swinging all by herself (she is almost 5!). Sarah enjoyed an Italian Ice while John and I went straight for the Oreo Cookie Good Humor Bar! YUM-O!

Sunday Evening - Spent at our local hang out, International Beer Garten - great beer with great friends. After that we all went back to one of their houses and the kids got to hang in the pool (some adults had some pool fun too!) More great beer and conversation with AMAZING friends!

Monday - To my Mother In Law's (the best one on Earth I tell you - I am SOOOOOO lucky) for a family party with more pool fun for the kids. We were there when our Miracle cousin Ian got to get in the pool for the first time (he is 5!) Yea Ian!!! Love spending time with the family. Such a blessing to have such a loving family!

I love weekend's like this.. fun, fun and more fun.

So behind

I am sure you all think that it is all doom and gloom around here lately.. at least that is what all of my blog posts seem to be focused on... but it is so not true. SO much fun stuff happening lately!

1. Sarah started VPK (Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten) at a new school at the end of August. I am IN LOVE with her school and her teachers are beyond amazing. Such an improvement over my experience last year with her preschool. Here she is a LO I did of her first day

2. Sarah started dance class last Thursday. WE have been on the waiting list for one of the programs in Tampa and we finally got in (super great rates and terrific program)

3. We booked our 3rd annual winter North Carolina Trip with our friends the Taylor's. This year we are changing locations. For the past 2 years we have stayed at the Cataloochee Mountain Cabin and LOVED it but this year we are going to a different part of North Carolina. This is where we are staying at this rocking cabin.. Doesn't it look amazing??

4. I started nannying the cutest little 5 month old girl 2-3 days a week and she is a real gem. I am enjoying taking care of her and Sarah is LOVING having a baby around. I wish I could show you how cute Sarah is with her!

5. I have been doing lots of scrapping lately. This LO in particular was featured here and it also earned me a spot in the Scrapping the Music Hall of Fame. How awesome is that! Here is a LO I did yesterday about my dad

6. I have been spending time praying for a few of my cyber friends. Zorina and Carrie.

7. Sarah got an ADORABLE haircut

8. I signed up for an amazing 2 day holiday workshop at my LSS, Ruban Rouge. WOO-HOO!!! I love this event so much last year and I can't WAIT for this one.

9. Our cousin Rachel just found out she is expecting baby #2 - Congrats Rachel and Caleb!

10. It's a LONG holiday weekend and we will spend Monday with family! YEA!!!

We had a Dr appt on Friday but I won't go into that now. Happy Labor day all!

If I could hug you all!

Life goes on you know.. I mean really, it does. I have so much to live for, be thankful for! Like thanking my Mom for taking me to the Brunchery for Breakfast this morning. MM is was so good, I had the Brunchery Benedict - YUMMY (Poached eggs on an English muffin with ham, mushrooms, Swiss and hollandaise) . It was so nice to hang out with her and just chat.. We don’t get to do that often enough even though we live 10 minutes from each other. Thanks Mom! I needed that!

I am OVERWHELMED by the support that you all have given us: family, old friends, new friends, cyber friends and perfect strangers. We have received cards in the mail, ecards, beer delivered to our door (thanks Kathy!). Friends taking me out for a drink.. phone calls, facebook posts, Blog comments, text messages, hugs, tears, prayers.. you name it.. I am so amazing by the blanket of support that we have received. THANK YOU. You have NO IDEA how much it means to me (us). One thing that was especially touching was a note I got in the mail from my dad (who lives across the state):

It is all I needed to hear.

A new day

It has been a rough few days. As we try to dig our way out of this pit of unanswered questions, the hardest part for us is the not knowing why. 4 years of trying to grow our family – 3 IUIs, 2 IVF’s, and lots of trying naturally and still no baby. John and I are both reproductively healthy. UGG.

Let me start by saying that I am a FIRM believer that everything happens for a reason and that God only gives us as much as we can handle. But man – it sure is HARD when our plan and God’s plan aren’t the same. I am just not sure what to make of this whole thing.

Here are answers to some questions you are asking.

• Will you have to have a DNC? – I doubt it, I haven’t starting bleeding yet and I was only 5 weeks so my body should take care of it on its own.
• Do they know what happened? No – we have no answers – and probably won’t ever get any.
• Will you do IVF again? Yes we will try once more in January.
• What about adoption? I would LOVE to adopt but we are BLESSED that insurance covers 90% of our infertility treatments (up to 3 IVFs) and ZERO for adoption. So we are going to exaust all fertility treatment options before moving on to adoption. But YES, we will research adoption if we are unsuccessful in January.
• How did Sarah take the news? She was SOOOOOOO sweet. When they Dr office called with the bad news… I was A MESS, crying hysterically. She asked me what was wrong and I told her the baby died. She was gone for a few minutes and came back with a drawing of me holding a baby. I said “Sarah, there is no baby” she said “ I know mommy but it is what you always wished for” She was sad with me and kept saying she wanted a brother or sister. All day I couldn’t stop hugging her. She told me she loved me all the way to the top of her heart. I love that girl
• How is John? He doesn’t know what to think. Angry there are no answers. Just wants to figure out the next steps. Really wants a sibling for Sarah and a another child for us to love. We are just supporting each other through this.

We are so THANKFUL and know how overwhelmingly blessed we are so have Sarah. She brings us so much happiness (and headaches – LOL) and I never knew you could love someone so much. So through all of this we do not lose site in that. There is so much to be grateful for!

Since we are talking about Sarah, look at there cute pics I took of her the other day! They make me smile. I created this Layout for this week’s Scrapping the music challenge.

Thanks everyone, for everything!