Where We've Been

• 3 days, 2 nights camping in the desert at Dead Horse Point Utah State Park. Slightly chilly and jacket weather but definitely better than the snow, rain and dreary clouds that we left in Provo. We survived a miserable first night of constant strong winds and freezing. The next couple of days were beautiful. We all came home sporting sunburns.

• Spent time with our close friends the Lilywhites. Reminscing about that first time we met. They sat next to us in church. Beau introduced me to Kirt, telling me that they were in the same major. Little did we know that 9 years laters and 8 kids between both families, they'd both be getting their doctorates together in Robotic Vision - Engineering and looking at starting a business together after graduation. These are the best kinds of friends.

• Getting messy. Nothing is greater than watching your kids get dirty, kick off their shoes, throw rocks, make mud pies from the red dirt, run hard, climb rocks, hike, and fall asleep exhausted for the nights.

• Family hikes and bike rides in another one of God's amazing creations. Red dirt, sand, cliffs, the Colorado River, cactus, lizards, bluffs and the desert sun.

• Dutch Ovens... yummy breakfasts, chili and cornbread, Honey BBQ Chicken and rice, and our new favorite - popcorn.

• Car rides listening to Ramona and Beezus. We've decided that although we loved these books as children. They were not fun to listen to now as parents. The lady reading the audio book did too good of job and it felt like we were listening to our own whiny, arguing kids, non stop for 3 hours. Too close to home. We'll take Lemony Snicket instead!

• Sick little girl. Poor Mirian didn't feel good the second day. She had a tummy ache, was tired and we wore her good spirits right out on the hike. Luckily the next day she was back to normal running, climbing, digging and playing.

Just ones of those great family memories. Small mini vacations are just perfect, especially when it involves sleeping in a tent, and no showers.

Little Lambs

About a month ago we had the chance to go to Idaho and spend a weekend with both sides of our family. It was an awesome weekend! At the end of our trip we were able to spend about a day and a half with my sister and her family. Our kids are always so excited to get together to play with each other. This year they have been on the adventure of raising sheep and goats. We got there in time to help feed about 70 bum lambs and boy did my kids think it was the best thing EVER. They were squealing with delight when they'd have about 10 lambs come up to them at a time sucking on fingers, the bottle or nibbling on their pants.
This little girl was besides herself. She was the highlight of my weekend. She would pack these babies around that were just slightly smaller than herself, laughing and squealing with delight. "It's sucking my fingers!" she would laugh with her whole face lit up. She was always the last one out of the barn. The next morning when we woke up the first thing she said when she walked in the room rubbing her eyes was "feed the cows?" "the lambs you mean?" I replied. "Yeah the lambs. Feed the lambs?"

At the last feeding before we left, we were getting ready to leave the barn when she picked one up and started carrying it to the door. "Take it home?" she'd ask. Jeremy would have let us, if we thought we could have raised a sheep in our tiny backyard in the city. We told her we had to leave it here. "It sad," she declared with this sad hopefully expression. "No Mommy, or Daddy." Boy could she melt your heart right then and there. We tried to explain that it would be even sadder if it came with us because it wouldn't get to be and play with all the other lambs. She felt like that was a good enough answer, and didn't break down dad enough to load a lamb into our car for the 4 hour drive home.
It's times like this, that I am sure I don't want to stay in the city forever. I want to be able to have some animals, and have my kids learn to take care of them and learn how to work, even though it would loose all it's excitement and fun after the 2nd or 3rd day. But how can you look at these pictures, and faces lit up and not want some land to run around on get dirty in, with a few cowboy hats to wear, animals to feed, and live a bit slower paced life than in the city.

Since we couldn't convince dad to bring any lambs home... maybe we can still convince him that we need a few of these since we are allowed a few with our city ordinances. :)

Raise the Praise Printable

After my Life Lesson post on April 4, 2011, I decided to make me a little reminder to frame and hang within my constant view. It's a saying that was on my sister's wall, that I've always loved. I thought I would share it with you as well, if you need a little reminding.

Life Lesson

My little girl is turning 6 soon. How time does fly. She is so excited about her birthday and has been asking for a birthday party for weeks. She wanted to know if she could invite Jenny, a girl from her school class. Her face lit up and was so happy when I said yes. Every day since, she has asked about the party and exclaimed how excited she was to invite Jenny. She has reminded me over and over to make sure that we make invitations today so she could take it to Jenny during school and to make sure that I put on there directions on how to get to our house because her mom wouldn't know.

I smiled at her pure delight and enthusiasm for that special day and the excitement of inviting her friend to the party. I kept thinking how glad I was that she had a really good friend at school that she wanted to invite and that she felt like was her friend.

Today after making the invitation and while eating lunch though, she opened my eyes to the real picture. "Jenny is always mean to me," she commented, having that look of introspection. It took me back. Why was she so excited to invite a girl that was mean to her? "Do you know why she is mean to you?" I asked. "No" was her answer.

"Do you play with her at recess?"

"No I play with Aslan."

"Would you feel bad if she didn't end up coming to the party?"

I wanted to know, not sure how this Jenny would feel about the party if she was constantly mean to her. She thought about it for a minute, smiled and shook her head no.

She jumped in the car clutching the invitation because she didn't want to forget it, rode all the way to school and declared, "There's Jenny!" when we pulled up to the school. She bounced out of the car and skipped over to the kids heading into the classroom, and I watched as she timidly approached her, and followed her into the school.

I left with my mind full of questions. Would she give it to her? Would Jenny be rude and brush the whole idea aside? Would she be happy and excited that Mirian invited her? Would she come? but the question most of all... "What makes this daughter of mine be so excited to invite someone that is mean to her all of the time to her special birthday party.

I left with my heart breaking that yes my children aren't exempt from being hurt in the world. They will be teased, they will have others be mean to them, and life will not always be easy. It about kills a mother to think that her kid she loves so much, is experiencing these hard things, but in the moment I saw a huge part my husband and I must play. A part of being a builder. Of making sure that there is no meanness, hurtfulness, or criticism coming forth from my lips and mouth out of frustration and impatience.

Every day they hear how they are not good enough, smart enough, pretty enough or popular enough. They are told where they are lacking. They are told to do better, they are asked why they keep making this same mistake over and over. They are being torn apart but other heartless comments, remarks and things that kids say. They may not have much self worth left when they are finished for the day.

Do the need to come home and get the same thing? Irritated voices, frustrations at their weaknesses, impatience and reprimands?

No.

They need to be able to come in the door of our home and be able to breathe a huge sigh of relief. They need to know they are loved by everyone in that home. They need to hear how much they are loved and how great they are doing. They need to hear appreciation for helping out and how well they treat their siblings. They need to be complimented on everything and develop a sense of worth and ability. They are not perfect because they are children, they are just learning, and they need that room to make mistakes and not be torn down. They need to feel like they can make mistakes and will be built up and become better from them. They need our love. They need to know they are amazing.

Because they are.

It's not always easy after a long tiring day, and they are doing the same annoying thing for the hundredth time after being asked not to do it... I just need to stop, take a breath, and remember I can either add my comments to the rest of the world or I can help erase the rest of the worlds comments.

I'm a little anxious to see how it went at school with Mirian... she is far better than me to reach out in love to someone who has not shown it to her. And when she comes home I can make sure I let her know how much I love her and how amazing she is.

Do I need Photoshop?

My cousin asked recently in a comment if she really needs to get Photoshop in order to do Digital Scrapbooking. No you don't have to. But.... if you really want to be able to do all the cool things that are out there, create your own papers, use styles, brushes and honestly do all the fun cool things... then yes. You can create basic layouts in Word, which can be really tricky. You can do it in other Photo editing programs as well such as Paint Shop Pro, or Microsoft Digital Image. But honestly... if you want the best and want lots of options and tools then Photoshop Elements is the only way to go.

Many people get confused and think that they need to buy the large Photoshop CS5 for $700.00. WRONG. That program is for designers and people that are creating anything from scratch, do it professionally, and are pro's. If you are just wanting to digital scrapbook all you need is Photoshop Elements.

The newest version is 9.0 and is $79.00 if you get it straight from Adobe. Sometimes you might get lucky and get some version of it with a new printer or other software bundles. But honestly do you need to pay $80.00 and get the newest version?

When I first started, Adobe had released either version 4.0 or 5.0. It was around $79.00 and I could not afford that at the time. We were broke. My boss told me to look it up on the internet and find an older version which would do everything I needed it to, and so I found 2.0 for $20.00. It did everything I needed it to, and I could afford that price. If you don't want to spend $79 then look on the internet for an older version. I just looked up Photoshop Elements 4.0 software and found some on amazon for $30 - new, or $15.00 used. (someone upgraded to a newer version and is getting rid of their older version.) I looked up 6.0 and found some on Amazon for $60 new, or $20 used. There are options out there for cheaper versions if you are on a tight budget. If you feel like you want to go with the newest version because you plan on using it forever and that way it won't become too outdated - go for it.

Photoshop does have a learning curve though, and as my mom found out from getting the digital download version, that there is no instruction book. (Unless she goes to help within the software and reads it on the internet) but even then it won't necessarily tell you how to scrapbook with it.

You might want to consider finding other tutorials, books, or videos that teach you how to use it. One example is Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed: Photoshop Elements that is sold in our store at ScrapGirls. The CEO of ScrapGirls, taught herself how to digital scrapbook using Photoshop Elements, and eventually created a series of 33 videos that teach you all the basics you need to know to create great layouts and use all the tools in Photoshop Elements. It is well worth the money, if you'd really like to learn how to use the program. There are other things out there and available on the internet as well.

At ScrapGirls we also put out a daily newsletter that has tutorials in it to teach you basic skills and fun creative techniques to use in your scrapbooking. It's free and you get free scrapbooking supplies with it too. If you prefer not to get it everyday then you can sign up for the weekly roundup which is a summary of all the tutorials, products, and articles sent out through the week.

It can seem intimidating at first, or out of reach. But there are ways of doing it for an affordable price, and learn how to do what you would REALLY like to do. Honestly, I promise if you were to buy Elements, and then take the time to learn how to use it, you will never regret the purchase. You will use it for everything! Editing photos, creating handouts, making calendars, gifts, and of course digital scrapbooking. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! I'm more than happy to answer them!