2 sleeps 'till Christmas

WARNING: photo rich post ahead!!

The week before Christmas is always busy, but we also have a birthday in our family. Our little girl turned 25 this week....OMG, that makes me feel i like should be old!! And as always we celebrated with a family BBQ at the farm...which means lots of kids and beautiful noise!! LOL...

Here is the family photo of Grandparents, with our 2 kids and their 6 boys....well, the baby (missing) was asleep in the pusher....this is a precious moment all the same!

Then i braved the moment to capture all 6 boys for a Christmas photo shoot....and after many many 'takes' i got a couple reasonable ones!! There was alot of "look this way", "smile", "hey Mace say cheese", "here look"...and "quick mum have you got one yet"!!!

After all the rush of excitement or madness not sure which, this little boy grabbed my 'HoHo' plaque and said  "here Granny take a picture"...bless him, How could i resist??!!

He played real good for me!! LOL!!

And this little face is just delish!! His "cheeese face"!!!

And then my parents arrived from Adelaide, as soon as Dad had his van set up, i was out there, with hats & camera and saying look at me!! click, click!!

Even if i don't get to scrap my mini 14 days till Christmas album, i have clicked the events of the past 2 weeks....and i have loved it. Hope your last 14 days have been exciting....and there's just one more exciting day to go!!

Hope you all have a Great Christmas and Thanks for stopping by and leaving any comments....i always love to see who's popped on by.

Sue xx

@ 6 years

I have finally finished this page that has been sitting on my desk for over a week.....and it appears that i have photographed it on a lean...sorry about that!! This one just kept on growing, with me adding more & more bits n pieces.Now i feel in the scrap mood....keen to start my 14 Days till Christmas mini album..



I have used papers from OA 'Boarding Pass' range, along with some American Crafts tag, flag,brad and paper flower. The cute button is from ormulo, thanks Meredith!!

Hope you can find some time to do some scrapping in this busy week...

Sue xx

7 days 'till Christmas

I am going to do a 14 days before Christmas album (well i hope to- my stay at home January project) and so i have been taking some photos each day.

I have been browsing around on the net, and am seeing some beautiful photos showing bokeh and i am totally awed by them all, so i thought i would try my hand. After many, many attempts, this is my example of blurry 'bokeh' Christmas tree lights....with my new angel.

And of course, i have to document my Christmas card list and letter writing.... i do love to send & receive cards, sadly it is a trend that is fast fading out. I love to receive mail from friends and family from all over the place and read their news from the over the past year. Do you send out Christmas mail??

And just on friday, my backyard blitz continued, with a instant lawn and paving all been completed....just in time for the Xmas day cricket game!! Oh how lovely it is!! (i am a tad excited about it!!!)

So only 7 days till Christmas. What have you been doing in preparation for Xmas?? Whatever your plans, hope it is all going along well.

Sue xx

10 days 'till Christmas

From Day 14 to today  it has been a week full of Christmas parties, seeing the old fella in Red, and all things Christmasy! First we visited the Cummins Christmas tree and this year Eli was very brave and went up on his own. He even went back to have a word with Father Christmas....probably a request. Then the next day was the wind-up at the kindergarten, once again the old fella arriving and leaving the Police car - sirens, lights and all! The kids love that! and there was more party food!

Then i visited the Bishop Kindy to see what this little boy has been making. There was no visit from Father Christmas here, but parents & grandparents are welcome to come to visit, and their child serves them with a honey biscuit that the kids have made prior to this last week. Then Evan showed me all the bits n bobs they have been making. "Here's a heart for you Granny" as he made this from play dough!



And i just loved this Christmas tree all covered and draped in beautiful paper chains that the children have made!! I almost felt like getting some coloured paper and making some for myself!! Oh to be a kindy kid again!!



And then yesterday was the junior primary class parties which i managed to pop into briefly and see the two big boys. They were having so much fun, and who wouldn't be.....everyone loves a party don't they!!
And this was Jacob pulling his goofy face, but hey.......that is kids!! Love them just the same!!

Well, i hope you are surviving the week and joining in on some party fun!!

xxSue

Just 14 days till Christmas....

With just 14 days till Christmas, i am finally starting to feel like getting into the spirit of things....i have made a list. (it is the only way i seem to keep on track this time of the year!!)  So i started this weekend with a little bit of baking. I tried these shortbread heart cookies, along with some Apricot balls. I still have a few other yummies on my list to make. 

Then i got the box of Christmas decorations out and started decorating the living areas. I found these little treasures at the bottom of the box. They haven't made a show in a few years, and they made me reminsce....the beaded ones were made for my kidlets by my grandmother many years ago. So gorgeous they are. Each bead is counted in order and threaded onto crochet cotton prior to commencing the ball, then the pattern begins, crocheting and working each bead in it's place. You know - there is not one wrong bead out of place. My grandmother would have been in her 80's when she made these. These are soooo special. 

The other Christmas balls were made by my two kidlets when they were 5 & 7 ish, each sequin with a pin thru it and stuck into a foam ball....do you remember making them?? So this year i thought they both needed to come out for show, onto a simple gum twig along with a couple candy canes and simple gold bauble or two.....next to my first Christmas card for 2011....handmade by Evan and his Mum.

And then a few other decorations scattered about, the snow ball decorations are always a hit with the little ones in our family, they love to tip them upside down and watch in wonder the snow falling!! Don't you love them too??

So, i have made a start....and finally it's beginning to feel like the festive season around here.

Hope you are getting your decorations out and getting into the Christmas Spirit.

Suexx

Now where did i put that list!??!!

this kindy boy..

It has been all but 2 weeks since i have posted on here!! Where is time going to?? Just a busy time of the year with work, harvest and kids - grandies that is!!

I have finally scrapped today, this Kindy Boy  , grandson no. 4 has started his journey of education and i think he is finding it difficult to adjust to the full days....as they all do to start with. But i am sure he is loving it, but i miss him from not coming to the farm on those days.

This page is using mostly October Afternoons 'Rocket Age' papers and embellies....all very yummy and just perfect for my boy pages!! I was kick started & inspired by Lynn Ghahary's page in the November issue of Scrapbook trends.

Armfuls of LOVE was a page i completed last week for the colour challenge set by Amanda over at Escape2create , come on over and see what we are up to over there. And please join in!

I used a recent photo that my daughter snapped of me with her 3 little boys,  the baby is just a month or so old, and his big brothers just love him soooo much- don't you love the big boys hand is placed on the baby's head??

Well, i hope you are having a great week where-ever you are....we are having a cool day with a bit of rain today, which is not good for the harvesting at all!! Hope for some sunshine again very soon!

xx Sue



LOVE..milk dribble...

These beautiful papers from Lily Bee 'Memorandum' inspired me to bring this page together, along with some Studio calico alphas, sticker and journal note paper....goes so cutely with this dear photo of little Finn at 1 week old, milk dribble and all. Oh so newborn -ish!!

inspired by  anna-maria & Rahel Mening styled pages.

Hope you are all having a great week,

Suexx

boy moments...

In between my night shifts i have been having some fun with some papers!

Little boy moments:

The story of these two little tikes sitting up in the pine tree together. How could i not take some photos of them??

I have used some Studio Calico papers, chip clouds, house, template and Mister Huey's sprays, American Crafts pleated flower, Marcy Penner button, Technique Tuesday stamp, plus a few bits of Cosmo cricket paper strips.

His Bean Bag:

Here on this one i have used more Studio Calico papers, American crafts alphas, pleated flower and tag, October Afternoon label and sticker words, paint splats? flicks are straight from Mister hueys bottles.

Hope you are having a great week,

Suexx 

30 years ago..

30 years ago yesterday i married this man, my friend, the love of my life......and would never in a thousand years think that 30years would come round so quickly!!

We married in the Cummins Lutheran Church with the reception was held at the church hall (like many wedding receptions of that era were) and catered by the ladies church guild. I remember the week before helping mum pluck all the poultry for it....and haven't plucked another chook since!!

It was a warm humid day with a thousand sticky little flies....and by the reception it rained! Actually a bit like yesterday!!

We went on a big adventure to Adelaide for our honeymoon, staying down at Glenelg for 1 week.....we didn't start harvest until December that year....(lucky for that!!) I am not sure a farmer's daughter actually got away with planning a wedding in November to start with!!

Well, 30 years.....fun times, sad times, mad times, allsorts of times....all that makes 30 years, and yes we are still here!!

...and.....There is no other place i'd rather be...

And now for the the journey into the twilight years, the next 30!!

xx

a day on the Green

A day on the Green - Feb 2011 at Clare was a great weekend away with these guys! We had such a fun time and looking forward to doing it all again next year.

I have been into misting and masking lately and have used Mister Huey's 'Lunch Tray' mist on this one. For the butterflies i have used old chipboard shapes which i have had in my stash for some time!! From this page i drew the Sketch challenge for this month over at escape2create....come on over an have a looksie and join in!!

Thanks for popping on by,

Suexx

Snakes alive!!

Saturday i was out gardening with Grandson 1 - Ethan, we were planting some cucumber and squash seeds and he was helping me when we had this incident with a snake. It came up behind us, to within 1.5m from us, and thankfully Rob was around to help us out. I always worry about snakes, kids and the garden together especially during the warmer months.

After a lesson about snake safety with the other boys, we went inside for lunch and Ethan drew this on the computer. So cute and clever it is....we (us adults) had to have a chuckle at Rob's ears and the Hair!!!...and if you look closely there is also grey whiskers on his face as well!! The grey area is the cement along the house where Rob was standing. I just love it -so for the moment this one is placed on my fridge!!

And hopefully that will be the last snake we see in our yard....or is the family still hanging around somewhere???!!

Hope you had a memorable weekend?! Oh and a big HELLO to my Dad if you are reading this, i thought you would love to see this one!!xx

Suexx

the Lizard Hunter...

This one has been sitting on my desk for over a week now, waiting to be put together....and finally out with the scissors and glue and all 'tis complete!! I have used some old BG for background paper, Pink Paislee, Crate Paper, Simple Stories & MM patterned paper. Butterflies from Collections, Alphas -October Afternoon, Marcy Penner badge (thanks Meredith, they are delish!!), apothecary label stickers- 7 Gypsies and a few odd buttons found in my stash. Plus i used some Technique Tuesday stamps in the amongst the journalling....all for something a little different.

Thanks for popping on by,

Suexx

*edit: this one was inspired by a Marcy Penner page.

school holiday fun...

It's been a busy week here in my house... having these 3 boys about the farm each day plus throwing some shifts at work in has sure kept me out of mischief.....


With walks out in the scrub, climbing fences and exploring, looking for birds nests, climbing trees (well, i wasn't, as the fence climbing was a challenge enough for this granny!!) playing tennis - or hitting the ball and chasing it, going for drives around the farm in the ute and each having a turn at 'driving' ....this one Granny has had a full week and it is a sure way to get a good nights sleep!!LOL!!

And one day each of the big boys came into the kitchen "hey granny look what we got" and from my office i came out to find each with a chook in their arms. "take a photo Granny" Mr J said. How could i resist?? My poor chook...she won't lay an egg for a couple days now i bet!! But Mr J looked very pleased with himself!!

After all that activity the appetites are ravenous......bags of apples and frozen chocolate cake is quickly devoured in no time. Frozen chocolate cake is a fav here.....why frozen??...it has been a 'thing' in this house since our neighbour and good friend Annette started it when my kids were small and it has just continued on. Anyway....straight from the freezer....it is eaten before it gets a chance to defrost....and they all love it!!

So that is my first week of the school holidays.....they go home to their Mum now, and i go back to my normal quiet life....but i loved it, loved every damn minute of it!!

Hope you are all having great times during your school holidays,

Suexx

Outdoor room..

After completion of stage one of the kitchen renos and adding a pergola to the back of the house, we decided for the pergola to be a fully usable and purposeful addition to our home we needed to enclose a few of the walls for protection from the winds and weather....as we are situated on a hill every little breeze can easily turns into a gale!!! But at the same time i didn't want the natural light to be totally cut out from the rest of the house.

So this was end of stage 1:

So, in the end, we decided to go with sliding doors and windows on the eastern and western sides, and part walls on the southern sides. I found some used corrugated iron added to the part walls, and polished hard wood as railing on top to add some extra character....and this is how it is looking:

The view from my back door looking out into the garden (which is now ready for it's reno too!!)

I am loving the look of my new area, and now waiting for the addition of some new outdoor furniture to arrive, so then summer here we come, enjoy many a time out there with friends and family.......also possibly the addition of some blinds for the southern 'window' gaps, but at this stage it is not high on the list.

Thanks for popping by,

Hope you are having a nice day..

Sue xx

mini retreat 2011....

I have just had the most awesomest weekend away at the mini e2c retreat, with 37 of the most wonderful creative scrappers!! Totally amazing, i tell you!! I didn't have alot of scrapping mojo....but that is just me and scrapping away from home! But i did manage 4 layouts that i am going to share here with you. And once again my favourite subject.....my grandies....

You little rascal
with some paint splatting, creative cutting, and usage of some yummy washi (wasabi) tape....thanks to the lovely Amanda :)

Welcome
using some chipboard loveliness that i think i purchased at the March retreat!!

lub you baby Binn
i love this little boy when he snuggles in close to his new baby brother and says "lub you baby Binn" .... he can't say love or Finn properly yet. He says this to Finn every day....he is such a cute 2 year old!!
I have used some new Studio Calico chip shapes....oh, their ranges are so yummy!!!

turning four
my orange and brown layout....and when i was browsing around late saturday....Brigette S had also done a page using the same papers and almost the same design....by complete accident!! we laughed alot at that!!

Yes, all in all a wonderful weekend!! Thanks to Amanda & Meredith, my co-organisers....you girls do a fab job and i love sitting with you guys for the laughs alone....and the inspiration!! And to Tanya & Val who shared a table with us too....you girls are so much fun!!

Thanks to Kathryn (and your bunch of lovely helpers) for such yummy food.....i now need to detox or fast for the next week!! You do such a fab job too!!

And today, i am wishing i was sitting on that beach watching the waves again, Trinity is a great venue, and the weekend never seems long enough.........i so love the sea!!!

Hope you all had a great weekend too,

Sue xx

at smoko time...

It has just been shearing time again at our place.....i do love this time of the year! And at smoko time i just had to go grab the camera and snap this shot.....the men sitting on the board with their legs n boots hanging over the edge, cuppa in one hand and a mit full of tucker in the other. As a country girl, i guess you get to take this view for granted....it is just what happens at smoko time. I love to have a cuppa with them and listen to the yarns & stories......and sometimes alot of 'bulls**t' that they also spin..... but that is all part of the shearing shed! This year we had a young english guy in the shed, so it was interesting to hear his way of shearing in England compared to out here.

With this page i have used grid paper from OA 'Boarding Pass' range, some Studio Calico papers, Basic Grey & Jillibean Soup Alphas, Cosmo Cricket label sticker, Mister Huey 'Atmosphere' mist and a few other bits n bobs..

Hope you have been having a good week,

Sue xx

Pop's tractor book...

Basic Grey's 'Life of the Party' papers were just perfect to scrap these two little boys enjoying their Pops' tractor magazine. They so love to go thru these big magazines and see all the different tractors, headers and any other kind of farm machinery. Boys, boys, boys....they all just love Pops' tractor books!!
Hope you are having a great week!

Suexx

off to kindy...

I just had to scrap these gorgeous photos of Evan going off to kindy....so eager, so keen and just the next step in growing up! I have been spending a bit of time going back and forth to the kindy over the past couple weeks, and Evan loves to show me (his Granny) his favourite play areas and all around......and i love to sit on the 'mat' next to my beautiful grandson & the other kids and join in with the end of day singing session!! What fun and special times it is!!

Here on this layout, i have used some Basic Grey 'Life of the Party' papers & alpha stickers, also some of October Afternoons yummy 'Rocket Age' papers and embellishments- they are sooo good for all those cool boy pages!!!

Hope you have all had a good week and thanks for poppping by,

Suexx

Spring is near...

After many cold wintery days and months....it is so nice to see and feel the sunshine again.

When i see paddocks of golden canola out in flower, i know that nature is saying that winter is almost to an end and the season of spring is almost here. And what a warm feeling that is. This view on the way to Port Lincoln has been a favourite of mine for many years....and to actually stop and grab a picture of it was awesome...

i love an old windmill in a paddock, that is the true country girl in me, i think!

And then this one yesterday.... the sun setting over the Marble ranges, a view from our front yard........the golden hew over the green grass, you know it has been a glorious day!! I am so looking forward to more of these beautiful days.


Are you like me and can feel the season of Spring coming???

Hope you have had a great weekend out in the sunshine somewhere...

Suexx

just love your.....smile

This one is a total scrap lift from the cover of Quick & Easy 2011 Scrapbook Trends magazine, a page that i fell in love with instantly! When i saw this page of Mandie Pierce's i instantly thought of the beautiful photos that Tiff did of my grandsons, and i just loved the simplicity and style of it. Thought i would share this one here.

Sometimes one just needs to do a scrap lift to get a kick start again, do you feel like that sometimes??

Thanks for popping on by,

Suexx

Baby Finn

Great excitement here this week...our 6th grandchild, and 6th grandSON arrived.

Finn Ashley Lukin, on Wed 10th weighing in at 8lb 7ozs and he is sooo gorgeous!!


And i love this photo...of Great Grandma...(Rob's mum) with Evan and Finn. Evan is so proud of his little brother!

So cricket it continues to be for this Granny....and thank-goodness i love to play along with all those boys.....maybe another few and we would have a team!! Not sure either of the kids would think that's a good idea!! How blessed am i....to have 6 beautiful healthy boys?!!

Thanks for popping by,

Sue xx

1.2..... & almost 3...

With grandchild No 6 due to arrive anytime now, i felt an urgency to get this one scrapped of Rach and her 2 little boys. I am loving putting together pages with light, bright and fun colours, and lots of bits n bobs....and the Simple Stories papers are just perfect for this mood of mine!! I also used MFT dies for the double scalloped border and the kraft looking doiley.

Patiently waiting we are!!.....

Suexx

hello iggle piggle...

I just had to scrap this gorgeous memory...Evan calling the baby bump 'iggle piggle'. When he was asked by his mum why this name he said " iggle piggle has a snuggle just like me and the baby has to have a snuggle too" ....how sweet, just hope he's not disappointed when the bubs comes along and not called that name!!

I have used the lovely brights from MME Lime twist range 'fly a kite', Bella Bvd alpha stickers, Doodlebug alpha stickers, Fran's ribbon, MFT cloud dies and other bits n bobs..

I had a lovely saturday afternoon scrapping and chatting with a friend, thanks Amanda!

Hope you had some 'loveliness' time with family or friends over your weekend!

Suexx

love you for like ever....

Love you for like ever....

I was inspired by one of the quotes Meredith had up for this month's challenge over at escape2create and with cute little birds with it made me reach for a kaiser stamp set i have had in my stash for some while.

Just love this picture of Jacob on Rob's mum's knee...he has always loved to snuggle up to great granny!

Mr.Cool
This one is for my sketch challenge over at e2c , so pop on over and have a squizz and love ya to join in!! This is another page featuring this cute little fella...our only blue eyed blonde grandson...and when i point the camera in his direction he always does a 'i'm too cool' look!

I have used Basic Grey Wander range, a Maya Road kraft doiley, Crate Paper brad, and a Jenni Bowlin Vellum butterfly..

I had a productive day yesterday....and how good does it feel to have one of those, ey??!!

Thanks for popping by,

Suexx

2 cute @ two

I began this one at Scrapworkz the other night and managed to complete it last night...Yet another pirate page you say!! Yep, this time it is Mace's turn....he was such a cuuute little pirate!! And you should have seen his lovely white ruffle shirt after he gobbled into the chocolate birthday cake....LOL..not so white!! This time i have used some fun Bella 'Paper Boy' papers that i picked up from Spotlight recently, plus some thicker alphas, and a groovy Sassafras number chip.

Well, i hope you are loving all this winter sunshine this weekend...glorious isn't it??

Suexx