Tax season is over...yeah!!!

This tax season has been one of the toughest I've been through.  Not sure if it's because so many people either owed or were not getting back as much as they were hoping or if it's because I did over 200 returns in about two months plus all of my regular work.  No matter what the reason I am sooo glad it's over.  Still have to get the returns done who filed extensions, but at least I can breath for a bit. 

After cleaning up the dinner dishes and getting a load of clothes going I felt I had earned some time to craft.  I straightened my area a bit and was surprised once I got started how many things I got done in a relatively short amount of time (about 4 hours). 

First I put together a couple cards using "pictures" I had stamped at my Mom's.

The first image is of these adorable little bees...they look drunk to me...hehe.  But either way their still so cute.  I'm sorry I don't know the maker of the stamp.  I added a strip of CM paper ribbon on top of yellow to bring it all together.  Simple, but that's me!

This little girls is so cute! I wanna say she's a Nelli, but I'm not sure.  At one of my Mom's get togethers Terri brought some paper to share. This spring inspired background paper was one of my choices (thank you Terri).  I added some paper posies from CM and used Crystal Accent for the first time to accent the center.

Next I thought I should do some scrapbooking (my first love).  So I pulled out some pictures from my son's 10th birthday party.  As usual I had more pictures than space. After some decisions and cropping I still needed more room.  So I decided to add a 7x7 page to the edge of my 12x12...I think it's kinda cool.  As you can see I'm a rather plain crafter.  I tend to be a logical thinker and like my pages to be about the pictures.  While I certainly love to look at pages and cards with lots of beautiful elements I am not able to do that.  It requires to much thinking and takes the fun out of it for me...so plain it is.

Lastely, I made this super cool bow.  It's easier to make than it looks.  The directions called for using old magazines, but since I was crafting I decided to use designer paper to make my designer bow. Even if your not interested in learning how to make it check out the link...her blog has some neat stuff.  A little something for everyone I think.

OK, now I'm tired!  Sure did feel good to craft a little though.  Thanks for stopping by...

Happy Easter!

What a glorious day! It has indeed been quite awhile since I have posted.  A good indicator of my life.  I could post of tax returns, laundry, lack of sleep...but no one wants to hear about that.  There have been several events in my life that have thrown me for a loop.  Of course there's death of loved ones, that while they hurt the heart, are able to be dealt with because everybody knows it's a "fact of life". But it's the other ones that hurt your heart in a different way that, unfortunately, have become a "fact of life". Trust...such a fundamental part of any relationship.  A tiny baby crying trusts her Mama to wrap her loving arms around her.  A new spouse trusting their partner to be faithful and love them 'til death. A patient trusting the doctor's to heal their bodies. We put such trust in people everyday.  Sometimes people we don't even know. 

And when that trust is betrayed, it's frustrating and it hurts.  But we can rise above the pain and learn a lesson from the hurt.  And I don't mean harden our hearts so we don't get hurt again.  That's part of the process.

I loved (still do) my Josie dog with every fiber of my being.  And it cut me to the core when I felt the life drain from her body.  But I wouldn't trade a single day of my life with her or loved her any less because of my broken heart. 

We have all made choices that hurt someone we love.  A child leaving home before their parents are ready to let them go, a loved one lost in a alcoholic haze, a friend so weighed down they think death is the only alternative.  And in these situations we feel betrayed!!!  We question "why didn't they come to me? I would've helped.".  We want answers.  But we want one particular question answered...WHY?! It seems if we can understand then it's ok. 

I am a Christian, have been my whole life. But only recently have I begun to truly understand what that means.  God teaches us by example how to deal with the betrayal.  No matter how much we turn from Him...He loves us!  He forgives us!  He doesn't ask why...it doesn't matter.  And when you are loved that much...Wow!

So as we approach Easter...look around at all of your Blessings.  Not your monetary items.  Your friends and your family!  They are God's Blessings!!!  Forgive!  Love!  Learn and lead by example...just as He does!

               HAPPY EASTER!!