Creative CRAZY

I've been so busy "doing LIFE" lately

that I haven't had much time to "make" anything.

All I can say is ... I was having major anxiety.

MY brain is creating all the time, or at the very least

thinking of something to create and it needed OUT !!

So.. today I made a necklace..

I can hardly wait until tomorrow to wear it.

If it had a name it would be STACI. haha

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I'd seen one while I was BLOg hopping one day,

and have kept the idea stored in the back of my head.

Her version was so darling I wanted to

reach right through this screen and grab it.

You can visit her necklace at http://joyshope.com/

I started off with no real idea what it was going to look like.

I just started making flowers and let the rest fall into place.

Then I remembered a whole jar full of broken jewelry

I bought at various garage sales and thought I might

use a piece or two of it in the mix.

I can explain how to make all the different types of flowers

if anyone is interested just drop me a note and I will

be happy to explain.

They are all SUPER simple to make.

I used about 4 or 5 different types.ce

She attached hers to felt, and if I would have had some

I can tell you it would have been much easier.

Anyway.. after 3 burns to my poor fingers

from that darn glue gun...

I got the flowers attached,

and was ready to sew it onto the chain.

That too would have been much easier with FELT,

but I wanted it NOW... so I just used what I had.

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ITThis necklace is not for everyone... I know,

BUT man it is for me...

It's the funnest thing I've seen in a while.

Thank you Joy's Hope for the fabulous inspiration !

That's the best part about BLOg hopping...

You never run out of places full of GREAT inspiration.

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May we be constantly on the look out

for the little things that make us SMILE..

Raising Girls

Brook had a cheerleading competition in San Antonio this weekend.

We left Friday about noon and didn't get home until late last night.

Any of you who have teenagers know that

being stuck in a car with them for over 8 hours

is both a curse and a blessing.

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All I know is that raising a girl is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

much harder and more stressful than raising a son.

The daily deliveries of drama, ever forming mood swings,

and constant ordeals with hair

are sometimes more than I have the energy to deal with.
But within that very same moment...

they can also be the biggest dose of JOY,

a secret catalyst for an enormous belly laugh,

and a true messenger of both love and honesty.

One that no one else has the ability to bring.

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Some days I look at her

and see so many of the wonderful things I have taught her,

then some days I look at her

and see some of the horrible things I have taught her.

What a fine line there is between them both.

Teaching a girl how to become a confident woman

full of strength and security with the skin they're in

yet filling them with a humble heart and a desire to serve

is the hardest job of my life.
At times I am a friend, and at times

well let's just say I AM NOT !!!!

All I can say is ...with every day there is a new adventure.

Some days I get it just right, and

some days I'm sure I mess it up terribly.

BUT.. every day I give it my best shot!

(and secretly hope she has 5 daughters of her own) haha

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May we never forget....

those things that are the most valuable

are those that someone took a great deal of time in creating.

Direction REALLY matter

YEAH!!!! I almost have a project finished..

The instructor of our class has the patience of Job and

bless her heart she is baring with me and

my lack of "LEFT brained" ability...

AND here is my almost finished chair box..

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I got so excited I jumped up and down right in the middle of class.

My sewing skills may not be Martha Stewart quality...

BUT... I pick out darn good material to mix together !!
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For those of you (like me) who have never done this before..

This is called WELTING...

I am just thrilled to know how to do this..

It makes everything look so much BETTER..

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The secret ( I learned) is cutting the fabric on a diagonal (from corner to corner).

This is so the fabric will stretch.

If it is cut diagonally then the fabric bends easily around the corners of the chair..

NICE TO KNOW !!!

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I cut my fabric in 3 inch strips

since I had large cording.

(That is the big fat shoe lace stuff that goes inside.)

After you cut a few strips, you make the V shape (upper photo),

and sew them together.

THEN you flip it over...

WHAM.. you have one long stretchy piece to put the "fat shoe laces" in.

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Next I sewed the box part of my chair right up next to the cording.

I have to admit... YES I did have to rip out 1 set of seams..

HEY... but only once is pretty good for me.
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When I was all done.. I was so proud that I'd gone out of "my ZONE" and followed directions...

I can hardly WAIT to get all of the chairs finished & at my kitchen table.

When I got home I could barely contain my excitement..

I tried to tell my family all about it... however no one seemed to share in my JOY!

Brady was the most enthusiastic.. but I really think he was listening to ELMO.

May we always remember... directions were made for a reason.

and...Sometimes traveling out of our comfort zone is the best vacation !

Retro Ridiculous

Seems as though every single time I catch myself thinking

"I can make that, or I can surely do that"

those words come back to (as they say)

BITE ME in the butt !!!

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Monday in my UPHOLSTERY class

we had our first REAL recovering project.

I had my new fabric ALL READY as was so excited to get started.

We all brought a chair from home and started

the process of making it fabulous..

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I had 4 of these chairs in my garage that I've been waiting to recover...

SO I figured why not bring them

All I can say is people in the 60's took great pride in their work !!

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spaceNormally I would have just taken the seat off,

and put my new material right over the top of it...

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BUT.. since I am learning how to do it CORRECTLY

I followed the directions (which were)...

To take the entire thing apart and use it as the pattern.

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Let me just tell you that there was WAY more to this than I dreamed...

It literally took me the entire 2 hours of class to get this @#%&&* chair

taken apart and the pieces ready to make my pattern.
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So.. in hindsight I now feel badly for all the times I called to get

an estimate about having something recovered...

and under my breath I said

"That is ridiculous... I can do that!"

Because.. IT was WORTH the MONEY!

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So.. needless to say..

I left my class with homework that I must finish

before I head out tonight to learn the skill of welting which I am sure

is also much harder than I imagined.

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May we never take someone else's skills for granted.

Yes.. we might be able to do it ourselves.. but it might be harder than we thought.

Bloomin Blog

I just realized that I have been blogging now for over a year.

Mercy times goes by quickly !!

In the past year I have met some of the most

creative, inspiring, wonderful people.

My family teases me because I call them My Friends.

They remind me often that I do not even know 90% of them.

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Somehow to me that doesn't seem to matter.

I feel like I know many of you out there

better than several of the people I actually

"do know" in person..

I've watched your children grow, as you have watched mine.

I have been inspired and motivated by wonderful artists.

I've bubbled over with kind words from gentle souls,

and have been truly touched by the love I see

in so many incredible, precious families.

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With genuine sincerity I pray for the people

I interact with through this fabulous world of BLOg..

I have been so motivated by many of the stories I've read...

both the silly & the serious

They all have a place in my day.

And MOST OF ALL I have realized that I am not alone.

I'm not the only girl out there who has made more than

her share of mistakes, or thinks a little bit differently than the average gal,

loves her family more than life its self, and tries every day to

make the most of the second chances I've been given.

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I feel like a giddy girl when I sit down at my computer

each day to visit with "my friends" !

I hope that as I open my heart with you....

I too bring a giggle to some one's face,

or an inspiration to your creative soul.

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But my greatest wish of all is for people to see

That it is NEVER TOO LATE to start over.

Every day starts your second chance!

No matter how many mess ups you may have made

We have a GOD of New Beginnings...

One who believes in us when we often forget to believe in ourselves...

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May your day be filled with Bliss and Blessings

and remember that Today is the first day

of the rest of your life!

Right Brained Girl in a Left Brained World

Ok my BLOg Friends..... MORE than once this week

I have realized that I am a RIGHT brained girl

living in a LEFT brained WORLD..

I sometimes forget how hard it is for people who think like me

to understand how the rest of the world operates.

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I really do try....

but it mostly NEVER makes any sense to me....

It all feels like BIO-Physics !!!!

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ANYway.... During class on Wednesday

(of which I hope I was not being graded)

we made pillows...

WELL HELLO.... I do that all the time, so I assumed

this would be a walk in the park for me.

WRONG !!!!
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We had to do it with patterns and marking lines,

and measuring stuff exactly and

FOLLOWING RULES !!!
I've never been very good at that...
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So.. to make a LONGGGGGGGG story short.

I messed up and had to rip my seams out 3 times.

2 of which my instructor assured me was the machines fault.

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Here she is laughing as she tried ONE MORE time to show me

why MEASURING was important.. haha
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We even had a new guy show up to class (AN HOUR LATE)
who also didn't even come to the first class,
AND... he even finished his Pillow before I did..
NOW Seriously.... what is wrong with my brain..
Something about what she was saying
was not anything I wanted to hear I guess,
therefore I think it kept traveling in....
and then right straight out...
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Then... today I had a job interview..
It was a part time job...
so I figured why not/ I could do most anything for 20 hours...
WRONG !!!
The 2 women who own the business were just darling.
I would have loved to come in 20 hours a week to VISIT...
but as they were describing to me what the job required
I know my face was curling up like a sour pickle..
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I finally said...
" I would love to be here 20 hours with you guys...
but the truth is I would HATE this job, and
you 2 would HATE me in a couple of weeks."
I can not believe those words actually came out..
but they did..
I must say they both did LAUGH...
and said thank you for being honest.
I knew it was just WAY too many details and paperwork
for me to do with any JOY at all.
When I left their office
they were hugging me goodbye
and I said I'd stop by sometime for LUNCH..
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May we never forget to be TRUE to ourselves...
Some days peace of mind is the best treasure we've got.

the GOOD the BAD & the UGLY

I'm not sure if it is possible to have a YUCK day,

and a Wonderful day all in the same day....

BUT I think I have just had my FIRST one !!!

More than once yesterday I wanted to say @##$%^^&@@

and had to bite my tongue to keep it in..

THEN I had my first night of Upholstery Class and

got so excited I almost wet my pants...

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The only problem with my class is that a sewing machine is the first requirement

and.... up until about 28 minutes before class I had one..

I was hemming my dad some curtains and WHAM it just stopped

with the needle stuck right in the fabric... STUCK and frozen..

NOTHING at all would move.

Brad took it apart and (he can fix most anything)

He said... NO WAY could he fix this motor..

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Then he said.. "by the way"...

The dryer isn't working either... but I think I can fix it..

Until it's fixed however, we have to tumble our clothes with NO heat.

So it takes about 3 hours per load.

Now I'm sure we all have that much time to spare..

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Then... if that wasn't enough the Water Pump on my car went out.

All I could say was... "Can you fix that?"

I'm not sure if it is just me...

But why is it when you are the most broke

you seem to have the most trouble ?

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So... I decided I would try my best not to let the DAY get me down...

I'd take a nice long bubble bath, relax and calm down.

But.. in the last 2 years I can't seem to sneak off to the bath without

a "little fellow" wanting to get in and "SWIM with you MOMMA"
Of course he was in before I could try to explain that

mom wanted to swim by herself...

I figured...OK I'll just let him play & I'll still sit here & relax.

Before I even had a chance to close my eyes and build a relaxing thought

I heard the bubbles blowing in my water..

Then... the giggles saying "I tooted!"

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Yes.. I said.. I heard that...

I then became a human shelf for all the plastic bugs, fish, blocks, ducks,

and other assortment of bath toys that have now taken over my ledge

that once held candles and sweet smelling bubble bath.

As my leg balanced the 20 or more bugs I felt an intense water pressure

pushing against my "non shelf" leg...

Then again with the giggles...

and a tiny voice that said " I peed"

Yes.... I know.. I said

I couldn't help but laugh as "my swim" quickly came to an end..

Some days you just gotta figure God knows best and try to smile.

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May we never forget that "this too shall pass"

Some times you've just gotta giggle and go with it !!

and

NEVER take a Relaxing Bath ALONE for granted !!!!!!!!!!

Mad as a Monster !

Ok... The game is over and I am just sick sick sick...

I like the Saints and I'm glad for them...

but MAN I wanted Favre to get another chance...

He played his butt off but that one stupid mistake will be what people talk about.

Very thankful when I changed the channel I was done......

He'll relive that one many times I'm sure !!

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I was stressing so much during that game that

I was eating triple chocolate chip icing right out of the can...

That might cost me tomorrow.. haha

Anyway.... Other than spending several hours of my day watching that game

Brady and I have been making us a MONSTER stuffie...

I saw the idea while I was BLOg hopping

and thought we'd give it a try.

We draw lots of monsters sitting at our coloring table

so we used one we'd drawn as our inspiration. ha
All I can say is...

they are harder than they look. hee hee

But... Brady likes him... so it somehow always makes it worth the trouble.

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May we always have an extra can

of Triple Chocolate Icing on stand by...

just in case we feel like a Mad Monster....

Results of the RED lipstick

Ok.. I completely have to laugh at how the RED lipstick

has had an effect on things around here the last 2 days.

I can tell you that the results

may not have all been positive...

But they were results NONE the Less !

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I had a quick photo shoot today with a sweet little girl,

so... when I was all finished I took a couple of pictures of

myself to show you the RED lipstick in person.. haha

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Yesterday... I kept noticing that Brady was staring at me..

He'd say "I love you momma" over and over.

He says that quite often anyway... but he was adding to it ....

"I need a kiss momma...I need a kiss"

It didn't dawn on me until I saw his little face covered

with RED smooches as to why he was staring and asking for kisses..

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Then later I noticed Brad looking at me in an odd sort of way..

He finally asked me "Why you gettin your face all dressed up?"

I nearly laughed my liver out of place trying to hold in my giggles...

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Then last night was our Church Life Group

(we have the meetings at my house)....

I was running behind and didn't even get to change clothes before they got here.

So... I had on my uniform (warm-ups)

with my Red lipstick...

Brook walked in and asked me

"Why didn't you just change clothes if you were tryin to impress someone?"

I couldn't help but bust out on that one..

I said I was making a point to wear Red lipstick all week

since I'd read about someone else doing it on their blog.

I wanted to see if it made a difference..

She just looked at me and said..." Weird.. but whatever works!"

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So.. as my week continues...

I thought I'd share a few of my RED giggles

as well as.... sharing with you the untold Power

that a little tube of lipstick holds.. haha
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I also found the blog where I originally saw the idea behind

the RED lipstick... and will share it too in case you have time to hope over.

http://bleubirdvintage.typepad.com/blog/2010/01/show-tell-part-deux.html

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May we always be willing to give something absolutely fun and silly a try...

It might not always turn out fabulous... but it's worth a moment of your life.

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Pull out the RED lipstick

WELL.. Scarlett was right..

Today was a whole new day and a whole new attitude.

I woke up this morning with a million ideas and

a restored sense of faith that God knows my heart

and if something out there has my name on it...

then he'll send it my way.

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Until then... I decided I'd put on some RED lipstick

and start my day with a BANG..

I can't remember which blog I read it on...

( I blog hop during my free time.. It is so much FUN!!)

but they said they were going to wear RED lipstick for an entire week

and see how it changed their mood..

Well I can tell you it just perked mine up GOOD..

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Brady and I finished up his monkey pillows (all but the stuffing).

Then.. we went on a date to the donut shop

for our favorite donut holes with sprinkles..

We sat inside at the cute little tables, watching all the people going by..

AND... all mind you in my warm ups....

BUT with RED lipstick...

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Tomorrow I'm going to work on Brady's bedspread, finish the rest of
the pillows, and maybe start on his new Monkey Tree...
But... I'm pretty sure I'll be doing it
in RED lipstick...
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Thank you to everyone for your wonderful suggestions..
I fully plan on putting a few of them right to work.
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May we never under estimate the power of RED lipstick...
Next time you're having a bad day...
Give it a try !!!

Pity Party.... Table for One

Normally I am an over the top Happy

(could really use some medicine) Person...

But for some reason today I have held myself a complete

and total... ALL DAY - Pity Party...

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I hope I am not the only, mostly happy, person out there

who has a bad day every once in a while....

but just in case...

please forgive me and I'll pack up my party for tomorrow.

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(This was mine and Brady's art project for today)

Having 2 kids in college is some days...

just a financial KILLER...

They are both precious, and we love them dearly,

and I know they are doing their part to become financially independent

(so that one day I won't have this worry...)

But... today I decided I really need to get

some type of part time job..

I spent all day looking through the paper, on Craig's List,

and every Internet job search I could find....

There is just nothing much out there period.

But I surely couldn't find a single thing that

even came close to using any of the skills I have packed in my suitcase.

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I debated on whether or not to take just any random thing...

Then I heard all the speeches I have given my kids about

how God has packed each of them with a special set of talents

and it is their responsibility to unpack and use them for his good.

So.. would I be unteaching everything I'd tried so hard to teach? ...

Would it matter to them at all?

Was I just having a bad day, and should just relax?

Is there even any part time job out there for a 43 year old

girl with a Bachelors of Education, All Level Art Certification

who loves to make things

and fill the world with Polka Dots ?.....

ANY suggestions ? .......

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The more I tried to think the more frustrated I got...

AND... my day just continued to fizzle down hill...

So I am headed to bed hoping that

Scarlett O'Hara was right...

"After all tomorrow is another day!"

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May we always be reminded...

that without a few bad days here and there

we wouldn't appreciate the good ones.

Monkey Pillows

As I have mention before....

I am TOTALLY addicted to Pillows !!

I think they are just the best cheap fun in all the world.

And in my opinion (which counts to NO one but me) haha...

I think they are the quickest way to change up a room that there is !

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I am finished with our part of the bedroom...

BUT.. since we share it with Brady

All the bedrooms in our house are upstairs except the Master..

And I am old and knew I wouldn't want to be climbing stairs when

he was a baby.. Nor have to worry about him trying to go up and down.

so.... he shares our room with us...

I now am working on his corner...

He is TOTALLY nuts about monkeys....

so I decided I would make him some monkey pillows that

would tie into the colors of our bedroom.

That way we'd all feel like we belonged. haha
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I have lots of Goodwill sweaters that I have kept on standby

for just the right project... AND a fuzzy monkey is the

perfect place to put them to good use.
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I cut out shapes to make the monkeys

using lots of different left over scraps.
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Brady thought I was building him a giant monkey puzzle.
I must say he was very disappointed when I got
all the pieces sewn on and he thought he could no longer play.
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We made several different ones using our "stand by" sweaters.
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Somehow though every time I'd get one all laid out and ready..
They would end up like this !!!
Now that is a good time neither of us was expecting..
Discovery #6
Never underestimate the power of free fun !!
(No toys required)
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I don't really know if he had more fun taking them apart,

or putting them back together..

Either way... He now has a new bag full of monkey parts

to make puzzles with any time he wants..
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I'm still working on the pillows,

and have started him a bedspread made out of 2 different throws

sewn together. They too I'm sure will be filled with big monkeys...

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May we never forget "It is not how many things we give our

children... but how much of ourselves that we give that matters."