Giving Tuesday!!!!

We've all heard about Black Friday, Shop Local Saturday, and Cyber Monday.... But have you heard of Giving Tuesday???? On this day, we are to give back to our "community". I LOVE this day!!! 

Why you ask???

Because no matter how sad your life seems, or how many trials you have, giving ALWAYS makes you feel better. It always brightens your day, makes you feel needed, and reminds you that the world doesn't revolve around you every day. I find it an essential part of living. I hope you do too.

Christmas has ALWAYS been huge for me. I remember as a little girl, sneaking in to see what Santa had left for me on Christmas morning. I always got a beautiful baby doll. My mother would spend hours and hours sewing beautiful clothes and blankets for my babies every year, as her mother did for her. This is where I developed a love of dolls.

On the day after my 4th birthday, I was going to return a gift with my mother, and I accidentally opened the car door instead of rolling down the window. I fell out of the moving car and broke both legs, my right hip, and my pelvis. My hip was put back together with pins and screws. It was a long recovery, and trying for my family. Its amazing how resilient we are at that age! Once I had healed, I had to have the pins and screws removed. The only thing I asked for was..... you guessed it.... a new doll. 

Agatha became one of my favorites. She was able to go into the operating room with me, and came back out with a band aid on her cheek, and a hair net on her head. I still have her :)

I have tried to carry on this same tradition with my own girls, and am looking forward to do the same with my little grand daughter Landyn. I can't wait to give her her very first baby this year:)

For the last few Christmases, I have been so blessed by opportunities to share my love of dolls with some deserving little girls. It warms my heart to think of all of the love showered on these "babies"! 

This year, I was able to actually take one of my girls' best friends to pick out her own American Girl doll. This girl is amazing! She is always kind, and makes sure everyone feels included and happy. She has been such a blessing to our family. It's such a wonderful thing to see my girls so excited for someone else, and feel the spirit of giving. We had a fabulous time together. It's an afternoon I will never forget!

I have covered her face, to protect her :)

And to top it off, the day we went, American Girl was giving away one doll for every doll purchased (up to 1000 a day) from November 6-30th!!! That made our day that much better!

Have you heard of American Girl? The dolls are beautiful, and are made to represent every type of girl. You can check them out here:

American Girl Dolls

Here's Giveaway #1

The winner will receive a gift card to order a doll for someone they love! I'm so excited about this! 

I also have a few more things to give away as well!

You can read bout my Addicts here:

Melonheadz Addicts

You can read about the Personalized images here:

Personalized Melonhead

You can read more about the About Me Pages here:

About Me Pages

You can see my graphic sets by clicking here:

My Etsy Shop

Here's how to enter:

Leave a comment on this post.

That's it.

I'm not asking for followers. Just let me call you friend.

The winners will be chosen tomorrow, December 2nd. It's a fitting day to give some gifts.... It's my Momma's birthday. She would have been 76 this year. 

Winners will be drawn randomly.

Good luck my friends! 

xox

TPT's Supercharge Seller Conference

What an experience!!!!!

I have to tell you, it was far more than I had ever imagined, and I don't

think I have ever been more scared in my whole life, lol.

And it really happened!!!! HOLY SNAP!

This is a loooooong post, and I'm so sorry but I want to remember everything.

I was honored to be a presenter this last week,

I am blown away by the company I was in..... both others

presenting and those who attended.

It was held at the Venitian Hotel in Las Vegas!

It was my family's very first real vacation. I'm so glad that 

they came with me, but I did miss out on some chances

to visit and spend time with my friends. I appreciated every offer, and hope next year to have more time :)

I can not even tell you how awesome it was to meet my friends

and see them face to face. I was so flustered that I didn't even think to get my phone out and take pictures, so I had to "borrow" them from everyone.... and Miss Terri was so awesome to let me use her photos too. I don't want to forget a single minute!

Here are some of the swiped memories...

There were so many people, that I was very overwhelmed..... people probably thought I was a total nut case, lol.

(See the arrow? It's pointing to Jennifer, who was hiding I believe. She's my holder together of everything. What a blessing she is to me, and I was so grateful to have her there. She worked her buns off!)

Here are a few of the people that I got to hug :)

Annie Moffatt, Susana Westby, Fran Kramer, and Kristen Oldham

Crystal Radke

and Elizabeth Hall!!!!

and Katie Mense,

Jen Jones,

and Lisa Mattes and Katie Knight

Farrah Shipley,

Terri Izatt and John Hughes,

and Valerie Donaldson

Then there was Elvis!!!!!

and so many more...... I just don't have pictures! 

I was so humbled and awestruck by it all. 

Thank you to all who took time to visit with me, and listen to my story, and session.

It was really tough to follow the key notes and the first sessions!

Everyone did such a fantastic job, and were so inspiring.

I got side tracked and missed the last two slides in my slide show, 

so I am going to post them here.

TPT has changed my life.

I am so grateful for the opportunities that it has brought me,

and the friends who have helped make it possible.

A chance of a lifetime.

I am truly blessed.

Until we meet again my friends!!!

xox

Happy Birthday Kella !!!!

I have to show you what I have been  

up to this last week.

It was Mike's birthday last Monday,

and Kella's on Tuesday.

For her party this year, she decided to have

a Harry Potter theme. Thank heavens for pinterest ! It

 was absolutely crazy to put together, but so worth the work :)
She LOVED it!!!!

We sent out Hogwarts acceptance letters as invitations, and

included tickets for the Hogwarts express.

We also included a book exchange in the party, which was a HUGE hit!

Once they came inside, they were given a men's black tshirt that I had cut open

down the front, to wear as a robe.

We had a sorting hat ceremony, where the girls picked their "house" out of

a jar, and then got a tie to match the house colors. I made the ties out of felt, and put 

them on a piece of elastic like a necklace. They also got Harry style glasses to wear.

The had a treasure hunt, decorated wands, and played a game with a snitch

(gold balloons). We made "floo powder" and necklaces too. It was loud and crazy, and so much fun :)

I wish the pictures were better, so you could see it all. The Mandrake cakes were awesome!

I used plastic babies that usually are used at baby showers, and glued leaves on their heads. 

The Sorting Hats were made out of fudge stripe cookies, and Hershey Kisses. We had brooms made out of mini Peanut butter cups and pretzels.

The Fizzing Whizbees were zots candies. The chocolates where Hershey Nuggets. The writing quills were just a black pen that I attached a huge black feather to with black florist tape. The dragon eggs were filled with silly putty.

All of the bags were filled to the top! 

All of the crafts were done out on our patio, where we had hung a "Dementor",

and candles were hung from the roof of the pergola.

We had pizza and pumpkin juice (orange soda) with labels taped on.

I don't have permission to use the photos of all of the kids, so I just posted a few. 

Even I got into the act with my Professor McGonagall hat and glasses!

Please ignore my redneck red solo cup lights, but I love them, lol.

All in all, it was great fun with family and the best of friends!

xox

A "Mom"ery, just in time for Mother's Day!

Mother's Day is just around the corner, I wanted to share a memory about my Momma.

I can't honestly say it's my favorite memory of her, but it has helped shape me into the person I am.

My Mom was one of the most selfless people I have ever known. She always did her best to take care of us all, and make sure we had everything that we needed. 

She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer about 5 and a half years ago. She very rarely complained. She went through all of the treatments she could so that she could be with us as long as possible. Not long after her diagnosis, my Father was also diagnosed with cancer. It was a really rough time for all of us. 

Once her treatments were complete, she did fairly well for a bit. She had once told me that she just wanted to live long enough to see my little ones graduate from Elementary school. Sadly it wasn't to be. The cancer had moved into her liver, and was causing it to shut down. We were told we had just a few precious weeks. True to form, my Momma took charge. She wrote her own obituary, and made sure we all knew what she expected us to do for her funeral. She made sure my dad had new pants to wear for it too! She spoke with our close family friend, who is a Mortician, and told him of her wishes. She made him promise to bury her with her teeth in her mouth so that my older brothers could not get them and freeze them in a glass of water, like they had often threatened to do.  She also had my Aunt go shopping so that there were Mother's Day gifts for my sisters and I the following month. She did her best to make things as easy as possible for us. 

The day she passed away, I was sitting by her side holding her hand. I just couldn't let go. I wanted to always remember the feel of her there with me. She waited until I got up and walked away to pass quietly away. I felt a breeze behind me and I knew she had gone. I miss her every day. I know she is still doing her best to mother me from heaven. I am so blessed to be her daughter. I am so grateful for the example that she was and is to me. I hope that someday I will be just like her.

Happy Mother's Day Momma.

I love you.

xox

The Nikster :)

I just realized I haven't given a Nikson update in a while...

So of course I have to:) It should be a Mimi rule I think,lol

He is almost crawling, almost sitting, and gets mad if you eat without him.

AND..... :) He is super smart! He is figuring out how to reach through and around

things to get what he wants. His momma starts a new job tomorrow,

and I can't wait!!! We are gonna have lots of snuggles:)

Here he is in his big boy car seat!

xox

Holy Smokes!!!!

Wow!!!!

What a year! (I wanted to post this last week, but I got sick and stayed in bed.)

Here's a rundown on what we're up to:)

 This last year, I have gotten  to be a Mimi, and quit my job. I can't say I have many complaints about either one, lol. I still want to dye a portion of my hair pink... The guy at hot topic tells me it is possible and I can't totally mess it up.... very much. I may or may not be having some sort of a mid life crisis. Glitter and sparkles are and should be a part of every day attire :) I am finally sleeping, but unfortunately, I am still a little flakey.

Mike has been a busy guy all year... His lawn care business has kept him hopping, along with

working with his friend Alan. He has settled into life with me home like a champ. He's been chomping at the bit to use his new snow plow... Now he has plenty of work to do during the winter, and he gets to drive around with a yellow flashing light on his truck. I swear sometimes he's like a 5 year old, lol.

Maggie is busy kissing Nikson. All. The. Time. (Unless it's my turn :) ) She is fluttering from

interest to interest trying to figure out who she is and where she wants to be. She loves to cook, and drive me crazy. I believe those are her hobbies,lol.

Kella is growing into her own little self. Girls are so interesting at 9. She LOVES to draw. And she

LOVES anything that resembles camouflage. Sometimes she wears several patterns of

it at the same time..... ugh. She also believes she will "go goth", become a singing veterinarian,

and move to Alabama.

Malli is a diva all the way. She LOVES anything that is pink. If it sparkles it is even better (Sounds like her momma, :) ). She packs around her American Girl doll, and always sits with her legs crossed. When she 

grows up, she wants to be.... everything, lol.

Nikson is awesome. He is the smartest, cutest, handsomest, lovingest, cuddliest, baby I have ever seen!

(Sound like a grandma don't I?)

He is just 7 months, and is up on his hands and knees... He will be crawling before too long. I'm pretty sure he is smarter than his Mimi, and I am in big trouble. He gets really mad if he doesn't get to eat when you eat.

He is such a little Hardy, lol.

Winston, Buddy, and Zoey follow their dad around and wait for cookies. He is their favorite for sure. 

They have each claimed a couch cushion, and occasionally the girls have to sit on the floor because the furry babies are in the way,lol.

Now... for melonheadz news:

The new site is going to be awesome!!!!! Cam is working his little self to death to make it perfect. I am so excited!!!! I can't wait to share it with all of you.

I am excited to introduce you to Jennifer! She is going to be my "business wife".....

in other words, she is going to follow me around and clean up my messes and organize me!!!

From time to time you may get an email from her, or a post. 

She is fabulous, but she refuses to let me have a photo of her. I will sneak one soon, so

you can "meet" her and see her cute face. 

We are looking forward to going to the big TPT conference in July. 

I can't wait to meet everyone, and pass along some melonheadz goodies!

Thank you, each and everyone, for making my journey here so wonderful. I am so blessed.

Your friendship, encouragement, and support is by far more than I could have ever asked for,

and by far more than I deserve!

I hope for all of you, a year full of precious moments, both big and small...

xox

On the 2nd day of Christmas, Melonheadz gave to me....

On the 2nd day of Christmas Melonheadz gave to me

Click here to go to my TPT store to pick up my  free "Retro Style Christmas Mini Combo Pack"

This contains both the colored and black and white images:)

I also have a giveaway at the bottom of this post to win my "Christmas cookie" bundle

But before you go enter check out my answers to our 12 Holiday questions and get to know me a little bit better. :)

1. What's your favorite Holiday song?

My favorite Holiday song is Silent Night! I used to sing it to my babies when they were little. This explains why they don't love this song, lol. I can not sing at all!

2. What's your favorite holiday memory?

One of my favorite memories was when I was about 6. Santa used to come to the school, and we would get to sit on his lap. Santa always knew my name and what I wanted! It was so cool. Years later, I found out that Santa was my dad :)

 
3. What's your favorite holiday indulgence?

My favorite indulgence..... I buy a few new Christmas movies every year. I would watch them 24/7 if my husband would let me,lol.

4. What's your favorite holiday food?

My favorite holiday food...... I wish I had only one! I LOVE everything about the holidays, including the food! It is why I resemble an ornament with legs :)

5. What's your favorite holiday craft?

My favorite holiday craft...... To be honest, I don't do a lot of crafts anymore. I used to make things every year with my mom. 

6. What's your favorite holiday tradition?

My favorite tradition would be driving around looking at Christmas lights! I LOVE it:) I used to leave early on my way to work just to do that. This year I can go with my family. I am so happy!

7. What's your favorite holiday movie?

My favorite movie.... White Christmas. I remember watching it with my older brother Blair when I was a little girl.

8. What do you get your class for a holiday gift?

I'm going to send my adopted class pillowcases! Gonna sew 'em up myself:)

9. What's your favorite holiday thing to teach?

Our family is learning about the joy of giving this year. We have been able to do a few "sub for Santas", and are feeling so blessed to have the opportunity!

10. What's your favorite holiday book?

I gather books like movies:) This year I bought "Christmas from Heaven" by Tom Brokaw.

What an awesome story!!!!

11. What's your favorite holiday product?

My favorite holiday product is, my nativity graphics. I want to do another one every year! This is from last year:

12. What do you want Santa to bring you this year?

I really don't need anything this year! I am perfectly happy to be home with my family.

 

And now for the giveaway...enter below for a chance to win my "Christmas Cookies" 

GIVEAWAY

Please leave a comment on this post to enter!

(You all know that rafflecopter hates me!)

My girls will do the draw the name out of a hat trick to pick the winner.

If you haven't checked out the previous giveaways make sure you go enter to win

Click here to go to Simply Kinder's giveaway :)

Don't forget to come back on day 14 for a chance to win EVERYTHING!

Happy Holidays!

xox

It's official:)

4 more nights and I will be living my dream:)

I have quit  my "real" job, and am getting to be a working at home mom!

Hopefully I will be much more efficient and productive with some sleep:)

I am so excited!

Thank you my friends for your support. My family wouldn't be receiving

this wonderful blessing with out it!

xox

My Thankful List :)

Today my friends, is a HUGE step for me, lol.. 

It is one thing to hide my little round self behind a computer.... and a whole

new panic attack to actually show off the me that I am!

It seriously makes me want to vomit..... Anywhooooo....

Here I am, along with my family!

No more stress,lol. 

I will hide no more:)

Now we all know how good I am at posting things on time.... so, I am going to 

take the easy way out, and type up my whole daily thankful list on one post :)

1. I am thankful for a Heavenly Father who loves me, and has a plan for me.

2. I am grateful for the wonderful and forgiving man I married. Poor Mike has suffered

through so much, and still loves us, and protects us all.

3. I am grateful for my Maggie. I'm glad she doesn't remember ONLY the times I have threatened to beat her and lock her in the closet :) Seeing her with her son makes my heart skip a beat.

4. I'm grateful for my Kella. She is so easy going and happy. My little artist.

5. I am grateful for my girly girl Malli. She has a love of life that astounds me. 

6. I am grateful for little Nikson. His presence has brought a happiness that I have never known:)

7. I am so grateful for my siblings! They all add to my world... and look after me, (so sad for them, lol.)

8. I am forever grateful for my parents. I miss them terribly.

9. I am grateful that when I look in the mirror, I see my momma.

10. I am grateful for my round squishy self..... it's the best place for snuggling my grandson.

11. I am grateful for my hands! I am continually surprised at what they can do.

12. I am grateful for washing machines! I really  hate laundry.... 

13. I'm grateful for my furry babies. Their unconditional love is much needed!

14. I am grateful for my friends, who listen me to whine all the time, lol.

15. I am grateful for the internet!!!! It has brought such opportunity and relationships that I cherish.

16. Pepsi and Dr. Pepper. 'nough said :)

17. CHOCOLATE everything!!!!

18. I am grateful for the opportunities of service that I have daily! Nothing makes me feel better.

19. I am grateful for bath tubs and showers... and hot water!

20. I am grateful that not everything that pops into my head  comes out of my mouth. :)

21. I am grateful for the job I have that I hate. It has allowed me to help provide for my family for 14 years.

22. I am grateful for you. I am wowed that you are even reading my ramblings!

23. I am grateful for those who suggested, nagged, and have guided me into my graphics! Who knew???

24. I am grateful that Mike cooks. If not we would all starve. He's really good at it!

25. I am grateful for the TV show COPS. When my life seems sad, it always puts things into perspective.

26. I am grateful to have found a dentist for my little ones that uses a laser instead of a drill to fill cavities!!!! I don't cry when I take them anymore. It's awesome!

27. I am grateful for sleep. I never seem to get much, but I love it!

28. I am grateful for my whole family, even the crazy ones :)

29. I am grateful for the house we live in!!!! We were pretty close to being homeless once.

AND....

30. I am grateful for all of the trials that have led me to being the person that I am. I may not be a super model, but I have a big heart. I wouldn't trade it for anything. 

Wow. I am so blessed. 

Thank you my friends, for being one of those blessings.

LUB you bunches.

xox

Nikki

Malli's Pink Pirate Party :)

I had to share the spoils of the day with you:)

Malli asked for a pink pirate birthday party, so we did our best.

Even Nikson got all dressed up... he was not a fan  of the hat,lol.

Thanks Mr. Matt, for the carriage rides:) It was too fun, and we are exhausted. 

Happy 8th Malli.

xox

Happy Birthday Malli!!!!

Love you Puddles!!!

xox