A Peek into Our Christmas- 2009

Christmas Dresses

Just another Christmas memory. I will have several more pics coming soon. Maybe even today! Thanks for visiting us.

Christmas Decorations!

Foyer

Living Room Tree

Living Room Buffet

Dining Room Buffet

Mantel in Family Room

Tree in Family Room

Girls Playroom Tree

WOW!! It's been a while! We have been SUPER busy in the Simmons' home this month. Nothing unusual really. Holidays are so fun , but they take alot energy. A couple of people have asked to see my decorations, so I thought I would post them. More fun holiday stuff to come. ENJOY your family and friends this season!

The Decorating Crew...

This is the crew taking a break from a busy night of decorating. We got quite a bit done, but still have a few things to do. HOPEFULLY, we will finish up tomorrow night after Adeline's program. Her gifted class is doing A Christmas Carol. Maybe I will have pictures sometimes this weekend. Check back!

My First Christmas Layout of the YEAR!

I did this layout using alot of product from my Girl's Loft kit, but I added a little "flash" of my own. I am teaching this double page layout at Scrapbook and Co. in Baton Rouge next weekend. I am not usually a double page person, but this subject, "Remember Christmas Traditions" called for it. Come on over and join us. It is sure to be a GREAT time! Those girls are crazy and know how to have a good time!

HELLO!

This is the project I tried to upload earlier. This is the class I am teaching in Baton Rouge in a couple of weeks. Lots of fun goodies on this little altered book cover. Come see us! The double page Christmas layout is coming later in the evening.

Halloween... a bit late!

Our front door.

Eating and being Merry!

My Beautiful butterfly and Precious peacock.

The caravan getting ready to take off!

We had an amazing Halloween again this year with our friends the Hesters. Brent and Stephanie provided the four-wheeler and trailor and the golf cart for us to Trick or Treat in style. We had tons of fun meeting up with friends along our route. After a brief intermission of cupcakes and hot cider, we treated some more and then headed over to another couples house in the neighborhood and had chili and lots of other goodies. We talked and laughed for a while and then hopped on the golf cart and four wheeler and headed back to the Hesters where we we ended our evening.

This past Saturday night we had our annual Fall Da Rah. My awesome friends, Melanie and Jennifer were hostesses with me. They help keep me grounded, if possible. It was a great time with about 30 kids or so and their parents. We had a hay ride or 10, bonfire with smores, and TONS of food. The kids enjoyed playing together and the adults enjoyed the fellowship as well. Afterward, my friends from LA. and their kids had their own private hayride where we proceeded to get stuck in the mud in the woods at 10:00 in the evening! A bit scary! After we put the wee ones to bed(all 7 of them!) we stayed up into the wee hours talking and laughing. The next morning was a great service at church and the music was wonderful as usual. I love singing on our praise team!

Told you there was tons going on, sorry it's been SO long! Hope you enjoy the pics!

Refreshing Weekend!

This weekend was absolutely AMAZING! I truly had a blast. My body is sore from laughing. You know you have a great time when that happens. I love my girlfriends and the different gifts they bring into my life. (Don't feel left out gf's at home. I feel the same about you!!) We sat around one night and just talked about the blessing of having each other and how GOD brought us together and what each of us has meant in the others lives. HE so knew what I needed and that I didn't have to settle. You know you have a life connection when you share some of the stuff we've shared and when you do something crazy and look up and all five of you are laughing so hard no sound is coming out and tears are streaming down your face!

I was inspired by some of the greatest women in the scrapbook industry and did some awesome projects! It's also nice to talk to those ladies and have them encourage you. Thanks Margie for the words of encouragement and wisdom you shared. I am still in awe that you chose me to be on your team. I can't wait to see what else you have up your sleeve!;) I am so glad we had a chance to crop and hang out into the wee hours. The wheels are spinning and great things are in the works! More on that a little further down the road.

Last and most importantly, I am so blessed to have a husband who encourages me to go on retreats with my friends. He NEVER complains about me going. In fact he enjoys having the girls all to himself. They get into lots of good times at the skating rink or movies or just hanging out at the house. I miss them when I go, but cherish the girl time I get. It makes me such a better wife and mom. I enjoy going, but am really glad to get home! Nothing is sweeter than walking through that door and having my sweet girls run up and grab me and tell me they are glad I'm home. AND Andy never ceases to amaze me with his mad housecleaning skills! My house always looks awesome when I get home. They love to do that to surprise me!

Just a summary of the weekend and a small glimpse into my life lately. Too busy taking advantage of God's precious gifts in my life to blog much. I'll get around to it again soon one night after everyone is asleep. Until then, having fun and counting my blessings!

OH YEAHHH.............

I am being SIMPLY INSPIRED this weekend. And that's all I have to say. Rest, relaxation, laughs, fun, and inspiration! More later!

LOOKEY LOOKEY!

It's officially out----->http://www.glitzitnow.blogspot.com/. Welcome to all of the new Design Team members, some I am friends with, and some I can't wait to get to know. Also, "HELLO" to all of the ladies that have been a part of Glitz for a while now. Can't wait to see the awesome CREATIONS that come from this crew!! Check out the cute Halloween line! Can't wait to play with that!!!!

Check THIS out!

I was asked a couple of months back to do a guest designer spot for a Design Challenge and Inspiration blog called SCRAP-A-Tale. Tracy and Sophia have been awesome to work with! I am also doing a challenge for them this week, along with a Canvas project. Go check it out and join the fun!

UM, HELLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I AM TOOOO BUSY!!!!!! Have you said this before? Anyway, lots going on and I will be posting some of it here soon! Gotta wait til I get the green light, BUT for now..... Check out my girls at Scrap Addicts Kits! They have an AMAZING seasonal kit!! It's tons of holiday goodness all wrapped up in one little package. Take a look. You can find them by going to the link right over here on the sidebar, SCRAP ADDICTS- Holiday Kit------------------------------------------->
THANKS for checking us out and leave a comment! FALL is in the air and that means it's PARTY time again!!! OOOOOHHHHHH so much fun to come!

Girl's Loft Projects!

Due to TONS of illness including Swine Flu, Bronchitis, Fever Virus, and just a plain ol' nasty virus, my projects for The Girl's Loft were a bit late! Thanks to Margie and the girls for their patience with me. Hopefully(?) we have all of this mess out of our systems. OH the joys of starting school! ANYWAY, here are my projects with another on the way! This kit was SO fun to work with! So many goodies! And the school stuff is really cute not gooby! Thanks for looking. Check out The Girl's Loft.

The Story Behind THIS Little Birdie!

For all of you looking for something scandalous to talk about, here ya go. For those of you who care about me and/or went with me, as you know this was a VERY big deal to me. 35 was a bittersweet year. This tattoo marks many beginnings and endings. I am on the uphill climb to 40. I started a new job after being at home with my babies for many years. My babies have started school for the next million years, I was asked to be on two internationally recognized design teams (A DREAM), rid myself of some people that were dragging me down, joined an AWESOME spirit-filled church, and maybe the hardest of all, lost a baby. All of these things have created a very emotion filled year for me. I am also coming back to the ME I used to be. I am coming to understand that "WIFE" and "MOTHER" are awesome honors to behold, but not what defines me. I have always wanted a tattoo, but I am SO glad I did not get it way back when. I had no idea what I wanted then. I am so glad I waited to get it when I could incorporate my family and all that I am becoming. I am also blessed to have friends who stick by me and walk me through life, and the most amazing, kind, understanding, gentle, patient, loving,trusting, honest, husband a woman could have. Thanks for being part of my journey!

Happy Birthday to ME!

OH....MY....GOODNESS!

You REALLY gotta check out The Girl's Loft! Septembers Kit is AWESOME! I have gotten it out and started playing with it and am completely amazed at all the goodness! So much! So Cute! So dying to put it together!

I am on my way to Scrapfest in Louisiana this weekend. I am teaching two fun classes and just enjoying hanging with my friends the rest of the time. As far as cropping goes, I hope to accomplish a couple of things. I have been asked to be a guest designer for a challenge blog based out of South Africa! Very exciting!!!! Got a little something started for that, and will be posting it soon. Next, Got some great new stuff from Glitz coming in to play with. Laura messaged me to let me know it was on the way! CANT WAIT! So much going on and i love it. I love to be busy doing things I enjoy! Keep checking back, projects posted soon! Have a GREAT weekend. I know I will!

Just for the heck of it!

I really don't have anything exciting to blog about, but I just could not let it go on any longer. The girls are loving school, I am loving school, and I think we are getting into the swing of things. The hardest part is finding clothes for me to wear and getting everything ready for the day, the night before. I have never been much for a schedule or planning ahead, but it has been nice having everything organized and structured. I think I needed this a little bit in my life. Tell me how your year is going, and any organizational help you may have for me! Thanks for your input.

Simmons's Houshold QUIRKY Quote of the Day!

The girls and I were sitting on the couch talking over their school day, and Lillian was telling us how tired she was. She then said she wanted to watch Peter Pan, but I had to tell her no because it was a school night and she did not want to be REALLY tired tomorrow. So she says,"Mama, I wish I could break up with school so I can stay up late."


Another conversation this evening-

Lillian- Sometimes I have to raise my voice to tell Adeline to flush the toilet.

Adeline- Oh, I hear her, but I just choose to ignore her because she is too demanding.

Lillian- Well, then I flush it for her, because I don't want it to stink up the whole house!

Such deep discussion topics.

My BIG school girls!

Our first day of school! They LOVED it. Their principal came out and met them and told them how she knew their family. She is very sweet and the children love her. They were very tired when we got home and now we are about to hang out in my bed and watch a movie. This mothers mind is relieved now that this first day is over, and the new year is off to a great start!

This is what my kitchen table looked like this evening! Full of all kinds of school goodies! We love school supplies and shopping for them. In the bottom picture, the girls were trying to decide who's backpack weighed more, I think they both weighed about 300 lbs. They got to pick their own style and I compromised, I let them pick their own font if I got to pick the font color.

This year we will be attending a new school and our school has a dress code! I love it! We have had tons of fun looking for things in the school colors, ordering bows, ribbons, headbands, all with monograms of course! Little plaid jumpers and knee socks, skorts, sweaters, and white button down shirts! The girls are just as excited about it as I am! They look so "school girl" in their outfits! I will post those pics soon enough!

Tomorrow we go and meet their teachers. The girls are absolutely giddy! The excitement made it very difficult for them to settle down for devotion and bedtime. Adeline's teacher is a good friend of mine and in my Girl's Night Out group and Lillian's is also a friend and the daughter of one of our former pastors. So happy with these ladies! They have been showered with prayer! We have had several calls from friends that work at their school telling us that they will watch out for them and that they are going to have the best time. That makes a mom feel much more at peace!

Meanwhile, I have my classroom all set up and ready to go! I love the ladies I work with, I have gotten to know several new faces and hang out with others I have known a while and go to church with. I am looking forward to getting to know my kids and a great school year!

The Girl's Loft August Projects!

Here are a few SNEAK PEEKS of my projects for The Girl's Loft. There are some amazing projects this month! Jen and I had a chance to work together at a crop last weekend and had so much fun putting our stuff together and checking out all of the goodies in our kit. Leslie and I worked together on Facebook into the wee hours. I love these talented girls and they are so sweet spirited too!

If you have not signed up for a kit, DO IT, DO IT NOW! They are great and have tons of stuff to work with! CHECK IT OUT! --------------->The Girl's Loft Blog

Check it OUT!

This a picture from this past weekend in Natchez. Lisa was a great speaker and fit right in with the crazy Southern girls. My classes went well, and I had an awesome time with my sweet friends.

Now we are settling into a routine and getting things ready to start my new job and a new school. I am starting a full-time job as a Teachers Assistant/ Interventionist. I took this job so that my kids could go to an awesome school, but it's not in my district. In order for them to go there, I must work there or own property in the district. I am looking forward to it, but not to the changes our lives are making. My babies are growing up too fast! I found several pictures from a few years ago during Hurricane Katrina. They were SO little and sweet! I need not go on. I do not need to work myself up. We have had tons of fun this Summer and the good times will not end just because school has started. Cherish the time you have with your babies!

We are off to meet our friends and get our uniforms and school supplies. A fun tradition we started years ago. We take the girls on a little date and then get all of the necessities. Do you have a tradition that you take part in before school begins?

The NEWS!

Remember a couple of posts back I said I had some exciting news??? Well, here it is! I am now a member of the GLITZ Design Team! I love this line and the Glitz Girls are awesome! I look forward to working with them and their FUN products!

I am on my way to Natchez to teach and crop and just hang with my girlfriends. I posted a not so great photo of what I will be teaching(a new camera is on the way, hopefully will help:) at Scrappin' on the River. Come join us, this event is always a unique and fun one. Lisa Bearnson will be there, and I look forward to meeting her.

Enjoy your weekend, and I leave you with a couple of layouts from my last event. The first one is with The new Glitz line.....Olivia. I love it! Photo is by my lovely friend Maureen Wilson.

The second is using some of the fabulous Glitz rub-ons and lots of other goodies hanging out in my bags. Photo by Maureen Wilson.

Thanks for Visiting!

OH OF COURSE! I knew i was forgetting something important! The Girls Loft has a blog now! Check it out!

A Tiny Peek ....Our FaMiLY Vacation

Scrapping On The River..... Classes

This is "BE FREE". One of two classes I am teaching at Scrapping On The River, in Natchez, MS. I have had several people say they could not see it on the event website, so I wanted to put it on my site so it could be blown up. The cost of this class is $32.00. It will include lots of techniques and a new way of looking at some of the "junk" around your house.

This is my "HOME" banner. I LOVE this class. It was so fun to make this little banner and I always enjoy using my favorite subjects in my work. It includes six pages, and can also be used as a mini book if you do not want to make a banner. This is a very busy detailed class, but you end up with a SUPER cute finished project that you can keep for yourself or that you could give as a gift. Class cost is $32.00. This class is sponsored by Anthologies.

This past weekend was great fun. My classes sold out and my peeps seemed really pleased with their projects. I got a lot of scrapping done and had tons of fun with my girlfriends. I will post a pic. of My "Whoo Loves You" class in a bit. I also found out some very exciting news and I cannot wait to fill you in!! SOON! Some of you already know, but I am trying to get all of the kinks worked out before I spill the beans.

Also, I promised pics from the vacation. I will put those up sometime this week. Really........

Until then, I am purging my scrap junk and cleaning my house. Got four girls and their kids coming to help me at the end of this week and I want to be ready. Ms. Cindy, don't you wish you were here to see how all of this works out????

Just a Glimpse

WOW! It's been a while! When I say we have not been home that is no exaggeration! We are making the most of our Summer. Last weekend I went on a retreat with my girlfriends. I mentioned that we were staying in a cabin at a state park. It was a really relaxing and funny weekend. One night we got a little stir crazy and went to a movie. Mostly, we just scrapped, laughed, and enjoyed being with each other. It's not often this bunch gets together without teaching classes, running a scrap store, or a convention. I love these girls!

Sunday I drove back from the camp to repack and an hour later jump back in the car with my kids and my friend and head to Georgia. Nine hours or so later we arrived at my friends new home. Her family accepted a position as minister of youth at a church on the coast. Their new church family moved them, unpacked them, and stocked their fridge and pantry. What a blessing. I believe they have moved to a loving community that will appreciate them. After we settled them in, we did a little vacationing (pictures later). We spent time on the islands, shopping, eating seafood, playing at the beach, and just enjoying the scenery and being together. We took a couple of days to go to Savannah where we enjoyed museums, carriage rides, music in the city square, walks along the river, and the best seafood I have ever had. Needless to say, we had a great time and I will post more on that later. We returned home on Sunday and I had to immediately start getting ready for my supper club which was being held at MY house. TONS of clothes to wash and some major dusting and straightening to do. That was last night and it was a great time. It took us three and a half hours to catch up on all the latest. They were also cluing me in on my new job (more on that later).

This weekend I am headed out to teach at an event in South Louisiana. I am tired but I get to be with my girlfriends so it will be a blast. My girls are going to spend several days with their grandparents and cousins in Jackson and are very much looking forward to that. Next weekend some of the girls are coming up from LA to hang out with me at my house and let the kids play. We are gonna work on my new scrap room! And then another event, then real life begins..... We are having so much fun this Summer and we don't want it to end, but that's not reality. I will get a little more detailed later ,but just wanted to fill you in on the latest and catch up.

I leave you with just one more example of how life is moving so quickly. My baby just lost her third tooth. It is one of the big front ones and is one of the ones that really marks the fact that she is growing up. She goes to Kindergarten this year and I am just sick over it. At least I will be with them.

Alright! I am off to get everybody ready and grab a bite to eat. For those of you taking my class this weekend, I will post the project shortly. Any size pic 5x7 or smaller will work. I changed the project up a bit due to materials not being available, but basically the same idea. See y'all soon!