My girls – these are my girls.  I’ve known K her whole life – as she is my beautiful daughter.  I met Jess & Kels when they were 3 and in the same preschool class as K; and I met Kenz when the girls were in kindergarten and all of them were in my Daisy Scout troop.  It’s amazing how much they’ve grown up in the last 11 years.  Timid little girls – not much more than toddlers to beautiful young women with their own distict personalities, talents and quirks.  These are my girls!

I joined this group over a year ago – Heavenly Angels In Need. The lovely volunteers for HAIN hand make items and donate them to families that have lost a child.  When I joined, I did so as an accompaniment to my volunteer work for NILDMTS – they volunteers for HAIN have sent me crocheted gowns for infants as tiny as 20 weeks (some weigh only 1-2 lbs), I’ve received book marks, jewelry, pins, poems, etc….  They donated heavily to the Angel Celebration that I hosted last year.  Recently, I decided to try my hand as creating some of these items myself.  I’ll make bracelets for my Angel Families (Families that I serve as a volunteer for NILMDTS) and for any other NILMDTS photog (or family) in the Cinti/No Ky area.  I’m not the greatest, but I did have a great teacher, Felicia Stalder.  She not only taught me the HOW, but entertained me with stories of her years of teaching children and gave me terrific LIFE advice – THANK YOU!! 

Not long ago, I posted this really cool link that I came across on my quest for cake ball knowledge: Bakerella.  This woman is an artist!!!  I know that I will never ever ever ever reach her level of creativity and excellence – I did attempt to make cake balls!!  As my friends always tease me, I AM the low-rent district Martha – best of intentions, but never quiet the elevated status of Mrs. Stewart lol.  All I can say, is – I TRY.  and I try and I try and I try.  Some of my “creations” never make to it anyone’s mouth – as I would like to keep my friends; some actually turn out great; mostly, they are an opportunity to blog about what NOT to do or how NOT to do something. 

According to Donna, Sarah & Pam – these little guys were a SUCCESS!!!  I used white cake, cherry frosting, milk chocolate and hit a marachino cherry inside of some of them – the verdict was that they tasted like cherry cordials   I can live with that.  Although they didn’t LOOK like I pictured them in my head, they tasted that way if you closed your eyes while chewing

Ahhhhh…… I love hanging out on the couch with a good book – and I seem to have a strange habit of taking pics of  my own feet lol.  Thanks for the angel socks Christine!!!!  I love them!

Okay, I couldn’t find a Little Miss Procrastinator or Little Miss Too Busy to Do Things Right Away or even a Little Miss I Have the Best Of Intentions – Little Miss Late will have to do    I’m caught up on all my sessions, all of my orders and almost all of my invoicing (hatin’ paperwork I tell ya!!) – so I’m going back to my galleries and fun pics that I haven’t had a chance to blog about yet.  So keep peeking back – OFTEN, I’m on a roll

Okay, it’s almost a week late – but I’m just now crawling out of the mound of empty boxes and gaggles of barbies and Nintendo DS games – YIKES!!

I’ve always been a big fan of meaningful ornaments.  Don’t get me wrong – I’m all for ornaments just because they are pretty, but I LOVE the ones that have a story behind them – they are the ones that you unpack every year and can actually hear an “awwww”.  Every year, I buy each of my children and my husband (and this year – Dixie Dog) an ornament that reflects something about their past year.   This is our first Christmas in the new house – I was soooo excited when I bought this ornament!!   This year, Kristen got a little volleyball player ornament, Jake got a Ghostbusters ornament, Johnny received an Indiana Jones ornament and Leah received a Strawberry Shortcake ornament.  John’s ornament it 2 little fishes in a bowl kissing – it’s too cute!!  Ideally, I’d LOVE to take a pic of each of ornaments and journal about their history – where I bought them and why. 

I’d like to challenge you all – to take a picture of one of your favorite or a new ornament and tell the story behind it.    Merry Christmas!

Thank you Veterans!!!  As I go to sleep tonight in the safety of my own home, knowing that my kids are all safely tucked in their beds – I can’t help but think of the thousands of service people that aren’t.  THEY are the reason that I have peace in my heart.   God bless and be with you all and your families.  I pray that you all return home safely to the open arms of your loved ones.  Thank you to all who have served in the past, those that serve today and those that will serve.  Thank you to the moms, dads, wives, husbands, children and family members that send up dozens of prayers daily on behalf of their loved one that is standing up for the freedoms that we all too often take for granted.  God please place a hedge of protection around all of these wonderful people, give their families a sense of peace and pride and Father, above all, please let them feel that You are with them at all times.