We are heading out to Rochester tonight for a weekend tournament of JAVA volleyball. It should be fun...a change of pace from the stressful wrestling tournaments!! We will even get to spend some time with Maddie so that is always a big plus. Of course my bleacher butt isn't going to improve over the next couple of days but hey...that is what being a mom of athletes is all about.

Things are improving with Andrew's shoulder everyday. We have had a few emotional blow ups (both he and I) It is just hard not knowing what to do about it. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately because they really do care...) several of the coaches have been putting in their 2 cents about it...surgery or no surgery...when to have it if we decide to. At this moment I don't think it is the proper time to make any decisions. He was scared because of the intense pain he felt over the weekend...but the doctor told him that it what it was going to be like if he got himself caught. The tear isn't going to get any worse...it is torn and he can't tear it anymore. It is just a matter of how much pain he can tolerate. If you ask me...wrestling is not the sport to test it but of course nobody asked me. The doctor is least worried about baseball, then football with the special brace....wrestling on the other hand was a different story. So with that being said....baseball starts next Wednesday....I think he is going to play. As far as the surgery goes....haven't a clue...but time line wise....I think it may be after football season next year if he feels it is warranted.

Okay...onto much happier things. I have been creating all week. I am in a card swap over at Coordinates Collections so I have been working on those. These are a couple of my favorites and again I am using up all of my scraps. I am having fun coming up with different ways to use my bits and pieces...makes me feel good. I still have a couple more to do but I will probably have to wait until next week to finish them up. I also posted my weekly recipe challenge over at The Shaker Box today....so if you have a chance go on over and check it out.

I am off to finish up laundry and get packed. Thanks for stopping by and keeping up with my crazy world!!

and it is over....My worst nightmare of this wrestling season came true at Andrew's tournament this past weekend. He had to forfeit due to injury. Yes, his shoulder. It was the hardest thing for me to say to the coach that it was over but I really had no choice. He physically wasn't able to go on and there was absolutely no way that he would be physically ready to wrestle next week at States....so the decision was made to end it.. It started with his first match of the day....he wrestled a true 285 pound wrestler. He made a mistake early on and had gotten himself in a position of having to fight off being pinned. The other guy fell on him...yes...right on his bad shoulder....Andrew fought off this pin for over 1 minute and amazingly he did! He then went on to get a reversal and then he pinned his opponent. But...the damage had already been done. He had 285 pounds on his shoulder for over a minute....his pain was almost unbearable. At that time I should have stopped him from continuing on to his next match but I couldn't bear the look he gave me. He went on to wrestle again and had a tough match that he ended up losing...partly to the fact that he couldn't lift his arm and partly to some major officiating issues. (that is a whole other story that I am not going to get into.) He had to wrestle again 45 minutes later...he did pin this kid somehow but by this time he had tingling in all of his fingers....not a good thing. We begged him to make the decision not to wrestle....he knew that all he had to do was win one more match and he would still be going to states because he had enough wildcard points to get there. Stupidly we let him continue....not long into this match....Andrew took his kid down and then....he couldn't get up off the mat. He was in so much pain. It was then that I told the coach it was over....they had no other choice then to listen to me because they knew if they didn't I would have marched on that mat and ended it myself. Emotionally Andrew was crushed, physically he was crushed. It was such a disappointment to him but he knows that it was not worth it. That continuing on would have been disastourous to his football career and that is what he is working so hard for....not wrestling...and not some trophy to add to his collection. Fortunately though after being examined by the Sports Specialist on site he did not dislocate the shoulder (that would be bad and would mean immediate surgery) But he stressed the muscles and ligaments enough to cause swelling and nerve pain. With ice therapy the swelling has gone down. He still has difficulty getting dressed but there is no longer tingling in the fingers or numbness. I think he dodged a bullet. As hard as it is to see him so disappointed I am actually relieved....very relieved that it is over. Will he wrestle next year I have been asked....not if I can help it. But we shall see when that time comes. There is a lot to get through between now and then. Baseball is on his mind now....2 weeks and that starts back up. Hopefully he will be on the mend and okay to play....if not...then It is what it is and we will deal with that.

We did manage to have some fun this weekend despite the disappointment. Max loved his first time seeing that Falls. I think he might have enjoyed it more if the wind wasn't so bitter and the ice pellets hitting his face didn't hurt so bad but hey...It was gorgeous. Seeing all of the trees covered in the ice....just like a fairy tale. Grandma and Grandpa went with us and we all stayed in the same hotel. Relaxed by the pool and in the hot tub....ate lots of yummy food and just enjoyed being all together. The pictures from the Falls really do not do the beauty of them justice...they are awesome to see in person...it just makes you awestruck to stand near them.

So today I am going to unpack from the trip, do some laundry and then have a little me time this afternoon. I want to make a special card for Niki and get that sent out to her. My heart is still broken thinking about that family. My sadness over what happened this weekend at the tournament pales in comparison to the sadness that Niki is dealing with. Putting things in perspective.....a lesson they have taught me time and time again.

Dear sweet Ellie Rose passed away last night. In her mommy and daddy's arms. She is no longer in pain. She is flying with the angels. She will forever be 5. God Bless Niki and her family today and always!

I have been finishing up my DT work for The Shaker Box as well as catching up on laundry and getting the house cleaned before we leave. We have decided to stay an extra night at the Falls so Andrew Thomas can have an evening of chilling out in the hot tub and just relaxing before we drive back. I am not looking forward to the tournament at all....only because my mommy nerves are just about shot at the moment. I just pray that he is stays safe and that whatever happens everybody is fine with. I know that however far this kid goes I am more proud of him then ever no matter what!! He has exceded my expectations this season and I can't believe how far he has come even with his injury. I personally am ready for it all to be over with but only God will know the answer to that and whatever happens Saturday happens so I just have to go with the flow. Can you tell that I am trying to convince myself to chill? Maybe I need that hot tub more than he does!!

Anyways, these are the layouts that I did for my DT work at The Shaker Box. This was using the February kit which I am telling you right now was my favorite kit to work with so far. Just love everything in there and have plenty more to use on future projects.

I received in the mail today my package from my shopping spree the other day. Oh my....lots of fun stuff to play with. And when I went to the Mall yesterday I used my 50% coupon over at JoAnns and picked up some more yummy paper from Heidi Grace. I know....I am so bad! But I have given myself a new challenge....20 more projects from my stash before purchasing again!! I figure that this will help me to actually get my scrapping done since I can't wait to shop again. What is it about scrapbooking that is so addicting? I just can't figure out this need of mine to have everything!! Oh well, it is probably better to be addicted to paper then to some other things in life...(smile)

Here is a funny for you too....we have been trying to find the time to get poor Max a haircut for weeks now and it never worked out for us. He was getting pretty annoyed with his hair because it was always in his eyes. Anyways, yesterday at the mall I said we are getting your hair cut no matter what today! He was so excited. After the lady finished cutting his hair...which mind you...she took a lot off....Max told her "it wasn't short enough" "Don't cut all of it off he says but you need to cut it some more" So she did and he was happy as a clam. Now I think it is pretty short and if it were up to me I wouldn't have taken that extra off but he is so happy with how it turned out. How can you argue with that? Of course I haven't taken a picture yet and at the moment I am just too lazy to deal with taking one and getting it on the computer so you all will just have to wait until another day.

Prayers please too...Ellie is rapidly declining and now Ellie's dad was put into the hospital for a severe anxiety attack. This poor family is just going through so much right now and I wish so much that there was something I could do for them. Prayers are all I can manage right now and prayers are probably the only thing that really matters at this time. I keep telling myself that but I do wish that there was something more. Like finding a cure for Ellie so that they don't have to watch their little girl die.

Don't mean to leave you on a down note but life is life...enjoy each moment that you have and remember not to sweat the little stuff....It isn't worth wasting your time.

Thanks for stopping by and hopefully the next time I update I will have lots of exciting news to share and pics from our Falls getaway. Keep Andrew Thomas in your prayers this weekend too and maybe remind me to just chill and know that it is what it is and whatever happens, happens!!

Andrew Thomas wrestled extremely well this weekend and we live to see another tournament. Which means, he took first in the Class A tournament and will be competing next weekend up in Niagara for the State Qualifiers. Another weekend of total stress for mom but not much I can do about that I guess. We are going up Friday and spending the night at the Falls. Kind of a getaway since the kids are off from school this week and we really can't get away for anything else. Andrew Thomas even made the paper today .... Observer Today and that was pretty exciting.

I did manage to complete my challenge of 10 projects from stash and then I promptly went to my shopping cart and checked out on Friday....I know....I am terribly bad but hey it was an awesome sale and I just couldn't pass that up!! Not just how much creating that I will be able to do this week with everybody home but you never know. I may just need to shut myself in my room for some peace. (smile)

And....I have a prayer request. Andrew's grandfather is in the hospital. He was admitted last Thursday and as of this morning they still don't know what is wrong with him. He is 86 years old and up until now has been doing very well. Andrew's grandma is getting to the point of total frustration and very stressed out. This is not good for her health either as she has heart problems and is currently battling a relapse of Lymphoma. So prayers are needed for them both and for the rest of the family to make smart choices in how they handle their care needs.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you all have a great week!!

Max had such an awesome time at the game last night! He was so excited all day and was non stop talking on the way to the arena. I thought for sure that he would have fallen asleep before the game was over but nope...he was having too much fun!! He just couldn't get over being at the arena and seeing his Sabres play. Unfortunately for him (and of course the rest of us) they lost. Max's quote of the evening was "They could have won for my first game mom!" So yes, he was disappointed about the outcome of the game but he had so much fun that I don't think it bothered him too awful much. He slept in this morning until after 8am and even then I had to pry him out of bed so that he could make it to the bus on time. But he was very excited to go and tell his class about his night. No grumpies even after having to be woken up!!

I was so pleased with the picture I took of Max looking down at the ice that I couldn't wait to scrap it! This is probably the first time ever that I scrapped an event so soon after. Of course there was the added incentive of getting another project done using my stash!! I am almost there....3 more things to go and I am hoping to finish them up today because Coordinate Collections is having a Lucky 13 sale tomorrow. I have already loaded my shopping cart waiting for the sale discount tomorrow but of course if I don't make it to 10 then I will have to forgo the sale. I can't do that.....there is some amazing stuff in my cart!!

We are having some wicked weather today!! High winds like crazy and later some snow. I am amazed that we still have power here....lots of places around us have lost theirs but somehow we are managing to stay powered up. Thank goodness. It was a horrible wait at the bus stop this morning. I was really afraid that Max would blow away or that power lines and tree limbs would fall on us but thankfully we survived the wait. I am hoping that things settle down pretty quick but it isn't looking that way. At least it is not the terrible weather that Oklahoma had with all of the tornados. For that I am thankful!!

Ok....I am off to finish my 3 projects....wish me luck and thanks for stopping by!!

Can you believe it? We are at 50 degrees this morning and heading to 60 or so they say. I turned down my heat and opened a few windows!! Haven't been able to do that in so long but I am so happy to smell the fresh air in the house! Too bad the sun isn't shining and too bad that the temperature is going to take a drastic turn downward tonight and for the rest of the week. But for now I am enjoying the springy smell!!

I am doing so good with my no buying challenge. I just delete all of my emails that are showing all of the new products from CHA and I have resisted visiting my online favorite stores...okay, maybe it is a little harder then I am saying but I am actually doing very well. I am trying to hurry up and finish my 10 items though so that I can at least look at all of the new things coming out!! (Smile!!)

The cards I am showing today were made with the tiniest of scraps in my collection. I just punched out squares with my punch, inked the edges and placed them on the card. Then I used my paper piercer and punched a heart shape through the cards and the punched squares. Hand stitched with some embroidery floss and sewed a button and flower on top. I also inked the edges of the card for an aged look. Added some sticker letters (oh my I have so many of those that I never ever use!) and wallah.....a finished card. How simple and inexpensive is that?

Yesterday I made homemade sponge candy!! Yum!! I made it over Christmas and it was a big hit so I decided to make some for Valentine's Day and send some to Maddie and Grandma and Grandpa Snyder. Thought it would be a sweet surprise for them!! The candy is so easy to make and is just as good if not better than what you buy. A heck of a lot cheaper too....can't beat that!! Here is the recipe if you are interested....

1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Karo Syrup
1 Tblsp. Vinegar
1 Tblsp. Baking soda

Combine, sugar, karo syrup and vinegar into a saucepan, heat until the sugar is dissolved. Cover for 1 minute so that the steam brings the sugar crystals down off the sides. The continue cooking with the top off until the mixture reaches 300 degrees. (Hard crack stage) Remove from heat....add baking soda and stir. Then pour onto a buttered pan and let harden. Break into pieces. Then I use Hershey's Milk Chocolate Chips that I melt in the microwave with a little shortening. Cover your broken pieces with the chocolate and place on wax paper until they harden. Oh My....this is awesome stuff!!

And we are all very excited today because we are going to the Sabres Hockey game tonight in Buffalo. My awesome brother Kerry has a suite at HSBC Arena and he called us this weekend to see if we would like to go....Ummmmmmm Heck Ya!! So we are heading out there later this afternoon. Max is so stinking excited...this will be his first ever NHL hockey game live. He wore his Sabres Jersey to school this morning. I have to say that it was the easiest morning yet to get him dressed because he couldn't wait to put that jersey on. Of course it will be a late night for everybody but who cares!! This is an awesome opportunity!!

And.... a couple of prayer requests: Ellie and her family are having a rough time. Things are progressing quickly...it just breaks my heart to think about what this family and what this little girl are going through. So I know that you keep them in your prayers and I don't need to remind you but the only thing they have right now is all of us storming the doors of heaven with our prayers.

Andrew Thomas: Please pray for him as well....no nothing serious and I feel funny even asking but....his shoulder is giving him a bit more trouble as the wrestling season has progressed. This kid works so hard and just has one goal at the moment....to make it to States. I am just not sure how much more his shoulder can take and I am just not sure how much I can take watching it. I keep asking him if it is worth it and he keeps answering me yes! But I can see how much it is troubling him....so if you could send a few extra prayers for him I would appreciate it!!

Thanks for stopping by and if anybody tries the recipe I would love to hear how it turned out and what you think!!

Hahahahaaaa.....I allowed myself to be in a no buying challenge which means that I have to make 10 things with stuff that I have on hand and no new stuff!! I can easily make hundreds of items with what I have so that really isn't a problem at all. The problem is the no buying part!! Anyways, these two cards that I made yesterday and today are for this challenge. I had fun going through all of my stuff and finding the little doodads to use. It feels pretty good I must say. So 2 down and 8 more to go before I can hit the stores!! I better hurry up so that I shop again!!

The "Love You" card I used bits and pieces of things that I had left over from a kit from Kelly's Kit Shop. Love her kits because of all of the yummy embellies that she includes. It was so easy to put this one together. The flowers have bits of bling in their centers, I inked all of the edges to give it a distressed look and added prima Whispers letters for my sentiment. I think it turned out kind of cute and will be sent out as a Valentine this year.

The second card is made out of an envelope. I recceived the tutorial from Split Coast Stampers (Go ahead and check it out!!) and was so excited to try this one. Again, I raided my stash to find all of the doodads to include. Bits of lace from my sewing days too...lots of fun.

Today has been a quiet day....lots of sun but oh so stinking cold! It was -7 at the bus stop this morning. Man I can't wait for it to warm up and stay warm!! Everybody will be home late today so once Max gets home from school it will just be him and I. I am hoping to be able to take him down for a haircut this afternoon. We have been trying to get him one but every time we are free the hairdressers are too busy!! So wish me luck....he really, really needs one!! Other than that there isn't much going today....the calm before the storm or actually the busy weekend ahead of us. Wouldn't want it any other way I suppose. Life would be boring then!!

Good news today too....Maddie worked out it with all of her professors and she will be able to come to Myrtle Beach with us!! I am so stinking happy!! Last year it was so very hard to go without her and I am just so thankful she could get it all worked out. Yeah!! We are going to have so much fun....sun, sand, sun, ocean, sun.....and hopefully hot, hot weather!!

I never would have expected that I would be so happy to see the month of February but January was such a snowy, crappy blue month that I am thrilled to be moving on and a little bit closer to Myrtle Beach!! I haven't started an official countdown yet but just knowing we are one month closer helps get through the mid winter blues!! Unfortunately that Phil guy saw his shadow so he is predicting 6 more weeks of winter BUT Dunkirk Dave didn't see his shadow so I think I am going to believe him....I mean really he is only just a few miles down the road and I certainly like his prediction much better!!

Being that it is February I have decided to surround myself with pink!! I am working on lots of Valentine goodies and having fun using the colors of the holiday. How could Pink not brighten anyone's day? Speaking of pink, my friend Kimmy was my Valentine Diva swap partner and oh my did she send me some yummy stuff!! She wrapped all the little packages in pink paper and added ribbons and hearts. It was just what I needed to get myself moving and out of my winter doldrums. Thank you KIMMY!! You are the best!! I have been using the special goodies from her to make Max's Valentine's for his class. It is so much fun to be able to do this all over again!! I have to say having an "Oh my gosh" baby has been quite a treat!! Anyways, when I get them finished I will share them...I think they are turning out quite cute if I say so myself. I also managed to make a card to keep in my stash. I am trying hard to use up my scraps and make cards so that I have them on hand when the need arises.....it will be so much nicer to just go and get one out to use instead of stressing about getting one made in time. I haven't really scrapped any layouts in awhile...being sick and seasonally depressed has sure put a crimp in my creativity but hey....I think I am working my way out of that!!

We have a busy weekend ahead of us....Volleyball for Abby on Sunday and a birthday party for Max on Saturday. But the next few weekends will be far busier for us with lots of traveling for tournaments both wrestling and volleyball. I am also hoping to plan a tiny little get away for when the kids are off this month for winter break. We would so like to squeeze in a night at a hotel in Rochester with Maddie...one with a swimming pool so we can spend some time together just relaxing. Would love to be able to coordinate with extended family members too....I think we all need a get away about this time! Hopefully the kids sports schedules and Drew's college schedule will allow us to get some time away. Fingers and toes crossed!!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a great day!!