kelly lynn creations

the farm

Yesterday, we spent the afternoon at our friend's farm and it was a real treat for all of us. We toured the new hay barn, checked out their compost process, watched the horse trainer work with one of the horses, fed some horses, and finished the outing with a picnic dinner under a shady tree.

Here are a few pics of from our day. 

  
He is really concentrating... 
He even got a short riding lesson!
 
Taking time to brush the horse,  Jack, after his ride.
  
I can't wait to go back! Check out how our friend came to own the farm - it's a great story about how destiny does indeed line up for people.

evening playdate

 A few weeks ago, we went over to our friend's house for dinner. After dinner we put all three kids in the bathtub and watched them entertain us. It was all going well until I mentioned how well it was going and then the kiddo started splashing everyone (including me!).   

It's hard to believe the babies are now 2 years old!

cabin fever

It has been over a week since our winter storm has seriously limited our ability to get out and about. My car has been parked in the driveway collecting snow and ice. We have only ventured out when it was absolutely necessary (getting the kiddo his Christmas presents fell into this category).  When we have gone out we drive hubby's 4-wheel drive with studded tires.

Yesterday was probably the worst day we have had so far. Chains were required on all of the city streets and many of the freeways were closed. We had a pretty lazy day around the house and we all needed some fresh air. While the kiddo and I shoveled snow, hubby put the chains on his car. We had nearly a 3 foot snow drift outside our front door! After doing a test run around the neighborhood hubby was convinced we were ready for a family outing.

As luck would have it, our friends were hosting a get-together at their house and they were in need of people to join them. We were the only guests that were able to drive to their house, everyone else was within walking distance. It turned out to be well worth the effort. My friend and her husband always have amazing food and they did not disappoint. I started my evening with a cosmopolitan and ended it with homemade hot fudge over vanilla ice cream. It doesn't get much better then that...

craft night

We had a very successful craft night tonight at Collage. There were nearly a dozen gals crafting away.  They have a standard group of about 4 gals that come every Firday night and then we had a group of friends and friends of friends. It was so fun seeing what everyone was working on. We had quite a variety: felting projects, garland making, holiday cards, invitations and other paper crafts. I loved it! I'm hoping we can make it a monthly event. I need something on my calendar to get me working on my projects on a regular basis.

I spent most of my time on our holiday cards, which I never got around to over Thanksgiving . I had a concept in mind and then ended up doing something a little different once I found a stamp I couldn't live without. I'm hoping I can finish them up over the weekend. Now I just need to get hubby to write his annual letter and pick a family photo...

I did a little shopping for some extra embellishments for my Dec daily album too. It is really coming together. I'll have to print this week's photos so I can finalize the first week. Tomorrow we are off to have breakfast with Santa and then we are going to pick out a tree. I love finding our Christmas tree. Every year I look for the one that 'speaks' to me. I need to get some rest!

getting organized

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by your closet, your kid's closet or even your own office? Recently, a friend of mine started a company to help people get organized. You can check out her new site at  Take Control Organizing. 

I'm pretty good about getting rid of the kiddos clothes once he grows out of them, but I was just in my own closet today trying to reorganize a few things when I realized that I have a stack of clothes that I haven't worn for over a year. I just made another space for the clothes and walked out of my closet. I think there is probably a better way...

I came down with a cold a few days ago and I've been dragging for the past few days. I'm hoping tomorrow I will be feeling back to normal and maybe I will consider tackling my closet...

something to ponder

My husband sent this to me today and I'm just now getting to watch it. He told me it was a little cheesy, so I had low expectations. I was surprised when I actually liked it! After our friends were killed in a plane crash this past summer, we have come to realize that life is short. We have had a lot of discussions on what we want out of life for ourselves and for our family.

I would encourage you to take the time to view this slideshow, even if it might take you a few extra minutes... (the file is a little big, so it might be slow to open).

Download TheParadoxofOurTimes.pps

a place to bark

Claudine is one of the blogs I frequent on a regular basis. (She has even posted comments to my blog!) She had a post recently about Six Degrees, Network for Good, Parade magazine and the Case foundation. They have joined forces to help promote awareness towards giving online.

A Place to Bark is the badge that Claudine is hoping will have one of the highest number of unique donors (not dollars donated). If they are, they will receive an additional $50,000. It's easy to donate, just click on the "Donate" badge below:

The goal is to get as many unique donations as possible for "A Place to Bark", so tell your friends and family to submit their donation. The minimum donation is only $10! The donations close on January 31st, at 3 PM EST.

For more information, click here.

check out goosey press

I ran into a good friend at our local coffee shop a few weeks ago. We had lunch last week and managed to spend over 2 hours catching up with each other. I was super excited to hear about her new business venture. If you in the market for some really adorable gift wrap and greeting cards you really need to check out Goosey Press.

I was lucky enough to receive a bag of Goosey goodies from her during our lunch. Here is a quick photo of my goodie bag. You really need to check out her website...

 

life is hard

Allison passed away yesterday. This news took me by surprise, she had been doing so well. How is it possible that an entire family has been taken so tragically? I had visited with Allison several times since the accident and I was so full of hope that she was going to pull through. She was such a fighter. We've been talking to my son about his future playdates with her. Now we have to tell him that another friend has died.

The only thing that eases the pain for me is knowing that she is with her family now. Somehow that gives me peace. I love this photo of her at her birthday party. This is how I want to remember her.

photo taken by Shannon Sewell

I lost track of how many times I hugged and kissed my kiddo yesterday and I was thankful that he let me...

a little something for my friend

This past week I spoke at my friend's memorial service. I managed to weave the word 'scrapbook' into my talk. It wasn't too hard, it was something we did together often. After the service someone came up to me and said they were inspired to take up scrapbooking knowing that Christi had been an avid scrapbooker. I hope they do.

Following the service I received several emails from Christi's friends sharing their memories of her. It felt good swapping stories and it made me realize how important it was to share these stories with each other. Another friend offered to work on Christi's scrapbook.

All of this got me thinking about continuing Christi's scrapbooks for Allison. So many people have offered to help and they haven't known what they can do. We are putting together a scrapbook event so people can create layouts for Allison's album. I'm hoping to finalize the details over the next few days. I think Christi would want us to do this for her family. I will keep you updated.