A Project is Good for the Soul

I published this post on my Genealogy blog but thought it was fitting for Cindy's Place so I could share it with my crafting friends. So I'm not a scrapbooker... not in the cutsie die-cut adding scrapbooking way. But, I really wanted to make a book for my Mom about her family so I sat down with everything I knew that was interesting and pulled out all the documents I had, photos, stories and such and I got to work.

I was not planning on making a book of everything I knew about her whole family, but rather her Father and his immediate family, so I started with his parents.

The first page was an introduction and their marriage certificate, that's where the story began. I then gave information about their travel to the US, how the family was seperated for a few years and how one of her uncles was left in England.
After a page for each of her grandparents, I then created as many pages as needed for each of their sons, obviously her father I had a lot of information for and he ended up with 6 pages.

I created the book for my Mom back in 2008 and have just completed one for her brother (shhh, don't tell - it's a surprise) and will send it to him soon. I just wanted to share a few of the pages here.

In Memory of Dad

I want to thank all of you who have reached out to me during the last few months with uplifting messages of strength during this difficult time.

My Dad, Donald F. Keener, ended his fight on December 21, 2009.

May he rest in peace.

I love you Dad

Away For a While

You've probably noticed that I've not written a post in quite some time. I received very bad news about my father the week prior to halloween... he's terminally ill and doesn't have much longer to live. My parents live about 4 hours from all of us (being my sibs and I). This is a very bad situation and we decided that it made sense to relocate him to a nursing care center closer to us. This process took almost a full week and my life has been a whirlwind ever since.

Please excuse my absense while I spend this time with my Dad and the rest of the family and support my Mom through it all. I never really thought about how this would impact me when the time came. My Dad has always been someone I looked up to, someone with strength and a very big heart. Someone who worked hard for his family and gave us values and honesty and all the things we needed - even if we didn't realize it. I'm not ready to say goodbye and it's more difficult than I ever could of imagined. I will spend every available moment with him, it's the least I can do after all he's done for me.

I wish everyone well this Holiday Season.

Thanks for reading.

One year! Where has time gone!

One year ago today I became a 'blogger'. While my focus changed from arts to genealogy and I now have two blogs, I am so glad that I did this!

When I started this blog I was filled with fear of the unknown. I had just begun doing some art and really wanted a place to share. During the past year I have met so many wonderful friends doing this and I appreciate everyone who stops by to read my ramblings. Thanks for making it a great year!!!

Outta the Mouths of Babes

Just a quick short tale that I had to share this morning -

We're on the road - making yet another trip to the high school... on a windy little road, full of trees and large corn fields on either side.

Up ahead I see something in the middle of the road..... is that a small deer? a dog? a large cat?

As we get closer I can see it's face - it's a raccoon... poor thing

From the back seat I hear a voice - "Mommy, why is that raccoon sleeping in the middle of the road?"

hmmmm.. what to say? "I guess he's tired honey" this is where mommy quickly changes the subject.

Fast forward to 4:00pm - same road, same kid in the car.

"How come that raccoon is sleeping there all day?"

Running R A G G E D

So the battery died in the camera, I cannot get the other pics of the tie dye experiment up tonight but let me share my week with you... I know, I know it's only Wednesday!!!!!

Ahhhh Spirit week at the local high school. Who knew it could be so much work for me.. the "hands off" mom? They are running me ragged with this crap and I'm losing my mind!!!!! :-)

I need to be at the school at 8:00 on Monday, oh and I'll need you to pick me up when I call (this ended up being 9:00pm!)

gotta go to Walmart - we need more supplies for hall decorating

Mom did you make my hair appointment?

Mom, Where's the special bra for my dress?

back to walmart - more supplies - this time it's the tie dye, tee shirts, shirts and leggings for a powder puff football game.. shirts for decorating with special green paint so sister and friend can wear to watch the game... seriously??

Mom, gotta go here, gotta go there, need this, need that,

Mom, when can i get new glasses?

Mom, where are my jeans? Not those! the skinny leg ones... no the dark skinny leg ones...

Mom, whens the next time you're going to the store?

Mom, someone stepped on my new glasses? rrrrrrrrgh

Mom, did you do laundry today?
(please realize, with seven people in the house how could I not? It would take over very quickly - but easily 15 loads a week is just overwhelming!)

Mom, why didn't you do laundry today?

Mom, pick me up at 4:00 today and this other person needs a ride also

Mom, what's for dinner? "bleh" (don't you love when that's the response you get?)

Me - please make your bed and at least put the CLEAN clothes away on the floor!

Mom, where are the cookies?

Mom, didn't you go to the store today?
why didn't you get ... donuts, icecream, soda, cookies, waffles, syrup.....

Mom, I need a check for this.. oh, and one for that...

Mom, you're driving to volleyball practice today - 5:15

Mom, where are my shoes?

Mom, can you drive me to school (this means loading up two tots at 7:30am) NO!

Mom, can my friend come over? can they have dinner here? can they spend the night? can I spend the night at her house? it's a school night - NO!

Me (again - two days later) - please, please put the clothes away in your room!

and my absolute favorite....

"UGggggg, there's NO food in this house!" rolling of the eyes, slamming of the pantry door,
gee, I wonder where it all went???

Tie Dye... uggggh

So the kids have spirit week at school, and today's supposed to be a day off... meaning a day "on" for Mom. But the flurry of activity has got me just wore out and my frustration is building!!!!!

Tomorrow is 'Decade Day'...

"We want to wear tie dye shirts!"
"Fine"

off to the store, t-shirts and tie dye kit purchased.... two hours later......

"Did you read the directions?"
"Yes Mom"
"Dinner is almost on the table, please get your shirts dyed and wrapped" (they have to sit for 6-8 hours)


"We got this Mom" typical teenagers - moms don't know ANYTHING!

This morning I had to drop them at school, the halls must be decorated ya know. Two feverish toddlers in tow I made the drive, and returned home to unwrap the shirts and do the next step..... but somehow I don't think they're done correctly...

are you sure you read the directions??????? isn't the color supposed to be put down INTO the crevices of the rolled up shirt???

make a quick phone call....

"Where are the rest of the shirts? You guys didn't color these right - they're terrible.... they look like a shirt you WORE while tie dye is being done!"

"Are you kidding me Mom? We need those for tomorrow!"
"Why didn't you follow the directions?"

so, off to the garage I go, with another youngster - "We must tie dye two more shirts!" Mom is always "the fixer" in our house...

p.s. you should always wear gloves..... it's going to be days before my nails don't appear to have black crammed under them... yuck!

I'll be back later with the new shirts... hopefully they'll be "good enough" :-)

Welcome Fall

I took a little trip to a near-by town last weekend and took a few photos along the way. The town was still holding their summer street fair which they hold on the first weekend of every month, but there were some strange characters hanging around town who whispered of a different time of year....

some were "cute"

others not so much....

The sky was really blue with those big clouds around and the air was a bit breezy and brisk with the promise of fall... I just LOVE this time of year!

An Award! Who makes you smile?

I received this award from my beautiful wonderful friend June who I've met through blogging, art and genealogy. June is such a sweet lady for thinking of me! You are a wonderful person! June has several art blogs which you can visit here, here and here. They're very much worth a visit!

As always, there are rules for this award; you must list 5 things about yourself and pass along to 5 other bloggers who have made you smile.

First, my five things:

1: 1st and most importantly I am "mommy" to my 5 children.

2: I am married to an wonderful husband
3: I love crafting and I love genealogy even more. Two very time consuming hobbies that I don't seem to have enough time to dedicate to.
4: My favorite time of year is now, when the weather is turning cooler
5: I am somewhat of a packrat but trying to get organized

Now, to pass this along to other bloggers who make me smile:

The Kathryn Wheel - lovely works of art and a great lady to go along with it

a day in the life of a crazed mom - so many things to cover with your kids - she sure has a wonderful and fun way of sharing her experiences

Please don't eat sushi! - a grown man sharing HUNDREDS of hysterical letters from his mother - this is a must read and always makes me smile!

Ilka's Attic - beautiful photography and a mixed media artist

Long time no see..

My children have been out of school for a little over 10 weeks, and it certainly shows on my blog. I hope to get back to crafting and blogging very soon, right after all the school supplies are purchased, clothing is bought, athletic try-outs, practices and the actual first day of school. Summer will be coming to a close and for me this brings mixed emotions. On one hand I've got them all here everyday, fighting, screaming, making plans and dirtying up the house. On the other hand they're somewhat helpful - and I use this term lightly - in keeping up with the younger of the bunch and slightly helpful when it comes to the housework. Some days are fun, with laughter, hanging out together and working together - others.... I could just scream!

So, if you've visited my blog looking for some artsy tidbit or words of wisdom, I'm very sorry to disappoint, but please don't give up on me yet!

Blog Candy Alert!

I know I know, I've not posted ANYTHING for quite some time but I had to pass this along..

Kristen over at Kristen's Kards and Klay is giving away some great blog candy - pictured here - swing on over to her blog and check it out!

A bit of Blog Love

One of my wonderful Genealogy Blog friends, Gini over at Ginisology has awarded Cindy's Place with the One Lovely Blog Award. I am touched that she thought of me.


This award has made its rounds for sometime and I am at a loss for 7 other bloggers to award it to, so I will proudly post it here.