Three posts!

What a great weekend - so productive...okay the laundry didn't get done (working on that right now) and well the weeds are taking over in the garden ( I WILL get to it), bills need to be paid...tomorrow and the guest room cleared out of all the collections of stuff...but I did get four pages done this weekend, Allison's grad pictures ordered and a long bike ride in Sat am. I also had several people over for meals this weekend ...busy, busy but lots of fun, so be sure to scroll down - I have had three posts this weekend.

Just felt the need to scrapbook Sam. I have been searching my archives for good pictures of him and there aren't very many in my digital. So I will have to go through all my other photographs.

I was also browsing through my fall to Christmas 2000 pics...since that is where I am when not distracted by the new overlays at Just Scrap It!!!! and I came across this photo of the kids. I forgot how much fun we all have together. Paul and Allie arrive next Monday and Mark will join us July 30th - his birthday! Melina is lined up for family photos! I am excited! I want hundreds of them Melina! I am taking two weeks off! YES!! I am thinking maybe tickets to Sheakspeare on the Saskatchewan!

So this is my gang! Photo taken Christmas 2000

Okay can't resist - here are my precious gifts from above in September 1992...oh my how old were you in 1992? Your youngest will be graduating from high school before you know it. Take every moment to hug them, kiss them and tell them they are the best in the whole world!

Blessings!
Julie

Bike Ride

I was up at 6:30 am this morning. It was so beautiful out. You would think I would sleep in after the two very long weeks I have had at work, but I was in bed really early last night. I wanted to get in my first bike ride of the season. I wanted to see the new walkway that just opened under the Circle Dr bridge. It took a while to convince David...
It will be a short ride I promise...didn't work(he knows me too well)...
We'll stop for breakfast and coffee downtown....getting close...
Really, most of the time you are gliding! ....Okay he would come.

Well it is mostly gliding (to downtown) because it is mostly down hill. :) But coming back up hill after poached eggs, fruit and coffee was a little bit of a challenge for both of us. He just kept telling me to pick the most direct route. :) We travelled almost 12 miles and we were biking well over an hour averaging 8.1 mile/hr. I love this little techno thing on my bike that tells me everything. And it is so accurate. BTW I have a bum that is a tad sore and I am not sure David will be game for another long ride for a while. Next time I will have to go solo. Who else gets up as early as me?

It was pretty quiet at 7:15 in the morning (I wonder why). We were standing looking out over the new walkway and I was getting ready for a shot when out of nowhere without any warning came a swarm of bikers - over 50 of them. Photo op!!

The mighty Saskatchewan River and our resident Pelican. I wander where her buddy was today? That is Royal University Hospital in the background.

It has been a very fun and relaxing day. A loooong bike ride, some photos, two layouts and a third on the way. I love it! The kitchen is a mess, my bed isn't made and the closet is full of dirty laundry!

Thought for today... Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands! Psa 90:17

Blessings!

More pages...

More of the Creative Imaginations overlays...

Journaling reads... Our TEEN girl ! …the sweetest TEEN in the world

Yah, I can see you on the front of a magazine – not a glamour magazine because you are too real for that stuff. You are not out to be something you are not or to impress the world. You are just you and perfect the way God made you.

And yes you have the perfect smile – not from whitened or flawlessly straight teeth, but a perfect smile because it is seen in your eyes – the window to the soul. Your smile reveals the real, pure, sweet, honest, chaste, quiet you!

First date jitters? What’s that? No issue there.

Shopaholic? Well you did go through an American Eagleaholic phase. Is it over? …saving for University now!

Beautiful lashes instantly?
I think we are getting through that phase now too. Your gorgeous sparkling blue eyes are shining through again.

WOMEN Magazine! There are very few pictures of me because I am behind the camera all the time and even fewer good pictures of me. But David caught me with our point and shoot Olympus ...very relaxed one evening in Mexico!

Journaling reads ....are you ready for this?

Desperate housewife?
You bet!

Desperate for a husband who takes me to a five star resort on the Mayan Riviera where I relax after a day of lounging on the beach.

Wouldn’t that give any girl a million dollar smile? ……Ohhh yes!

And no clones!
I want him all to myself!

Ha ha...having sooo much fun on my first day off to myself in 2 weeks!

Julie

Park pictures

There is a large park across the street from us. Sam and I used to go there every morning at about 6:30 ..the sprinklers came on a 7:00am! It had two large baseball diamonds and lots of grass - great for playing fetch! About two weeks ago they started pulling out some trees. Okay I thought - must be diseased...but them more and more trees came out and soon there were what seemed to be 50 trees gone...then the baseball diamonds dissappeared and today I see all the grass has been removed....our neighbour says it is a 1 million dollar remake and a soccar field is going in. I figure spend the 1 million on potholes, broken curbs and repainting the lines on the street...and maybe some REAL crosswalks - ones that cars actually stop for. Hmmm so I took some pics...:)

Some teenagers taking advantage of the mounds of dirt piled behind the school. What a fun way to spend a summer evening!

Love warm summer evenings...really wish I could take five days off and just scrapbook! Looking at another marathon 14 hr day tomorrow :( But the evening is always fun at Just Scrap It!

Blessings!

Julie

Sam

Yesterday was a very sad day for us. Our sweet black lab had to be put to sleep. Sam had to be the most wonderful dog in the world. This was a dog you could give a piece of steak to and then just take it out of his mouth and he would look at you as if to say "did I do something wrong?" He never bit, nipped, jumped up...he was just a perfect dog. okay as a puppy he chewed on electrical cords - live ones too - but it didn't last long as you can well imagine! We did have to rewire two lamps.

Our boys would play street hockey for hours with the neighbours and Sam was always there - even getting a stick in the face once in a while - he loved it. When there was a shot on goal that missed and went flying down the street, that was Sam's cue - his turn to go get the ball and whoever called him he would go right to him and then they would say"drop Sam" and he would put the ball at their feet. What a dog! The kids - all the neighbourhood kids, thought Sam was the coolest dog ever! And he was. Every stranger who came into our yard was greeted with a wagging tail - even the meter reader!

But Sam got old and while he dearly wanted to play fetch, his back hips would not cooperate. Then an illness in his belly started and life just became so difficult. Trips out to the back yard in the morning were exhausting...and so we had to let him go. I think this is one of the hardest things I have ever done. But we were there with him and loving on him as he fell asleep and I think he knew that he was just too tired to keep going.

Death is so final. There is no going back - ever. While Sam was a pet, I am reminded that our Creator holds our lives and the lives of our loved ones in the palm of His hand. He alone knows our time - long or short. He alone! I am reminded to consider what is important in this life...and it is not things, events, doings....what is important is knowing who I am in Him and that there is eternal life when our time is up...what is important to me, is knowing that when this brief visit here on earth is over, real life begins with my Saviour and there will be no pain, no sorrow, no heartache...but only joy. In the meantime, as I wait, I need to consider all things in the Light of Christ. My prayer tonight is that everyone reading this post will know Jesus Christ as He desires to be known - as the only Savior for sinners who continually fall short of the glory of God. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)

Blessings!

Julie

Independence! So there!

I would like to invite you over to another blog Life out Loud (LOL) that I am hosting along with a group of wonderful God loving ladies. Please join us in our discussions - we would love to hear from you!
Grace,
Julie

todays thought...
2Co 12:9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Walmart Conundrum

Check out this post from Rocks in my Dryer - very funny!

Travel and Lifestyle Magazine featuring David and Julie

Creative Imaginations magazine overlays - just so much fun!

Go Magazine! the magazine for active men!! WHOA!

This is too much fun! I can't stand it! Creative Imaginations have these 8X10 overlays that look like magazines. Find the right picture cropped to the right size and you have a layout in a matter of minutes. It helps to have photoshop to play and resize. Love it! haha

more layouts

Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia...I printed this on cotton and glued it to paper and chipboard. It has a very soft look in real life. Try double clicking on it. :)

Fun times with Grandma and Grandpa in the year 2000. Busy but fun page!

I am s l o w l y getting these pictures done!

Escape! David and I spent a very relaxing(read romantic) weekend in Moose Jaw at the mineral spa last Dec.

Thanks for looking!