Genetics

Isn't it interesting to watch how much genetics play a role in your kids.

Kate for example has the exact cheesy smile I used to have.

Kate at 19 months old

Me at about 19 months old

Grace looks like me and I think has Jared's personality (read: master teaser).

Jack looks like Jared and his dad (Papa) but I think has more my personality for now.

Kate looks like a lot like I did as a toddler (cheesy smile and crazy blond hair) and I'm not sure of her personality (funny like me, naughty like Jared was as a kid....hehe).

3 totally different kids.

Jack is built like an ox, Grace is long and lean and Kate is our short stack.

Totally different personalities.

Jack is a rule follower and very caring of other people's feelings, Grace is FUN and very snuggly, doesn't always like the rules and doesn't always care there are rules (at home...at school she is the master ruler follower) and LOVES to tease and scare people (she will hide for 10 minutes under Jack's bed just hear him scream like a girl!)

Kate is silly, loves to make us laugh and we are working on following the rules (read...working VERY hard because she knows when she does something wrong but really doesn't care).

Kate seems to be a perfect combination of Jack and Grace.

Totally different kids and yet so alike in so many ways. They all love each other (yet tease and fight like normal siblings). They love Jesus and let you know it. They are each other's best friends. We are so blessed :).

Digital Scrapbooking....ahhhhh...

I love to scrapbook but have found less and less time to pull everything out, find my creativity and put together a couple pages. I have looked online for a while and got some tips from a friend (thanks Tawnya!) on digital scrapbooking. We finally purchased Photoshop Elements 8.0 and I became COMPLETELY confused. I couldn't figure out that program and was having a bit of buyers remorse, but I know you can't take software back and we paid good money for it so I was determined to figure it out. I watched tutorials (thanks Pioneer Woman) and would pause the tutorial and try what they were doing on one of my pictures. Slowly, I am figuring it out. I found a bunch of websites that let you download scrapbook paper, embellishments (ribbons, buttons, tags, letters, ect) for FREE! With Photoshop I am able to make that paper any color I need and the beauty of it all....it never runs out! I have found a place online that will print 12 x 12 pages for $2 or Costco in town will print them in one hour or less for $3. I am also considering at the end of the year looking at all my pages I have scrapbooked and uploading them to make a photobook for the year. We will have to see what works better. I still have TONS to learn about Photoshop but I have been enjoying making scrapbook pages and not having a mess to clean up and I can work on a page and leave it and come back to it knowing no little hands have "helped" me make my page. Here are some of the 1st pages I have done....