Christmas Day

I just wanted to share our Christmas Day with you. I scrapped it all together since my newest passions and interest is in Digital Scrapbooking . Like I need another project or hobby .. ha!

I found this great template for free ... yes girlies .. for FREE!!! I found this great site called Scrapping with the IKEA Goddess. She has all sorts of Freebies all during the week that she has found. It's great! Especially for a beginner like me to see what it is all about. The template I used came from Designer Digitals. So check them out and scrap your memories and never leave your recliner!! How cool is that?

Merry Stitchmas Ya'll

Where Have I Been?

Things have been a little crazy with subbing at school, juggling swim team, dance classes, life ...... and our new addition!!!!!! Yes, you heard me a new addition ... "The Biscuit" has arrived. Last Sunday to be exact. Life as we know it no longer exists.... SERIOUSLY!!!!

She is as sweet as pie ... what puppy isn't, but the first 2 nights she howled into the wee hours of the morning!!!! 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. .. yes you heard me right. The funniest part is she simply wants to sleep with Maddie .. in her bed! She wants to sleep there when she is even at school. She begs and whines to get up there and then just snuggles down. She is a lover dog and loves to snuggle. So the last 3 nights she has slept with Maddie in her bed and I have slept with them and gotten up only once each night and everyone is now catching up with their sleep. :) Plus Daddy has had the king size bed all to himself is loving it.

Ho! Ho! Ho! Only Santa knows

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Financial Planning

I just had to share this funny forward that I got from a dear friend .......... Thanks Carla!! ;)

Dan was a single guy living at home with his father and working in the
family business. When he found out he was going to inherit
a fortune when his sickly father died, he decided he needed a wife with
which to share his fortune.



One evening at an investment meeting he spotted the most beautiful
woman he had ever seen. Her natural beauty took his breath away.



"I may look like just an ordinary man," he said to her, “but in just a
few years, my father will die, and I'll inherit $200 million."



Impressed, the woman obtained his business card and three days later,
she became. . . . his stepmother.



Women are so much better at financial planning than men.

We Have A Clue ....

Here's my MaddiePaddie Halloween as Nancy Drew.

I got this great Desktop from the Shabby Princess. Each month there is a great new desktop for you to download for free!!! This is one of my new favorite places to stop by ... there is even a shop for more special digital goodies!!!

Halloween Smilebox

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Christmas Is Coming ... It's Time To Shop!

Check out thsi great site for Mommies that I have stumbled upon in the past few
weeks. They have great giveaways and let you in on super new sites and
products ... and super mommies!! It's wonderful!

And now they are making your Christmas shopping even easier with their
own little patch of goodies for the holiday season .... so click
on over to The Lil' Peanut Patch .

Ears!

Maddie took the plunge earlier this week and got her ears pierced! She got the idea before we went to Denver that she wanted to go with her friend Emma to get them done and we ran out of time before the trip. So Tuesday night she and her Daddy went for a haircut and Miss Vicki (who has cut my hubby's hair since he was 9 years old) came to the rescue. Of course she had to have diamonds since they are a girl's best friend!! She looks so sweet with them, but makes me sad because she really does look like a big girl now.

Thanks Miss Vicki ... you were great!!!

Spooky Treats!

Aren't these sweet treats? This is what I made for Maddie's class for
Halloween .... with a little help from Mema. (Thanks Mema!!)

Maddie requested them and of course I followed suit with the creation.
Of course the pumpkins could not be regular ones, but had to be monogrammed
so to speak. LOL!!! The kiddos loved them!! The boys all had camo letters and
the girls got black with white polka dots.

Hope everyone had a spooky night full of fun and frights!! ;)

International Reining Festival ... Denver, Colorado

Well, I am happy to report we are headed west tomorrow to Denver , Co for the finals of the International Reining Festival!!!! Way to go Bundy!!!

It will be a quick trip for us girlies & the kiddos where as the boys headed out last Friday before the sun came up. We are all excited though.

As I type there are probably at least 2o people still waiting to show for today. The group just for today was 114 riders!!!!

It was so awesome because my Mom and I sat here at the computer and got to watch Bundy ride this morning! It was way cool and I must thank the internet and whoever setup the live feed .. because it was great to be there even though we were really at home!

So we shall pack up our little cowboy , 2 cowgirls and ourselves and ride out into
the sunrise (or sunset depending where you live ) for a flight tomorrow and head for
the beautiful Colorado! Saddle up partner,
it's time to ride!!!

(click title of the post to take you to the live feed of the show)

First Swim Meet ... Greenbrier YMCA

Just wanted to share a few pictures from Maddie's first swim meet. We are so proud of her. She did a great job and has improved so much since the beginning of September. Her Daddy was amazed at how well she did .... so was I!! The pictures are not the greatest due to I had my pocket camera instead of the "mack daddy!" Hoping my pool pal Courtney got some better shots.

Happy October .... I DID IT!!!!!

I have struggled with Adobe Photo Shop for quite sometime and hate to read manuals ... I am a try it gal and if don't work try it again another way! Well today I tried it again with a great FREE Desktop that I got at Shabby Princess ... she makes a great one each month and then posts them for you on her blog. How cool? She even has a store where you can buy the sweetest of digital scrapping items!!! There are even tutorials for those of you who take the time to read directions! LOL!!! Well, Happy October , I did it!!!! Now I can attempt to go off and do some digital scrapbooking which I have been dying to do, but had no idea how to add my pictures! I am so psyched!! Just had to share it with you all!

Ellie Gets The Boot .... From The Backpack!

It's officially Ellie's 2nd day out of the backpack! She has been home the last 2 days of school and snoozing away while Madison has been at school. If you know Madison , then you know that is odd seeing how Ellie has made the trip to school EVERYDAY of this child's life to school, playgroup, church or wherever since the day she was born!!!

Madison received Ellie as a gift from her Daddy the day she was born! You used to be able to pull her trunk and she played a lullaby, which was so awesome and then one day the trunk stopped working and I thought life as we knew it was over! We even had Miss Pam order another Ellie, but she is only Elie #2 and just would not do the trick!!

Anyhow, Madison proclaimed on her way out the door yesterday that she thought she could be brave and go to school without Ellie ... and that she did!!! She told me Ellie could stay home and be with me now because she was a big girl who can now read. (Great! Just what I wanted to
hear , my 6 year -old is a big girl who no longer needs a lovie! Break my heart into a other million pieces!) Daddy is very excited about this because he has feared for the last 3 years old "BIG" school Ellie would get damaged or lost so he is tickled! Me, well just another thing to get used to and thankfully I am over the "Back-To' School" blues so maybe having Ellie at home won't be so bad. Molly the "Black-Lab Cat" seems to think it is great because she has a snuggle bug to be with now!

Yellow Spiders?

I know spiders come in all shapes and sizes , but I have never seen a yellow one till this mornig. I was taking my time about coming inside after the run to the bus .. not wanting to start on my days work so I decided to hang out with Molly the "Black Lab Cat" and Toby the "Yellow Lion" from next door , but to make me feel better I decided to deadhead the rose bushes so that I would not feel so gulity about spending that time outside in the cool breeze.

In the mist of the deadheading .... I saw this yello0w spider on my favorite bush. (It was given to me by a student & their family as an end of the year gift when the child was 4 years old ... and he is now in about the 8th or 9th grade!! It's been the best bush I have ever planted as well!!) Anyhow, I raced inside for the camera because I had to share this amazing spider with everyone since we are fast approaching Halloween and all of it's spookiness!

Hold That Door!

Just wanted to share my new door stopI just made. It has found a new home at my front door to help clebrate the spooky season that is fast aproaching us all!

Simple enough for anyone to make even if you don't have an embroidery machine. All you need is some fabric, a brick, ribbon and a good ol' glue gun. Wrap fabric around brick, glue securely and tire up with ribbon .. viola' a cute & stylish door stop for anytime!

My Crafty Little Lady!

She made a little house outside of the "shop room" yesterday. It was so cute. She brought out all the babies and little animals she loves. Of course we could barley get in and out of the room or front door, but FUN was or magic word .. too bad we had to call it quits and go play soccer. Did I mention that the cat is asleep inside of the stroller? She was a good sport too!

OH MY!!!! The Days Are Going Fast!!!!

OK , actually you have 86 days till Christmas because I should have posted this yesterday!!!! So if you are like me ... this freaks me out .. A LOT!!!! I know we still have October, November & December to shop and prepare , but when you put it into days ... that is a little scary!!! Not to mention if you are a "MAKER" that is even more scary!!! So ladies, it's time to buckle down and start making or start shopping! LOL!! ;)

It's Around The Corner ... Christmas Pictures !!!

AHHH! I know we just started school and everything not too long ago and we have not even hit Halloween or Thanksgiving, but face it ... we are all thinking about Christmas and will we get that "perfect shot" for our cards this year. If you are like me you are SUPER picky about what picture you send out to your friends and family .. it has to be just right!!

(This is my card from last year. Madison is wearing an outfit I made especially for pictures. Picture taken by Carol Hedspeth at Conway Photo and Print Shop in Conway, NC)

I was surfing this morning at Kristi's Blog Everything Pink and saw this post she had about her Christmas Cards and another Blog that is running a special ... so I could not pass up passing the information along to all of you who might surf by my Blog.

Here is the scoop... from Jack and Jill Photography!

"Don't live in Utah? Or just don't need pictures taken? That's okay, you can still benefit from this offer. All you have to do is post on your blog and tell a little bit about what I am offering. Make sure you put a link to my blog in the post. Then leave me a comment telling me that you did it and I will get started on your Christmas card. I will be emailing the files to those who participate so you can have them printed anywhere you like. Email me the picture(s) you would like to use and you can choose a design from anywhere online. I will let you know if it is something I can recreate or not. You choose colors, font, etc."

What a free digital file for your Christmas Cards?? Jump on this.
Here is her email address (jackandjillphotography@gmail.com)
and I would email her asap before she gets bombarded!
This is a great steal of a Christmas deal.
There is no excuse this year for not sending Christmas cards!!!

It's Gonna Be a Pink Christmas!!!!

To find out more about turning Christmas in all sorts of shades of pink head over to Kristi's Blogspot Pink Christmas!! You might have missed the sign up for it this year, but you can follow along and mark your calendar for next year like I did!!!

Meet Pepsi

Pepsi in Marinda's flowerbed!!

Last weekend we met Pepsi . The new addition to the Lane family. Miss Emma won a contest this summer and they ended up with this sass little man. He is a minature horse that now lives in their yard ... does and goes where he pleases until he is requested to to pull the kiddos in the cart. He was named Pepsi because of his dark color and the children said his mane looked like the fizz when the Pepsi is poured!!!

Here is Miss Emma & Miss Maddie with Pepsi and little Peanut is down there in the left corner. Peanut is a little jealous of Pepsi, but they are great friends as long as everyone is getting their fair share of attention!!

Movin' Up!!

Ok, so I am a little late with this post .... last Sunday the 1st Graders at our church had their "offical" movin' up day and were presented with their own new bibles. Madison is a total ham, but she got up front and tried to hide behind her friend Helen. I got tickled. The 3 little girlies looked so cute! I can hardly believe they are all in real school now and reading!!! Seems like yesterday we were chasing them around all day long at home and now they are independent little ladies who can read us a story now.

*Notice from an earlier post Madison is wearing MY sundress that I wore as a child. She did accessorize for church and had a sheer white shawl draped around her when she went up for the presentations!! Wish I had had the camera then , but that might have been a little much to pull out in the middle the church service.

Time to Get Spooky!

I know it's still only September, but Halloween is right around the corner and all the stores are starting to put out all the spooky goodies already. I have to admit I snatched up a few items for all the kiddos last night .. it's never too early to start planning.

Last year I made these super cute pumpkins for myself and Maddie's school. I just love them! Spooky BUT cute!

Watch for the spooky items to start popping up in my shops .... Mary Martha & Co. and also at Little Bits of Me. I will have notecards, notepads, stickers and more. So stop by for some sweet treats!!!

Photo Fun .. Thanks Megan!!!

My sweet friend Megan at Brassy Apple shared this great site the other day about photo fun .. and it really is!!! You can up load your pictures and play manipulation with them and make some really cool pictures even cooler ... like the one above of Madison on the billboards. So checkout Photo Funia and make one of your pictures even cooler than it already is!

THEY ARE HERE!!!!!

The fairies have finally moved in this morning! How exciting!!! I wonder if they will be as cute as
Penelope Jane and eyelash high?

Maddie will be so excited when she finally gets home tonight and sees that they have finally taken root here. She has checked everyday to see if they had gotten here .. and now they are!

Let the magical fairy tales begin!

- smooches!

PS ... Check out Penelope Jane A Fairy's Tale
by Rosanne Cash ... such a cute tale of a fairy who lives in a little girl's dresser drawer!!

Confusion? Possibly!

Have I ever confused anybody? .... YES ... and I don't doubt it!!! So let me clear it up.
A few people have asked me "WHO" this Mary Martha person is ... it's me!
Mary Elizabeth ... but I thought you were Little Bits of Me? "Why , yes
I am ... I am one in the same!"

I started out a few years back as Little Bits of Me and I still have my regular website up and running .... www.litttlebitsofme.com and locally you probably know me as that.

Then ETSY opened up and I started there as Mary Martha .... aka a nickname my hubby's aunt gave me. She said I was a little Martha Stewart .. always into crafts and starting a new project .... hence the birth of Mary Martha.... www.marymartha.etsy.com

Should I roll my 2 crazy sites up into one? Probably, but what fun would that be? Both are established sites and what better way to add a little more craziness to my already mixed up and going all directions at once life than to get to be 2 different people! (snicker)

So right here at the Mary Martha & Co. Blog site .... you can get information about about both places & my crazy life!!

My Baby Is So Smart!!!

My baby had her first spelling test today in the first grade .. and she made 101% A+!!!
We are so proud of her!! I just had to share.

The Door Has Arrived!!!!

Our door arrived earlier this week and we are patiently waiting the arrival
of our fairies!! I saw one today while I was cleaning.
I guess they were checking us out before
actually moving their stuff in. I have a feeling they might arrive
this weekend sometime.

First Day of First Grade!!

Today Maddie started First Grade! YIKES!!!
(Where has the last 3 years gone since we started at the Academy?)
Anyhow, we have the MOST amazing teacher this year .. Ms. Fetherolf!!

(Of course we will REALLY MISS Mrs. Best .. last year was super
awesome & Maddie had no intesions of moving up when school got out because
she loves her some Mrs. Best .. she said it all summer ... "I'm not moving up, I
am staying with Mrs. Best in Kindergarten. I want to be held back!")
BUT .. thankfully .. she has moved on, but did check in on Mrs. Best before
heading to her class & probably will most days. LOL!

We are super psyched to have Ms. Fetherolf & we know that she
will make all of us extra smart by the end of the
year... even Mommy & Daddy .. tee hee he!

So ......... GO RAIDERS!!!

Last Day of Summer!

Well, we squeezed in as much as we could on the last days of summer. Miss Jennifer had Madison come sleep over Monday night with Brooke ... something we have been trying to get done all summer ... ha! We finally did it and the girls had a blast. Then Brooke came
over all day Tuesday and we took her with us to "meet" Madison's teacher and check out her school. Madison was so psyched to share this with her best friend. Then we finished the day off with some time at the pool .. which has become of favorite place this
summer & we have spent A LOT of time there!!! Now the school year
is staring us in the face .. such a
scary thought ... First Grade & "REAL" homework!
YIKES!

The Faries are coming and their doors are opening!

(the owner of Red Shoes in Ann Arbor next to her fairy door)

This weekend I stumbled across a really neat blog .... and I admit I am addicted to roaming from one to another. I just cannot seem to help myself!

This particular one Simply-Me had the neatest post about "Fair Doors" that are in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The post sucked me in and caused me to surf the internet until I had spent a few hours glued to the laptop. tee-hee-he

Anyhow, these sweet "Fairy Doors" have popped up all over Ann Arbor to welcome the arrival of the fairies ... at people's places of business and their homes as well. The tooth fairy even took up at one the dentist's office!

I ordered a book "Who's Behind the Fairy Doors" by Jonathan B. Wright. I am patiently waiting its arrival and also praying maybe a fairy will want to move in with us! (wink, wink)

So if you are interested in learning more about these fairies and their arrivals check out www.urban-farieis.com

Watch for fairy doors and dust arriving at homes near you! :)

Happy Birthday Big Daddy ..... MONDAY!

Happy Birthday Big Daddy!!!! He hit the big 7-3!!!! I didn't forget his birthday .. just to blog about it ... oops! Was waiting for pictures from cake & ice cream and then never got it posted when I got home. Sorry!

We did get to go out to lunch with him & Mema ... well Maddie & I did .. we had JE off at work! We went to LOS AMIGOS on Main Street here in Murfreesboro. A little salsa & chips .... yum ... keep the water coming though because the white salsa is a bit WARM!

Daddy,
May your next year be full of LESS drama & health issues, more fun
times, tractor riding & trips to meet with your fellas at coffee . We love you
tons & bunches!!!!!

Merry Christmas in July!!!!

Let's get this celebration started!!!!
In honor of Christmas in July, I will be posting a few specials so start making
your list and checking it twice .... and see who has been naughty or nice!!

Shop now to avoid Christmas Madhouse and rushing around like a chicken
with your head cut off ... tee hee!!! ( I always have good intentions for myself ,
but sometimes that is all the are. LOL!)

We're home!

We're home from our vacation .... and wishing we were still at the beach with LODO & Co.!!

Think it will take me a week to get the house back in order.... but first thing is first .... off to Rocky Mount today for Barbie & Jason's Wedding! :)

Vacation!

We have all skipped town .. but hubby has to come back for work
Monday ... so the girls are headed to the beach to catch up with LODO & CO. ... good times with friends, time on the beach & fabric shopping to boot .... what more could a girl ask for??
We'll see you when we get back! :)

Annual Bike Parade !

Happy Birthday America!!

Friday morning we celebrated our 2nd Annual Bike Parade on our street!! Everyone lined up at our house to get the party started. Jeffery lead us in The Pledge of Allegiance before we took off.

We take one lap around our neighborhood , which is one big loop totally 1 mile, wave to the neighbors who come out to see what the hoop la is all about and head back to my house for a snack, play time and a treat to take home. Nothing fancy , just an excuse for all of us to get together .... we all seem to be in such a rush during the school year.

This year we all went home and had a rest and regroup time and then met at Jennifer and Joe's across the street to cook out and for fireworks. What a great day we all had!

Thanks America for this specular holiday we have to celebrate and time to be together

It's Time .. Sign Up For A Pink Christmas!!

Mary Martha & Co. is proud to be a sponsor this year for the annual
PINK CHRISTMAS!

You can sign up to participate anytime from July 1-31st.

Come celebrate Christmas, have a little fun, meet new friends but most importantly.. benefit a family in need.

Pink Christmas is a fun gift swap that is organized
by Kristi and Everything Pink.

Click here to sign up!

Hissy Fit!!!!

No . it's not me pitching the hissy fit .... this time!
It's Keeley Murdock.

I finished up this amazing book by
Mary Kay Andrews time morning about
2 a.m.!! YES!! I had a little less than half left and everyone turned in early so I snuggled down to find out the conclusion of this crazy life of Keeley's and all the events that have been uncovered in her hometown of
Madison, GA.I was hook line and sinker .. that is a fact!!

Here's a quick introduction :

Interior decorator Keeley Rae Murdock has designed her life,or so she thinks she has. What she never figured on was discovering her fiancé, A.J. Jernigan, sneaking around with her maid of honor in the middle of her rehearsal dinner. She pitches a hissy fit that reverberates through her tiny hometown of Madison, Ga., and captures the attention of Will Mahoney, a newcomer who recently purchased an antebellum plantation house.

We are off to the library in a little while to pick up another one of
Mary Kay Andrew's books. When I find an author I really like-love ... I want to try to read everything they have written. Of course that means once I am finished I go into the blues because I am finished. HA!

Head to your library today and have a "hissy fit" of your own .. of course quietly!! :)

Ready , Set ..... JUMP!

It has been so hot here all week ... inching up to 100 today! So we have hit the pool everyday this week after Bible School.

All the kiddos from the neighborhood have been there as well .. which of course makes for a good time had by all!

It amazes me how much Maddie has grown in the last year, but the pool really confirms this fact when I see her swimming ... EVERYWHERE .... WITHOUT ME! Last year I had to be in the pool right by her side. She had just started to blossom by the end of the summer in her swimming skills ... but of course still wanted you right there.

This year she is swimming like a little guppy everywhere while I sit by and watch. It just amazes me each day.

As they all grow a little bit each day and need us less and less (cry, sniff, sniff)..... this just makes me the Mommy & Taxi Driver ... OH YEAH .... and the Money Spitter!!!

The Inspector Is In ....

The Inspector says I pass .... and yes .. that is my cat!! As many of my sewing friends know .. Molly .. aka the "Black Lab Cat" as she was dubbed the day she was born ... thinks she can sew!!

For some reason she is amazed when I am in here creating this or that ... although I think she just likes the thread!! She has climbed up on top of the
PR 600II while I have been threading so she can help! Of course I have caught her in there checking things out even when I am not using it and I have the pictures to prove it!!

I just wanted to share her inspecting my work this morning after I finished a bag for my neighbor's daughter. She climbed right in while I was trying to get the back off.

Carla ... I thought you would get a kick out of it!! This one is for you!

smooches to Texas!! :)

A PINK CHRISTMAS IS COMING!!!!

A friend of mine, Kristi at www.pinkchristmas.blogspot.com
and www.everythingispink.blogspot.com is in charge of this great time!!!!
I have missed it every year, but am on board to sponsor this year as well. I am totally looking forward to it!! She is a great gal and an amazing blogger!! I am so happy to have found her through the blogs. She also is giving me tastes of DC since she lives so close by. (I miss living up there sometimes since there is so much to do there ... so thanks Kristi!!!)

SO TAKE A MINUTE AND SURF OVER AND SEE KRISTI!!

It is only an optional $15.00 donation to sign up. Sign up fee is donated to the Pink Christmas Family or individual for 2008.

Each year the funds collected for sign ups are given to a family to give them a "Pink Christmas" If you have a family or individual who could benefit from being this years family please email us at apinkchristmas@yahoo - and write nominate in the subject line.

Do you want to be a Pink Christmas Sponsor? Sponsorship is $30.00 and 100% of your sponsorship goes to pay for every one's awesome Pink Envelope that everyone will get in the mail revealing to them their Girlfriend for Christmas. In that envelope you will be able to send ANYTHING that fits in a large envelope to promote your company - coupons, free shipping a sampling of your product - get creative because that Pink Envelope is like early Christmas for all who sign up. You will also be added to the sidebar of Pink Christmas and gets lots of bragging on this blog and my personal blog. if you want to be a sponsor email us at apinkchristmas@yahoo.com and write sponsor in the subject line

Sign ups will open at 8:00 am on July 1st and run through July 15th. So tell your friends.
You will also get the new 2008 graphic "Last year my Christmas was Pink" to put on your side bar. Or you can get the cute new line of T-shirts coming out this fall.
Make this Christmas special by making a handmade gift and donating a small amount of money to really make someones Christmas special.

smooches & here's to a pink Christmas for everyone .. especially Claire and her family!!