So many good things...where do I start ?!

Well hello all my friends in blog land. Let me start by saying wow what a few weeks that I have had. :) I am bursting with excitement because....you'll never guess....nope you won't. Okay I will just spill the beans. I, me, Christine, have been published ! I have been published in Ready Set Create and will be published next month in Scrap-n-art. I submit things often and think "well what the heck, might as well go for it"..but someone actually contacting me and wanting to feature some of my work...never thought it would happen. So for all you hopeless romantic scrappers...keep trying or start trying. And you girls who have already been there..done that...just smile and put up with my giddiness...it will wear off soon.

My featured work in RSC

This next layout will be featured in Scrap-in-Art. This was quite out of the box for me. I was having a hard time with something and really felt like getting my feelings out and done with...Funny it was quite therapeutic and paid off as well. :)

Now for the rest of the goodies :)

Umm well I would like to thank Laura Bloom for her generous RAK to me. She had a contest to give a name to her hand made doll and she chose the name that I suggested. The RAK was for a cute little stamp and guess what...she must have forgotten that because she sent me an entire box FULL of goodies. So much beautiful new paper and embellies. Thanks you are such a sweetie !

AND THE BEST FOR LAST Well it is that time to have my annual fundraising crop for Autism Speaks at The scrapbook Oasis. Karen the most fabulous owner has agreed to host it. Thank you Karen. How did I ever get that lucky? Here are the details: The crop is Sat. April 19th from 10 am - 6 pm. The cost is only $20 and it includes lunch, a small scrap goody bag, and snacks. I want to thank Freckle Friends, Making Memories, Glue Dots and Cherry Arte who have donated prizes for raffles. My dear friend, Jennifer will also be donating a gift certificate to Stampin' up. And...Lastly,my new friend ,Tina Keyner is also working on getting a bunch more goodies for you from some fantastic manufacturers ! It should be a great day, a lot of fun ! More details to come. Call Oasis at (949)-756-2729.

The Scrapbook Oasis is located at: 17895 Sky Park Cir #H Irvine,CA 92614

more more more

Okay scrappy friends, I have added more to my RAK. Christine from Tallyscrapper has graciously donated a few fabulous items to add to my giveaway. She's definitely a keeper ! It is people like her that really keep the goodness flowing. THANK YOU ! Did you see the AMM fancy smancy camera bag or how about the glimmer mist ? I added a few things too, some QK dies, acryllic stamps, American crafts alphas and some Queen & Co. felt fusion.

Remember it is for such a great cause. Yes you are helping me raise $ for my team,but you really are doing so much more.

And don't get discouraged with that $20 minimum online donation amount on the Autism Speaks webpage. You can donate and combine it with a friend. Just put both (or all) your names in the post and you all will be included in the drawing !

Again...here is the link to my personal walk page :) http://www.walknowforautism.org/losangeles/personal/cpscan

Thanks and good luck to all of you. Once donations reach $400 I will add more goodies :)

(((HUGS)))

Christine

It is officially TIME !

Those of you who know me are well aware that I do a walk to benefit Autism Research every year. My son, Adam, (who you can see on the previous post) has Asperger's Syndrome. As a toddler, he struggled very much trying to be in the outside world. Fortunately that has all changed for him. He is doing so incredibly well. However that is not the story of most families with autistic children. It is a struggle daily. Some children do not have the ability to speak yet have completely lucid thoughts, some children cannot smile and/or emotionally connect with others (including their own parents). It is so incredibly heart breaking to me to see families and children suffer the effects of Autism. Unfortunately the rate of Autism continues to grow. Autism affects 1 out of every 150 children. I know how we have struggled and how other families will continue to do the same.

Therefore I will continue to walk. I am asking you and/or anyone else that you know to help with the fight against autism. On my blog, I have this RAK that I am going to raffle off on April 1st. For every $5 dollars that you donate your name will go into a drawing. On April 1st I will reveal the winner. Please make sure to include your first name and last initial within your post, so I know who has donated. Once donations reach $100 I will begin to add more product. This RAK could definitely grow ! Please help me out by sending people over to my blog to check it out and see if they want to take part. Here is the link to my personal walk page http://www.walknowforautism.org/losangeles/personal/cpscan

Included in this RAK are products from Making Memories, Sandylion, KI, Autumn Leaves and American Crafts. Keep watching for updates as this RAK continues to grow ! I thank all of you ahead of time. Even if you are not able to donate, passing this on might just help make the the difference.

*** Notice...It has come to my attention that Autism speaks only will take a minimum of $20 as an online donation. Don't let this prevent you from making a donation. You can click "make an offline donation" and donate whatever amount that you desire. This can be mailed in. They will notify me. Also if you choose to donate this way please leave a post on my blog so that I can include you in the drawing ! Thanks :0)

(((HUGS)))

Christine

Hmm.. overall a sad day......

Well today after I dropped the kids off to school we took Sammy, our dog of 14 years, to the vet. He has been not well for a long while, having trouble with his hips and poor eyesight (hearing too). We have been telling the kids that his time was coming and that he would be going to Heaven soon. Well the other day our other dog ran into him and knocked him over. Poor Sammy couldn't get up for hours. We realized that holding onto him was probably selfish because it was obvious he was suffering. So today we took him to the vet and she too thought it would be best to put him to sleep. :( It was so hard to actually say the words and tell her to do it, but I know it was the right thing to do. He went quickly and actually started to snore. It was only maybe 1-2 minutes before he completely laid to rest. Poor sweetie. He was such a docile pooch for such a big dog.

Although we talked the kids last night about the possiblilty of their dog going to heaven and that we didn't think that the Dr. could help him much anymore, I know that deep down inside there was a lot of hope and wishing for miracles. I dread actually telling them that poor Sammy is gone. I know that it is going to be a hard day. Adam will be upset,but will most likely internalize it all, Nicholas...he will be extremely emotional. It is hard to see them like that. But I guess that these are all growing pains. Wish me strength and a lot of luck.

Lastly here are a few pics from Adam's birthday party that I promised. It was just like I said it would be...a wild...bouncing time ! But it also was a complete success. He was on cloud 9. It was great !




Thanks to all my friends for putting up with jumping mania and screaming kids ! Friends make things all the more fun !





(((HUGS)))