Saturday: Reminder about GIVEAWAY

On Tuesday, I told about the GIVEAWAY I'm having to celebrate the Grand Opening of my Etsy shop this week.

I see that many are clicking on the "like" button for facebook. THANKS!! If you want it to count for an entry, please leave a message in the comments telling me that you did that. I can't see everyone who is clicking (If you aren't my facebook friend, I can't see who you are at all. If you *are* my facebook friend, sometimes it doesn't show who you are anyway.)

Also, if you have done any of the extras I've mentioned (listed on the original post), please leave a comment telling me. I *think* I know who follow me, but I'm not 100% sure. I would hate to not give an entry when you deserve one.


Lots more pics are going into the shop next week :) They are all ordered, and as soon as they are printed and I look them over, I will put them up in the MerrieMelody.Etsy.com shop.

This weekend, my family will be hibernating at home, waiting for Michael's surgery on Monday. I haven't taken Michael anywhere for about 2 weeks and he has cabin fever, but I have been worried about him getting sick and needing to postpone his surgery again, so I haven't wanted to take the risk. Perhaps Steve & I will take him for a ride today around the lake, or up one of the nearby canyons, or to the sand dunes... anywhere without people.

Tomorrow I'll post a "Silent Sunday", but I will probably be AWOL on Monday because of the surgery. I'll give you a full update on Tuesday, though.

I hope that all of you are doing great! :)

Wednesday: The Kids

Yesterday was a great day for cute pics at my house! First of all, I have the cutest 2 legged and 4 legged kids living with me, but also, Aiden & Josh came over to visit. I ♥ photographing Aiden. He is my favorite subject :)

So, while Aiden was outside playing with his daddy, I grabbed my camera and started snapping away:







Such a cutie pie!!

And also yesterday, my goat kids were so funny! They think that the food dish is where they should lie down. I couldn't resist taking pics of them, either, so here are my week old babies:







Life is/was good. :)

Today is my super awesome friend Maren's (from SAHMsisters) birthday. Go on over and give her some birthday love, will you? :)

As an Etsy update, I am having a hard time uploading photos from my computer (I have a dinosaur of a computer that is sooo slow) to the heritage makers website (my first choice for professionally printed pics) , so the shop is slow going. That's okay, "slow and steady wins the race", right? ;) I'll keep working with it & let you know when other pics are available.

Have a great day!

Tuesday: Around the house

I bought some flowers for Easter, so guess what I practiced photography on yesterday? :)









I really love carnations, and the vibrant colors of these really attracted me. They bring a smile to my face every time I see them. :)

Don't forget about the GIVEAWAY!!

Opening of the Etsy Shop and A GIVE AWAY!

I'm headed right on over to the Etsy shop this morning to fill it up and get it ready! :)

This week, there will be FREE SHIPPING! (use the coupon code: GRANDOPENING - within the USA only, sorry)

And a GIVE AWAY! (only within the USA, sorry)



Out of all of my art work, this remains one of my most favorite. So, in honor of the opening of the MerrieMelody.Etsy.com shop, I will give away an 8"x8" unframed print! :)

Here is how to get your name entered in the drawing:

1.Leave a comment here on the blog. For every comment that you leave from now until Sunday night at midnight, you will receive one entry.

2.Become a follower of this blog and get one entry. Leave a comment saying that you are following.

3.Link to this give-away from facebook and get one entry. One easy way is to "like" this post (up above by the title) and then "share" it on facebook. Leave a comment here telling that me that you have posted it on facebook.

4.Blog about this give away on your blog and get one entry. Leave a comment telling that me that you have blogged about the give away and leave me a link to your blog post so that I can check it out too :)

5.Put a link to my blog on your sidebar and get one entry. Leave a comment telling that me that you have put it on your sidebar.

On Monday morning, I will let one of my kids pick a name out of a hat. Good luck! :)

I'm off to fill up the shop now! Stop on by and see how it is going :) By this afternoon, everything will be absolutely ready!!

Monday, Monday: Cute pics of the kids, Diabetes disaster & Etsy update

Are you excited for the Etsy shop? I am! Today I have been thinking of pricing for product and shipping, and Grand Opening events... I am excited! Be watching tomorrow for it!!

Over the weekend, I played around more with my camera & found a new setting. Consequently, I took snapshots of Aiden learning to manuever the new-to-him kid rocking chair and eating his very first Peep chick. :)









And then I noticed Michael sitting on the couch watching & decided to take his pic too (even though his hair was a mess! :) and it turned out great!



For Easter, Karen and Josh came down and slept over on Saturday so that they could be here early in the morning.

So, before Josh had to leave for work, we colored Easter eggs, hid them, & ate dinner. Karen and Aiden stayed here with us :)

Then, Emily helped Michael find the eggs & Matt helped Aiden find the eggs.

Afterward, we talked about the crucifixion, atonement, and resurrection of Jesus. I love Easter for all of the hope it brings.

The kids went on to watch _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows_ and just hang out and play and visit with each other. Karen, Emily, & I went to my mom's nursing home to take her some Easter dinner. Tino and Amber met us there, and I was able to give them all their Easter candy from the scavenger hunt the day before.

Then, when I got home, I urged Jared to see if he had keytones - he felt feverish and had been really sick all day - and he did (and still does). :( So last night we had to call the doctor to see what he was supposed to do for it. He told us to keep taking the same amount of long acting insulin, the same carb ratio as normal, but to increase corrections by 50%. So, today he is home trying to get them back down, drinking lots of water, resting, and taking keytone tests. :/

Two years ago at Easter time he was diagnosed with diabetes. I'm sure it is an anniversary he'd rather not have to celebrate. We all have our trials, and diabetes sure isn't a fun one to have.

Anyway, I will be doctoring Jared, paying bills, homeschooling Matt & Michael, getting hay for the goats (the babies are doing great!) and working on the Etsy shop today; somewhere in there I want to watch Harry Potter and eat left overs too. :) I hope that you have a super day full of great things!

Happy Easter

Found this on facebook and wanted to add it here too:
Greatest man in history, named Jesus, had no servants, yet they called him Master. Had no degree, yet they called him Teacher. Had no medicines, yet they called him Healer. He had no army, yet kings feared Him. He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world. He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him..... He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today.

Have a wonderful Easter day! :)

Saturday Stillness: Oct 09 pics revisited

In looking for pics for my Merrie Melody Photo Gallery, I have been revisiting old pics. Last night I came came across a folder from October '09 and decided to take a closer look & even rework a few:






(This one reminds me of a saying I found in my mom's apartment when I was cleaning it out; it said, "Don't Give Up: A bend in the road is not the end of the road unless you fail to make the turn.")



It made me remember this Saturday in October. I was such a great day. Steve & I had taken a long walk up the canyon and really enjoyed visiting with each other and seeing such beautiful fall foilage.

I'm so glad for photographay & that we can capture little moments in time so that they can last forever. :)

Finally Friday!

Wow! This has been the shortest and fullest week in history! I need a Tuesday in the batch somewhere, but I had many Mondays.

I think I told you that I bought MerrieMelody.com... it is now up and running!! Hurray! For now it is just a photo gallery blog, but that's okay. Perhaps at some point I'll move this blog over there, but for now I am really loving blogger. We'll see.

The only thing I'd change about the gallery blog is that the rotating picture's height is too short... it cuts off my poor horse's ears and makes my Lake at Sunset pic look blah. I'm going to look into the code and fix it.. or have Steve fix it if it is above me.
a
Gotta run. Emily is ready to fill out her registration papers for 9th grade next year & since it is due today I better rush.

OH! Before I go, do you love that new header?? I think it is stinkin' cute! It is always exciting to me when things turn out so well when it was so easy to do! :)

Have a WONDERFUL day! :)

Thankful Thursday: April 21

Another work week is almost gone. I can't believe how cram packed it has been and how fast it has flown! To those who were excited to visit my etsy shop, I'm sorry that I'm so slow in delivering the goods. This week has been too full to add one more thing. I promise to have it up and running by next Tuesday - perhaps Monday, so be watching.

This week has been a good one for me and there is much to be grateful for.

I'm thankful for:

- Steve. For his generous helping to get the chicken coop up; for buying & setting up my domain name (I bought MerrieMelody.com - it is still in the works); for being patient when I am grouchy; for encouraging me to be my best. He is an excellent cheerleader! So glad that he sticks with me.

- That the mama goat, Ellie, had her babies and that all three of them are safe and healthy.

- That we got a totally enclosed chicken coop finished last weekend!!



(pay no attention to the IFA sign and pallet resting against the fence post - it was used as a door to keep them penned in at night - they aren't smart enough to realize where they are supposed to go, so I make'em. Also, the green 5 gallon bucket is the make-shift nesting box where they lay their eggs for now. I am planning on building some nesting boxes and adding a trap door on the side to gather the eggs so that Matt & I don't actually have to get into the coop to gather eggs.) It is made with 5 pallets, two 8' length tin roof panels, rust-proof screws for all assembly; for the tin roof, we used rubber washers and regular washers along with the rust proof screws; for now, we are using plastic sheeting to keep the weather out of the building, but it will be replaced; the run has 6' t-posts on the sides with a 7' t-post as a cross piece. They are lashed together with wire. Then we used 1"x4" x 5' field fencing, cutting, wrapping, and attaching the top with wire. I'm sure that there will be some adjustments made as time wears on, but it is holding all of the chickens in and they seem pleased with their new home.

With Easter Sunday coming up this weekend, I'll add that I am very thankful for the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I'm thankful for the life that he lived, to show me how to treat others. I fall short of that type of love & kindness very often, but because of the atonement, I can be forgiven of my shortcomings as I keep trying to get it right. I'm so thankful to know that things don't just end for me when I die. That I will keep on learning and progressing forever, and because of the resurrection, I will be able to have my body and spirit reunited after death, never to be separated again, after Christ comes again.

For Easter, we are planning on having a nice dinner on Sunday with Josh, Karen and Aiden, but because Josh has to be to work at 1:30 and our church doesn't get out until 2... I'm trying to figure out all of the details. Amber & Tino's plans are to come by on Saturday. That means that they will be here for the party stuff like the scavenger hunt and coloring Easter eggs. Steve & I had an agreement that we would focus on the resurrection on Easter Sunday instead of having the Easter bunny come, so consequently, we do the Easter candy on Saturday and the dinner on Sunday. It works for us. :)

What about you? Any fun plans and traditions at your home?

Wednesday: The babies are here!!

This is the what Amber's graduation announcements will look like. We are still working on the wording, them we'll send them off to HeritageMakers.com to be printed up. :)




And SURPRISE!! Our babies were born last night.





There was a little trouble with the afterbirth not being expelled for a long while and one of the kids crying for most of the night, but as of 5 a.m. this morning, they are all happy and healthy. :)

the day after Monday Mania

Yesterday went nothing like I was expecting! Two visits to the doctor: one in the morning with Jared, one in the afternoon with Steve (guess that's what happens when ride-share is cheaper than driving to work :) followed up immediately with picking the kids up from school. The day was gone before it even got started.

Today I'm trying to get Monday stuff done, you know how it goes.

I haven't given up on getting the shop stocked. Be watching today or tomorrow! :)

Have a great one!

Amber's Graduation Announcement Pics

Yesterday I took Amber on a photo shoot for her graduation announcement pic. She is so pretty! I love how good she makes my photography look! :)







And this pic of Michael was taken when Steve & I went to pic up Aiden on Saturday:



He's such a cutie! I love the lighting that happens in a car! Fully lighted with no harsh shadows. So nice!

I am going to be working on getting the MerrieMelody.etsy.com store stocked with goodies today! So exciting!

Sunday Stillness in pictures