Dancing Thru My Mind...Shelby

Oh, here comes another of my wonderful granddaughters dancing through my mind. This one comes on little kitty cat paws. With her beautiful smile, she quietly slips into the margins of my mind and before I know it, I am caught up with wonderful thoughts and memories of the quietest of my grandchildren. I'm not sure I have any really quiet grandchildren, but Shelby is the quietest of the loud. When all of the grandchildren are together, she is totally happy to be a part of whatever happens to be going on at the time, but she is equally happy to be by herself reading, on her computer, or working on some artistic project. She loves her time alone in her room, which by the way is ALWAYS neat and clean. (She may be the only one of the fifteen that I can say that about.) She is one of my independent little country girls, and like her sisters, she loves her animals. That love extends to butterflies and her room reflects that fact.

I think I have a special bond with Shelby. It's not something tangible, just a feeling. She is so appreciative of anything that I ever do for her no matter how small, and she always finds a way to gently let me know that she is wearing a shirt that I bought for her, or she shows me a card that I have sent to her. She remembers the little things. It's nice. Besides her animals, Shelby is loving her sports. She plays softball and basketball and is quite good at both sports.

And what a splendid young lady she is becoming. She is growing up so fast. She just went to her first school dance last week. Before long it will be her Senior Prom and then she will be spreading her wings and flying like the butterflies that she admires so much. I love my little country girl. I know that as she grows and matures she will be able to make the choices necessary to allow her to travel down the path that she chooses to follow. Who knows where that path may lead. It makes my heart swell to know that she is my granddaughter.

I hope you will enjoy this page I created for Shelby. It was made using papers and elements from CLO-De Colores Kit. A great kit with lots of beautiful material. Thanks for peeking in and taking a look at the people and things who are constantly dancing through my mind.

Dancing Thru My Mind...Brock

My daughter just called and was on the way to take her youngest boy to T-Ball practice. So, this seemed to be the perfect opportunity to post his picture on my blog and talk about him just a little bit. Let me tell you, when Brock dances through my mind I have to be wide awake because if I am drowsy I will miss him. He is on the go in a a great big hurry all the time. If he slows down, he's asleep! What a delight! His Dad is a head football coach and Brock is the baby brother to two brothers and one sister who are all totally involved in sports...football, baseball, basketball, volleyball,track, powerlifting...you name it, somebody is doing it. And right there with them is BROCK. He doesn't miss a game. He has been on the football field or in the stands at a sporting event since he was born. People at a football game may not know what the score is, but they can tell you how many times that little boy has kicked the football and run after it along the sidelines. He doesn't know anything but hectic! And now, he is becoming the player! He has started T-Ball and after that comes all of the rest. Soon the brothers and sisters will be sitting in the stands watchiing him, and here's betting that will be a real spectacle.

Along with all of his action he has the sweetest disposition, and just look at the smile...like his Mom's. And he loves you. It doesn't matter who you are or what you look like, he just loves you and if he has a cookie and you don't have one he will share his with you. Never meets a stranger. He steals hearts. So proud he is my grandson!

Hope you enjoy this scrapbook page I created for Brock. I used some papers and elements from Scrapping Sisters. They have cool stuff. Thanks for stopping by and meeting Brock.

Dancing Thru My Mind...Casey

Oh, when this young lady comes dancing through my mind, she's tap-dancing! And, she does love to dance, and she does it so well! What a beauty. She has the bluest eyes and the curliest hair and the brightest smile. I have to be happy when she dances through my mind. There is no other choice. She has really grown up during the last year and is becoming a wonderful, mature young lady. It's hard to believe that she will be graduating from high school next year and then going off to college. My the time is passing so quickly. Casey is one of my little country girls, and besides dancing she loves her animals. She will be showing a heifer at the Houston Fat Stock Show this year and she plans on following her love for animals and becoming a vet.

I am so proud of Casey and the gracious, loving person that she has become. She knows where she is going and knows that it is going to take a lot of work to get there. She can do the work, and she is willing to put forth the effort. There is not a doubt in my mind that Casey will succeed in whatever it is that she chooses to do with her life. She knows that there are no limits and that she has the ability and the personality to do what it takes. I love my curly haired grand-daughter and she makes me proud to be her grandmother.

Dancing Thru My Mind...Dolly

One more snow picture before I go to bed. Pictures of Dolly running through the snow dance thru my mind on this cold, wet day. Dolly is our "Labranese"...part Lab and part Great Pyrenees. She is delightful. She talks to us and I swear she understands what we are saying. She loves the grandkids and is excited when they show up at our door and she thinks that my husband, Skip was put on this earth to be her playmate. He adores her. This picture was taken as she and I were walking down the road in back of our house during the snow. It was a great time. She would run ahead and then turn back to make sure that I was coming. I can guarantee that at my age I was not moving as quickly as Dolly. She had to do a lot of waiting on me!

So, here's the picture. Enjoy.

Dancing Thru My Mind...Stone

Before I go to bed tonight, I want to share this picture of my grandson, Stone. He is Maggie and Jake's big brother and he was sharing in the joy and excitement of snow in Texas. Stone is the oldest son of my youngest son and what a wonderful, wonderful young man he is...He is so smart, so thoughtful, so tender, and with such a great humor. He dances thru my mind always. I smile as he finds his place in my mind. I smile at the things he says...way too clever and deep for a person of his age, I smile at the way he takes charge and wants to make sure that everyone is getting their chance, I smile as he listens so intently to what you are saying and then asks questions that are difficult to answer, I smile when I see him play basketball...he gives it everything he has. He just makes me smile. He plays tennis as well, but like Maggie's dancing, I have never been able to watch him play. One of these days.......

This is a picture of Stone with the taste of snowflakes upon his tongue. Again, he and his brother and sister were totally in awe of that beautiful, cold, white softness that was floating from heaven. The wonder of it all!

Share a smile with me as you look at this scrapbook page. It was made with papers and elements from Kubivet and Rainy. Wonderful designers.

Dancing Thru My Mind...Maggie

I'm not through with snow pictures yet. This one is of my youngest grandaughter, Maggie. She is Jake's big sister. Don't you love this picture? It's one of my favorites. Just look at the pure joy showing through those bright eyes and beautiful smile. She was showing me a big icicle that had formed on a Christmas ornament. She was in total awe, "Look, Grandma...look at that great big piece of ice hanging from your roof! It's so pretty!" Oh, the innocence and wonder of a child. Is it not a beautiful thing? Too bad it is gone so soon.

Our Maggie is a beautiful child who comes dancing thru my mind in ballet slippers. She loves to dance and does it quite well. She just had her first ever solo ballet performance and from everything I have heard she was outstanding. She dances through my mind as I wonder about her dance recitals. I have never been able to see her dance and that bothers me a great deal...one of the disappointments of living so far away. But, I have seen pictures and heard rave reviews and there is no doubt that she will be a great dancer. Like I mentioned earlier, she has the best of both of her parents...looks like her Mom but acts like her Dad! Should make for an interesting combination as she continues to grow into the teen years.

This scrapbook page was created with papers from Kubivet and papers and elements from Rainy's Candycane Dreams. Such wonderful things they create! So talented.

Hope you smile with Maggie and me as you enjoy this page.

Dancing Thru My Mind...Jake

This cold, wet, blustery day here in North Texas just seems like the perfect time to post some pictures of some of the grandchildren in the snow. We don't get the opportunity to have snow pictures very often, so these are especially special. This first post is my youngest grandson, Jake. Oh, Jake! What a delightful creation God made in this child. He is busy, busy, busy, constantly curious, has the bluest of blue eyes, and the most endearing way of saying "Grandma." Just melts a grandma's heart. He dances thru my mind regularly, those blue eyes shining and that mischievious mouth smiling all the while. These dances are pure waltzes, no worries. He is still so innocent and I know that all of his needs are being taken care of by his wonderful parents. And, besides, his other grandparents live near by so when he needs something besides his Mom and Dad, all he has to do is say, "Grandma." That grandma can't resist him either. How great it is that he has her and his other Grandpa there so close.

This picture was taken when we had a couple of inches of snow. That's a lot here in Texas. The children were loving it. Being from Houston, snow is extremely rare, so they were able to enjoy it with all of the childish pleasure you can imagine...except for Jake. He said, "It's too cold to play outside. Going in the house!" He was content to sit at the window and watch his brother and sister run and play in the winter wonderland.

Hope you enjoy this scrapbook page of Jake in the snow. And of course, I had to include those baby blue eyes. This page was made with papers and elements from Kubivet and the snowman comes from Candies Creations. They both do beautiful work that makes it easy to do these fun scrapbook pages.

Dancing Thru My Mind...Brittany

As I sit here and post this note tonight, my oldest grandaughter sits at my dining table writing a paper that is due on Tuesday. What a warm, fuzzy feeling it is to have her here with us for a weekend visit. She is my oldest daughter's only daughter and she spends a lot of time "dancing thru my mind." She is a sophomore in college and far enough away from home that she doesn't get to visit anyone very often. She keeps my mind busy wondering if all is going well, if she is happy, if she is studying, if she is having a good time, if she is meeting lots of people who will be important to her for the rest of her life, if life in general is treating her with kindness. Lots of nights with no sleep; however, she seems to be handling this process of growing up quite well. She knows that everything is not always going to go her way and when she gets down, she bounces right back up. When she is happy, she is positively giddy. Love to hear her laugh. Love to watch her eyes sparkle. Love to have her here with us as often as possible. She is my determined one, the one who thinks she knows exactly where she is going and what it is going to take to get there. She is an independent thinker and doer, and I feel certain that she will make all the right choices. We are proud of our oldest grandaughter. She is everything a grandparent could hope for.

Please enjoy this scrapbook page that I created for Brittany using an "orange flower" quick page by Rainy and BoHo Teatime Papers by TMG Scraps. Thanks to these artists for creating such beautiful material with which I am able to make these fun scrapbook pages.

These two people dance thru my mind always...my Mom and Dad. They are the ones who gave me everything that I ever needed to succeed in life. We were not wealthy, but we were rich in love and friends and family. They showed me what love is all about, they didn't have to say a word. Oh, the memories...peach cobblers, pecan pies, pot roast after church on Sundays, friends over after church on Wednesday nights eating peanut butter and crackers, the house full for every holiday, the table groaning from the food on top, Daddy picking up pecans, cracking pecans around the table with Daddy, Mother's quilts, the sound of Mother's sewing machine always making something new for me or Judy or Peggy or Ann, or my girls. Oh the memories that dance thru my mind. I miss both of them every day since they have gone from me, but I know that when I need them they are still always there. I can feel them when my heart is heavy...they comfort me. I can feel them when my heart is light...they laugh with me. I am who I am because two people fell in love and continued to love for a lifetime.

This layout was made from pictures made during World War II. Daddy served in the Army overseas and Mother served at home. Hope you enjoy this layout. It was made with love.

The top picture is a portrait of my Mom and Dad after they had been married for fifty years.

Dancing Thru My Mind....JJ

Then, there's my baby. His name is Jeffrey Jason but nobody knows that. Everyone just calls him JJ. Oh,my. How do I begin to describe JJ? Let's just say that everytime I see a movie starring Jim Carrey I get the feeling that when JJ was born I had twins and one was taken from me and became a movie star. The other one grew up as the baby of the Cox Family. He's my funny one, he's my trickster, he's my one who sees humor is lots of things I think are stupid, he's my leader, he's my "people magnet," he's also my dependable one.

His disposition has been a blessing for him as he has searched for his niche in life. After trying out several career choices in business and coaching he felt called to the ministry. He is now the head youth minister at a very large church in the Houston area. He loves what he does and his ministry has grown by leaps and bounds. He is a magnet for young teens; they communicate easily. He loves being able to have a positive influence in the lives of young people. (They, too think he might be Jim Carrey's long lost twin!)

JJ married his college sweetheart and they live near Houston. His wife teaches in a private pre-school, and they have three beautiful children. The oldest son is in the fourth grade and the main word that comes to mind when I mention him is SMART. He loves basketball and tennis. Their youngest son is three and was sent to JJ to make him have to pay for all that he did when he was that age. Their daughter is in the second grade and has a problem...she looks like her mother, blonde, blue-eyed and pretty but she acts a lot like her daddy. Could be trouble down the road. She loves to dance. We are so proud of our baby boy and the path he has taken and the responsibility he has shown. He has a beautiful family and a good life.

Hope you enjoy the picture I made of JJ using paper from the kit "Instant of Time" by Zalinka and elements from Rainy's kits "Dark Elegance" and "Family Love."

Dancing Thru My Mind...Kyle

Next in line among my memory makers is my guy Kyle. What great memories of him dance thru my mind at night. He's my big guy...they are all pretty good size, but he's my grizzly bear with the big soft heart. It's hard to believe that someone as strong as he is can be such a softy when it comes to matters of the people he loves. He is my stong one,he's my "I'll take care of it, don't worry about it" one, he's my one you call in times of trouble, he's my one with the great big laugh, he's my opinionated one, he's also my dependable one. Look at the look of love on that face. Can you not tell just by looking that he would "lasso the moon" for you if he loved you? He would.

Kyle is a police officer in a medium sized town and he is the one you want on your side. You definitely do not want him opposing you! He has been an officer in the same city for nearly 20 years and he and his lovely wife live outside of town in a small community of about 150 people! They love being outside and away from the crowds. His wife works for the government dealing with Medicade and he has three wonderful children. His oldest (24) is working on a degree in Criminal Justice at McLennan College in Waco. He also holds down a full time job as a manager of a rental store, and is engaged to a beautiful girl he plans to marry in April.
Kyle's youngest son is a Freshman in high school and is on the varsity football and basketball teams. His daughter is a junior in high school where she is an honor's student, starts on her school volleyball and basketball teams and was a homecoming queen nominee this past football season. What a wonderful family Kyle has. We are so proud of him as our middle son.

Hope you like the picture I created of him using bits and pieces of kits from Rainy's kits "Dark Elegance" and "Family Love," Kubivet Scrapbooking and Crafty Scraps kit "All About Chocolate."

Dancing Thru My Mind.....Troy

Next in line among my memory makers are my three sons. Didn't they have a TV show about that at one time? Oh, well...I've got them and they are definitely reasons why my mind will not shut down at night and let me sleep. I have fantastic memories of these three sons that "dance thru my mind" on a regular basis.

The oldest of the three is my son Troy. Maybe he's a cat...I think he has nine lives and it's scary buy he's already used up about three of them. He has had three heart attacks, all of them serious and one of them nearly fatal. As a result he now has five bypasses that assures him of brand new plumbing (no guarantees, but certainly lots and lots of strong beliefs that the worst is behind him, and his other six lives will not be used up any time soon.)

He's my outdoor man, he's my lover of all creation, he's my "Call me if you need me, Mom," he's the one that wants you to visit and let him make you feel at home, he is also my dependable one. And just look at that smile and those eyes. Don't they melt your heart? That smile is always there and just ready to surface at the slightest word. And don't you just love the wrinkles at his eyes? They were put there by years of smiling. He lives in the country with his wife and three children where he can be outside as much as he likes. He owns his own business, his wife teaches Special Education classes at an elementary school, his oldest daughter is a junior in high school and loves to dance, his middle child is in the sixth grade and loves softball and basketball and his youngest daughter is in the second grade and also loves softball. All three girls show animals in various stock shows. They are a great family.

I hope you enjoy the picture that I created for Troy using mostly Kubivet Scrapbooking paper and elements. There are also elements from Rainy's kits Dark Elegance and Family Love.

Gailey...Dancing Thru My Mind

Then, there is my youngest daughter, Gailey. She, too is right up there at the top when it comes to beautiful memories that dance through my mind and keep me awake at night. What delightful memories we share! She's my cheerleader, she's my "let's get it done" one, she's my mediator, she's my event planner, she's my organizer, she's also my dependable one. She is also my beauty. Just look at that smile. It's always there and once you see it, you can't forget it. She teaches Home Economics at a large high school where her husband is the head coach. She is the mother of four beautiful children who are all active in and excell in sports. Her oldest son is the starting quarterback for the high school team and plays varsity basketball. Her daughter is a freshman in high school and plays volleyball and basketball. The next son is in the seventh grade and is the starting quarterback for his school team, and is a starter on his seventh grade basketball team. The youngest son is in the first grade and he plays anything he wants to play!! Gailey is a great mother and her husband is a great father. I am so proud of all that she has accomplished. She keeps me awake nights and she makes me smile. And, here is her scrapbook picture that I created using Rainy's kits...Dark Elegance and Family Love.

Shannon...Dancing Thru My Mind

When it comes to beautiful memories that dance through my mind and keep me awake, my oldest daughter Shannon is right up there at the top. What beautiful memories we share. She's my redhead, my volatile one, my dependable one, my take-charge one, the one you can count on in a life and death situation. She's my beauty. She's a single mother of two children and the Nurse Manager of the Operating Room at a large hospital. One of her children is a college sophomore at Texas Tech University and the other one just this last month received a nomination to the Air Force Academy from Senator Chet Edwards. She is independent and has done a wonderful job rearing her two children alone. I am so proud of my first born child. And here is the scrapbook picture that I have created from Rainy's kits...Dark Elegance and Family Love. Hope it brings a smile to your face.