Make and take night at Pam's

My daughter and I went to Pam's at PaperAskew, to make cards and hang out with some other like minded people. Who are trying to be creative but sometimes need a little help. Pam is great and comes up with such cute ideas. We really had a great time, and went home with 3 cards and a goody bag with all kinds of stuff in it. Soooo exciting!!!
Today I sorted through more of these old pictures I have and put them with some pages to start layouts for them. It's hard because I don't have that many pictures of my mother's parents or of her growing up. I'm not sure why, except my grandfather did slides, and we just might have to get some pictures of those. So, I asked my Aunt Ruthie if she had any that she could email me, I'm sure if she does I will get them soon. That's all for now.....

Update to Grandma Nichols

I didn't really finish before I published the last post. My Grandma's maiden name was Lanphere. My Grandfather's ancestors came from Germany, with the name Neukerchin, and they changed it to Nichols. Between my mother and I we have done a lot of genealogy research on this. My Grandfather's mother was from the Trump family. One of my dad's cousins on the Trump side (Roger), has also done quite a bit of genealogy on that part of the family tree.
I never got to know my Grandpa Nichols, he died when my dad was 11. My dad had a rough time growing up without a good male role model. His mother did the best she could on her own. She was a very proud woman. I am told that my Grandfather died from a hole in his stomach from a work injury, but assume it was cancer. He was sick from the time my dad was little, in fact my dad said he doesn't have many memories of him, without him being sick. They had a small farm on Oxbow Hill, just outside of Westfield. Unfortunately, the house burned down, and they moved to town. OK, now I can publish this and it's as complete as I can make it, at this point.

2 more scrapbook pages of my Grandma Nichols

I did these pages a while ago, but never posted them :( . The one with Nichols on it is all creative memories except for the Thickers. My Grandma Nichols was an inspiration to me. Not only raising two young boys on her own in the late 40's early 50's, because her husband passed on. But, when my dad married my mother, taking my mother under her wing, and teaching her to cook and bake with my dad's help. Giving guidance, never an opinion without being asked, but you knew if she didn't agree. If someone was down and out, even if she didn't have it; she would do what she could and even go without herself to help them out. She taught me how to crochet, and helped me when I was learning to sew. That's not to say my mom didn't help me as well, but sometimes I would listen to my Grandma before I would listen to my mother. I loved to listen to her stories of her life. She loved my Grandpa so much and missed him every day. It was awesome to see that kind of love displayed. When my daughter was almost 3 and I was very pregnant with my son, my parents took her to see her GGrandma; she called her the cookie Grandma. She had made cookies just for her. She lived and grew up in and around Westfield, NY, in Chautauqua county. When she passed on, I believe that was the hardest thing I ever endured. I think of her often and at the holidays especially, because of my memories when I was younger and she was a big part of the holidays. As well, when I garden and have tomatoes and cucumbers, she had taught me how to can. Even though, I don't do this anymore, I truly appreciate the time and effort people went through to can. This is long hard work.

My Son's Birthday

Today is my son's birthday! I think after your children hit the mid 20's it is hard to imagine them being that old. Of course, this means that I am that much older (maybe that's the bigger issue). Our son has been a wonderful challenge to us, his uniqueness is inspiring. He has compassion, a brilliant mind, and a wonderful smile.
He has had it tough this last year, with a marriage dissolving, finances not where he wants them, and wondering what to do now. He has since met a young lady that he seems to be serious about, and much happier with who he is and what he wants to accomplish in his life.
We will go to dinner sometime this week to celebrate his birthday, and I will post some pictures of the event. In the meantime, I thought while I was contemplating my youngest child's date of birth and who he has become I would jot it down. I hope both of my children know how much I adore them, and hope their dreams and aspirations come true, :) how blessed I have been to be given them to care for and love.

Addlt Info on scrapbook pages and more pages

The two pages I posted last night were of old postcards that my grandmother had, that my parents inherited when she passed on. This is my paternal side of grandparents. I am waiting on my Aunt to provide me with some scanned pictures of my maternal side (adoptive) grandparents and siblings. The other page is pictures of my dad's parents house they lived in after the fire of their original home on Oxbow Hill in Westfield New York.

My Grandmother, Leah Irene Nichols; didn't really have an easy life. My Grandfather passed on when my father was 11. A couple of her children were out of the house by then or shortly after; but she had to raise my uncle and my father; on her own. This was around the depression time. I'll write more about her later..... These pages are of my beautiful, giving, Grandma.

Scrapbook pages, thank you cards and pictures

I wasn't lying when I said I would be out of the loop for awhile. I guess, longer than I thought :(

I'm posting some of the thank you cards I did, as well as scrapbook pages, also some pictures from the lifelight concert we volunteered at. The concert was wonderful, hundreds of people came to know Jesus; I am humbled that I could be even a little part of it. We are working with another couple and LifeLight Festival, to bring the same thing to Colorado. We are just struggling to get 12 churches to come along side of the festival and send volunteers and help mentor the new people to church.

Most of the paper, stamps, and ink are from S.U., and Creative Memories, and ELE for the brads. Thanks for taking a look.