help!

My Grandma Sirrine has been asking me to help her scrapbook all of her accumulated pictures of her, my Grandpa's, all their children, their children's children, and their children's children's children pictures. (Plus old pictures of my great great grandparents) A little overwhelming.

At first I thought it was totally doable. But after spending two different sessions organizing photos into piles and piles and piles I think I'll have to take a different direction with this.

I love a scrapbook. I also love digital scrapbooking. But with the amount of pictures we are dealing with, I think we need to go a simpler route. My grandma absolutely loves the digital picture frame she got for Christmas and said she'd wished it went to music.

So, I got the idea of doing a digital scrapbook/slideshow on DVD with her and my Grandpa's favorite songs. I would have to scan in selected pictures which would take a while...and then sit down at the computer and type captions for the pictures as my grandma tells the names, dates, places, & stories. I think this would be more efficient with our time, capture & preserve these precious memories, and distribute to each family. I don't know how many DVDs this would take. There is still a huge box of SLIDES in her garage! I think we could get some nice labeled photo boxes for everything as well. She also has 7-8 scrapbook albums with pictures & letters that are falling apart. They should probably be de-acified as well. (Is there some sort of spray for this????)

This will be a huge undertaking, but I know it will mean the world to my Grandma and all of her posterity. Please! Anyone! Ideas? Tips? Solutions? Software recommendations?

When I am big...

Last night Bella, out of nowhere, had the funniest conversation. I had to write it down. I wish I could have recorded it.

Bella: When I am big like mom & dad I will be really big.
Mom: Oh really?
Bella: I'm gonna reach things and be really tall.
Mom: What else?
Bella: I will make some-pings, like cookies, and reach really tall.


I didn't realize how left out she felt because she couldn't reach high and make cookies all by herself.

More Bella-isms to brighten your day

A series of self portraits taken one morning...









Bella: "Dad, what does 'merry' mean? Like in 'Merry Christmas'."
Dad: "It means Happy."
Bella: "Oh."

Mom: "How many eggs do you want?"
Bella: "Umm..two and a half."


Bella: "Mom, I don't feel very good."
Mom: "What's wrong, Bella?"
Bella: "I don't know."
Mom: "Well, what do you feel like?"
Bella: "I feel like a jerk."
Mom: "A jerk?"
Bella: "Yeah. I feel like a jerk."

Picture Tag...

This is a fun tag! Open the folder where you keep all your photos. Look at the 3rd folder and post the 3rd picture listed with out cropping or editing. Now explain the picture. i tag: eVeRYoNe!

This is last Christmas ('07)- Bella decorating the tree. She put 95% of the ornaments on the bottom 5% of the tree. she was concentrating so hard and being so careful with each ornament. Some branches had 4-5 ornaments on them. It was absolutely adorable!

umm yeah...they are twins

So at church yesterday, an elderly lady (bless her heart) stopped me in the hall:

Lady:"You certainly have your arms full."

(I was carrying Paislee & Kailia and dropping Bella off at nursery because Levi teaches the teenagers.)

Then she does a double take and says: "They sure look alike. Now are they twins?"

Me: "Ummm...yeah they are twins."

Lady: "Oh! A boy and girl!"

Me: "Ummm...actually two girls."
(note: they both were wearing dresses)


Bless her heart.

thank you complete stranger for rescuing me...

Thank you to the man who rescued me Saturday afternoon. I was on my way to get some Christmas shopping done, turned a corner and my car started sputtering. I hurried and pulled over and got my emergency lights on quickly. Luckily I was mostly out of the way of traffic. As I watched 3 of my neighbors drive on by, I tried to get a hold of someone to go over and watch the girls while Levi came to rescue me. (I had all the car seats). Shane, a father of 3 girls pulled over. Not wanting me to feel uncomfortable or in danger, he pointed out the three girls in his car. I got in with them as he drove me to the gas station. What a nice guy, stopping to help me on a busy Saturday. The last Saturday before Christmas. He not only helped me in my dumb situation, but he also helped give me a little Christmas magic I have been missing out on this year.

Bella-isms

I love to hear kids' interpretation of the world around them. I promised myself as Bella started talking that I would write down all the cute and funny things she says....

"Mom, I want to keep you." (when she wants me to sit down with her and hold her)

"I want to watch Ladies & the trampolines" (Lady & The Tramp)

"Let me tell you a secret....POOP!" (while slapping her knee and laughing hard...hmmm remind you of anyone?)

"Let's have some tea & dob-bis-pips" (dog biscuits)

"Mom, I want to hold this kind." (Referring to one of the twins)

"My yucky coin" (Lucky Coin)



On a side note: Ugly Betty is casting newborn identical twins for one of their episodes featuring the new baby. The weight limit is 10 lbs and under...dangit the twins are 2 pounds too heavy! That would've be so fun to go to New York and have Paislee & Kailia in an episode of Ugly Betty!