Brand New Line of Digital Christmas Cards

I am finally back to creating some new things for sale. I have wanted to make digital Christmas cards for several years but never managed to actually do it....at least not til late December! This year I am ready to go with a new line in my Etsy store. Pop on over and take a look! Digital Designs by CarolAnn

Happy Birthday Brayden

 

It's hard to believe that one year ago we were celebrating Brayden's arrival! We gathered for a fun party tonight and enjoyed watching him as he explored cake, candles, party favors and presents! What a sweet boy!

Vacation 2014

 We went to Crystal Mountain Resort for a wine tasting event. What a beautiful place!

 Tasting rooms provide wonderful photo opportunities. This one was taken at one in Prosser. The vineyard was used as an airfield during World War II so the tasting room had some fun decor.

 These vines are some of the oldest in the Yakima Valley. The grapes are heavy on them this year.

 This vineyard had a beautiful view of the valley and a pretty large rose garden. It was 102 degrees outside so we were glad we could enjoy this view from inside the tasting room. We only stayed outside long enough to take the pictures!

 This guy was clearly unafraid of people. I was glad that I had seen him from the road because he appeared close by when I went down near the water to take photos.

I was up early and drove up toward Paradise. This is the view from Reflection Lakes. What a beautiful mountain! The snow is melting fast but there is still some lingering around the lake.

Our newest little grandchild.....not many pages scrapped for him yet, but I am working on it! Such a sweet little boy (and cute too)!

Babies, Babies!

Two sweet babies added to our family over the last few months. We are soooooo blessed!

Anticipation

We (but especially Anne) are excitedly anticipating the birth of our first grandson! He should be ready to meet us very soon! Look at all those big sisters the little guy will have!

End of Summer Fun

Since Ali is off for an end of summer adventure on the east coast next week, this was our last day for the cousins to play before school starts. We did our best to make the most of it!

Summertime Fun

Summer is just flying by this year....or maybe it does every year! Anyway, we are trying to squeeze every bit of fun in the sun out of August that we can! The girls are all growing so fast and I sure enjoy all the time I get to spend with them!

Sister Love

Sweet sister moment this morning. They really do love each other! The background and elements of this layout were chosen by Brianna. She loved all the ribbons on the frame.

Ferry in the Fog

We have stayed in some very nice places this week as we replanned our vacation at the last minute due to flooding in Canada. I have enjoyed each new location. Tonight we are in Port Angeles, watching the ferry from Victoria emerge through the fog right about sunset......from our room! I hope to stay awake long enough to see the moon over the water.

Many Glacier

Day three of our vacation was a beautiful drive from west to east in Glacier National Park to the Many Glacier area. We are staying in a wonderful old hotel and enjoying gorgeous scenery. The bears were spotted along our way this morning. They were feasting on all the wild flowers.

Big Horned Sheep

I'm enjoying a week of vacation beginning in Glacier National Park. Ted and I met a new friend this morning on Going To The Sun Road. This guy was only 15 feet from the car window I had my camera hanging out of! He just posed and looked at me while I took his picture.

Grandmother Power

This will be a different post for me...no pictures, just words!
I came across an interesting blog post today written by Tara Mohr. Tara writes and teaches women how to bring about positive change in their worlds. Much of what she writes about sounds good to me, but affects me very little since I have no inclination to be a mover and shaker in the business world. Today she wrote about Grandmother Power. I very much desire to be an excellent grandmother. 

A grandmother is in a unique place in the life of a child. We are less bothered by the everyday things that mothers and fathers need to worry about. Those of us without a workplace calling us each day, have more time. We have time to listen to long, involved stories and imaginings. We have time to sit in the morning before school and just snuggle. We have time to 'just be with'. The value of time to 'just be with'.....I think it is very underrated in our busy, frantically paced world. Nothing builds confidence in a child like knowing that someone has the desire and time to sit or walk with them and listen to whatever they have to say.

I know that not all grandmothers have the time or proximity to their grandchildren that I am privileged to have, but there are children and young men and women everywhere who need us to 'just be with' them...for whatever amount of time we have. Maybe it is someone in our place of employment who just needs someone to listen -not to judge or lecture-just to listen and 'be with' them. Maybe it is a neighbor child or a child struggling to learn to read, who just needs someone to spend some focused time helping them over the hurdle in front of them. That can be life changing for them.

Does something a s simple as 'being with' children, equate Grandma Power? I think so. My grandchildren have wonderful parents but I have a special role in their lives that gives me an influence that no one else has.....and influence is a tremendous source of power. I believe grandma power goes beyond our immediate family to influence the schools our grandchildren attend, the neighborhoods they live in, and their future families. And families and relationships are the backbone of our worlds.

Big and Little Sis!

Since little Emily was born a bit early, she was just under 5 pounds when she came home from the hospital. She was very sleepy, and it took lots of effort to get her to eat enough to begin gaining those much needed ounces, but she is making good progress. We wanted to get some pictures to show how tiny she is  because she won't be this size for long now!
Her big sister can hardly stop kissing her long enough to get a good shot of both their sweet faces!

Girl's Softball Afternoon

We had a good time watching Aliana's softball game this afternoon! What an entertaining group of girls they are!

Introducing Emily

I needed an announcement card to carry around with me so I could show off little Emily and her sweet family.

Sisters

We were delighted to welcome our new granddaughter this weekend! She is a beautiful, tiny little girl who already has wrapped around our hearts. Her sister is absolutely thrilled with her and it is hard to resist snapping photo after photo of them together!

I Wonder.....

Palm Sunday thoughts.....

Anticipating Emily

Granddaughter number three is coming soon! We are soooooooo excited! Can't wait to meet the little sweetie!

Snow Fun!

Weekend of fun to take advantage of the last chance at the mountain snow for this year. I love the contrast of cute snow clothes on the pretty snow. I had a good time taking pictures....more to come!