Our Blessings

     Our first challenge for November was to create a page showing what we are grateful for and include journaling.

      Other than my faith in God and the gift of His son, my greatest blessings are my family--my wonderful husband, Phil, and our three sons' families.  The pictures I chose are some which were taken in Branson, Missouri, during our annual family trip.   We have traveled for 12 years, including trips to San Antonio, Florida, Arkansas, and Branson.  Each face in these photos is so precious to me!  

      I always make T-shirts for everyone, which I design on my Cricut and screen print with my Yudu machine.  As you can see, this year's said:  Holmes Olympics MMXII, and they featured the Olympic rings.  The childrens' were neon green, and the adults were bright aqua.  They have proved invaluable when trying to stay together in crowds.

      One daughter-in-law arranged three events each day, selected each day's teams, and presented the various awards on our last night.  (We got the award for Best Grandparents!)  As we head home each year, the children begin anticipating where we will go and what we will do the next year.

      I used Bahama Blue grid paper and matted the letters, journaling box, and bottom three photos with neon green.  All the papers exactly match the two colors of the shirts.  I outlined the title squares and the journaling box with aqua.  The only letters I had which matched had rhinestones on them.  Soooo, I just used them anyway, as blingy as they are--"it is MY book, and I can do whatever I want" (I say that to myself quite often ).

      I must mention my family in the bottom pics, left to right:  eldest, Paul and Kelly with Brock (15) and Reagan (11); middle (and he lives up to it!), Mark and April with twins Shannon and Seth (9) and Shelby (7); and (my baby), Seth and Kathryn with Anna Grace (10) and Luke (8).  They are all married to their original spouses--no divorces.  The Holmes family has a history of long-lived marriages.  Phil's grandparents (both sides) and parents were all happily married for over 50 years--closer to 60.  God willing, we will carry on that wonderful tradition and pray that our sons do likewise.

      I didn't mean to get nostalgic, but I just can't say enough about how much God has blessed us with such a wonderful family who loves spending time together!