My faves for 2009 :):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Hi all.....

I want to thank everyone for their strong encouraging words for the word as I chose as my OLW for 2010....those words that U leave me have a stronger impact than U will ever know! :):):):):):):):):):):):):) I know most of us right now are showing our FAVE lo's that we created in 2009...but I wanted to share my FAVE photos from this year....now....I am by NO means a "great" photographer...but I have the passion and to me that is what is important.... if I didn't have the passion....then why I am creating the scrap pages that I do to carry on???? :):):):):):):):):):):) Soooooooooo here are my FAVE photos from this year! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

HAPPY NEW YEAR....and LOVE and PEACE to ALL!!!! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

*strength* :):):):):):):)

This week my dear Jennifer Campbell posted her One Little Word (OLW) for 2010 using the wonderful Ali Edwards as inspiration....and Jennifer encouraged her friends to chose Just One Little Word for 2010 also... soooooooooooo as I was reading Jennifer's post...the wheels started turning in my head (lol...if you have actually met me IRL...you would know this happens MORE times than NOT! lol!!)..... anywho....I am reading Jennifer's post and the word that KEPT screaming at me was ......

STRENGTH

Yep....that's my OLW for 2010..... now as some of my followers, friends, family knows.... in retrospect 2009 probably seemed like an AMAZING year for me and my family... we had a million HIGHS....Brian and I were both lucky enough to travel to different places that we both wanted to attend too.....he went to Las Vegas for a bowling tournament.... I was able to visit my dear friends Kristina, Cortney and Kerry Lynn in San Francisco, and also go to Tennessee to visit many of my SISters from SIStv...and I was also lucky enough to go visit my bestest friend EVER Danielle in New Jersey.....Brookie had two successful surgeries for her Port Wine Stains.....Adam was able to visit his Dad for the summer and he started Junior High this fall...brand new school and he seems to be doing a lot better there then he did in grade school....and I was very lucky to become a part of many design teams and successfully started my own challenge blog..."These are a Few of My Favorite Things".... and Brian bowled a 300 game at a state tournament....sooooooooooooooooo looking back over our year....I guess if I were U ... I would think that that Tucker-Wolek clan had it pretty good in 2009....and then WHY is Julie picking STRENGTH as her OLW for 2010?  Why would STRENGTH be needed by someone who appears to have had such an AWESOME year??????

Well....because in July my house was robbed... period.  That's it. That one event changed me emotionally forever.  As some of my close personal friends know.... I have HAD beyond the number of struggles in my life that most people NEVER ever have to deal with... (not saying that my life has been horrible... just saying I have had my share of major struggles.....as a lot of us have....)... and that one incident in July of 2009 changed me...... I lost my emotional strength.  I am paranoid now.  I am fearful now. I am more cautious now. I worry more now. I think of the sentimental things that were lost in the break in.... and I start to cry.  They will never be found.
So, STRENGTH is the word that I need for 2010. It is my OLW. I need to have the STRENGTH to forgive the man (men) who did this to my home.  I need to have the STRENGTH to trust the police again after they did a horrible job at NEVER following up with our robbery.  I need to have the STRENGTH to have faith in the insurance industry again as the company that we have we an ABSOLUTE nightmare to deal with.  I need to have the STRENGTH to know that everything is going to be okay.  I have to have the STRENGTH to trust that the alarm system we now have will ALWAYS work.  I need the STRENGTH to let all my fears, my worries, and my paranoia go away.  I need the STRENGTH to become me again. 
That is it.  I will focus on this word throughout the year and incorporate it within my creative work when possible. 

Thank you all for taking the time to visit my blog... I truly appreciate it... and I hope that everyone has a very safe and Happy New Year.  I have been very sick since the day after Christmas... and today I have no voice (of course... my family probably loves that!! lol!!!)... soooooooo I was supposed to get together with some old friends tomorrow night, but sadly with the way I have been feeling ... it looks like I will be scheduling that for another time and me and the pj's will be all cuddled up in bed tomorrow night trying to get better!!! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):) LOVE and PEACE to all! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

*a little girl with a love for a little prairie* :):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Hi all.....

first i want to thank everyone for the AMAZING support on being asked to be a Guest Designer for NoelMignon.com in January!!!! I am still on cloud NINE! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Next...i want to share a lo i made using a bluemoonscrapbooking.com kit! :):):):):):):) a few weeks ago while visiting one of my blog friends...i saw that a "laura ingalls gunn" had visited my friends blog too and had left a comment!!! WOW!! Really??? With that last name (like...I'm sure she has NEVER heard that before...lol lol lol!!!)...she HAS to be RELATED to the LAURA INGALLS WILDER!!!! Sooooooooooooo being the curious mind that I am .... I visited her blog!!! Not only does she reside in the same state as me, I also found out that she is indeed the fourth cousin to Laura Ingalls Wilder, (Laura Ingalls Gunn's great-great-grandfather and Laura Ingalls Wilder's father Charles were brothers!!! WOW!!!)...soooooooooo of course I became a follower of hers! She is AMAZING!!! She tells the most amazing stories and has beautiful photos on her blog!! And she has beautiful items for sale in her ETSY shop too!!! (BONUS!) :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Sooooooooooo this got me to thinking....(YES!!! There is an END to this story!! LOL!!!)....how much as a child I loved reading Laura Ingalls Wilder's amazing Little House on the Prairie series....and sadly ... (we won't focus on this part of the story...as we don't want sadness in here...lol!!!).... how my ex-husband actually threw away the ENTIRE series that I had owned since childhood.... (insert sad face here....).....and how I have never replaced them.... (shaking my head...I know, I know...what's wrong with me?????...*sigh*)....and how much I enjoyed watching the TV series with Melissa Gilbert as Laura, Michael Landon (*sigh* love him....RIP!) as Pa, Karen Grassle as Ma, Melissa Sue Anderson as Mary....and the amazing (*sigh* again...loveeeeeeee him...RIP!) Victor French as Mr. Edwards!!!! And ok, ok, ok.... I will admit it since I was a YOUNGER ME then...lol....I can't be the ONLY one who had a crush on DEAN BUTLER ... aka ALMANZO (Manly) WILDER!! LOL!! *swoon*........ :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):) So, my Aunt Mary had gotten all of us Barnes & Noble giftcards for Christmas....and after being "blog" connected to Laura Ingalls Gunn recently....I decided to buy my FAVE book from the series..."Little House on the Prairie" :):):):):) And to top that...I decided to do a lo on my love of the book...(see...there is an end here!!! LOL!!!).... so, here it is... my lo dedicated to the LOVE of this book series...and a special thank you to Mrs. Laura Ingalls Gunn, for finding her through this amazing world called, "blogging," and with finding her I was once again inspired to re-start my collection of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books that I will get to pass on to Brookie someday! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

 

 

Next....I wanted to share a lo I made for the latest "Scrap that Poetry" challenge.... this time its, "Twas the Night Before Christmas"....and ironically... this PHOTO was taken on December 24th!! LOL! :):):):):):):) I used a NoelMignon.com kit on here...and threw in the snowflake from my wonderful friend Jeanet....and the tree and the little blue and white felt embellies are from the sweetest Jessi! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

 

 

 

And I also wanted to share a wall hanging I made for Brookie's room using Nikki Sivils's "U R My Favorite" line!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE this line! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by....and thanks for your comments...they truly mean a lot to me! :):):):):):):):):):) LOVE TO ALL! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)