The family

The family has been spending alot of time together, trying to get through mom's passing. There have been great laughs along with the crying. My nephew, Zachari and his wife Rachel were able to come visit, although they did not make it for the memorial service.
One night when we got together my sister, Dar gave my brothers a bag of army men to play with, not unlike the ones they played with as boys. Mark (with the long hair), Jim (short hair) and Tedd (back to camera) had a good time playing.
Here is a photo of 5 of the 6 kids at the memorial service, along with a photo of what I've had to put up since we were kids : )

My Mom

My mom went home to be with the Lord in the early hours of Tuesday, Dec 4. Things have been difficult and I will get back to the blog later. Here is my favorite picture of her from her early years.

The Studio

The floor is down in the studio, only took Lowe's installation crew 2 hours to do it. Ikea is the source for the "tv cabinet" and bookcase. Need to get another double bookcase and a single one. Once they are in I can think about where I want to put doors, drawers, etc on the bookcases.

Birthdays

There are four in our "official" family and 3 of the birthdays come together. Kyrlyn turned 30 (!!) on Halloween, my birthday is 2 weeks later and Alyssa turned 28 8 days after me, on Thanksgiving. How did Kyrlyn turn 30 when I distinctly remember her laying on my stomach in the hospital and lifting her head to look at me, at 11 hours old! And Alyssa was born on Thanksgiving, Caesarian section, so no turkey for me that year except for a little turkey : ) Here are photos from the birthdays, including one a tired Charlie, taken on my birthday.

Philadelphia Zoo

Sunday Keith and I, Alyssa and Charlie, and Kyrlyn went to the zoo. Kyrlyn's James did not go as his grandmother has just died and he was out with his parents. We had a great time. Went on the Zoo Balloon, my idea. I've always wanted to go on a hot air balloon, this was a tethered balloon and I no longer want to take a balloon ride : )
We saw the tiger cubs that were born in the spring and they were cuuuttteee!! But I will stick with my little guys at home!

Breast Cancer Walk

I was planning to do the 3Day, 60 mile breast cancer walk 2 weeks ago. Unfortunately I was unable to raise the entire $2200 and with me losing my job, I could not make up the remaining $700.
I had a t-shirt that I sent around the US and Canada to stampers who had appeared in TRS. They stamped the shirt and I was planning on wearing it on the walk. There are several Race for the Cure scheduled for our area in 2008 and I plan to do those and wear the shirt.
The women who participated in the t-shirt project are: Becky Chabot, Sanford, ME; Kriss Cramer, East Fallowfield, PA; Candy Davis, Nazareth, PA; Kerry McConnell, Chicora, PA; Elizabeth Allan, Charlevoix, MI; Sarah Vrolyk, Rockford, IL; Sue Langbecker, Baraboo, WI; Barbara Hache, East St. Paul, MB; Lisa Spangler, Austin, TX; Laura Griffin, Dallas, TX; Rosemary Marino, Safety Harbor, FL; Kathie McCracken Seaverns, Clearwater, FL; Mary Bassett, Orlando, FL; Stephanie Loomis, Marietta, GA; Lynn Roberts, Columbia, TN; and Linda Hess, Stafford, VA. Thank you to all of you, you did a great job!!

Painting

We started painting the studio yesterday. One wall, one color is done. Three walls, another color has first coat. Tomorrow we will be putting on the second coat and Thursday I will be doing touch-ups and taking pictures. Check back to see the painted room. Next week we hope to have the new laminate floor in.

Cape May

One of the advantages of not working is having your weekdays free. So all the fun things don't have to be done on the weekend with all the other working people. Monday we (hubby Keith and I) went to Cape May, a 2-hour drive but worth it. We went to the Cape May lighthouse, although we didn't go up as we have been to that lighthouse so many times. We went to Cape May for our honeymoon and have tried to go back at least every other year since our 10th anniversary. Since we were married in 1976, we have been there a lot!
We walked down to the ocean behind the lighthouse, the water was nice and warm. While I was wetting my feet we saw dolphins swimming. Then we saw more! There were about 50 swimming in circles, gathering fish for eating. It was an unexpected sight!
After parking in Cape May, while waiting to put money in the meter, I looked down and saw flowers. I liked the way they looked, like eyes and took a picture.

The Rubber Stamper Part 2

I'm very grateful for everyone who has commented here and emailed me at the magazine to let us know how much they loved the magazine and how much they will miss it. It's been a big part of my life, I remember how excited I was when I found out I got the job of editorial assistant and how proud I was when I was promoted to assistant editor. Of course with only 3 people on staff it didn't change my job, but it sounded good!
Anyway, thank you all for your encouraging words. I know God does not close one door without opening another and I look forward to see what He has in mind.
I encourage you to stay in touch and see what happens.

The Rubber Stamper

As you may not have heard, The Rubber Stamper Magazine has been sold to Amos Craft Publishing, publishers of Crafts n Things. That means that effective Friday, Oct. 5th I will be out of a job.

I will be applying for unemployment on Monday the 8th then will start work on redoing my studio. Painting, wood floor and new cabinets. I would love to continue what I've been doing, even freelance, but will have to wait and see what door opens.

I feel very blessed to have worked with wonderful designers and stampers, getting to know them. I have also been blessed to work some wonderful people at the magazine. Jill, the editor-in-chief has been great to work with, encouraging me to write. She has been a joy to work for. Barbara, the assistant to the publisher does a lot of everything and has a laugh that lights up a room. Thank you, both of you.

I've been a reader of the magazine since the first issue and have worked for the magazine for the last 5. It was truly my dream job and I've enjoyed going to work every day, despite the hour commute each way. At least I will now have time to stamp.

METS PART 2

How disappointing! The Eastern championship was theirs and they threw it away. They have 6 months to think about how they disappointed their fans:( Now we have to wait until April 2008. I'm taking a nap.

WANT FREE BOOKS?

Check out PaperbackSwap.com. Post the books you are done reading or no longer want, others will request them and you send them paying media mail rate. Find books you want and they get sent to you the same way. Any kind of book you can think of-children's, cookbooks, hard cover, paperback, computer, crafts, etc. If you join, make sure you put my email in as a reference-chrischatten@gmail.com. That way I get 3 credits!

GO METS!!

Ok, after Friday night when they lost and I went to bed with tears in my eyes, I didn't have much hope for Saturday or Sunday's games. BUT today's game was great! Beat the Marlins 13-0, John Maine pitched an awesome, almost perfect game!! Plus the Phillies lost!! So now they both have to repeat the games the same way tomorrow and the Mets will be in the playoffs! Keep your fingers crossed!

First Post

This is my first post on my new blog. Have lots of things I want to put on here-Breast Cancer stamped T-shirt for the 3Day, 60 mile walk; work on my new stamp studio; big news from work and others. Lots of photos to come, some stamped cards as I get time to stamp.