passing this along for one of my stores...

3 Scrappin' Sisters
215 S. Mountain Avenue
Springerville, AZ 85938
928-333-5310

http://3scrappinsisters.com

scrappinsistersaz@hotmail.com

IT'S OFFICIAL - OUR CROP IS SCHEDULED!!!!

3 Scrappin’ Sisters is happy to announce that we will be
Having our very own Weekend Crop February 22nd - 24th!!Cost will be $99.00 per person for the WHOLE weekend From Friday at 4:00 p.m. to Sunday at 12:00 – Meals include from Dinner on Friday thru Brunch on Sunday!!! Weekend Crop will be Limited to 8 people!!!So ladies now is the time to get your space reserved!!! We will need to collect $50.00 at the time of reservation, and the balance by February 15th. Remember only 8 for the whole weekend, but we can take more for Saturday!! We will be staying in a beautiful location here in town!!! So even though only 8 can spend the whole weekend, we will be opening up Saturday for anyone that would like to come and Crop for the Day, cost will be $30.00 and will include Lunch and Dinner!

HURRY!!! HURRY!!! HURRY!!!

CALL NOW!!! 333-5310!!!!

RESERVE!!! RESERVE!!! RESERVE!!!

so much to say...

i have so much to say...though you may realize the time and wonder what i am doing up!?! i need to be up in the morning to go to work {oh wait, it is morning}. i had a sick one home with me todaY and not sure if she will make it to school tomorrow.

there have been e-mails and calls wondering where i have been. if you read my extra long post you will know that i have been trying to find mYself. i may not be blogging much as for i need to prioritize mY life right now. i have no laptop for 4-6 weeks and struggle to get desktop time with my kiddos.

i will however leave you with this "opened the book" quote...

"she ignored people who said it couldn't be done...

celebrate her independence."

lets just say i am working on it. good night, wait it's morning. *hugs*

{locks of LoVe}

today i had a to do list that is forever long. did i get much accomplished, uh no. why...cause i took time out to cut my daughter's hair. she has been bugging me to cut it and i keep putting it off. she has the most beautiful long blond hair. i just really don't want her to cut it. i keep saying if you cut it...it will turn brown. well, that lasted about 6 months. we have been wanting to donate it to locks of love. i thought it was only 6 inches but, it is 10. that is another reason why i have postponed cutting it. so tonight i got out the ruler and measured her up. guess what...we did it! we cut her long locks an entire 11 inches. it was so sad for me but, she was so happy. here are a few pictures we took. i am so proud of her. her willingness to cut it and donate it to those suffering without hair. what an amaZing act of kindness we can do for someone who is in need to feel "normal". i am so proud of my little girl. she even filled out all the paper work herself. in the comment area, she left a tear jerker. thanks for allowing me to share in such a special moment haleigh. i love you bug-a-boo!!! i hope we have learned from such a kind, caring, loving little 11 year old that hair is hair and it will grow back. that her willingness to cut it to share it with those in need is trulY amaZing and a grand jester of LoVe!!! thanks for looking...

extra long...

this will not be my so called "normal" blog post. if there is such a thing. i was told today by some i can confide in that i am good at hiding...made me think. then it was said i smile a lot...again it made me think. then it was...you are good at hiding behind that smile to not allow people to know you. this is true. i am admitting it here...that my life as i have thought to have known all these years is not true. i guess until you can admit there is a problem...you can't try and correct it. i am now admitting i have a problem. why share this intimate detail with you all out in blog land. {here i go again thinking of others before myself} if i can acknowledge this, i might just help someone else out there too. i am not perfect by an sense of the word. many of us women (some men) have learned how to live for others. have become someone we really don't know. sometimes we might ask ourselves... where did we go, who are we, are we having a nervous breakdown, midlife crisis? the answer...we probably haven't taken the TIME to figure out "who" we are. we haven't created our self. why is it that we put ourselves last? have we been taught that? have we watched our mothers and grandmothers many years back do it? so many questions to ask and many to think about as well. why do we allow ourselves to get so caught up in our day to day things that we DON'T take TIME for ourselves? i mean, true time... to read {in silence}, go to the bathroom uninterrupted {like this even happens}, meditate{what the heck is that}, a walk {that would mean exercise}, a hobby{would that be scrapbooking a deck of me cards right now}, some form of retreat{who has time} or whatever it may be. why is it that there is no time? there is 24 hours in a day and we can't take 5, 10, 30 or 60 minutes in a day for ourselves. i am learning this after 35+ years that i have followed in my mother's foot steps, my grandmothers and so on. not to say that it is wrong to do so. it is just that we don't come first...our children, our families, our friends and sometimes even strangers have come before ourselves. i know i may not be making sense to many out there but, i do know that you are out there. that i am not the only one trying to figure out "who" i am. i am taking this time right now to have this in writing. to go back and re-read my writing. i need to realize i do not present myself in the manner i want to be known. that i am not always that happy, bubbly person everyone thinks i am. that i too have a story. that i to have faults and make mistakes. that i do not live a perfect life. nor will i ever live one. i will not share my entire story with many of you but, all i can do is let you know that today...i realized that i need to be me and not someone that everyone else wants me to be. the time is NOW...no time like the present i always hear. i want to start living the life i am meant to truly live.

i proceeded to get a special message on my blog to go to dianna's blog. dianna, i can not tell you how much i needed that. i needed that right then, right when i read it and right now. i have not meet you. i only know you through our blogs and emails yet i know you. we have joked about being related and you know what...we are. we are sisters and friends that share the same God. we may have known each other in another life but, today i knew why God sent me too you. it is amaZing and i am blessed. thank you for this challenge, thank you for being my friend and thank you for allowing me to know you and by doing so...i am finding mE!!! i am sharing the spread the love award to all those who may stumble across this blog. though you may or may not know me. i know i am loved and you too are loved by many. you just need to open your eyes and look around. they are there and some you may not even realize that have been there all along just patiently waiting.

the songs i posted... i can see my mom saying these words to me daily that reba sings. the other songs i wanted to find and couldn't is the song by reba...is there life out there and dolly parton's...you better get to livin'. how many of us mom's are thinking these words right now. i know i am!! i do know that one day i will be able to say with a TRUE smile on my face... it's my life and i started living it! think i am running out of time so...i am smiling...i better get to livin'!! {i love you mommy} *night*

*a deck of me~2008*

so this is the challenge i am doing for the year. mY blog friend dianna set it up. click on her name and you can go to her blog and get all the details. you can also check out the participants at flikr. the cards are so amaZing. man, all of these ladies are truly crafty! it is a simple and quick challenge you can do for yourself. how often do we ever scrapbook/craft for us. not our kids, familY or friends but, for ourselves about our self. for week 2 it was a {quote}. this was one where i need multiple cards. though we were asked not to ponder f-o-r-e-v-e-r {in your best sandlot voice} about it. just think of one that applies to your life right now. i stumbled through a couple and just said "this is it."

week 3 was to {spice up your life}. i had a really hard time with this one.

one of mY goal for this yeaR...to keep up with this challenge. it is much needed right now in mY life. i am thankful that dianna started this challenge and sent me mY deck of cards. it's not too late to jump in an join our group. i would love to see some of mY famiLy and frieNds join in. *night* connie

{birthday update}

just wanted to post a couple of pictures that were taken on dallin's birthday. he chose to go to our local mexican food restaurant like austin did. tradition for them is to smash whipping cream in the birthday person's face. dallin didn't think he was gonna get it but, then she came around the corner with it hidden in her hand and ....

sorry it is so dark. it's the only one we got and i tried to lighten it up already.

dallin had the beef fajitas. yuM! i also started a tradition last year with haleigh's birthday. i want to have a picture taken of me and my kiddo on their birthday. i don't have many more left with them as kids and i want to aLwaYs remember that i was there too.

it was a great day with a great evening for all. only wish our family was here to help us ceLebraTe with him. we know you were all here in spirit. *hugs* connie

HaPpY 13 daLLiN...

13 years ago todaY i gave birth to mY 3rd son at 10:06 a.m. i have been up all night/morning {as you can see the time of this post} scanning, uploading, editing, uploading, arranging and adding it here, whew! dallin is so excited to see what pictures i used, yet nervous. i have been thinking all day what song to add for him. a real tough one for me so, i asked him. when you open my blog and hear the song...it is for daLLiN! his wiSh is mY command. i asked him why, he answered because of football. ok. anywho...i hope you eNjoY looking at the slide show i made of him of the past 12+ years of his life. i have been truly blessed to be his mom. looking through these photos brought back so many memories. GREAT memories that i have and will cherish forever! can't wait to make toNs more. i love ya "d." *hugs* mom

ps. please don't mind the scrapbook pages...your looking at the pictures, right? though it does make me giggle...what was i thinking! gotta get some sleep, i'm way too tired. i will add more later.

mY mondaY quote...

so i am crossing off things on my "to do list" and rocKin' out to some music and a song came on. it has given me mY quote for the day.

"follow your dream and don't let go...no one can live for me. no one can see the things i see. i walk this road no one can tell me how to be~it's my destiny."

~lenny kravitz

{FYI} fundraiser....

I have been asked to help spread the word...
this is for a great cause and i am hoping that many of my fellow scrapbooking gals/gentlemen can go have a fuN day scrapping, while helping to raise money. i will not be able to attend but, will be donating a lot of fuN goodies. all the details are here on the flyer. i know many of you that read my blog will not be able to attend, as you do not live in arizona. if you would like to donate anything you may contact keri and see how you too may help. thanks for looking. have such a busy day and a "to do list" that is forever long... i am eNjoYing crossing things off my list tOdaY as this is one of them. i hope to write more later today/tonight as i did not make it a priority yesterday. have a great day! *hugs* connie

{be} excited...

my quote for todaY was opening a book and this is what i read...

"be excited...the minute you begin to do what you really want to do,

it's really a different kind of life."

buckminster fuller

3 times in one day...

i feel like i was wonder woman todaY! did loads of laundry, prepared dinner so it would be ready to go in the oven (had bbq pork chops, homemade creamy garlic mashed potatoes, corn, salad and i even made an apple cake for dessert), two loads of dishes and found time to start my *deck of me* card challenge. dianna will be so proud of me. i am even gonna post the pictures of mY cards. so excited to do this challenge. didn't realize until i got into it that i needed it! i am doing something for just mE. and so far...i love the way it is turning out. i am such a perfectionist that sometimes i can't even eNjoY the process because of it. anywho...here are the pictures.

all put together

front cover

inside cover

my goals

thanks so much for looking. can't wait to see all of the other participant's *decks* night.

opps, forgot a quote....

i was listening to a song that hit me today. it is the first song that plays as you open my blog. as i listened to the words i thought to myself...without HIM, nothing is possible. with HIM, all things are possible. just like the famous poem "footprints in the sand" He carries us more than we know and want to believe. i know that i am a child of GOD, i know that in the end...what matters is how i lived my life. i can only imagine the words that will come out of HIS mouth to me. though i do know that i am truly loved and that no matter what i may choose, what i may do, how i may act. all things are between me and my Father in Heaven. imagine...what your heart will feel when you see HIM. for those of you that do not believe, i am sorry. i truly am. as for me, what ever i may be going through and what ever path i choose...I WILL NEVER DENY HIM!!!

"live so that others will want to know Christ

because they know YOU."

r.quinn gardner

good moRning fRidaY....

i have been thinking a bit about my quotes of the day. if i continue to give you a quote from the "she" book you will not purchase it for yourself. this book is a must for all women! so i am gonna change it up a bit and find quotes that i have kept around with me and give you those. i will continue to read my "she" book and live by the quote for myself but, you need to go buy it. i promise...it is money well spent. including the "be" book as well by kobi yamada.

so i checked on the weekend retreats that joan anderson has. wow!!! not cheap but, i think they would be so well worth it. the one that i would like to attend here in sedona, arizona is all sold out, dang it! i am gonna see if she has a waiting list. i will be looking at the others to see if there are any in the coming year i might be able to go to. i have added her link if you just click on her name. mY life in the last week has been touched, inspired, happier, moved, spiritual and just for me because of these amaZing words of hers.

todaY i plan on working on my "deck of me cards" that dianna has challenged a few of us with. all are welcomed to join in. if you would like to do something just for YOU!!! this is a great challenge to participate in. just click on dianna's name and it will take you right to her blog link that talks all about it.

here is to an amaZing friday! may you take time out for yourself today. even if it is just for 15 minutes. much love to all. have a gReat weekend! *hugs*

it was a good daY...

todaY was my day to throw out all of mY excuses! mY quote was right on the button. i made a lot of progress in things i needed to do. i am truly accountable for my choices and actions. i made some great choices...some positive, yet difficult. i feel so good that it is truly indescribable. have a great evening. til morrow...*hugs*

a must hear this morning...

"she woke up one day and threw away all her excuses...

celebrate her accountability."

to much to do tuesday and tagged again...

i am posting rather late todaY as i had so much going on. work and 2 doctors appointments. oh, so love going to the doctors...yea right. only nice thing about it was getting some much needed medication and i lost 7 pounds!

so here is what my quote was for the day...

"she was kind, loving and patient...with herself...

celebrate her tenderness."

ha, kinda funny having to go to the doctors today. man, i can not say enough about this book i am reading. i will be finding out if she will be doing a weekend retreat that i can attend. anyone else wanna join in? the quote that i read in it today that struck me was..."woman must come of age herself. she must find her true center alone. she must become whole." ok, is this not what i have been wanting? what most of us women (and men) are searching for? i am just so happy to have stumbled upon this book. it is truly what i need. now i just need that weekend retreat she talks about.

dianna tagged me a few days back and now is buggin' me to post. I also was tagged by jean. man, i have done too many of these that i don't know if i have 7 more unknown facts about me left to tell. come on...i don't know what to say anymore. i will try though but, as for tagging others...nah.

1. when putting on my socks and shoes...i put one sock on and one shoe on then move to the next foot.

2. my mother loved sherbet ice cream so much when she was pregnant for me that she thought about naming me...ok, don't laugh. i guess you can cause i won't hear ya anyways. sherbet lynn...lol. so was i to name my son slim jim, hehe.

3. i am one lucky lady to be 1% of the population to have hyperhidrosis. what's this you ask...look it up. not fun to have at all. be glad you are the lucky 99%.

4. when i was a year and a month i was scolded with a cup of hot water. i received 2nd and 3rd degree burns on my face, arm, chest and side.

5. i, connie jo do not crave chocolate. i will eat it but, i do not crave it like most women.

6. i was offered a traveling teaching job by a well known scrapbook company. don't have it all worked out yet so i need to keep it hush, hush for a little while longer. i'm so excited!!!

7. i have a fear of undone zippers. anytime i have on pants or a skirt with a zipper...i am constantly checking it. i know, i know...i'm a freak!

there....do you feel better knowing these facts now. good! i hope you get a good chuckle at them. i hope to not be tagged for a YEAR!!! don't know if i could find another 7 facts. anywho, i am pretty tired tonight and want to get to bed a little earlier than i have been. i have wonderful medication to help with that now. have a great night. *hugs*

{she...that is mE}

"she discovered her real measurements had nothing to do with numbers or statistics...

celebrate her self-esteem."

here is one from my "be" book...

"be brave...most of our obstacles would melt away if instead of cowering before them, we should make up our minds to walk boldly through them."

this really struck me today. i was blessed to talk with one of my dearest friends who i haven't spoken to in years. i know in my heart she was whispered to today. she was prompted to call me. i can't believe that i am so blessed to have her in my life. though miles are plenty it doesn't seem to matter. all that truly matters is knowing that i am blessed with many people in my life that i can call my true friends. thaNk YOU!!!!

i have been diligently reading my book "a weekend to change your life." this book is exactly what i needed. i only wish i had a weekend to take her challenge workshop. i know i can't right now but, this book... this book is truly inspiring. today was another day for me to get to know myself and i can honestly say i learned something new. all i can do is try everyday to find out who i am. each day is another road to mY future, mY dreams, mY love and for true happiness in mYself! have a great night. *hugs*

oh monday...

my quote for mY monday...

"she saw every ending as a new beginning...

celebrate her resiliency."

this weekend i ordered a couple of new books online. another great one by kobi yamada..."be". first page read...be present. the next page...in life, there are no ordinary moments. most of us never really recognize the most significant moments of our lives when they're happening by kathleen magee. i will say i am off to a good start at finding mE. i am helping myself by finding good, positive material to read during the day. the next book that struck me so i of course purchased it as well is..."a weekend to change your life: find your authentic self after a lifetime of being all things to all people" by joan anderson. i can not wait to start reading this. yes, i know i said read... i need to do these things to help me figure out where, what, why and who i am. i have begun this journey and i am sticking to it this year. it is only fair that i do so for my kids, my family and for myself. as many have told me...i can't love anyone else if i can't love myself. tis true! i will love myself this year and i will enjoy the new me i uncover. happy monday. *hugs* connie

{sunday}

"she pursued big dreams instead of small realities...celebrate her priorities."

a little more time...

ok, so i have a little more time to blog. first things first...did you listen to your heart tOdaY? what did it tell you? what did you do? did you take a hike to start your new year's resolution to get healthy? did you stay inside today, as there was a cold blizzard outside? did you take down all your christmas decorations {in your pj's}? did you write? did you call someone you loved? did you play with your kiddos? watch a movie? whatever your heart told you to do i hope you really listened. next...did you celebrate your wisdom? my mom called me this morning and the first thing she said to me was..."what was the best thing that happened to you today?" now remind you it was still early and i had just got out of bed. my answer..."i posted on mY blog, i am celebrating my wisdom and listening to mY heart tOdaY." of course i needed to explain it to her what mY challenge is for mYself. my dailY quotes from my she book. as i was the one who stayed in her pj's all day and took down her christmas decorations i thought to myself...i listened. each daY i am learning something new about mYself and i am reminded that this is a good thing. i have been in such a calm and relaxing mood today. that's not to say that my head and stomach have been killing me. overall...it was a good day. *hugs*

{saturday}

not much time to write now but, i wanted to share with you mY quote for the day.

"she listened to her heart above all the other voices...
celebrate her wisdom".

wow!!! is all i can say. i think this book was written just for me, jk. it is truly a blessing to have received it when i did. i hope as i leave these quotes each day you may find them meaningful to you as well. may you find what you are looking for in this new year. may it be a year of finding the real YOU as i will be finding the real mE. listen to your heart tOdaY...what is it telling you to do? eNjoY your saturday what ever you may be doing. much love, connie

{alreadY day 4}...where has the time gone?

wow!! it is already the 4th of january and the beginning of mY 2008 has been quite the experience. first i would like to thaNk all of you for reading my blog. the last 3 1/2 months i have written more than the last 17+ years. i find mY blog a place where i can share mY thoughts and feelings. do i want the entiRe world to read them? sometimes and sometimes i question myself in thinking do i want all too know. i have been blessed with much and i am slowly realizing {these things take time you know} how much. for 35 years i have struggled with a lot many of you know these things and many don't. i choose not to make this place to share them all. i try my hardest to make this place, mY blog, mY untold writings a place of comfort for mE. a place to share mY thoughts and feelings as i write them down. a place to go back and re-read them and then say to myself...did i write that? lol. i know that i am rambling but, there is sooo much i want to share. in the last 4 days mY life as i know it has been changed. somethings {again} good and some not so. i have decided on mY own and with the help of others that i need to find mE...the real mE. as i go back and read my entries from day one that is what i was hoping to do. have i done that? not to it's fullest. so 2008 is mY year. the year that i listen to mYself... mY thoughts, mY feelings, mY emotions, mY spirit, mY body and mY heart! i was blessed by a book that i have wanted and have so procrastinated on getting. it has been shared with me before by heidi swapp last year but, again didn't get it. i think mY firend joann knew i needed it and she knew it would help me start changing mY liFe! she added a piece of cardstock with a little saying from her heart and i will be using it as a book mark. it touched mE like nothing else has in quite sometime. though joann has done that for me the past few years. only wish she could sit on my shoulder and be there every time i think negative about myself. then again...she doesn't have too. she is in mY heart and because of that she is with me aLways! THANK YOU from the bottom of mY heart joann. so the book you ask?

by kobi yamada. it is a gReat book. mY kind of reading {as i don't like to read}. each page is filled with a quote/saying about she... i decided to sit and read the entire book and cried all the way through. i have made a challenge for myself to turn the page every day and use the quote to fill mY day with positive energy. i am starting tOdaY! i will start from the beginning...

"she loved life and it loved her right back...

celebrate her passion."

Passion...about life? tOdaY as i am thinking about this quote i decided to start simple. i am haPpY to be aLivE!!! there... i said it...i am happy for mY life and to be alive. loving lifE has always been a struggle for mE but, today is a new day, a new start to mY new life. i will learn how to live each day with passion and love lifE! as i want life to lOvE mE back and i want to feel it.

thank you mY friends for taking this journey with me. for being there for me and with me. thanks for reading my ramblings and leaving such amaZing, inSpiRing comments. they all mean more than you will ever know. to 2008...i hope to tRulY find mE!!! *hugs* connie

haPpY nEw yEaR...

hoping 2008 will be a better year for everyone! *hugs* to all of you from mE.