have i mentioned...

...lately how much I adore my kitties???

{tReAsUrE}

My sister is here and we're are having SO MUCH FUN!!!

Yesterday, we went thrift store shopping...

...I triple HEART thrift store shopping!!!!

I feel like I'm a pirate searching for treasure, in a war against all the other pirates for the hidden pieces. What an adventure! Searching through caverns of crap for that ONE special find. Yes. I love treasure hunting.

And I hunted well yesterday...All my treasures listed here added up to less than 18 dollars!!!

I got this nifty glass thingy that I thought would make a fun paperweight...

reminds me of a molded jello...

My dinner plates are chipping and I can't find a set that I love to replace them, so I decided, why not just find different plates that I like???

Here's what I collected yesterday...

My husband requested that I picked up some Tshirts...

apparently he likes me in them...

Here's one of the many fun ones I found...

I have a collection of creamer and milk glasses as flower vases and scored a new one :)

And this is what I'm MOST proud of...the much needed desk chair...

my poor husband has been sitting on a step stool for too long...

this chair needs some scrubbin' but I fell in love!

{LoVe} mini-album

So this was the other thing that I did on Vday for my Hubcap...

I got my new photo printer and I was SO excited to use it. It's funny, because I had had this idea when I saw these little plastic badge holder thingys from Walmart...and it was before I saw it done on...yes...none other than Ali Edward's site. So I decided it was a quick enough project that I could do it the day of Vday...yeah, I had these cute little books for my munchkins but nothin' for my hubby...whoops.

Anyhoo, for this project I just took our photos and resized them and then put these cute little overlays from Ali E. and then printed them out, cut 'em, chopped the corners off, stuffed them in the holders, added some ribbon and stapled it so it wouldn't go anywhere...and then I was saved.

I had something for my Love...

I had to include the cheesy "prom pose" :)

i should hold onto these for the kids...

...because they love them so much and Parker has sadly lost his already without having it one day :(

I posted earlier some fun photo booth pictures (from Dave's apple notebook), for a fun project that I spotted on the amazing Ali Edwards blog...

Not only do I triple heart Ali for her simple yet brilliant work, but we also share the same name AND spelling...double awesomeness! She also has helped me learn that it's ok to take ideas and use them...like for this project, I seriously did it pretty much the same...I even scored the same paper for the outside of the book! I wanted to get all crazy but had to keep remembering what Ali Edwards says, "You don't have to re-invent the wheel..."

I accidentally ordered the wrong size backing board for my clients photos and so I have 50 8x12 6-ply backing board that I knew SOMEday I would use for SOMEthing...I almost threw it out but alas, the pack rat in me was screaming that I would regret it later...

SO...since I didn't have these pre-cut fun chipboard pieces to make my book, I just used my nifty little circle cutter and cut out my own pieces :)

Adhere some paper, sand the edges to finish and slap some paint on the other side and VOILA!

My own little mini book ready for some fun "innards."

I didn't have any cool transparencies like she had, and the Michael's AND Hobby Lobby stores let me down on that venture too...so I ended up making my own by purchasing just the clear covers for report binding and such at Office Max. Then I cut the circle pieces and then stamped them with white Opaque Staz On. A little more effort but it produced the same effect for a fraction of the price of a transparency. Are these report covers acid free??? I have no clue...but I did discover a website that had some acid free acetate for binding...

Anyhoo, so I added my photos and the love circles from Ali just like she did for her book, jotted down my love note to each kid and here we have it...a fun little interactive Valentine for each of my munchkins! I did something pretty neat for Dave too, but that will be in my next post...more of a digital scrapbook type of thing...here's some images of the final mini book :)

my VaLeNtiNe...

I love Love Day...

I have so much fun doing things for my family and letting them know how much they mean to me...

I am going to show ya'll some fun crafty stuff this week, but today I wanted to lavish on my sweet husband.

I have been SO blessed to be able to live life with him...

I love that...

...he can say something totally random that makes me

throw my head back and laugh...for 5 minutes.

...he serves me whenever I ask him to.

...he has some awesome Daddy skills.

...he supports me in everything that I do.

...he tells me I'm beautiful EVERY SINGLE DAY!

...he has this addiction to smelling Bibles.

...he and I can play music together.

......he has given his heart COMPLETELY to Jesus and he is serving him.

I really do have a hard time finding the words to express how I feel about him...since pictures are supposed to be a thousand words...here's how I really feel about my Love:

(Photos by Angela of Timeless Photography)

{FeLiNe friday}

I'm declaring it Feline Friday!!!

These kitties will one day take over the world...

...I'm so glad I was there to bottle feed when they had no mamma.

...that means I'm already "in." :)

It really is sad that I have as many photos of my cats as I do my children.

Sak Saum = aWeSoMe

I have been waiting for this moment...

...to order my very own Sak Saum purse!

I learned about this ministry from a very fashionable friend on facebook. Not only was I magnetized to the look of these awesome purses, but I was so touched by the story and ministry behind the hands that created these beautiful pieces.

In Cambodia, human trafficking is a very real problem. A ministry called In His Steps International, has helped many people who have been trapped in this vicious cycle. They offer programs that help these people get back on their feet...

...imagine a person who had a back injury and lost feelings to their lower body...well, when they regain that feeling, they have to go through rehabilitation to help them use those legs again...

These women who have thankfully been saved from these situations have broken spirits from what they have gone through...In His Steps International not only gives them the tools they need to function in life again, but also points them to the One that can truly heal their heart and mend that broken spirit...

Our sweet Healer Jesus.

Sak Saum is the name of this ministry...the words mean dignity. You can read more about what they do here.

So...a nice ripe and delicious "fruit" of this ministry is these beautiful purses that these women make:

Not only do I benefit from looking super cute with my new accessory, but the women are learning a trade and are making an income for themselves without any shame attached from the life they were forced to live. This breaks the cycle and what a beautiful way to share Jesus with them!!! I truly believe THIS is the kind of ministry that blesses the Father's heart...and I want to support it whatever way I can!

If you would like to look at the Sak Saum fall collection you can visit this online catalogue...it takes a little bit to load but SO worth it to see all the fabulous purses and products! The pictures are FANTASTIC by the way...At the end there is an email for the wonderful Ginny who can take your order. She is awesomely awesome too.

As Michael Scott would say..."Win. Win......WIN!"

{V-dAy pRoJeCt}

A little peak at a little som'n som'n I'm workin' on for the boys for Valentine's Day...

I don't think I've ever been this prepared...I feel like I could fly...

*cue the music*

i hEaRt mY sIsTeR...

This is me and my sister along time ago...we had a horrible hairstyle ergo the hat picture:

And in 12 days she will be here...in Texas...with ME! We are beyond ecstatic and we will count down the days on facebook together and are planning a million fun activities to do...I'm declaring it a homeschool holiday WEEK...

I can do that now ya know ;)

I love my sister so much and she is SO stinkin' hilarious...she seriously could get paid as a pro blogger for all the funny stuff she writes...

Like this....

...THIS is what I discovered in my inbox this morning...

...a song dedicated to what we will do when she gets here:

TWELLLLLLVEEEE DAAAYYYYSSS!!!

On the 12^th day from Alimas my true love gave to meeeee….

12 hugs at baggage claim

11 Bible studieeees

10 starbucks runnnsss

9 silly music videos

8 all the cookies

7 yummy supperrrss

6 days of laughter

FIIIIIIIIIIVE (trips to) the goooolllldennnnn arrrchessss

4 is less than five

3 is more than 2

2 cute little boyyyys

And an application for a passport to come see meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

See, that last line is what I cracked up too the most...ya'll may not know it but I can tend to procrastinate and I've been really bad about not getting a passport to go see my sis now that she lives in Canadia...SO, she's apparently going to help me do that on her visit. :)

I love you Whitty and you are the bestest sister EVAH!!!

mY 2ooth pOsT!!!

Yay for 200 posts! Not as many as it should be but hey, I'm not gonna beat myself up about it...

Actually, that is what I wanted to write about today.

I often think to myself..."Geez, I need to blog something..." But because that "something" doesn't have dazzling pictures of a client, then I clam up and run away in shame.

I have decided that I've had enough. Enough of my pity party and trying to make myself fit into what wonderfully and joyously was in the past. I have decided that I'm going to embrace this time of my life where I CAN take more pictures of my kids and pets and everyday happenings...embrace that I have the time to scrapbook those moments frozen in pictures and craft my little heart out...embrace that I'm not so stressed out, my family is lacking in the fun department.

Yup, I've decided that I'm no longer afraid of the "Photography" title on my blog. This is my blog and I am in control of what I put on here, not my title. Besides, as long as there is a photo it's game right ;)

Sure! I'm still pursuing a photography career here in San Antonio! I LOVED what I did and I welcome new clients and relationships...but, just because I'm waiting doesn't mean I can't muse about the funny and quirky things that go on in my life. I figure that it would be liberating for me to post and might brighten someone else's day rather than hide in my pride of not having a business up and running yet.

So, sorry for those who are looking for inspiration...I am trying to shoot for myself more lately in way of capturing my cute little kids and my crazy pets and still try to catch the occasional "artsy" photo...which I'm kind of pleased with the kitty photo down below...but for now, I have to be real and post what's real in my life...and that is:

"Hello, my name is Ali..."

I'm a:

*Christ follower...I am absolutely passionate about Jesus!

*a worshiper...can't stop singin' about him (see above)

*wifey-poo to smokin' hot hubby of 8 years

*Mamma to two of the most adorable little boys you will every meet

*homeschool teacher to two said little boys

*crafty gal that loves to create...especially scrapbook

*lover of animals...my two kitties are my favorites right now

*domestic affairs specialist

*girl who is attracted to anything old, vintage or rusty

*friend to anybody who wants to be...

SO...now that THAT is all cleared up ;) Here's something that happened to me recently:

I tripped over my Crocs running down the stairs and ended up impaling my head through the sheetrock...it's a very weird thing how I ended up 20 feet from initial trip up to wall but here's the damage:

I ended up having a small concussion...which would make sense as to my array of emotions right after the incident...

1st - tears because I felt bad for making a hole in the wall with my head

2nd - laughter because I made a hole in the wall...WITH MY HEAD Bwahaha!

3rd - confusion...how the heck did THAT happen

And the rest I really don't remember...

So, my smokin' hot hubby, who is gloriously amazing at home repairs, started to fix the wall and I commented how it looked like a funny monster...I think I still was suffering from confusion:

My smokin' hot hubby's birthday was also coming up and I was lacking the brain power at the time to come up with a cool theme for his cake...so what did this disoriented domesticated woman do???

Needless to say, my smokin' hot hubby was very sweet and acted like it was the best creation ever...I guess as long as it was white cake with cream cheese icing...extra icing...the aesthetics didn't matter...