Raising Cubs in a Campground

I think I am all caught up replying to emails for MckMama's contact information. I wouldn't be surprised if I missed someone though so please feel free to leave me another comment and I'll get you the information asap. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for loving my friends!

I've been slowly chipping away at the requests for MckMama's contact information. It has been a pleasure 'meeting' so many of the people who love her family as much as I do. It was brought to my attention that someone was trying to impersonate me in the comment section of another blog so in all further request for information I ask that you leave a way for me to verify you are who you say you are. It stinks that we all have to take the time to do this because of one person, but for the safety of MckMama's family, I ask for your understanding in this matter. Goodnight from Bear Country.....

Welcome to 5th installment of Alphabitty Moments! If this is your first time participating you can read the inspiration behind this carnival here . Each Thursday a new Mr. Linky will be added so we can be inspired by the creativity of page layouts, the photographs, and the stories behind the pictures that others have to offer. The code box above is a trial run...Please let me know if it is successful or not. Thanks! And now for the good stuff... The Letter 'E' (left page)* (clicking on images will make them easier to read) (right page) Without spending a penny, this is what I came up with for Halloween costumes this past Fall. They won't always let me dress them up in soft, cuddly, and coordinated costumes. It will be fun while it lasts! *I use Blurb's Booksmart for my page layouts, but feel free to post pictures like normal or use your favorite bookmaking software. Now it's your turn!

Sweet Revenge...

So many have asked how they can help MckMama and her family during this difficult time and so I've set up a Care Calendar to help coordinate meals for the family. MckMama is coordinating childcare on her end, but you can contact me for the rest. Please leave me a comment in this message and I will contact you with more information on the Care Calendar as soon as I am able. Please be sure I can get in touch with you through your blog and/or an email address. Thank you for covering my dear friend and her family with prayers!

The sap is running in Bear Country. I'm no expert, but I did learn a thing or two about Maple Syruping. Does anyone else out there make their own syrup? I'd love to hear from you if you do! Anyone want to know how the sap get into the tank and the how it turns into... ...this?

At a photography class tonight I innocently asked for suggestions on how to take pictures of people around campfires. "I live in a campground," I explained, I'd really like to be able to see the people's faces and not just the flames from the fire. Two hours later I realized that the entire room full of people probably thought I am homeless. Great. Thank God we do have a roof over our heads on this cold, windy, dreary night:

Be careful who you pick up on the side of the road aisle

Praying for my friend and her baby boy .... Drinking hot coffee... Watching the roof of the coffee shop leak... Twittering... Drinking more coffee... Brainstorming ideas for my letter E post for Alphabitty Moments on Thursday... Designing blog to book pages like this... Making screen shots of some of the pages for my business site... Drinking cold coffee.... Talking to the kids on the phone before their naps... Taking a potty break... Getting back to work...

This little miracle needs your prayers again. His heartrate is in the 290's and the doctors are having trouble getting it to go back down. MckMama is updating her blog when she can so click here for the latest updates. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jer 29:11 (NIV)

Happy Monday Everyone! I'm scheduling this to post while I'm (hopefully) out for a walk in the morning. It's been soooo long since I exercised on a regular basis that it's barely on my radar these days. I'm hoping to change that. If I fail, I can always admit my shortcomings to the world in a Not Me post right? Admitting that I take short cuts or that my van looked like this for 5 months, are par for the course by now, but you can get the specifics over at My Charming Kids . Speaking of My Charming Kids...here's a whole gaggle of Charming Kids.... They were (not) that exhausted after playing dinosaurs, rough-housing, and eating that they collapsed into this chair. Nope. Then them! It was (not) suggested that they pretend to be sleeping by yours truly. If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that PapaBear was laid off at the end of January. I've been working from home on my blog to book design and photography businesses to ...

This is my second week participating in Miti's Scenic Sunday. Last week I shared a scenic picture a little closer to home than the one I chose for this week. (It's a picture of a picture so I did use Photoshop to clear it up a little but, but the colors are very true to life. It does blow up bigger if you click on the image.) Almost 12 years ago ( Man , I still can't believe it's been that long!), I had the privilege of traveling around much of Latin America during a 12 week foreign term my college is well known for. In the middle of the term we were given 10 free days to travel wherever we wanted. My friends and I chose to attend a ballet in Buenos Aires , visit Iguazu Falls, attempt to located a friend in the Peace Corpe who was stationed in Puaraguay, and travel further south along the Patagonian Atlantic . Our goal was to go whale watching, but along the way we also saw some of the most beautiful scenery ever. Can you see the elephant seals on the edge o...

This week Brittany challenged us to go to the 3rd folder and then to the first picture with brown in it. My picture isn't that old because for some reason the pictures from my point and shoot camera go into a folder from 2005 - even if I took them yesterday. So, this is my third folder. The brown can be found in that tasty little treat on Grandpa's knee -otherwise known as Sam' s greatest weakness. (Most people call them cupcakes.) PapaBear took this photo of Sam's first time ice fishing this year. His very first time on the ice last year, I went with to take pictures . It's fitting that part of the picture challenge this week is to find something brown because really, those cupcakes was the reason Sam went fishing. Grandpa? Are you going to eat that last cupcake? (a minute later) Hmmm....That cupcake looks lonely. (a minute after that) Do you think someone should eat that cupcake? To which Grandpa replies, "Sam, would you like to eat this cupcake?...

I had PapaBear draw a name tonight for my recent giveaway. If you haven't read the comments and are looking for ways to save time, click here to go to the original post. I have some digging to do in my archives to check on a couple of things, but I think* I'm coming up on my 1000th post or have already passed it. That calls for another giveaway if I do say so myself. But first things first: Drum roll please....... The winner is Tricia ! Congrats to the talented woman behind my new blog design... Shoot me an email with your address Trish and I'll get your prize sent off to you soon! Have a great weekend everyone! We're going to be busy tapping Sugar Maples in the park. (read: tromping through 6 inches of mud) * When I imported my old blog I ended up with a two of each of the posts so I need to rectify that before I can determine exactly how many posts I have.

Goodbye Winter! Hello Spring! Today may be the first day of Spring, but here in Bear Country we're at risk for snow well past today. Remember the first day of Spring last year ? This is what we woke up to Easter Sunday.