This song....

makes me think of Charlie. It's been one of my favorites for a long long time, way before he was born, but now it makes me think of Charlie. Props to Larry who started my love of Rush and introduced me to this song in particular. :)

In The End - by Rush

I can see what you mean
It just takes me longer
I can feel what you feel
It just makes you stronger

Well you can take me for a little while
You can take me, you can make me smile
In the end

I know, I know, I know
The feeling grows
I see, I see, I see
It's got to be

I can do what you do
You just do it better
I can cry like you cry
It just makes me sadder

I know, I know, I know
The feeling grows
I see, I see, I see
It's got to be

You can take me for a little while
You can take me, you can make me smile
In the end

I can shine like you shine
It don't make me brighter
If I think like you think
It don't make my load much lighter

I can see what you mean
It just takes me longer
I can feel what you feel
It just makes me stronger

And, just in the interest of being fair, here's a song I sing to Kayla quite a bit just cause I have been forever, it used to make her quiet during that hideous colic period. Props for this one go to a movie called Bye Bye Love - which is a good movie because in it Randy Quaid has a dog named Ditka. And destroys his back porch with a baseball bat, or maybe a golf club, I don't remember. :) Anyways, this song is in it.

I Will - by the Beatles

Who knows how long I've loved you
You know I love you still
Will I wait a lonely lifetime
If you want me to I will

For if I ever saw you
I didn't catch your name
But it never really mattered
I will always feel the same

Love you forever, and forever
Love you with all my heart
Love you whenever we're together
Love you when we're apart

And when at last I find you
Your song will fill the air
Sing it loud so I can hear you
Make it easy to be near you
For the things you do endear you to me
Oh, you know I will

That one was one of my favorites before the kids were born too, isn't it funny how being a mom changes everything, even how you think of songs? Cool. :)

I was going to post some pages, but just realized I haven't scanned them yet, oops. Charlie has an appointment this afternoon to see why the heck he isn't sleeping. I'm really pretty much awake when he is and am hoping for tranquilizers for us both at this point, I can't even function for lack of sleep. In fact, what I will do is save this as a draft, and post pages and tell you what the doctor said later. Yep, good thinking on my part. Later gators.

Ok, weeeeeeee're baaaaaaaack...
How stupid am I... the doctor asks me if Charlie is on any medications. I tell him not right now, he takes Singulair in the summer for allergies, but we don't do it year round cause they're outdoor allergies and the Singulair... you guessed it.... MAKES HIM SLEEPY. So, um, yeah, refilling that Singulair prescription. The doc was also quite willing to help out by calling Children's and the insurance dorks and figuring out what needs to be done to get this kid his medical diagnosis. We sat there and talked Charlie for about an hour - halfway through, doc looks at me, says , "I know about his autism and all, but have you ever heard ADHD with him?" No, says I, in fact we were told that was probably all autistic stuff and NOT ADHD. The doctor, oh my goodness, how I wish I had a camera for the face, but he looks at me all funny and says "Really. I mean, really? Really. How interesting." In the time he took to say those 7 words, Charlie had grabbed a tongue depressor, washed his hands, taken the stethoscope, and gone out in the hall to read the "caution, x-ray in use" sign for the 8th time. End of that story is we'll be getting some Straterra too, bout time, I say. I'll keep you updated, I have high hopes. Also was told (this, I'm sure is some violation of doctor patient privelege) that I am not the only mother of an autistic child that is supposed to be going to Pueblo West Elementary and is being home schooled instead because of "issues with that school". Yay, I'm not freaky mom. Or at least not the only freaky mom. That's about it for the doctor visit. Now, having discovered the joys of the "save as draft" button, I'm going to go put my kids to bed and come back later to scan pages. :)

OK, I'm back again, and I found the pages I was going to show you. Sort of. Most of you have seen most of these before, cause I found them in random folder on the hard drive. :) They are what I submitted for the design team call over on Create My Keepsake - I didn't make the team, but if you have a minute, go check out the gallery over there, especially those of the girls that did make it, super talent!
I really think this one is cute, but then I'm partial to desperados like Bubba there. :) The red part on the right is actually up from the background to make a little shadowbox, iffen y'all cain't tell from the picture. I'm disturbed by the square around the cactus being crooked, but not enough to do it over. yet.


Here's the card I put in - simple, but very nice. For some reason I keep coming back to this one every time a submisson is wanting for a card. If it wasn't for the fact that doing those little stitched x's on the bottom would kill my poor arthritic hands after about ten cards, I would send some variation of this for my Christmas cards every flippin' year.



I know most of you have seen my inspiration journal there, but just in case ya haven't - that's where I write things I want to do, craftwise. I have a whole different book for things I want to try... it's a little 4 x 6 notebook I got at Old Navy - has a GIANT bright blue spiral and is covered in white fake fur. :) Isn't this one pretty though? Has my favorite word on it, too, little gifties to the first person that guesses which of them it is.

Most of you have seen this one too, in fact did I post this already? Hmmmm... Well, it's one of my favorite pages, and that ain't even my kid. I think mostly I adore that picture, such a perfect grin, just lighting up his eyes... shall I tell you? I think I will. Here's the story behind that shot. I do pictures of the kids in Santa hats and either red or white shirts every year. So when I had Nick for daycare, I did him and his sisters too, and gave his parents enlargements for Christmas presents. Anyway, here is the actual conversation we were having while I was shooting Nick. (Ignore the sap on the journaling, it's all lies, magazine people love the sap.)
Nick: Are we done yet?
Holly: Just a couple more. Look over here, if you don't mind.
Nick: You said that 10 pictures ago, can I go now?
Holly: No. Smile.
Nick: Can I at least lose the hat?
Holly: Nicky, the hat is the point.
Nick: Don't call me Nicky, can I lose this shirt? I don't know why I have to wear this.
Holly: It'll look better in the picture than the Slayer tshirt you have on. SMILE.
Nick: About what? This is boring.
Holly: Think about hitting me over the head with the chair, sticking the hat on my butt, and wrapping the camera in the shirt as you fling it out the window.

THAT'S when he finally gave me that grin.