Opryland Hotel

Yes, I'm still talking about the trip! There's just so many aspects I wanted to share that I'm having to spread it out over several blog posts!

I've really been trying hard to learn more about my camera, and Brian is patiently explaining things over and over until they sink in. It would probably help if I practiced every single day, but I just don't have the time to devote to it just yet! We weren't shooting on complete manual for these, just Av, but that's a big step for me considering I'm very fond of just shooting in P mode. Brian took these first two or three and then let me practice after that. It takes so many shots to get just the right lighting that I can't believe how frustrating it was when shooting like this in film. At least with digital you can see immediate results and change the settings accordingly! Thank goodness for technology, right?! (Remember to double click on the pics to get a better view!)

This last one is from Trish's husband's camera. I never did get a wide shot of the conservatory, so I borrowed his to show off here. Keep in mind that this is just ONE of the "common areas." There were several other wide, expansive spaces just like this one! This place was so massive, there is no way to describe how intricate all the details were in every nook and cranny. I can't imagine the architectural and landscaping plans!

Let Me Tell You About

The Grand Ole Opry! To be honest, I thought it was just for old folks, but it turned out to be the best thing about Nashville in our opinion! When I found out that Martina McBride was going to be there, I knew we had to go, even if they don't do a full-blown concert. It was worth it to just get to see her do a few songs . . . We had great seats, fourth row to be exact, so we could really see all the behind the scenes action. The sound quality was absolutely incredible! And the down home feel--no one is treated with any airs--they just come on out and sing. Simply put, it was a great time!

Clayton loved every minute (oh, except for that time that Brian left to go take pictures--we missed one whole song due to the crying and fit thowin' for Daddy!) He stayed in Brian's lap and clapped and danced the whole time!!

Jim Ed Brown:
Steve Wariner:

A new group, The Steeldrivers:

Eric Church:

Bill Anderson:

Lee Greenwood:

Little Jimmy Dickens:

And of course, Martina:

Some Favorites

My other favorite class last week was Jenni Bowlin's. She was so down to earth and the class was well organized. It was a lot slower paced than the others so I didn't feel near as much pressure to get everything done as fast as possible. And her products are so vintage looking--love the way they looked with the black and white photos. We completed four bingo cards in her class, and I knew it was a great chance to scrap some for my brother's kids. Not sure how I'm going to combine these yet, but I couldn't wait until then to share them because I really like how they turned out. Jenni's tip for the day: put your rubons on vellum and cut them out and then attach them to your project--adds a little dimension to them. (All photos are by my sister-in-law, Nicole and I've blurred the kids names for obvious reasons). And remember, you can double click on the pics to get a closer look.

Quickie Projects

Here are a couple more projects from the Scrap Etc. Event. The album was created in a class by Danelle Johnson and Kristi Blankenship of Creative Cafe. They shared lots of simple ways of recording your family's everyday moments and even the thoughts, feelings of each family member, etc. The biggest point they made was to do something rather than waiting until you have time to do some awesome publish-worthy layout. Because twenty years, thirty years, fourty years down the road, will the design really matter? Of course not! Just the memory recorded on the page is all it comes down to in the end. This particular album is divided into twelve sections, so it could easily become a month-to-month way of recording little things that have happened with your family. The other big idea that they shared that got me thinking was a Family Circle Journal--a journal passed from one family member to the next by way of letters written to each other. Neat idea, huh?

This next project wasn't necessarily my favorite mainly because I'm not great with altered art or cutesy things like that. And since I don't have a true "scrapbook room," I never really know what to do with those things anyway. Can't really hang them in the kitchen if you know what I mean. Monique McClean taught this class and it was basically just replicating her example. Here's how mine turned out:

So Glad to be Home!

The trip to Nashville was wonderful, but I'm such a homebody that I was sooo glad to be at home last night! We didn't get too many pics of the family because as you can tell by this one, Clayton was on a "smiling for the camera" strike . . . he's getting independent like that!! But I did want to share it because after all, it is a moment in our lives captured forever, right? The hotel was absolutely beautiful, and I've got several pics of the garden conservatory that I'll be sharing soon. I was pretty proud of myself because with Brian's help I shot several things strictly on Av mode---slowly but surely I'm learning more and more about that camera and photography in general. But it takes so much practice, I really need to be shooting pictures every single day to actually get the hang of it.

So many of you are on me about sharing my projects so I'll share my favorite first. The class was taught be Vanessa Hudson and it's the one that I had my greatest AHA! moment in. She had one of those ideas that you just say to yourself "why didn't I think of that?" We used albums from Pioneer that are made to hold 4 x 6 photos. We basically made title pages for each section of photographs and then cut them in half so they would fit in the 4 x 6 slots! These particular albums have a spot on the left side of the photos for small journaling blurbs so you can still add commentary as you would on a layout. The photos we used were of just ordinary, everyday life, but she also showed us examples of other ways to use this idea. She had all of her Disney pics in an album with different sections, each one with it's own "scrapped" title page. She talked about how she still scraps certain pics, but she has all of them in one place for just regular viewing. Now I know what to do with all of these vacation pics that I don't necessarily want to scrap an entire layout for, but I do want to do something "cute" with them! And all the lake pictures too! Now, see? Aren't you kicking yourself for not thinking of this before now?? I love the idea simply because the pics are scrapbooked in a way (and even have some journaling), but I didn't have to do a whole mini-album of layouts to get the job done. Adding a little something more than just throwing them in an album by themselves if you know what I mean . . . and I know you other scrapbookers out there know what I mean!! We feel like we have to scrap every single picture from now until doomsday, and that it's some kind of scrapbook sin to put them in an album alone with no journaling or embellishments--this method allows for a combination of both!

So here's my album (Vanessa's design)--all the diecuts are from AccuCut (I'm thinking I NEEEEEED one of these!). I had all my pics printed in black and white because I wasn't sure how they would be used, but I'm thinking I'll slowly replace them with their color counterparts since I see the overall design now. I'm pretty darn proud of the little thing--I've already got it sitting on my coffee table!

Home: pictures of and around the house

Whatcha Up To?: random snapshots of the family doing what they do

What's For Dinner?: what we eat

On the Go: places we go

For the Love of Everything: things that I love! (gotta make it my scrapbook, right???)

Scrap Lightnin'!

Well, I said I was gonna get something done at this Event, and boy am I working my rear off living up to that! I feel like I've been speed scrapping all day--and I'm very glad my group had the night off so I could rest up for tomorrow! I normally scrap soooo slooooow, and I have to spread out everywhere--to all flat surfaces within reach. And here, we are crammed in on top of each other and racing to get major projects done in under two hours. New for me, but I'm lovin' the finished products! Can't wait to get them home to share with you all! I already have THREE, count 'em THREE, albums almost done!!!

Greetings from Nashville!

**Wasn't a fan of downtown Nashville--I think it was a combination of the cold and the less than user friendly parking!!

**Opryland is the swankiest place I've ever been!

**You eat a lot here, but you walk it off getting back to your room! The bellman said that the employees walk an average of 12 MILES a day. TWELVE MILES!

**The Grand Ole Opry was awesome! Our seats were on the fourth row and Martina McBride was the headliner. She was just as great as I had imagined!!

**Wish I could upload some of my pics but I can't figure it out on this laptop, so you'll have to wait!

**I'll check in later this week to give you news on the actual Scrap Etc. Event!

Triumph Soccer

So I talked to one of the P.T.'s at the clinic a while back and she told me all about a program a therapy student had started last year: Triumph Soccer. No matter your level of ability, you are welcome to play in this "league." They have four practices and one game! Today was the first practice and it was quite interesting to say the least! Each child is assigned a buddy (usually a therapist at the clinic or a therapy student), and in Clayton's case, he had THREE buddies! Of course he was loving the attention! He was in his walker while they played Simon Says and Red Light, Green Light, and then got in his chair for the "scrimmage." He did okay considering there were 100 mile an hour winds the whole time--it was freezing out there! He eventually kicked the ball on his own two or three times, so I'm hoping by gameday he'll have a better idea of what's going on! He was too darn worried about all the other kids and their walkers to pay attention to what he was supposed to be doing--which is the same problem he has at the clinic! And of course here are the pics. You should be able to click on them to enlarge them for better viewing.

Thursday

**I'm so sick of the rain and storms! I need to get outside and enjoy some fresh air!

**Revival starts tomorrow, lasts all weekend. I'll go tomorrow night for praise team, but otherwise I'm getting ready for my trip.

**My hair is driving me crazy. I'm letting it grow out a bit and between that and the humid air, it's all over the place.

**My flower beds need to be remulched.

I think that's it for random thoughts today!

Almost Ready

I've spent the last couple of weeks scrambling to get ready for my big trip to Nashville for the Scrap Etc. Event. Monique has been emailing us homework since September, but of course I waited until the last minute to get all of mine done. I've taken a ton of pics and finally got them all in from scrapbookpictures.com just a couple of days ago. I'm bound and determined to leave with some finished projects this year. I usually go to these things without any pics and put the project together, bring it home, and never get the pics on, so they sit unfinished. Hopefully not this time!

Clayton is doing better--he has been on 1 1/2 liters for the last few days and sleeping on 2 liters. Still not his baseline, but definitely an improvement. Thank you so much for the prayers and concerns you've shared on his behalf!

Think Outside the Box

Well, now that the crisis has been averted and Clayton seems to already be doing better, I'll do my obligatory complaint post. I'm just totally irked that the pulmonologists were content to send Clayton home and told me to "keep doing what you're doing." It's like since nothing was wrong with his lungs, they were done with him. Something was obviously wrong with him, and what I was doing was obviously not helping, so why in the world would a doctor be content with that? The ER doctors were the same way. They just wanted to put the blame on Clayton's sleep and wanted Dr. Lyle to take care of the problem. I'm all for Dr. Lyle taking care of the problem, but why would you want to send a child home that was obviously in some kind of distress? And when I asked for prescriptions, the resident said they don't like to write prescriptions in the ER because they can't follow up on them. YOU CANNOT TELL ME that they don't ever write prescriptions in the ER! You know they do! Clayton is so far past those residents that they don't even want to touch trying to diagnose him. It's the same old thing we've dealt with for the last couple of years. The doctors/nurses/underlings are taught to think a certain way. And that way works fine for "normal" kids. But Clayton DOES NOT fit into the mold. He has to be looked at differently, and what affects most people one way affects him totally differently. Including a cold/allergy problem. He has always had trouble with colds simply because his upper airway gets congested easily and keeps oxygen from getting to his lungs. And if his lungs are clear and healthy, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that maybe his upper airway is the problem! Just because other kids aren't like this doesn't mean he isn't! So thank goodness for the Medical Home Clinic and Dr. Rob Lyle! They are completely dedicated to making a difference for these kids that have multiple problems. I'm so glad I have them to depend on--they never act bothered by my endless calls and they are just as anxious to get Clayton well as I am.

Dr. Lyle has become my go-to guy on just about everything (poor guy!). He has been there since the beginning, was there for both Clayton and Shawn. He doesn't mind listening to me and Brian ramble about our theories and takes our opinions to heart. Nice change from most of the medical staff we deal with!! He was totally ready to GET CLAYTON WELL yesterday. Started prescribing stuff and even called today to check on him. So THANK YOU, Dr. Lyle if you are reading this. I brag on you to everyone and I only hope the hosptial knows what kind of treasure they have in the dedicated doctor you are. Thank you for being willing to think outside the box when it comes to Clayton and all the other kids in "medical homes!"

The Past 24 Hours

**good day yesterday with Clayton's therapy.

**he went to sleep at my mom's last night and woke up not looking good.

**kinda blue when I brought him home, pasty at best.

**called doc, went to ER. stayed until 3 am. nothing wrong with his lungs that they can see.

**saw doc today and we have a new game plan because his lungs look "really healthy"----he has always had upper airway obstructions, so we're thinking with that plus all the mucus that this cold is producing is preventing oxygen from getting to his lungs. he's had this problem before, but not for a couple of years. he's even had some scar tissue and his uvala removed (the hangy down thingy in your throat) to give him more airway. Trying nosesprays and Zyrtec to see if he can get dried up.

**I feel much better because we are actually trying something new. The other was obviously not working, especially since the breathing treatments are meant to treat sick lungs, which he obviously doesn't have.


That is all. I'm going to eat something and take a nap.