[serendipity]

t-shirt goodness

So a couple weeks ago I was chatting with my dear friend Lisa Bearnson, who's son is also serving an LDS mission right now in North Carolina. It's nice to comisserate with someone. ;) She was talking about something she was going to make with her son's mission name on it and as I was looking at her while she was talking, this image came to mind for me to make a t-shirt for my son with his mission name on the back. When I told her, she said, "You just thought of that while I was talking?!" And I responded, "Yeah, I like to multi-task." lol

So this was the result (being held up by little sis):

Here's a view of just the image:

 

Gotta love the heat transfer baby!

So I suppose y'all are wonderin' who the lucky winners are.

Doth I dare keep you in suspense any longer?

Me thinketh not. :)

    Mel H | June 11, 2010 at 09:48 AM

    Sandy S | June 13, 2010 at 03:10 PM

    Marti | June 12, 2010 at 04:44 PM

Congratulations girls! Here's hoping you do something fun with them in your "free" time. ;) E-mail me at kerribradford@msn.com and I'll get those out to you!

And I just have to say how much I loved all of your comments! They were so fun to read!

Hmm...maybe I'll start cleaning my office today . . . maybe?

did a little of this over the weekend

Had a couple of photo shoots. One was with my niece here. More grad photos. Can you tell she's "smizing?" ;)

The other was helping Kassidy. She offered to take photos of the cute little family that lives basically across the street . . . and one or two of their boys can generally be found on our bench during church. They are just the cutest little family. I will have to share a photo or two that I took of them as well later. My sister still has my memory card (she sent me the ones she wanted edited).

But I also got to talk for about an hour and a half with my boy on Sunday! He's doing great. It's so fun to hear his laugh.

congratulations on your first year zach!

First off, just wanted to say thank you for all your kind words about my pages. It was fun making some like that again. You guys are awesome! Sorry I've been absent of late.

So, it may be April 1st but there's no foolin', Zach has been on his mission for one whole year as of today. I can't believe just how fast time has gone! It's gone by fast for him too. Yesterday as we were e-mailing each other, I asked him if he was glad he went. He said he's loving it. He loves living in DC. He loves that he sees a side of DC that not very many people get to see. He loves the West African people and culture. He's having a great time being of service.

He's definitely growing.

So he sent us some picture a couple weeks ago . . . finally! Thought I'd share some highlights.

The Washington DC Temple
 
 

 

...at Christmas time.

 

Having a bit of fun in ALL that snow!

 

So I thought he was really in waist-high snow. Turns out he's on his knees. They thought it would be funny to make it look like it was that deep.

 

Golfing? In winter?? Who gets to go find the WHITE golf balls in the snow? Oh yeah, and that's my boy . . . in shorts in the winter.

I don't know how Zach convinced three other guys to get up so early on a cold December morning to go take pictures at the National Mall!

Can you see the chopper? That's probably the Pres getting a ride somewhere.

Zach and his companion.

I love this one!

And speaking of food, check out all this African food. The top row is from Thanksgiving dinner and the bottom row is dinner at a member's house.

Let's hope next year goes just as fast as this one!

I still need to share some photos of Jordan's play too. They did so well!

somebody stop me!

I don't think I've made this many pages in a week since my QVC days! lol

My son recently sent some photos (it's about time!). I LOOOOOVE this photo he sent and had to use it on a page (the big one). He also e-mailed me with something really sweet about how he's growing. I felt it was a little too personal to share it all, but you get the gist of it.

The photo and the journailng worked perfectly together. I want to blow this picture up and put it on display while he's gone. He took it. That's my photography boy. ;) I'm sure he sat it on the ground and set the timer because that's him second from the left.

 

I'll be sharing more of his photos here soon. There are some incredible ones! And some crazy in-the-snow ones. Boys will be boys, eh?

This page is based on using inspiration from outside sources. It's a new feature we're doing on the Silhouette blog called Inspire U. Mine is based on these couple of pages from a Domino magazine. Oh how I miss that magazine! The Glamour magazine they keep sending as the substitution does nothing for me. Not to mention I have to go rip out anything suggestive if my girls want to look at it. Yikes!

 

I LOVED the title and page numbering here.

And I loved how on so many pages they either used a negative frame or "paper clipped" a photo to something else.

I know my page is simple. It's white...again. But I think it really does the subject justice.

Have a great weekend y'all!

missionary update

So, with all the snow that DC has been getting, I've been wondering if Zach has been okay on food. Yesterday when we were e-mailing, I found out they haven't been able to get to the store for two weeks and was getting down to nothing. Not only that, when I asked him if he'd gone to the stores before the storm, this is what he said:

"haha shopping before the storm here is a baaaad idea ... everyone goes shopping before the storm .... we went to safeway before the big storm to buy some food for a member and all the lines were running down aisles to the back of the store and the shelves were bare ... we talked to a member who said he waited for 5 hours in line."

FIVE HOURS in line??? Wow!

Also, they haven't had church for two weeks now. Crazy! But he did say it was suppose to get to 40 degrees. Let's hope some of that snow gets a-melting.

Oh, and I'm glad I'm not the only crazy one wanting cottage cheese! :)

something fuzzy

Whenever I feel something soft and fuzzy, I can't help but think of my dear friend, Kristy Banks, who loooooves anything soft and fuzzy by her face. Makes me smile. So of course I'm wondering how she would feel about fuzzy vinyl. It's soft, has texture, it's rich looking, and the black is about as black as you can get, which I LOVE.

So here's a frame I shared on the Silhouette blog today. You can read all about it HERE.

[the frame i got at target a few years ago]

I think great minds must think alike, but you'll have to see what Nichol did with FUZZY VINYL on her blog today too! So weird!!!

And thanks for all the kudos on my sketch page. Y'all are too cute for words! Oh, and speaking of 'sketch' and 'words', you'll have to check out this page I'm doing for the Silhouette blog tomorrow. So excited about it! Totally diggin' the sketch thing! 

Oh, and I missed getting to talk (e-mail) to my boy yesterday on account-a they were kind of snowed in...and have been for a couple weeks now there in DC. However, he did e-mail me briefly this afternoon. Glad to know they are still alive. ;) But they haven't had church for two weeks now and the postal service hasn't worked for a week either. How crazy is that? Of course we're always watching the weather there. He said he's never hated snow this much . . . and he loves to ski!

Tomorrow marks a big day in Bradford history. It's our 22nd anniversary. TWENTY-TWO years??? Already? I think someone's pulling my leg. I don't remember no 22 years going by. Oh well.

Love ya honey! Happy anniversary!

a great weekend!

So, did you all have a great holiday? Get stuffed? Felt like all you did was eat, eat . . . and eat some more??? Yikes! I did! Yesterday we ate salad for dinner though. lol Oy!

First, got to talk to my boy on Christmas Eve! Yahoo! They were going to be busy pretty much all day on Christmas, so he got to call the night before, which worked out perfectly because we always do Christmas Eve dinner at our house and Dan's parents often come up, so they got to be here too. He talked about so much about Africa and all these little countries that we'd never heard of. Told stories about political refugees, illegal people, why they were here . . . He really is getting quite the education about Africa and he doesn't even live there. I asked him if he wanted to go over there now because he's heard so much about West Africa, in particular, and he said he'd love to go to the Ivory Coast.

It was fun to hear him talk for a change. Miss his laugh. And while we got to hear him speak French to us before he got on the airplane, Dan's parents hadn't heard, so that was fun for them.

So we had our Christmas Eve dinner to start off the mass amounts of eating, we ate this yummy caramel french toast for breakfast (I'll have to share the recipe), had dinner with Dan's family and the next day we had my family party.

Stuffed.

Stuffed.

Stuffed.

Guess it was a good thing we go the Wii Fit Plus for Christmas? lol We got a Wii last Christmas and this was the first time that Dan and I played. I'm pretty good at bowling! ;) Boxing? I played that for the first time last night and the girls knocked me out. Don't they know it's not nice to beat up on their mother??? I must say, the Wii is so nice for being more interactive. A pretty ingenious little tool.

Well, I hope you all had a great weekend! Back to the work grindstone for me this week. Bummer. ;)

one of these days...

 . . . I'm going to learn how to balance writing my own blog and a work blog. Right now (or would that be "write now") all my efforts have been going into the Silhouette blog and so when it comes time to do my own, I don't know what to do or say. Weird. I don't know what to say? I'm always running off at the mouth. And if you haven't been checking out the Silhouette blog this week, go . . . do . . . it . . . now. ;)

So maybe I'll give you a little update on my son since we just chatted online yesterday and since we'll be TALKING next week on Christmas day . . . the best Christmas present ever.

He's loving being in Washington DC and teaching the West African people. He had a hard time eating a lot of their food at first because it's really spicy. But his stomach has grown accustomed to it and he and his missionary companions actually cook a lot of African dishes in their apartment now. When I asked him for some recipes so we could try it out, he told me that many of the items that go into the recipes are purchased from the African market. I don't know what he'll do when he gets home then. I don't know if there's places to order some of this stuff online or what.

He said they had Vietnamese soup that had really thin pieces of steak, noodles, cilantro and bay leaves in a really big bowl. And then they bring out mint and beansprouts and stuff and put in while its hot and it cooks. He loved it. I love that he's getting to experience all this new culture!

He said he gets a lot of people asking them (the missionaries) for help in finding apartments or jobs...which isn't what they are there for, but they do what they can. Apparently he got yelled at because he didn't find a job for a guy. I think that would really be tough. He's just barely 20 for cryin' out loud!

His French is getting better. It always takes a while. But currently he has a companion from France that knows English well, so he doesn't mind speaking French with Zach. I'm glad.

Yesterday morning he got up at 4:45 and he and his companions met up with some of the elders in DC and went to the National Mall to take a sunrise photo. Wow! It's cold out there! I was impressed. ;)

Last week he wanted me to share this video message from one of our church leaders with his sisters and so I thought I would share it with you. I think I may have seen it on another blog or two, but I think the message is still very powerful and thought it needed to be posted here too.

That's what I leave you with today.

wow. is it really september 1?

September 1.

It's got to be my favorite month, I think.

School is usually just beginning. I always loved going back to school (only for about a month though).

It's what I call the beginning of fall.

I can hardly wait to feel that cool rush of air and see the multitude of color on the mountain, signifying what's to come below.

Both hubby and I have birthdays this month, so it is a good month indeed. (Wait, that means technically I'll be another year older soon. Don't know if I really like that at this stage of my game anymore.)

Usually I have a new banner at the beginning of each month. Oops. Time went by too fast to remember that it was almost September. (hey, that kind of rhymes)

This year, September 1 means it's the beginning of my son's sixth month out in the mission field. Already?! He's been out five full months and is now starting month number six.

We got some pictures a little bit ago. Thought I'd share a little recap of his first bit of time being a missionary.

1. That's an African dish called Gumbo. It doesn't look anything like the Louisiana-style gumbo I know. He says it looks and feels like snot and it's very spicy.
2. I'm guessing that's a 'companion' in the MTC. Is that what you would call tactile learning? I guess it's one way to learn French, eh?
3. This is the first couple that Zach baptized after only being out there for a month. It was one of those meant to be moments. It really is an incredible story.You can read a little more about it here in a previous update.
4. My guess is those boys had a wee bit too much time on their hands in the MTC. ;) You should have seen all the crazy photos he'd taken. lol
5. Zach and his companion with the couple in front of the Washington D.C. temple. That was always my favorite temple growing up. I lived in North Carolina with my aunt and uncle at the time of the dedication of the temple (I was 9) and they got to sing at the ceremony. So I remember going there, not to the actual dedication because I was too young, but I do remember seeing the temple along with other DC landmarks.

That's all just another reminder of how fast time is going! It really doesn't seem like that long ago that I was there in DC, or graduating high school, or having kids . . . oy!

Time just goes by too quickly anymore. Make sure you enjoy each and every moment. :)

a little update on my missionary boy

It's been a while since I mentioned about my boy being out on his mission in Washington D.C., so I thought I'd post a little update.

The first couple weeks were hard. It's a very different environment than our little hometown. As excited as he was to get out of the MTC (Missionary Training Center), he was very nervous to be some place totally unique--and even though it was in the U.S.--it was still along the lines of being "foreign" to him, in both location and the fact that the French he thought he knew wasn't anywhere near what it needed to be, which is typical of most missionaries.lol

His p-day (preparation day) is on Wednesday, so that's when we can "chat" via e-mail. I'm always hanging around my computer to catch him while he's on so we can send little e-mails back and forth. Ask questions and get an answer instantly. That kind of stuff. It kind of gives me a little sense of communication. I love Wednesdays. :)

Kat, I remember you asking once about how we can go two whole years without actually talking to our missionaries. It is a huge sacrifice, let me tell you. I can't tell you how many times I just want to call up and ask him how his day was. But they need to stay focused on what they are doing and not what they left behind. It would be easy for the U.S. or closer-located missionaries to get a phone call, but those that are in remote places like Ecuador, Argentina, Ghana...they can't be called easily. We do get to actually talk to them on Mother's Day and Christmas as well as send letters and/or e-mail, so it's not like we're completely cut off. We all know this is a good thing, but that doesn't mean it's easy. Nothing this rewarding is ever meant to be easy. :)

He was about a half mile away from where the Metro train wreck occurred. He happened to also be with someone who was on the phone with someone on the train at that time. Lots of helicopters, sirens and everything. In his words. "It was pretty intense."

His homesickness and nervousness seemed to subside a couple e-mails ago when his e-mail said, "I love it here." Ohhhh, good news indeed! I knew it wouldn't take long. I mean, c'mon, you're in the nation's capitol with all that history! Speaking of, he's already been on a tour of the capitol ("they know a guy") and the Air & Space Museum (which was a favorite of Dan & mine when we were back there a few years ago). I can't imagine them ever running out of things to do on their p-day! What a great place to be!

He had a really neat experience a couple weeks ago. His companion (who is from France) has a hernia and so they weren't suppose to ride their bikes (their mode of transportation), but they felt like they needed to go out anyway. They met a lady who was interested in what they had to say and they met with her and her husband. The couple had come to D.C. from Ghana. Most of the people who Zach talks to are from West Africa, which is why he had to learn French. As the boys were talking about basic principles of the LDS church, the couple began to ask more questions and the man said (in French), "I have a book that talks about this stuff," and he prodceded to retrieve the book. Someone in Ghana had given him an LDS Gospel Principles book that he had kept. The man had always felt in his heart that the information in the book was true. Anyway, over the past couple weeks, as Zach put it, "He has become my new best friend." They've come to church the past couple weeks and even to their little church bbq on the 4th. And Zach thinks these people are really cool too. Zach definitely has one of the personalities that's just so darn likeable and they--or anyone--will feel comfortable with him. Zach's grandpa always says, "Zach just has that winning smile. Everyone will love him."

It's just really neat to hear him share an experience like that. Everything happens for a reason. They were in the right place at the right time. Many missionaries feel like they need to 'go this way' or 'do that thing', and as a result, they meet that one person who's been searching for answers. It's pretty cool.

Okay, I'm done being church-ee. :) I just thought y'all might like to know what he's up to from time to time...and since he's on an LDS mission, "church-ee" stuff is always involved. ;) I hope to get some pictures some day and will hopefully share one of those from time to time. I need to go buy him a new memory card and send it to him in a pre-paid envelope so he can just drop the one he has now into the mailbox so we can get some danged picutres! I'm dyin' to see some pictures! lol