The April Kreatorville kit...

...has been revealed! Hop on over next door and see an amazing page kreated by Leeann! Also, don't forget to enter to win the AWESOME BUZZ AND BLOOM treats!!!

What have I been doing...

...in the last 20 days, 10 hours and 21 minutes? WELLLLL,
*Right now, Kea is sick. We spent a few hours in the emergency room Sunday morning. He's had a temperature off and on for about a week and a half. We thought he was just cutting teeth, as the Tylenol would make the fever dissipate. Well, Saturday night the Tylenol stopped working...
COMPLETELY. I stayed up from 8pm until 4am, continuously taking his temp. When it reached
102.4 we took him to Children's Hospital. After he kicked four nurses (in triage and x-ray) and
one doctor, they determined he PROBABLY just has a virus and could go home (ya think they
were just tired of the ABUSE??) It took about a day for the temp to completely break but we
haven't seen hide nor hair of it since Sunday around 9pm. So, I'll make a deal with you: YOU
keep praying for Kea and we'll keep plugging him full of meds and juice.

*I found out last week that I'll be published in the latest version of this book. WAIT! The best
part is that I submitted six projects for their consideration...FOUR of them are scheduled to be
included in the book! BAYBEE....I'm moving UP in the world!

*I've been updating and adding to the etsy shop
*I've been working on some Buzz and Bloom assignments
Make sure you join us on the blog or our Facebook page to see what the other girls are up to!
Also, BUZZ AND BLOOM has graciously agreed to sponsor KREATORVILLE this
month...our FIRST sponsor! (Go KREATORVILLE...it's ya birthday!) Jump over to
Kreativity to get in on the fabulous Buzz and Bloom giveaway!
* Speaking of Kreativity, it's gotten a facelift in the last few days
Hop on over and take a look around. Let me know if you like it!
*My friend turned 29 a couple of weeks ago (for the 10th time!) so we had a small, impromptu
celebration for her at our house
Chicken, red beans and rice, ice cream and cake and US...THAT'S what a New Orleans
celebration is ALL about!
*The boy
has just finished taking the L.E.A.P. (Louisiana Educational Assessment Program) exam. This standardized test determines whether students advance to the next grade and is given each year
to 4th, 8th and 12th graders. Ahmad can't attend Lusher...or ANY school, for that matter, unless he aces the L.E.A.P. test. So, we've spent a lot of time helping him.
*I've been kreating a WHOLE lot, including these Easter bags
for my husband's Sunday school class. I KNOW they're not the cutest things in the world! I
asked John to bring home some CUTE bags and he brought these...ummm, OK! So, I had to
work with what I had. Plus, I made these at 1am...give me a break, people!
*We attended the annual Ponchatoula Strawberry festival a couple of weeks ago.
Bena and her kids came along and we really had a good time...it wasn't GREAT because Kea
cut up a LOT. The ONLY reason I didn't sell him for a flat of strawberries is that I knew he
wasn't feeling well. OTHERWISE, you would have been asking, "What ever happened to
that cute lil kid you used to scrap so much?"
*Ali is holding her annual "Week in the Life" project...and KREATORVILLE is one of the
sponsors! Go on over and check us out! There's a PRIIIIIZE involved!

As you can see, I've been a busy bee. But, I'm home now and I'll TRY not to run away again anytime soon!!!

Dear God...

...would you find it in your merciful heart to give me a break for a while? It's bad enough that we buried my Grandmother Friday and I vomited and had a KILLER headache all that evening. When we decided to check on my OTHER Grandmother Saturday, we found out that an aunt on my MOM'S side died WHILE WE WERE BURYING Grandma. Lord, I'm strong and my faith in You is strong. But, I'm only human and I don't know how much more suffering I can endure. So, if you could allow me a few months to heal before springing something else on me...I would be SOO appreciative! I ask this in Jesus' name.
AMEN.

We don't curse....

...around here...except for the occasional "what the HELL???" Is it Murphy's Law that "what the hell?" is now Kea's favorite phrase? And, is it so wrong that I think it's FUNNY??? Just thought I'd share that with you...back to working on the program!

Death...

...does something to me. I go through life just like everyone else: angry with that driver who cut me off in traffic (STUPID HEIFER!!!); SPITTING mad at Ahmad for bringing home a bad test grade; ready to SELL Keanohn for using my last bottle of glue as moisturizer....and BAM! You get this call that while you were holding onto this FOOLISHNESS...another of your loved ones has slipped away unnoticed. And, I always ask myself, "Lord, WHY am I expending my energy being angry instead of enjoying these FLEETING moments with those I love???"
ALL of my life, my paternal grandmother was sick...my Mom just told me that when she FIRST met my father, my grandmother was sick...FORTY years is a LOOOONG freakin' time to hurt. She was one of the FUNNIEST ladies I've ever known. She told me once, "Kean, I'm getting ALL of my teeth pulled out!" "WHY, Grandma?", I asked. "Because they're RAGGEDY!" She DIDN'T mince words, I tell you that!!!! And, I LOVE that I inherited that from her. I remember playing at her house during the summers when I was young but I kinda lost track of my Perkins family for some years. My parents divorced and I had to deal with all the BS that children of divorce DEAL with...the children should ALWAYS be made to feel love from Mama, Daddy, NEW Mama, NEW Daddy...they should NEVER have to endure the adult foolishness...but SOMETIMES I did...and my family relationships suffered for it. Fast forward to me being a grown woman. It's sad to say that I DO have a connection with my Perkins side...but somehow not as close as I do with the family I grew up with. At 38, I can't blame WHATEVER my parents did or didn't do...it's all on me now. That, combined with the fact that I STILL haven't recovered from my Father leaving us four years ago AND the blow of my grandfather dying eight months ago...in case you couldn't tell...I don't DEAL WELL with sickness...let ALONE death. So, this last time my grandmother got sick...I COULDN'T. I couldn't stand to see her suffering...I didn't want to see her going down. So, instead of visiting, I tried praying her well from home. Because, I could visit her when she was well...I just don't DO WELL with sick. When my Dad got sick, the doctors gave him 6 months to live...he didn't make it to five. And, I drove that 8 hours from New Orleans to Jacksonville SEVERAL times, trying to take in that last bit of him before God reclaimed him. The last time I saw him, which was three weeks before he passed away, I knew that it HAD TO BE the last time. In life, my father was 6'2" and about 190 pounds. The last time I saw him, he had CLEARLY shrunk; I'm 5'7" and in the picture we took that day, he looks to be about 4" taller than me. Ahmad still has the t-shirt that my Dad wore in that picture...it's too small for Ahmad...my Dad HAD to have been 130 pounds that day. I KNEW I couldn't take seeing him again. So, I'm well aware of my limitations and I don't try to go beyond them. That's why John and I were on our knees 3 o'clock this morning, praying for God to strengthen my Grandmother...because that's what I COULD do.
We got the call this evening: "Grandma is on life support...you need to come." We dropped the boys by my Mom's and went to the hospital. We hugged all 15 of our family members sitting in the waiting room and my cousin, Rick took us to the room. I'm SOO grateful for two kindnesses: right before we walked into the room, Rick turned and said, "She's already gone, Kean" and I was grateful for the warning. Now that I've had time to think about it, I'm glad that we got there after they removed her from the ventilator. I may have been pushed over the edge by seeing the harsh, artificial rise/fall motion of my Grandmother's chest. She's at peace now...she never has to be sick again. I kissed and rubbed her still warm cheek and I thanked God for her. I'm glad for her offspring which allowed ME to exist; I'm grateful for that sense of humor and the good looks I inherited from her. And, as I said goodbye to her, I thanked God for accepting her soul into His fold...and for another opportunity to get it right with my family.

This sister...

...has been doing it for herself...ummm, minds OUTTA the gutter now, kiddies...I mean KREATING! Sometimes I get tired of making THIS project to submit to a magazine or THAT project to try out for a design team...I even get weary when preparing layouts using kit components...I KNOW...blasphemy, right?!? But, I do! And when I need to recharge...why, I kreate some more!!! But, it's different when it's PERSONAL! I don't have to worry about using perfect picture or composing the perfect journaling...I can just DO IT...ummm, I thought we discussed the GUTTER! Here are some of the pages I've just completed:

Me as an itty bitty!!! Don't you want to BITE those cheeks!?!

Mahd and Kea in the airport a few months ago. Kea can have fun ANYWHERE...he's his very own entertainment!!!
Kea and the doctor who delivered him. Since I've lost the original image, I had to settle for scrapping this small print...not ideal but this is for ME so...WHO CARES????
This is our 18 year old when she was younger. I just realized that the majority of the pages I've completed showcase older pictures...maybe I'm subconsciously wishing for a simpler, bygone period in my life! OR, these could be the first pictures I picked up! Anywho, it's almost 2am, John just knocked Kea outta the bed and went RIGHT BACK TO SLEEP so, I not ONLY have to put him BACK to sleep, I have some dishes and dusting calling my name (I get LOTS of chores done when the testosterone level around here isn't so high...and ACTIVE! In other words...time to get back to (my) life...back to reality. But, I'll be back soon because I have a question to ask you all.

I have a confession...

...to share with you: I squeeze a LOT because I love the smell. Dish liquid, baby powder, lotion, detergent....I always use WAY too much. I know this seems random to you but my husband's snoozing next to me while I change Kea's stinky butt and I'm praying that John doesn't turn over and see how much powder I've sprinkled on this little booty so he doesn't blow a gasket. He's had to disassemble the washer because I use too much detergent; we have to keep LOTS of dish liquid because...ummm...I use TOO much. But, my motto is: if it doesn't smell good...it's not clean. Just thought you'd like to know. So, if I ever do a post telling you that my husband is divorcing me...just know that the biggest issue is that he got sick of running to Wal-Mart for Dawn.