Friday, December 31, 2010

Last day of 2010

Wow... I can't believe today is December 31st already. This year went by pretty fast for me. I want to thank each one of you for your time and your love. I've had the chance to meet so many fabulous  people through this blog and I am very thankful for it. I pray that the Lord will bless each one of you and your loved ones and gives you the desires of your heart. Happy New Year!!!




From my heart to yours.
Beatriz

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Time with Grandma



My friend Sandy from Scrappin-Squirrely sent me this gorgeous necklace made by her! It is soooo pretty!and it is a domino, isn't that cool? I love it... Thank you Sandy!


Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Fun with Grandpa

Good morning  everyone! Today I am sharing some more pages of  Grandpa Farquhar. More precious memories!!!!! At 86 he is full of strength and energy! He wrestled with Danny and he won (he thinks....)!


Danny gave his dad and grandpa the jerseys he wore  during the Arizona Fall League with his number on them. Right after that he was traded to another team. It meant a lot to them.



Keep warm and have a fabulous and blessed day!

Monday, December 27, 2010

Our Christmas present....

Good morning! Hope you are having a fabulous time with family and friends. My son Danny and his wife Lexie called us early morning yesterday to tell us "Merry Christmas Abuela"! Yes..... they are expecting their first baby and I am going to be grandma!!!!!! You can only imagine the joy and happiness in our family.
I will be scrapping a lot of baby pages next year for sure....

This week I am sharing with you the pages I have made from our trip to Chicago.



This restaurant's walls were filled with graffitti and everyone's name. Of course my husband and children had to leave their "footprints" there too.

Have a blessed and fabulous day!

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Grandpa's singing

Good morning! Hope you've had a lovely Christmas. Have you ever wanted to literally  "freeze the moment"? Well, I had one of those...Danny and grandpa sat at the piano and they played and  sang "rubber ducky" and many other precious songs together. You see, grandpa is a singer/dancer by nature even at 86! It was the perfect evening filled with love, joy, and music. 



Enjoy every moment with your loved ones and do not take ANY of them for granted. Families are a gift from the Lord. Have a blessed and fabulous day!

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Why God told the shepherds first?


"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the Glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified."Luke 2:8-9 


If you had good news, whom would you tell first? When something wonderful happens to me, the first people I want to tell are those closest to me, those most important in my life. They have proven themselves trustworthy over time, and will rejoice with me. They've stood by me during difficult times, and will share in a victory.

When God had the best news of the ages, whom did He tell first? Important religious people? Wealthy folk? Learned men? Actually, no. God told shepherds.

The Christmas story told in the book of Luke reveals this interesting fact. The story takes us right from the manger to the fields nearby, where an angel appeared to some terrified shepherds. Who wouldn't be if an angel and "heavenly host" appeared where there had only been scrub brush moments before?

"But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger'” (Luke 2:10-12).

It didn't take long for the shepherds to pull themselves together after the heavenly crew left. Knowing the "town of David" meant Bethlehem, the shepherds hurried there, and arrived in time to see Jesus in the stable. The Bible says after seeing the baby, " ... they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them" (Luke 6:17b-18).

This is a familiar and well-loved story. We treasure images of the nativity, and the humble nature of Christ's birth. When I delve a bit deeper into who attended the birth, I have to admit I'm surprised God chose shepherds to reveal the truth about Jesus so quickly.

Shepherds were in the fields among smelly and not-so-bright sheep. They had no power or influence. They had nothing to bring the baby King. So why did God choose the lowest members of society to entrust the greatest truth of the ages?Why didn't God choose the religious leaders? Surely they would have been excited after waiting for thousands of years to meet their Savior. Why not choose a king or a rich man whose testimony would have carried more weight? Why shepherds?

Two reasons come to mind when I ponder that question. First, shepherds had the capacity to be humbled and amazed that God chose them to hear the news. Imagine how unworthy they must have felt, but how honored. Based on Jesus' opinion of the religious leaders of that day, I don't think they would have had the same reaction.

You've probably heard about the Pharisees. They were religious people back when Jesus was born who thought highly of themselves. They loved religion more than they loved a relationship with God. They probably wouldn't have been very impressed that God chose to reveal the secret of the ages to them. In fact, they might have thought they deserved to hear the news first. But not the shepherds. They were amazed God chose them and they couldn't keep it to themselves.

That leads me to the second reason I think God chose shepherds. After they had seen the baby Savior, they "spread the word" concerning what they knew. They weren't like too-cool teenagers, worried about what others thought of them. They didn't over-think the situation and talk themselves out of telling the news. They were exuberant, overflowing with joy and probably still reflected a bit of the glory of being with Jesus.

You know what happened when those uneducated, simple shepherds spread the word that a Savior had been born? People were amazed!

God is His infinite wisdom chose just the right group of people to entrust the greatest news of eternity. Those humble men took the Good News of Jesus and did just what God wanted them to do – told others, and their lives were never the same.
Dear Lord, today I rejoice with the shepherds in the Good News of Jesus' birth. Help me to set aside those traditions that have become commonplace and explore the amazement of Jesus' birth. Thank You for sending a Savior for me. I want to spend my life sharing this news. In Jesus' Name, Amen.





Reflections:
  • What are some reasons my amazement has dimmed at the true meaning of Christmas?
  • What can I change about myself so that others see/hear more of the amazing things of God through you?
Isaiah 9:6, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Mark 1:10-11, "As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.'” 



Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmas Eve with SOUS

Hello! Christmas Eve is here and we are celebrating with Stuck On Us Sketches. Our challenge was a beautiful sketch created by the lovely Suepup.


I know it is a one-page sketch but you know me..... I want to see double page layouts in my albums! Here is what I made and called it "Holly Jolly".




My husband and I are off to Orlando  until the new year. Have a blessed and fabulous day!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Snow is in the air...

Good morning! I've been busy scrapping my  snow pictures from Chicago. Here are some of the layouts I made yesterday.








We had a beautiful time last Tuesday! I thank God for the gift of friendship.... each one of them is very, very special to my heart. I love you all!!!!!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Simple pages, unforgettable moments....






Have a fabulous and blessed Tuesday!

I love scrapbooking!!!!!!

Do you ever wonder why you love scrapbooking/paper crafts so much? Well, read on! My devotional today written by Os Hillman is about "God gives us a desire for our work".

You shall call, and I will answer You; You shall desire the work of Your hands (Job 14:15).

Did you know that God has already pre-wired you for the work He created you to do? We all have things inside of us that excite us when we think about it. God is the source of this passion. However, our career path may require many stepping stones before we reach the work that we were ultimately created for. The psalmist says "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be" (Ps 139:16). When the ark of the covenant was to be designed to contain the sacred ten commandments, God prepared a man to perform the important work.

"Then the LORD said to Moses, 'See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts -- to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship" (Ex 31:1-6).

We do not know much about Bezalel, but you can be sure he had many jobs leading up to this most important assignment. He was also the first man mentioned in all of scripture to be "filled with the spirit of God." 

When your work is empowered by the Spirit of God you will be hand-picked for some of the most important assignments. He says the skilled worker will even serve before kings (Prov. 22:9). God will see to it that your skills will be used for His ultimate purposes. This is the call of God for each of us -- to be fulfilled in our work and to use our work to fulfill His purposes on the earth. He seals the hand of every man, that all men may know His work (Job 37:7).

Monday, December 20, 2010

The Joy of Winter

Hello everyone! Hope you are not too stressed out this week with traffic, last minute shopping, etc, etc, etc.....I've been cooking all day as I am hosting a luncheon for my friends tomorrow here at my house. This is a page I made over the weekend. These are some of my Chicago pictures.


This snowman is from a napkin! I cut him out, embellished him and added puffy paint. I also stamped and embossed the large white swirls.



I made these tags for two of my friends. One is having a baby girl and the other one is scrapping her Disney pictures. Hope they like them.



 
Have a fabulous and blessed day!

Friday, December 17, 2010

Cookies and one more Christmas tag...

There is a new challenge at  The Pink Elephant Challenge  this week and the theme is "Christmas Tags". I made this one using October Afternoon  papers and  "Lollipop Christmas Bundle I" digi stamps, designed by the fabulous and talented Lori Boyd. I used puffy paint for her hat and the stocking.
 


My husband and I had a lovely evening making cookies for my first "Cookie Swap" in Dothan. We made stars, angels, tress, and hearts.




More pictures of the swap next week! Have a blessed and fabulous weekend!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

I am back!!!

I am back to my nice and cozy South!!!! It was soooo cold in Chicago I almost froze. I truly do not know how people survive so many months under those temperatures.... and for all of you who live in the North,  come on down and visit me anytime you want to! Okay, enough about the weather... we had a fabulous family time with our kids and family. Today I've been resting and scrappin' a little and here is what I made  using the beautiful Kaisercraft English Rose line. The colors are so soft and delicate.






Jenn from ttp://myimajennation.blogspot.com/ has a great Christmas giveaway. Here is her information:

 
This is what she says about her giveaway: "Up for grabs is an adorable Maya Road chipboard mini, some sparkly, sequin holiday stickers from Jolee's Boutique, some festive clear stamps from We R Memory Keepers, and my favorite, some Teresa Collins Blingage!After reading all that, I bet you're just drooling for these sweets! So, now on to how you can get your hands on all of this. The winner will be drawn from random.org one week from now (Dec 23) and the lucky recipient's package will be mailed off after Christmas day." You can visit her blog right here.


Our Valerie turned 30! We had dinner at a fabulous restaurant called Wildfire in Chicago. These are grandma and grandpa  Farquhar at 86 years old!!!!!