I am oh so grateful to Ange for sparking a mild interest in scrapping for me. For years I have heard about the joys of it through her e-mails, letters and her d�land diary. And when I was off work on sick leave, the curiosity of it all got to me. I went to one scrapping store which turned to every one I could get to� and then some $400 plus later- I am now a bona-fide scrapper with a new passion. I managed to do a two page layout with pics of just Shawn and I together. And then today, I sat back down this morning again and did another two page spread on Shawn alone. I now almost have an entire scrapbook filled. I�m giddy. And just itching to go purchase more stickers, backgrounds and layout delights. I�m even considering purchasing yet another gadget that fastens down these little metal tag thingies. Their title evades me right now. I have most of the gear though. I have a circle cutter and glass mat for that, X-acto knives, a small paper cutter, a ton of pinking shears and what not. I can�t even put to words how fulfilling, fun and time consuming scrapping is. But I have always had a passion for photos and putting together albums that were themed. This just adds a whole new dimension!

We had a belated birthday dinner for Shawn Saturday night also. His cousin Jacki, his sister Samantha and her girlfriend Nicol along with his brother Shane all came over. We had also invited our friend Bryan and Shawn�s Mom, but unfortunately- neither of them made it. I made a huge ham dinner with all the trimmings and as humble as I may be, let me be the first to say that it turned out divine! I was able to eat everything I made. (In small portions of course) So that really made my night. And after dinner, we played a card game called �Oh, hell!� until 6 a.m. Waaaaaay past my bed time. But it was fun anyways.

I managed to sleep only until 11 a.m. when the puppies started climbing all over me to let them outside for their morning pee. It�s a mighty crazy situation to be in having 5 puppies climbing up and down your body to wake you nibbling, licking and barking. Especially after a late night! I don�t know why they don�t bother trying to wake Shawn� it is always me. My best guess is that they long ago gave up on trying to awaken the �sleeping dead.�

As for the puppies, all five are doing wonderful! They�re growing more and more each day. I have had a couple people inquire as to which names I settled on. Well, there is Maggie Mae- a delightful, mellow and cuddly cow puppy. Then Sassy Jane who was once a wild pup who is now much calmer and more tame. We�re working on the cuddly part! Then there is Portia Sue. Portia is cuddly to a small degree. But she�s usually running about trying to stir up a playful fight with her siblings. Digger is Portia�s twin I�d almost swear as they both look identical, and both have the resemblances of being a Rottweiller though they have none of it in them to my knowledge. Portia and Digger are also the runts of the litter. But what they lack in weight they make up for in length and attitude. Digger is the feistiest one of the bunch. He is forever getting the pups and Shawn and I all worked into a tizzy. Lastly, there is Rocky Dude whom I have affectionately named �Dudelbug.� (Pronounced dood-ul-bug) He is the one who resembles Barklee James. He has his face, temperament, eyes and personality to a tee. But Chewy�s body. (He too looks like a cow from the neck back) They have all been such a comfort and a delight. We�ve grown so attached to them all. Unfortunately, too attached! When I asked Shawn which ones to put in the paper now that they�re quite old enough to leave Chewy� he hesitates and says he doesn�t know. Mark my words- we�ll end up keeping them all! making it a grand total of three cats and six dogs. Yowza.

I haven�t done much today. I haven�t even made it out of my p.j.s or into the shower and it is after midnight. Sad, huh? I am just spending my last night off trying to rest up for the busy week ahead. I have to go see dr. Featherstone and Mark Kay on Tuesday for another check up. I�m excited this time- I am filled with good news instead of bad news and complaints. YAY!

Oooh, I even managed to get a web page up for our union. If you�re interested in checking it out you can go see it here And if you do check it out, let me know what ya think of it so far!

Thanks for tuning in�. and thank you to all of you for your prayers, well wishes and constant support. Without all of you, I�d have lost my mind!

Simply,

Sara

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