From our House to Yours.....

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a joyous and healthy New Year......

here are some highlights from our Christmas Day....

As we reflect on another year passing, we have so much to embrace and celebrate! We are ever mindful of our military family members that are separated from their families- you are in our thoughts and prayers- may God keep you safe and protected. We hope that 2009 has been a wonderful year for all our friends and family. Our home is always open and we would love to see you and if you are looking to take in some DC cultural we sure can help with that!

God Bless,

Josh, Jennifer, Ireland, Patrick and MacKenzie

dreams do come true....

After living in Florida for about 5 years, I have longed for my kids to experience real snow and have fun with seasons! Well, I got my WISH- BIG TIME! Northern Virginia got a huge snowstorm today! It has been snowing since late Friday night and it just doesn't seem like it will stop-YIPPEEE!!! The kids have been out three times and Josh has shoveled the driveway 3 times! At 3:00pm he measured 17inches of fluffy white stuff! I wonder what our measurement will be tomorrow?!? Even our Westie enjoyed playing in the snow! She took off running and was so full of excitement- super cute!
Here are some pictures from our winter wonderland......

FUN Friday!

It seems it is a FUN friday for everyone in my house today! Patrick had a little presentation to do today on Family Traditions. He shared with his class about our tradition of baking and his favorite cookie- one his Godmother taught me how to make- Chocolate Toffee Chunk Cookies.







Then Ireland had a homemade gift exchange with her class today. They drew names and had to think of a fun thing to make the person on her list. It was so FUN to watch her think of something to create for her friend and I was so impressed with how she designed it, did it on her own and worked her magic!












And today was Josh's internal office Christmas party which I could not attend because I was teaching Scap N Play Club today. But his email with this picture stopped my breath! It was a joke but it totally caught me off guard and I had to run and call him to make sure! He was laughing!!!!!!









Lastly for me it was Scrap N Play and I had a full house this morning! It was so great to see my friends and make great layouts for Christmas- I will post pictures this weekend! And now I am waiting to pick up the kids from school and wondering how much snow this snow storm will give us!!

Tis the Season!

Oh my goodness...December has been FULL STEAM AHEAD!!!! It seems I have been out of touch for awhile but I think that I am not alone! We have been busy, busy, BUSY! I love this time of year and getting all things ready for the Magical Holiday Coming.
Josh and I went out last friday for his office Christmas Party- that is where this photo was snapped. We hardly go out on dates so this was super fun and the kids loved having Shannon, their babysitter, come and play! I even dragged my hubby out on the dance floor for a couple of spins(and seriously could my hubby be any more handsome?!? sometimes it is not fair standing next to him! HA!).

I had two outings this month with the Belvoir Officer's Spouses Club. The first was a luncheon at Mount Vernon. We had a great time and it was fun to see Chef Roland's amazing Gingerbread House-amazing talent!!! The 2nd was our book club meeting. We had a great potluck brunch, great talk about the book that we all were in agreement was a little dry(interesting topic-just not executed well), and a fun gently used "naughty santa" book exchange. Somehow two of the books I choose were both taken but I am excited with the book I ended up with and I received a beautiful card with an Irish Christmas blessing- how perfect was that!?!

The kids have been busy too and I can tell we are all ready for Winter Break! Unfortunately their school does not get out until the 23rd at 1:30pm!!!! They have their holiday parties on the 22nd but I think I have decided that I am not sending them to school on the 23rd so we can sleep in, hang out in our jammies and do some baking and other fun things together!!!

The other bit of news is my camera has been going on the fritz lately. And come the night of the holiday Party it just was not working- it was acting really goofy! The pictures all on this post are from dear friends that have shared their pics with me- THANK YOU!!!! Josh and I then got in a pretty hefty talk about what camera to get and all the fun that can be when you have different opinions! Tonight Santa(and my birthday) arrived early and I got a new camera!!!! We (or should I say me) decided on the Canon G11. I am pretty excited to start playing with it but feel like I should take a camera class- anybody want to join me?!?

I am looking forward to Friday. Patrick has a little presentation in the morning and then it is SCRAP N PLAY Day with my great customers!!! See the sideline to get details or email me for more details! I cannot wait to see everyone and have them come play in my organized room!

Hope you are enjoying the Season and taking time to do things that you and your family love!

~Jennifer :)

CLEARANCE SALE!!!!!!

ONLINE CLEARANCE SALE! Items are 50%- 80% OFF! Just in time for holiday shopping!

The sale starts TODAY- Wednesday, December 2nd, at 9 a.m. (MDT) and continues through Thursday, December 17th OR WHILE SUPPLIES LAST. Often times these items go fast, so plan on shopping early.

Go to my website- http://jenniferbohnart.myctmh.com and click SHOP ONLINE. Look for the link that reads Holiday Heyday Clearance sale.


Details:

*Sale has quantities restricted to FIVE per item to provide a smooth shopping experience for all customers.

*You'll want to get in on the amazing deals like My Acrylix stamp sets from JUST $2 and My Reflections paper packets from $5. But that's not all! We have grab bags for $30 each- filled with over $100 in retail products. Plus, great shipping deals on orders over $100. Orders of $100+ have a flat rate shipping of $5.

*Please be patient while shopping and checking out. Sometimes the server gets bogged down...so be patient and be thankful that you don't have to push and shove your way through the store and check out lanes! :)




*Here are a few of the items that will be available:
15+ Level One Kits (favorites like Vintage Travel, Laid Back, Free Spirit and more). $5 (regularly $9.95)
10+ Level Two Paper Packs (Caprice, School Zone, Expedition). $6.50 (regularly $12.95). Stickease $4 (regularly $8.95)
35+ Stamp Sets from $2-$8 (Let Us Adore Him, Let's Play Ball, Precious Alphabet, Card Sentiments, and other greats)
Embellishments like brads ($3), ribbon rounds ($4), chipboard ($3).

*Note that clearance items may not be combined with regular-priced items in a single shopping cart, and clearance purchases are not eligible for any Constant Campaign qualification or Stamp of the Month.


HAVE FUN SHOPPING...Sit Back...sip your Coffee or Cocoa and Enjoy getting FABULOUS Deals! Or a Deal of a Lifetime as my hubby likes to say when he scores something FUN!

~Jennifer :)

ORGANIZE!!!!

So if you really know me you know that I cannot, I mean absolutely cannot, handle clutter and an unorganized house!!!! This time of year and before each kiddos birthday gets me in a mood to organize, pair down, and make room for new! And if you really know me then you know I am not 100% happy in this townhouse but I am making the most of it because deep down I know we will not be here forever! So you gotta make what you have work and every place that you are stationed at is what you make of it- heard this from a very wise Daddy of mine!!!

During Thanksgiving break, I had a night where I could not sleep well. Not sure if it was the cold medicine or my head so congested that sleeping did not make any sense- at any rate I laid there for hours trying to sleep and I had a VISION! It was a vision with an answer for my basement that has caused me such fits because there just didn't seem enough room for the kids and me- it is a very small townhouse basement. So I woke up with a plan and very excited to put my plan into work but the biggest obstacle to this plan was having Josh on board because I needed his help. Um I mean his muscles! :) LOL! Thankfully he was on board to try it and give it a whirl.

and here is the scrapbooker, memory keeper in me that WISHES I had a photo of what that space looked like before because it would give you a HUGE appreciation of how fabulous it looks now!!!! So with some pieces moved, a new shelf and some tweeking....I finally have a space that is starting to be a long the lines of what will work for me and the kids!

And my biggest goal was to give the kids more space as space is a premium here and we had SUCCESS!!!! (so now fingers crossed that we can extend our lease here for 2 more years since we think we will be here that much longer....)

Here is my Space....




And here is my own personal way I store my paper- I have fallen in love with VERTICAL STORAGE(by Cropper Hopper)! IT ROCKS! I have tried the towers with the clear plastic storage bins but I just don't know what is in there and after starting to switch to Vertical...I will tell you I can fit more this way and have a better understanding of what I have to work with! So here is what I do-

All Cardstock gets put in a Holder organized by Color. Then my Background and Texture Papers go into a Vertical Storage Holder that has dividers- oh this rocks! So take Perfect Day Level 2 Paper Collection for instance- I take out all the Cardstock and put it where it belongs. Then I take the remaining Background and Texture Paper and put it in its own Divided Section. LOVE IT! I am slowly (gotta work in the budget) working over to this system 100%.


So there is a little insight into my crazy world and how OCD I can really be! :) I am thinking this will be a MAJOR help to my loss of artisitc and creative drive! Now if I didn't have a "To-Do" List a MILE LONG!!! My next goal is a personal assistant- not holding my breath but that would be the ULTIMATE! :)

Happy December Friends!
~Jennifer :)

Turkey Recap!

Here are some photo highlights of our fabulous Turkey Day- my family is crazy I tell you!



And for those non-football people- The Packers played the Lions on Thanksgiving Day which is why Josh is proudly sporting the green and gold. I was too but managed to sneak out of photos as I was suffering a bad head cold! I have to say I love technology because Josh put the game on pause so we could eat at a reasonable time and not let football control EVERYTHING! tee-hee!

Patrick loves the big LEG!

Ireland LOVES Cranberry Sauce- the canned variety and she requested 5 cans this year!

Do you have a favorite recipe or two that you use with your leftovers??? I found this awesome White Chili recipe from a dear friend- Ms. Shirley Bailey and I love using the turkey meat to make this!!!!

White Chili by Shirley Bailey

1 lb Dried Great Northern White Beans
2 t Ground Cumin
2 t Ground Oregano
2 t Coriander
2 t Onion Salt
Pinch Cayenne Pepper
1 t Seasoning Salt
3 T Canola Oil
1 C Chopped Onion
3 cans chopped green chili peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 QT. Chicken Stock
12oz Bottle Beer
6 Chicken Breasts, boned, skinned and cooked( this is where I use the leftover turkey meat)
Sour Cream for garnish
Green Onions, chopped for garnish

Soak beans in cold water overnight. Mix cumin, oregano, coriander, onion salt, pepper, and seasoning salt together. Set aside. Heat oil in a large stock pot and saute' onions until translucent. Add Chilis, garlic and seasoning mix, saute' 1 minute longer. Drain Beans and add beans , stock and beer to pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 2 hours or until beans are tender. Dice Chicken into bite size pieces and add to stock; cook another 15 minutes. Ladle into serving bowls and garnish with a tablespoon sour cream and chopped green onions.

ENJOY!!!!!!


~Jennifer :)

so many blessings...

We have so much to be thankful for in our home and we had such a great 5 day "stay-cation" at home together! I enjoy family downtime so much! I love when my hubby walks through the door early(doesn't happen that much this year), love when my kids want to stay in their jammies all day, and I love when we just have fun hanging out!

This year my sister and her boyfriend, David, came to visit on the Tuesday before turkey day and the Saturday after. We were there stop in between North Carolina and NYC! I was so excited for them- they went to the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, the Christmas Spectacular Show and so many other sites and adventures in New York City. But the biggest event was the special carriage ride they took through Central Park where David asked my sister to Marry him!!!!! Oh I am over the moon happy for them! My sister has found her Prince and he is such a great person!!!! What a great Thanksgiving!



I have known about this secret for over 2 1/2 weeks and it was killing me! David had emailed me to get my parent's phone number so he could talk to my Dad; meanwhile my sister had no clue! She is so cute because as she told me today, "it seems everyone knew but Me!"

Now the cat is out of the bag and I can breathe again! The kids did great keeping it a secret too! They had fun trying to guess where Mr. David would propose! HYSTERICAL! Patrick wanted the top of the Statue of Liberty and Ireland wanted St. Patrick's Cathedral. It is going to be a fabulous 2010!
and my brother and his wife are Preggers too!!!! Their first baby is due July 2010! LIFE IS FULL OF JOY!!!!!!!!!!!!

~Jennifer :)

CLubbin' FUN!!!!

Yesterday was my local Scrap n Play Club and we had so much FUN! I just LOVE my club members and I love when they bring their artwork to share!!!!! I have a challenge with my Club Members that if they bring back their pages with photos on them and if they have created more with all the left over paper I will have fun "happies" to give them for sharing and going the extra mile! It is so fun to see their artwork and the fun things they have created! I know we all love being inspired by each other and having our work appreciated! So here are some pics of their fabulous creations(feel free to click on the pic to see it bigger).




Last night we created 2 12x12 2 page layouts and the kit comes with directions to make 12 cards too. I made all of this plus had paper leftover to make a fun layout and a couple of cute 6x6 cards and I STILL have paper left in my kit. I love showing my friends and customers how much value they are getting from their monthly kits- it just simply ROCKS!!!! And thank you to my local club members you helped me get back a little of my creative groove I have been missing! And to my Club to Go Members- look at all this you can make! Are you long distance and want to be one of my Club to Go Members just simply email me at craftingdivas@cox.net to join and I will get you all set to go!

layout one- cannot wait to add pics!

layout two- so super cute!
one set of 6 cards- love these! (I still need to finish the other set)

bonus layout I created last night! it is from Cherish p. 108
bonus cards I created last night using Originals pgs.18 and 75

and here is all the paper I still have left over to keep creating with!!

Sorry for the long post but I sure made up for lost time, ehh?!?

Creatively Yours,
Jennifer :)

so touched by Friends....

I am so honored and touched that two of my friends value me and my blog that they gave me a Friendship Award! I know I have been quiet for a week or two now- not intentional just life getting a little bit hectic and I am trying to remain in control. HA-HA I know!
I have been busy with the kids, military wife duties, team mentoring and just plain life. I also am trying to make time to do things that I always put aside like Yoga and things that I enjoy. So I am taking some of my own advice of taking control of my calendar and making sure I add things in there that are meaningful and purposeful to me.
So when I logged on to Check my blog and my friend's blogs I was so BLOWN Away and touched by their thoughtfulness to honor me. It really was a bright spot to my couple of weeks of some grey skies. I was so surprised to get this award and so thankful. Take a minute to visit their sites because they are truly special people in my life! Tina and Melanie- HUGS TO YOU BOTH!!!!!

What this Award is all about: It is given to blogs that are exceedingly charming. These bloggers are not interested in increasing their own status, but rather aim to find friends and be friends. The hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are born! Now it's my turn to pass this award on to five of my blogging friends. It is a great joy to do so:

Now it's my turn to pass this award on to five of my blogging friends. It is a great joy to do so:

1. Tiffany- she is my longest and one of my dearest friends. She has a heart full of love and she has amazing gift of putting life events into a funny full of life perspective. I just wish I could be as clever as she is! I am so thankful for our friendship over the MANY years!!!

2. Angie- one word comes to mind- SUPERMOM! She is such an inspiration to me. Angie has a heart of gold and motherhood just blooms from her spirit- she is an inspiration!!!!

3. Doresa- a fun CTMH friend and person that inspires me professionally! I love Doresa and just wish I could see her more often! I love our email chats and always look forward to hearing from her. She is a fabulous artist and a very classy gal!

4. Tina- I have to put Tina down eventhough she nominated me. One of the reasons I go through blue spells sometimes is because I miss my dear friends that I have left because we had to move. I love keeping up with Tina via her blog...makes me feel like I am not too far. Tina has been such a great friend and inspiration to me- I love her to pieces!!!!

5. Siobhan- we have recently reconnected on Facebook and it is so fun to keep up with each other. We were stationed together in Utah and then as the AF life goes on we are separated and usually keep up with the family Christmas cards each year. Now the FUN of being able to check in and see what they are up to is so FUN! Siobhan is a very taletned artist that has been published in many card making magazines and I just love hearing what she has been up to!

Hope you have fun checking out my friends blogs! And I hope to be blogging again soon and have some artwork to share!!!!

~Jennifer :)

exciting function today!!!

I had a great day today! I attended the Belvoir Officer's Wives Club Luncheon today and had the pleasure of listening to Chef Roland Mesneir speak today. Chef Roland is a retired White House Pastry Chef- he worked in the White House for 25 years! It was such a treat to listen to his stories and hear about his inspiring story. He comes from a French village of only 140 people and what he has attained in his life is truly a story to behold and share! He has written 3 books- 2 cookbooks and one memoirs. I purchased the memoirs book and it was so fun to have him autograph them!

I was also touched by the Belvoir Officers Wives Club reaching out to Ft Hood and their victims. They were asking for donations to help the victims and their families directly impacted by this horrific act of violence against our Military. Words cannot express enough how deeply affected I am and so many in the military community by this one horrific act- it is beyond words and reasoning. Ft Hood is in the process of creating the "November 5th Fund". The proceeds will go to meet the needs of the families and survivors of the Ft Hood Massacre. If you would like to donate to the November 5th Fund, you may send checks to the address below.

Please make checks payable to "CONSOLIDATED CHAPLAINS FUND", AND WRITE "NOVEMBER 5TH FUND" IN THE MEMO BOX. This will make sure your money goes where you intend it. Otherwise the money will go to the general Ft Hood Chaplains fund.

Garrisons Chaplains Office
Bldg 44 761 Tank Battalion Ave
Fort Hood, Texas 76544-3030

take care and God Bless!
~Jennifer :)

all wrapped and ready to go.....

Would you like to win this adorable( if I do say so myself) Christmas Card Box?!? This is my donation item for the Island Creek Craft Fair Silent Auction. I also added a FREE Workshop for you and up to 8 friends! I hope my Virginia friends will come bye and say HI! There are over 60 talented crafters at this Craft Fair- so much fun to shop for unique Holiday Items for your loved ones!!!!

The Craft Fair will be tomorrow Saturday November 7, 2009 from 9:00am- 3:00pm at the Island Creek Elementary School. I hope you will swing bye and take in all the fabulous items!

Here are some pics of what the box looks like!




Enjoy!
~Jennifer :)


*this box was inspired by another fabulous CTMH consultant that shared her ideas on our Bulletin Boards last year...sorry I forget who it was! Another reason I LOVE my job- we all share our fabulous creativity!!!

busy, busy!

WHEW!!!! What a weekend! We have been going like crazy! I love being active with the kids and having so much to do but it leaves me a little sad because I don't have that much time or energy left to craft and be creative. Oh the joys of trying to find the happy balance! :) I love that I can stay home with them and enjoy them and all the memories we make together!

My sister and her boyfriend came up for the weekend to share in Halloween with the kids! It was so much fun to have them here! We all enjoyed pumpkin carving together. The kids even made sure that Auntie and Mr. David (that would be the boyfriend) had a pumpkin to carve too! But I think the consensus was that their pumpkin was petrified or genetically altered because even my strong hubby could not cut that darn thing!!! Then it was Face Painting Wars- which was so FUNNY! Michelle started remembering how much it itched as a kid and then watching them trying to get off was hysterical! Oh the simple things!


Then Saturday morning brought FOOTBALL!!!! Patrick had his flag football game and let's just say the weather was ucky! Drizzle rain, 50 degree temps- yikes! I know I have years of this in-front of me! David and Michelle get major props for sticking it out in the ucky weather to cheer Patrick and his team on! The Bulldogs won and Patrick's team is undefeated so far this season! I am so amazed with how much they are learning and Patrick has one determined spirit! He has great ball awareness and is always trying to help his team. He loves to play defense....wonder what the future will bring! I mean seriously he is only 6! HA!

After the game it was time for Hot Cocoa and Donuts then off to warm up before we headed out for an evening of trick or treating! The rain and drizzle made a repeat performance for the nights activities which was sorta of a bummer but it really did not slow us crazy kids down! Michelle and David planned to dress up and I jumped in on the action last minute which is why my costume is oh so original! HA! But I told Josh that the AF should look at my boots- they rock! He then said they were not so practical- oh whatever! :)



Well that was our FUN Filled, high energy weekend! The kids are off today and tomorrow so we are taking it easy and they are having FUN playing! I am finishing prepping for the upcoming craft fair this coming Saturday and then hopefully things will slow down just a bit but that is this time of year! :)

~Jennifer :)