Have You Heard About Clickin Moms?

About 8 months ago I joined Clickin Moms.  This is an online forum for women who love photography to gather and share information, offer support and ask questions about anything photography related.  I love visiting the forums to learn new things such as setting up for sessions, photo editing, equipment and learning some basics! 

I wish I would have joined earlier but am so glad I am a member now.  While I am by no means a professional photographer I enjoy learning new ways to photograph my own girls to make my photos look better by using natural lighting and even post processing. 

Clickin Moms is offering 20% off any subscription until January 31st!  If you are interested click on the banner in my sidebar and then enter the code FRIEND at checkout!

Where Did December Go?

December just flew by for me!  We were super busy trying to visit as many Christmas markets as possible since James will be deployed again for the holidays in 2011.  So we made the most of the time we had and spent as much time together as we could possibly stand :-)  We went to Esslingen and Ludwigsburg, both near Stuttgart, at the beginning of the month.  Followed by a weekend trip to Oberkirch, a small town near the French border, so we could drive to the Strasbourg, France to see the city and their Noel market.  Finally we returned to Prague to check out the  market there as well.  Prague still remains one of my favorite cities even though the market was smaller than we expected it to be.  The city itself is romantic, has gorgeous architecture and easy to get around, either by foot or by using public transporation.

Esslingen, Germany

Ludwigsburg, Germany

Strasbourg, France

Prague, Czech Republic

The weather was cold and snowy all month with a record 32 inches of snow in Ansbach in just December!  I generally don't mind the snow too much because I don't have to drive in it every day but 32 inches is a crazy amount of snow.  The snow banks at the end of our driveway are insanely high and James and I were concerned that we were running out of places to put all the snow as we shoveled the driveway. 

Our Christmas was perfect this year because James was home!  Aubrey loved all things Christmas and especially the music with Jingle Bells and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer being her favorites.  Lolo was excited but she most loved making cookies for Santa and sprinkling some reindeer "food" in the snow on Christmas Eve. 



That is our December in a nutshell.  Today will be spent packing up Christmas until next December and getting my house back in order.  I had plans to take it all down this weekend but the pleas of Aubrey convinced me to wait.  I told her it was time to pack up the tree and she said "but I'll be sad" and it just broke this mommy's heart!  I am such a sucker!  She seems to be ready for it to be packed away now so off I go. 

Happy New Year and best wishes for a happy, safe and prosperous 2011! 

Giving a Helping Hand...and a Giveaway!

According to Feeding America, approximately 5.7 million different people receive emergency food assistance from the organization in any given week.  Wow!  That is a startling number.  And to think this is happening in our own backyard! 

To raise awareness about the national issue of hunger, Hamburger Helper® is partnering with GRAMMY® Award-winning singer, songwriter and actor Tim McGraw to help Feeding America deliver millions of meals to local food banks through the Show Your Helping HandTM campaign. McGraw will lend his voice to the campaign through a Public Service Announcement which will be distributed nationwide.


Support the campaign by submitting codes from specially marked boxes of Hamburger Helper at www.showyourhelpinghand.com or by logging on to make a donation. Hamburger Helper has already donated more than half a million dollars and will contribute up to an additional $100,000 to Feeding America through this program. Don´t think one code will make a difference? The 17 cents Hamburger Helper donates per code is enough for Feeding America to deliver one meal to a local food bank.

Show Your Helping Hand is an amazing opportunity to help those who are less fortunate, especially during the holiday season!

Would you like to win a prize pack that includes a box of Hamburger Helper skillet meals, a Hamburger Helper foam "Helping Hand" and a copy of Tim McGraw´s "Southern Voice" CD? If so, just leave a comment here telling me how you give a "helping hand" during the holidays. Do you volunteer somewhere? Donate food, money or clothing to local food banks or shelters?  It could be something as sending cards to troops far from home.  Just let me know and you will be entered to win.  I will pick a winner on the morning of Sunday, December 19th.

***I received the same prize pack being donated to one of my readers in exchange for sharing this information with you.  Please be assured that I support this campaign and would never share a product with you that I don't like.***

December Daily

My December Daily album foundation has been completed for a while and now that December is underway I am taking a photo every single day to add to the album.  This is my third year doing an album and I absolutely enjoy the process.  This year I am being a little more flexible with the process and will also be waiting until the end of the month to print my photos but plan on journaling every day while the stories/feelings are fresh.  

On December 1st the girls opened the first window on their advent calendars and were so very excited to do so! 

The December 1 is an overlay from the amazing Ali Edwards that I purchased from Designer Digitals last year.  Ali has so many great products for the December Daily album there and most of them I reuse every year.  That is just one reason I am a hybrid scrapper! 

I will try to update when I get home later.  Since I am printing all my photos at the end of the month I will not have a completed page to share but would love to share what I have so far.

***FUN GIVEAWAY***

When it comes to starting off your day right, a new survey from Kix found that 84 percent of parents turn to cereal with milk for a quick and healthy breakfast.  Cereal is one of the healthiest breakfast choices parents can make. Ready-to-eat cereal has fewer calories than almost any other common breakfast option, while also being nutrient-dense and convenient. In addition, cereal eaters consume less cholesterol and more fiber than non-cereal eaters.

With the same great taste kids have loved for more than 70 years, Kix makes it easy to serve your family a simple and healthy breakfast! Whether you choose to serve Original Kix or Honey Kix, you can be sure that your kids are getting a wholesome food with nutrients they need to grow.  The "Kid-Tested Mother-Approved®"cereal is made with whole grain corn and is an excellent source of iron. It also is a good source of calcium, fiber, and Vitamins C and D. Original Kix has no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.

To find out more, visit the recently launched Kix website, http://www.kixcereal.com/, featuring background on the history of Kix, nutritional content, and special offers.

My girls love Kix cereal and to be honest I do too.  I loved Kix as a kid and it tastes just as good to me now.  The cereal fills them up and I feel good about giving them a simple breakfast that they enjoy. I like the slightly sweet flavor of the Honey Kix and feel good giving this cereal to my girls.  

Kix provided me with the awesome prize pack you see in the photo above and has an additional one to giveaway to one of my readers!  The floor puzzle and number flashcards have been a huge hit around here with the girls and we are happily eating our way through the cereal.

Do you want a box of goodies from Kix to arrive at your door?  Leave me comment telling me if you or your kids eat cereal for breakfast of if you eat Kix at your house.  I will pick a winner on Monday, November 22nd.  Please make sure you check back then or leave your email in the comments so I can contact you if you are the winner.  If you are reading this on Facebook and would like to entry the drawing please comment visit my blog at http://scrappingandtraveling.blogspot.com/.

***Kix provided me with the information I have shared in this post, prize package and additional prize package for my readers.  I have shared my opinion because I genuinely like Kix cereal and feel comfortable sharing this information with my readers.***

Holiday Cards

I have been working on my third December Daily album and decided to make some cards as a plug away on my album.  My album is 8x8 so that leaves me with scraps the perfect size for cards.  I purchased the adorable stamp set (by Hampton Arts) last year but decided to not make my cards so the cute penguin and snowman are making an appearance this year.  The papers are from Echo Park and if you haven't checked them out you really should.  Their papers are wonderful and they are quickly becoming a new favorite of mine.  The border punch is from Fiskars.  I used a ton of Stickles on these cards too.  I love glitter!

I would usually approach my Christmas cards in an assembly line fashion but find by the end I am not really enjoying the process so this year I am going to just go with the flow and see what I can come up with. 

Finally, today is my husbands birthday!  Happy Birthday JG!  We love you so much and are grateful for all you do for the Gibson girls!  ♥ ♥ ♥

Hedgehog Love!

We are big fans of cute hedgehogs here at the Gibson house.  The girls have adorable hedgie jammies from Old Navy and a cute hedgie inflatable toy we picked up from Ikea a few years ago.  Now we have a real live hedgehog in our yard!  This little guy (or maybe gal) has been a frequent visitor as of late.  A few weeks ago, just as it was getting dark, I told JG we had a giant rat running across our yard and he told me it was a hedgehog and after a better look I could see it really was.  Yesterday the hedgie returned several times throughout the day and I was able to get this photo from the safety of our patio!  Not that I am scared of him, I didn't want to scare him away.  I think he has been hiding out in our bushes and I don't mind.  I hope he becomes a regular visitor as he is fun to watch.