...siblings...

I can't imagine a world without sisters and brothers.  I feel for the child that has no siblings or no close relatives that act like siblings.  I've grown up with two older sisters and two younger brothers and one younger girl cousin.  To say I've grown up with a few siblings would be an understatement.  No, we're not the Duggars, but there are a few of us. 

Just a few of us... Chris, Angela and Alicia

My oldest sister Tiffany has a heart of gold, she loves gardening and baking, and man can she bake!  She's an excellent cook too!  Between my dad and her mom, she got a double whammy of genes in the cooking field. 

My older sister Angela is super smart, very giving, sweet as pie and very caring when it comes to others.  She showcases God's love to everyone around her and is going to be an excellent mother! 

My older little brother Christopher is hard working, great with vehicles and can make just about anything grow in a garden.  He loves animals and has a huge heart.

My baby brother Jason enjoys his work and works hard daily to do everything from his regular job to his side business, he's loyal and a great man of God.

My cousin Lisa is a really good mother to her two boys, has grown into a really great woman. She loves animals of any sort would take care of you in a heartbeat, even if it meant giving you the shirt off of her back. 

As we've gotten older we've grown up, but we've also moved away from each other, some more than others.  Although I saw my entire sibling group this weekend, minus my oldest sister, I still hate that we're all so far away from each other.  I somehow wish we all still lived within walking distance of each other.  However, it makes the time we do have with each other super special. This weekend was one of those special weekends.  My older sister and I spent Thursday night with my cousin, having dinner, doing homework with her oldest and just hanging out.  Friday was spent just her and I at the beach and running around before picking up my brother in law and Saturday was spent with our entire family, both brothers included to celebrate in the new baby that my sister will soon give birth too.  I'm so excited to watch her growing belly, even if it will be over Skype, and I'm over the moon that I hope in early December when I fly to see them, that I will be able to meet my new niece! 

Everyone says it, but I know it's true that I have the best brother's and sisters in the whole world!

Love you guys!

...Oh life...

It's amazing how quickly life can change, one day my father is holding me in his arms as a small child, the next, I'm in my 30's and I'm getting the call I never want to receive again.!

My father went into Shands in May of this year with a massive heart attack.  It was a very scary time for all of us.  My newly pregnant sister flew in and all of us kids gathered at the hospital.  He had to take precautions and was sent home to rest for 6-8 weeks.  He quickly learned that his stubbornness didn't help matters and finally was able to get an O2 tank to breath on every night. 

Go forward to July 6th, and he had his heart surgery.  They expected a triple bypass, a correction of his aortic valve and a correction to an aneurysm.  However, they ended up doing a quintuple bypass.. yes you heard me right, a five way bypass as well as everything else.  It's those first few days I could do without, as they've been the hardest and the most up and down.  Many people love him and have been praying for him.  He's finally starting to do really well.  He's breathing on his own and will even get to eat real food tonight!  It's something that I had just handed over to God, and continue to.  If it's my father's time, then that's God's call not mine.  It's a hard pill to swallow, I can just begin to imagine what Moses went through when he was willing to sacrifice his own child.  Because of his trust in the Lord, God gave him back his child and rewarded him for his trust.  I know God can still take my Daddy at any time.  I know and trust when that time does come, Jesus will hold me in His own hands because only He will be able to comfort me through that. 

Life is an intersting thing.  It's something that sometimes takes a massive heart attack to wake you up.  I surely hope if he walks out of that hospital in a few weeks that the alarming factor of how serious his condition is will shake him just enough to want to cling on to God more.

...Kung Fu Panda T Shirt...

So I've been hearing about "freezer paper stencil" for quite awhile.  I've even sent the "how to" along to a few friends, which have tackled this project long before me.  Since I DO have a Silhouette SD I decided to try my hand at it.  It was my nephew's birthday this past Friday and he turned the big SEVEN!  He is in LOVE with Kung Fu Panda and anything having to do with it.  He talks about it non stop and keeps begging to go see the newest Kung Fu Panda 2 movie.  While I can't take him to the movie, because Aunt Licia is broke as a joke, I can induldge him in his very own Gator style Kung Fu Panda shirt. 

I checked out a few pictures online and finally came up with one that I worked into Inkscape to create the best cutout picture around.  The lines weren't too intricate and yet, you could still tell it was Kung Fu Panda.  It took just one round, of "printing" it out onto my freezer paper and I was ready.  I had already washed and dried the t-shirt as directed any time you are going to paint onto a shirt.  I placed the freezer paper stencil where I wanted it, taking care to press a little longer around the edges (sorry I don't have pictures for all of this), put in the eye pieces that the Silhouette SD had cut out and I was ready.  I got my paint out, and quickly realized one coat of the blue paint over the orange shirt was plenty!!

Right after I painted it, I gave it a good ten minutes and started peeling away the freezer paper to reveal the little surprise I had been waiting to find.  I wasn't sure how it would turn out since it was my first!

I blowed dried it a little just to set the paint and then as directed, I ironed the insde of the shirt as well as the outside over top of a hand towel to "set" the paint.  Here is a picture of the finished product hanging before the birthday boy was able to open it.

And here he is with it on.  An Aunt's best compliment...when you ask him if he likes the shirt and that you'd like to take a picture of him in it....he rips off the shirt he's wearing, throws on the new one and then smiles REALLY big!! :) I love that kid...and he loved his present! :)

I've already told my sister that I'll be experimenting with baby onesie's when they find out if they are having a boy or a girl!! YAY!  Can't wait! 

...qr codes...

So if you're into your smart phone, then you've noticed the latest craze...

QR codes.  Those little square zig zag's of black and white squares that resemble a UPC symbol.  You can attach them to anything!!  I wanted to play around, so I created one just for this blog ...

Go ahead, I dare you, break out your QR Scanner Application and scan it.  Yep, You're going straight to my blog again...cool huh!!?? 

And the best part is, you can create a QR code for *just* about anything!!  Now I'm not saying the older people going for yard sale's would understand them, but I think it'd be pretty interesting to put out a sign on Saturday morning with just a QR code and see how many people show up telling you they were directed to your yard sale because of the code!!