And the winner is...

Laurie Kearnes!!! Email us at kim at acidfree dot com with all your contact info. Congratulations, Laurie!! We are excited to have you join us for our Scrap It Southern Style Weekend Event!





And, for every one else who entered by posting a comment, email us, too... at kim at acidfree dot com. We are sending you a special surprise, too! Just copy and paste your comment you left, so we know who is who, okay?





But, now, here are the answers about Keller...so you all can really know more about him... and so you can see what an eclectic taste he has in sports teams:





1. When is Keller's bday?





8-8-95





2. What size shoe does he wear?





15 every day shoes and 16 cleats





3. What is his favorite college football team?





Georgia Bulldogs, of course....a couple of you upset him with GA TECH answers!





4. What is his favorite pro football team?





Green Bay Packers -- long before they won games...have no idea why





5. What is his favorite pro baseball team?





Philadelphia Phillies -- again, for a long time & don't know why





6. What is his favorite pro basketball team?





LA Lakers -- ever since he heard the name Kobe years ago...said he wished his name was Kobe...been a fan ever since





7. What is his middle name?





David, after my brother








8. What is his favorite food?








any kind of noodle...so spaghetti, mac & cheese, etc...used to beg to eat "oodles of noodles" when he was smaller!





9. What position does he play on his highschool football team?








Offensive Lineman and Defensive Tackle





10. How tall is he now?





6'2"...about 1/2" shorter than my brother...but not for long, I'm sure











So....now you know Keller a little better!

YIPPEE!!!!!!!

Yippee, school is out for Christmas break!!!!



Yippee, we have new options for our Scrap It Southern Style event...

We now have our VIP Package on sale for just $129...that's $30 off the regular price of $159. VIP Package includes 2 free classes, tshirt, 6 make & takes, goodie bag, etc.

And, we now are offering a CROP ONLY option for the 3 days, due to popular demand. Crop all 3 days & nights for just $99.

Hurry & sign up for either of these options...we are over half full and would love to have you join us. We are beyond excited about this event with Creating Keepsakes sponsoring it with us...Stacy Croninger of Creating Keepsakes teaching...and the 'southern' details that will make it a weekend you'll never forget.

And, one more YIPPEE for this event....did we mention that we now have over $3,000 in donations from CK, Fiskars, Queen & Co, Eyelet Outlet, and many more?!?! The goodie bags & door prizes at this event will ROCK for sure!

(click SHOP NOW, then you'll see the Event listed at the top of the list on the left...or email us at kim at acidfree dot com for a flyer to be emailed to you)





YIPPEE, our new YEAR IN THE LIFE Kit is online and on sale CHEAP, too!!! (read below to find out more about it, or visit our facebook page to see all the monthly layouts. Regular price will be $59.95, but now you can get them for as little as $25 each. Hurry, though, we are only offering this deal for a few days! (click SHOP NOW, then CLUBS & KITS link)



Oh, one more YIPPEE:

We've got one more chance for you to win a VIP Package to our Feb. event. Answer these questions here or post your answers on our facebook page....all you have to do is try...everyone who answers these is entered to win. Although, if anyone gets them ALL correct, we may give another prize!!!

Ok, so here goes...let's see how well you know Keller:

1. When is Keller's bday?

2. What size shoe does he wear?

3. What is his favorite college football team?

4. What is his favorite pro football team?

5. What is his favorite pro baseball team?

6. What is his favorite pro basketball team?

7. What is his middle name?

8. What is his favorite food?

9. What position does he play on his highschool football team?

10. How tall is he now?


Post your answers, or guesses....just play for a chance to win a $159 VIP Package!! You have til Tuesday at midnight EST to enter. Winner will be posted here and on facebook on Wednesday. (and yes, if you sign up for this event & win, we will refund your money)

Good luck!!


Okay, so that's it for now, but hopefully you're as excited about these things as we are!

A year in the life...

As so many of you know, it's been a rough year for our family.

This time last year, Papa started having back pain. On February 11th, we found it the pain was coming from pancreatic cancer. We thought we had weeks left with him.

So, I began taking pictures. I seem to be able to handle life better looking thru a lense than head on sometimes.

I also came up with a plan back in February. I decided to take enough pictures to be able to give my mom a new one EVERY DAY FOR A YEAR after Papa passed.

We were so blessed to have him 9 months and 1 week after that dreadful day of 2-11-11. So, I was able to achieve my goal...and I've beeng giving Mom a new picture every day since we lost him on 11-18-11.

It's been a gift for myself, too. I love photos and always have...guess that's why I do this job I do. The details of photos stir me. I feel them, not just see them. And, I am so grateful to have the photos from this year...especially like this one above of Mom and Papa. You can see the love. You can feel their love. You can see Mom's weariness and pain. It says so much about this year.

So.....back to my plan. I also decided in Feb to come up with a product to go with the photos I would be giving Mom. So, now you all know where & why our CALENDAR CARDS came to be!

In each set you get 1 card for each month that includes a month title, a poem about the month on a tag, a round calendar (blank so it works for any year), and a journaling card. Each set also has 6 title cards, to do different themed albums...Baby's 1st year, 1st year of marriage, or any special year.

There is one title I included: "365 A Day at a Time". It's for Mom's book that will have the pictures I'm giving her this year.

Well, we started selling the Calendar Cards sets in November, and we love all the feedback we are receiving. They are so versatile...use them on Connectors to make wall hanging calendars...use the tags to make mini albums...or use them to make a full 12x12 album.

NOW, we are proud to bring you a KIT featuring a title page and twelve 12x12 double page spreads to complete a whole year's album in just a couple hours!!!

Here's one of the titles included, but you'd have 5 more to choose from....

And, the kit includes over 250 precut pieces and pages to create all this....

You like??? Seriously, what do you think? Isn't this an achievable goal for each of us this year?? If any of you are like me and wwaaaayyyy behind in keeping up with your photos, this is something even I can pull off with my pictures of me and Keller...a few photos each month...and I'd be so proud to show it off in a year!

Or, this time of year, just think of the gift possibilities!!! Or think of friends having babies this year...or getting married this year...and back to the piles of old photos we all have...oh, I could use about 10 of these myself!!

WHO WANTS TO WIN ONE OF THESE COMPLETE KITS???? (yes, we will get them online for sale very, very soon)

But, for now, leave a comment here on our blog...or on our facebook page by noon EST Sunday to be entered to win this kit. Tell us something about this year in your life...something good or tough...life is full of both. Just tell us one thing about 2011...and we will draw a name tomorrow afternoon. Actually, Keller usually draws our winners, so blame him (not me) if you don't win! :)

And, lastly, I can't tell you what each of you means to me. Your love, support, emails, comments on facebook, texts, cards, letters....and mostly prayers, have been such blessings to me and my family. You carried us thru this year. You and God's amazing grace. Thank you.

Let's make 2012 a great year!

Kim

Now, leave us a comment about your year...we can't wait to read them. And, good luck!!!

No Regrets

Yesterday, I attended my friend Kyle's funeral. He turned 43 last Sunday. He died Monday morning.

It's Sunday afternoon where I live...4:45 pm to be exact. This time last week, he was enjoying his birthday. Now, he's gone. His funeral is over. And, we are supposed to go back to our normal life tomorrow.

How?

How can anything be normal? How can I comprehend this when I'm still in shock that Papa is actually gone? Papa died just 17 days before Kyle. And, we had 9 months and 1 week to prepare for Papa's passing. That's how long we knew he had pancreatic cancer. Papa was 76. We knew he was sick. And, I still can't wrap my head around him being gone FOREVER. And, Kyle...man oh man...Kyle was just 43, barely. He had a massive heart attack and was gone. He never even knew he was sick. Nor did we.

But somehow, some way, we are supposed to comprehend all of this. How do I explain these things to Keller when I don't know what to say? Yes, I believe it's God's plan. He is in control. But, I don't understand God's plan. I hurt. That's what I know right now.

Another thing I know is that I want to be more like Kyle and Papa. They both had no regrets. Papa told me that several times in the last year. He said to me on more than one occasion, "I've had a great life, I know where I'm going, and I'm ready." How great is that? To have the time to reflect on your own life...to know your heart is right with God...and to be ready to leave this earth.

I believe Kyle felt the same, although I never heard him say it. The last time I saw Kyle was at our house after Papa's funeral. He hugged me several times that day, as he always did. He smiled & listened, as he always did. He always brought love & laughter & peace into a room. He did that day, too. Oh, how I wish I knew that I would never see him again. I would have told him that I want to be more like him. I want to love people every chance I get, just like he did. I always want to make people feel better when they hurt, just like he did. I want to smile, even thru the pain, just like he did.

If we all lived like that, it would be a life of no regrets. We would leave love every place we went. What's to regret about that?

One HUGE regret I have is that I didn't go to Kyle's house on Thanksgiving Day. It was just 3 days after Papa's funeral. Our family elected to go to a movie and grill steaks instead of participating in a traditional Thanksgiving. It would be too painful, we thought. But, now...I regret not going by there, at least for a few minutes. If I had, I would have had my camera. I would have taken lots of family photos. We would all have more recent photos of Kyle and his amazing smile.

I will try to remember the lessons of this year and do all I can to live a life of no regrets. I will continue to focus on the daily moments of life that are so precious, as I tried to do with Papa all year. I will try to live my life fully with no regrets, like both Papa and Kyle showed me how to do.

And, I will miss Papa and Kyle.

Kim