ALWAYS IN MY HEART

OThe man who had held my hands and my heart all my life has been called home.....I only hope and pray that his grandson, who has waited almost 21 years to see him again, was waiting to welcome him.

Dad's 60th birthday

 

Ready to fly to Spain at Christmas...almost 21 years later

 

I'm heading to Scotland in a few hours and just wanted to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers during these past few months...I'll be back when I'm back.

 

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

Posted with Blogsy

TODAY

Craig and I were married in 1980, and fora few years we were our own little family of two.

In 1985, with the birth of Stuart, we became a family of three

In 1989 we became four, when Kirsty was born (I can't find any pics of the four of us when she was a baby, but here we are a few years later)

Twenty years ago today we became (at least on earth) a family of three again...in my mind Stuart is still very much part of us...his memorial stone reads:

A GIFT FROM GOD

LOVED BY ALL WHO KNEW HIM

ALWAYS IN OUR THOUGHTS

It says it all.

It hasn't been easy, but since Stuart's death we vowed that Kirsty's life wasn't to be adversely affected by that one event.... that in itself kept us afloat in the early days....and I hope she feels that we have been faithful to that vow.

So today I want to put in writing that I am grateful and feel so  blessed to have had both our children in my life...believe me, whoever said 'a  mother's  love never dies ' knew what they were talking about.

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

FIRST SCRAPBOOK LAYOUT OF 2014

You may remember THIS post, where I showed you this photograph of Stuart that I had totally forgotten about:

At the time I had looked out some papers to use to make a scrapbook page...but didn't quite get around to it!

When I realised I actually had some 'me' time this afternoon, I decided to put the page together...I'm not sure it's exactly as I'd originally planned but I did enjoy making it....i'm hoping it may have jump-started my mojo!

This is the finished product:

sorry about the angle..one day I'll get the hang of this!

I'm also in the process of making some cards...some Happy Mail is going out this week!

I hope the weather where you are isn't causing any damage...there seems to be an awful lot of severe conditions around the globe.

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

Storytelling Sunday....

.....obviously NOT on Sunday, but I didn't want to miss the last one of the year; so rather belatedly, here I am with my 'precious' for December. For the uninitiated of you who may just have dropped by my blog, Storytelling Sunday is the brainchild of SIAN over at FROM HIGH IN THE SKY. This year she has encouraged our little band of storytellers to think about the things which are precious to us, and to tell the stories behind them.

Being December, that can only mean one thing in this house....CHRISTMAS!!...so my last 'precious' for this year is 'topper' we have for our main Christmas tree. Many people have angels, or even stars but since 1985 we have had this little fellow:

He was given to us (well to Stuart really) by Craig's great aunt Margaret, who bought him at her Church Christmas Bazaar.....and he is made from an empty tin can and some cotton wool! Although Stuart was only three months old at the time, he was mesmerised by the Christmas Tree and the snowman which we put on top of it (really because we didn't know what else to do with it!)....and it just became one of our family traditions to top the tree with the snowman.We would now never think of replacing him ...he has watched over us for all those Christmases and I like to think that when he goes on the tree, a little part of Stuart is here as part of our celebrations too.

If you would like to read more stories (which I'm guessing this month may have a Festive feel to them!) why not pop over HERE.

I would just like to thank SIAN for organising us yet again.....I'm sure I'm not the only one who now has stories I hadn't even thought about AS stories, told.

Thanks for dropping by!
Take care of you
Alison xx 

STORYTELLING SUNDAY...ON MONDAY!

Yesterday was the first Sunday in October...which means two more 'first Sundays' till Christmas (YAY!!).

It also means that it's  time to head over to  FROM HIGH IN THE SKY, where,  on the first Sunday of every month,you will find a group of  bloggers telling stories... gathered together by the lovely SIAN ...the stories that make up our lives: long, short, happy or sad- you'll find them all and you are very welcome to leave a story of your own...the more the merrier!

This year, Sian has suggested that we 'pick our precious'. .....celebrating the little things we love: those souvenirs, bits and pieces, things from your past you can't bear to throw out.

I always knew that my 'precious' this month was going to be this book:

.......put together by Stuart's teacher after his death. After having actually told Stuart's classmates about the accident and talking through their feelings, she asked them all to write  about what they would remember most about him. The result was a  lasting record of Stuart as he was and I laugh as much as I cry each time I read through it!

I also slipped some of Stuart's artwork from that year along  ...and when I got the folder out  to photograph  today,  I happened upon this picture tucked inside a picture of 'our house'.

I had totally forgotten about it...and it also records everything that was important in Stuart's life at that moment in time.....The Simpsons, Ghostbusters, The Teenage  Hero Mutant Turtles and his beloved Glasgow Rangers football team ...with Tigger and Winnie -the Pooh sneaking in at the bottom right hand corner!

Thank you Sian for giving me the opportunity to get this 'precious' out again, and to look at it just a little more closely and find this hidden gem, which is going to be my next scrapping project!

Why not pop over HERE and enjoy some more stories....or add one of your own!

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

HELLO WEEK!

This week I'm saying:

HELLO to lots of baking and crafting  mess, as I get ready for our 'THINK PINK' Coffee Morning on Saturday!

...and it's only Monday Morning!!!

HELLO to my girl arriving back on British soil on Wednesday night...she's had just over three fantastic weeks touring in the USA!

HELLO to the bitter-sweetness that Wednesday will  bring......my boy would have been 28

HELLO to attending a funeral 

HELLO to looking at flights for my next trip over to see mum and dad

HELLO to dad getting his nebuliser.....and to hoping it makes life a bit easier for both he and mum

A very mixed bag this week...what about yours?

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

PERFECT TIMING!

Do come in out of the heat.....it's 30 degrees(C) out there today, and unless you've brought your swimming cozzie it's far too hot to be out in it!

Your timing is perfect because I've just made a cup of (coolish) coffee for myself, and cut into the Apricot and Coconut loaf I've just made...I'd be glad of your opinion on it; it's the first time I've tried it and I'm not convinced!

It's not too bad actually, if you add a bit of butter...it seems to be a very Scottish thing, adding butter to all tea-breads...lots of people look at me as if I'm mad when I ask if they want butter..maybe you do too?

Why have I been baking on such a hot day?...good question! I have a glut of apricots this year and wanted to try something a bit different with them...usually I freeze them or stew them ...if you have any suggestions I'd be glad to hear them..there's still lots on the tree!...and I actually enjoyed being in the cool kitchen for a while...though scarpered once the oven had heated up!

How was my week?.....better than expected I think. If you read my blog earlier in the week, you probably realise it was the anniversary of Stuart's death. Craig was here for a few days though, which always helps me to cope better...we had a couple of nice meals out and generally just kept each other company.

I hope you'll tell me what's been going on in your own life...hopefully you'll be starting to think about getting away for a break over the summer (and I think if you've dropped in from the Southern Hemisphere, you may on school holidays just now?)

Before you go, I must just ask if you're taking part in JENNIFER'S class? I am so glad I signed up for it....even though I've only managed two layouts so far (though a third one IS in progress). Let me just quickly show you the second one before you go:

The prompt was about colour choices...I love orange and purple together in the garden, and thought the combo might work well with these pics from our Line Dancing Easter Themed night...what do you think?

What?...time to go already?!....this visit seems to pass so quickly...do pop by again next month...I would definately bring that swimming cozzie, as I have no doubt the pool will be the only cool place by then!...Safe travels my friend...I know you have other places to pop by for a visit, thanks to ABI organizing our monthly get-togethers!

Hope you're having fun this weekend!

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

HELLO WEEK

This week I'm saying:

HELLO to Craig coming home for a few days 

HELLO to bittersweet memories of Stuart, which are always more prevalent this week in June

HELLO to dad still being at home after four weeks..the longest spell since September last year!

HELLO to (hopefully) finishing  cutting back the overhanging branches of the trees on the land behind us...the branches are causing problems with our fence, so I've been out lopping every night for the last week!

HELLO to slightly cooler temperatures (bliss!) forecast for the next few days

Whatever you're doing this week, remember to treasure each moment

Thanks for dropping by!
Take care of you
Alison xx

TWO WEEKS IN.......

.....ten great prompts from JENNIFER'S PROJECTS THAT WOW! class (with SO many ideas attached ...this class is most DEFINATELY worth the 10GBP!!)....and, I am ashamed to say, one layout completed!

Prompt 1 was about 'Soulful Scrapping'

I have just noticed the shadow on this pic.....oops!

This picture was taken almost nineteen years ago to the day....it was our last night at Disneyland Paris and we had just had our final walk around the Park. We decided to have one last train ride , and this was one of the photographs I took of us passing the time waiting for the train (ME...taking photos?!..surely not!).

Little did I realise at the time, just how precious these photographs were to become.

I have now inserted the missing 'L' in 'hotel'!

I'm not telling you in which ways I've used Jennifer's suggestions...if you want to know, go join the class...like I previously said, it's well worth it!

I'm hoping to get another layout started (and maybe even finished) today...hope you find some 'crafty' time this weekend!

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

STORYTELLING SUNDAY-PICK YOUR PRECIOUS

Well, it's the first Sunday of the month again....that means it's time to join up with a host of other bloggers from all around the world...we gather over at SIAN'S BLOG and leave a story- it can be long or short, happy or sad, funny or tearful....everyone is made very welcome!

The suggestion for this year's stories was that we pick something that is precious to us...and tell the story behind it.

THE CUTLERY SET

I can honestly say that I can't even remember who bought this set of 'GHOSTBUSTERS' cutlery for Stuart...all I know is that they were really well-used and much-loved by him...for a few years (from when he was three years old till he was probably about seven) we were surrounded by all things pertaining to 'Ghostbusters'...other things had started to replace them by the time he died, but there was no way I was allowed to throw this little cutlery set out.

 They have lived in my cutlery drawer ever since, and I have never even THOUGHT about getting rid of them in all the moves we have made since ...just a little thing that makes me smile, and brings back so many good memories on a daily basis!

Why not pop over  HERE, to read about the things that other bloggers regard as 'precious'...even better, why not add a story of your own?

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

CATCHING UP....

...with MISS SMITH'S new recent class TELLING TALES (apologies Miss Smith for my tardiness!)

Page Prompt 2 concentrated on Hidden Journalling: with last Sunday being Mother's Day in the UK, my mind wandered off to the day I became a mum for the first time...and I remembered I hadn't made a page for Stuart's album for some time...a perfect layout for hidden journalling!

When I saw this sketch over at PAPER SECRETS.....

....I reckoned it would work perfectly with the photographs I wanted to use:

the journal tag is attached to that long tab 

.....a couple of close-ups:

Hopefully, I'll get some more layouts completed for Miss Smith's class...though not till I get some black ink for my printer- it ran out today!!

Is anyone else still working their way through an online class which is no longer 'live'?

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

STORYTELLING SUNDAY THREE...PICK YOUR PRECIOUS

On the first Sunday of every month, Sian, over at FROM HIGH IN THE SKY, hosts an international gathering of storytellers for an event  called "Storytelling Sunday." For 2013, she has suggested that we pick something precious to us and share its story.

This month I have chosen to tell you about my 'box of memories' The box itself has changed over the years...it started out as this black box.....

......which is now home to Stuart's Dedication (Christening) outfit, and the cake topper from Kirsty's cake .....

It  now lives in the current box.....

The box has taken many forms through the years, changing in size as I have gathered cards, letters,holiday mementos, wedding and christening favours and things made at school.  Rainbows etc....to name some of the things in there. 

 It has been living on top of my wardrobe, and I usually just get the little stepladder  and slip  things into it without bringing it down. Thanks to Sian's idea, I actually got my box down and went through it....and there are SO many precious memories in there! I have had lots of smiles and tears going through it..

As you can see, there's not much chance of me grabbing it in the event of a fire but it is very precious to me just the same!

To read about the things that are precious to some other folks, why not pop over HERE.....and if you feel like it, why not join in...everyone is made very welcome!

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

SIMPLY A MOMENT

DECEMBER 19

As I sit nursing a cup of almost-cold tea, looking at the lights and years worth of decorations on our Christmas tree all I can hear is Boo's heavy breathing as she dozes next to me on the sofa.

The TV has now been turned off and Kirsty has headed to bed, and I'm thinking of what a lovely evening we've had watching the two Home Alone DVDs, during which I have laughed AND cried! They remind me so much of Stuart you see...he was at just the right age to enjoy the slapstick humour, and I can still hear him laughing uproariously then asking if one day we could go and have Room Service at the Plaza Hotel in New York!

Thinking of Stuart in turn leads me to thinking about the families affected by the events in Connecticut last week, and to how they must be trying to cope with their losses. Christmas- and indeed their lives-will never be the same again. I send up a silent prayer that they will find the strength to get through the upcoming holiday season and beyond.

I have a last look at the tree before I switch off the lights and go to bed....eighteen years ago I didn't think I would get through (or want to get through) Christmas ever again, but there are so many memories on our trees and and in our decor, that I always feel Stuart with me more than ever at this time of year.

Thanks must go to ALEXA for starting this meme which has given me the encouragement to take the time to write down these important, but random thoughts!

Thanks for dropping by!
Take care of you
Alison xx

STORYTELLING SUNDAY

On the first Sunday of every month, encouraged by the lovely SIAN over at  FROM HIGH IN THE SKY, Bloggers from all points of the globe get together and tell stories...happy stories, funny stories, sad stories, long stories, short stories, stories with or without pictures- anything goes, and EVERYONE is made very welcome..

'A little Summer Loving', Sian suggested as a theme.....a tenuous link here, as the picture is from a Wedding- not our wedding but that of my brother and SIL, who celebrate their 21st Anniversary in a couple of weeks.

Did I REALLY look like that 21 years ago?!

I love this picture on many levels..the fact that Craig's lovely Gran is in it, that my nephew Graeme looks so sweet in his kilt, that Stuart, Kirsty and said nephew are obviously much more interested in what's happening off to the side...not to mention that I felt really good in that outfit..I had lost weight and the dress was a UK size 12!!!! 

But what REALLY makes me smile is what you can't see..and an incident which took place the following year!

Like I said, I really LOVED this dress, and wore it over Christmas a few times, before it went away over the Winter. It made a re-appearance round about Easter the next year, when I wore it to Church quite a few times.

One Sunday morning I ended up doing 'Creche Duty' with my friend Janette, who suddenly piped up as I was checking the baby in one of the prams:

 'Alison, were they the shoes you wore to David's Wedding, or do you have another pair?'

'No, it was these ones..why?'

'They're odd shoes you know'

I looked down and saw two perfectly matching shoes...or were they? Surely one didn't have a slightly less pointed toe than the other..off came the shoes (by which time Janette was almost crying with laughter)..and only then did I see that the heels were TOTALLY different- there was even about a quarter of an inch difference in height!! How on earth could I have FAILED to notice the difference?! I was mortified and hysterical with laughter all at once. not only had I worn the blessed things to a Wedding, but at various other times too!

Unfortunately, as this was pre-blogging, pre-scrapbooking days, I didn't take a photograph, but every time I look at this picture I'm reminded...so now I'm off to start a layout to get this story down for posterity!

If you have a story to tell, or if you just wish to sit and enjoy a story or two (or more!), please consider stopping by  HERE  ...you are sure to find a great collection to while away some time with!

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

STORYTELLING SUNDAY

On the first Sunday of every month, encouraged by the lovely SIAN over at  FROM HIGH IN THE SKY, Bloggers from all points of the globe get together and tell stories...happy stories, funny stories, sad stories, long stories, short stories, stories with or without pictures- anything goes, and EVERYONE is made very welcome...if you have a story to tell, or if you just wish to sit and enjoy a story or two (or more!), please consider stopping by HERE and joining us.

I apologise for a bit of self-indulgence here, but Sian mentioned 'anniversaries' as a possible topic , on one of her recent posts. As we all  know, not all anniversaries are of happy occasions, and I'm afraid that in June, the only anniversary on my mind is on the 25th, which is the Anniversary of the car crash in which our son, Stuart was killed, 18 years ago.

However, the story I really want to share is that we were returning from a wonderful family holiday at DISNEYLAND PARIS. We had spent a week there, staying in one of the on-site hotels and both Stuart and Kirsty  had a wonderful time. One of the best memories I have, is of the evening we walked through Disney Village and lo and behold, there were the TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES..Stuart's heroes! He was SO excited and his face was a picture

Memories like these are special girls...that's why we scrap and why we tell our stories..and why we should live life to its full- enjoy as many moments with our families as is possible...life can be short- make the most of it!

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

COVER TO COVER...Prompt 1

Yes, SHIMELLE has a new scrapbooking class (it started yesterday)...and after much humming and hawing I decided I would sign up for it.

The first Prompt asked us to:

Take a photo that helps describe your current status with scrapbooking. You might have dozens and dozens of albums. You might have two. You might be completely happy with your albums. You might have a big stack and no books or ideas on where things should go. Share your photo (and more details if you would like) with us either by posting on the forum or writing a blog post.

I do actually keep my scrapbooks in chronological order...much easier since I started using D ring albums...I changed from postbound to these, about a year and a half ago. I don't scrap chronologically....I sometimes scrap recent pictures, but I often go through my photo archives- which I keep on my hard drive- to see what catches my imagination.

These are my albums from New Year's Day  2007 till the present time..one day I shall date the spines! I hasten to add that there are lots of pre-2007 albums in various places around the house.

At the moment, this is acting as a 'Holding Album'....the LOs for my niece's album, LOs for Stuart's eventual album and LOs for a 'My Life' album (about me) are all in here.... until I send for more.

I print my own photographs, as I like to use different sizes on my pages...I know it probably costs me more in the long run, but I never know what sizes I'll use before I actually start a layout!

I am in awe of some of the bloggers I know who are VERY much more organised than me.....but my 'system' works for me, so I'll stick with it...unless of course Shimelle is about to enlighten us with something that 'fits' me better! 

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

STORYTELLING SUNDAY......BUBBLE PAINTING

Today  is STORYTELLING SUNDAY in the little part of the blogosphere that I frequent....bloggers from all over the globe, brought together by the the lovely SIAN over at From High in the Sky, to share a story on the first Sunday of every month. It can be a long story, a short story, a story with or without a photograph or a layout...Sian welcomes everyone with open arms, and then we all do a bit of blog hopping, reading each other's tales....it's fun!- if you don't already do so, why not come along and take part?

Mine is a short story this month (inspired by THIS STORY by DEB last month..thanks Deb!)

Many moons ago, when Stuart had started school, and Kirsty was about a year old, I was a Playleader.....the older more mature  mums among us will remember the pre-Nursery days when we took our children to Playgroup for a couple of mornings a week, then rushed off to enjoy a blissful few hours of child-free cleaning, shopping, coffee-drinking or whatever your 'mission' was for those few precious hours (unless of course they were 'on duty' and had to stay to help. Well, I was one of the ladies the children were left with, and I have to say, I loved it...for those of you who don't know, working with children has always been my 'thing', and it's one of the things I miss most about living here in Spain. ...anyway I digress.

For the two years before Kirsty went to school, she was one of our Playgroup children...though she also attended another one, so that she had some experience without mum being there...and also so that I could have a few childfree hours of my own.

One of the favourite activities at our Playgroup was 'Bubble Painting'. The idea was to suck up a little paint in a straw, then to blow it down onto the paper and make prints similar to these....

SOURCE

....., but fun! It wasn't an everyday activity, but maybe we did it every three weeks or so.

On the first morning we bubble-painted when Kirsty was with us, my co-worker (and friend) Janette was overseeing the activity..and suddenly she let out a shout for me...I ran through (we had two rooms-a 'Quiet Room' and a 'Noisy Room') to discover Kirsty coughing and spluttering, with all this blue paint spurting out of her mouth and nose! Yes...I had the only child we had ever had, who forgot to stop sucking!! Janette and I just took one look at each other and burst out laughing....I hasten to add if it had been any other child we would probably reacted differently....but poor Kirsty got laughed at! I dragged her off to the toilets to clean her up ....and to try and convince her that we weren't really laughing at her, just at the fact it had never happened before (nor did it happen again) and that the fact she belonged to me made it even funnier!

She has never forgotten the incident, or quite forgiven us for laughing at her, but she does join in with the laughter when we tell the story!

To read (or, indeed join in with a story of your own) head on over HERE...and thanks again Sian, for the encouragement to get another story written down!

Thanks for dropping by!

take care of you

Alison xx