Hello again,

As i mentioned earlier we recently headed over to the West to visit Family and Friends. We had a lovely and very busy time with two weddings to attend to, as well as an Engagement celebrations for my dear friend Monnie, and a big Farewell to my brother Bryn who moves to the US next week.

I was going through my photos and thought I would share some of them with you all. I few days before Rod’s brother David, and his fiance Jessica’s wedding all the Byl clan got together for a picnic in Mandurah. Ivan (another brother, the one from Canada) came to the wedding as a surprise so it was lovely to catch up with him as well!

This photo is of the bride and groom a few days before the wedding….

David and Jessica

Me with Jessica

Janaya catching up wtih her cousins…Janaya, Aliesha, Courtney & Shenae

Next up is the actual wedding day….

The Groom and Bride looking glamorous!

Family shot with us all and the Bride and Groom

Dave and Jess

We then had another wedding to go to. This time friends of ours. My brother Bryn was one of the Groomsmen as it is one of his best mates that was married, Ed and Emma….

Me with my spunky brother Bryn

The Bride Emma and her Dad….

Love this shot I got of the couple hugging at the end of the ceremony!

Me and the hubs…. as you can see it was a beach wedding!

Isn’t he a spunk too?!

The other exciting event we got to attend was my dear friend Monnie Moo’s Engagement party! Yep Frank popped the question a few weeks back and so it was perfect timing to have their party and special for us to be there to share in the celebrations too!

Monnie and her man Frank….

Me and Monnie…

Then all four of us together…

Later that same night we had to attend my brothers Farewell party. He is moving to the US next week I am so happy for him and he can’t wait to see his fiance Kate again after 5 months.

We got to have a bbq dinner with extended family the night we flew back to Cairns which was lovely. Here I am sharing a beer with him. As you can see I am rather exhausted in the pic. All that socialising for two weeks plus the gastro was taking it’s toll by then…hehe

Miss this boy already!

So there you have it peeps a little peek into my life in the past two weeks. It is so good to be home again and finally getting back into it. It is the kids very last day of the school year here today so we shall see how 7 weeks of summer vacation go. I will either have plenty of time to stamp or none at all. We hope to head off on a little vacation camping…..yes I said camping! I am sooooo not a camper as I am a total mod-cons type of girl so it should be very interesting especially seeing as it is the start of the wet season here. So please if you have any good camping tips, please let me know as I need all the help I can get! LOL! Also we will be moving house again come mid January so more adventures ahead!

Take care everyone!

Hey there peeps,

Well for the past couple of weeks I have been alluding to changes happening for the Inkspirations Challenges, and change there is indeed.

Inkspirations Challenges has a

NEW HOME!

Yes we have moved the weekly challenges off my personal blog here to it’s very own home. So you will be sure to want to go and visit. Thanks goes to the uber talented Renee, not only is she an amazing stamper, her computer skills are elite as well.

Here is the link to the NEW CHALLENGE BLOG

Now the other exciting news is that we have 6 brand spankin’ new Design Team members and I just know you will be excited to meet them and see their amazing creations each week!

So don ‘t delay head on over and say a big Hello. There will be a prize for one random commenter next week.

so super-de-duper exciting sistas!…….

Here there peeps,

I hope you are all well and have had a fabulous week so far.

Today I have a post for you that is dear to my heart. My dear friend Madonna another stamping queen, has a plea for her daughter. I would love you to please read her story and get behind this amazing project to help her daughter Lara. Better still it is really great value!

Here is Lara’s story….

Lara May Dunn, my fourth child, was born on the 5^th of November 2008.  The first sign that something was not right were Lara’s feet which were twisted and turned.  At 6 weeks she was back in hospital for failing to thrive.  A gamut of testing was started to try to find out what was going on…blood tests, x-rays and even an MRI.  Her head hadn’t grown – Microcephaly was diagnosed.  Nothing could be detected.  There were no answers to be found in the genetic testing.

At 5 months Lara was back in hospital.  This time the Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane for laser surgery on her floppy voice box.  Another gamut of tests and a diagnosis of severe reflux and Cerebral Palsy.  This time they put a nasal gastric tube in and all her feeds were directed through there.  By October of 2009 the NG tube had been replaced with a “button”, which is a direct line into her tummy for feeds.  She will never eat a meal with our family conventionally or “normally”.

Over the last {almost} two years, Lara has been in and out of hospital with many different complex medical issues.  She is so fragile and yet has a core of steel and is such a fighter!!  She has grown so much!

With her growth has come a need for more specialised equipment.  One of which is a Leckey Hi Low chair.  A specialised seating system that can be adjusted to fit Lara perfectly.  It’s on a wheel base which means she can be more a part of our family.  She is able to be moved to where we are.  She is not limited to where we can take her in and around our house.  She can be exactly where the action is at any given time!

We are trying to fundraise the money to purchase one of these wonderful chairs – how much money??  They are upwards of $6000.  We are trying to get funding for some of it but I am working with other stampers and dear friends to find ways to get the rest.

I don’t want to limit where Lara is able to go in our house. She will never walk or run or play with her siblings in any conventional way and yet she can still be present as they do those things.

Your help in our efforts is very much appreciated.

Here is how you can help Lara……

Every little bit of helps and together we can make a big difference! You can sign up for the tutorials or just make a donation over on Madonna’s BLOG HERE

Thanks peeps!

hey there peeps,

Well like I mentioned last week, with Teneale stepping down from the DT, and other changes,(which I can’t share just yet) we have ourselves a Design Team Call for the Inkspirations Challenges!

So if you think you have what it takes to be a DT star, please send me via email: rmbyl@optusnet.com.au

1. A short bio of yourself

2. Images of two pieces of your work which you think is your highest standard.

The call will close on Monday 4th October at 4pm (est)

I so look forward to viewing your entries!

Good luck!

Hey Peeps,

Boy oh boy, i feel like my life is whizzing by without me present at the moment! I flew in at 4am on Tuesday morning from Perth, and then at 6am Wednesday morning (26 hours later) drove 7 school kids to Chillagoe for their year 5 school camp, which i have just come back from! It was so great to be in Perth to see family and friends, and then to also spend time with my daughter Tiarne and her teacher and school friends on camp.

So whilst I wish this was a new post telling you all about what has been going on in details along with deets of the Stamp-a-thon, and this week challenges……I am beyond exhausted right now!

Can I please ask for a wee bit of patience, and promise I will be back here tomorrow with the challenge winner, the new challenge and a update on all that has transpired in the past 2 weeks?!

Right now I am looking forward to life getting back to normal progression, oh and maybe getting to stamp again some day??!! Off to catch up on some well needed sleep!

See ya soon peeps,

Love to all……