Girl's Camp 2 & stuff

Thought I'd show off a few more Girl's Camp photos. I know you saw this one yesterday but isn't she the cutest? My sweet 14 year old, soon to be in High School, Emma!

These are the Chickies I got to hang out with all week. That's Cynthia on the left, Laureen top right {studying for a test} and Kristin working on a braided bracelet. These were great women to work with  great examples to me.

Hi, Auburn!! You are an outstanding Young Woman. Love your bright, sparkly attitude!! And hey, Courtney. You are a wonderful leader!!!

The HOTTEST night of the week. About 100 degrees with 100% humidity. It was miserable!! But you know what? These girls hung in there. 

Em being her silly self and Taylor with her mischievous little grin. I am proud of both of these girls.

Here's a photo I took from the top of the hill looking down at our "kitchen" area. That's our site nearest to the lake. It was quite a walk to our actual campground.

Miss Tess and Em. Two good friends.

And there ya' go. Our Girl's Camp 2011. I must admit my attitude was less than stellar throughout camp but looking at these photos brings back some great memories and wonderful lessons learned.

One more thing...I am currently taking Soul Restoration 2 with the fabulous Melody Ross. Here's a peak at what I'm working on....

She gave us dozens of questions to answer about ourselves to help us pinpoint what it is we truly want out of life. Love it!!

What amazing, fabulous, creative thing are you doing right now??

Picture Palooza!

What a wonderful Spring Break we are having! So grateful for this 4 day weekend. It was soooo needed!!:) Here is a glimpse of our weekend...

You are NEVER too old to color Easter eggs!! My sweet family on Saturday night creating the most beautiful eggs....

Aren't these awesome?

Here's just one of the reasons I love my son...he is 16 and still has a blast searching for eggs:)

He found a few...

Ever since Jacks was little Easter has been his favorite time of year. What I'm most proud about is that even though he has so much fun coloring and hiding and finding eggs...he knows the real reason why Easter is so special to us...Jesus Christ.

Sunday afternoon with Grams. It was such a lovely day! The nicest weather we have had in weeks.

This is me and Em on our way to Church Easter morning.

I have such a gorgeous girl!!:)

Me and my teenagers coloring eggs. When I look at this photo I have so much gratitude in my heart to my Heavenly Father. He truly has blessed my life with two of the best children a Mom could have. They are kind, respectful, loving, thoughtful, smart with a just the right amount of sassy!

This morning I decided to sleep in a bit. It's always such a treat to do that. My husband and daughter had other plans, however...they woke up at 4:15 to go turkey hunting. My Dave is one serious hunter!!

At approx. 8:27 this morning Em burst through our front door, yelling "MOM, COME OUTSIDE!!!"
I already knew what that meant...so I grabbed my camera and look what I found....

My girl shot her first turkey on our 100 year old family farm!! Daddy is sooooo proud!

Of course we had to get Jackson out here...he shot his first in the exact same spot when he was 8!

Weighing Mr. Tom...

22 pounds!! Way to go, Em!!!!!!!!

Now my husband believes when our kids shoot their first anything it must be preserved...so off they go...to Mound City for the Taxidermist....

Quite the Daddy/Daughter Adventure....:)

Well, I need to go...we have made quite the mess this weekend...I am off to spend the day catching up on laundry and blessing our home with clean floors and general sprucing up.


What kinds of things did YOU do this weekend?

New Beginnings

Begin somewhere: you cannot build a reputation on what you intend to do."  -Liz Smith


I adore fall.


I mean I love it, love it


love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Everything about it.


Cooler days and even colder nights.


Warm, cozy, snuggly.

Hot soups and fresh from the oven bread.

Yum!

"Autumn.. the year's last, loveliest smile. "
--William C. Bryant

For as long as I can remember the first of September has been a "new year" of sorts for me. Resolutions from January are long gone as well as those lazy, summer days. 

It's during this time of year I find myself more determined than ever to learn and grow and become the person I know I can be.

You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. -Mike Murdock

Last week we wrapped up the 31 Days Creativity Challenge. I don't know about you...but that really had a positive impact on me and how I spend my time. That quote above is so true. Change just one thing you do everyday and you will change your life. Love that!

By being creative everyday {even if it was just thinking about writing ideas or thumbing through a magazine} I find myself ready to try new things. For instance, every year at our local tech school there is an oil painting class. I had never even thought about taking that class...

until now.

I am ready to sign up and learn how to paint. 

An entire landscape...

on a canvas...

with oils. 

Pretty cool.

I am also ready to take another on-line course. What makes this one extra cool is who is teaching it...

My new friend Jodi. I met Jodi through Flying Lessons and not only love her blog but she is one creative and spiritually inspired woman. Can't wait!

With the anticipation of the changing seasons I am ready to commit to new goals, inspirational projects and getting to know even more of you. 

I look forward to the coming season in my life.

''Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.'' - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Be sure and stop by sometime Friday for a few peeks at the Restoring Honor Rally my family and I attended last Saturday. Incredible!!

So, I would love to know...do you have any plans, goals, creative ideas for fall? Please leave a comment. I would love to hear what you're up to.

Also...I need your email address if you participated in the 31 Days Challenge!! leslieackman@yahoo.com

Vacation {Days 30 & 31}

"Creativity is a central source of meaning in our lives...most of the things that are interesting, important, and human are the results of creativity...when we are involved in it, we feel that we are living more fully than during the rest of life."  -Mihaly Csikszenthihalyi

A little over a month ago I had this idea for 31 Days. Not only did I want to share an idea with you everyday to spark your interest in writing, creating or just "being"...but I wanted to challenge myself to do those things as well.

I hope I have succeeded.

This Challenge for me has been extremely energizing and exactly what I needed to kick my creative self into high gear.

"There is no greater joy than that of feeling oneself a creator. The triumph of life is expressed by creation."  -Henri Bergson

If you finished the Challenge, participated in the Challenge, wrote down the Challenges...please send me an e-mail with your address. I have a sweet, little book I created for you!!!  E-mail me @    leslieackman@yahoo.com

Creative Challenge Days # 30 & 31: Take time over the next 2 days and list all things creative you accomplished during the Challenge. Finish up any projects you started, too. Congratulations on finishing!! Be sure and let me know if you participated in the Challenge by sending me a message with your address!! I have a surprise for you;)

Girls, I am out of here for the next 7 days. My family and I leave for Washington D.C. Tuesday morning. We are looking forward to our trip of a lifetime!!!

I will be back next week. So much creative stuff coming your way in the next few months...excited!!!!

School is IN session {Day 25}

If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time, the insane asylums would be filled with mothers.  ~Edgar W. Howe

So, yeah...today my kids are back in school.


Jacks is a Sophomore.


Em is an 8th grader.


And while a big part of me felt like I needed an asylum just a few days ago...


today, watching them get ready to leave...


my heart ached a bit...

Each one of my kids is such a special soul.


Jacks is independent. outspokem, brash, dramatic and a jokester.

Em is sweet, fiery, loud, outspoken and a bit over the top :).

I love them so much...




On to today's Challenge...less than a week to go!!!

Creative Challenge Day #25: Today, with the kids back in school I plan on working on a project I started last week. Do you have something you've put off doing for lack of time? Why not take today and put a few more touches on it or try something new!! Let me know how you're doing.

It's Monday!!!

Happy Monday!! I hope you had a great weekend and are ready to begin your "Week in the Life" project. Remember we are doing this (if you want) before the "Words of Me Project" officially begins 1 week from today!!

I woke up this morning and already missed 2 cool photo ops. Oh, well. Gotta get back in the habit of carrying my camera EVERYWHERE!! My first photo ended up being of my doggie Gizmo sticking his tongue out. Too, cute:).

Had fun reading my notes from last year on this day. Several things have changed but mostly we are doing the same types of things. Spent a few minutes jotting down the mornings events.

If you're joining along and want to share just jump right in!! I'll be posting photos later in the week.

**Remember to leave a comment to be in the drawing for a FREE scrap goodie bag to be given away 1 week from today!!!

Week in the Life

So, as I said in my earlier posts...I'm getting ready for my Words of Me Project by first taking this Monday (September 28th) through Sunday (October 4th) for the Ali Edward's inspired "Week in the Life". Here's what you need to know if you plan on following along!! And I sure hope you do.:)

1) Get your camera battery charged and ready to go.
2) Make sure there is plenty of space on your media card (you'll be taking LOTS of photos!!)
3) Have some kind of smaller notebook dedicated to this project. Last year I bought one of those cute little $1 books from Michaels. Worked perfectly!
4) Get used to carrying that notebook with you EVERYWHERE!! Oh, and the camera...let' not forget the camera!! Your camera and notebook and your new best friends.
5) The reason I chose this week last year is simple because this is always a busy one for us. My Mom's birthday is October 1st and my anniversary is the 3rd. Plus throughout the week my kids have their sports practices...so lots to document this week!
6) I took photos of everything. Houses in our neighborhood, the street I drive everyday to pick Em up from soccer, a political bumper sticker on my truck and signs in my yard (it was the election last year, remember?), food we ate, people we spent time with, lots of photos of our family, our pets, the way our house looked. You take photos of whatever matters most to you and whatever best documents your week!!
7) If you have questions post a comment here or head over to Ali's Blog...there is an article on this in her Archives section.

Truly this is a FUN and EASY way to share your family's life with future generations. Think how fun this will be for your grandkids to read!!!

Week in the Life

So good to read your comments!! Missy I have MISSED you!!!!!! I was going to call or e-mail and let you know about this project...just hadn't done that yet!! You will hear from me though...I have something in mind for YOU!:)LOL!!

Okay, so last year I took Ali Edwards "Week in the Life" idea and ran with it! I took dozens of photos throughout the week and kept my notebook handy for journaling. After the week was done I sat down with the photos and words and went to work. Boy, it sure was FUN!! I decided right then and there that a "Week in the Life" would become a permanent project in the Ackman Family scrapbooks.

Next Monday marks the 1 year anniversary of that project...so guess what I'm gonna be doing? Yep! How fun will that be to take the same week this year, chronicle our lives then compare???

Along with that I'm gonna start the "Words of Me Project" to give an example of how I'm gonna be doing this. Looking forward to next week!!

**Just wanted to say how invigorated my life feels right now. I am so happy I finally got this project underway and I'm just doing it. It seems like when I'm writing I become actively engaged in the world around me...I see the little things again. My desire to create consumes me and I am happy.:)

Speaking of Happy...please check out my daughter's blog. I am so proud of her.