{Thirty Days of Thanks~Day 16}

My sister Shannon sent me this beautiful video on Facebook the other day---I think every parent.  should watch it. It's a bit long, I'll admit, but it is really lovely. I have already posted about my Project Life scrapbook that has really helped me focus my perspective in 2011. This video is about that very thing---about not just remembering the "big moments"---those seem to stick in our minds. The things we miss when our children are gone aren't the birthdays or holidays---we likely still celebrate those with our children---for now at least. What we miss are the ordinary days---snuggling with your kids first thing in the morning, laughing hysterically at the dinner table, watching the favorite movie for the 22nd time----THIS MONTH, cleaning up the skinned knee for the 3rd day this week, sitting at the table doing homework---AGAIN.....the ordinary days.
I have not read this book by Katrina Kenison, but this video is from her blog--and about her book. She is reading a portion of her book to some friends---I loved it---it's a beautiful reminder of how I want to live my life. I wish I had been more deliberate about this with my girls---ugh. You have to just let some stuff go---my girls aren't GONE though---and I can still cherish every bit of time with them. I can still have many "ordinary moments" to share with them and treasure the ones I shared with them in my home. I hope you'll take the time to watch the video--even if it takes you a few days to get back to it. It's worth it. Today, I'm thankful for an ordinary day---Joshua and I played football for about 40 minutes before it got too dark, we had a simple spaghetti meal, studied for a test, hung out, read and went to bed. An ordinary day--for this, I am thankful!

{Thirty Days of Thanks~Day 8}

Today's post may seem a bit silly to some of you, but I believe it was what God used to pull me out of the darker places I was in early in the year. Christmas had been especially hard for me and it wasn't long afterward that I saw this blog post by Becky Higgins. It was instructions on how to use her Project Life scrapbooking system. This is a system that ends the idea of the 12 hour scrapbook page---instead you get everything in a box to complete a scrapbook for an entire year except your pictures and words. WHAT? AND you don't just capture the "big events" in life---birthdays, holidays, graduations, etc. You document YOUR LIFE----you take a picture a day and document it. So, I purchased the entire kit for $54 (I think) and I began. For that money I received a binder, page protectors, journaling cards, a stamp for the day, month & year, truly everything I needed to get started except for pictures. I have actually kept up with this during the year and it really has been an amazing blessing. Many of the photos are just from my phone---a dated blackberry, but I let go of that perfectionism and realized that sometimes a memory is worth capturing even if the picture is bad!

With all of the sadness going on in my life this year, as I mentioned before, I began to change my perspective on my life and look for God's beauty in everyday. In a way, this system forced me to look at all the blessings in my life---the little ones and the big---and capture them for this book. I have been so encouraged as I've looked back through the pages and been able to smile at how great my life is ~even in 2011~

Below are just a few pictures of some of my pages--I really don't have a way to photograph them well to do them justice, but I think you'll be able to "get the picture". Becky has revamped her kits this year. I have a bunch of stuff already in my cart on Amazon----soon I'll hit the "Checkout" button and I'll be starting another year of remembering God's blessings in a tangible way. If you are a scrapbooker who feels like you can never get it done, why don't you check this out? It has changed my crafty life! Many great scrapbookers use this system now. For me, it was what it took to take my eyes off of myself and put them on the blessings from the Lord's hand. For this reason alone, it was worth every penny.

I have added pages in for special events---this is Joshua's class Valentine's Party this year.

I took just a FEW pictures of Eve's birth----I have enjoyed adding in extra pages as the event warrants. I ended up buying another binder and have almost filled it. So, for 2012, I'm going to purchase 2 binders from the beginning.

Here's an example of a more "everyday" page---not such a momentous occasion---even though it was my first ceiling to scrape!

One week in the summer---

random pictures from a week in April

another page with 5x7 inserts added~

That's it! Again, I'm sure some of you are thinking, "a scrapbook changed your life"---and I can truly say---YES---GOD used this crafty project to change my perspective on my life and for this I'm SO grateful~

{Baby Things}

Have I mentioned that my baby is pregnant? I can't believe my CHILD will have a baby in just 6 weeks.

He friends had a shower for her last Saturday---it was so sweet.

Here are a few pics from the day~

My sister, Shannon was in town and got to come to the shower---it was really cool, because it wasn't her plan to come to the shower---she was in town for business and it just happened to be this weekend!

CUPCAKES!!! and other yummies~

Sweet Decorations~

Alison made Martha Stewart pom poms for the affair---so cute!

Sweet friends~

Sweet gifts---

My sister, Caitlin, me and my mama~

Here's the card I made for her....her nursery is these colors---mostly.

The details of the card are below~

CRaZy----two posts in two days!!! Project Life post coming up soon, I hope! Oh, click on that link---Becky Higgins is giving away TWO Project Life Scrapbook kits---I am LOVING mine---go try to win one!

Cute as a button card: 
~all products Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Baby Button Bits
Paper: Aqua Mist, Sweet Blush, Going Gray (Stampin' Up!), Vintage book
Ink: Versamark, Tuxedo Black Memento (Tsukineko), Smokey Shadow
Tools: Cuttlebug (Provocraft), Labels Two (Spellbinders), Double Ended Banners
Accessories: Sweet Blush grosgrain ribbon, Sweet Blush Vintage button, DMC thread

{Project Life}

PROJECT LIFE!!!! I'm DOING it! I have been "crafty" *smile* most of my life---and "paper crafty" for a long time, but my scrapbooking began to overwhelm me about the time that Joshua was born. I was chasing two other kids to away games and lessons and doing homework and cooking meals and then working and still doing all of the above. NOW, I know that many women do all that I have done and STILL have beautiful, beautiful scrapbook pages---and entire books for each child, but I'm not one of them. I have been so sad that I haven't recorded the memories of my children's lives because, honestly, now I have forgotten much of the "story" of our lives. SO, when I began to see Project Life 2011 advertised and talked about on some of my favorite blogs---namely, Ali Edwards, on that post and this one, and Michelle Wooderson, on that post and this one, I decided THIS was the year. (I bought it for myself for Christmas!-shhhhhh!) I don't usually do that--OK, I never do, but I did it this year. This is a gift that I will treasure for many years to come and it was only $53!!!

It has EVERYTHING I need for this scrapbook except the pictures and my words. It's in a three ring binder, so I can also add other pages to it and I will certainly do that. I HAVE A GRANDBABY COMING IN THE NEXT TWO MONTHS!!!! eeeek!! I'm really excited about the joy of that sweet baby and watching Caitlin and Carson parent her!

SOOOOO---I'm sure I'll occasionally share a page or two with you. If you're interested in this sort of "get it done" scrapbooking, go check out Becky Higgins' Blog and Product page. She has a video that tells you all about Project Life and it SOLD me! There's also a free forum and gallery to get ideas on Big Picture Classes.

You know I'm not one to put pictures of myself on my blog, but Becky asked me to (and yes, we're on a first name basis now)----so HERE IT IS!!! I'm excited to record my family's story in 2011! It will be a great year, I'm sure!

I've chosen "my word" for the year, but I haven't shared it yet. I'm not sure why? Perhaps I need a new one---waiting until it's right to share! I hope you enjoy your weekend---what's left of it~