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YOU ARE MY HOME  I have many things I dream of when I think of my ideal home. I have a size in mind, a style in mind, and a place in mind. But then I change my mind. I loved New York. I dreamt of living in Tuscany. Over a lake. With a big yard. Several stories. Overlooking the ocean. The places, the sizes, the colors, even the locations change. But the one and only thing that doesn't change is who's there with me. Jake and David are my family. Anywhere they are is my home. They are my home. Journaling Reads: Each time I look at this photo, I smile and feel a strong sense of peace. It reminds me you two are all I need and want out of life. You are my why. My home. This also uses the amazing July Kit from A Million Memories.  WHY - AMM JULY  David's been in this "why" phase lately. Everything is why? where? how? What's inside? Where's the truck going? What does that mean? How? Why? I love all this curiosity even when it drives me a bit crazy. MAD - AMM JULY  This is another one of David's faces. I love them so much. I love him so much. I HEAR A SOUND  This one is about how David always makes this face when he hears a sound. PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 181  DAILY DAVID - DAY 181  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 180  DAILY DAVID - DAY 180  CHLOE'S GIVEAWAY My good friend, Michelle, who owns AMM has the most beautiful daughter I've seen. This strong, little girl and her family have had a long and tough year. Here are some more details in Michelle's own words: As you probably already know, my daughter was diagnosed with Leukemia (ALL) last November at the age of 4. She and my family have been through a really rough last 7 months. She has been in the hospital numerous times, she has been really sick, angry, on all kinds of nasty drugs that have increased her apetite, had her physically acting out, had her in bed for weeks, left her with no emotion but sadness and a sense of joylessness. She was taken out of preschool and because of her illness we were unable to put our 3 year old son in preschool. The doctors worried that the kids would get sick in school and Chloe would end up in the hospital again. However, today, she went for her weekly doctor's visit and her blood count was at a safe level and she was given the go ahead to begin the next phase of her treatment, which is called "Maintenance." In maintenance, her blood count levels stay significantly higher than they are when she was undergoing the intense treatment that she has been receiving in the first 7 months of her treatment. She will be able to begin Kindergarten and Daniel will be able to start Pre-school. We are really excited! Chloe will have a bone marrow test on Monday and then she will officially begin her first "course" of Maintenance, which will go on for the next 2 years. In celebration of Chloe's milestone, I wanted to give-away some goodies for you. Here's the catch ~ Please post here a photo that brings you joy when you look at it. I will pick a random winner on Monday, June 30th. Here is a photo that I love of Chloe that I took at Easter: 
And here's the prize: 
click here to participate. I cannot tell you how happy this news makes me. I love you Michelle and I am so happy. PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 179  DAILY DAVID - DAY 179  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 178  DAILY DAVID - DAY 178  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 177  DAILY DAVID - DAY 177  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 176  DAILY DAVID - DAY 176  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 175  DAILY DAVID - DAY 175  INCOMPLETE  Here's all the journaling: you will never be pretty enough you will never be skinny enough the conversations in your head are too loud the little girl inside is broken don't try to fix her it's pointless give up that it matters you have family now pretty is just skin eyes, nose, who cares if you're not the prettiest of them all. you seek acceptance from the wrong people you don't hear the nice just the critical you will not get it choose to seek from those who already do there is no formula do what works for you accept yourself give up that you're not worthy believe those who say you are not the others. you will never feel successful because as soon as it comes you dismiss it you move on to the next challenge always a bigger one harder one never satisfied or content never even savor the moment so give up that success matters what matters is the challenge be happy just do it there is no trick give yourself permission to wallow and then move on life's too short just give this one up be happy let it happen let joy in you are loved by people let them believe them it does not matter if everyone doesn't love you give up that you need it all you need is one it all starts with you karen believe in yourself trust yourself forgive yourself give yourself love and kindness believe in your incomplete self. Thank you to Creative Imaginations and A Million Memories for the beautiful paper.         SAN DIEGO 03-06                      YOU'RE GONNA MISS THIS  You can download the instructions for this mini by going to this link. Thank you to Creative Imaginations and A Million Memories for the beautiful paper.          TINY MEMORIES THAT MAKE ME SMILE  Yes I went a little crazy with the stickles. :) Thank you to Creative Imaginations and A Million Memories for the beautiful paper.             CATALYST 15 - JOSHUA TREE  I decided to write about a car trip my husband and I took to Joshua Tree National Park. It was our first time at the park and we were awed by its uniqueness. We walked around and then sat down at a bench and talked for hours until it got dark. On the way home, we put the windows down, put on some music and sang at the top of our lungs. It was just another ordinary day, but knowing that I can still spend a whole day talking with my husband after having been together nine years (at the time) and just having returned from a 3-month cross-country trip where it was just the two of us, made me feel so happy. He has always been and will always be my best friend. If I ever doubt that, all I have to do is remember the day we spent at Joshua Tree. Thank you to Tattered Angels and A Million Memories for the beautiful Glimmer Mist.     OPAPA, AMORE AND YOU  Thank you to Cosmo Cricket and A Million Memories for the beautiful papers.             PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 174  DAILY DAVID - DAY 174  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 173  DAILY DAVID - DAY 173  
PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 172  DAILY DAVID - DAY 172  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 171  DAILY DAVID - DAY 171  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 170  DAILY DAVID - DAY 170  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 169  DAILY DAVID - DAY 169  CATALYST 14 - INTEGRITY  Little boy, there are so many lessons I wish I could teach you. I wish I could teach you to enjoy each and every moment of life. I wish I could teach you to treat everyone with love and respect. I wish I could teach you to always be curious. To laugh often. To have a lot of courage. To give and ask for help. The list goes on and on. But if I get to pick one single lesson to share with you, it will be to always have integrity. Always do what you say you will. When you say you will. Keep your word. If you respect yourself and others, people will respect you and trust you on your word. That’s the most valuable thing you have in the world, David. Your word. There are times in your life you feel like cutting corners or doing things you might not later be proud of and I urge you to take the extra few seconds to think things through, my son. Be honest. Many things can be mended but a loss of respect is incredibly hard to recover. Your word is how others see you. Your word is who you are. Live your life with integrity and character, my son. It is the very best advice I can ever give you. PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 168  DAILY DAVID - DAY 168    PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 167  DAILY DAVID - DAY 167  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 166  DAILY DAVID - DAY 166  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 165  DAILY DAVID - DAY 165  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 164  DAILY DAVID - DAY 164  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 163  DAILY DAVID - DAY 163  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 162  DAILY DAVID - DAY 162  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 161       DAILY DAVID - DAY 161  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 160  CATALYST 13 - THANK YOU  There are many people who have helped me in my life. Many people who deserve thanks for so many things. But what my son has already done for my life will forever be the one thing I am eternally grateful for. Before David was born, I had always been a sad person inside. Not that I didn’t have happy moments but overall, my normal state of being was on the sad side. I remember that when I was pregnant, I was really worried that my son would have a sad mom and blame himself. I was worried I would have really bad post-partum. I was worried about a lot of things. I wanted to “fix myself” before he came. I made up this big sign that read “Give up that there’s something wrong.” and I put it above my bedroom door so I saw it every morning and night. I was going to learn to be happy, no matter what it took. It turned out that I really didn’t have anything to worry about. I cannot explain why or how but the minute David was born, something fundamental shifted inside me. Not only did I not have an inkling of post-partum, but David made me a happy person. Since his birth, I have felt a deep peace inside that I had never experienced previously. He has literally changed who I am. No matter what the coming years bring, I will forever be thankful to my boy for giving me this priceless gift. Journaling Reads: David the list of things for which I am thankful to you goes on and on. You have brought so much joy into my life and you have taught me that life is full of fun and happiness. The way your life is all about the little moments and making tons of tiny memories is what I cherish the most. You have taught me how to live and how to love you. --- I've used Glimmer Mist that I was lucky to get as part of being on A Million Memories DT. You can't really see but the hearts glimmer. DAILY DAVID - DAY 160  DAILY ATCS - WEEK 24  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 159  DAILY DAVID - DAY 159  DAILY ATCS - WEEKL 23  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 158  DAILY DAVID - DAY 158  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 157  DAILY DAVID - DAY 157  DAILY ATCS - WEEK 22  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 156  DAILY DAVID - DAY 156   PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 155  DAILY DAVID - DAY 155  Soon, my little boy, soon. PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 154  DAILY DAVID - DAY 154  Little David's learned to be very resourceful. He is very curious and interested in discovering everything. Having something out of his reach isn't much of an obstacle for him. He's found a way to "be tall." He takes his little chair and stands on top of it and voila! Too clever for all of us. CATALYST 12 - HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD  For this week's catalyst, I wanted to do something different. I feel very strongly that every one of us can change the world by doing seemingly small things. We all have the power and the ability to make this world a better place. So I made a little minibook with my ideas on how you can change the world: Here are the sections: 1. Help others: Imagine if everyone spent a few more hours a week volunteering? We could make such a huge impact on the world. Or maybe something tiny. Help hold the door for the person coming behind you. Do a tiny kind gesture, you can never be sure what effect that has on the rest of the world. 2. Be kind: Be kind and loving to people. Always assume the best of others. I think if everyone did that, the world would be a different place. 3. Have a child: Children are our future. They represent the world of possibilities, they are going to create the tomorrow we live. They will definitely change the world. 4. School and Family First: I believe that everything starts with family and education. Those are the two pillars of any human and if you get those right, your impact on the world will be that much stronger. 5. Change yourself: It all starts with you. Don't wait for others to change. Start with the man in the mirror. I think the world is changed by seemingly tiny things all the time. If we do any of these five, I think we are moving the world in a more positive direction. I used tattered angels products I got for being on AMM DT                 NOTE TO SELF  I used the USPS box to make a minibook. You can find the link to download instructions for this mini here.          HAPPINESS IS YOU TOGETHER  Journaling is about how much I miss my sister and how happy this photo makes me. WATCHING YOU LAUGH  Journaling Reads: My wonderful boy, Today we took one of our walks. You were in a funny mood and kept putting your hands on your ears and singing. I had no idea why you were doing that and kept getting frustrated cause I wanted to talk to you. But then I stopped for a moment and watched you have fun. Watched you laugh with all your heart and it made my day. I realized that sometimes our walks don't go the way I want but that's okay cause they are not my walks, they are our walks. And honestly the best part of any day is watching you laugh and seeing you smile. How can I ask for anything more? April 08 PLEASE  Journaling is about how this is David's "Please Mommy" face. So very cute and irresistible. MOMENTS OF JOY  Journaling is about how David has hundreds of faces and they all bring me so much joy. CATALYST 11 - THE LOVE OF WORDS  Here's the journaling: You gave me the love of words. My first memory ever is of you sitting on our parents’ bed and reading the newspaper. I was so envious, I asked you to teach me to read, too. And you did. One letter at a time. Yona, you may not know this, but you gave me the biggest present anyone ever gave me. You gave me the love of words. Over the years, through sad, boring, and even happy times, I always had books. It didn’t matter where I was, with whom I was, or what I did. As long as I had a book or two, life was swell. Those few hours we spent together opened up an entire world for me. It became my best escape. My way of falling into other people’s lives. My way of living, loving, learning. My favorite thing in the whole world. I went through a tough childhood and didn’t have a lot of good friends. But I always had books. I lived vicariously through so many of them. I still remember how you drove me to bookstores far away just so I could pick my favorite books. I remember how much you supported my love of the written word. From that first memory and onward. Over the years, many things about me changed. But not my love of reading. I still read two books a week, most weeks. I still crave the words, the stories, the lives that I get to experience. I still carry a book with me everywhere I go. It’s still my very favorite way to relax, escape, and to feel happy. I want you to know, Yona, that I owe it all to you. To that moment when you didn’t tell me to leave you alone. That moment when you let me lie there, next to you, on Mom and Dad’s bed, and showed me how to read each letter. You gave me the love of words, my sister. The best present I’ve ever received in my whole life. PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 153  DAILY DAVID - DAY 153  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 152  DAILY DAVID - DAY 152  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 151  DAILY DAVID - DAY 151  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 150  DAILY DAVID - DAY 150  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 149  DAILY DAVID - DAY 149  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 148  DAILY DAVID - DAY 148  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 147  DAILY DAVID - DAY 147  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 146  DAILY DAVID - DAY 146   PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 145  DAILY DAVID - DAY 145  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 144  DAILY DAVID - DAY 144  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 143  DAILY DAVID - DAY 143  PHOTO OF THE DAY - DAY 142  Daily David - Day 142  |
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