Here’s the journaling:
if someone had told me
years ago
that i would end up with
two boys
i don’t know what i would
have said to them
would i have been happy?
did i want boys?
or did i want girls?
as it turns out
having boys was
the best thing i could wish for
my boys are kind
sweet
loving
generous
and they hug
with all their heart
just like their daddy
i am so thankful
/c
for my boys.
Weekly layouts is a weekly feature focusing on simple layouts with photos and journaling. It’s posted on Tuesdays.
Here’s another simple layout. Just about the photos and words. And a little bit of border punch fun.
Journaling Reads:
david, for the longest time
you weren’t into dress-up at all
you never did it at school
never asked for it at home
i figured you were just one of those
kids who didn’t care for it
i was wrong
yona sent two costumes for you
the last time amore was here
buzz lightyear and the hulk
now you wear them at least
twice a week
so i guess it wasn’t that you weren’t into it
it was just that we didn’t have the
right costumes
thanks so much auntie Yona.
Weekly layout is a series that focuses on simple layouts that highlight words and photos. It’s posted every Tuesday.
I did this to commemorate my recent cooking adventures. I like doing these layouts that are just about photos and words. I have an upcoming class on this sometime next year and decided to focus on it and see what I can do.
Journaling reads:
I can’t cook.
No I mean I really can’t cook.
I haven’t cooked a single dish in fifteen years.
But, now that we have this amazing kitchen. These beautiful, growing kids.
I think it’s time to learn.
So now we have weekly family dinners.
One recipe at a time, we’re all learning to be adventurous.
To trust Mom.
And, guess what?
As it turns out, I can cook.
Just fine.
I made this layout as part of a member lift at A Million Memories. You can see the original layout and the other design team lifts in the blog
Journaling Reads:
Dear little boy. In three days you will be four months old. The last few months have been wonderful, exhilarating, and tiring. In the last few weeks you’ve been more demanding than usual and you are really unhappy if we’re not holding you all the time. You’ve also gotten used to falling asleep when nursing and refuse to sleep any other way. This has started to take its toll on me and I am feeling more and more worn out.
When I found out that I would start working in four weeks, I decided it was time for us to work on our sleep behavior.
For the last two days, I’ve been spending every waking moment with you. I’ve been watching the clock and the signs to see when you start fussing so that I can put you down immediately. I have been leaning into the crib to give you kisses, hugs, and love. I have been rocking you. Whispering to you. I have been talking, praying, crying.
I love you so much, Nathaniel. I know that you can do this and I know that this is the right next step for both of us. For all of us. David’s been patiently watching both of us as we struggle through this and he’s been playing on his own, being quiet when asked to, and hugging you every moment you’re awake. It’s wonderful to be so loved especially as we strive to find our peace.
Even though you’re not alone for a moment, this process is really rough on me. It hurts me physically with my aching back and splitting headaches. It hurts me psychologically to have to separate this bond between us a little bit. And it hurts me emotionally to see you shed even the tiniest of tears.
But I know that this is the right next step for us. We both need sleep. When we’re rested, we both feel happier and we can bond much more deeply. I have faith in us, my boy, I know we can do this. I love you with all my heart. – August 2009
This is for A Million Memories September Kit.
Journaling Reads:
When I was a little girl,
if someone had told me
that one day I would give
birth to this stunning child
with these unbelievable
eyes that can see
deep into my soul
with this amazing smile
that can turn my
saddest days into joy
I would never have
believed it.
And yet,
Here you are.
This is for A Million Memories September Kit.
Journaling Reads:
David, one of my biggest dreams is for you to love school.
To love learning as much as I do. I know that a big part of this is going to be the school you go to. The friends you have. The way you’re taught. And the teachers.
The teachers make a huge difference.
They can embarrass you, make you feel small, and too scared to explore, wonder, and ask.
Or they can make you soar.
They can make you look forward to getting up every morning and go to class. They can be the reason you can’t wait for Mondays to come. They can be the beginning of a lifelong desire to learn.
I always hoped that you’d get to be lucky enough to find one of those teachers. The one that you will remember forever. The one that instilled joy in your heart.
Maybe, right now, you’re too young for that. But that’s ok. I think, for now, I just hope that you have teachers who welcome you with open arms. Who listen to you and care about you. Who encourage your curiosity.
And you know what? Last year, we had all of that.
All of it.
These three women were the highlight of your days. They helped you learn. They helped you grow. They made you excited about showing up to school every single day.
Here’s to another twenty years of teachers just like that.
This is for A Million Memories September Kit.
Journaling Reads:
What are you thinking,
I wonder.
Watching that toy.
What goes through your little mind?
Do you want to reach for it?
Are you curious what it is?
Are you wondering where
the boy who plays with those went?
Do you want to chew it?
I would give so much to be able to
hear your tiny, little mind.
This is for A Million Memories September Kit.
Journaling Reads:
Before you came along,
Daddy thought he didn’t care
for babies.
“They don’t really do much for me,” he said.
He likes older boys.
Ones he can wrestle with.
Or throw balls with.
Ones he can talk to.
And then you came along.
And he fell in love.
Deeply, madly in love.
He’s so very confused about
the whole thing.
He doesn’t understand how
it could have happened.
How he could love this little baby
so very much.
That’s how magical you’ve been,
little Nathaniel.
How very loved you are.
Deeply. Madly. Loved.
I am working on a new Big Picture Scrapbooking class that will be on making simple layouts that focus on the photos and journaling. This is why I started scrapping. To save my memories. I don’t want to lose sight of that. The rest is fun, too, but not if it gets in the way of preserving the memories. I think it’s crucial that I remember that.
I was reading Rebecca Cooper on write.click.scrapbook today and came across these words:
Embrace who you are as a scrapbooker…where your strengths lie, what you do best and don’t be afraid to just stick with it! Let go of some of that pressure to create this way or that and I guarantee you’ll LOVE the results!
And it struck a chord with me. This is so true. My favorite pages are often the ones where I’ve stayed true to myself. Where I’ve journaled. Where I didn’t spend time worrying about others and what they might say. It’s not that experimenting is bad, it’s just that I don’t need to be something I am not for other people. Especially since years and years from now, these people will not be in my life but my pages will and I will want to see the pages that are true to me.
So I am planning to make some changes. Do some soul searching and see what I like. Go back to the root of what attracted me to scrapping to begin with. Maybe even some experimenting for myself. Let’s see what happens…
Btw, I was thinking today that so many people are so snotty about scrapbooking but what is scrapbooking: photography, story telling (journaling), and some beautiful art supplies. Who doesn’t like those things? I don’t understand why I have to be embarrassed that I scrap. It combines all the things I love to do. So I am proud of it.
Here is the last one of my layouts with this month’s A Million Memories kit.
Journaling Reads:
Little boy, today you are three months old. I can’t believe how quickly the last three months have passed. You have already grown so much. You weigh almost double what you did at birth. You are so strong and can hold your head up without any assistance. You can do tummy time like nobody’s business and you have just recently started grabbing things. Oh, and you laugh, you laugh so much and so magically that it makes everyone around you laugh.
Everyone says how much you look like me and I suppose they are right. You certainly look more like me than your brother does. You have my coloring, my face shape, and maybe even my eyes. But the one thing you have that I never did is the best attitude in the world. You are the most smiley baby I’ve ever met. It takes two seconds for you to break into a smile when someone looks at you. You meet their eyes and you smile so wide that the other person cannot resist smiling right back.
You’re not sleeping all that well just yet but I have hope for you. You’re already a better sleeper than your brother was at six months. I am hoping that, with time, that will just fall into place. Either way, before I know it, you’ll grow up and sleep in your big boy bed like your brother so I am going to enjoy these moments while they are still here and keep it all in perspective.
Happy three months, my son. I love you with all my heart.
|
projects for twenty twenty-five
projects for twenty twenty-four
projects for twenty twenty-three
projects for twenty twenty-two
projects for twenty twenty-one
projects for twenty nineteen
projects for twenty eighteen
projects from twenty seventeen
monthly projects from previous years
some of my previous projects
|
