karenika

December Daily – Day 9

I knew today would be magical because I knew it was the day of our Polar Express trip. But even I couldn’t imagine how wonderful it turned out to be. On the cover, I put the actual tickets and some lettering.

Here’s a closeup

For the back, I put a photo I took up there and added some accents. Simple.

Then I added two 5×7 pages with photos on both sides. I love this photo of Jake and David and I wrote some of my thoughts from the day on it.

The journaling reads:
Today we got to ride the Polar Express train to North Pole. Today we drove all the way to Sacramento just to get on the train. Both of you wore Christmas PJs. We ate lunch at a little cafe and David gave Daddy lots of hugs and Nathaniel made cute faces.

Today, a magician made David laugh. Nathaniel ran around the train station screaming with joy. We waited in line for the Katy car and got on and looked out the window with wonder and joy. We listened to Christmas music and heard the story of Polar Express.

Today the conductor signed our copy of the book. They gave us cookies and hot chocolate. We waved at Santa and his elves. We got our fist Christmas present from Santa. We waved our jingle bells and listened to their chime.

Today we laughed and laughed and laughed. We hugged. We shed tears of joy. We hugged some more. Today we were deeply grateful for our life. For being together. For the magic of Christmas. And the magic of little kids and their joy.

Today we made a collection of new memories. They will live etched in our hearts for a long time.

Today was a most magical day.

On the back, I put this photo of both kids laughing. I love these joyful blurry shots.

The second 5×7 has a photo of Nathaniel looking at the bell.

and on the back, I collaged a few more photos from the day.

and here’s the little boy very excited and curious when I take photos of these pages:

And that’s day nine.

Weekly Gratitude – Hillside Club

Journaling Reads:
In the south of Turkey, just at the edge of where the Aegean and the Mediterranean meet, lies this beautiful club.

Before we had our boys, we made a family tradition of meeting my parents and sister there yearly. Some of my fondest memories of going home are from these trips. The delicious food, fantastic weather and incredible water.

I remember feeling at peace and fully relaxed while I was there. To me, that’s the quintessential holiday. One where you’re truly leaving your worries behind and enjoying the very moment.

Since we’ve had our kids, we haven’t been back there and now my family has another vacation home so we might not get a chance to go back. But I will still remember this place and my time there with gratitude and joy. Those early mornings, thanks to jetlag, I got to see the sun come out from behind the water and all the chairs empty, sitting there, basking in the peace of nature untouched. Just looking at the photo makes me feel that peace all over again.

Daily Diary – December 9 2010

Fair warning: this post has a LOT of photos. Feel free to skip 🙂

On October 1, I had bought tickets for the four of us to go on the Polar Express train ride in Sacramento. We’ve never done this before and I’ve wanted to for a few years so this year, I put a reminder on my calendar months before and got tickets as soon as they went up for sale. Even then, there were no weekend spots left so David had to cut school and we both had to take days off work to be able to go.

Sacramento is about a 2-hour drive from our house. So after Nathaniel woke up from his nap, both the kids got into their Christmas PJs we’d bought just for this occasion and we all got in the car. Thanks to Jake’s awesome driving, the trip was much faster and painless. As soon as we got there, the first thing I did was to ask Jake to take a photo. The kids, however, didn’t care to play along. This was the best shot we got.

David was so excited and happy to be there.

We had an hour extra before Will Call opened up so we took the time to eat some lunch. David was feeling very emotional and kept hugging his dad again and again. Telling him how much he loved him.

Nathaniel was just being cute. Sooooo cute.

After lunch, I went to pick up the tickets while Jake parked. We tried to get a photo of the kids together, but as always, Nathaniel wasn’t having any of it.

We then had to wait in line for them to open up the train. David was being quiet and watching everyone.

Nathaniel, on the other hand, was playing with the line separators and being all excited and squirmy. But sweet, of course.

As soon as we got on the train, we asked one of the volunteers to take a photo. It’s not all that great but we’re all in it and that’s all I care about.

The kids were very excited and looked out the window as the train moved to the North Pole. They gave us hot chocolate and cookies and they read the Polar express book out loud and the conductor even signed our book. They also played Christmas songs and songs from the movie.

We finally arrived at the North Pole and elves and Santa were there to wave to us. (Just in case you notice Nathaniel’s clothing change in the next photo, we took his fleece pajamas off cause he was really sweaty. We just happened to have a cotton Christmas pajama set, too, so we put that on. Thank you mom and dad for getting these great PJs for the kids!)

The kids were overjoyed and kept looking out the window to watch him.

After a few moments he disappeared. Just as we all wondered where he went, he showed up on the train. Nathaniel couldn’t take his eyes off of him.

And Santa gave all of us the first present of Christmas. The jingle bell. Just like in the book. Jake and I were both quite choked up by now. Seeing our kids so happy and excited was so wonderful for both of us.

Nathaniel watched the elves waving as the train rolled back out of North Pole.

I tried to capture the joy of the boys but there was too little light and too much movement. Sometimes those are the best photos.

When we pulled back into the station, everyone clapped with gratitude and Nathaniel joined in with vigor.

We then got back in the car and the amazing Jake drove us back home. Nathaniel fell asleep in the car but the rest of us listened to music and just felt grateful for such a full and amazing day.

Now I am really tired and will crawl into my bed with my book. A lot more to come tomorrow. I hope your day was full of bliss and family, as well.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for so much today. For this magical day. For wonderful family time. For seeing my kids so happy. My husband so emotional. I am such a lucky person.
2. I am grateful that my parents arrived home safe and sound. It was a harrowing trip with a 10-hour layover in Germany due to a storm. But they did make it home and I am deeply grateful.
3. I am grateful that we’re safe. We saw four traffic accidents today. Pretty bad ones and while I was sitting in traffic, I reminded myself that it’s much better to be in traffic than to be the cause of the traffic. I was just glad to be safe and with my family. Sometimes we lose perspective and I am trying to work on that.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. going on the polar express train {* his pick for the journal}
2. getting a present from santa
3. getting to have chocolate milk, hot chocolate and a cookie!!

December Daily – Day 8

For the front, I just wrote a little title and left it at that. I liked the way it looked.

For the back, I wrote about the two rings I bought at the beginning of the season. I love love love these rings. I bought them right here in case anyone else wants some.

The journaling reads:
My favorite purchases this holiday season are these stacking rings. Jake & Karen and David & Nathaniel. I originally sized them to fit my right hand’s thumb and index finger but for now I’m wearing them both on my left index finger. I look at them several times a day and touch the letters often. I love my family more than anything else in the world and these little rings allow me to carry them with me at all times.

And that’s day eight.

A Book a Week – The Pillars of the Earth

A few months ago, I was in my friend Kathy’s house and my other friend Nicholas told me to read The Pillars of the Earth, giving me a copy of her book. It was huge and in tiny tiny text. I mean 979-pages long.

So I took the book but then put off reading it for weeks, actually possibly for months. On another book club meeting, they asked me if I’d read it already (they wanted to have all of us sit and watch the miniseries) I told them it was soooo long. And that I would likely only read it if it were chosen for book club.

And so it was.

And, of course, being a good student, I began to read it that night. And for the next week, I basically was out of commission. I read and read and read. I kept thinking, this book is so long, I might never finish.

But of course I did finish. And when I did, all I could think of was: I’m so sad it’s finished.

It was an awesome tale told beautifully. My only complaint was that at times the author kept summarizing what happened as if I hadn’t been reading all along. Which was odd. But other than those little passages, I loved this book. It was full of interesting characters. The story moved at an excellent pace and you were so caught up in it, it was impossible not to wonder what came next. Each character was interesting and worthy in his/her own right.

Well, well worth the read.

My Free BPC Class – Embrace Imperfection

I have a new class with Big Picture Classes.

It starts on February 10 but you can sign up right now

Have I mentioned it’s FREE?

Yep. Costs nothing.

I’ve been so lucky and so grateful that I wanted to thank everyone who’s supported me for so long. I don’t want to oversell it. It’s a two week workshop talking about all the areas of scrapbooking where we seek perfection and how that gets in the way of preserving our memories. There’s a long downloadable PDF, a slide show, and a small project that you can keep as a reminder to embrace imperfection.

I am keeping mine on my desk because I need to be reminded of it myself frequently. Especially when I feel stressed about getting something done.

It’s a two week workshop with message boards and galleries and even a chat. I hope you’ll join me so we can all remind each other that scrapbooking is about preserving our memories above all else.

I hope to see you in class!

Daily Diary – December 8 2010

Nathaniel’s really into these big legos lately. Plays with them for a long time. He’s also into zippers and opening them on his pajamas.

After dropping off David, we went to my parents’ hotel this morning to sit with them before they left. Nathaniel found the TV remote and demanded that we turn it on immediately. I tried to take the opportunity to snap a photo of him with my mom. But I wasn’t so successful.

I did a little better with my dad.

Lest you think I forgot about David. Here’s one while he’s eating. It’s been hard taking photos of him because he comes from school when it’s almost dark. He’s going on vacation in one week so things will get much easier then.

My parents left this morning. I came back home put Nathaniel down, exercised and worked. I’m sad to see them go. It’s been really wonderful having them around and the kids were so happy too. We will all miss them dearly.

We attempted to go to Vasona Park tonight but it’s been pouring and traffic is horrible so we turned around and decided to do it another night. Tomorrow we plan to go to the Polar Express train. It means 4+ hours of driving but I am hoping the kids will like it. I am also working hard to go through my todo list so I can relax and enjoy my daytime with the kids and Jake. I love the holiday season so much and even the rain can’t put a damper on my mood.

Here’s to hoping you’re doing great too!! 🙂

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I took two days off work so I have a 4-day weekend.
2. I am grateful that we got to spend so many wonderful moments with my parents. I hope we see them soon again.
3. I am grateful that I get to spend the whole day with my family on a wonderful adventure tomorrow. I hope I can document it and be in the moment as well.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. (almost) going out tonight {* his pick for the journal}
2. getting a new sticker book
3. singing in music class

December Daily – Day 7

I originally had journaling spots on this overlay but I didn’t like them so I took them off and added some Making Memories letters.

Another look.

For my stories, I added the one photo I got with my dad and Nathaniel (my ink is starting to run out I think which might explain the off coloring on this.)

The journaling reads:

Since we took some great photos with David, I really wanted to have some photos of you with my parents, too.

But it wasn’t meant to be.

Or more like, you just refused to stay in one place for more than a second. Of the forty photos I took, this is the only one where you don’t look like a blur.

At first I was bummed that the phone is covering half your face but then I reminded myself that this is life. This is how it is.

Not perfect.

You’ve been obsessed with opapa’s cell phone for the last few days so it’s perfect that it’s in the photo with you. When we look back, we will remember how much you enjoyed playing with his phone and we will laugh all over again.

Life is so much more wonderful than perfect photos. Thank you for teaching me that once again, my son.

I love you.

And then on the back, I put this photo of David’s gratitude journal:

Journaling reads:
David’s been writing one thing he’s grateful for everyday for the last few weeks. Seeing these fills me with joy and gratitude. I am so thankful for you, my son.

And that’s day seven.

December Daily – Day 6

The last few days I’ve been unmotivated to work on this project and, of course, once I start falling behind, it gets worse with all the stress and pressure so I decided to just work with what I had and move on. For day 6, I put the only photo I had lying on my desk and added some sequins.

Another look.

And on the back I journaled about how even during the season some days are on and other days are off. Life. But I am still very grateful for my very ordinary days.

All about trying to keep it simple and one particular day is not important in this project. It’s the whole project that matters.

And that’s day six.

Catalyst 125 – Love

Catalyst One Hundred and Twenty-Five is: Write a love letter.

Thoughts:
My love letter went to my husband for father’s day. It was long and deep and I worked hard to express the depth of my love and gratitude for him. I love and adore my husband and the life we’ve created together. I consider myself very very lucky. And I wanted him to know this. I made this little card and put my letter inside the card. On the back, I stamped “love.”

Weekly Gratitude – No Place like Home

There are many places that inspire me. Beaches, mountains and redwood trees. Places with childhood memories. Places with college memories. Places I haven’t been to yet. Places where people I love live.

I am grateful for all of them. Thinking about them brings a smile to my lips and fills my heart with joy. But, for me, none of these places can surpass the place that I love most of all:

Home.

I am a homebody. I love being in my warm, cozy house. There are things that drive me insane like the crumbs my little one leaves in his trail. The tiny legos strewn all over the living room. The scrap table that never seems to stay neat. The dishes that pile up. The books that are constantly teetering on the edge of falling. The mountains of mail. And more.

Yet, despite all that, I love being at home. Sitting in my corner, snuggling under the blankets with my cup of coffee and my children. For the last few days, my parents have been visiting and we all sat on the very long couch in our living room. Mom reading the Turkish newspaper, dad dozing off or playing with Nathaniel, David playing with mom’s ipad, and me working on my photos. I loved looking down the couch and seeing so many of the people I love. Feeling safe and cozy.

But most of all feeling deeply grateful. Remembering that there’s truly no place like home.

Daily Diary – December 7 2010

Even though I had a very productive day (or maybe because of that) I didn’t do a very good job of taking photos today. I got this one of Nathaniel eating his toys.

Since we had shots of David with his grandparents, I wanted some of Nathaniel, too but he would not cooperate. This was the very best I could do.

He would not stop playing with my dad’s phone. He thought it was the greatest thing ever. And David was playing with the ipad so they were both happy.

My parents are leaving tomorrow. I am really sad. I know that I will now get more stuff done but I’ve really enjoyed having them here and will be sorry to see them go, especially since I don’t know when I will be seeing them again.

I am a little behind on the December Daily. More coming tomorrow.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that we all went out to dinner tonight and both the kids were very well behaved and it was really lovely.
2. I am grateful that I finished a surprise present I have scheduled for a friend, I’m about to order it in a few moments.
3. I am grateful that we’re done with Christmas shopping. Except for the kids, who are easy, we are done done done.

Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. playing with amore’s ipad {* his pick for the journal}
2. learning math at school today
3. going out to dinner

December Daily – Day 9

Weekly Gratitude – Hillside Club

Daily Diary – December 9 2010

December Daily – Day 8

A Book a Week – The Pillars of the Earth

My Free BPC Class – Embrace Imperfection

Daily Diary – December 8 2010

December Daily – Day 7

December Daily – Day 6

Catalyst 125 – Love

Weekly Gratitude – No Place like Home

Daily Diary – December 7 2010

projects for twenty twenty-five

archives by month

archives by category

savor every last drop

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

me elsewhere

past classes