Brandon's Run

I was scrolling through pictures last night to put on disc and came upon some running photos. So today I chose to scrap these from 2011. And...I used some Project Life templates. This two page spread came together FAST since it was just photos and storytelling - not many elements. It allows the photos and story to be the star. I love simple. 

Project Life 2014: Week 2

Week 2 is already complete! I love working on this project! I am only two weeks in and I'm really thankful for what I have so far - the pictures, the stories, the life lessons.

I drop photos and text in throughout the week. Maybe someday I'll get it down to 30 minutes per spread, but right now, that's not happening. Oh well, at least I'm enjoying the process. And that's the whole point!

One thing that I noticed is that this week doesn't have a calendar card. I had it as part of my layout early in the week, but more pictures got added and then I forgot about it until I had this layout done. I was trying to think of ways to work it in, but for now, the layout is staying put. I included the dates in the "Week Two" card. And you can kind of see the dates on the second page where I took a picture of my new calendar. I'm learning to be flexible, letting things flow, and moving on without being so rigid.

What will next week bring?!

Project Life 2014: Week 1

I decided to do Project Life this year! Yay! I wanted to do it last year, but thought I had too much catching up to do to really do PL. But this year I decided to do it for a few reasons.

1. I noticed I wasn't taking everyday life pictures like I was when the kids were little. You know, like stuff they do on a day to day basis. I don't want to miss out on those details.

2. At the end of the year, I'll have the 2014 highlights scrapped! That's a WHOLE YEAR! 

I figure that once I get the hang of how I want my pages to look, the pages will come together quickly. Then on days when I'm not working on my PL pages, I can work on other scrapbooking that I need and want to catch up on.

So far, I'm really enjoying it. I'm happy to be capturing every day life. I purchased an app called Day One. It allows for journaling on my phone. It reminds me a couple of times a day, and if I want or need to add some details, I enter it on my phone and then refer back later when documenting my week.

So while I don't want to be attached to my phone, I do have it handy when I don't have my big camera with me. I like my big camera way better than my phone, so ideally, I want to use my big one more often. I have to work on that in the weeks to come.

I really enjoy Cathy Zielske's blog. I bought a handful of her products and really enjoy her simplistic style.

It's also fun to look at Christina's pages because you can see a huge difference in her daughter over a year's time. It's cool to see the slow progression, but then look at the stark contrast of week 1 and the last weeks. I think it's awesome!

I found this site - Pixels & Company - from Cathy's blog. Check it out! It has some great $1 deals and other kits. I love finding new sites to get product from.

I saw some people do a cover page for their Project Life books. I liked that idea. Here's mine. 

I'm sure I'll be tweaking things as I move forward, but for now, this is what I have. I'm not "in love" with this spread. Not every week may have as many "stories". I know there are no rules as for how much journaling one can or should do. I seem to fit the high end right now. Ha! But I like the stories and I believe when I look back, I'll be glad I include as much as I do.

I'm not sure how I plan to print my pages. I really like the 3-ring scrapbooks, but I know some others make a photo book. With the photo books, you can make numerous copies for less money and save them for your kids. I like that idea. But actually, I could do both: a 3-ring for me and a photo book for the kids. We shall see!

(I keep changing things, so if you come back in the near future, you may be seeing something different.)

Christmas Ornaments

I haven't done too well in blogging on my family blog lately. I'm trying to think how to move forward with that. I use it as a point of reference when I scrapbook. It helps me remember things that happened and things that were said. I'm about three months behind. I'm hoping to get caught up soon. But I also wonder if I should keep an online journal (like an email draft) in case I'm unable to get to blogging as soon as I like. That way, not much will be forgotten.

Today I decided to scrap these two photos from this Christmas. I really like the new digital kit I bought called Christmas Dearest. I've had my eye on this kit and today I saw that it was 40% off. I love its vintage feel.

Recent Pages

Here are some more recent pages that I've been working on. 

My Boy

I love my boy and all the faces he makes. ♥

Sprinkles

I love the pictures with the sprinkles stuck to her fingers. ♥

Cookies

I loved this set from the Sweet Shoppe called Baking Spirits Bright. 

Little Painters

Another page done! I got this idea from a layout I saw in Pinterest.

Birthday Party

Yikes! I haven't posted since March. Which also means I haven't scrapbooked since then either. Well, at least not for myself. I was in charge of our homeschool co-op's yearbook this year, so I was busy putting that together. But that's all done and ordered so now I get to spend time on my own photos. I'm excited!

Today I was looking through some of my scrapbook pages. It made me smile. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm so thankful for photos and scrapbooking. I love looking back at how little the kids were, the things we did, the funny things they said. 

Oftentimes I feel like all my pages look the same, but when I go back and look, they each are different. Certain things I stick to because I like it. 

Well, with this page, it's actually just one page. I thought his party might be two pages, but I kept it at one. I wasn't "in love" with the other photos. Not that I'm in love with all of these, but they have more meaning than the others. 

When I sat down to scrapbook today, I thought, "I don't know that I'm in the mood to scrap Titus's birthday. I'll just see where I left off in December 2009." Wouldn't you know, it was his birthday. Ha! So I worked on it and now it's done. I don't know why birthday pages are such a big deal to me. It's that perfectionism that kicks in. Not that these pages are so amazing, but I don't want to leave out details and I do want to like the end result especially since it's a birthday page. Birthdays are a big deal to me because it celebrates my kids (or whoevers birthday it is). 

I'm excited to move on and get 2009 completed. But then I remember we are now in 2013. *deep breath* Enjoy the journey, Rebekah!

On a side note, I scrapped while listening to the station "Classical Guitar Radio" on Pandora. It's great. It's peaceful yet has great beats. It kind of transports you to, hmm, Greece. Haha! 

Ty's Birthday

I've been working on Titus's 4th birthday photos when I've had some spare time to scrap. So far, there are three pages and there is still a party. Haha, I have a hard time narrowing photos down because I feel they all tell the story. We'll see how the party page(s) go. ;)

Progress

These pictures are quite bad as far as focus and shadows go, but I still like the content - us! 

Leah saw these today and said that she likes the top right one because she's little and "kinda like a baby". She said she wants to be little again. She's been saying that lately but I remind her that there's no way possible. I also remind her that she's still little because she's not as big as me (yet). 

This is my last page for November 2009! Yay! I'm making progress.

Hoping

I'm hoping to get back in to a normal scrapping routine. I got way off track. 

I'm still scrapping 2009. 

2009.

No, it's not a typo. 

On the plus side, I'm through the end of November 2009. Then I can finally get the last batch of that year printed and in a book. Normally I scrap what I feel like scrapping, however, I am trying to fill in the missing pages.

This page was created a good month ago or more.

This was started about a month ago and finished yesterday. Leah said she didn't like the title of my page (happy poopy party) because it was gross and weird, but I told her that was what we called it. She also didn't like the picture of her on the toilet. Oh daughter, you'll do the same with your children. ;)

I love her faces in these photos!

2013 One Little Word + Changes

Happy New Year! Even though a new year starts with the very next day after the last, it's still the start of a new year as we know it. It's the beginning of freah and new. I like it.

I think it's been a couple of years since I participated in choosing a word for myself for the year. If I remember correctly, my last word was "be". This past year (2012) and frankly more in November and December, the Lord has really been working with me on believing Him. It can sound so simple, but it can also be harder than expected.

I felt this was a year to have a word and something to really focus on. Belief or believing was an option (as a word but it will always be something I am growing in). Another goal I have for myself is to get more organized and have a better schedule. So words associated with organizing and schedules came to mind. But I wasn't really set on any of those words.

Then I saw other's ideas of being brave or courageous. As much as I liked those, those weren't quite it either. The more I thought about it and things I've gone through, fear came to mind. I've realized that I've dealt with fear since a kid (more on that later). Obviously I didn't want fear to be my word so the word "fearless" seemed perfect. And then I knew it. That would be my word and my focus for 2013. Fearless. It encompasses a lot of the other words I considered. You need belief to be fearless. You need courage and bravery to be fearless.

For me, the fears I have had since a kid had to do with my health, my family's health, me dying, my family dying. Stupid lies from Satan. Within the last six months or so, I had issues with anxiety. I felt anxious, I felt fear rise within my chest to where it felt heavy and sometimes painful. I had some scary moments. But I see they were all brought on by fear. Fear is crippling. Fear is sin because whatsoever is not faith is sin (Rom. 14:23b). Sometimes the anxiety came out of no where for no apparent reason. It's not fun at all. The Lord has been so faithful to me through it all. He's reminded me of things that have brought so much encouragement. We are more than conquerors through Him who loves us!

Fear also has to do with doing things that might scare me. Some things I won't do for the sake of being fearless. You have to use wisdom.

Emptying a mouse from a trap. Scary. Yes, the mouse is dead, but it freaks me out. I've since bought  plastic disposable gloves for that fearless moment. I'll keep you posted.

This weekend I'm being fearless. Since I was young, I always wore shorts or boy shorts when I went swimming. Some for modesty, some because of being self-conscious. A little secret of mine...I have cellulite. I've had it since a young teen. I don't like it. I'd like to find good toning exercises to help. Until then, it's there.

I've admired people who wear all kinds of suits (although not condoning immodesty) in all kinds of shapes, sizes, weights, and those with more cellulite than me. I think it's great that they are so confident in themselves that they just don't care what people think (I've always cared what people think). I wanted their confidence but never did anything to work towards that confidence.

Until now...

Lime Ricki, a company I like to get modest swim suits from, had a big sale. I found a tankini top and then came the bottom choice. Boy short, skirt, regular bottoms. I knew I didn't want boy shorts for at least one reason. The skirt type I wanted was out of my size. What was left was a little different version which was a mix of a skirt and regular bottoms. So I went with it. I ordered it - a little reluctantly. I want to be modest yet I want to be confident in who I am - regardless of cellulite. So I've tried the suit on numerous times and asked Brandon over and over what he thinks.

This weekend we will be at a hotel with Brandon's mom's side of the family and I'll get to be fearless. I will be swimmig with my kids in my new suit. I'll have to be confident. Or at least appear that way until the real feelings set in. It's a big deal for me since I've always wondered what people think of me. Here's to being fearless!

I've also talked about how I want to start blogging about my journey to getting more organized and scheduled. I'll do that once my main computer is up and running. As of right now, this is coming from my phone. Also, I'm contemplating starting a new blog for all this or just updating through this blog. Decisions, decisions.

My hope through it all is it give glory to God and inspire others on to greater things.

Pumpkin Mess

This all happened today and while it was still fresh in my mind, I decided to document it. :)

 

Thanksgiving...2009

Oh boy. 2009. I am trying not to feel overwhelmed by how behind I am.

 

But I did get these pages done. I started them a few times and wasn't happy with them. I bought a new kit by Erica Zane called Counted and I really like it. Sometimes with the holidays, I get lost in how a page should look.

 

The kids and I had fun looking through these photos. They were so little then!

 

Leah really likes the photo of herself in the bottom row in the middle. Haha, too cute!

 

Frankenmuth 2009

It seems like it's been forever since I last scrapped. Today I decided to work on finishing up 2009. I still have a little from November and December and then 2009 will officially be done.

It was fun looking through these photos. My, how everyone has changed!

HIS&HERS

As I was washing dishes today, I was thinking about scrapbooking and then I remembered my goal! It must be completed by Thursday night if I'm to meet my goal (due to other commitments)! So during nap time, I was able to put this page together. There are probably still 2-3 more pages to do from her actual party, but this page was from a special double party with her cousin from Missouri.

I'm off to do some cleaning now, but I'm hoping to get some more scrapping done tonight or at least Wednesday or Thursday. Plus I have a little birthday project for this weekend that I need to work on.

Leah's so excited to be turning 5!

3rd Birthday

Well, I am half way to my goal! Remember my goal of scrapping her 3rd and 4th birthday photos before her 5th birthday this month? Here's the 3rd birthday!

I don't know how a person, a MOM, narrows down photos. I think it's just a given that my kids will have 2-3 pages for each birthday. My own birthday from this year had three pages! Whoa! And even though there are three pages below of Leah's birthday, I still left out a lot of photos. But I think the ones I chose tell a pretty good story of the day.

Almost all you see from these three pages is from the Erica Zane kit, With You. It's a fun kit!

 

 

 

Hello Berries

I had plans of working on other photos today but while scrolling through June 2010, I came across these and decided to scrap them instead! So summery!

The photos I was going to scrap was of Leah's 3rd or 4th birthday. Yes, I'm that far behind. And guess what? She'll be five in a couple weeks. So my goal is to get her last two birthdays scrapped before she turns five.

And then Titus is even worse. I think I'm three or four years behind on his birthdays! It's crazy! This is why I'm so thankful for my blog. So many times (if it's not recent photos) I go back to my blog to refresh my memory on events. It's helped a ton!

I think with birthday scrap pages, I "stress out" too much and think that the pages have to be perfect and I have to have the perfect papers and elements, etc. So that's why those pages get pushed back. But I am making a goal to get Leah's caught up by her fifth birthday. And then I will work on Titus's - the poor kid.

You Said It 2011

I'm super bummed that I only have nine documented "sayings" from Titus in 2011. Of course he said funny stuff all year long, but I forgot to write it down. Other moms out there, make sure you write things down right after something happens or is said. You'll be thankful later. :) So now I'm trying to be more observant and have asked Brandon to write things down when he hears them too.

You Said It

I have been working on getting all of the kids quotes gathered and separated into years. I haven't been as good lately with writing things down, so I'm trying to focus more on that. I even searched through Facebook to find any possible quotes I did have not have written down. I found a few so I was thankful for that!

I love looking back at what they said and how they said it. I also like adding a few pictures of them from that year. It's a fun little project!

Birthday, page 3

Birthday page number three!

Now I'm headed out for a walk while the sun is still out!

Birthday, page 2

This is the second page in my birthday trio. I created this probably a couple of weeks ago but had just a little more journal to write.

Now on to page 3...

I wonder what will happen when I turn 30. I just have a hard time not including pictures. As my style has always shown, I try to squeeze in as many pictures as possible. That's just me!

Birthday

I have been wanting to get back into scrapping so bad. I was doing good and getting a few pages done per week and then somehow fell off that wagon. But I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things.

I had been looking around for some new kits but just hadn't found what I was looking for. I don't really know what I was looking for, I just know I wasn't finding it. Then I came across The Lily Pad and found this kit called Grandma's Dresser. I loved it! Right away I knew I wanted to use it for my birthday pictures.

This is the first page of probably three from my birthday. Instead of cramming in a bunch of pictures, I decided to spread it out a little.

Scraplifted

I saw a layout on Pinterest that I liked and rather scrap-lifted it for this page today. I really liked how the photos were arranged. It's nice having a layout you like (which should be all the time, haha) when your pictures aren't what you had hoped for. I think it helps make the pictures look better too. I opted for black and white photos because of all the crazy colors going on. I'm thankful for having that option!

Now it's time for some exercise while the broccoli cheese soup cooks. Then I think it'll be time for a little trim painting. It can be rather therapeutic.

What? Did I just say that?

November 2009

Somehow I was able to pretty much skip over October 2009. There weren't a whole ton of pictures taken. The bulk of them was for "A Week in the Life" and I scrapped those the week the pictures were taken (if I'm remembering correctly). So I moved right along to November.

A year or two ago, I freed myself from scrapping chronologically, however that's how I've been scrapping lately so that I know where I've left off and also so that I can print off my pages. I save my pages by quarters (for example, Oct-Dec 2009) and only want to print the pages from those quarters if the whole quarter has been scrapped. So right now, printing is on hold until that is done.

It was nice to scrap today although I always seem torn in what to do during nap time. Lately it's been between scrapping, looking for decorating ideas on Pinterest, or painting. Some days more than one of those gets done. I'm working on finishing up some over due trim painting. Once that is done, I'm painting all of the living area (living room, dining room, halls). I'm super excited! It's all going to be a light gray and the living room will have a mustard-ish yellow wall. When we painted the house back in 2009, I never liked the brown color. It seemed stale to me - as weird as that might sound. The laundry room is the same as the living areas, but I'm thinking of painting that a color other than gray - like a vintage blue/green.

We first painted Leah's room turquoise. It was a pretty color, but the room didn't have the "feel" that I was going for (soft, girly, Pottery Barn-ish). So a while later I painted it a light yellow. It's pretty and I do like it, but her favorite color is pink. She said she liked pink when I painted it yellow and I've felt bad since then that I painted it what I wanted. So she and I were just talking the other day about painting it pink. It would be a light pink. When I chose the yellow color, Home Depot matched the color from a Pottery Barn magazine (I wasn't going to pay $60+ for a gallon of Benjamin Moore). I'll probably do the same with the light pink. The nice thing about paint is that it's relatively inexpensive yet makes a huge difference. I'm really excited to see how it will all look once completed!

Now back to that trim...

Special Note

Titus made this note for me yesterday. The actual note was about a 3x3 piece of paper, but scanning it and working in Photoshop allows me to enlarge it to see everything better. The ink he used was reddish but I changed that to black. Oh technology!

I have a folder of papers the kids have drawn on, things they've said, ect so that they can be scrapbooked. Not always do they get turned into a page so quickly.

I love my son!