our creative escape

This past weekend, my Mom and I were able to sneak away for a couple days to head to Phoenix, Arizona for Creative Escape.......2 days jam packed with scrapbookin' and creative fun!! My mom doesn't scrapbook AT ALL, but I drug her along and she had a blast! The classes were fun (although a tad complicated sometimes), the food was great, we met some really nice people, made some great projects, learned some new techniques, and learned from some of the best teachers in the industry.

Here we are on our first day....all decked out with our Creative Escape bags.....my Mom says the scrapbooking world is a cult :)
Me and Tim Holtz = this guy is like SUPER popular in the world of scrappin'......I was not very familiar with his work, but I had a great time in his class = great teacher and super laid-back teaching style. On the last night, they auctioned off an Ikea lamp that he had refurbished with lots of little trinkets from his studio, and it went for $28,000!! These women really love Tim Holtz!!
Me and Heather Bailey = I LOVE her fabric, love her blog, love her style!! I didn't finish the project we made in her class, but I will post photos when it's all done.....super cute!!
Me and Heidi Swapp = I have said it before, but this woman is such an inspiration to me!! She has five kiddos, recently moved her family back from Beijing, China, and still manages to design products, start a new company capture her family's memories in amazing ways, and remain completely stylish.....not to mention, she is the woman behind Creative Escape!!

Heidi gave a little talk on Friday night that reminded me of why I really do love this hobby. I know scrapbooking is not really viewed as "cool" or "hip" in some circles, but for the life of me, I can't understand why. It is such a creative, artsy, fun way to spend time, and I really do love it....I love the products, the people, the shopping BUT most of all, I love the fact that I am capturing my family's memories, that I am taking the time to put words and photos together on a page with flowers and brads and stickers and paint and glue and glitter and chip board and that because of these pages we will REMEMBER!!!

home is where your story begins

I read that line in a magazine yesterday and it instantly resonated with me. I am definitely planning on making a scrapbook layout with the title "Home is Where your Story Begins" and including lots of photos of the little nooks and crannies of our house that make it our home. I can't wait to get out my camera over the next few days and start snapping pics of the special corners of our home. Here's the list I have in my head so far:

1. The rocking chairs in the kid's bedrooms where I have rocked them before bed on so many nights

2. The rows of colorful scrapbooks in our living room filled with all the layouts I have done since the kids were born

3. The craft table where we have spent countless hours drawing, eating, coloring, playing with play-doh, etc...

4. The bookshelves that are filled to the brim in almost every room in our house

5. The kitchen table where we try to sit down and eat dinner as a family almost every night

6. The beautiful sunsets from our backyard

7. The swimming pool and playground out back where we have spent many hours swimming, swinging, sliding, playing in the sandbox and running through the grass

8. The bed in our master bedroom where Sienna watches a movie almost every night before bed and where she climbs into almost every morning to snuggle with mommy and daddy before the day begins

9. The clock above our mantle that I gave to Johnny as a wedding gift with our wedding date inscribed on the face

10. The hallway with photos from the past 5 years in black frames with white matting and one of my favorite quotes on the wall

perfectly imperfect

I have been thinking lately about a comment someone made to me recently......I know the person who made the comment had no ill-will in their heart when they said what they said, but all the same, I have not been able to get it out of my mind. Basically, this person implied that I am uptight, that I might have a problem relaxing, that maybe I am a little obsessive.......and maybe, given the fact that I have been obsessing just a tad over this comment, they might be on to something :)

So after a little soul-searching, here's what I have come up with: I am a little up tight, I do sometimes have trouble relaxing, and I am a little bit obsessive.....BUT, I am a work in progress, and every day I get a little bit closer to my goal of being present, of being in the moment, of being ever-grateful, of truly enjoying the many blessings in my life, of finding joy.

I think most of us struggle with this in some form or another. It's hard to be a parent and at the same time be care-free and light hearted. Yet I know that it's important to stop and smell the roses (in fact, just yesterday I did just that), to create a home that is peaceful and calming, to nurture relationships by truly listening to the other person, to carve out time to be quiet, to create, to dream, to teach our children the art of doing nothing.

So this is who I am.....a woman, daughter, sister, mother, friend who is perfectly imperfect. I read a lot, I pray a lot, I like taking pictures and documenting this crazy ride we are on. I enjoy singing in church, going to the movies, playing outside with my kids. I am inspired by creative women, I like politics and art and scrapbooking and traveling. I love getting together with friends and I constantly long for deeper more meaningful friendships. I am an open book....for good or bad. I have a quick temper, but I forgive readily. I worry a lot. I love my husband and my kids, and I am always striving to be a better wife and better mother.

So yes, maybe I am a little uptight, but it is only because I care about the people in my life and because I want to be the very best me I can possibly be......

back to school

So I know in this photo she looks pretty darn sweet and happy......but sometimes a photo doesn't tell the complete story (that's exactly why I scrapbook....and blog!!). In fact, our first day back to school was not the idyllic scene that I had conjured up in my mind, but rather a frustrating tug of war with lots of preschool drama.

After a sumer spent in shorts, t-shirts and flip flops, Sienna was not at all thrilled about getting dressed in her full uniform and wearing dress shoes. Instead, she took off her shoes and socks three times and begged to wear either (a) the pink Hello Kitty socks or (b) the purple flip flops. She also threw quite a fit over having her hair brushed as well as eating her breakfast. I was frustrated, she was frustrated, we were rushing out the door trying not to be late on her first day, and I think maybe we were both a little nervous?

By the time we arrived at her school however, she had transformed into a different child. She was happy and excited and walked right into her classroom and sat down to begin coloring....no holding onto my leg, no begging me not to leave, just a quick kiss and hug and a "See ya later mommy."

I drove away feeling all sorts of emotions: guilty for not making the morning more peaceful, sad that I didn't make the time to stage a photo shoot on the front porch before we left for her first day, or that I didn't bring the video camera (my hands were a little full with the back pack, nap mat, lunch, sippy cup, teacher gift, snacks for the class and my big 'ole camera!!), and also so very grateful that she is such an independent, sweet, smart, sassy, tender-hearted, imaginative, amazing little girl and that God chose us to be her parents!!

So it may not have been the morning that I had envisioned, but we made it there on time, we brought everything we were supposed to bring, she loved her teacher, and she had a wonderful first day....I think that's all that really matters!!

summer is over

So this is it, our last official weekend of Summer.  Sienna starts back to preschool on Monday, so that means no more loosey-goosey schedules, staying up till 9:00, watching American Girl movies at all hours of the night.  Instead, we will slowly try to ease ourselves back into a regular routine. I have really enjoyed this Summer......we packed quite a bit into these 3 short months, but we have also spent lots of time just resting, relaxing, eating popsicles, watching movies, reading books and playing together. 

Now, I am looking forward to the cooler weather, football season, Fall television, Mommy & Me classes with Grant, a new school year, dance classes and pulling out my Fall clothes!!

captivating

I started a new book last night: "Captivating: Unveiling the Mysteries of a Woman's Soul" by John and Staci Eldredge. So far, so good! Here are a few lines that caught my attention:

"Every woman I've ever met feels it----something deeper than just failing at what she does. An underlying, gut feeling of failing at who she is. I am not enough, and, I am too much at the same time. Not pretty enough, not thin enough, not kind enough, not gracious enough, not disciplined enough. But too emotional, too needy, too sensitive, too strong, too opinionated, too messy. The result is Shame, the universal companion of women. It haunts us, nipping at our heels, feeding on our deepest fear that we will end up abandoned and alone."

"Nature is not primarily functional. It is primarily beautiful. Which is to say, beauty is in and of itself a great and glorious good, something we need in large and daily doses (for our God has seen fit to arrange for this). Nature at the height of its glory shouts, Beauty is Essential! revealing that Beauty is the essence of God."

So now, my mind is racing with ways to make our home, our surroundings more beautiful, more peaceful, more comforting (this is an on-going quest for me).......some ideas:

* playing soft music while making dinner (NO TV)

* continuing to tackle clutter in our home......getting rid of things we have not used in over a year

* getting out all the baby clothes I have selected for memory quilts and actually taking them to be made!!

* clearing off the bulletin board in the kitchen......getting ready for all the school projects that will be brought home from school

* deciding on a system for all past art projects (any ideas on how to store these. what to get rid of, what to keep???)

a list

This week, I have been:

* gently reminding myself to count my blessings as I am falling asleep each night rather than beating myself up about all the ways I failed that day ("I should have done this, I could have done that, I wasn't as patient as I should have been, etc...")

* crying each time I watch the coverage of Bill Clinton's rescue mission of the 2 reporters captured in Korea......I know, I know, Bill Clinton is a polarizing figure......I loved him then, I love him now....what can I say??  :)

* looking back at old photo albums and scrapbooks and thinking that all the time I have spent working on these albums has been time very well spent!!

* enjoying the fact that there are absolutely NO shows on television right now that I am very interested in.......going to bed each night with a great book

* looking forward to the last fews days of Summer......I LOVE a new school year: new clothes, pencils, notebooks, crayons = a fresh start

photographs

These photos were taken almost a year ago by my good friend Susan......she takes amazing pictures, and looking at these reminds me once again how obsessed I am with photographs!! I love taking pictures, looking at other people's pictures, putting photos in albums, making scrapbooks, hanging framed photos on the wall, etc....LOVE that we are capturing these memories forever!!

we heart crafting

In my dreams, I am a mama who creates activities for her children like this mama......but in reality, our crafting sessions are messy, chaotic and quite often, pretty short-lived. Still, creativity is EXTREMELY important in our house, and most days, we can be found with art supplies in hand. This weekend we painted stones from the garden, practiced drawing at the craft table, got out lost of stamps and ink, and made wooden bead necklaces. Lots of crafty goodness going on this summer!!!