Twelve in 2012

As 2012 comes to a close, I just wanted to share my top twelve favorite layouts that I created this year :)

1. That photo is one of my all time favorites!

2. Me embracing turning 40 :)

3. Documenting Erin calling dandelions "my wishes". And finally getting the Instagram app on my camera!

4. Documenting the music I love right now! We went to some amazing concerts in 2012. Radiohead, Jane's Addiction and the Black Keys!

5. A favorite all time memory! In the general admission line all day to see U2 and being so close. So hot that day! Facebook status about it on s little tag behind my photo with a mini clothespin to pull it out.

6. Showing how technology has changed so much! And what a difference it makes being able to talk to Mike at night on Skype while he is away. How good it is for all of us!

7. A quote and friends I love :)

8. Brings back such memories!

9. One of my favorite hobbies.

10. Fun with friends and doors :)

11. Becoming more comfortable scrapbooking me! Sharing photos of me and not being overly critical of myself. Thanks to Scrapbooking From the Inside Out. Such a great design team to help me grow as a scrapbooker. In fact, several of these layouts were a result of kits by Rachel :)

12. Another huge change in my life. Having both of my babies in school full time. Although they have had so many sick days and days off this year, I have still had at least one home with me one day a week ;)

So there you have it!
Are you doing a recap of your favorite layouts from this past year?
Would love to see it if you are!
Happy New Year!!! See you in 2013!

Christmas Wishes

All she wanted for Christmas...

was a Barbie "dream house". So that is what she found under the tree from Santa. He didn't bring a lot of gifts this year because it was a big one!

And all he wanted for Christmas this year...

was the Lego Monster Fighters Haunted Mansion. We told him it was impossible to find. And it was! For awhile. But then Lego.com got it back in stock in time and we thought why not. He thought it wasn't happening, so he was truly surprised :)

and very happy! He had a great time putting it together in only two days!!

But the best was this hug when she opened the present he got for her. A little Lego "friends" set.
It truly was a Merry Christmas :)

On another note, I have a post up on the Scrapbooking From the Inside Out blog. It is my last "exclusive content" post as a design team member. You can see the post here! I am sharing some tips for hand cutting embellishments from the patterned paper in this month's kit.

I have a busy day ahead. We are celebrating Christmas with Mike's side of the family tonight. It is actually kind of fun waiting a few days after the actual holiday to get together. It kind of stretches out the Christmas fun :)
I will be back Monday with a New Year's Eve post!

Merry Christmas

Just wanted to share our Christmas card from this year.
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New year! :)

It's Ok

My last layout as a design team member for SFTIO. For now :)

Wow. I really struggled with this one at first. Which is kind of ironic given the title :) I knew I wanted to use the photo and the idea of a letter to myself. I look at photos like this and think to myself "what was she thinking". LOL
So here it is. And let's just say for some reason that red really photographed bright. It's more of a deeper red in real life.
Lots of inking edges, handcutting and pop dots for this layout :)

Journaling:
Note to Much Younger Self:
Life is going to have it's ups and downs.
You are going to make some good and not so good choices.
What I want to tell you is that it will be ok.
Life is such a wonderful journey. 
The path you have taken is working out just fine.
Maybe a few things could have been done differently along the way,
but it's ok to let go of that.
Ultimately you are in a really good place with really good people.
And life is just as it should be.

Here is a close up...

I am going to take a week or so off until after Christmas. Lots of fun plans between the last few days of school, parties, concerts and more. But I also just want to relax and enjoy the holidays with my family. Hope you have a wonderful, peaceful week!

One Life

I haven't been able to stop thinking about the tragic shooting that occurred in Newtown last Friday. My heart is so heavy for all of those families who lost loved ones. For everyone involved.
It just seems so hard to understand how something like this could happen.

I came across this photo on Facebook along with the following quote.

 "When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' To this day, especially in times of 'disaster,' I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers - so many caring people in this world." -- Mister Rogers


And I tell myself that what matters is remembering there are more good people in the world than not. There are people who love and care. People who will stand up for what is right and protect those who cannot protect themselves. And while it may seem that light has been dimmed for a bit, we need to hold onto the thought that we should not give in to the darkness. Because that is what the darkness wants. For us to turn our back on the light.

I was listening to "One" by U2 last night and the lyrics hit home with me again. And I thought of this layout I had created.

"One life with each other. Sisters, Brothers. One life but we're not the same. We have to carry each other. Carry each other"

And this is a time to carry each other. Lift each other up and hold tight to the goodness. God bless!

My thoughts and prayers are going out to all in Newtown, CT tonight.
Those poor babies and their poor families.
So much pain and sorrow. So much tragedy.
All I can think is my daughter is in kindergarten.
And I picture her in that classroom.
And it makes my heart break to think of those children.
I know I will be holding mine extra close this weekend.

Watch Out!

I know I have been sharing a lot of serious pages lately, so today I wanted to share an older more light-hearted one.  It is one of my favorite simple pages that I did. I'm not sure if I have ever shared it on the blog. But if I have, it has been a while. :)

I used all Basic Grey Wander except for the green alphabet Thickers by American Crafts. This was a day when we were enjoying the weather in the backyard, but my daughter was being a little bit of a stinker.

Journaling:
Erin, you may look all cute and innocent as you drive your little, red, cozy coupe car. But I knew what you were really thinking. After all, you had just been in a time out on the back porch steps for knocking over Evan's Lego rocket not once, but twice! There is a mischievous little glint in your eye in this photo as you slowly maneuvered the car toward Evan and his rocket. At least until you heard me say in my serious mom voice, "Don't even think about it, Miss Erin." You looked at me and then turned your car around and went the other way. Oh, yes, I definitely knew what you were thinking. Thankfully, your brother had no clue, and was even nice enough to let you play with the smaller rocket for a little while afterwards. You just love to tease your big brother sometimes though!"

No, I will never forget that day in the backyard. :)

Forgive

Here is my third layout this month using the Release kit by Scrapbooking From the Inside Out.

I found the quote on-line and it went perfectly with the idea I had for this layout!

"Sincere forgiveness isn't colored with expectations that the other person apologize or change. Don't worry whether or not they fully understand you. Love them and release them. Life feeds back truth to people in it's own time." - Sarah Paddison

Definitely a life lesson for me. I had to let go of a relationship that was pretty toxic. And unfortunately it is a "family" member, but that doesn't mean that I have to stay in a relationship that is more negative than positive.

Journaling:
This quote has meant a lot to me. In fact, it was very eye opening. Because of this quote, I have truly been able to forgive and remove myself from a relationship with a person I once thought of as a friend. Someone I thought I could trust. Someone who surprised me with things said and done to my family.
And I realize that the only person I can change and be responsible for is myself. It's ok to forgive and let her go.
Because in the end, I am a happier person without all the negativity and need for control.
In the end, I have been blessed with women in my life that helped me see the true meaning of friendship.

If you hadn't already guessed, that person was in the other half of my torn photo. And the good thing is by learning to forgive and let go, I have no expectations from that person. And it truly is freeing :)
Forgiveness is a wonderful thing!

This layout was also featured on the Creating Keepsakes editor blog along with layouts from the other design team members, and a fabulous post by Rachel. You can see it here. If you leave a comment on the post, you also have a chance to win the December kit! So make sure to go by and leave a comment! :)

So on Friday, I posted that I had a busy weekend ahead of me with getting ready for a 40th birthday party for my husband. And let's just say that I had to put my mantra from this layout, to test! What a challenging weekend! Erin became pretty sick in the middle of the night on Friday. Fever and really bad cough. So after taking her to the doctor, she was diagnosed with croup! Let's just say I felt so bad for her, and was ready to cancel the party. But a truly wonderful friend offered to babysit Erin at my mother-in-law's so the party could carry on. By then Erin was actually feeling better. And she enjoyed special one on one time with my friend. I hated having her go away, but it really was a great party and celebration for Mike. Lots of friends and family. Lots of fun!

And I didn't get one single photo with my camera! I was too busy running around hosting. Making sure everything was just right. But my brother, a brilliant photographer, took lots and lots of photos and has promised me some. So hopefully in the not too distant future, I will be ready to share.

And thankfully Erin really is much better today. I was expecting her to be so much sicker, but she is not coughing as much. So things really did work out in the end! :)

I was going to blog today, but will be back to post Monday instead.
Between not having power today for several hours due to an electrician working on our basement remodel, and the 40th party I am planning for my husband tomorrow, I am going to be super busy!
Hope you all have a great weekend!!

In the End :)

For my second page created using the December "Release" kit by Scrapbooking From the Inside Out,
I decided to use my new daily life mantra as inspiration, "It all works out in the end." Which became my title.

I decided to go with my favorite type of page, clean and simple, because I had so much I wanted to say. And I also wanted the photo to really stand out. Going to Ireland was such an amazing trip at the perfect time in my life.

Journaling:
As I get older, I seem to get a little wiser. So many life lessons that can only be learned through experience have helped me make better choices. When I was younger, my stress level was so high all the time. Or at least it felt that way. And it really affected my health. But in the last year, I think I have learned on of the most important life lessons of all. Something that has made a huge difference in my life. "It all works out in the end!"
Somehow, some way, it usually does. When I look back, all of those little things that I have stressed over in the past generally have worked out in some way. Maybe not always in the way I wanted it to originally. But in a way that let's me know not to worry about the small stuff. There is enough big stuff to deal with from time to time. It's just not worth freaking out over the little things.

This photo was taken in Ireland in front of Kylemore Abbey. You can't tell because of my sunglasses, but I was actually crying. Here I was in a place that I had only seen photos about. Photos my mother-in-law shared with me from her trips to Ireland. Due to a longer than planned excursion to Croagh Patrick, I was convinced we were going to miss visiting the Abbey that day. And I was just a little upset. But when we arrived, it turned out they had summer hours. And even if it had been closed, I still could have taken a photo like this no matter what. So in the end, we made it there! And it all worked out in the end. Don't sweat the small stuff! :)

And for the record, those were tears of happiness at that point when Mike took my photo. I was just feeling so blessed and lucky. And understanding finally that it's ok to let go and just relax. To release all of those anxious feeling and truly feel calmness and acceptance whatever the outcome may be :)

December

A new month is here along with a new kit at www.scrapbookingfromtheinsideout.com. My last as a design team member for now.

And this is my first layout I wanted to share this month. The December theme is "release". This is a photo I took on the first day of school using my phone camera. I actually almost missed this moment because it caught me off guard. The big fifth grader holding his little sister's hand on the first day of Kindergarten. Let me tell you, my heart melted. And then I remembered to quickly grab my phone to get the shot. :)

Journaling:
It was the first day of school for both of you. And the first day of Kindergarten for Erin.
Since the weather was nice, we decided to walk to school. Suddenly I noticed you were holding her hand.
What a sweet moment for me to capture!
Because you are both growing so quickly. And as hard as it is, I know I have to let go just a little bit. I have to let you grow up and away.

For the kraft butterflies, I colored them with Tim Holtz Tarnished Brass Distress Stain (found in the kit), Studio Calico mist in gold, and Heidi Swapp Color Shine mist in silver. Messy but fun :)

Here is a photo of kit. Lots of fun Ready, Set, Go by Amy Tangerine, Crate Paper Acorn Avenue, and Cosmo Cricket Jolly Days. With a little Basic Grey, Maya Road, Prima, Studio Calico, Jillibean Soup and American Crafts thrown in. :)

Now in non-scrap related news, I have to say that everyone in our house is excited about this...

(not my photo)
St. Louis is getting it's very own Lego store. Finally! Lots of smiles and happiness today when we found out :)
Definitely something to look forward to this May. Which just happens to be Evan's birthday month. The timing couldn't be more perfect!
I see a Lego mini album in the near future :)