dream big.

3 Moments and Write it Wednesday.

I have three moments that I am currently working on this week. Why three you ask? Because I am crazy. Also, because it makes sense if I plan to stick to my goal and have my 100 moments finished this year, and because the three pages I am going to focus on involve my mom and grandmother and together these stories make sense to work on at one time.

 

 

Unlike moment 2 these moments are what I would call BIG moments emotionally. I will let you know how tackling these moments together works out.

So, this week take a BRAVE step and  write an emotionally BIG story about your life. See where it takes you. Remember, no one knows your story better than you and only you experience each story from your personal perspective.

 

Back to 100 Moments...

I am currently working on my 100 life changing moments project again. I set it aside during the holidays and as I focused on other areas of my life. I love that photos and stories wait for you. When you are ready to work with them, they are there.

 

I am tackling life changing moment number two on my list which is farm life. It is exciting to hop back to this time in my life as I grew up for the first nine years of my life on or around my grandparents farm. I am not sure how I plan on telling this story yet, but I am sorting through and scanning photos which always brings stories to the surface.

Also, I want to thank Jennifer for suggesting I tag my original posts for 100 moments. So, if you are wanting to reference the first two original posts they are linked in the Join Me section of my blog. I will try and create a way to view all of the posts about 100 moments at a later date.

Happy New Year!

Welcome 2011!

I am completely excited about the idea of having a fresh start and that includes a new word to kick off the New Year! Ali Edwards has been doing this for several years now and this is the second year I am joining in.

My word for the year is EXPERIENCE. This word found me as I spent the last few months of 2010 discussing how I want to experience more with my family. I want LESS stuff and more memorable moments. That is why at Christmas the entire family received season ski passes. My youngest on Christmas morning said, “Mom, we didn’t get that many toys this year.”  No, they didn’t. Most everything under our tree was ski gear… plus one toy, one book, and stockings. Less stuff that will soon be forgotten, but an entire winter season of our family together, experiencing the mountains, snow and skiing!

 

 

I am wondering how many directions this new word will take me this year. I am excited to find out.

Something sweet

Delicious pumpkin bread. More importantly, a house filled with warmth and sweet smelling spices.

Cooking and pumpkin bread happens to be one of the reasons I love fall. Well, cooking is why I need to exercise...okay, so eating what I cook is why I need to exercise if I am going to be technically accurate, but who needs that?!

 Speaking of cooking, I am cooking up a new project that you can join in on, if you feel up to it. More details to come tomorrow. It will be fun, creative, and get you scrapbooking.

 

Most importantly it will get to scrap with raw materials of life and turn it into sweet smelling, delicious, I love it so much I could eat it up final project.

 
Funny how talking about scrapbooking can lead me to food. Obviously I have some issues...maybe I should bake something today? Or workout? Or bake?

No matter, creating is what I have on the agenda for tomorrow. Well, that and a few extra sit-ups.

 

On the mend here. Which is a GREAT feeling.

I made the time and remembered to take photos of my latest life changing moment page.

 

For the numbers here I painted chipboard and cut around the negative of the number since I only had one 3 left. I like that it looks like a cloud, since it is placed on a cloud.

This is a portion of the two page layout. I posted the journaling a couple of weeks ago, so if you haven't had a chance to read it look here for it.

 
 
Here is part of the second page. I am primarily only using a couple of small embellishments, journaling and a photo for this life changing moment.

 

WOW! I was obviously living in Arizona at the time, as I don't think I have been this tan since I moved from that state!

 
 I left this story out for everyone to see. I actually will be leaving all stories unhidden in the album. I really want those who look through this book to really be able to understand why I am who I am today. I don't expect many people to actually read ALL of the writing on this page unless they really want to know me. So, leaving the journaling out and open doesn't bother me...it is displayed exactly how I want to share it.

 

Deciding to scrapbook my life in this way was a long time coming. I am filled with so much gratitude knowing that I have found a way to scrapbook this part of my life that works for me.

 

Capturing Today's Story

I am no longer the cool person in my daughter’s life. Right now Olivia is going through a stage of life where she would love to be older than she is. This is not her only desire; she’d love to be without a bed time, be able to watch anything her heart desires that is on television or YouTube, listen to any music regardless of what the lyrics say, and be able to text until all hours of the night. And the issue that I have with all of her desires is quite simply that she is ELEVEN years old, so I can’t play the cool person in my daughter’s life right now.

What really tears my heart to pieces is when I watch her trying to be someone she is not. She is trying so hard that who she truly is begins to disappear into the dark abyss. I still see glimpses of the real Olivia, the girl who is truly eleven and my heart skips a beat.

 

Just as quickly as she appears the Olivia I know vanishes behind this too cool façade.

 

I think what makes watching my oldest daughter struggle to become her own individual, is remembering going through the same thing when I was eleven years old.

 

I tried to act older. I even believed that when I was pushing my baby brother in his stroller at the mall, someone would think he was mine. A crazy thought, since most of the time I didn’t want to spend much time with him. Unless, of course it made me look older than I was.  I remember feeling like I was too big for toys, but too small for anything else.

Good news is that I know this phase of life is short lived and that on the other side will emerge an amazing strong young lady. I only wish I had a magic wand that would let you shed this fake skin you are in just like a snake does as they outgrow their own body. I guess I will have to patient and wait for this time to pass and be blown away by the brilliant girl that I am sure will step through the door as this phase passes.

So, for now I will take being the cool person in my daughter’s life when she needs something from me: money, a ride, and an okay on a sleep over. I am certain someday she will see that being true to herself, and being with family is the coolest place to be.

 

 
I LOVE fall!

It is more than just the crisp morning air that has caused the love I have for this season. Actually it is simply a lot of LITTLE reasons that has created this passion I have for fall.

I LOVE the colors, of the leaves and and deep tones of fall. Fall food makes me jump for joy as well. Fall breads and pies are some of my favorite foods to make, because they remind me of being with my grandmother.

Honestly, I think the most important reason I love fall is the feeling of family. It is this feeling that home is the BEST place to be, and without it life would be cold, empty and positively lonely.

What do you LOVE about this season?