Sweetie

Hello!  I just wanted to stop by to post this page.  Happy Thanksgiving [to those in the states]!

 

Sittin' Pretty

Hello!  I hope you all had a good week and are ready for the week ahead!  I'm ready to celebrate Thanksgiving Day and eat some turkey!  Yum!  I have so many things to be thankful for...so many people to be thankful for... 

 

I didn't create much in the scrapbooking realm this week, but my fingers have been busy with knitting.  I'm not used to having knitting "deadlines", but with Christmas right around the corner, the pressure is on!  I enjoy it though!  This is the time of year where the weather and less light create a perfect situation to sit, knit, and drink some warm tea or coffee with creamer.  I'm loving it!  Oh, and I can't forget to watch a movie either!  I need something for my eyes and ears to focus on while knitting.  I guess I like to involve all of my senses.  And lately I have been watching the Little House on the Prairie seasons (for probably the 20th time).  But today I think I must take a break from knitting just to give my wrists some relief.  I tend to get a knitting "injury" in my left wrist if I knit too much.  So sad!  Ha!

 

So maybe some scrapping will take place instead!

 

I created this page about a week ago:

 

My lil sunshine

This layout was inspired by a layout Kaleigh Wiles did from Designer Digitals.  She is such an inspiration to me when it comes to scrapbooking.  I just really enjoy her stuff!  And now her Studio-D templates are available and they are really a lot of fun.  I didn't use her template for this page though.  And speaking of Designer Digitals, they are having a 30% off sale for a week for their quarterly sale.  I took advantage of it today.  I had a bunch of stuff in my cart and was in disbelief when I saw the total.  Yikes!  I thought, "There must be something wrong with their site calculator!"  Ha!  So I had to take some stuff out and figure out what I really wanted.  Cough.

 

 

 

And can I say once again how extremely difficult it is to not scrapbook every picture of my little cutie pie?!  I had to skip over some pictures because they don't really exemplify anything except that she's just so stinkin' cute!  There are thousands of pictures that I have to pick from, so I am trying to make the wisest choices.  Ha!

Love this girl

I bet if I would have scrapped this page back in February/March of this year I would have been very emotional because it was a very emotional time right after my lovely appendectomy (surgery to remove my ruptured appendix).  It wasn't fun at all.  But the hardest part about it was being away from Jeralyn.  She did great, but I did NOT like being away from her when I stayed in the hospital.  It was a short time of 5-6 days, but at the time it felt like forever.  My body went through so much at the time and because of the medications, antibiotics, and just not feeling well, my body stopped producing for my nursing baby.  And then all of that combined with hormones because of all of that stopping--well, I was just a mess!  And then I couldn't lift her for 6 weeks!  When the doctor told me that I just started crying. 

 

 

But you know what?  It could have been so much worse!  When I was about 21 weeks pregnant I woke up in the middle of the night with extreme pain on my right side.  Quent was gone and the pain was so bad that I had to hunch over when I walked.  After maybe 2 days (have I ever mentioned that I'm quite stubborn?), I sent a prayer request out to family/friends and within a very short time the pain subsided.  At the time I (and my doctor) attributed it to round ligament pain, but honestly, I think it was my appendix.  I think it was doing something.  I am so thankful that God stopped all of that and held it together for me.  I don't even want to know what that would have been like to have a ruptured appendix during pregnancy.  So I count my blessings!

Grandpa

Hello!  Happy Monday!  I worked on this page this morning...

 

 

I'm feeling terribly behind *chuckle* on scrapbooking.  I look at all of the photos and think, "HOW am I going to pick my favorites?"  How?  I don't know, but I will figure something out.  I'm sort of going in chronological order, but also going with the flow.  Does that make sense?  I'm not in a rush by any means.  I want to capture those memories through photos that mean the most.  But even that's hard. Hmmm...

 

I feel like this blog has turned into "this is what I scrapped" and "this is where I'm at with scrapping photos" and blah, blah, blah.  I want it to be more.  So I'm trying to define what "more" means.

 

So in the mean time I will leave you with something I wrote out on paper and have it in my bathroom to remind me:

 

Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know your labor in the Lord is not in vain.  1 Cor. 15:58

Weeks 50, 51, & 52

Guess what???  I'm done scrapping her baby journal pages!!  Woot!  Woot!  And these last few pages had a turquoise them--oops!  I guess I just like the color.  *shrugs*

 

So I have officially decided to do a monthly journal for her second year.  There's just so many things that I want to write down and capture with journaling.  I debated about doing it because I hadn't been writing things down after her birthday.  But I started writing down things from memory the other day and I think I have a good foundation to work off of now.  Instead of doing a collage of pictures I will just pick one picture per page and then journal about what happened in her month.  I'm excited to get started!  But I'm also excited that I have completed the first year for her baby journal/album!   Yeah!

 

Weeks 47 & 48

Only 4 more page left for the weekly journal.  Well, it's 5 including her birthday.  Ok, so 4 pages.  I'm thinking 'outloud' here.  I scrapped these pages today while listening to Chrismas music.  Christmas music?  Yup, that's right!  And it made me quite giddy, too!  Which I needed today.  Nothing more to report...

 

Weeks 43 & 44

Hello!  Persnickety Prints sale over the weekend motivated me to get a little more caught up with scrapbooking Jeralyn's weekly journal.  I'm so close to being done.  I could have scrapbooked more, but I think my brain needed a break.  But I was able to send a good chunk of pages to be printed, so I am happy about that!  Here are a couple of pages I created:

 

 

Have a super awesome morning, afternoon, evening or whatever time of the day it is for you!

Insecurity and people-pleasing

I think it's time for a 'soap box' post...or a muse if you want to call it that. 

Recently I have been learning some things about myself.  And some of the things I have learned have been surprising to me.  Like for instance, I have felt uncomfortable in situations recently that I thought I was over, and I have felt insecure (in an odd way) because of not being able to please a person's expectations.  I thought I was confident in my introvertedness, and I thought I was over being a people pleaser.  Apparently not.  So...it's time to grow, learn, and change.  I know I'm not the only one who has dealt with insecurity and a lack of confidence, so I thought I would share.  Sometimes in the sharing I learn as well.

Years ago, God showed me all of the things I was putting my security in--things like people, jobs, looks, etc.  He began to shake all of those areas of my life so much that I realized that none of those wonderful things were substantial foundations to put my confidence.  I realized that the only sure footing was in God--in His foundation.  And from there I went on a journey of getting to know who I was in Christ.  In the end I found that I actually liked myself.  I learned what I genuinely liked.  I am secure because of Christ. 

So why all of a sudden this change?  Why do I see my confidence sinking a bit?  Maybe I lost my footing a bit.  Or maybe I need a tune-up.  Or maybe these are new areas.  Or maybe they have always been there and now God is shining His light upon them so we can take care of it. 

I know who I am; I know what I like.  I need not to compare myself with others.  For example: I don't like hand-motion songs (ie patty-cake).  It's not my thing.  (Did I just hear someone gasp?)  So when I go to story-time and everyone is doing, "Where is thumb-kin..." I want to pull the lever and sink into the floor.  It's not me.  I can sing and dance with Jeralyn all day, but please don't make me do hand-motion songs.  But when I'm sitting in that library and most of the other moms are singing and motioning along, I feel uncomfortable.  I feel so out of place.  Like I don't belong.  But WHY do I care?  Why do I care that I'm not following everyone else?  I'm not the only one not doing it, but even if I was, why should I be uncomfortable?  I want to not care.  I want to be ok with being me; and being me in those situations is smiling and watching everyone else enjoying themselves.  I need to come to terms with this.  YOU may like the silly songs.  THEY may like the silly songs.  I like the songs, I just don't like the hand-motions.  So just because YOU and THEY like it doesn't mean I have to.  See what I'm saying? 

I like the color orange. YOU like the color blue.  THEY like the color yellow.  We are all different.  I have to be me and you have to be you.  They have to be they.  I am not they or you... I am ME!

And about the people pleasing.  I know there are people in my life that want me to be a certain someone to them.  Expectations.  But I cannot fulfill those expectations.  And because I cannot fulfill those expectations I feel like I'm letting them down.  And then the people pleaser wells up inside of me.  And then I worry.  And then I feel like there's this battle.  I thought I was over this.  I am not responsible for someone else's happiness.  We all have to choose to be happy all on our own.  It's a choice; no one can make you.  So I have to disect this ugly people-pleasing mindset and just say NO!  I'm learning.  I want to be FREE to be me.  When we allow others to be who they are and release them from any expectations, there is freedom...then there is this beautiful, flowing spring of unconditional love. 

If we could all just be who we are and release ourselves from the ugly expectations of others, this world would be a better place!  It's poison to ourselves and to others when we allow ourselves to choose to be insecure and worry about people pleasing.  Let me be me and you can be you.

Let's be ourselves. Let's stop being uncomfortable and just face the facts. 

Okay?  Okay!

*stepping off soap box*

I'll post more pages soon!

Week 42

Wow!  I'm posting 2 days in a row!  I remember the days when I would post every.single.day.  That was "before Jeralyn".  Anyway, I wanted to share about a page I worked on this morning while Quent took Jeralyn on a hike (what a great husband/daddy!).  I'm waaaaay behind on her baby journal, but I have things organized pretty well so that I can just come back on the computer and know where I left off without feeling terribly overwhelmed.  Yesterday, my creative juices started churning again.  So that along with some motivation to get involved in a sale that Persnickety Prints is having, I thought it would be good to complete some of these journal pages.  So this morning I played!  But I felt myself getting stuck in the creative rut again.  This is my first draft:

 

I don't like it.  I don't care for it.  But I was ready to settle so I could continue on.  I took a break and when I came back I just knew I had to change something.  The pictures were too big on the page, so I shrunk them and then I felt like the creative juices could flow again.  It's amazing what one little change can do!

 

 

And this is my final draft!  I love it!  I love the blend of colors and all of the fun details.  I'm SO glad I took a break and changed things because now I'm truly satisfied!  Yeah!

 

 

Recently I found myself stuck on whether or not to continue some type of journaling for Jeralyn.  I thought about doing a monthly journal after she turned 1 year, but now that she's almost 14 months and I haven't been keeping track of much of anything since then, I'm thinking I won't do a journal for each month.  But I'm still having a mental debate over it.  I don't want to miss anything about her changes/growth at this time!  I need to make a decision fast!

I'm back...

It's been awhile since I have posted!  Sorry!!  We were on a 2-1/2 week vacation to the Midwest and I've been having creative lulls.  I was also stuck on a page and I wasn't willing to go forward until I finished it.  But now the page is completed and maybe the creative juices will be able to flow again.

 

This is a page I did about my surgery I had earlier this year.  I really like how soft it turned out because it was definitely a sensitive experience.  Whew!  I'm glad appendicitus is a one-time-event thing.  I named it "unplanned circumstances".

And this was the page I had a hard time finishing.  Let's just say this color combo isn't my favorite (must remember that for future photos!).  I thought about graying everything out and only having the avocado green in the picture, but I didn't want to take the time to do that.  I should have though because I spent way too much time trying to make the color combo look right.  Ugh!  Oh well, it's DONE!

 

I've been listening to a few Beth Moore studies on youtube.  I've been real encouraged!  It's been really good to spend more time in the Word each day!  I follow a devotional called Manna for Moms.  I also listen to Joyce Meyer from time to time.  It's been really good!

 

As far as the knitting goes, I have a few projects in the works, but only working on one currently.  Recently I tossed around the idea of learning to crochet, but I'm not sure I want to add yet another thing to my life--I already have enough to do and so little time! 

 

And I'm also thinking about becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator again.  But that's yet another thing I'm not sure I want to add to my life right now.  I need a social outlet...something besides story-time and going to the pool...something for me!  Ha!

 

Enjoy your day!  Enjoy the sun!  The rain!  The snow!  Or all of the above like we are!

1st Bite

It's hard to believe that about 9 months ago Jeralyn starting eating solids for the first time!  My how fast time flies!  She is a good little eater, but she's not big into eating meat--unless it has BBQ sauce on it--like her Aunt Natasha!

 

I have been scrapbooking a little here and there.  I got my digital assembly line lined up for her baby journal pages that I would like to finish--soon!  And yet again I'm having a hard time deciding what pictures to scrap since there are SO many!  I think the next photos on the docket are going to be when I was in the hospital.  And when we had family visiting.  And...

 



Hair Line

I tell you what, new kits always are a huge motivator to scrap.  Sometimes a girl just needs something new, something fresh.  I will say I have become a big fan of kits from the Sweet Shoppe.  This is a new set I purchased called Fabulous Fall.  And it is fabulous! 

 

I'm also figuring out that it has been working well for me to have a Photoshop project open and to work on it little by little.  So what I do is I grab some photos, put them on a blank 12x12 page, and then come back to it later.  That way I know where I want to start next time.

 

 

 

2 pages

Here I am again with a couple more pages!  I had to get creative with sneaking in purple on these two pages.  I'm thankful that I can change the colors of things in Photoshop with the help of hue/saturation! 

 

And guess what?  I'm officially done scrapping 2011!!  Whoohoo!

 

All Smiles

Hello there!  I don't blog as much as I used to.  Hmmm...wonder why?  *wink*  But I did get to scrap today.  I am almost officially done scrapping 2011 photos.  I may be after this page, but I have to double-check. 

 

My days are full of this sweet girl!  And now she's taking one nap a day, so my time is even more precious.  Well, all of my time is precious because it's spent with her.  *smile*  What I mean is that I am in the midst of figuring out how I want to do some things, like exercising and scrapping.

 

I've been knitting a lot of slippers and baby booties lately.  I have a project I want to start soon, but it may have to wait until I knit another gift project.

 

I'm also enjoying reading an assortment of books, everywhere from historical fiction to books about homeschooling. 

 

I dream of stamping again...but that may have to wait.

 

This page was used with primarily this digital set.

She's 1!

Jeralyn Promise turned ONE on the 24th!  I can't believe a year has already gone by.  I'm so thankful for our little sweet girl! 

 

 

The day after Christmas

Am I really posting twice in one day?  *faint*

I thought it would be fun to post a Christmas page in July.  You know...Christmas in July!  I'm getting real close to being finished scrapping 2011.  I have to tell you, it feels very satisfying!  And it's been so great to have the time to scrapbook while Jeralyn plays in her pack-n-play!  She enjoys it so much!  I can hear her squealing in there!  Lately she's had a lot of fun throwing things out of the pack-n-play.  She's so funny!  It's hard to believe that tomorrow we will be in her birthday month!  Wow!

I'm also working on some knitting projects.  I am knitting Quent a second pair of slippers right now.  I just finished knitting baby booties, and I have a couple of more pairs for baby gifts to knit.  I think I almost know the pattern by heart now.  I would also like to get started on a birthday gift for someone special soon, but we'll see.

Hope you are having a great day!

Pretty Baby

This morning I thought I was being all awesome and going to get a discount code from Persnickety Prints.  Well, apparentely it was a voucher and I missed out.  [insert sad face here]  But I had them printed anyway.  Oh well.  I feel like I was "crusted".

I scraplifted this page.

Week 37

Hello!  I hope you all are having a great weekend!  It's gorgeous here!  So happy we get a summer this year!  I spent some free time this morning catching up on the baby journal pages I had ready to finish.  My goal is to send some more pages to be printed once I have Week 40 completed, which is the next page I have to work on.  And I have a lot of actual journaling to catch up on, using my notes of course.

Week 37 is probably one of my favorites scrapped for this journal. Very pleasing to my eyes!

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Week 35 & 36

It's hard to believe that I only have 7 more weeks left of her first year to journal about and take pictures of!  And then I think I will do a monthly arrangement.  I thought about doing Project Life, but I really don't have the time to keep up with that.  I love that project though!  Looks like a lot of fun!  As you can imagine, I'm still a bit behind on this baby journal project.  I keep up with the journaling (for the most part).  I finished Week 37 this morning during her nap.  So now I have to build the templates for the next several weeks.  I do everything in steps, like a digital assembly line.  And it helps to have new digi stuff to play with!  I will post Week 37 soon!  Have a blessed day!