scrap.ti.cian:

ad.ven.ture

an exciting or remarkable experience

Chris's frienship with Jack was definitely remarkable. How could it not be? Jack was remarkable. He had this amazing smile that just drew you in and kept you there...no matter what shananigans or mischief he and Chris might be up to.

Thursday was Jack's birthday. He would have been 18.

In a couple of weeks, we'll be marking the one year anniversary of his death. He died in a car accident less than three miles from his house, on his way home from school. It's been tough...missin' Jack. And that pales in comparison to what his mom, dad and older brother have struggled with over the past year. But like Jack, they are remarkable. Through their sorrow they still manage to comfort Jack's extended family and friends.

In tribute to sweet Jack, and as a reminder of how often we think of him, Chris and I made a scrapbook of their times together. I put the pages together, then Chris filled it with memories. Man, was it bittersweet. Often we would just have to put it away for a while. Other times we'd sit and laugh at the pictures and memories. Always, it reminded us of how fortunate we were to have been part of such a remarkable experience - the adventure of knowing and loving Jack.

Together we presented the scrapbook to Jack's mom and dad. We were humbled that they considered it such a treasure.

Here are a few snipets:

Album Cover: "Perhaps they are not the stars, but rather openings in Heaven, where the light of our loved ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy."

Little boys...

to young men.

Indeed, we have been blessed. Our lives are richer for having known and loved him.

happy birthday, sweet jack.

med.al.ist

[photo: Agencies]

a recipient of a medal as an award

Go USA! Go Michael Phelps! Go Dara Torres! Go USA Basketball!

I love watching the Olympics. I am such a junkie! We were in a restaurant last night when the 400m IR race began. We had finished dinner and were ready to go, but lingered behind so we could watch Michael Phelps not only win a gold medal, but break the world record that he set a month ago in Olympic trials.

I get very choked up watching the Olympics. I think about how very hard these athletes work to make it to the games. How much they sacrifice and edure. I think in many ways they embody the very best parts of the human spirit. So you go Michael Phelps. I'll be cheering you on every stroke of the way.

con.grat.u.late

: to express vicarious pleasure to (a person) on the occasion of success or good fortune

Thanks for all of your comments on the anthology concept. I hope it encouraged you to take a little time each year to document you.

I'd like to congratulate Jennsue for winning my first ever RAK. Email me your info so I can get this little kit to you. And if you'd be so kind, please send me a photo of your completed Book of Me to post on my blog.

I plan to put up a RAK every month or so, so please check back.

an.thol.o.gy

: a collection of selected literary pieces or passages or works of art or music

Here are the three scrapbooks I have about me.

The 8x8 green one was a kit that I bought and it's circa 2006. Already there are things in there that are dated: a clothes label from a line that I no longer wear; a picture of the car I was driving then; my hair style (what was I thinking with that color?). It has about 20 pages and came together pretty quickly since it was all pre-designed.

The 12x12 black one is from Ali Edwards' Week in the Life class at CKU, circa 2007. Again, there are some dated details. At the time I documented my week, I had some pretty major stuff going on and it's cool to look back, now knowing the outcome and seeing the fruits of my labor.

The Book of Me is 5x7 ~ the first time I've ever worked with this size and I love it. This was a class/kit combo from A Million Memories (click here).

An accidental anthology about me and my life.

Now that I have an actual collection, I'm going to continue to add to it. Each year I'll complete an album about me and add it to my library.

Do you have an anthology of you? If not, consider this your invitation to begin one. If you do, be happy knowing that it's sure to become one of your family's most cherished collections of art. And make a vow to add to it occasionally. Your story is worth the time and effort.

To help you kick-start this process, I have a little RAK to give away to someone (lemonade not included).

Post a comment and I'll choose a winner on Tuesday. Have a great weekend.

in.clude

: to take in or comprise as a part of a whole or group

I wanted to explore further this whole idea of me. Me being important enough to include in our family's story.

Each member of my immediate family has their own scrapbook. And they are pretty full. Except mine.

For a long time it was most important to me to document my kids' lives ~ probably more for me and my desire to hold onto those moments than for their future recollections. It was also important to me to document their relationships with their dad and extended family and friends. Afterall, these relationships were prominent in their lives and truly impacted who they were becoming as individuals.

Somewhere in all of this prioritizing, I forgot to include myself.

As I have begun to include me in our family history, some things have become pretty clear. I wish:

1) I had moved from behind the camera to in front of it. I always had the camera, capturing the moment. I wanted just the right shot, just the right lighting, just the right expressions. I captured the moment, for sure. I'm just not inlcuded in it.

2) I had written my thoughts. Generally, my journaling consists of who, what, where, when. Why's are rare, and are generally from someone else's perspective.

3) I had more layouts of me in our albums. Every day moments and big moments. Silly thoughts and profound musings. All important to my family and their including me in their story.

I hope this inspires you to include yourself in your family's story, too.

in.tro.spec.tion

: a reflective looking inward : an examination of one's own thoughts and feelings

Lately, a number of things have prompted me to look deep inside myself, which is not always the most friendly of places. This is not an exercise of which I am particularly fond, nor one for which I have an abundance of time. What with being a wife, mom, businesswoman, chef, physician's assistant, chauffer, psychologist, teacher's aide, maid and official scheduler, the practicalities of every day life seldom lend themselves to such self-indulgence.

That being said, I am prone to observation. Coupled with a deep belief that there is a divine purpose for my life and that there is no such thing as coincidence, I didn't need a fourth or fifth smack on the back of my head to realize that a little self-indulgent introspection was most likely long overdue. The first three worked quite nicely.

1st Whack

I signed up for Stacy Julian's Photo Freedom class, expecting to download some organizational tips, buy some matching photo albums + scrapbooks, and be on my way. Three months (and 10 of 12 lessons) later, I have completely changed why I scrapbook. A lot of prompting on Stacy's part, and a lot of trust on mine, has resulted in a totally new style: I've evolved from an events/chronological scrapbooker to a story teller. Stacy's class has promoted me to think about the kinds of of stories I want to leave behind.

2nd Whack

Ali ran a great series on her blog about words + photos + stories. If you missed it, it is well worth your time to head over to her blog right now and check it out. Reading the series prompted me to think about the photos I take in relation to the story I want to tell, and to remember that I'm part of the story.

3rd Whack

A Million Memories offered an online class, "The Book of Me". As I filled out the enrollment form I remember thinking, "I'm an idiot. I already have too much on my plate. There's no way I'm going to get to this." Immediately followed by, "Maybe, but Karen Grunberg is teaching it and I admire her work so much. What if I make it a simple book? And focus on the story I want to tell? My story." Karen's class prompted me to make myself a priority in our family's story.

It took me three weeks (and the two previous whacks), but I finished it a couple of days ago.

This morning I realized that it's the third scrapbook I have about me. This not only surprised me; it also made me very happy. Each year for the past three, I've completed a scrapbook with details about my life: my dreams, my fears, my strengths, my shortcomings, my activities, my past and my future.

These scrapbooks are my introspection. A story that deserves to be told. A story that my family will appreciate, laugh at, wonder about, cherish. The good, bad and not so ugly story of a wife, mom, businesswoman, chef...

ac.tiv.i.ty

vigorous or energetic action

Lots of activity around here lately. Busy with some major stuff and not-so-major stuff, and trying to keep it all balanced.

The biggest of the major stuff is looking at majors and colleges for Christopher and celebrating his birthday! He was seventeen on Friday, and we spent the day at the Professional Golf Management (PGM) open house at Campbell University in Buies Creek, NC.

We really liked the campus, faculty and the program at Campbell. He would graduate with a bachelor's degree in business administration and be a certified PGA pro at the end of 4.5 years. One more year and he would have his MBA.

In contrast, many of the PGM schools offer the program via a Parks & Recreation degree. So we feel the program at Campbell would be more beneficial over the course of a lifetime. Praying and pondering, but right now Chris feels pretty confident that Campbell is the school for him. (He's also visited Coastal Carolina and researched half a dozen more.)

From Campbell we headed to Myrtle Beach so that Chris could work with his coach. We took him out for a nice dinner and to the golf store to buy birthday goodies: a pair of shorts and a shirt; two pairs of shoes. (He spends about 5 hours per day in his golf shoes during the week, twice that on weekends.)

Lots of physical activity going on, too. Gerald bought me the coolest bike for Easter, and we went for a nice, long ride Saturday morning. Gerald ran afterwards. I crawled to the front door and into the livingroom, where he found me thirty minutes later. He ran again this morning, and I walked. Right now, all three boys are on the driving rage hitting golf balls. Love that we are embracing physical fitness together.

Hoping to work on some of the inspired. projects this week. As soon as I do, I'll post. In the meantime, here's a little thing I did called "Time Flies". Basically it's about feeling like time went by too quickly, and struggling with wanting my kids to spread their wings and fly, and wanting to cage them up and hold them back with me, all at the same time. It features b&w photos of my sons throughout their lives. Hope you like it. Have a great week!

in.spired

outstanding or brilliant in a way or to a degree suggestive of divine inspiration

What an event! I've had a great time and learned SO MUCH that I can't wait to incorporate into my every day art.

Six workshops. Evening mini-workshops. Artists who are passionate about their art and excited to share it with you. You need to put this one on your calendard for next year.

More to come when I get home and recover!

leg.a.cy

something received from an ancestor

Isn't this paper amazing? It's part of the April kit from A Million Memories. You can check it out here. This is the second kit I've bought here and I love them. You can find pretty much any scrapbooking supplies you want. The fun part is the online community at AMM, which is sponsored by the owner, Michelle. Definitely check it out.

This is my great-grandmother, Mary Dean Moon. And, that's her real wedding ring. I was fortunate enough to inherit it from her daughter,  my Great-Aunt Hazel. It's part of the legacy that my dad's family has left me.

Yesterday we met with Christopher's guidance counselor about college, classes, NCAA requirements...a two and a half hour meeting. I left thinking, "Where did the time go? He's leaving home soon. Did we equip him with the knowledge and skills he needs to go out into the world? What legacy is he leaving with?"

I hope it's a legacy of love and acceptance. Confidence in the path he's chosen and the endurance to achieve it. Courage to make a difference. Desire to be remarkable. Knowledge that time on his knees will lead to times of standing strong. Enormous faith in God and a meek heart. Comfort in knowing he can always come home and determination that he will never need to.

fool

a person lacking in judgment or prudence

Happy April Fool's Day.

I've been waiting for my brother to punk me. It's a tradition. Then I punk him back, only worse. Then we argue over who was more victimized, him or me. Gotta love April 1st.

This little shadow box sits on the credenza, behind my desk, at work. I wanted a visual representation of a word I find myself repeating constantly to people, especially at work.

On a visit to San Fancisco in February, I drug Gerald, Bobby and Jackie with me to Timeless Treasures. I'd read about this place on Ali Edward's blog. If you are in SF, you have to go. It sits on the most amazing street, and Joan, the owner, is the most gracious host. It is full of wonderfully vintage and ecclectic things.

I went with every intention of buying big,huge letters to spell out 'think'. But these spoke to me instead (and fit in my suitcase). I added a few things: Heidi Swapp clock; making memories ribbon; rick rack; and Basic Grey paper; and some glue dots.

As usual in this wonderfully crazy world, the joke is on me. I intended this for those around me - a prompt for them to create solutions, act with intention, maintain purpose. Instead, I've found that I needed the prompt just as much ~ probably more.