One of twenty.

After thinking more about yesterday's post on dreams and going after things in life that seem out of reach, I thought it only fitting to post a layout out of my contest entries. This one was one of the very first layouts that I scrapped...I think the third one actually. It was the one that made me realize that I wanted to scrap more pages, and that I didn't care if they were part of a contest submission or not. I fell in love with the way this page came together, and the idea that Wyndham and my other kids could flip through an album someday and read a letter straight from my heart. It gave me valid reason to want to scrap more pages. I looked at this page and saw that it was a 'piece of me' on cardstock...I used my mind, my love of paper, ribbons and color, and I simply stuck it down on a page with a picture that I had taken of Wyndham that I loved too. I think it was the page that made me say, "This is what I want to do." I fell in love with scrapbooking from this page on.
So, that is me gushing about how much I love scrapbooking...but I still have personal issues and 'standards'. I have learned that I have my own scrapbook philosophy. That is I only like to scrap pages that are meaningful (to me and sometimes to others too); I want my pages to contain depth within the journaling, or to allow others to learn more about me or the person/thing I am scrapping about. I'm not about taking a picture and adding the word 'cute' or some other catchy phrase. I figure if I am putting time and effort into creating the page, than it has to have more substance than that.
[If you click on the picture, you should be able to read the journaling on it.] This page I took a little notebook and wrote Wyndham a letter- from her Dad and me. It's true. I believe every word of it. And I hope someday she will be able to read it and thank us for never holding her back. I know somedays are a bigger challenge than others, and I'm not a perfect Mom, but that's part of the beauty of life.
I am learning that life doesn't have to be just a 'daily grind'. While it's easy for that to happen, especially speaking as a parent who has lost a child and lived the intense feelings and pain of grief, and then as a mom, who stays home with little kids and does a lot of the same stuff everyday, I know how that feeling can come over me and make me lose sight of bigger dreams. I have come to a place in my life where I actually love the routine and chores in my life, and at the same time I realize that each day is a new gift to me.
The same is true for all of us! How great is that! That every morning we wake and have a full day to create joy, to renew or restore relationships. We have the chance to be a better person, whether it's striving to be a better spouse, parent, sibling or friend. We have the chance to forgive. We have the chance to love more deeply. We have the chance to say 'I'm sorry'. We have the chance to try new things...maybe it's a new craft, or a savory recipe. Maybe it's walking to a nearby park and smelling the fresh air and seeing the world around you in a new way. Maybe it is giving money to a charity that could use your cash to create a better life for someone else. It may simply be getting up and telling yourself that YOU MATTER today...that your life has purpose and greatness- because nobody is just like you.
These are the kinds of things that fuel my energy each day and give me joy and happiness inside. I realize each day that God has given me more time on this earth, and I thank Him and ask Him to help me become what He has created me to be. I am living and learning, and slowly becoming more of that...and trying to enjoy the journey, making the most of it everyday. Because life truly is a gift, and I recognize that. Every single day.