Back again with the 4th week of January, and possibly my favourite week so far!
This week is made up of 2-9×12 pocket pages, a 6×12 insert, and a variety of supplies from my stash from Studio Calico, the “Everyday” edition of Project Life by Liz Tamanaha (Becky Higgins), and the “Numbers” Story Kit by Ali Edwards.
Highlights from the first half of the week, ANOTHER lost tooth (#6), the kids were super excited to get their own bank accounts, the Anna boot battle that resulted in the ultimate “I’m not going to play with you!” threat from my 3 year old, and a field trip to IKEA.
As I worked my way through my stories and thoughts for the week, I found myself leaning toward a lot of the negatives. I’ve always been a fan of documenting “real life” and that means including the good AND the bad. But I must have really been in a negative mood, because it seemed like everything I wrote had a snarky tone to it. I gave myself the pep talk… “Memory keeping is a way to make love visible”. I need more of that these days. More love. So I went back and revised some of my word choices.
The facts about the events are still the same, but this week, I decided to consciously choose to write about something good instead of focusing so heavily on the bad. By the time I was done, I FELT happier. I really think that little shift in my mindset to look for the good made a difference.
Example: Emily and I spent at least 2 hours at IKEA, and it wasn’t exactly the enjoyable, leisurely browsing experience I would have loved. It was the “don’t touch the glass…. please leave the cupboards alone…. no, you CAN’T climb the bunkbed ladders, there’s a sign….please stop jumping on the bed and get your shoes back on” experience. I originally wrote that after 2 hours, I was ready for a speedy exit. Yes. Real life. And some days are just like that. What I decided to write about instead was still the facts about our trip to IKEA with my adventurous girl, and the good part, that we found some good options for a big girl bed 🙂
When I look back at these albums, and more importantly, if my kids are reading these stories one day, I want to make sure the message isn’t “hey, your mom was way tired and you guys drove her crazy”. I want to make sure they hear loud and clear, “You are LOVED!”
Many of us are programmed to see the negatives first. And my stories could easily be over run with that perspective if I’m not paying attention. Sometimes I have to work a little harder to look for the good in everyday moments too. Trust me…. there’s still a healthy dose of reality checks peppered throughout, along with some laughter. Because sometimes the only thing you can do is laugh!
This week, we took a grown-ups only mini road trip to a Twenty One Pilots concert in Albany. It included multiple stops at Chipotle and Target, 1130 km of driving in 2 days, and a really good time. (I apologize for the crazy amount of glare in these photos. I need a better strategy for taking photos in less than ideal lighting conditions.) Digital word art from Ali Edwards “Drive” theme.
Highlights from the second half of the week include Emily’s flowers, TGIF (seriously!!), and a pretty fantastic “stay at home in your jammies all day” kind of weekend.
Journaling cards here are from the “Numbers” Story Kit by Ali Edwards and the Story Board Documenter Kit by Studio Calico.
Loved adding this little story to the album about the flowers. Emily was very happy to show us the pink flowers Papa bought for her when we got home 🙂
The photo of the our bags all lined up by the wall Friday evening. That one’s a keeper. Such an everyday real life moment captured.
The second half of this week’s spread is definitely more about the photos than the words. Sometimes, the photos say it for you and I love having that mix in my albums.
That’s it for this week! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and definitely feel free to leave a comment or ask questions below 🙂
I loved this so much. Your point about them looking back and just seeing how much they are loved was a real slap in the face for me! Your post also really inspire me to add project life post to my blog, I love to do it and it’s so inspiring to show others. I am wondering how you print your photos as well, like your large photo of the flowers? It’s gorgeous, did you use your own printer and use a full sheet? What’s your favourite way?!
Hey Niki, Thank you so much 🙂 I print all my photos at home! I’ve got a standard size printer, but I’ve discovered that I can still use it for 6×12 prints, which is awesome.