It's Monday - Are you making something???

I am out of town, but I brought my new "Mom, her story, her words" Book and a pen so I promise to write out a few answers on Monday. If you make something - ANYTHING - post here and let me know. When I get back on Tuesday, I have Kaya draw this time for a cool Cropper Hopper Prize. I am so impressed with all of you who have made something on a Monday. Here are a few photos of my new book from Compendium....

Are you taking lots of summer photos??

I am about to head out for a couple of days.... so I am in my office clearing off memory cards (it still makes me feel anxious to hit 'delete all' even once they are on the mac and backed up on CD). I wanted to post a few fun summer photos from the last couple of days, and also thank anyone on our softball team for an amazing season. We made simple certificates for all the girls - just added a few mini prints, and the parents LOVED them. Remember... just a bit of thought, a few minutes, and a photo or two can create a cool memory for someone.

If you have commented (or emailed me direct) that you want to take the ONE SUMMER class... PLEASE be taking photos. Take photos of things you love about the summer, of your kids (if you have them) with people they love and of what they write in sidewalk chalk. Take photos of groups of people you hang out with and faces full of sticky candy. I will get you more direction next week, and all materials for the kits have been ordered and will have them ready at Just Need It in the next week or two (do not worry - I will email all of you already signed up via email or comments the MOMENT they go into the cart so you have first dibs on them!!). I am SO EXCITED to talk you through this class over the next few weeks.... the one thing I need you to do now is CARRY YOUR CAMERA and get lots of simple, real life, every day type summer shots now. Please do that - you will not be sorry. THANK YOU for all the excitement about the class. It makes my heart happy to know so many of you will have this album started in a couple of weeks!!

Happy weekend....

P.S. Be thinking about one little thing you can do on Monday - it is always going to be MAKE SOMETHING MONDAY for me. I hope you play along. Remember, if you make one little thing every Monday - in 5 years you will have over 250 little things. How awesome would that be? If you comment on Monday with what you made (I am going to try to have a post set to drop Monday morning, but you all know I am a bit blog-clueless so it might not work).... I will draw a name for an organizational prize from my Cropper Hopper stash. Who could not use anything to get themselves a little more organized??? Cannot wait to read what you guys are making this Monday.

Another quick little meaningful gift

If I did only one thing with this blog and site... I hope that it makes at least a few people realize how easy it is to create something that is meaningful. You all know you are not coming here to learn from a famous author or get cutting edge techniques... anyone reading this knows I only know how to be what I am.... simple, meaningful and pretty darn quick at creating things. I got the idea yesterday with about 15 minutes before I had to leave for our 2nd to last softball game. I quickly printed out 12 4 x 6 question cards for our entire team to answer for our wonderful manager, Coach Mari. I asked each girl three simple questions then took a photo of each of them with her last night. Tonight (if our final game does not get rained out - it is totally pouring now) I will collect them and take the photo of Jessica who was missing last night. While the girls slept, I typed out four simple divider cards and I let Kalli use stickers to decorate them today. I am printing photos now. I am using one of my trusty stash of little albums I found on Clearance at Target.... so for almost no cost, and just a little time, I have created a simple gift album I know Coach Mari will love for a very long time. Here are a couple photos of it. I know this is not stunning or amazing or over the top, but in my really busy hectic little life, it is getting close to done, and it will mean as much to Mari as if I had worked on it all season. Do not underestimate the power you have to create simple little meaningful gifts for others. Try it once - commit to NOT making it harder than it needs to be. You can do it, and it might even make you really happy. I know it makes me happy to have this to hand to her at the closing picnic tomorrow.

I have a winner!!

OK, for most of you, who are not totally new to this blogging thing... I am sure it is a piece of cake to figure out how to draw a winner. I mean, how hard can it be? The super star bloggers get like 250+ comments and they pick a winner... but I was not sure how to do it. This is my first time you know!! So I cut and paste all of the comments into a WORD file and trimmed them and let my daughter draw. I figured that was about as fair as I could be. Drum roll please......

and the winner of my very first MAKE SOMETHING MONDAY drawing is.....

Connie C!!!

I hope you read this and email me (klsb@comcast.net) your address so I can pass it on to Shannon from Yellow Fence can mail you a prize.

THANK YOU to everyone who took time to MAKE SOMETHING this Monday. I was so excited with what all of you did, I am going to have another drawing next Monday. Anybody need some Cropper Hopper stuff?? I bet I can pull a couple cool Cropper Hopper prizes from my top secret stash! So, be thinking and planning and MAKE SOMETHING MONDAY. Let me know what you made by posting a comment, and I will have Kalli pick 2 winners next week.

I love this! Danelle was totally right - I should have started a blog years ago!

Thank you for all your comments. :) Have a great Wednesday.

Blessing Jar & Tag Booklet Class

I just got back from teaching a wonderful class at the town Library tonight. It was a Mom & Me workshop (I love when the kids create with the Moms!). They created a Blessing Jar and Family Blessing Tag Booklet based on the Once Upon A Family March Lessons for Little Ones. It went really well. All the families loved it, and each of them said they wanted to do more workshops like this. Three of them told me they wanted to host a Once Upon A Family workshop in their homes which was great. It was a simple and nice evening. I loved helping families find a way to talk about how blessed they truly are.

Make Something Monday and WIN!! - edited to add photos of what I just made

Hey - I am working on my Monday project and will add photos later. I just wanted to remind you to post your Email if you let me know you have made something as I will be picking a winner tomorrow out of anyone who posts that they made something. Someone just posted that they already made a Racing layout today (yeah for them!!!!) but they did not leave their email address - so if they win the drawing, I will not have a way to let them know!!

So GO MAKE SOMETHING this Monday and let me know you did. Give me your email, too. There could be a fun prize package from Yellow Fence with your name on it!!

Have a wonderful Monday!!

KLSB

I just finished the Family Blessings tag book and jar I am teaching for our town tonight (I know, last minute... but it has been a crazy few weeks!!) I found great smooth glass jars at Michaels that worked perfect. This is based on the March Lessons for Little Ones project my family did with Once Upon A Family products - they give you monthly activities and ideas that help you get your family to focus on different family values. I LOVE IT. They have Lessons for Little Ones for younger kids and Live, Laugh Love club for bigger kids. What a wonderful way to get your family to engage in fun discussions about things that REALLY MATTER. Email me if you want more info on these amazing products.

Photo Filled Weekend

Our family had a very busy weekend and I took a ton of photos. We were in the Relay for Life Cancer Walk, were on a float for our softball team in the town Parade which ended at the town festival and today, we spent the day at a local water park with a ticket Kalli got for FREE for reading so much this year. It was busy and crazy, and I am so happy to be headed towards bed. I just wanted to share a few of the many photos I took. I cannot wait to print them for my One Summer album. I am excited to be really focused on capturing these summer moments before they are gone. I am grateful for every single photo I just uploaded and I am thrilled to be able to live these moments over and over..... I hope you are taking lots of photos too! Shoot & Print! That is my motto this summer. I do not want to leave this summer as a faded memory or just a .jpg file. I am going to print and love my photos and my memories! I know I will always be grateful.

Thinking about summer...

I am not sure if it is because I just posted the ONE SUMMER class or if it is simply that I LOVE SUMMER - but I cannot stop thinking about summer today. We went to our first festival of the year (since I have been little, I have totally and completely loved town festivals). I am not sure if it is the crazy rides, the good tasting/bad-for-you food, or just the feeling in the air... but I love festivals, and so do the girls. Kalli rides anything she is tall enough to get on, and always has been that way. Kaya has been a little scared of rides in general, but today - she LOVED them. Her favorites were the two slides that she needed a Mom or Dad to go with her on.... since Dad had the wrist band (I cannot stomach spinning) I went on the slides over and over.... it was so cool to watch her, but MAN, those slides are totally not meant for big Mommies to climb up & ride OVER & OVER. Oh well, I just hope I burned off some calories.

If you are one of the people planning to take my new ONE SUMMER class.... please make sure you think about taking lots of summer photos starting NOW - please do not wait - start today. Remember, it is not about taking technically perfect photos.... it is about simply capturing portions of this ONE SUMMER as you live it!! THANK YOU for the nice emails.... And, yeah, I did come kicking and screaming into blog-land thanks pretty much only to Danelle! Thanks to those of you who have remembered me over the years. I cannot wait to share this class with you. I hope you all have a fun and photo filled weekend.

p.s What part of letting small children win big plastic swords, keeping them up WAY past bedtime, and plowing them full of sugar does not spell t-r-o-u-b-l-e?? Wonder how long it will be until I take those away and someone is in big trouble??

My First Newsletter

My first newsletter (finally) went out today. If you didn't get it, you can view the on-line version here. If you would like to subscribe, you can enter your email on the tool bar to the right, as well as on the home page of Memories for Everyone. Don't forget to leave a comment on the post below if you are interested in the One Summer Class.

ONE SUMMER class information

I just sent out my first newsletter, and it had some basic information on the ONE SUMMER class I will be offering soon. Here are a few photos of the project and more information. You cannot currently sign up for the class based on the way the Just Need It System works (we cannot take pre-sign ups)... since this is our first class, we have no clue if there will be 4, 40 or 140 people signing up. So, we are asking you to post a comment if you plan to take the class. Please post your email address by the end of June 23rd. We will then order kits based on the number of people who say they want to take it!! I will post again when the class is open for sale at Just Need It. Sorry for this odd loop you need to jump through this time - it is just hard for us to judge where to even start with these types of classes... I hope to improve the look of the newsletter and class sign-up process little by little. THANK YOU for your patience and for your willingness to try to get on board with us as Danelle and I try to create meaningful, simple projects that tell your story.

Here is more class information and photos of the project. Email me direct with any questions.

ONE SUMMER class - $48

This album is all about capturing this ONE SUMMER as you live it. Taking photos of the simple and the special things you do as a family in the summer months. Not only taking them – BUT PRINTING THEM and doing something simple and easy with them. What would you give to have one place to look back at three months of your lives in the summer when you were a kid? Places you went, things you did, clothes you wore, friends you had. What were the things you loved the most and enjoyed the least over the summer months…. The focus of this project is NOT to teach you over the top, new techniques – it is to get you capturing and printing summer memories as they happen.

This project is developed to make it SIMPLE, FAST, and EASY for you to capture ONE SUMMER of your life. I know you will always be grateful you took a little time this summer to create a memory that will last forever. I sure would love looking back and one summer my siblings and I spent with our parents when we were little. Or just one simple summer in my Mom's life before she married my dad or before they even had us kids.

Teacher: Kristi Sikora-Blankenship

Class Sold By: Just Need It (website)

Class Cost: $48

What you will create:

A BRAND NEW 6 1/2" x 9 1/4" binder style album from Creative Lifestyle (that you can TOTALLY personalize with rub-ons, papers, etc). The kraft binder album will include 4 awesome clear dividers as well as 24 sheets of binder paper (a variety of all four new styles of binder papers). It will become a combination of photos, stories, and memorabilia, and about ONE SUMMER. You will be adhering 4 x 6 photos back to back, hole punching them and inserting them into the binder (a fun technique I leared from Melody Langworthy - an amazing scrapbooker and stamper). We will focus on taking photos, printing them, and telling your summer story little by little.

You can organize it in ANY WAY that works for you….
*By Month (June, July, August)
*By Person (a section for each kid, adult, or other person in your life)
*By Topic (festivals, sports, swimming, gardening, vacations – any topics that work for you)

You do NOT have to have kids to create this project - all of us have this ONE SUMMER and can capture what any of it means to you. I have kids, so my album will be full of crazy kid-filled summer shots. Maybe you have a great garden, you travel, love to sit on the beach and read.... make this work to capture YOUR summer.

What you will get in the class kit:

(1) Creative Lifestyle kraft binder **
(4) awesome clear dividers **
(6) sheets of dot binder paper **
(6) sheets of notebook binder paper **
(6) sheets of graph binder paper **
(6) sheets of kraft binder paper **
(1) foot of lime twill
(1) foot of blue twill
(1) foot of pink twill
(1) foot of white corduroy ribbon **
(1) foot of lime corduroy ribbon **

(1) foot of pink corduroy ribbon **

(1) foot of sky corduroy ribbon **

(1) foot of orange corduroy ribbon **
(1) foot lime & white tickets **
(1) foot sky & white ticket strip **

(1) Square Epoxy White#1 **

(1) Round Epoxy White #1 **

(1) Round Epoxy Color #1
(2) sheets flourish Blue 12 x 12 paper
(2) sheets lime dot 12 x 12 paper
(1) sheet multi dot 12 x 12 paper
(1) XL orange tag
(1) XL blue tag

(1) XL Lime Tag

(1) XL pink tag
(1) L pink tag
(1) L lime tag
(1) Spirit Phrases – full sheet

(1) Spirit Alpha Bits - full sheet
(1) Spirit Labels - full sheet

** = BRAND NEW Café product!!
(kit contents can change between now and when we officially post the class - we might get a new die in stock that allows us to cut out the binder cover pieces for you....that would alter the paper count a bit)

Additional Class Components:

(1) Initial Handout that describes in detail one of the many ways you can create your ONE SUMMER album – it will include ideas for how to organize yourself and get started on this project as well as tips to simplify the process for yourself.

(3) downloadable PDF handouts (one for each month) you can save or print to use throughout the summer as a reference for your album (you will need the FREE Adobe Reader to open this file)

(3) Monthly emails with ideas for pages for June, July, and August (I am setting up my album by month with my 4th section being What we loved the most)

Random emails of encouragement throughout the summer

Access to an On-line posting gallery at our website (we will send you a link to this) so you can post what you are doing and show what you are doing to others (a really cool part about this will be posting what you are doing, and learning great ideas from others in the class).

(1) online chat with Kristi so you can ask any questions, share pointers, or just talk about what you have thought about this project - time and date to be announced later

What you will need to provide
*Any of the rubber stamps I use are not going to be in the kit. You can use the stamps you have, borrow them from a friend, or pick them up from Just Need It I figured a lot of you already have your stash of favorite little stamps you use…. And it made the cost way too high to include them! *Any extra little supplies you love to use. (Brads, clips, staples, paint, inks, pop-dots, etc….)
*Rub-ons if you want to use them (there are many great Creative Cafe Impress On sets I love)

*A hole punch (I love to use my Crop-A-Dile)
*White Sharpie (to write on photos as you see fit)

*Fun photos from this summer printed 4 x 6 or mini prints - even some 5 x 7 prints might be nice to have here and there!!
*Your creative mind and willing spirit.

What I need you to do
1) Make a commitment to CARRY YOUR CAMERA this summer. Not one or two places, but EVERYWHERE. I am not kidding. Be brave, get a new case if it makes you happy, and carry it with you somewhere every day. That is going to be step one. You do not need your $1500 camera with you at the beach – if you do not have one, get a cheap point and shoot so you are not worried about losing it or smashing it or getting it wet. You cannot capture the moment without it, so get over your fears and carry the good one or get yourself a little pocket one and shoot, shoot, shoot.
2) Next commitment – PRINT. Not one or two prints, but LOTS of prints – print and LOVE your photos. Print more than you think you need. Look at them and relive the moments in your mind. Look at them IN YOUR HANDS, not just on your computer. Prints will make you happy. It makes your memories real. I do not want you to have 1600 digital images of your summers…. I mean, you can take that many, but just commit to printing a lot of photos this summer. Real live prints in color or black and white or a mix of whatever makes you happy. Print, Print, Print. 3) Do not make it harder than it needs to be – do not feel the need to photo shop each print you print to make it perfect. Just print it as they come and start using them and putting them into the little places on the page protectors. This is NOT meant to be a record of your amazing photography and photo shop skills. It is meant to be a record of this ONE SUMMER in they middle of your crazy life.

There you have it, a very long winded (I type just like I talk… A LOT!) outline of what I believe in my heart will be a fun project that will be really cool to look back at in 10 years. I know I would give a lot to have a bunch of photos and stories from ONE SUMMER when my sister and brother and I were small. I really hope you take this journey with me. Please email me with any questions (klsb@comcast.net) and I will figure out your answer!

Thank you for reading this…. I hope you will all love this class. Remember, post a comment now (and include your email) if you want to take this class - we will then order kits based on those numbers. Please post by Sunday, June 22 as we are ordering all kit supplies on the 23rd. I will email those of you who comment with your email so you get first dibs on the kits. After that email goes out, I will send a note to our newsletter list that the remaining kits are up for sale! I cannot wait to see what all of us create this ONE SUMMER! If you are planning to take the class - celebrate summer & get your project started by taking a bunch of fun summer photo on June 21st for the first official day of summer!! I am so excited to create this project with you over this One Summer! You will get your kit by mid July, so do not wait to start really taking photos! Get that going now and be ready to create once you get your kit!

Thank you for taking a chance on creating this incredible memory for your family. Enjoy today.

Kristi Sikora-Blankenship

www.memoriesforeveryone.com

klsb@comcast.net

Friends helping friends...

Kalli had an INCREDIBLE kindergarten teacher this year. Just a wonderful teacher and great person. Her husband passed away quite suddenly last year, and her youngest daughter is getting married next Saturday. She is quite sad that her Dad is not there to walk her down the aisle... Mrs. Moran calls herself the least creative person ever (odd for a kindergarten teacher she always says) so she came over after finding some photos of her daughter and husband to create something small for her for the wedding. We both have some homework to do to complete the album on Monday, but here are a few photos of it so far. I will post better photos once it is complete, but here is a peek. I had no plan, no clue how many photos she had, and I had to use something I had here as we had no time to shop.... for winging it, I think we did a nice job. I cannot wait to see it after we meet for a bit on Monday.

A cool, simple last minute Father's day gift...

OK, I was so excited to do that smoking cool Shutterfly book for Neil that I sort of (sadly) forgot to do something for my dad. SO, I looked in my rather full closet of supplies and found this 4 x 6 album I got on total clerance at Taget for $2.48 for three of them. It holds 60 4 x 6 photos. So, I printed good ones of my dad and the kids that I have meant to print for a while and did a few cute divider sheets. I also wrote out just a few questions for the girls to answer about my Dad. I really really am pleased with how it turned out. I hate that I waited to the last minute, but I love that you can have no money and no time, and scrapbooking allows you to still create a very meaningful gift. I love this gift. I know it will mean a lot to him.

Have you ever loved a gift so much it hurt your heart?

This one hurts my heart. I almost cannot wait to watch the girls give it to Neil on Sunday. I really almost cannot wait. My good friend Shannon had an amazing idea to simply add her own photos to this cool book to create a personalized gift for her husband for Father's Day. She is so cool, she even picked up the book for me. I was struggling with it because I have two kids, and it says "i" instead of "we". Once I talked myself into getting over that part, I realized I did not have photos for a few of the pages. Well, I then decided to make my first real digital photo book. Danelle will be so proud. So, here is what I ended up with, and it makes my heart happy. I just love it. I can post it now because I have to show some people or I will explode - and Neil never looks at my work blog. So, I am safe. Enjoy your Father's Day.

Father's Day Workshop Photos - updated

We had a bunch of people over on Sunday, and some more tonight, and one more family tomorrow. They created a wonderful memory book for their dad for Sunday. All it will take them is ONE photo each year on Father's day and this amazing book will become a place to look at 20 years of Father's Day photos. Can you imagine having this from when you were little - one photo every year on Father's Day with your Dad? I know I would love it. I would love to see us and our Dad through the years. I have one of these kits extra. If you are interested (and local) you can get it in time for Father's Day. The cost is $50 and I can make it work for one or more kids. You just need to let me know if they call their Dad "Dad" or "Daddy" and what his favorite color is, and I can have it ready for you tomorrow. If you are out of town, I can ship it to you, but it would sure be cutting it close. Email me (klsb@comcast.net) right away if you are interested please. The Moms who got this album loved it. It really made them happy!! If you want a Mother's Day one for next year, please let your husband know my email address, and I can get you on the list for that workshop next April! Hope anyone reading this had a meaningful day.

The Father's Day album has been sold. I am so happy that another Dad will get this gift on Father's Day!! Thank you!!

Make Something Monday - what did you make?

I fell in love with a book last night. So much so that I want to carry it in my purse. So I took off the book jacket/dust cover - and to my delight it was pure white. I loved it. And I thought it needed a photo - which then turned into lots of photos and journaling, too. I added a bookmark and I am in the process of printing even more photos to add. And, now I love it even more. Now it is the best book ever. I love that I made it MINE. I hope you made something today. Remember, making one little thing every Monday will become over 250 little somethings in 5 years.

A short guide to a happy life....

I am OBSESSED with a book I have owned forever and I finally read last night. It is A Short Guide to a Happy Life by Anna Quindlen. I love a quote by her about how she made a mistake rushing to the next things and not treasured the little things enough. My search for the exact wording of that quote last night led me to dig out that old book. You can read the entire thing in 20 minutes and it totally rocked my world. I read it twice and it made my heart race. She basically said (in really nice words) exactly how I feel about my life right now. Exactly what is in my heart and has been for the last 2 1/2 years. The part I read over and over was this:
"I learned something many years ago. Something really bad happened to me, something that changed my life in ways that, if I had a choice, it would never have been changed at all. And, what I learned from it is what, today, sometimes seems to be the hardest lesson of all. I learned to LOVE the journey, not the destination. I learned that this is not a dress rehearsal, and that today is the only guarantee you get. I learned to look at all the good in the world and try to give some of it back because I believed in it completely and utterly..... I learned to be happy."

It goes on to talk about how she met a homeless man and he taught her an amazing life lesson.... he stayed in the cold on the boardwalk facing the water and when she asked him why he never went to detox or to a shelter... he told her "Look at the view, young lady. Look at the view." She goes on to say, "And every day, in some little way, I try to do what he said. I try to look at the view. That's all. Words of wisdom from a man with not a dime in his pocket, no place to go, nowhere to be. Look at the view. When I do that he said, I am never disappointed."

So, I could go on forever about this book. About how much it mattered to me. About how she talks about her life as two parts - BEFORE her Mom died and AFTER. I feel so connected to her story in that way. My life now is AFTER. After my Mom died. And I always miss my life BEFORE. But, I sure have learned a lot. And from this day forward, I will make time EVERY SINGLE DAY to Look at the View. I hope you do, too.

Our first Freaky Friday

Today was our first "Freaky, fun, fabulous family Friday" (Kalli named it) and we sure made the best of it. I used to work full time and the kids had to be in daycare every weekday. Well, financially, we are struggling to the point where I can only afford daycare a couple days a week. On those two days (Tuesday & Thursday), I try to work about 10 hours days at Keilman & Sikora. On Wednesday, all four of us girls have Wednesdays with Busia (we run errands and do to appointments with my 84 year old grandma).... On Monday I am trying to focus on on-line classes, working for Danelle, and Once Upon A Family.... I have a babysitter coming for a few hours every Monday from now on (which I am SOOOO excited about so I will FINALLY get some classes rolling)... Which leaves us Friday. And, for ONCE in my life, rather than pack it full of work things or ways to try to make our family some extra money, I am going to just BE with my kids every Friday this summer. We plan to have Fantastic Fridays all summer long. Today was the first one, and it sure was fabulous....

We used gift cards and Target coupons to get some fun water toys. And once they were assembled, we had a super time. Friends came over and then it rained and they all ran in to dry off and watch movies together. The rain has stopped, so I am about to get out the snow cone machine.... I cannot think of a better way to spend a day. It came out of financial need, but MAN am I grateful for the opportunity to spend every Friday just being a MOM with my cute little kids.

They Made it!

When we were saying prayers last night, Kaya pulled her pillow and blankie into Kalli's room. She told me "I sleep in here Mama and if I not good, I go back to my bed." How can you say no to that?? So we let them attempt to sleep in the same little twin bed. And, believe it or not, it worked. After a few giggle sessions, Kalli fell asleep and when I went to check on them, Kaya said "Yook how quiet I am Momeeee. I a good kid, right?" Man, she melts my heart. And, eventually, she fell asleep cuddled against her big sleeping sister. And, they made it all night. I woke up at 6 AM and took this photo of them snuggling. Made my heart happy. Moral of this story is that even when you think it will never work, let your kids try to create their own traditions and memories. Neil and I never thought the would make it, but the sure did. AND, Kaya slept for the first night ever in BIG GIRL underwear instead of a pull up. What a night of milestones. How blessed are we?

Capturing a personality...

Kalli loves fashion. Always has and I guess she always will! Funny because I never really care at all. Give me a yellow fence t-shirt and jeans, and I am happy! So, today, in trying to pick her outfit to wear, she set out ALL THESE CLOTHES and had her little sister help her pick. It was a mess, but it was so cute. I hope I never forget how much she loved her clothes and how cute she was letting her sister help her.

Capturing Memories

Moments go by quickly.... take time to capture them and PRINT them and take a few notes on how those moments made you feel. Even if you just wrote it in a notebook, you will always be grateful you had the memories behind those photos. Here are just a few of the hundreds I have taken in the past few days with bike riding, kindergarten graduation, running in the sprinklers, rolling down hills and everyday life around here. Enjoy the moment.

What will you make today on MAKE SOMETHING MONDAY?

I made a wonderful super fast bunch of album pages for my daughters wonderful kindergarten teacher this morning. I would post photos, but since I finished the pages in the pew at Mass during the program, I did not exactly have time for a post creative photo shoot! She is coming over soon to work on an album for her daughter, I will have her bring it and post photos then. I also took over 300 photos today of the step up to first grade program (totally made me cry) and running in the sprinkler. They are uploading now. Will post them later. I hope you are making time to make something this Monday.... print some photos, upload photos, journal a funny story... make something that matters. You will never be sorry if you just make one little thing every Monday. In 5 years you will have over 250 little somethings to look back on.

Memories and traditions...

40 years ago today, my wonderful parents got married. I picture my Mom getting her hair done and all of her girlfriends putting on their funny-colored green dresses.... Because of this day back in 1968, so many wonderful things happened. My parents stayed in love throughout the years and had us three kids. That loved showed us the way to their grandchildren. It is amazing to think about how much life would have changed if they had not taken the chance to marry at 19 or stopped trying to make it work when things were rough. I always knew I was blessed beyond measure to be born to my parents. I appreciated them all my life. Now that I have been married 10 years, I have a deep appreciation for how hard they worked to raise us kids and make a nice life for us while still making time to stay in love. I only wish my Mom was still here so I could make sure she really and truly understood how much love and respect I have for her and the wonderful life she created with my Dad. Please make sure, if your parents are still alive, that you do whatever you can to make sure they truly know how much love them, how much you learned from them and how deeply you appreciate all the little things they have done for you over the years. We let off a bunch of balloons to my Mom in heaven today with little notes on them from the girls and I. I hope she gets them. And I hope she is proud of us down here - doing all we can to move on without her. I really really miss her.

Happy 40th Anniversary Mom & Dad.