Celebrate!

So how's this for crazy....I have three kids ages 10,6, and 4. I have done exactly FOUR birthday pages ever. Mhmm. I did my girls' first birthdays a random maybe 6th? for my oldest and now this one. Yep, I hate scrapping events. I'm way more of a "moments" scrapper than events. I don't know if it's because events have a bajillion colors in them, very snapshotty pictures or just have waaaay to many pictures to choose from but I avoid them at all costs. I have done exactly ONE christmas lo ever. That's all about to change though....so hold onto your hats and be prepared to see some holidays around here.

Why am I changing my tune? Ok, this is the part where if you're anything like me you click out of here because I'm going to make you squirm a little. We're doing a "One month to live" campaign at my church in Oct. As a leader there we've been preparing for it and it got me thinking. If I had one month to live I probably wouldn't scrapbook but I would likely grab a stack of my favorite pics and write some notes on the back. I would probably do some sort of questionnaire about myself for my kids....and then there'd be a whole lot of family snuggle time. But it really got me thinking about my pages.

I just came back to scrapping this summer from a FOUR yes FOUR year break and I changed my "rules" big time. No more worrying about getting caught up, no more worrying about scrapping every single official milestone, place we went or worrying about having to many "moment" lo's. I scrap the pictures that speak to me, the moments I want to highlight and remember. Maybe I'm just highlighting it because I liked their shirt, the location or maybe I just did a really good job on the pic. The only new "rule" I've set for myself is that I scrap pages that I wish I had of my parents and grandparents. When my kids look at my albums I want them to know I scrapped the pictures and moments that were important to me.

I realized that if you look back through my albums you'll see alot of my kids looking cute, me telling them I love them...but ok we get it. Now it's time to include the less glamorous but just as important moments. This is Carter's first big boy birthday party where he invited friends. No, I don't have alot of journaling on the front but on the back (and I do this alot) there is a more complete note of what we did and who came etc. I have to tell you he was SO excited to see this page finished. Every time he walks past it (hasn't made it's way to an album yet lol) he tells me about his party and what he wants to do for his next party. I love that.

My mom and I were just talking about my great grandpa who passed away when I was just a little younger than Carter is now. I have no memory of him. It makes me so sad that if Carter were to lose any grandparents he wouldn't remember them and all the fun he has with them. Those family holidays are huge in our house, we plan them and look forward to them with great anticipation. My kids talk about them for months before and after. It's only fair that they become part of my albums. Sooo here I go delving into my picture box, looking for the stories I want to tell and *gasp* I just might do some pages about me. Something I've always thought was dumb (who has time for scrapping ME when I have a million kid pics right?). But when it's all said and done my albums will show our life. I've even done some pages lately of my nieces and nephews. My husband looked at me like I'd grown two heads when I did my first one. I said I took those pictures, I love them, they're a huge part of our life why wouldn't they be in my albums?

So there you have it, off my umm sappy introspective rant? Lol, back to my short little happy posts now. This page is for a challenge at http://www.scrapbookkitclub.com/ and also based on a sketch at www.amatterofmemories.com . The challenge was to celebrate the date 9.9.09 and it had to have nine pictures, nine letters in the title and nine of the same embellishments.

annnnnd.....hopefully I wasn't too much of a Debbie Downer for you today LOL!