Monday, January 30, 2012

"The Januaries"

This month is usually the hardest for me, and this year has proven no different. I don't know why it's hard? Maybe it just begins the longest stretch of time that the carrots dangling with fun things to look forward seem so far away in the distance... Anyway I refer to this time of year as "The Januaries..."

We have remedied this month by trying to plan things--dinner parties, play dates, national championships, birthdays, and we have enjoyed spending time with our friends and families. The exciting newness of my Canon Rebel from Christmas 2009 has unfortunately worn off, and most of our fun times have gone undocumented, but here are some of this month's highlights:

Our family experienced a 3rd straight national championship victory! Uncle Steven came over for a taco soup/guacamole supper celebration!

We've enjoyed hanging around the house

(these were a Sunday morning before church).

And the most documentation comes from Becky's bridal tea that I co-hosted with some of my best friends at my house yesterday. She is having a travel-themed wedding, and we attempted to tie in that for her tea.










My friend Karen made this super cool map wreath! I want one made of book pages!








She racked up, don't you think!?!

We sure could use a good snow!

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

My Paper Source Mantra of 2012

"Do something creative every day."

I was sooooo pumped when the Hill Center added The Paper Source to its specialty shops. Anyone who knows me well knows that paper is my passion. :) I am not kidding.

When I was window shopping and inspiration hunting there last week, I decided to fully embrace their motto and make it my 2012 goal. I think it will be attainable because creativity is one of those words that has a myriad of definitions... It can apply to cooking, sewing, writing--where it is in the form of writing cards, imaginatively with stories and poems, mechanically with calligraphy fanciness, organizing, taking pictures, dating, crafting, mothering, adventuring, saving money, etc... The possibilities are endless. I hope that it will infuse my--and my family's--spirit with inspiration.

In the small things.

On January 1, I made this book:
Something that has become a yearly ritual. It is always a little sad when Christmas card season is over, and I love pouring over them and cataloging them one last time before putting them away until the next season rolls around. They have been great side table decor and have been fun conversation starters.

Isn't this paper unique? I got it for 60% off at Paper Source's after Christmas sale.

January 2: Storyboards

I finally got over my perfectionist procrastinator identity with this project. I wanted to create storyboards of the girls' 3, 6, 9, and 12 month photos. I wanted to wait until they were finished, and I wanted them to "match" even though we used different photographers (and loved BOTH: Brooke Rainey Photography and Aaron Yung Photography. We are blessed to consider Aaron and Brooke dear friends to our family.) Anyway, I got a Hobby Lobby gift card and decided to take advantage of their 50% off custom framing. This is how they turned out:

Here's Addison:

And Ansley:
I described my girls the other day as being "uniquely identical." When we were choosing which pictures to use, we could have found shots from each of their sessions that would have been almost identical... Sometimes I think they look just alike, and other times all I see are their individual traits. They are undoubtedly sisters, and I think (hope and pray) they each got the best parts of Patrick and me.

I can't wait to hang these in our entryway.

January 3: snowmen and imaginative play

Addison made these:
We started off our morning like this:
Both girls in their chairs, pouring over books. Addison loves her new Peter Rabbit collection, and Ansley loves anything she can get her hands on. She signs "more" for books about as enthusiastically as she signs "more" for food. I love this. The more you read, the more you dream, the more your imagination--and vocabulary--develops, the more you, by product, create.

After we made the snowmen, we colored. Ansley is so happy when she gets to have a spot at Addison's table, and this is her first coloring book.
This year, Patrick and I tried to be intentional in what we bought the girls for Christmas. We tried to fill their toy bins--and minds and hearts and spirits--with items that foster innocent, imaginative play, and it has filled our hearts with joy to watch them create worlds that bring Strawberry Shortcake figures, Calico Critters, Lightning McQueen, Mater, Lincoln Logs, and Little People together.

We were born to create, in our own ways, weren't we? Afterall, we were made in the image of our Creator. Here's to growing closer to Him this year as we intentionally walk this path.

Also, to begin this year, I started my in depth study of James, and I'll leave with His words:

"He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all He created." ~James 1:18