30 Days of Gratitude - Days 12 - 25; Project Life Weeks 46 and 47

Well, my 30 Days of Gratitude Challenge has instead morphed into incorporating a list of 30 things I am grateful for into my project life layouts (and I'm totally fine with that).

1.  Week 46.  Not too much excitement happening at home, especially with Benjamin being so small.  However, there was lots of crafting going on for both Xyron and preparations for Charlotte's Rapunzel birthday party!

2.  Week 47.  Thanksgiving was clearly the highlight of the week and amazingly enough, I didn't take any photos.  However, I did get some cute photos of Dad with Benjamin after dinner.  With Justin being gone, the holidays seem more bittersweet than anything.  We miss him so much.  I think we're going to have to redo Thanksgiving once we get settled in Hawaii...

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Catching up with Project Life; 30 Days of Gratitude - Day 11.

So I am now determined to finish my Project Life 2012 digitally and get everything printed and bound in a beautiful book.  I'm serious.  I mean it.  But, um, I'm just a tad bit behind.  And when I say behind, I mean that I still have to document the middle of March through the end of October.  But I can do it, right???  Just wanted to share some pages towards that endeavor.  But just think how awesome it's going to be when I take a photo of me with a beautiful bound album of all our 2012 memories.  You just wait.  I'm so going to do this.  :)

1.  Week 44 (First Half).  The highlight of this layout was definitely Halloween.  Charlotte has been telling everyone that she was going to be a monkey ballerina for MONTHS!!  Click here to see Week 44 (Second Half).

2.  Week 45.  Big events this week were saying goodbye to Justin (again), Charlotte's lantern walk at school, and Benjamin's two month birthday!!!  

3.  30 Days of Gratitude - Day 11.  I didn't include a photo for my Day 11 journaling.  I won't lie, after this week, it was hard for me to keep up with the 30 Days of Gratitude Challenge and I found myself trying to remember what I was grateful for in retrospect.  But I still think it's definitely worth following through.  But, as I noted in my layout above, for Day 11, I am thankful for military wives.  Despite the obstacles that life seems to throw at us, we continue to persevere and thrive with the support of each other.  

As always, thanks for stopping by!

30 Days of Gratitude - Days 6 through 10

On Day 6, my first full day of solo parenting again, I'm thanking for tummy time and legos.  Even though it may only last for a few moments, having both kids temporarily happy and occupied gives me a few moments of sanity.

On Day 7, I'm thankful for Charlotte's school.  While her world seems to be turning upside down with another pending move, Justin's absence and Benjamin's arrival, her school and teachers have been a reliable and loving constant. 

Because Charlotte goes to school during the day, I am able to stay at home with just Benjamin during the day.  So on Day 8, I am thankful for those quiet moments that I can just enjoying having him home.

On Day 9, I am thankful for public libraries.  Here we are watching Clifford on Friday night while eating some popcorn.  Ah, you know my life is exciting.  :)

And on Day 10, I am thankful for sisters.  I'm especially thankful for my sister.  For so many reasons.  I hope that Benjamin will love and value his sister as much as I cherish mine one day.

And here is a look at the beginning on my Gratitude Journal (Days 1 through 4) integrated into my Project Life Pages.

To learn more about 30 Days of Gratitude, click here.  

As always, thanks for stopping by.

30 Days of Gratitude - Days 4 and 5

On Day 4, I am grateful for Daddy.

Just look at that photo.  He's cuddling with Benjamin and letting Charlotte brush his hair.  Now that's an amazing dad.

On Day 5, I am thankful for tear-free good-byes.

This is a photo of Justin giving Charlotte one final kiss before catching his flight this morning.  Charlotte was such a strong girl.  "Daddy go to the ship.  Charlotte go to school," she declared.  "Bye bye, Daddy," she chirped.  Now let's see if I can survive the next six weeks without him.  Thankfully it's only six weeks.

For Day 3, click here.  For Day 2, click here.  For Day 1 and an explanation of 30 Days of Gratitude, click here.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

30 Days of Gratitude - Day 3

I took this photo right after Charlotte got dressed and during Benjamin's tummy time.  My heart melted just a bit.  So for Day 3, I am grateful for sibling love.

Charlotte definitely has her moments of being jealous and upset.  But I know that she loves her little brother so much.  "Benjamin is my baby," she says.  "He's so cute," she coos every morning while looking down into his crib.  Big sister and little brother.  So thankful.

For Day 2, click here.  For Day 1 and an explanation of 30 Days of Gratitude, click here.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

30 Days of Gratitude - Day Two

So for Day Two, I am grateful for family dinners.

Justin and I are San Diego natives, born and raised.  Thankfully, both of our families are still in the area which usually means access to lots of free food.  :)  Dinner at Justin's dad's house is a bit of a tradition.  We try to do it every week and Uncle Adam always comes too.  The Smith boys usually talk about sailing or finances or politics.  Grandma Debra and Charlotte play with the dolls.  I get a little break and can bounce back and forth as I please.  Knowing that we will be moving in just a few weeks makes evenings like this that much more special.

You can read more about 30 Days of Gratitude here.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

30 Days of Gratitude - Day One

My good friend, Melissa, posted about joining in on a gratitude campaign for November 2012.  She is one of the most kind and inspiring people I know so I thought I'd join in.

My hope is to choose a photo each day and journal a bit about what I'm thankful for.  At the end of the month, I plan to put all the photos together in a Project Life format for our family scrapbook.

So for day one, I'm so amazingly thankful that our family is together.  Ben should still be in my belly.  And Justin should be on deployment.  But because of preterm labor, Ben is here.  And because Ben got extremely sick while in the NICU, Justin came home.  Nothing is as we planned it but we are all safe and healthy and home now.  Finally.  And I am so grateful.  Only a few more days before Justin leaves again so I might be thankful for togetherness for a few more days.

To create the journaling section to my photo, I slightly modified a digital brush (Noted) by Splendiid Fiins in Photoshop.  I think I'll try to use it throughout the month.

Are you planning to join in?  How will you be grateful this month?

As always, thanks for stopping by!