While America has, on a whole, gone back to their usual ways of living since the shock of the devastating attack on the Twin Towers eight years ago, there are many people for whom the consequences of that day in history are shaping their lives today. People miss fathers, mothers, friends, sisters, and brothers. . .and many, many more put themselves in harms way on a daily basis trying to prevent this kind of loss.

My husband and my father have both served in this conflict, both deployed to serve their country.

To serve you.

And to serve me.

Because I live on an Air Force Base, and keep a circle of military spouse friends online, I know many, many men and women who continue to serve.

And I know the spouses of some who didn’t come back home while serving YOU and ME.

I’ve watched my husband participate in performing Honor Guard tributes to these fallen, and the fallen of conflicts past. I’ve seen it humble and change him. I’ve seen dignity in the face of terror.

It takes your breath away.

It changes you.

And it should.

Most days, we worry about the economy, and we worry about our kids and our hair and what car we drive and what frivolity we can give ourselves next- and that’s all fine and dandy.

But today I want to recognize this.

Today

and Tomorrow,

I want to be grateful.

I did this using the Lily Bee Audrey line for their blog to honor Sept 11th. I love this line for it’s rich palette. Having a husband in the USAF, I frequently find it difficult to find papers that really represent the honor and significance of the ceremonies and service captured in photos. So many red, white and blue color combos feel very beachy or are a little to sparkly, and not dignified enough to really say what I mean to say. This line does it for me.

There is just nothing better than a giggly baby, and Gabe always delivers. He was born with a very good sense of humor, and we often find him laughing at us with almost no provocation whatsoever. And then there are the times where we tickle him until he screams and make faces until he can’t breathe for laughing. I love it. LOVE.

These were shot on my parent’s hammock; Gabe spent a lot of time there with me snuggling or being cute.

I do so love the black, white yellow combo. This is some gorgeous Lilybee paper from the Audrey collection. The pretty, pretty tulle flowers are the newest addition to the Lilybee family- and for some reason or another they just beg to be jabbed with decorative pins! All of the Lilybee designers were asked to contribute an “ING” layout to celebrate the new Lilybee Ning site! So mine just had to be laughing.

Be sure to sign up for the Ning site (add me as a friend!) and come see the ideas and creative inspiration there! And don’t forget to enter the Audrey contest!

He is a luscious baby.

Did this with the September Nook Kit- featuring Pink Paislee papers. The butterfly is a Martha Stewart butterfly punch.

Hi! I have a habit of diving into altering projects without ever taking a before picture. So you will just have to trust me when I say this was a natural wood color with metal letters screwed on it that read “letters, bills, misc”. This organizer hung by the telephone in my grandmother’s kitchen for as long as I can remember. These colors were her favorite, so in a way I made it mine, but I feel like I made it even more hers as well.

I removed the metal words (and stashed them for a future project), and then jazzed up the whole thing with black paint (I used an Elmer’s paint pen- worked perfectly for this project!) And then covered the rest with papers (pink paislee), ribbon and sparkles.

The quote is by Mother Theresa and says: “We can do not great things, only small things with great love.”

Winners posted- this is now closed.

Now that I have your attention. . .ha! Ok- today, courtesy of My Scrapbook Nook, we are giving away six lovely copic markers. For those of you unfamiliar with these gems, hold on to your hats.

These are hands down the best markers I have ever used. In fact, and in total disclosure, I hate markers. They streak, they look muddy, they don’t blend, the tips get all wonky and gross. . .I could go on. These, however, are the exact opposite. They blend, they don’t streak, you can go over and over the paper as long as you like and not tear up your paper, the tips are super tough, and can be replaced if neccesary. These are artist’s markers, and they are so fun to use. You can create shadows, light variations, remove color if you need to, and you can get copics in over 350 shades, so you can always get the color you want. They are a stamper’s dream. They are also used by Manga and mixed media artists.

I went from hating to color to sitting down with Jonas and coloring with my copics! This card is gorgeous Lilybee paper (Audrey line), Hero Arts Matroyshka doll stamps colored with Copics.

So, if you need some of these, leave me a comment below and I’ll randomly draw two winners. If you would like a second entry, feel free to blog about this and link here to give your friends a chance to win as well! (Then leave me a second comment with that link). I will leave this open for a week.

Now, My Scrapbook Nook has very competitive pricing on these (well below suggested retail), and they also have a very nice 25% off coupon code right now-enter kit25 at checkout- which means you can get these for a steal! Also, while you’re there- do check out the awesome kits I put together every month. If you like my style, you’ll probably love these kits!

(psst- if you happen to sign up for the kit club, let me know!)

Created from the newest kit at the Nook, featuring Pink Paislee, Prima, Making Memories and Maya Road. Also- Martha Stewart Royal Butterfly punch.

It is good to scrap.

Check back tomorrow for a contest.

I’m sure my long term readers will recognize this as one of my monthly journals. I did quite a few of these in 2008- but then I got pregnant, sick, had a husband who deployed, missed every major holiday and then returned after which I had a baby. And between all of this, I misplaced my motivation on this project.

But I got to thinking about it again, especially why I had started and what had been my motivation.

You see, I really think it is important to take the time to notice the blessings in our lives.

When we choose to recognize and remember the hand of God in our lives, we live with so much more purpose and gratitude. We are more satisfied; we are more fulfilled. Taking the time to be grateful enough to stop and take pause is such a difference maker.

We live in a world where people rush from one thrill/disappointment to the next. New clothes, new car, new job, this stress, another crisis- the world rarely stops to say thanks, or to just feel content for a moment. And most of the time, we really have everything we need: Family, friends, faith, and our basic needs met.

We probably never got that pony we wanted as children, and there will always be worries, but if we see the blessings not only are we happier, but we feel a lot more peace when we can see how our Fathe rin heaven cares for us, and gain the assurety that if He helped us in the past, He will probably do it again.

Back when I started this project, I remember being very struck by a certain sermon by Henry B. Eyring that talked about this act of remembering.

So, whens shortly after starting up again I stumbled upon this short video summing it, I was inspired to keep on going, and to make it a priority.

After all, one of the main points of scrapbooking is to remember the things that are most precious to us.

Faith should be included in that.

I asked Jonas to pick a number between 1 and 250 and he said:

#44

OMG that’s just crazy! Who wouldn’t want all of this?

Comment by Linda — August 1, 2009 @ 2:30 pm

So, congrats to Linda, you will soon be in adhesive heaven! Please drop me a line with your address and I’ll hook you up with Elmer’s! Congrats!