A Big Change & PL Week 31

So, this past week was pretty much UGH to the max. We had been praying for over a month about whether or not Shawn should accept a position with another engineering firm in town. It was a tough (to say the very least) decision, but ultimately we decided and felt peace about him leaving the job he'd worked at for eight years. Monday, he told his employer he would be leaving and after 24 hours of back and forth offers, Tuesday morning it was a done deal. I won't share all the details here, but by Tuesday at 8:00 am he was home. By noon that same day he was at his new employer and I had the sickest tummy the entire week. We trust that this was the right step for our family and we are humbled and blessed by this huge opportunity for Shawn. And each day further into this new chapter we get a little more excited. Because of the nature of the situation, my PL for week 31 is a little more private than I'd like to share here so I've blocked out some of the journaling. ;)

Week 31: I went with the Midnight edition this week. The colors just seemed to fit the mood of the week. The insert is from when we went to STL to see Matt, Desiré, and Caleb. That was definitely a huge highlight to the week!

I wanted to include this card from our sermon on Sunday....it was like God was saying, "Listen!"

*sorry the right page is blurry*

I really love journaling on the lines of these striped cards...it makes me happy. Also - I am obsessed with these two iphone photo apps: A Beautiful Mess & Rhonna Designs.  

This week finished out my first album for 2013. I'm excited to start on the next one and still can't believe I've finished this much and that I STILL love it....even on the weeks that are hard to journal.

*Linking up to The Mom Creative*

Project Life: Wks 28-30

Okay, so I have to admit that around the 4th of July I got a little overwhelmed with Project Life. Mainly it was because I had SO many pictures I wanted to include and that meant a lot of editing and decisions to make. And me and decisions? Well, let's just say we aren't the greatest of friends.

Once I got through that MASSIVE week of pictures and inserts I felt a bit better but still needed to take some time away. But then the Dear Lizzy, 5th & Frolic kit came to Michaels and I got all excited again! :)

Week 28:

I used the new Dear Lizzy kit and I really like it. I can't believe I am going to say this, but it is almost a bit too muted for my liking. Don't get me wrong I am ALL about the florals and vintage elements, but some of the cards just seem too washed out. I still love it but I think the cards will have to go with certain themes or weeks.

I used two inserts in this week's layout.

Week 29 brought me back to my all time favorite kit: Honey. Oh my goodness the colors are JUST PERFECT for summer and it just makes me so uber happy! I ended up using two inserts this week as well. One shares some fun summer instagram pics while the next one is dedicated to our 9th wedding anniversary! Woot Woot baby!

I added in some stickers this week too...they are pretty tall though so I should have attached them to the outside of the page protector.

I LOVE including iphone screen shots in my layouts. It's something that just makes each week even more personal. This week I got to include the text I got from my friend Desiré that Caleb was going to get a heart!!!! (I just print these off at home on photo paper)

So, Lauren's birthday technically fell in week 29, but I had SO many pictures I decided to do a whole special insert for her!!! You can see how I did this for Easton's bday here) This week I got pretty crazy with my new Elle's Studio goodies. I seriously LOVE their embellishments. Too darn cute!

I printed off the birthday interview I did with Lauren and slipped it in an 8 x10 page protector from Becky Higgins. On the back, I included her bday invitation and guest list (only the little kids). You can also see a letter peeking out...that's Lauren's 5th birthday letter I wrote and shared on the blog. I just printed it out and put it in a regular page protector.

This insert includes what we did on her actual birthday (since her friend party was held the night before her real birthday) and I used a card from the childhood kit as well. 

***Edited to add: I caught the misuse of the word our in the top 2x3 card and have since re-written it! ;) The world is right again. :)***

There was some white space in this pic so I journaled a bit about how sweet Lauren was when she opened all her presents!

Week 30:

I went back to the Dear Lizzy kit because a lot of my pictures were more subdued and muted this week. I think it worked out really well in this case!

We had SUCH a busy week and I wanted to remember every detail so I used this calendar card from 5th & Frolic to record it all!

FINALLY:
Okay so I know I have one more week to finish (the week we are in right now) but I went ahead and worked on my last page. I've busted the seams on this binder so I am going to have to face the fact that I'll be using more than one binder this year! It's all those inserts I tell you! :) Anyway, here is the last page of my project life volume one! (I got the idea for the stats cards here)

So - I still love it. And I am just beyond proud that I've kept up with it for 30 weeks (I'll finish week 31 this week!)

Linking up to The Mom Creative!

Project Life: Week 26

Last week was a bit hectic and crazy, but I wouldn't have traded a single day for anything else. I got my pages done last night for the week and it's quite picture heavy, but that's what I love about Project Life. It doesn't have to be fancy and embellished to the moon...it's just a place to share our lives. And, honestly, I love it so much more than any of the "real" scrapbooks I've done.

So, without further adieu, Week 26:

Here is what the spread looks like when you open to week 26. The first page is really all about my trip to St. Louis to visit with Desiré and Caleb. Please be in prayer for this sweet family. Caleb has come down with pneumonia while waiting on his new heart and needs to heal completely so they can move forward with transplant. Go HERE to read more of his story.

Here is the week layout without any inserts. The back page is all about the swimming we did this week.  We have the best neighbors and they let us use their pool while they were away. The kids and I enjoyed two wonderful, lazy, sun-filled days splashing and playing!

Since we spent three days at the lake and I took a TON of pictures, I decided to use the smaller inserts to share about our time there.

I LOVE the instagram page protectors that include the 2x3 card for journaling!!!!

Front:

Back:

Front:

Back:

Front:

Back:

Front:

Back:

Front:

Back:

Yes, that's a ton of inserts. :) But I had a ton of pictures that I wanted to include. {Side note: how precious is the bottom picture of my mom and dad? Love them!!!!}

Project Life is amazing. I HIGHLY recommend it if you are looking for a way to scrapbook without losing your mind! :)

Linking up to The Mom Creative!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Project Life: Wks 24 & 25

When I got my first Project Life kit it sat in its box under my bed for a year. I was dealing with so much internally that I couldn't even think about adding something to my list that I just knew I wouldn't finish.

I guess that's why, a year later, I am amazed that I've been able to stick with this PL thing for almost 7 straight months. The best part is that I still love it. This is the first time I've been caught up completely and only have the current week to work on so that's a freeing feeling as well.

Week 24:

This was a BUSY week for us. I included two inserts this week. One of extra instagram pics from our day at the lake and the other insert has pictures of us at Ryan's 4th birthday party!!!!

Week 25: This was my first week to use the new Kraft kit! I really love it, but I think the colors will work better for fall pictures. Maybe not....I like how this week looks, but I kept thinking it would go perfectly with autumn colors.

I included two inserts this week as well. The first is all about our Sunday School fellowship on Saturday night and the second is my newest cleaning routine. I just printed an extra off and put it in a sheet protector...I wrote about it on a journaling card that I just glued to the back of that page.

I LOVE having my book up to date! And I LOVE Project Life!!!!!