Scrapbooking in the Woods

This past weekend I went to a scrapbooking retreat. About twenty of us gathered at In the Woods Retreat Center and spent two full days working on our projects. I brought my laptop of course, but I spent a lot less time on it than usual. Other than keeping up on email (both home and work) and writing my daily 750 words, I worked on my pictures. I managed to get my family album caught up through last November.

I didn't get a lot of sleep, but the weekend actually energized me in several ways. I'm a list person, so I'm going to number them here:

1. I had extended "girl time" with people I enjoy. There's a lot to be said for that.

2. Looking at my pictures, I was able to re-live the events celebrating the good times. I've attended soccer games, orchestra concerts, school plays, and birthday parties. I have a wonderful family.

3. Women talk. We share what's going on in our lives. And while I do my share of talking, I also listen. We have our problems, but they're nothing compared to what some others are going through. My family and I are blessed.

4. Since I've been writing so much in the past year, I've spent a lot of time in the world of make-believe. But as they say, "truth is stranger than fiction". Sometimes the things that happen inspire scenes that occur in my stories. One of the ladies at my table had some interesting misadventures in the shower. Hmm. I wonder if I could write a comedy?

5. I did my weekly creative project! Here's a picture of some of my pages:

Family Time

I'm so excited for tonight. Both of my girls are going to scrapbook with me! A neighbor who has her basement set up just for scrapbooking is letting us come over and use her tables and will have her supplies ready for us to purchase, and her supplies there to use. The three of us have all had great adventures this year - Mandy and I have pictures of our trip to Japan, and Robyn has some from her trip to the west coast, touring national parks. We want to preserve them. And so we will spend time arranging these photos in albums to keep them safe and so that we can pull them out and remember these times. We can share them with others.

Like every mom, I cherished the time when they were small and looked to me for all their needs. As they got older, they needed me less and less, and although life got a little bit easier, it was hard to let go. When the children become adults, they go off and lead their own lives, and I was a little bit heartbroken. They're no longer my little girls. I can't dress them in pretty, frilly dresses. I can't wipe their pudgy cheeks when they get into their dinners and get half of it on themselves. And I can't be there to hold them every time they get an "owie".

But they're still my girls. I am so thankful that they both still want to do things with me. Last weekend the three of us explored Art Prize in downtown Grand Rapids. And this weekend we'll work on our pictures together. Later this weekend, they plan to go with their father to visit their grandmother in her new digs at the nursing home. They're good kids, and we look forward to watching them become amazing adults.

We must have done something right. Hallelujah.